So you’re a writer. Perhaps you’re still at that fledgling phase, taking those first word-steps into the world of stories and looking for some guidance and support. Or perhaps you’re on your tenth novel and just looking for a jolt of inspiration. Wherever you are in your journey, inevitably there will be moments where a little craft advice comes in handy.
The Internet is full of free (FREE!) blog posts written by us writer-type folk out there. There’s something for everyone, for all tastes. I used to feverishly check out dozens of blogs by my favorite authors back when I was first starting out on my own writing journey, looking for pearls of wisdom from the Great And Published that resonated with me. Over time, I discovered a few that I love enough to keep checking on a regular basis. Here are JUST SOME of my many personal favorites – author blogs that give great writing advice or provide information I can apply to my own work.
Chuck Wendig, for the writer’s blog equivalent of a shot of very dark espresso, or tequila perhaps, depending on the time of the day. Chuck’s blog isn’t for everyone – his writing advice is very sweary and tongue-in-cheek, but so much fun to read.
Jo Zebedee writes extremely candid blog posts on writing and publishing, and you really can’t go wrong for an honest breath of fresh air in the blogosphere. Her posts are always useful and to-the-point.
Thaddeus White’s blog has a mixture of writing posts, book reviews, and gaming write-ups. He’s always interesting, but my favorites are his history posts: prime inspiration material for muse-hungry writers. (I rather like this one on Eastern Empresses.)
The Winged Pen is a writing craft blog run by a group of both published and unpublished writers; there’s always plenty of good advice and they also have a monthly critique session contest.
Jim Butcher’s website has a hidden gem: if you click on his now inactive blog and scroll down to the very first entries, dating from 2004, you’ll find a ton of writing craft info written in Jim’s trademark hilariously snarky style. This was literally the first ‘proper’ writing advice I ever read when I decided to take my own work seriously. I owe Jim big time for helping me complete my first ever novel, back in 2012 when I was still trying to figure out how things worked.
Juliet McKenna has a wonderful blog, with plenty of writing-related posts to browse. If you’re looking for great pieces on writing about subjects such as gender, history, or mental health, this is definitely the place to visit.
Dan Koboldt runs an amazing series of weekly blog posts named Science in Sci-Fi, Fact in Fantasy, which he describes as “a blog series for authors and fans of speculative fiction”. Each week he’s joined by specialists in a number of fields – from biology to space travel – offering their expertise so that writers can get the details right in their work.
Latinxs in Kid Lit has a nice series called The Road to Publishing that focuses on the query/agent/editing side of things. Some great personal stories and information. (And it’s a very nice project that’s worth checking out!)
Juliana Spink Mills 