Creative Writing Resources
These pages serve as a collection of resources I find useful, and also as a personal journal where I jot down some notes on each resource. Originally these were just notes inside Microsoft OneNote. But the more I thought about it, the more it became clear to me that there was no reason to keep those notes private. This collection of resources is just me sharing resources I’m using, I hope you find something useful here.
Books
I’m very fond of craft books. Really, I might be addicted to them. I should be writing instead of reading about writing, but some of those books are sooooo good.
- Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction.
- All the worldbuilding guides by Angeline Trevena, they’re awesome. Start with 30 days of worldbuilding.
- Howdunit: A Masterclass in Crime Writing by Members of the Detection Club.
- Steering the Craft: Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew.
- Ten Things About Writing: Build Your Story, One Word at a Time.
- Write Faster, Write Smarter book series.
- The Writers & Artists yearbook
Youtube Channels
These are some channels that I think provide amazing content about creative writing. Really, if you take nothing away from this collection of resources, at least check these links.
Recently this video about the “start with the maps” quote from J.R.R. Tolkien made me stop to think about creative writing and my own journey. There’s some really clever advise in that video and it is not start with the maps.
Podcasts
These podcasts are sources of everlasting wisdom. Don’t miss them.
Associations
I really think that self-publishing and being an indie is the way to go for me and many other authors. There is an association that focus on our needs and challenges, it is The Alliance of Independent Authors. Check them out and join our indie revolution.
Both the British Fantasy Society and the British Science Fiction Association have been a wonderful source of new friendships and discoveries for me. Their publications, groups, and events have been a lifeline that introduced me to the SFF community in the UK.
Courses
A course I took couple years ago that I really benefited from was the Self-publishing formula. Their course and event are both really good. The event had a big impact on me, specially when hanging out and chatting with the other members of the audience. In the various events I’ve been I ended up meeting many authors (including some of my favourites, yay!). A lot of traditionally published authors I’ve met kept an unrelated day job. In the self-published formula convention, I met more full-time writers than in any other event. This showed me that it was indeed possible to be a self-published author and pay your bills. I’m not there yet, but knowing it is a possibility warms my heart.
Exercises
Exercises are a great way to feel like you’re writing while avoiding the damn novel you should be working on, I mean, exercises are a cool way of improving your writing skills.
- Drabbles: A drabble is a short work of fiction of precisely one hundred words in length. The purpose of the drabble is brevity, testing the author’s ability to express interesting and meaningful ideas in a confined space.
Plot Structures
I really enjoy plot structures. I understand that they alone can’t make for a good story, but I feel that understanding these structures and patterns will make it easier for you to craft your own stories.
Maybe it is a bit of nostalgia. I studied in a film school and they drilled both the three act structure and the hero’s journey in us all. I really loved those classes. It was only when I moved to the UK, started to really think about changing to a writing career, and decided to study story craft more deeply, that I learned about all the other structures. It was like discovering a little treasure chest. There has always been stories that I enjoyed but couldn’t really place in the three act structure or the hero’s journey—with apologies to Joseph Campbell—that were finally unlocked when I learned about other structures such as the Fichtean Curve.
- Dan Harmon’s Story Circle: The Dan Harmon Story Circle, or Plot Embryo, created by Dan Harmon, has quickly risen through the plot structure ranks to become one of the most popular plotting methods out there, rivalling similar structures like the hero’s journey.
- Freitag’s Pyramid: Freitag’s Pyramid is geared towards tragedies. Great if you’re channeling your inner Shakespeare.
- The Hero’s Journey: The Hero’s Journey is one of the most recognizable plot structures of them all. Learn it before moving to more complex patterns.
- Three-Act Structure: The Three-Act structure is the most commonly found structure in Western literature. A good understanding of this structure is needed to fully appreciate its variations.