A Writer’s Toolbox

Part 1: Online Resources

Writers need tools they can rely on to help build their best story, edit it, publish and publicize it. Unfortunately, much like the hardware section at Lowe’s, the plethora of options can be overwhelming. In this two-part series, I will share what I use and invite you to comment with tools you have in your writer’s toolbox.

This first part will take a look at online resources. Let’s face it, most of the time it’s easier to throw a search into Duck Duck Go (or [sigh] Google) than it is to pull out a tome and leaf through it looking for that one bit of advice you remember was in there. Was it in Chapter 5 or Chapter 6?

Advancedfictionwriting.com is a great overall resource for everything from How to write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method to Writing the Perfect Scene. If your question is craft or publishing or what to do at what stage of your writing life, there are tips aplenty here.

My browser’s homepage is powerthesaurus.org. This is an open source thesaurus and dictionary, and I find it much faster than hauling out a Roget’s. Plus you can quickly link results to find the word you’re really looking for.

Need a quick shot of motivation, inspiration, or education? Writingexcuses.com is a weekly podcast designed to do just that. Hosted by a Hugo Award-winning team (including Mary Robinette Kowal and Brandon Sanderson), episodes are around 15-minutes long and designed to pump you up and get you back to writing.

Short story writer? Trying out a novella or novelette? Then you must join Submission Grinder and/or Duotrope. Both list periodicals, anthologies, and other markets for everything from flash fiction to novels. They cover most genres (The Grinder has expanded past spec fic) and while Duotrope has a monthly cost of $5.00 and Submission Grinder is free, Duotrope sends weekly emails about newly opened markets and markets closing to submissions. When it comes to a writer’s toolbox, knowing your market options is essential.

Having Good Tools is Preferable to Having A Lot of Tools

I’ve published through Kindle Direct Publishing and through Draft2Digital.com. To publicize my works, I have author pages on Amazon, BookBub, Goodreads, Books2Read, and AllAuthor.com. That’s in addition to my Facebook page and this website. I’ve never run a Facebook ad, but I have done a free promotion through Amazon’s Kindle Direct (KDP) and that gave my sales a shot in the arm.

Other resources that get a lot of traffic include Writer Beware, which is like Snopes.com for writers in that it identifies scams, misleading publishers/agents/editors, industry professionals with false credentials, phony promotions, etc. Of course QueryTracker.net is where to go to find an agent and Publishers Marketplace is the primo site for keeping up with what’s happening in publishing.

These are just a few of the online resources I have bookmarked on my browser (yes, Duck Duck Go). There are others, but now I’m interested in learning what online tools you have in your writer’s toolbox.