Welcome to vol. 1 of The Writer's Toolbox: so You Can Get on with Your Craft.
My hope is that this ongoing series would be an inspiration + encouragement to you, should you find yourself a curator of words. Whether you blog, write love notes to your sweetie, or are working your way through a manuscript - my goal is to share simple things, tools, articles, (and talented people) who are helping me on my own writing journey!
1. HOPE*WRITERS
Hope*Writers came into my life only recently but it has absolutely taken me by storm. A few different writer friends suggested the community to me within a matter of days, and I took that as a sign. I was soon signed up and into their private Facebook community. Two weeks later I have connected with some amazing fellow writers turned friends, devoured the videos + content, and learned more in that time than I have in years of googling. Aside from the comradery of others who share this craft, I think my favorite thing has been the 6000-word Complete Guide to Traditional Publishing found on their website. Wow, wow. It really is a lot of amazing info I'm still uncovering.
2. GRAMMARLY
Full disclosure: grammar and I are not BFFs. Nope, not a bit. In fact, my mom was my favorite editor, often calling just to let me know I missed a comma or needed to check my spelling. Yikes! When I discovered Grammarly, I sort of did a happy dance (and I think she maybe did in Heaven, too). It works as you type, checking spelling, grammar, sentence structure. And best part? It's FREE (well, there is a free version, which is what I use + love)!
3. ERIN LOECHNER
I'm working my way through Chasing Slow, and so, of course, I recently started following Erin Loechner on Instagram. She wrote a great article on her blog called, How I Wrote a Book. I appreciated her candidness as well as the links she shared. I especially enjoyed this point:
"6. Be gentle.
Writing is hard. Be kind to yourself. There will be days where you’ll feel raw/spent/depleted after a long morning of writing, and reacquainting with the actual world might feel trickier than usual. Take deep breaths. Re-emerge gently. Pour some tea."
I hope you enjoyed vol. 1 of The Writer's Toolbox! Tune in next time for vol. 2, which includes the book that is changing the entire way I write (and helping me structure my manuscript!).
Happy writing!
EXCITING NEWS IF YOU LOVE TO WRITE
I've always been an open book, and I love sharing with others about new things I'm learning and discovering, lessons learned the hard (and sometimes easy) way, and generally just being able to guide people as I've been blessed to have been guided.
So I decided to start an exclusive monthly newsletter, Behind the Writer's Toolbox, sharing all the details of my own journey in writing. I've not talked of this publicly, but after finishing 70k words of my manuscript, I've decided to begin again. That's right, I'm starting over. And I'd love to share with you why.
If you're interested in tagging along as I walk the road to publishing, I would be so glad to have you! I have some exciting plans in the works for the newsletter and you my friends, who will join me. In fact, the first Behind the Writer's Toolbox (coming soon), will include a template I created for myself, that I'd like to give to you as well!
If this tickles your fancy, join me! I'd love to have you. Sign up below.
This post contains affiliate links. By clicking through, you help to support this blog and our family, so thank you! Read our full disclosure policy HERE.
