Some of the Best Books and Blogs on Writing

It’s easy to get overwhelmed with blogs on writing. I finally had to narrow my focus. The two blogs I stick with are The Write Practice and Novel Rocket.

The Write Practice was founded in 2011 by Joe Bunting with the purpose of helping writers practice. Like he says on his blog, the professionals in every field practice.

“Because Michael Jordan practiced. Joshua Bell practices. Tiger Woods practiced. He took his first swing when he was two years old. Bill Gates practiced. Pablo Picasso practiced. He started painting when he was seven.”

The Write Practice offers 15-minute daily writing prompts with opportunity to submit your practice and gain feedback immediately from other writers. What I appreciate even more are the articles written by other authors on every topic imaginable. I have learned about sensory writing, POV, genre tropes, and many other writing gems. The articles are short, which I love because I can read them on a coffee break. The Write Practice also offers a writing course and seasonal contests.

Novel Rocket is the other blog I follow, also a collaborative blog. The posts are bite-sized and focused. Our own Marcia Laycock writes the devotional blog. I often search their archives for help on a specific writing question such as characterization.

Other excellent blogs I read from time to time are goinswriter.com; jerryjenkins.com/blog; thecreativepenn.com. Our own member blogs are also very good and I refer to them often.

The following three books I have nearly worn out with my highlighter:
Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell
The Writer’s Journey, Mythic Structure for Writers by Christopher Vogler
Save the Cat by Blake Snyder

These books lay out a structure for your short stories or novels. I especially like Save the Cat because it comes with a visual storyboard that you can fill in.

What are your favourite writing blogs and books?

If Pam Mytroen could spend all day in her kitchen baking pies, brownies, and making turkey dinner for friends, she would. But Murray Pura once told her to write first and then bake—advice that she is trying to stick with these days, except, of course, when her grandchildren stop in for milk and cookies.