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...Books on the Craft of Writing
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Browne & King
If I had to choose just one reference book for fiction writing, this would be it. One of my publishers uses this as a fiction style guide, and has referred me to certain sections numerous times.
The Elements of Style, by Strunk and White
A tremendous writing resource, with the answers to the most common grammar questions.
Getting into Character, by Brandilyn Collins
A wonderfully readable book on characterization techniques. Collins gives many easy-to-understand examples.
Plot and Structure, by James Scott Bell
A basic, logical approach to creating a novel with a solid structure.
Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott
This book isn’t about writing skills. It’s about the lifestyle and discipline of a writer. It’s one of my favorites. (Disclaimer: Ms. Lamott doesn’t have the cleanest language. Some might find her word choices offensive.)
Writing the Christian Romance, by Gail Gaymer Martin
If romance is your preferred genre, this is a must-have for your reference library.
Writing the Modern Mystery, by Barbara Norville
Everything you ever wanted to know about mystery genres, and how to write them effectively.
...Helpful Websites
Thesaurus: http://thesaurus.reference.com/
Just how many different ways can you say She smiled? When I write, I have my manuscript document open in one window, and this website opened in another, and I flip back and forth between the two constantly.
Sunrise and Sunset Times: http://www.sunrisesunset.com/custom_srss_calendar.asp
Readers (and editors) pay attention to details. I use this calendar to make sure I don’t show a character squinting into the rising sun an hour before it actually rises at that time of year. (I’ve done that, and my editor caught it.)
Average Temperatures: http://www.weather.com/outlook/homeandgarden/home/wxclimatology/monthly/84120
This page is a little hard to navigate to from the main page of Weather.com. This link will take you to a chart of average temperatures month by month for a specific zip code. Change the last 5 digits to the zip code you want data for.
Baby Names: http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/
Character names are so important! Here’s a powerful search engine with name data by gender, popularity, location, and date.
...Novel Proposals
Read an article by Virginia Smith, published in Spirit-Led Writer, on the elements of a successful novel proposal here.
Examine the novel proposal for Virginia Smith's second novel, Murder by Mushroom here.
Sample book proposals also posted on these sites:
Randy Ingermanson's AdvancedFictionWriting.com (look at the last paragraph under the section on "Craft")
Check out the Sample Proposal on the resource page of MacGregor Literary's site
Another Fiction Proposal can be found on Alive Communication's website
Book Proposals That Sell, by W. Terry Whalin
Though not specifically for novels, this book presents a hands-on approach to writing book proposals
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