Writing resources

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Stephen King

Part memoir, part toolbox: daily word counts, cutting adverbs and finishing the draft.

Bird by Bird

Anne Lamott

Short assignments and permission to write bad first drafts. A classic for getting unstuck.

Also for: Teachers

Steering the Craft

Ursula K. Le Guin

Exercises on sentence rhythm, point of view and voice, designed for solo work or a workshop.

Also for: Teachers

Save the Cat! Writes a Novel

Jessica Brody

A beat-by-beat structure method that helps plotters and pantsers shape a whole book.

Wonderbook

Jeff VanderMeer

An illustrated guide to creative fiction, from worldbuilding to revision.

Writing Down the Bones

Natalie Goldberg

Timed freewriting as a daily practice. Pairs well with a sprint timer.

Also for: Students

The War of Art

Steven Pressfield

A short, blunt book on resistance and showing up to do the work every day.

Story

Robert McKee

Deep dive into structure, scene and character, written for screenwriters but used by novelists too.

The Emotion Thesaurus

Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi

Body language, thoughts and visceral reactions for 130 emotions. The go-to fix for “show, don’t tell.”

The Anatomy of Story

John Truby

Builds plot out of character, theme and moral argument instead of a fixed beat sheet.

Also for: Teachers

The Artist’s Way

Julia Cameron

A 12-week course in creative recovery, home of the daily “morning pages” habit.

Also for: Students

Brandon Sanderson’s writing lectures

Brandon Sanderson

His full university creative writing course, free on YouTube: plot, character, worldbuilding and the business.

Also for: Teachers

The Submission Grinder

Diabolical Plots

Free database of fiction and poetry markets with pay rates, response times and a submission tracker.

Writer Beware

SFWA

Warnings about scam agents, vanity presses and contests. Check here before you sign anything.

Also for: Translators

Jane Friedman

Jane Friedman

Clear, current advice on publishing, querying and the business of being an author.

Helping Writers Become Authors

K.M. Weiland

Free articles on story structure, character arcs and outlining.

QueryTracker

QueryTracker

Search literary agents and track the queries you send.

Poets & Writers

Poets & Writers

Databases of grants, contests, literary magazines and small presses.

Also for: Translators

The Authors Guild

The Authors Guild

Contract reviews, legal help and advocacy for working authors and translators.

Also for: Translators

Alliance of Independent Authors

ALLi

Guides, vetted service ratings and a community for self-publishing authors.

OneLook

OneLook

Reverse dictionary: describe a concept and find the word for it.

Also for: Editors & proofreaders, Translators

Hemingway Editor

Hemingway

Highlights long sentences, passive voice and adverbs so you can tighten your prose.

Also for: Students

Scrivener

Literature & Latte

Long-form writing app for organising chapters, research and drafts in one project.

Also for: Students

They Say / I Say

Gerald Graff & Cathy Birkenstein

Templates for entering an academic conversation and building an argument.

Also for: Teachers

How to Write a Lot

Paul J. Silvia

Schedule writing time and protect it. Short, practical, aimed at academics.

Also for: Writers & authors

Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day

Joan Bolker

Small daily sessions that add up to a finished thesis.

The Craft of Research

Wayne C. Booth et al.

From a research question to a well-supported report, step by step.

Also for: Teachers

Purdue OWL

Purdue University

The standard free reference for APA, MLA and Chicago citations, grammar and essay writing.

Also for: Teachers, Editors & proofreaders

UNC Writing Center Tips & Tools

University of North Carolina

Handouts on thesis statements, paragraphs, literature reviews and more.

Also for: Teachers

Academic Phrasebank

University of Manchester

Phrases for introductions, citing sources, comparing and concluding. Great for second-language writers.

Also for: Translators

The Thesis Whisperer

Inger Mewburn

Honest advice for PhD students on writing, productivity and finishing.

Zotero

Corporation for Digital Scholarship

Free, open-source reference manager that formats citations and bibliographies for you.

Also for: Editors & proofreaders, Teachers

Google Scholar

Google

Search scholarly articles, theses and books, and see who cites them.

The Copyeditor’s Handbook

Amy Einsohn & Marilyn Schwartz

The standard textbook for copyediting, with exercises and answer keys.

Dreyer’s English

Benjamin Dreyer

A witty, opinionated style guide from Random House’s copy chief.

Also for: Writers & authors

The Subversive Copy Editor

Carol Fisher Saller

How to work with authors, not against them. Process and people skills.

What Editors Do

Peter Ginna (ed.)

Essays from acquiring, developmental and copy editors on how books get made.

Also for: Writers & authors

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers

Renni Browne & Dave King

Revision techniques for dialogue, point of view and pacing, with before-and-after examples.

Also for: Writers & authors

The Chicago Manual of Style Online

University of Chicago Press

The house style for most book publishing. The free Q&A is worth bookmarking.

Also for: Writers & authors, Students

AP Stylebook

Associated Press

Style for journalism, PR and web content.

APA Style

American Psychological Association

Official APA guidance for academic papers, with free sample papers.

Also for: Students

MLA Style Center

Modern Language Association

Official MLA guidance and examples for humanities writing.

Also for: Students, Teachers

Merriam-Webster

Merriam-Webster

The dictionary behind Chicago and AP style, plus usage notes.

Also for: Writers & authors, Translators

Conscious Style Guide

Karen Yin

Curated guidance on inclusive, respectful language.

Also for: Writers & authors

ACES: The Society for Editing

ACES

Training, certificates, a job board and an annual conference for editors.

Editorial Freelancers Association

EFA

Courses, a member directory and a widely cited editorial rates chart.

Also for: Translators

CIEP

Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading

UK-based training, proofreading courses and professional membership.

Editors Canada

Editors Canada

Professional certification, standards and training for editors.

Is That a Fish in Your Ear?

David Bellos

A lively look at what translation is and why it works.

In Other Words: A Coursebook on Translation

Mona Baker

Core translation textbook on equivalence at word, grammar and text level.

Also for: Teachers

This Little Art

Kate Briggs

A thoughtful essay on the practice and craft of literary translation.

The Entrepreneurial Linguist

Judy Jenner & Dagmar Jenner

Business skills for freelance translators and interpreters: pricing, marketing, clients.

Found in Translation

Nataly Kelly & Jost Zetzsche

How translation shapes everyday life, business and world events.

American Translators Association

ATA

Certification exams, a member directory and continuing education.

Institute of Translation and Interpreting

ITI

UK professional body with training, qualifications and a directory.

American Literary Translators Association

ALTA

Mentorships, a conference and awards for literary translators.

ProZ.com

ProZ.com

Translator directory, job board and the KudoZ term-help network.

IATE

European Union

The EU’s free multilingual terminology database.

Linguee

DeepL

Dictionary plus real bilingual sentence pairs for checking terms in context.

WordReference

WordReference

Bilingual dictionaries with active forums on tricky terms and idioms.

Words Without Borders

Words Without Borders

Free magazine of international literature in translation, plus classroom materials.

Also for: Teachers

Engaging Ideas

John C. Bean & Dan Melzer

Designing writing assignments and critical-thinking activities for any subject.

The Writing Revolution

Judith C. Hochman & Natalie Wexler

A sentence-up method for teaching writing across the curriculum.

In the Middle

Nancie Atwell

The workshop classroom: conferences, choice and mini-lessons.

Craft in the Real World

Matthew Salesses

Rethinks the creative writing workshop so it serves every writer in the room.

Also for: Writers & authors

Naming What We Know

Linda Adler-Kassner & Elizabeth Wardle (eds.)

Threshold concepts of writing studies, in short, citable essays.

National Writing Project

NWP

Professional development and free resources from teachers who write.

NCTE

National Council of Teachers of English

Journals, position statements and lesson ideas for English teachers.

ReadWriteThink

NCTE

Free, peer-reviewed lesson plans and interactive tools for K-12 writing.

The WAC Clearinghouse

Colorado State University

Free open-access books and journals on teaching writing across disciplines.

Also for: Students

Writing Spaces

Writing Spaces

Free, peer-reviewed essays about writing, ready to assign in a first-year course.

Also for: Students

Teachers & Writers Collaborative

T&W

Lesson plans and writing prompts from working writers who teach.