7 (Podcast about Writing) - Writing Smarter

Hi, this is Deb with Writing Smarter Radio. I’m glad you’re joining me, I have a great list of resources for you this week that I’m really excited to share.

Last week, we talked about writing books that I’ve found to be helpful. These are another type of resources…things like websites, podcasts, grammar tips and everything like that.

Hopefully you find something you either didn’t know about, or something maybe you wanted to dig a little deeper into. I feel like the more resources you have, the better. So, you may be wondering, if I’m a writing podcast, why am I telling you about other writing podcasts to go listen to? Here’s the thing. We all have different ways of doing things. And I feel like the more resources you have, the better. I didn’t simply read one writing book and go, “Okay, I know everything.”

Everybody’s got a different angle, a different way of doing things. And I think that it’s really important to pull information from multiple sources and find what works for you, because what works for me may not work for you. Or what works for my friends may not work for me. So, listen to a lot of different voices, eventually you’ll find something that works. If you find something that works great hold on to it. And if some of the tips don’t work for you let them go.

There are no solid rules that you have to hold on to and believe that there’s only one way of doing things. On that note, I have five podcasts for you to check out on writing. You may already be aware of them. And if you are great because they’re great resources. And if not, check them out.

One of the first ones I want to tell you about is Creative Writing. Kirsten is really smart. She’s just got it going on. First off, she is on the ball. She’s got tons of energy and tackles everything. But when she talks…listen. She also has a great newsletter that sends out tips and resources. I had the opportunity to work with her for a short bit in a series that we did. And I found her to be very smart and forward thinking.

(Don’t you love when your phone rings in the middle of the podcast?)

Hmm. Okay, so I found her to be very well thought out and well spoken. Her writing is really dynamic. I really enjoyed her a lot. I think that she’s definitely a resource when you’re further in. She’s not for the brand new beginner because she delves more into the marketing aspect of writing and releasing. When you’re a little further along, she’s somebody you really want to have learned and listened from.

I actually think I discovered her prior to knowing she was a fiction writer. I found her through an artistic community, I believe when I was doing something else. I was pointing to her maybe through a webinar or something of that nature. And our paths crossed a couple of times. Regardless, smart…good, smart girl. Great podcasts, great information. Her blog is good. She’s got a group on Facebook, her newsletter is good. Get to know Kirsten.

There’s also I want to call it a podcast. But really, they’re more on YouTube, even though it’s done like a podcast. There are four girls, and they’re called the Writing Gals. If you haven’t heard of them, check them out. They have a Facebook page as well, very large community. They’re really good and targeted at the beginning writer. Now they’re further along in their careers, but they’re all at different levels. And they all write different things. But the advice they offer is great for newer writers. They delve into simplicity, tropes, they look at ads, but they also tell you what works, what doesn’t, why you might want to do something, and why not. But they have a unique perspective by having multiple people all talk together through it, to tell them what’s working for them. So, you may relate with one or two of them more than the other based on where you are in your journey. So definitely check them out. That’s Writing Gals. I believe they’re only on YouTube. I don’t think they broadcast as a podcast yet even though my brain, I kind of think of them as a podcast.

Another podcast you want to check out is Fiction Writing Made Easy. Savannah talks, all things fiction. So if you are a fiction writer, this is a place to be. It’s a great place to get information, break things apart and figure them out.

If you’re somebody who doesn’t like a long podcast…I have a short attention span as many people do. I do better in short spurts unless I am,you know, driving and can listen to a book or something that’s really got me for a while. It’s very hard for me to sit still and say, okay, I’m going to dedicate 45 minutes to listen to a podcast or an hour. Writing Excuses, is a 15-minute podcast. And they do nice short clips. They have very successful and smart people who have been in the industry for a while. They are definitely worth your time. I’m pretty sure you’ve probably already heard about them, if not check them out. Writing Excuses.

The Creative Penn… Joanna Penn of Creative Penn. She has a unique perspective on this. She’s an indie writer, and she’s been podcasting for a very long time. But she writes both nonfiction and fiction. And she’s involved in multiple aspects of writing. She’s involved with a community that’s an alliance, she writes, she’s just a really feel good, nice person. When you listen to her, you can just hear it in her voice. She cares about what she does. She cares about people doing well, and she loves what she does. I would absolutely check her out. She’s got some great books, when you’re getting started that we’ll talk about different levels and areas of your career where you want to focus on. So, check out Joanna at Creative Penn. And that’s what two n’s, which is a play on her name.

Some other resources I want to mention are websites that I feel are really helpful. Now there are so many writing websites in the world out there. I mean, you could just target down to just fiction or nonfiction or science fiction or fantasy or romance, there’s so much that it’s easy to get buried in them. So, what are the sites that I’ve bookmarked and go back to because I thought they were really that good, or they had something to say that was above and beyond what everybody else was saying?

Some of the websites that I would recommend you check out…

Helping Writers Become Authors with KM Weiland. I am a big fan. I believe she also has podcast. But I’ve read her non-fiction books. She writes a great newsletter. She’s very thorough, very solid. And somebody who I turn to when I’m really trying to dissect something to look at a deeper, so absolutely check out her site.

Another person’s website that I think is really worth your time is Janice Hardy and Fiction University. Now this is at blog dot Janice hardy.com. But Fiction University, she is very, she has a vast array of topics and articles that you can really dig into. She speaks in a way that’s easy to understand. And it’s a resource I think you’re going to love. So be sure to check that out.

When I first started this years ago, there weren’t as many people logging in all different areas of this. And finding really solid content could be a little tricky at times. One of the people that I found very consistent was at Anne R Allen’s blog. She’s been writing with Ruth Harris there for quite a long time and has a very big backlog of solid articles that I think you’ll find useful.

Another person when it comes to marketing, we were talking about Kirsten earlier, is Kindlepreneur with Dave Chesson. He’s very invested in the community. He has software that can help you find keys and categories through Amazon to help you rank better when you’re putting your book up. Now it says marketing, but his articles are really great at comparing things. For example, whether you want to compare Grammarly to Ginger to others. He covers how to target keywords, he covers topics on writing, but he really is genuine and offers robust information. His articles are great. You’ll find him guest blogging on a lot of other places as well and it’s always quality information. Dave has quality reading information and is somebody good to learn from.

Another person you want to add to your list would be Elizabeth S Craig. (site is Elizabeth Spann Craig). She’s really great for all sorts of topics, but especially Mystery Writers, if you are a mystery writer, seek her out. Look at her blog, she writes wonderful articles on this topic breaks things down and makes them very understandable. She also has a list of links on topics that are hot on Twitter for writers. So that’s something also you might be interested in following. You can kind of follow the trend or language of what’s going on.

One of the people that I have a great deal of respect for in the writing industry, is Alessandra Torre. She put on a conference, and I went to the very first one, it was maybe two, three years ago. It was excellent. I got the opportunity to meet her, I volunteered, I actually won tickets because somebody couldn’t make it. And I so I volunteered to give back. And she is really good people, if you know what I mean. Her heart is in the right place. She’s good. She’s smart. And every class I’ve taken by her is really solid and good. She has some classes online you can look for. I speak very highly of her because I respect the quality of material she puts out. She’s worth checking out.

Another website is Well Storied. Well Storied, again, another great article resource base. Check that one out.

One Stop for Writers. Now, if you’ve heard of this series of books, and I’m might have mentioned them before, but if you’ve heard of the series of books like the Emotional Thesaurus for Writers and stuff, these are the women who wrote that book. And they have a website as well, where you can access all sorts of information and resources, excellent resource for those looking for something new. And it really depends on where you’re at in your career, what you’re looking for, or where you’re at in the writing process.

Another smart person to read about follow, she has some books on Amazon is CS Lakin. Her website is LiveWriteThrive.com.

Again, I’ll link to everything of all the different websites. I mean, you go down a rabbit hole when you go looking at writing websites. These are ones that have really stood out to me over time. Now I’ve been doing this for a long time. So, these are ones that still stick with me. Even today, even further in my career, they’re ones that I might pop back in on to see what’s going on.

Now, when you’re looking for resources. I have two websites that you’ll really, you’re going to just love. Have you heard of beat sheets? Beat sheets are kind of are like a path or steps think of stairs. And it tells you where you should be within a story and gives you a guide to say at about this point of your story. This is what should be happening. Jamie Gold has a website, and on it she has worksheets for writers, you’re going to love them. You need to go check them out. So especially if you’re starting out, they can even just be a good framework for you to get a feel of your pacing. Another person who has a ton of worksheets for authors is Eve Deverell. She’s got a vast array of worksheets, a plethora of them, just pounds and pounds of them. So, check those out because they’ll be very helpful for you as you’re getting started to fine tune an area you might need it.

Another thing I wanted to mention, were a couple newsletters, you may find you when you’re starting out, you sign up for a ton of newsletters, but it gets overwhelming fast, because you’ll get so many newsletters from so many people. And everybody’s sending them all the time. So, what are the newsletters that I stuck with over these years? There’s two that I’m going to mention that we haven’t talked about yet. And three that we’ve already talked about. So Creative Writing. We mentioned Kirsten, get on her newsletter. It’s a good one. KM Weiland’s newsletter totally worth it. Dave Chesson’s newsletter, jump on that one. There are three, I say go for it.

Now two people I hadn’t mentioned to you yet, but I want to mention to you as a writer, are Jane Freedman. Jane is very involved in the writing and publishing community and has been for years and years. She’s got great advice, and she sends out a weekly email that has all sorts of tips, information and resources. Smart lady, definitely check it out.

Another person who’s a little more advanced, but it doesn’t hurt you to read these things to remember or take notes for when you’re ready for them is Skye Warren. She’s a writer and author, because that’s her pen name, be sure to select her AUTHOR newsletter. She doesn’t send them real often. But when she does, they are packed value packed with information and really give you a good perspective on different marketing aspects.

There’s one more site I want to tell you about during this podcast and I appreciate you sticking around with me. And hopefully some of these will come in handy for you. I love learning that new resources so hopefully this is something you enjoy too.

Okay, my favorite grammar site, Grammar Girl, I love Grammar Girl. You probably already know about Grammar Girl. I know everybody knows that Grammar Girl. But you can find her at quick and dirty tips.com slash grammar hyphen, girl.

When I need to know the difference between lay lie laid lying or whatever, you know, or verse, vs., verses versus or you know the different ways to say things or how to use certain words are what words compliment versus complement… When you’re going through those different things. She has a really easy way of understanding things. She breaks it down in a very simplified manner, which makes it click in your brain. She just makes it easy. I looked and played around with all sorts of things. Even all these years later, I still go back to Grammar Girl if I need to double check something.

So anyway, I hope these resources were helpful for you. This is Deb with Writing Smarter Radio. And I hope you’ve enjoyed this episode. If you did, please leave a review. I appreciate it. Or subscribe. I will talk to you next week. Thank you again for your time.

Bye bye

Transcribed by https://otter.ai