Topic: Writing aids and resources

[Jake]

This thread will serve as a list of resources for all us writers and poets. If you feel that there is a book, magazine, website, or any other resource out there that could be of some importance to a writer, please document and post it here. I'd like this to become an excellent, clutter free, wealth of information, for writers and poets of all skill and interest.

Here are my recommendations:

The Faith of a Writer by Joyce Carol Oates. This is not an instructional book about writing; it will not teach you about characterization or plot, but rather give a look into the "Life, Craft, Art" of a writer. The book is made up of a series of essays Oates (an accomplished novelist) wrote over the years. These essays include topics such as failure, inspiration, and self criticism. I recommend this book for beginners and skilled writers and artists alike - there is something for everyone in this one.

The Poetry Home Repair Manual by Ted Kooser. I just recently picked this book up, and actually still haven't finished it, but already I'm in love with it. Kooser doesn't tippy-toe around about the hard truths of being a poet, and gives his readers heart felt advice. This style, follows Kooser's main message in the book –  to connect with your reader. He criticizes modern poets for making their poems "difficult if not downright discouraging." Some topics in this book include: "A Poets Job Description," "Don't Worry About the Rules," and "Fine-Tuning Metaphors and Similes," among many others. This book is a must-read for all poets, and readers of poetry.

The Writer, a monthly magazine. There are many "writer oriented" magazines out there (I've read most) and this one is probably one of the two best. It is a great resource for writers who are thinking about getting published one day. It keeps you updated on writers' conferences, contests, and possible publishers. Each issue is also filled with tips, tricks, and pitfalls, for writing everything from poetry to technical manuals. Each issue is six dollars, so you might want to check out your local library, or browse through it next time you're at a book store.

[Ken Fitlike]

The Writers & Artists Yearbook(currently 2005) is an invaluable annual publication that contains just about everything you'll want or need to know about getting published. In addition to comprehensive lists of publishers it usually contains many articles about different forms of the writing arts - poetry, novels, scriptwriting etc. It also includes fairly detailed instructions on manuscript submission and advice on how to best proceed once you feel you are ready to submit your work. In addition, it covers just about everything from literary agents to copyright and taxation.

[Axon: Please edit/merge/delete as you see fit].

[Jake]

The Elements of Style - by William Strunk and E. B. White.
I can't praise this tiny book enough. It is a great resource on basic principles of writing. It is an essential tool for everyone, from high school students to professional writers. There are at least three copies of this book around my house, and one is always with me at school. If, God willing, I become an English teacher one day, this book will be a must for all my students.

[pianorain]

Rhymezone.com: When you're looking for those pesky words that rhyme with 'silver' or 'orange'.  It's pretty nice in that it can separate the rhymes by syllables.

VisualThesaurus.com: This might not be the most complete thesaurus, but the ability to easily cruise through a few synonyms to more fully refine what you're searching for is very handy.  It costs a bit for a subscription; alternately, you can pay to download, but then you don't get any of the updates.  You can give it a try for free.

[Jake]

I believe that Fitlike's recommendation from the second post in this thread regards the UK market - today I found this:

Writer's Market - a yearly publication for the US that does exactly the same as the above UK version. There are several volumes: the generic one which I link to above, one for novels and shortstories, another for poetry and some others. Great resource if you want to get published in a literary magazine but don't have time (or resources) to research each individual one. This book gives you a synapsis of each literary magazine; what they need, when to submit, how many submissions received vs. how many are printed, new and unpublished writers, important dates, payouts etc. Recommended to anyone who would like to get some publicity.

[7smurfs]

On Writing - A nice little book that doesn't tell you HOW to do things, but why things should be done in a certain way. That is, he doesn't give you a key to writing a great story, but instead gives a small guildine based off of how he does things.