Remember Tuesday? Glorious good times. It was on Tuesday that we talked rebellious resources for freelancing. We talked about being realistic freelancers, and our occasional need to scrounge up some background/research/inspiration pronto when we’ve promised the world, and must deliver. And then I showed you the goods, the resources under the hood and skirt that I use to rock the freelancing results.

Well now it’s Thursday. If you’ve been keeping track at home, that’s when I take this weekly theme of ours and examine it from the perspective of us sadists who insist on writing creatively, and even aspire to one day publish our creative writing.

Creative writers are even more dependent on themselves to produce. Real resources, then, come at a premium, and are infinitely valuable. Now here’s where I get blasphemous. Right about now is when I should extol the virtues of a writer’s group, or a formal writing program, or even subscribing to the blogs/emails of writing “experts” in order to help get the words from your noggin to the page. But I think a lot of that is crap. Writer’s groups are paralyzed by politics; formal writing programs are expensive and unsatisfactory; and writing “experts” are often anything but.

So where do I go for guidance, inspiration, and help?

Blogs
As a blogger myself, I know the beauty of a blogging community. Here’s where you can find camaraderie, answers to pesky questions, and more. But I’m also very skeptical for blogs from “writing coaches” or “writing experts.” Why? More often than not the actual writing from these experts is highly disappointing, and the blog is focused on spitting out quick, commercial, popular fiction that will make a mint. Is it so revolutionary to actually want to write well, and write from the heart and soul, not the moneymaker? Guess so.

Instead, I find solace and support in blogs that offer real journeys, real experiences, that I can feel a part of. There’s no experts here, but merely other writers following their quickly typing hands on a voyage. I learn more from these cats than I ever would with the experts.

Books
Here’s where I get my expertise with a dose of reality. There are just as many crap books on the Borders and indie shop shelves focused on writing for a dumbed-down market. But I’ve found a few winners, books that give you the goods and give you realism about your prospects. I like this tack much better than blind optimism and encouragement. Find them at Amazon or your local store.

  • The Portable MFA. Awe. Some.
  • Beginning Writer’s Answer Book. All sorts of goodies in here, arranged in logical fashion.
  • Agents, Editors and You. A great rundown of the essential relationships with publishing.
  • How to Write a Book Proposal. Used this for a non-fiction book proposal, and it was extremely helpful.

Conferences
Never been to those conferences constantly shilled by writing communities where you can supposedly find your agent with a 5 minute spiel. Perhaps they work. What I’ve focused on is a conference where I can get a bit of that formal instruction in an informal, much less expensive setting.

  • Iowa Summer Writing Festival. TONS of topics, from writers who know their shit and write well. And it’s at my alma mater, a delightful place to spend a week/weekend.

Publishing Avenues
Ready to start the cycle of pain? Yay ceaseless rejection! But if you want to get published in the traditional sense, you gotta run the gamut. Here’s where I found people to hound.

Have some more? Well damn skippy, share with the class!

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RANDOM LINK of the Day: Like yogurt? You have to if you’re a woman. Check out this gem of women philosophy.