I’m not an expert when it comes to writing. I definitely criticize myself on word choices, needing to differentiate my adjectives, use more metaphors, etc. However, the fact I know those things— that I can recognize that a section might be a little bland, that perhaps the scene isn’t portraying the message I want— means I’m doing something right! Even if I don’t know what the problem is, I can generally sense something is wrong and when my editor/beta reader/whoever looks at my work and confirms it, that always feels amazing! This is why I trust myself in my writing: though I’m not the best and I make mistakes… I can at least understand and see those mistakes.
This is my best attempt at some guidance to other new writers: I didn’t get college courses or a degree, unfortunately. I wanted to… but my area didn’t have what I needed, and I’d rather not waste time. I have, however, read a lot— and not only that, but I’ve read and focused on what interests me (i.e watching films, etc); and that’s what I write about. I’ve been teaching myself everything I want to know about what I want to write, so that when I am writing, it makes it a bit easier to see if something is wrong. Does that make sense?
Everyone needs to find their own path when it comes to writing a book. Sure, there are some amazing tools & guides out there… which I’ll direct you to now, haha!
Let me know if there are any others I should add to the bank– it’d be great to host a compendium of knowledge for writers here on my very own website 🤩
Worksheets & Resources
How to Write a Book: A Book for Anyone Who Has Never Written a Book (But Wants To) by Lauren Bingham
How To Write A Book Guide: 101 Dream To A Book Tips And Tutorial by Earma Brown
Start Writing Your Book Today: A Step-by-Step Plan to Write Your Nonfiction Book, From First Draft to Finished Manuscript by Morgan Gist MacDonald
Free Novel Writing Worksheets (PDFs) from Novel Factory
“5 planning tools for novel writing: Scrivener, Scapple, Xmind, Aeon Timeline and Trello” Blog Article by Medium
The 7 Writing Styles by Reedsy YouTube Channel
The Archive of Story Writing Academy
Aeon Timeline: A powerful, flexible visual timeline and tracking software designed to help writers, project managers, legal professionals, and researchers map out complex chronologies.
Storyflow: A free, medium-neutral canvas where your whole plot, character motives, and beats live together and can be read contextually by an integrated AI before you lock into a final format.
Reedsy Studio: A free online book planning app featuring visual “Boards” to map out chapters, organize character profiles, research locations, and arrange plot cards.
Wavemaker: A 100% free, full cross-platform writing and planning application designed specifically for story organization.
Twine: An open-source tool best suited for planning interactive, branching, or non-linear stories.
Notion: A customizable database system where you can build your own or use free community templates to track story beats, lore, and characters.