For Writers

As a writer at heart, I am always seeking to learn and to share what I’m learning. This page will undergo changes from time to time to add new resources and ideas for writers.

Writing Craft Books I Like: These books have been helpful to me on the writing journey.

1. The Art of War For Writers, by James Scott Bell (available here)
2. Plot and Structure, by James Scott Bell (available here)
3. Revision and Self-Editing, by James Scott Bell (available here)
4. From the Inside Out . . . Discover, Create and Publish the Novel In You, by Susan May Warren and Rachel Hauck (available here)
5. Deep and Wide: Advanced Fiction Techniques, by Susan May Warren (available here)
6. The Book Buddy, by Susan May Warren (available here)
7. Idea Sparking, How to Brainstorm Conflict in Your Novel, by Michelle Lim (available here)
8. Plot Versus Character, by Jeff Gerke (available here)
9. Getting Into Character, by Branidlyn Collins (available here)

Writing Resources:

This is a template I developed to aid in making sense of writing contest scores. For more information follow this link. This is a free download. Enjoy! Contest Evaluation Template, copyright (c) 2013 Jeanne Takenaka

Helpful Blogs:

Social Media:

1. The Write Conversation~Edie Melson Mahoney shares her wisdom on technology, social media, writing craft and words of encouragement
2. Jill Kemerer~Jill has a wonderful blog that shares social media wisdom, encourages writers and appeals to people from many walks of life

Writing Craft:

1. Learn How To Write a Novel~A fabulous site for aspiring writers at all levels, with blogs, and so much more.
2. MBT Ponderers~A beautiful blog geared toward writers and readers. This group of authors and writers blog twice weekly about writer life and real life.
3. Seekerville~A wonderful group of published authors who share their writerly wisdom, real life experiences and have frequent guest posts by authors and industry professionals
4. The Writer’s Alley~Daily posts by a group of writers from various genres. Great posts about writing, the writing life and indie publishing.
5. Thoughts on Plot~Michelle Lim and her crew are excellent at writing blog posts that help writers evaluate the twists and turns of novel writing. Michelle’s a suspense writer and gifted brainstormer, and all of her co-writers are published authors.. I’ve learned a lot from this blog.

Agent Blogs:

1. Books and Such Literary Agency
2. Steve Laube-Christian Literary Agent

Other Resources:

Writing Careers: The Business Behind Becoming an Author