Hi there! It’s the season of wishing, giving, and hopefully, enjoying ourselves again. If you have any new writers in your life, I have a few stocking stuffer ideas to share. If YOU dear reader, are yourself new to writing, feel free to add these items to your own wish list.
Let me begin by saying that it’s not necessarily hard to write something that is bouncing around in your brain. Some things need to get out, so sit down, pick up a pen and start dumping it all on paper. That’s my favorite part – freely writing the afternoon away. But if you want to actually start a writing project – play, poetry, blog, whatever – then you might turn to the web for guidance on the writing craft and the publishing industry….and THAT’s when your brain might implode. Mine did. Zillions of books, webinars, seminars, classes, posts and all sorts of resources came flying at me like a meteor shower, thus causing me to slam my lap top shut and hide under the bed for an hour (and don’t get me started about Twitter).
With this in mind, I have a couple of cool resources to share that were even fun. Definitely do your research, writer friend, because every writer and every project is different. But I hope this post presents you with a few ideas.
1. On Writing, A Memoir of the Craft, by Stephen King.
This is number one on my list for a reason – it blends such insightful advice from one of the best writers ever, with some serious entertainment. Mr. King weaves us through stories of his life, literary and real, that when taken together paint an illuminating picture of the craft and his work. His second forward tells us that “This is a short book, because most books about writing are filled with bullshit.” He goes on to explain why he says this, but I suggest you file it under “good to know” and read on – you will be happy you did.
Oh yeah – If you want the entire right out of New England Stephen King experience, listen to it as an audible book so you can hear right from the man himself. Bangor accent and all!
2. After crawling out from underneath the bed, I found the immensely helpful book The First 50 Pages by Jeff Gerke, left on my bedside table by my wife. I think she realized at the time that writing a book takes a lot of understanding and support from loved ones (thank you, love). Mr. Gerke demystifies the proper structure needed to kick off a book so readers will get hooked on the characters and plot and therefore keep on reading!
3. As far as online resources go, I will always, always recommend the wonderful ladies at manuscriptacademy.com for the endless library of online classes, podcasts, interviews and access to agent faculty. Visit them and you will be a better, more organized writer because of the experience.
4. Finally, what are YOU reading right now? I have a few books on my list that I remember just stopped me in my tracks with the beauty of the words. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr and just about anything that Tana French is writing these days have dog ears on pages where a paragraph or a sentence just made me say wow out loud. If you have a similar ah-ha moment while reading, make a note of it. Ask yourself why the passage grabbed you. Research the author because you can always learn from the best.
So, I hope this helps out anyone who is shopping for a writer, or wants to start writing on ones own. I’m now working on the early pages of my second book, and find myself going back to these wonderful resources that are now well known to me. Thank goodness.
Happy Holidays Friends!
