I’ve always loved words and played at poetry, but writing wasn’t my first love. As I read more and more fiction, I found myself wanting to change the story or the characters. Writing my own books seemed like a solution. But it was infinitely harder to put into practice than I originally envisioned. I tried writing erotica and did okay at that. Then I signed up for NaNoWriMo and wrote a couple of novels that were complete junk. Writing good stories was a lot harder than I thought!
Fast forward many years. I’ve learned a lot. Below are some of the resources I used to help improve my craft. In addition to books and blogs, I connected with other authors. Authors who were brutally honest in just how much I had to learn. I also work with fantastic editors. Because no matter how well you write, you can’t see your errors in the forest of your own words.
Groups
Passionate Ink – This not-for-profit writing organization out grew the limitations of the national RWA organization and is now an independent member-focused group providing networking, support, and training for writers of all genres, but primarily erotic romance and erotic fiction.
NaNoWriMo – This is the National Novel Writing Month non-profit that encourages people to write 50,000 words in November. The great thing about participating, besides getting a lot of writing done is that there are municipal groups. People are participating near you and meeting up at coffee shops and libraries to write. These were the first fellow writers I connected with.
Reference Books
I receive no benefit from recommending these books. I’m grateful to the authors for sharing their expertise with others. I’m not including links so you can purchase from your preferred vendor if you choose.
Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hays
Story Genius by Lisa Cron
The Emotional Thesaurus by Ackerman and Puglisi
Screenwriting Tricks for Authors by Alexandra Sokoloff
Naughty Words for Nice Writers by Cara Bristol
Writing Blogs
I also enjoy bite-sized learning and follow a couple of blogs.
Helping Writers Become Authors – K.M. Weiland
Marketing Books
The Book Marketing Audit: Get Better Results with a Better Plan by Kilby Blades