Writer Resources
On this page, hopefully you'll find a lot of great different communities, websites, and tools to use on your writing journey. I strongly encourage writers to reach out to others, whether you are a complete novice or a seasoned pro, to utilize the resources that are already out there online, and to never be afraid to ask for help or support! I hope that you find these resources helpful in all of your writing endeavors. If there are any good resources out there that are not included on my list, please let me know so that I can add them!
Happy writing!
Make a Map!
This website is a fantastic way to visualize your setting and the space that your characters inhabit. Set the density of your population, mark important buildings, create geographical features to make your town or city feel just like you want it.
Plan Out Your Plot
Resources for Visualizing and Pacing Plot
It's easy to sometimes get lost in ideas and to forget the pacing and structure of what you want your story to be. But there are a number of great worksheets and visualizers available to help you keep sight of your plot!
I would recommend:
Annie Neugebauer's Plot Worksheet
This video on Story Engineering Larry Brooks
Edit Your Writing
This website will keep you honest about run on sentences, adverb overkill, and other mistakes that we often don't notice while we're writing. Hemingway lets me know when I'm rambling, when my wording is clunky, and could help you as a proofreader of sorts!
Write - Or Else!!
When you feel like you can't write anything and you're just stuck - look no further than The Most Dangerous Writing App. Writing in this app is not for the faint of heart, however. This app forces you to keep writing for the amount of time that you set by threatening to delete ALL of your writing if you don't keep going. It's thrilling, brutal, and effective!
Character Names
Places to find worthy names for your fantastic characters!
Nameberry
Nameberry is by far my favorite place to search for character names. Though it's technically a baby name site, I love to peruse it when I'm looking for character inspiration!They have compiled enormous lists of names, have statistics on name popularity throughout history, origins of names, linguistic meanings of names - they have practically everything you need to name your character.
Behind the Name
Behind the Name is another great naming resource. Behind the Name shows names by region or country of origin, and each name has a blurb on its meaning, its derivatives, and its history. Definitely worth checking out, especially if you're writing a historical piece and want very old-sounding names!
Name Generator
Name Generator is a really useful resource in that you don't even need to know what you're looking for, but you will still find some great names! You can plug in what information you know about your character (their gender, ethnicity, nationality, etc.) and a number of names will pop up. Name Generator can generate not only first names, but surnames, place names, pet names, team names - anything you can think of! It will also generate specific types of names, like pirate names, hero or villain names, fantasy names, and more. Get generating!
Check out The Young Writers Initiative!
Find resources and workshops, connect with other young writers,
and find a community that wants to help you hone your writing!
The Young Writers Initiative prides itself on helping up-and-coming novelists, poets, and creatives of all kinds by providing needed resources. They can help young writers with everything from editing to workshops, contests to book covers. They have mentorship and summer programs, and even a large community through book clubs and Slack chats. TYWI says its pillars are accessibility, creativity, feedback, service, and education, and tries its hardest to empower young writers to make their writing dreams a reality.