The writing journey is all about discovering what works best of for each of us as individual, and very unique, writers. Learning from others is valuable in helping us glean tips and fit together the puzzle pieces that will form our own writing processes. Today, I’d like to share with you ten of the sites that inspire, educate, and help me refine my process—plus, they’re run by a bunch of super awesome folks!
1. Jody Hedlund: Her spot-on insights into the publishing and marketing processes never fail to offer me something to chew on. Plus, she has the best post titles in the business!
2. Nail YourNovel: Book doctor Roz Morris, author of the wonderful Nail Your Novel, offers an always refreshing take on the nitty-grits of storytelling.
3. The Bookshelf Muse: Run by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi, authors of The Emotion Thesaurus, this site is best known for its insanely handy lists of synonyms for everything from facial features to colors to (you guessed it!) emotions.
4. Porter Anderson: His “Writing on the Ether” series is a fun, quirky, and always insightful look into the goings-on of the book world.
5. The Creative Penn: Joanna Penn’s site is fast becoming the go-to stop for independent authors who are trying to understand all the ins and outs of the system. She offers great advice on publishing and marketing and a super-helpful transparency about her own journey as an indie.
6. Mystery Writing Is Murder: Elizabeth Spann Craig dishes out both genre-specific and general advice, along with a great round-up of writing-related Twitter posts.
7. The WritePractice: This lovely site, founded by the always gracious Joe Bunting, offers sound advice and the forum-like opportunity to put writing lessons into practice.
8. Writer Unboxed: With dozens of highly qualified contributors (including agents, editors, and authors), this site tops blog awards lists every year. Always on point and always helpful.
9. L.B. Gale: As a fantasy author, Gale dishes particularly pungent insights to the spec-fic crowd. Her take is always unique and fun.
10. MoodyWriting: Aside from a generally awesome Twitter handle (@mooderino), this savvy Brit serves up timely and thought-provoking posts on writing and promoting.
Plug these sites into your blog reader of choice and keep on learning!
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About K.M. Weiland | @KMWeiland
I’m pleased to see quite a few of my favorites on this list. I must have good taste! 😉
Well, you know what they say about great minds! 😉
Katie, thanks for the kind mention–what an honor to be included with all these fabulous sites. I visit all of these as well, and am so grateful for the insight they offer! And thank you for being one of my top sites as well–I learn a ton from you as well. 🙂
Have a great weekend!
Angela
Thanks for all the resources. I will check them all out.
@Angela: You’re so welcome! I loved your site even before I knew what great people you and Becca are. Now I love it even more. 🙂
@Steve: I’m sure you’ll find them all helpful!
Jody Hedlund’s blog tops my list, too. Obviously I also like WordPlay, and I’ll have to check out a couple I don’t know from your list. I regularly visit Rachelle Gardner’s blog, The Writer’s [Inner] Journey, Nathan Bransford, Novel Rocket, Chip MacGregor, Seekerville, Magical Words, and far too many others. For inspiration that spans writing and faith I always stop by Holy Experience, too.
Great list. I also follow some of those you’ve mentioned, and most of them were narrow contenders for my Top 10. So many great resources out there!
Cool – I have at least half of these on my blog list already. I will definitely check out the others. I second Carol’s suggestion for Magical Words – that’s definitely one of my favorite places to visit.
Thanks, I’ll have to check that one out!
Evil Editor is worth the time. He accepts and blasts both prose and plot ideas. Pretty amusing sometimes, though at a writer’s expense. http://evileditor.blogspot.com/
And you gotta love a blog title like that!
Thanks for the mention! A couple I didn’t know, will check them out.
mood
Moody Writing
You bet!
This is great! I’m always on the lookout for new author blogs! Do you happen to know any where they host writing contests? Not serious ones, with prizes and such, but just for fun? Thanks so much for the help!
Joe Bunting’s The Write Practice, mentioned above, always has his readers participate in writing exercises. But I’m not thinking of any that host actual contests.
Robert Lee Brewer’s Poetic Asides
Oh, yes, I enjoy his stuff as well.
Will check them out.
I hope you enjoy them!
All of those sites are fantastic! 😀 Especially “The Bookshelf Muse” and “The Write Practice,” (though I may be a little biased on that one, it really is superb).
Glad you’re enjoying them!
Thanks for posting these! 🙂
I’m sure you’ll find lots of goodies on these sites.
Katie, your blog should be at the top of anyone’s Top 10 list. I find every blog you write informative and inspiring. Keep up the good work.
Aw, you’re very kind! Makes my day to hear the blog has been helpful.
I enjoy Edie Melson’s The Write Conversation posts every day. https://ediemelson.com/