Writing Resources
I have been writing since I was a teenager. Actually before that, I used to cover the little pages in my password journal with words. My point, is I have spent most of my life writing. I love words. I love stories. I love putting stories together. I truly believe in the power of writing and words, especially when those stories and those words cause us to think, challenge our perspective, and enlighten us to new ideas. Stories are powerful. My love for writing is what sent me pursuing my bachelor’s, which wasn’t something I thought I would ever do. I didn’t think school was my deal. What I learned instead was that I thrive in education when I am pursuing things I want to learn about. I’m pretty sure we have all experienced this feeling.
The point is, I’ve been writing and studying writing for a long time. Today, I want to share my favorite resources that have helped me in my writing journey.
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel—This book really helped me figure out how to outline. I have always been a pantser and I wrote all three of my books (mostly) through just writing and throwing words at the blank page. I had used a very loose outline for The Hunt for Christmas. After reading this book though, I have an entire outline for the fun writing I am currently working on. Not only does the outline tell me what is going to happen next, it helps prevent me from going down rabbit trails that don’t help the overall story.
Dabble—There are many writing programs out there. Scrivner is the one I know a lot of authors use and shout their praises from the rooftops. Scrivner didn’t work for me. I also didn’t love using a regular word processor program like Pages or Microsoft Word. I stumbled across Dabble and have been a user ever since. Dabble had everything I wanted when I first started in April 2021 and it has only gotten better over the years and with the updates they have released. My favorite aspects of Dabble are:
User-Friendly, it is very easy to navigate. There is no learning curve.
Focus Mode, literally the screen disappears so you only have the word document and your words in front of you. It really helps me because I tend to want to look up all the things and go down rabbit trails.
Cloud-Based Storage- Everything is stored online via cloud storage. I could be writing on my computer or my iPad and pick up where I left off. I could also add plot points, character notes, and new ideas from my phone. It syncs beautifully. Don’t worry, there is an offline mode and still syncs when you get back online. *Link get you a $20 discount. (I don’t think I get anything from it. It’s just a referral code)
Susan Dennard—This recommendation came from another author I met at Las Vegas Book Fest in 2018. I signed up for her newsletter and her advice is so helpful! Since I started following her, she has continued creating free resources and newsletters but she recently launched an academy with courses. She has been teaching writers for over a decade. She knows her stuff!
Love, Scribe Curriculum—It would be silly to not mention the resources I provide. The workbooks and resources I create are my methods brought to life in a workbook. I have used these very things myself and they have helped tremendously. There’s the Building up Characters workbook in my shop. There is also a workbook of writing prompts and a workbook designed to to help you start writing and finish a draft. These two workbooks are free! I am working on some things for the future of Love, Scribe Curriculum in the writing curriculum area, be sure to be signed up for my emails if you want to know what is coming down the pipeline and when!
When it comes to writing, the most important thing is to put words to paper (real paper or digital paper) You just have to find somewhere to start. Hopefully these resources help you in your own writing journey!
Photo by Unseen Studio on Unsplash