Friday, January 22, 2016

5 Websites for Writers

Begin Small


Writing is a craft. Like any other craft it can be learned. There are some basic things that every newbie writer should learn. Once you recognize or choose the category of creative writing to adopt as your own, you should dedicate time to learning the craft. As in every craft, practice and study makes it perfect.

Literature itself is divided into many genres. Comedy, Drama, Realistic fiction, Non-fiction, Romance novel, Satire, Tragedy and Tragicomedy are some major genres. Find the one which attracts you most. The trick is to go for the genre that you like to read most. So, if you are a romance fan, it is quite possible that you will be able to write a good romance.

If you aim to write poetry, there are many varieties of poetry that you can try to express your thoughts in. You can choose from over 50 different types of poetry. They are categorized based on the number of lines, words in the poem, whether it rhymes or not, and what it is about. Some popular ones are Haiku, Sonnets, Ballads, Name poems, Cinquains and Epic Poems.

If you are venturing on writing a novel, start small. Start writing short stories first to get a grip on the dialogue structure, plotting, and the flow of narration. Writing a short story helps you to create and develop a character and to take a plot from beginning to end in a limited number of pages. Once you become an expert in writing short stories, you become adequately prepared to venture to the next level; writing a novel. I treat each chapter of a novel I am writing like a short story. I know what will happen in each chapter, how it begins and where it should end. That is exactly like writing a short story. Doesn’t that seem simple?

There are many basic guidelines in every genre that help writers take their writing to a higher level. I wish to list some websites that have guided me in times of doubt. Some provide peppy advice that sounds like music to my ears.

Here are my favorite websites:


If you are looking for inspiration to write and writing tips, this is the perfect site for you. It contains articles about grammar, punctuation, spelling, usage and vocabulary.

2)      Live Write Thrive

This is my favorite website when it comes to articles that help to improve the quality of my writing. The owner of this site C.S. Lakin is a famous author and editor and walks you through the essentials of quality writing, plotting and writing your novel.

3)    Grammar Girl

This website helps you boost your confidence by helping you become thorough with the basics of grammar and writing through the use of quick and easy tips. If you search the archives, you can find answer to almost all the common questions or doubts that arise when you write.

4)    Write to Done

This site contains articles that deal with every aspect of writing. Be it blogging, short story writing or novel writing. A must visit for any aspiring writer.


I write romance and I love this website. This site contains articles written by experts in the field of literature and romance authors. Though the archives of this site has plenty to offer to romance authors, even other genre writers will find plenty of useful articles that focus on plotting and writing your story/ novel.



This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

4 comments:

  1. Thats a good list. Some i already follow. Let me check out Romance University.

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  2. Thanks for the share Preethi. I am sure newbie will avail of the opportunities for their stories:)

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  3. Very good, really helpful. Thanks for sharing!

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