Pen & Ink

Sharing Fiction, Poetry, and Writing Tutorials

Resources for Writers

Over my years of writing experience, I’ve discovered some great writing resources. Believe it or not, there are actually a lot of helpful resources for writers! There are things like forums, map-makers, informational blogs, and more!

And these resources are super helpful for writers who are just starting out, as well as writers who have been doing it for a long time. I’m putting all of the great resources for writers that I’ve found in this post, so you can check them out.

Ready to get started looking at some of these resources? Let’s go!

(Note: these items are in no particular order. The first item is not my favorite resource, nor is the last item my least favorite.)

1. The Young Writer’s Workshop

The Young Writer’s Workshop (YWW, or YDubs as it’s called by its members) is a super great resource for young writers of any age! It is led by the authors Brett Harris (author of Do Hard Things), Jaquelle Crowe (author of This Changes Everything), Kara Swanson (author of Dust and Shadow), and Tricia Goyer (author of From Dust and Ashes), among many other experienced authors.

The Young Writer’s Workshop provides an entire library full of material on how to write better, but not only that: it has its own private community for all the members. In the community, you can ask questions, share stories, get feedback, and just hang out with other authors. It is super helpful and fun!

Now, those of you who follow this blog and are a part of YDubs may be thinking, “Hey, Annabelle, you’re not a part of the Young Writer’s Workshop anymore!” Yes, that is true. But that does not mean that I didn’t feel like it wasn’t a good resource for writers. It was! I had to leave YDubs because of money and time issues, not because I didn’t like it there.

And that is another point I should make: it does cost money to join the Young Writer’s Workshop. It’s $50.00 per month, but it can be as low as $20.00 if you request a scholarship. If you can’t afford this, you can always check out the Young Writer Blog, which also has great information on it.

2. Kingdom Pen

Kingdom Pen is another great resource for teenage writers. On Kingdom Pen you can read lots of helpful writing articles, as well as join the community there and get feedback from other authors. You can also submit articles to Kingdom Pen to be published on their blog, making it a great way to get your name out there.

Kingdom Pen also often hosts contests and challenges on their website, which are super fun. I highly recommend this resource for any writers, but especially young writers who want to find an uplifting community and learn how to write better.

3. Story Embers

Story Embers is a resource similar to KingdomPen, as it was started by former members of KingdomPen a few years back. Story Embers is an online platform for Christian authors, providing lots of resources and great community of writers. Just like KingdomPen, Story Embers is also a great place to submit articles to be published.

Not much else about Story Embers needs to be said, other than the fact that you should definitely check it out!

4. National Novel Writing Month

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a challenge for writers that takes place in the month of November. The challenge is to finish the entire first draft of a novel, 50,000 words, in a month. It’s a super fun way to challenge yourself, get lots done, and also do it with other writers!

On the NaNoWriMo website, you can find a whole community of other writers also working toward the end of the challenge. You can track your progress on the website and also explore NaNo’s other resources while you’re at it.

Unfortunately, I have yet to complete the NaNoWriMo challenge… but at some point I hope I will!

5. Hero Forge

Okay, this tool is dangerously fun, people. Hero Forge is an online tool that allows you to create models of fantasy characters for roleplaying, novel writing, or whatever you want.

This tool wasn’t originally created for writers, but I like to use it. It is more applicable to fantasy writers than any other genre of writing, but it really can be used for whatever you want. I just use Hero Forge to create faceclaims of my characters when I don’t want to search forever online for them.

To give you an idea of what this looks like, here is one of the characters I created using Hero Forge:

Resources for Writers - Hero Forge Art: Alex

These aren’t the best drawings ever, but it really helps me visualize my characters well and see them three-dimensionally.

6. Go Teen Writers

Go Teen Writers is a blog for Teen Writers that has tons of helpful information on it. I love reading all the helpful blog posts on the Go Teen Writers website! They also have free downloads of lots of helpful resources, so I highly recommend checking those out.

7. Jerry Jenkins

You may have heard of Jerry Jenkins… he’s a bestselling Christian author, and he’s written books like Left Behind, Dead Sea Rising, and The Chosen. He runs a blog (JerryJenkins.com), where he shares plenty of helpful tips for writers. I love Jenkins’ advice; it’s super awesome that an experienced author like him is willing to teach younger writers like me!

8. Goodreads

Goodreads is awesome for writers and readers alike! It’s a social-media platform, except it’s only focused on books. On Goodreads, you can track your reading progress, see the progress of others, find new good books to read, and have fun doing all things book-related.

Goodreads is also good for writers. If you’re publishing a book, you can get it listed on Goodreads through their Author Program. This is awesome, because it can help you reach a larger audience of people!

9. Abbie Emmons

Abbie Emmons has a YouTube channel, where she shares tons of tips for writers of all kinds. She also does things like live writing sessions and Q&As. I really enjoy watching her videos, but they’re also incredibly helpful.

Warning: occasionally Emmons uses some mild swear words in her videos.

10. Inkarnate

Are you a fantasy writer? Do you need a map of your fantasy world? Inkarnate is the place for you.

Inkarnate is the best online map making software I have found. It is mostly free, although there is a premium version that allows you to have more features. The free version is enough for me, and allows me to create great maps really easily, but for more advanced fantasy worlds, the premium version could be really beneficial.

Here is a map I created with Inkarnate:

Made with Inkarnate.com

11. The Lamp Post

Okay, okay, I know I’m slightly biased on this one. I am the co-manager of The Lamp Post (Adele H is the other manager and founder of it.) The Lamp Post is a newspaper for kids, by kids. It includes things such as stories, poems, artwork, recipes, games, and more! Anyone can submit, and in order to do that, you can visit the Contact Page on the Lamp Post website.

The Lamp Post is a great way to get your stories noticed by other people. We also provide things like Writer Resources and good opportunities for writers. We’re always looking for new submissions, so don’t hesitate to give us any! And if you have any questions, you can contact me through my Contact Page, or you can contact Adele through the contact page on TLP’s website.

12. Helping Writers Become Authors

Helping Writers Become Authors is a podcast/blog run by K.M. Weiland (the author of Creating Character Arcs). Weiland posts weekly writing tips that I find super informational. I love how Weiland always gets straight to the point and doesn’t waste time rambling (*cough*which I can do too*cough*).

Helping Writers Become Authors has so much helpful information on it about story structure, characters, plotting, and all things writing. I love listening to these podcast episodes and reading the blog posts.

13. Money-Saving Guide for Authors and Writers

Money Saving Guide for Authors and Writers was recently recommended to me by one of my blog readers, and I found it very helpful! There are some awesome tips on how beginner writers can save money when they’re starting out.

14. Writer’s Vision

Last, but definitely not least, we have the Writer’s Vision!

Writer’s Vision is an online platform created by Kaytlin Phillips (author of World of Silence). She started the Writer’s Vision to give Christian authors a place to connect, help other writers, and have fun. I just recently joined Writer’s Vision, and it’s been great so far, as a growing, thriving community. On the Writer’s Vision community, there are also other authors like Grace A. Johnson (author of Held Captive), Joelle Stone (Sword of the Penmaiden), and lots of other awesome writers!

In Conclusion…

There are a lot of great resources for writers, as you have seen in this list. If you’re a writer, I would encourage you to check out some of these resources and put them to use.

Have you used any of these resources? What do you think? What are some of your favorite resources for writers? Let me know in the comments below!

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9 responses to “Resources for Writers”

  1. Emma Avatar

    I really enjoyed this article! And I still have to check out Writer’s Vision. It sounds awesome.
    Did they raise the prices on YWW? Unless I’m looking at the wrong page, it looks like it only costs $37/month, not $50.

  2. Saraina Whitney Avatar

    This is an awesome list!!!

    1. Annabelle Avatar
      Annabelle

      Thanks!

  3. Lillian-Keith Avatar

    Thanks for this list of resource, Annabelle! I’ve really enjoyed Story Embers and Kingdom Pen. Inkarnate sounds really cool, as well as Hero Forge, so I’ll definitely have to check that out for future fantasy projects too. 🙂

    1. Annabelle Avatar
      Annabelle

      You’re welcome! Yes, those websites are awesome, so definitely check them out. 😉

  4. Adele Handfield Avatar

    *literally cries* awwwwww thank youuuuu Annabelle!!!! This totalllyyyy made my day! <3

    1. Annabelle Avatar
      Annabelle

      You’re welcome! <3

  5. Kayti Avatar

    Awesome list! I’m gonna have to check out The Lamp Post…sounds awesome!
    Thanks so much for mentioning Writers’ Vision!!! Means a lot! <3

    1. Annabelle Avatar
      Annabelle

      Thanks, and you’re welcome! <3

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