Community: Writers
Veteran editor Don McNair lays out an easy-to-follow and systematic method for clearing up foggy writing—writing that’s full of extra, misused, and overused words—in this guide to producing sparkling copy that attracts readers, agents, editors, and sales. McNair explains the common mistakes made by most writers and shows how eliminating unnecessary words strengthens action, shorten sentences, and makes writing crackle with life. Containing 21 simple, straightforward principles, Editor-Proof Your Writing teaches how to edit weak verb forms, strip away author intrusions, ban redundancies, eliminate foggy phrases, correct passive-voice sentences, slash misused and overused words, and fix other writing mistakes. A superb addition to any writer’s toolkit, this book will not only make writing clearer and more grammatical, it will also make it more concise, entertaining, and appealing to publishers.
"Don McNair's Editor-Proof Your Writing is the perfect workshop-in-a-book for fiction writers, and a must-have for any beginner." —Dianna Love, New York Times bestselling author
Tip from Dianna: Find YOUR process! Don't let anyone - plotter, seat-of-pants writer, other - tell you that any one way to write is better/more creative/more efficient than another. The only thing you must do is write the best story you can.
PROFESSIONAL WRITING ORGANIZATIONS
(Many have annual conferences - workshops and great place to meet other writers, agents, editors)
Society of Childrens' Book Writers and Illustrators
International Thriller Writers
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
Romance Writers of America (largest writing org)
Novelists Inc (NINC)
Kiss of Death (home of Daphne du Maurier Award)
WRITING REFERENCE BOOKS
BREAK INTO FICTION®: 11 Steps to Building a Story that Sells by NYT best seller Dianna Love and Award-winning author Mary Buckham (ISBN 1-60550-015-1 - Adam’s Media)
Writing Active Setting by Mary Buckham is out (2013). Setting can bog down your pacing ... or add rich story elements while exposing character and plot details that pull your reader deeper into a story. Pick up a copy and take your writing up another entire level.
Book Marketing, Book Trailers and Author Etiquette in a Nutshell by Sheila English of COS Productions and Barbara Vey of Publishers Weekly.
TIME TO WRITE, THINKING WRITE & LIVING WRITE are all wonderful books by Kelly L. Stone that show you how to be the most productive with your time and how to find that time to write.
Editor-Proof Your Writing by Don McNair (2013) is the book that every writer should have in their arsenal.
GOAL, MOTIVATION & CONFLICT by Debra Dixon (Gryphon Printing)
THE FIRST FIVE PAGES by Noal Lukeman (ISBN# 068485743X)
BELIEVABLE CHARACTERS: CREATING WITH ENNEAGRAMS by Laurie Schnebly (ISBN#0930831039)
THE WRITER’S DIGEST CHARACTER NAMING SOURCEBOOK (ISBN# 1582972958) by #1 NYT bestseller Sherrilyn Kenyon.
WRITING RESOURCES
Mary Buckham - Award winning author teaches online classes and offers a manuscript evaluation service
WriterUniv - Offers online classes in different aspects of craft
Writers Digest - Online writing workshops
Minotaur Writing Contest - annual contest with different themes each year for mystery/suspense/thriller writers
