The Lithium Writer

Best Writing Resources

There are a ton of writing resources out there, and it can be difficult to know which ones are actually useful for your writing. The truth is? Many of them can be useful, depending on what your needs are as a writer. That is, whether you need help with things such as plotting, characterization, description, prose… The list goes on. A lot of blogs on writing exist (including this one!), but how do you know which resources are good? Well, I’ve put together a list of my favorite writing resources that have helped me.

(Note: None of these are affiliate links, nor do I make any money when you make a purchase or click a link. These are simply resources I have found useful in my writing journey.)

Best Website for Novelists

HelpingWritersBecomeAuthors.com

This site, run by author K.M. Weiland, has a plethora of great resources in and of itself. She outlines how to plot a novel through the Three-Act Structure, and a recent addition to the site is a long list of character archetypes and how to write them. She has several books out for plotting your novel and creating character arcs, as well as a new program to help you plot out your novel.

Best Book for Perfecting Style and Prose

Dreyer is the copy chief of Random House, one of the “Big Five” publishing houses. He gives his thoughts on common writing mistakes that he sees constantly in manuscripts and mentions how to fix them, such as superfluous or redundant words. This book is both witty and instructive, with a solid dose of humor. Definitely a great read if you plan on submitting to agents.

Best Book(s) for Characterization/Description

Puglisi and Ackerman have a series of thesaurus-type books, including one on negative traits and emotional wounds. These books are great for building characters and crafting more detailed descriptions, rather than just saying, “She was angry.”

Best Necessity for Those Looking to Publish

The CMS, or Chicago Manual of Style, is the standard style guide for the publishing industry in the U.S. It’s a great reference tool when you’re not sure whether or not to use that comma or whether or not you need spaces around your em dash. If you want to publish, traditionally or not, I believe every writer needs this in their library.

Best Program for Novelists

https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview

Out of all the writing software and programs I’ve tried to use over the years, from Novlr to Dabble, Scrivener remains my favorite. It is a mountain of features and customization, whether you want to simply change the theme or move around that one particular scene that doesn’t go. It has templates and more for you to get your novel started. I’ve been using Scrivener for years, and it’s a program I can always count on.

And that’s it for my favorite resources! What are some of your favorite writing resources that have helped you in your writing journey?

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