Confession: I am a writing resource junkie. Ever since co-authoring The Emotion Thesaurus I became obsessed with finding tools—unusual, unique tools—to help writers on their journey. And, if I couldn’t find something I needed, I’d try to create it. Why? Because my philosophy is that writing should be easier.
Does this mean I don’t believe we have to work hard, apply our craft, learn, grow, and embrace passion and perseverance? Not at all! More like the right resources can shift us out of that “staring at the screen trying to figure out what to write” mode into one where we take back the keyboard to craft stronger stories faster.
Alex has kindly invited me to share some of my favorite resources, so let’s get cooking!
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OneLook Reverse Dictionary: Sometimes we can’t put our finger on what we want to say. Maybe we know the meaning, but not the word. Or we know the feeling we want our words to evoke, but that’s it. Well, OneLook was built for reverse engineering right word! (Try putting in a word like "fear" or phrase such as "under the weather," and you'll see what I mean.)
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The Story Structure Database: Author K.M. Weiland has broken down the story structure of hundreds of movies and books, which is incredibly helpful for understanding foundational story elements in fiction. A must-see!
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LitCharts: If you know of TV Tropes (a great site), this website is made by the same folks. It has a ton of literary & rhetorical devices tutorials, guides on famous books, and more. If you want to add sophistication to your writing, poke around this site. You’ll learn some exceptional techniques.
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Hierarchy of Human Needs: After writing six books, most of which have deep roots in psychology, I can’t even begin to describe how powerful Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs is for drilling down to find a character’s EXACT inner motivation. If you need a psych refresher, visit this post, this post, and maybe this one, too. (Trust me, you’ll be happy you did!)
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Word Frequency Tool: Wonder if you overuse certain words in your physical descriptions, like eyes, smile, grin, or a shrug? Or maybe you have passive language issues and need to know how often had and was appears in your writing. Whatever you fear you might be overusing, this tool will help you find it. Drop in a chunk of text and it itemizes how many times a specific word appears.
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Writer’s Knowledge Base: A search engine just for writers? Yes, this exists! Thousands of articles on every topic imaginable, curated from the popular #amwriting hashtag on twitter.
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Reedsy Writing Exercises: This database of prompts and exercises will not only challenge you to flex your writing muscle…it may just spark an idea (or ten) for a new story.
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Pomodoro Timer: I found this a few years ago and wow does this ticking timer keep me focused. It runs on a pattern: 25 minutes of work, followed by a 5-minute break. It’s perfect for reminding writers to get out of the chair, stretch, grab a snack or coffee…and then get back to it.
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One Stop For Writers’ Tip Sheet Collection: We love helping writers, so we’ve created dozens of tip sheets and checklists on topics like showing emotion, delivering successful backstory, writing Deep POV, adding conflict and much more. Download and print for your own use or share them online to help others navigate the trickier areas of writing craft. (These checklists are just the tip of the iceberg, too…if you’re looking for serious writing help, visit our Features and Tools page.)
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Writers Helping Writers Tools Page: When I’m not searching for great resources, I’m building them. You’ll find things on this page that don’t exist anywhere else, like our Character Arc Progression Tool, The Backstory Wound Profile, the Reverse Backstory Tool, and our Weak Verb Converter Tool. Download what you need and enjoy!
What are some of your favorite tools and resources? Leave a comment with the link so we can all check it out!
Angela Ackerman is a writing coach, international speaker, and co-author of six bestselling resources including The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression. A proud indie author, her books are available in six languages, are sourced by universities, and used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world. Angela is also the co-founder of the popular site, Writers Helping Writers®, as well as One Stop For Writers®, an innovative online library filled with unique tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.
