9 Best Writer Resources

Writing is a craft, and every craftsman needs tools. Whatever the size and shape of your writing project, it’s useful to have a collection of resources or ‘tools’ that you can draw upon to help transform your work from ideas to draft to finished product. The more you write, the more you add to this personal toolbox, and the more tools you use, the more you improve. So, whether it’s helping you to grow as a writer, helping you through your next writing project, or quite simply helping you through a foggy brain day, here is a list of our ‘Can’t Live Without’ resources to add to your arsenal.

• Dictionary and Thesaurus Writing apps may help you to improve the spelling and grammar of what you already know, but a Dictionary and Thesaurus will help you expand your knowledge past this threshold. If you’re struggling to find the right words, it may be because you’re yet to discover them…
  

• Grammarly Whilst a Dictionary and Thesaurus should always be close to hand, writing apps can speed up the first round of self-editing. My favourite is Grammarly. It operates as a ‘free online writing assistant’ providing not just spelling suggestions but also ideas for tone, efficiency and flow. Simply upload your text, and browse the edit suggestions.
  

• PaperWrld Sometimes, our best ideas and ‘breakthroughs’ happen when we step back from our work. When we spend a great deal of time writing for work or a project, we often neglect the need to write for ourselves. Writing in a journal is like stretching after a workout; a necessity! PaperWrld is our go to store for beautiful journals, pens, stickers, sealing wax and all things related to scrapbooking, journaling and stationery.
  

• Canva Self-publishing involves constant creativity, not just within your writing, but also within the many satellite components you will need to develop so others can access your work. Canva is our favourite design platform because of its ease of usability, and range of resources. It's particularly useful for book cover design and generating Pinterest pins to promote your work. In addition, you can now produce and edit videos all within the app providing a platform to create that teaser video for your novel ready to post on your favourite social media channel.
  

• Free Stock Photos and Illustrations Unless you are a professional photographer or have a friend who is, you will be relying on a good source of stock photos for your book cover design. We like using Rawpixel.com and Unsplash.com for fantastic illustrations and photographs, however, there are many wonderful platforms available try also istockphotos.com, pexels.com and shutterstock.com.
  

• Pinterest We enjoy using Pinterest in our downtime as a way of cataloguing and exploring our interests and ideas, but we also love using Pinterest as a way of reaching out to potential customers. It’s widely recognised as an incredibly useful marketing platform as it’s a place where people arrive undecided and leave with an idea in mind, potentially, your novel!
  

• Microsoft Word and One Note Microsoft Word is a versatile medium for upload your manuscript whether direct to KDP or to a publisher, most will ask for a Word document. However, for keeping a check of notes while you're typing on your laptop of desktop, you can't go wrong with One Note. It's free to download and an invaluable resource for capturing thoughts on the go, best of all it's very easy to learn. The tabs make it ideal for organising your chapters and within that heading creating multiple reminder/prompt pages. If you takeaway one resource from this list, we would recommend this one.
  

• A Writer's Club Writing can be a lonely business! A Writer's Club is an opportunity for you to immerse yourself in the writing world, it's more difficult to lose sight of your goals and objectives when you are part of a supportive group who think like you do and have the same ambitions. Joining a club will help you become a better writer. Join the Red Balloon Writing Club and we'll help you publish your first novel, keep motivated and send you discounted offers on products and courses.

• Creative Market Creative Market is a platform with thousands of artists and artworks to choose from that are ready-made for you to customise. This is an incredible resource to draw upon when you need another’s expertise and here you will also find specialist fonts such as the one below, pre-made book cover designs, Wordpress themes, branding guides, social media templates and beautiful illustrations.
  

So, there we have it, our 9 Best Writer Resources list to add to your own. What we haven’t mentioned in this list is perhaps the greatest resource of all; You! Whatever stage you are at in your journey as a writer, the old adage of ‘trusting the process’ is there for a reason. Trust your instinct, trust your ingenuity, and above all lean on your trusty toolbox of resources to help you bring your work to fruition!

Until next time.

Grace Fleming-Williams & Angela Nubbert