BIW RECOMMENDS

Websites Recommended By Our Writers

For a listing of the books our members recommend please visit our bookstore.

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Helpful Tools - Websites Catering to Writers - Writers Offering Advice - Writing Magazines - Contests - Learning - Research - Articles - Lists/Newsletter - Play

Helpful Tools

• Writing Calendar - Julie Hood offers a fabulous calendar to help get you and your writing organized. Download the pdf calendar and while you're there sign up for her weekly reminders. A valuable resource for writers.
• BIW Desktop Wallpapers - Put inspiration and links for BIW necessities at your fingertips with these desktop wallpapers.
• Laurie Ashton's Writing Graph Tracker - Excel document created by BIW member Laurie Ashton. Keep track of your writing projects with one page.
• The Organized Writer - Spend the next 30 days getting yourself organized with Julie Hood's book, "The Organized Writer."
• What They Pay - Karen Fox has collected what the major and minor publishers are paying on average for new books based on advances, and earn out. Not all publishers but does give you and excellent idea of what to expect or ask for.
• The Snowflake Process for Writing a Novel - This one gets talked about a lot on our list. You can read about it at Randall Ingermanson website.
• 99 Ways to Tell a Story: Exercises in Style by Matt Madden - "inspired by a work of the same name by the French writer Raymond Queneau."
• MaryFisksTrackingSheet - An excell program created by Mary Fisk. The only column that allows data entry is D - Word Count. The only Rows that contain cells which permit data entry are 2 and 3 - where you can change daily goal, month, project length, start and completion dates, Working Title, Previous words and BIW month. The cells in row D are set up so that once a word count is entered on Monday, all the rest of the days reflect that word count. However, once you actually type in a word count on Tuesday (or any subsequent day) the formula is erased for that day.
• Olgy's Excel Tracking Sheet - Olgy transformed my Word Tally sheet into a colourful one that does all the adding for you.
• Ten Mistakes Writers Don't See (But Can Easily Fix When They Do) - The title is self explanatory as to content. This website is by Pat Holt former book editor and critic at The San Francisco Chronicle for 16 years. There are a few other articles and you can also sign up for newsletter for more "critical commentary about the publishing and bookselling industry."
• Fifty Writing Tools - A collection of writing articles by Roy Clark from Poynter Online. Scroll down half way to see listing of tools.
• NanoWriMo Report Card - An excellent Excel document that helps you easily monitor your daily NanoWriMo progress. If you're a visual person then you'll love this.

Websites Catering to Writers

• Absolute Write - Jenna Glatzer's (Outwitting Writer's Block and Other Problems of the Pen) website for freelance writers, screenwriters, novelists. Market listings, articles and a free and paid newsletter.
• Author Network - Resources for writers. Agent listings, articles, columns, interviews, organizations, and publishing; just to name a few.
• Smart Writers - Provides children's writers information about the business of writing, writing tools, a directory of children's book publishers and paying magazine markets. They are also an educational tool for librarians and teachers. Also valuable for other writers.
• Society of Children's Book Writer's & Illustrators - A international organization offering a variety of services to people who write, illustrate, or share a vital interest in children’s literature. Not just for children's writers. Lots of relevant writing info.
• Novel Advice - Member site for writers to exchange information. Excellent resources pages.
• A Novel Approach - A group of International amateur and professional writers and poets who have joined together to help each other grow and improve. Requires a commitment. Site not fully developed to it's potential but promising.
• Places for Writers - Comprehensive resource for Canadian writers and readers of Canadian writers. Within this site you will find daily updates of places to publish poetry and fiction, contests, literary news, book resources, websites for writers, locations of retreats, and resources for funding.
• Bella Online: Fiction Writing - The editor Apryl Duncan keeps this site clean and manageble with for easy topics: Literary Agents, Print Publishers, Reference Desk and Writer's Bazaar.
• Belle Online: Writing - The editor Danielle Hollister is leaving no stone unturned with this informative site covering novel writing, freelancing, zines, grammer, agents, marketing and some stuff in between.
• National Association of Women Writers - Yearly membership group that connects women writers. Reasonable membership and benefits. They also have a free newsletter for non-members. A good way to connect with other women writers.
• Writing-World - One of the largest writing resources on the net for articles by writers for writers. Moira Allen has been running this site forever.
• Mystic Visions - Links to resources for fantasy writers.
• Write Link - The tag line at the top of the site says it all. "Writers' resource site for creative and freelance writers, linking to paying markets, competitions, reference sites, software and much more!" Contains articles, markets, competitions, and other goodies for writers.
• The Burry Man Writers Center - This is an excellent resource site containing links to articles and other sites on everything from the business of writing, to research, to markets. It even has a section called "Web Stuff" that contains information on creating websites as well as other computer-related sites.
• Christian Writer's Groups - This is a website for a Yahoo Group of the same name. The site has FAQs, List Guidelines, and other information on the group itself and it's members. It also has links to conferences and other resources for the Christian writer.
• Cata-Romance - An online community for both readers and writers of category romance. The site is split into channels for readers, writers, authors, and Romance. There are links to articles, forums, and scheduled chats.
• Marion Street Press - Essential books for Writers and Journalists.
• Writer's Weekly - An E-zine that focuses on the freelance writer. Highlights include feature articles, an "Ask the Expert" column, and Writers Weekly University (writing classes by email.)

Writers Offering Advice

• The Well-Fed Writer - This is the site of author Peter Bowerman, who's written three books on how to make a living as a commercial writer. The site is like an online store with links to his books, seminars, CDs, and other items. He also offers a free e-pub.
• Holly Lisle - This is the official website of author Holly Lisle. There are sections for both readers and writers. The writers section is a thriving community with forums, chats, crit circles and dozens of articles on writing written by Holly Lisle.
• Fear of Writing - This is the official site of the book by the same name. Site has some articles written by the author and a few others. Also offers an online course based on the book.
• Jill McGown's Writing Advice - Writing advice about creating your own room, where to get ideas, where to begin, what books you need, research, writers circles, literary terms, typing, submissions, characters and more.
• Andrea Semple - Provides a simple but sweet newsletter on becoming a novelist.
• Inkygirl - An informative weblog for writers who work from home. Funny cartoon to lighten your day. Job postings.
• The Rejector - An assistant at a literary agency posts about what not to do with your query letter. Sarcastically informative.
• Charlotte Dillions Resources for Romance Writers - Extensive resources for romance writers.
• Jane Yolen on joy in writing - This pages links to random thoughts on writing and on children's books. Also check out her FAQs. Simple information site.
• Writer's Cheat Sheets - Notes on Plotting, Conflict, Sensuality, Romance Plots, Archetypes, Editing and the Five Minute Pitch. Just enough to get the juices flowing or jog your memory.
  
  

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  Magazines

• The Writer Magazine - "Today's best-selling writers discuss dialogue, plotting, characterization, suspense, romantic fiction; non-fiction writers cover interviewing, research, finding good subjects, how and when to query, turning personal experience into salable articles and books."
• Writer's Digest - For the writer at heart. Each issue focuses on the craft of writing, the tools and information for writing, and the markets for writing. Features examine how to write and sell magazine and newspaper articles, books, plays, poetry and scripts.
• Poets & Writers - Includes interviews with poets and fiction writers as well as essays written by established authors, with news about the publishing community and coverage of political issues of interest to writers.

Contests

• HollywoodlitSales: Screenplay and TV writing contests - A Listing of all the American screeen writing and television competitions, research anything you find before entering.
• Sol-Magazine Has quarterly contests for poets. They offer Amazon gift certificates as prizes and there is no fee. Wonderful group. You can learn about poetry forms.
• Erma Bombeck - Do you write short comedy? This is an excellent contest to dip your toes into.

Learning

• Writer's Village University - Good place to network with a consolidated group of writers and learn the basics of writing.
• Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction and Fantasy - Yearly membership of $49 for an online community of critriquing workshops and reviews of one another's work.
• Other Worlds Writers Workshop, (fantasy & science fiction) - Critiquing and workshopping group using a structured program.
• The Guide to Writers Conferences & Workshops - International guide to workshops and conferences by Shaw Guides.

Research

• Writer's Market online - This is a paid service, but the monthly cost is very low ($2.99). It is easier to search than the print version, and is kept up-to-date. Look up magazines submission guidelines or research book publishers and agents.
• Popular Plots, Conflicts and Elements in Romance Novels - Ten categories of potential romance plots to work from.
• United States Newspapers - Links to over 3,300 United States Newspapers. This is great for researching contemporary places and subjects or for researching journalist opportunities.
• Publisher's Weekly - Everything you need to know about the world of publishing. Who's in, who's out, who's published, who's dropped, who's promoted etc. They have a newsletter.
• Bartleby Quotations - Classic quotations and quotations of the day. A searchable database.
• Temperament - Learn about the four temperaments as determined by David Keirsey. These can be used in the development of character profiles.
• Names - Stuck on a name for a character? Here is a name database that will give you lots of choices. Names are rated and briefly described.
• Bartleby's on-line access - Listing of the major writer's reference books. Verse, fiction, non-fiction and reference.
• Writer Beware: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Amercia, Inc - Extremely important site listing warnings for writers to avoid.
• The Grand List of Overused Science Fiction Cliches - Think your idea is unique? You might be surprised. Check out this listing of overused plots and story lines, overused settings and characterizations, overused story events and plot devices, silly science,
• World Builder - Step by step guide to help you design your own little world. Organized by Charter College of Education, California State University in Los Angeles.
• How Stuff Works - Ask and question and find the answers to auto, science, health, entertainment, computer, electronics, money, people and around the house stuff.
• British Royal Family - An unofficial site to the royal family lineage.
• NewPages - the Portal of Independents! News, information and guides to independent bookstores, independent publishers, literary periodicals, alternative periodicals, independent record labels, alternative newsweeklies and more.
• Word Play (Screenplay Resource) - Articles, tips and forum for screenwriters by Terry Rossio & Ted Elliott.
• Isidore of Seville - A collection of directories on ancient, medieval and modern history, mythical beasts, religion, animals, travel and great art. One man has taken the time to organize intenet resources on each of these topics. Good for research if you're writing in these areas.
• Sensational Color - At a glimpse you can find historical, social, global, political, religious and other information for blue, green, yellow, orange, red, purple, pink, white, black, brown, and gray.

Articles

• Conquering the Dreaded Synopsis by Lisa Gardner - An indepth look at the synopsis. Covering the market, query letter, examples of short and log synopsis as well as do's and don'ts.
• Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Amercia, Inc. - Articles on various aspects of writing. Articles are categorized by beginner, intermediate and advanced. Other categories include manuscript preparation, copyright, and submitting. While some articles are genre specific, many can be applied to any genre.
• Advice on Novel Writing by Crawford Kilian - The name says it all. This site contains several articles by Crawford Killian that cover various aspects of fiction writing including Plotting, Structuring a Scene, Formatting a Manuscript, and Reading a Contract.
• Writing the Tight (Bare Bones) Synopsis by Beth Anderson - Takes you through the basic steps to writing a short and sweet synopsis.
• Standard Manuscript Formatting by Carmel Thomaston - One of the best Manuscript examples on the internet. Detailed example of what a manuscript should look like after the writing is done.
• Manuscript Format by John Gregory Betancourt - A brief listing of format requirements for short stories, novels and why.
• Word Counts: What Is a Word? by Chuck Rothman - Explains what publishers are looking for when they ask for your word count. Very short article but worth reading.
• Proper Manuscript Format - This is a .pdf document showing a short manuacript and proper format. Read the content of this piece as it explains the why and hows of this format.
• Writerisms and other Sins: A Writer's shortcut to stronger writing - A short article by C.J. Cherryh on language that writers often overuse or misuse.
• The Basics: For Beginners (Elements of Style) - A short article on why the Elements of Style are important and what rules of usage and principles of composition are most commonly violated.
• Why Not Write in First Person - A very short opinion piece on the importants of avoiding first person writing.
• The Top Ten Plotting Problems - A short article by Alicia Rasley on writing blunders such as poor starts, too many characters, sagging middles, conflict issues and more.
• On Writing-Great Beginnings - Robert Sawyer writes about drawing in your readings from the first word.
• Basic Plotting for Science Fiction - A useful article outside of science fiction on plotting your novel. This site if full of useful articles and tools for writers of all genres.
• Teresa Nielsen Hayden on Stupid Plotting Tricks - A simple article on plots and characters from a unique perspective.
• Lester Dent's Master Fiction Plot - Lester Dent's formula for building a 6000 word master plot pulp story for adventure, detective, western and war-air types. It tells exactly where to put everything.
• Strong Characters versus Weak Character - C.J. Cherryh explains how the whole book is a character.
• The Character Interview - Alicia Rasley article using free writing to unlock the perceptions, plot, self concept and conjunctions of your characters. It's full of relevant questions to ask yourself.
• Show Don't Tell - Robert Sawyer explains the difference between showing and telling in this short article for writers.
• Creating Memorable Characters - Sherwood Smith offers his opinions on creating memorable characters. There are also three years of other writing related articles.
• Dazzling Dialogue Tips - Alicia Ramsay shares how to keep your dialogue short, snappy, active, interactive, dynamic, subtext, meaningful and simple. More articles listed at bottom of this one.
• Pitfalls of Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy, & General Useful Information - Vonda McInyre's 12 Pitfalls for writers to be aware of.
• Research Tips for Writing Alternate History - Harry Turtledove's suggestions on making a better world.
• Project Gutenberg - The best way to learn about writing is to read some of the best literature in the world. A good place to start is in the past. A huge collection of writing from classic authors is available here. All free to read.
• Fantasy World-Building - A list of questions to ask yourself when you are building a new world. Constructed by Patrica Wrede. Definitely worth printing off and keeping a copy on hand for future reference.
• The Linguistics & Science Fiction Sampler - Nine step guide by Suzette Haden Elgin on creating a language for your characters. This is another must have for any fanstasy world creator.
• Designing the Undead or What Model is Your Vampire? - Scroll down for an article by Rebecca Brand on creating a dead character who walks amongst the living. Takes a brief look at roots, society, image and hang-ups.
• For Openers - Brian Plante shares his ideas on the importance of a good opening line, espcially for new writer.
• Closing Time - Just as important as the opening. Brian Plante talks about leaving a good impression on your reader.
• What is a Short Story? - Marion Zimmer Bradley talks about making a great commercial short story for public consumption.
• Discovering the Story Within - Alicia Rasley's short opinion piece on the protangonist.
• The Standard Deviations of Writing - How to avoid errors in style, substance, motive, development, presentation and ego.
• Mark Your Calendars: How to Generate Story Ideas - Freelance writer and PR specialist, Kelle Campbell's report on generating ideas year round.

Lists/Newsletters

• Write What You Know - Lisa Collazo is a licensed clinical social worker and personal and professional writer's coach. She helps writers discover their authentic voice and challenges them to take risks with their writing. You can sign about for her free newsletter on her website or send her an email with the word subscribe in the subject line.
• Writing Sparks Newsletter - Oncewritten.com offers weekly newsletters with daily prompts to get those creative juices flowing; asl well as news on their writing contests, reviews and prize giveaways. The commentary by editor, Monica Poling, gives a look into one writer's life.
• T-Zero: The Writer's E-Zine - A monthy e-zine with articles, fiction and poetry. Produced by Writer's Villiage University.
• Christian Writer's Groups - This is a website for a Yahoo Group of the same name. The site has FAQs, List Guidelines, and other information on the group itself and it's members. It also has links to conferences and other resources for the Christian writer.

Copyright Information

• lawgirl's copyright basics - An upbeat approach to learning about copyright in simple comprehensible lingo. It hasn't been updated in a while but it still a good resource to start.
• What is Copyright Protection - Basic and general copyright information all on one page. Laid out by a licensed corporate attorney.
• Understanding Rights and Copyright - An article by Moira Allen from Writing-World on how copyright affects us as writers in our every day dealings with editors.
• Protect Your Electronic Rights - Moira Allen discusses electronic rights as they relate to: contracts, terms, archiving, and websites.
• Understanding Contracts - How to understand a writing contract, the terms of common contracts, making your own contract and what a contract isn't.
• Rights and Why They're Important - A must read article by Marg Gilks on the different kinds of writing contracts out there and what they mean for the writer and contractor.

Play

• The Writer at Work by - A comic to share the frustrations and challenges of this writer / illustrator.
• Inky Girl by Debbie Ridpath Ohi - An inspirational and funny weblog with cartoons about writers and the writing life. Suitable for many tastes. She knows because she lives the life.
• National Novel Writing Month - The ultimate writing challenge for writers willing to commit to a month long challenge.
• Name Generator - If you can't decide on a name check out this site which will generate some unique first and last names for you.