My Favorite Writing Resources

I may have an English degree, but I never took a single creative writing class in college or otherwise. I have, however, learned a lot from other resources. Here are a few of my favorite.

Turning to Story podcast

Hosted by Anna Mercier and Lyssa Mia Smith, this podcast is full of wonder writing tidbits. I was in Pitch Wars with Anna, and Lyssa was a mentor. I met them both at Yallfest two years ago when we had lunch in a cafe with a dozen people, so I didn’t get to know them well during that time, but I hope they’re okay knowing they feel like some of my close friends now.

This podcast is light, fun, and informative. Nearly every episode has me jotting down notes of things I want to try or ways to revise. It is admittedly full of giggles, but after a while you’re in on the jokes and laughing along with them.

I highly recommend this if you’re looking to level up your craft and don’t know where to start.

Save the Cat Writes a YA Novel by Jessica Brody

I read the original Save the Cat for screenwriters. Then I read Jessica Brody’s novel version, and finally I read her YA version. Each one got more specific to my genre and thus easier to apply, but it took years for me to internalize these beats.

The real genius of Jessica Brody’s books is in nailing the genre and seeing how the beats work in slightly different ways given that category.

If you write YA and have not read any of the above, I recommend the YA version. It includes the same info as the others but with examples from titles you’re probably more familiar with along with some bonus stuff like multiple POVs.

If you do write YA and have read other versions of Save the Cat but not this version, I don’t think you’re missing enough to make buying a copy worth it. Others may disagree.

The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maas

This one was recommended to me early in my writing journey, but at the end of each chapter are actionable strategies to increase the emotional depth of characters and deepen reader experiences. One strategy I frequently use is to write down the emotion your character feels in any given scene. Then write down another emotion, one less obvious, a deeper one, an unexpected one. Now what else is the character feeling? Write that down and write the scene with that emotion at the forefront.

I really struggled to get to know my characters well in this revision, and after trying some other craft books, re-reading this one unlocked them for me.

PandemoniumInc.com

This one is big in my Pitch Wars class. There’s a video titled “Endings” that is fantastic. It’s ninety minutes long, but worth it. The video takes three movies and peels them apart to analyze why the endings are so good, and it all starts in the beginning.

I highly recommend this one for anyone struggling with plot and wanting the pieces of their story to build and fit together.

Your favorite book

One of your best teachers can be your favorite book. I love buying a fresh copy, taking a pencil in hand, and annotating all the writing moves I notice.

Before I wrote my first unreliable narrator, I did this with We Were Liars and Monday’s Not Coming. Since I was struggling with character in this recent round of revisions, I picked up One of Us Is Lying and page by page, line by line, analyzed how McManus became the master of characters.

It’s not a quick process, but it really helps me internalize the craft when I can see it in context of the whole story.