Resources for Writers

After I compiled the Big List of Fantasy Resources over on reddit I thought that I might as well pop it up here as well!

I’ll be amending this list as well as and when so if you check back later to find something else, don’t be surprised if there’s a few new things there too!

General Writing Books

Fantasy Specific Writing Books

Online Fantasy Resources

Ursula K. Le Guin’s Essays On Writing:

Brent Weeks’ Writing Advice:

  1. General Writing Advice
  2. Writing Fantasy: Tools & Techniques
  3. Understanding the Business of Publishing
  4. Writing Questions Brent Frequently Has to Say No To
  5. Writing Interview

Ten Tips from George R R Martin

> Darren Shan’s Writing Advice

Table of Contents:

PART ONE – GETTING STARTED

  • One – Age.
  • Two – Education.
  • Three – Ideas.
  • Four – Risky Business.
  • Five – Writing Habits.
  • Six – Daily Page Count.
  • Seven – Family And Friends.
  • Eight – Seeking Feedback.
  • Nine – Defining Success.

PART TWO – THE NUTS AND BOLTS

  • Ten – Beginnings.
  • Eleven – Plotting.
  • Twelve – First Drafts.
  • Thirteen – Seeing It Through.
  • Fourteen – Editing.
  • Fifteen – Editors.
  • Sixteen – Hard Work.
  • Seventeen – Unpublished Work.
  • Eighteen – Writer’s Block.
  • Nineteen – Rejection.

PART THREE – BITS AND PIECES

  • Twenty – Attention To Detail.
  • Twenty One – Surrendering Control.
  • Twenty Two – Style.
  • Twenty Three – Limiting The Shocks.
  • Twenty Four – Audience Expectations.
  • Twenty Five – Series Stuff.
  • Twenty Six – Titles.
  • Twenty Seven – Public Events.
  • Twenty Eight – Other Business.
  • Twenty Nine – Hollywood.
  • Thirty – Think Big!

Holly Black Writing Advice

David Brin Writing Advice

Trudi Canavan Writing Advice

Neil Gaiman’s Advice to Authors

Shawn Speakman gives advice to his younger self

Jan Yolen’s Advice for Writers

Gareth Powell’s 8 Steps To Becoming A Published Writer

Fantasy Faction’s Writing Articles[42]

China Miéville’s advice on Novel Structure for Beginners (on /r/writing)

Dan Harmon’s Story Structure 101; Super Basic Shit (as on /r/writing)

Kurt Vonnegut on the Shapes of Stories and 8 Basics of Creative Writing via /r/writing

Margaret Atwood’s Happy Endings and 10 Tips for Writing via /r/writing

Write About Dragons resources that pull together two years of Brandon Sanderson’s writing lectures

Brandon Sanderson’s 2014 Lectures[48] with extra bonus links for older lectures!

Limyaael’s Rants – “a wealth of advice, warnings, and witty commentary on just about every aspect of constructing a story – from character design, to worldbuilding, to avoiding cliches.”

Medieval Style Fighting: A Quick and Dirty Guide from /r/Fantasywriters very own /u/Azincourt

A Guide To Travel in a Fantasy Setting: Travel by Foot & Horse

Writing Podcasts

Fantasy and Sci Fi Writing Podcasts

  • Writing Excuses with Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Howard Taylor, and Mary Robinette Kowal (average of 15-20 minutes runtime)
  • The Dead Robots Society (approximately an hour runtime, give or take 10-15 minutes)
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