Resources

Funding Resources

FundsforWriters

FundsforWriters is a comprehensive resource for writers seeking financial support and opportunities. Founded by C. Hope Clark, the site offers information on grants, fellowships, contests, and markets that pay writers. The website is known for its high-quality content and has been recognized by Writer’s Digest as one of the 101 Best Websites for Writers for 23 consecutive years.

Key features include:

The site emphasizes practical advice and opportunities that can help writers make a living from their craft. 

Link: https://fundsforwriters.com/

Writing Resources

Stein on Writing

"Stein on Writing" offers practical advice for writers of all levels, focusing on actionable solutions to improve and create engaging writing. With examples from bestsellers and student drafts, Stein covers characterization, dialogue, pacing, and more. This book is a hands-on guide to enhancing both fiction and nonfiction writing.

Link: https://amzn.to/3zMBZrn

Building Great Sentences: Exploring the Writer's Craft

This 24-lecture course explores the art of crafting great sentences with Professor Landon's lively and engaging approach. Through examples from famous writers, you'll learn about sentence structures that create suspense, balance, and rhythm. By understanding what makes great writing tick, you'll be able to apply these techniques to your own writing.

Link: https://amzn.to/3BUP6qM

Structuring Your Novel: Essential Keys for Writing an Outstanding Story

This guide, from the author of Outlining Your Novel, teaches writers how to master story and scene structure to create powerful plots and character arcs. You'll learn techniques for pacing, progression, and identifying common weaknesses to turn into strengths. By applying these principles, you'll be able to craft a compelling narrative that engages readers.

Link: https://amzn.to/4f2KOfg

Creating Character Arcs: The Masterful Author's Guide to Uniting Story Structure, Plot, and Character Development

Internationally published novelist K.M. Weiland teaches writers how to craft memorable and moving character arcs using her acclaimed method. By applying the Three-Act Story Structure and exploring realistic human change, you'll learn how to create compelling character development. This comprehensive guide will help you avoid common pitfalls and master the art of writing engaging character arcs.

Link: https://amzn.to/3BJBONV

Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success

This guide helps writers understand and effectively use outlines to improve their writing process. You'll learn how to choose the right type of outline for your needs, brainstorm plot ideas, and structure scenes. With expert advice from ten respected authors, you'll discover how to unlock the full potential of outlining to achieve writing success.

Link: https://amzn.to/3Y7aWz2

Writing Your Story's Theme: The Writer's Guide to Plotting Stories That Matter

This guide shows writers how to create powerful themes that emerge from strong plots and resonant character arcs, rather than just being abstract ideas. You'll learn how to plan and implement theme effectively, deepening your writing ability and crafting stories that resonate with readers. By mastering theme, you can write fiction of depth and meaning that stays with readers long after the story ends.

Link: https://amzn.to/4h7cMJ0

Point of View: How to use the different POV types, avoid head-hopping, and choose the best point of view for your book

This book teaches writers how to master point of view (POV) to engage, captivate, and emotionally involve their readers. You'll learn about the different types of POV, how to choose the right one for your story, and how to avoid common mistakes that can confuse or alienate your audience. By mastering POV techniques, you'll be able to draw readers into your story and keep them hooked from start to finish.

Link: https://amzn.to/3U2wknB

Show, Don't Tell: How to write vivid descriptions, handle backstory, and describe your characters’ emotions

This book helps writers master the art of showing, not telling, by providing concrete examples and exercises to improve their writing skills. You'll learn how to spot and fix telling in your manuscript, turn bland passages into compelling scenes, and avoid danger areas that can bore or confuse readers. By mastering showing techniques, you'll be able to immerse readers in your story and keep them captivated from start to finish.

Link: https://amzn.to/3YkVsc2

Write Great Beginnings: How to start a novel, hook readers from page one, avoid common first-chapter problems

This book teaches writers how to craft a compelling opening chapter that hooks readers from the first page and makes agents and editors take notice. You'll learn how to write a strong beginning, avoid common mistakes, and incorporate essential elements such as inciting incidents, character introductions, and setting descriptions. By mastering the art of writing a great opening, you'll be able to draw readers into your story and keep them engaged from start to finish.

Link: https://amzn.to/3ZYMv9x

Story Engineering: Mastering the 6 Core Competencies of Successful Writing

This book teaches writers how to approach storytelling as an engineering process, using a framework of six core competencies to create effective and engaging stories. You'll learn how to combine concept, character, theme, story structure, scene construction, and writing voice to craft compelling narratives. By mastering these elements, you'll be able to create stories that are more than the sum of their parts, with a depth and complexity that will resonate with readers.

Link: https://amzn.to/405ayDS

The Writer's Guide to Emotions and Expressions

This comprehensive guide combines two bestselling handbooks to help writers craft compelling characters and create engaging stories. You'll learn how to evoke realistic emotions, visceral responses, and body language through descriptive writing techniques and find inspiration for word choices with the included Thesaurus. This updated edition provides practical methods to enhance characterization and is a valuable reference for any writer looking to improve their storytelling skills.

Link: https://amzn.to/3XXf1pa

Fiction Editing Tools: Guide to Expressions and Emotions

This comprehensive guide combines four bestselling writing handbooks into one volume, offering over 600 pages of guidance on characterization, settings, scenes, and emotions. You'll learn how to craft engaging stories with vivid descriptions, natural expressions, and realistic settings, and overcome common writing challenges such as showing vs. telling issues. This ultimate writing manual includes tools, templates, and expert advice to help you create page-turning first chapters, three-dimensional characters, and emotional connections with your readers.

Link: https://amzn.to/405aCn6

The Writer's Guide to Book Cover Secrets

This guidebook helps indie authors boost their book sales by leveraging the power of effective book covers and branding. You'll learn exclusive tips on how to design a compelling cover, market your book strategically, and capture your target audience's attention. By focusing on a genre-specific cover, you can increase your chances of success in the competitive world of self-publishing.

Link: https://amzn.to/3Y83LX8

How to Write Pulp Fiction

This book teaches writers how to write pulp fiction and achieve success in the genre, using techniques employed by legendary authors like Raymond Chandler and Erle Stanley Gardner. You'll learn how to be more prolific, craft effective plots, elevate your writing style, and market your work to reach a wider audience. By mastering the secrets of pulp fiction, any writer can tap into its timeless appeal and create stories that sell.

Link: https://amzn.to/3Y83Slw

Super Structure: The Key to Unleashing the Power of Story

This book provides a comprehensive guide to structuring novels and screenplays, using a proven system that can be applied by writers of all styles. The "Super Structure" method breaks down into 14 key "signpost scenes" or beats that can be used to create a solid and engaging plot. By mastering these signposts, writers can create stories that are entertaining, commercial, original, and irresistible, and increase their chances of success in the writing industry.

Link: https://amzn.to/3NpFozi

The Last Fifty Pages: The Art and Craft of Unforgettable Endings

This book provides guidance on how to craft unforgettable endings for novels and screenplays, focusing on the final 50 pages of a story. You'll learn techniques for creating impactful conclusions that leave readers with lasting impressions and satisfy their emotional investment in the characters and plot. By mastering the art of crafting memorable endings, writers can elevate their stories and leave a lasting impact on their audience.

Link: https://amzn.to/3U7m79G

Write Great Scenes: Master Techniques to Create Scenes That Keep Readers Enthralled

This book teaches writers the skills needed to craft un-put-downable stories by learning how to write great scenes, the fundamental building blocks of any novel. You'll discover the four critical elements that every great scene needs and gain access to a toolkit of page-turner techniques to elevate your writing. By mastering these tools, you can create scenes that will keep readers engaged and invested in your story.

Link: https://amzn.to/3U2wBa7

Writing with the Master: How One of the World’s Bestselling Authors Fixed My Book and Changed My Life

This memoir tells the story of Tony Vanderwarker's journey as a writer, who gets a chance to work with bestselling author John Grisham on writing a thriller. With Grisham's guidance, Tony learns the secrets of crafting a compelling plot and developing his writing skills through a series of critiques and feedback sessions. The book offers a behind-the-scenes look at the writing process and serves as a master class in thriller writing for aspiring authors.

Link: https://amzn.to/3U7mgKg

The Comprehensive Guide to World Building: Everything You Need to Know for ALL Genres!

This comprehensive guide helps writers create a believable and engaging story world by providing an in-depth look at the key elements required for each of over 30 genres and subgenres of fiction. By learning how to develop a richly detailed story world, authors can deepen their characters' experiences, advance their plot, and strengthen their story structure. The guide makes building a story world easy and fast with suggested tools and techniques tailored to specific genres.

Link: https://amzn.to/3ZZIbH7

Story Tropes by Genre: How to Make Popular Story Tropes Fresh and Exciting

This book helps writers make popular story tropes fresh and exciting by providing guidance on how to subvert, twist, or turn them in unique ways. By learning how to put a new spin on familiar tropes, authors can create engaging stories that stand out from the crowd. The book covers various genres, including romance, science fiction, fantasy, mystery, and more, offering practical tips for making tropes work in different contexts.

Link: https://amzn.to/404o2zr

How I Sold 100,000 Children's Books (and left my job to write full time): Self-Publishing on Amazon, IngramSpark, and Audible

This book shares the author's personal story of how they successfully sold 100,000 copies of their children's books through self-publishing and marketing. The author reveals practical tips and strategies for increasing visibility, advertising, pricing, and profiting from writing and selling children's books. By sharing their real-life experiences and lessons learned, the author aims to help others achieve success in publishing and selling their own children's books.

Link: https://amzn.to/3YnZoJ9

Storytelling for Social Change

The Centre for Stories

The Centre for Stories is a literary arts and cultural organization based in Perth, Western Australia. Its mission is to use storytelling to inspire cohesion and understanding within the community. They offer a variety of programs to help people share their stories, whether through writing or oral storytelling. These programs cater to early, emerging, and established writers and poets, providing them with the tools and confidence to tell their stories effectively.

The Centre also hosts events, workshops, and fellowships, and maintains a rich archive of stories that highlight diverse and underrepresented voices. Their goal is to create a more inclusive and informed community through the power of storytelling.

StoryCorps

StoryCorps records, preserves, and shares stories from people of all backgrounds and beliefs, aiming to build connections and create a more just and compassionate world.

Narrative 4

Narrative 4 is focused on fostering empathy through storytelling, Narrative 4 connects people from different backgrounds to share their stories and build understanding.

Storytellers for Change

Storytellers for Change offers storytelling workshops, online courses, and consulting services to amplify the impact of changemakers, educators, and organizations.

Narrative Arts

Narrative Arts provides a strategy guide for organizers, activists, and social entrepreneurs who want to create positive social change through storytelling.

Edward Ginsberg Center

Edward Ginsberg Center helps community organizations capture and share stories that illustrate the heart of their work, while creating skill-building opportunities for students.

Sisonke Msimang

In her TED Talk, "If a story moves you, act on it," Sisonke Msimang emphasizes the profound impact of storytelling while cautioning against relying solely on narratives to drive change. She argues that while stories can inspire and move us, they are not substitutes for real-world action and engagement. Msimang highlights the importance of balancing storytelling with factual accuracy and urges listeners to step away from passive consumption of stories and take concrete steps to address social injustices and create meaningful change in their communities.