Hello! The Book Bardess is back with her top 10 resources for fantasy writers! (or writers in general). Looking for help on structuring your latest novel? Have you fallen to The Great Enemy Procrastination and can’t seem to knock him away? These blogs, websites, or books might help. Let’s dive in!
K.M. Weiland’s blog: Helping Writers Become Authors
I am a full-on plotter, and I know I’m not the only one. Weiland does an amazing job explaining plot, theme, and character using the 3-Act Structure. I began exploring Weiland’s blog when I was writing Knightfall. The problem with Knightfall was that the middle sagged.
Nothing happened.
The plot was stagnant.
After subscribing to read Weiland’s weekly tips and implementing what she said, I was able to build a plot that didn’t sag in the middle! Key word: implementing!
Are you serious about publishing but aren’t sure how to build your platform? Have you published a book but it’s not selling well? Check out Thomas Umstattd Jr.’s website and blog! With posts from how to please your varrious readers to how to build an awesome website, you’ll find lots of advice and experience here.
For Ye Medievalists and Fantasy Writers:
Rebecca Shedd’s blog archives are a huge resource for medieval fantasy or historical writers! Here you’ll learn everything from the different clothing trends in the 12th century to how they sailed ships. I love this place because not only is it an awesome store of research, it’s a great place for the history geeks!
You want to plot or edit your first novel, but the problem is, you don’t have a ton of time to scroll through long posts. Did you know, Story Embers’ downloadable pdfs are super easy to fill out and are an awesome help? Want to go a step further and receive weekly writing tips or grab the opportunity to join webinars and summits with other writers? Subscribe to their email list!
Creating Character Arcs by K.M. Weiland
Get the same structuring advice as with Weiland’s blog without having to spend hours online! It has basically the same things as the blog, just in paper form.
Getting Into Character by Brandilyn Collins
Brandilyn has some great tips for crafting characters, from subtexting to finding out your character’s core motivation. I have used the second chapter of Getting Into Character so many times that I don’t even have to open it up anymore to remember what to do!
5 Editors Tackle 12 Major Flaws of Fiction by C.S. Laskin
I had just finished a draft of Knightfall. As I sat looking at almost 100 pages of a Google doc, I wondered how I was going to edit it all. This book helped me a ton and it will help you, too. It explains 12 major problems a lot of writers struggle with, gives examples and signs that you might have this problem in your novel, and shows you how to fix it!
For Ye Procrastinators & Writers with Severe Cases of Writer’s Block:
The Most Dangerous Writing App
Have you ever sat down prepared to write and then all of a sudden you couldn’t think of anything to say? The Most Dangerous Writing App motivates and forces you to write something fast. Keep writing or all progress will be lost! Some find this tool stressful, others think it’s the best way to get words on the page. Personally, I’m the latter.
For Ye Grammar Nerds (Or Grammar Oppositionists):
I am definitely an Oppositionist. However, especially when doing line edits for Knightfall, I found Word Hippo to be extremely useful!
A notebook & pen
I know, I know. This isn’t the kind of resource you were looking for. But the truth is, no website, book, or pdf can make you write words on a page. The only way to write a novel is to sit down and actually write. So, what are you waiting for?