Training
Training in Fiction Writing
Anyone serious about writing would benefit greatly by joining a writers group. I highly recommend American Christian Fiction Writers, a national organization with tons of online resources and a national conference. ACFW also has local chapters in some states. Click on the logo to learn more.
LINKS ON WRITING
- Helping Writers Become Authors
- Creating Stunning Character Arcs Parts 1-15
- Story Mastery
- Learn How to Write A Novel
- Advanced Fiction Writing - The Snowflake Method
- Writing Careers: The Business Behind Becoming An Author
BOOKS ON WRITING
The first three books helped me the most when I first started out.
- GMC: Goal, Motivation, and Conflict by Debra Dixon
- Fiction Writing Demystified by Thomas B. Sawyer
- Stein on Writing by Sol Stein
- The Writers Journey by Christopher Vogler
- Myth and the Movies by Stuart Voytilla
- Getting into Character by Brandilyn Collins
- Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell
- A Novel Idea by ChiLibris (an assortment of best selling authors)
- The Art & Craft of Writing Christian Fiction by Jeff Gerke
- The Moral Premise by Stanley D. Williams, Ph.D.
- Creating Character Emotions by Ann Hood
- Hooked by Les Edgerton
- The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman
- The Plot Thickens by Noah Lukeman
- Plot Versus Character by Jeff Gerke
Resources
Resources
- Power Thesaurus
- Merriam-Webster Dictionary
- Top Names by Decade
- Surnames
- Online Etymology Dictionary
- The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi
Connect
Connect
The following are Facebook groups I've found helpful. Please note that some groups require permission to join.
- Legal Fiction
- Cozy Mystery Writers
- Cozy and Traditional Mystery Writers
- Save Our Cozies
- Christian Fiction Fans
- Christian Fiction Lovers
- Christian Writers and Poets
- All About Books
NaNoWriMo
NaNoWriMo
In addition to the links above, another fun way to connect with other authors is through NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month.) It takes place in November and is set up to encourage people to write a book in a month. I did it successfully one year, (which tells you I've also done it unsuccessfully, but had fun nonetheless.) That book became Crossroads Bay, book #2 in the Oregon series, published in 2011 by Barbour Publishing, Inc. The beauty of this event is that one can be as social or as unsocial as they want. Groups are set up if you truly need that human "contact" or write to your heart's content and upload your stats without telling anyone. Great for both extroverts and introverts!
I'm an introvert. To paraphrase the Carl's Jr. commercial, "Don't bother me. I'm writing."
