- When to tell instead of show by Melissa Koosmann
- Up, up and away! Raising the stakes by Janice Hardy
- A Few Things Writers Can Learn from Harry Potter by Cherryl Klein (great comments on Plot & Theme)
- Are We There Yet? by Tanya Lee Stone (why first drafts are imperfect)
- Value Yourself by Theodora Goss (writing is hard enough without putting yourself and your ideas down)
- How to write a novel synopsis by Gareth L Powell
- Tweet-a-Query Challenge & Conclusions by Jennifer Laughran, aka Literaticat (logline/query tips)
- Likable Villains and Imperfect Heroes by David Dalglish (best post on antagonists and flawed heroes that I've ever read)
- Using MS Word to Auto-Outline and Keep Track of Relevations by Martina of Adventures in Children's Publishing.
- RWA Keynote Speech by Sherrilyn Kenyon (on hope/persistence/fate)
- The 5 Essential Story Ingredients by Brian A. Klems (plotting/telling a story)
- How I Went From Writing 2,000 Words a Day to 10,000 Words a Day by Rachel Aaron
- Ian Irvine Reveals 41 Ways to Keep Readers Turning the Page! Part 1 (Character & Viewpoint) and Part 2 (Plot & Structure)
- Writing The Fiction Synopsis by Kathy Carmichael (a step-by-step way to method to write a solid synopsis). Links to workshop handouts.
- Filk Critic Hulk EXPLAINS WHY WE SHOULD STOP IT WITH THE HERO JOURNEY SHIT (all in Caps which can be a bit of a headache.)
- Add Verbs: Creating Characters that Pop Off the Page by Damon Suede (character creation and plotting by asigning each character a verb that defines their need during the story)
- Trust me, I'm a Doctor * (*Honorary, of Fine Arts) by Neil Gaiman (VIDEO)
- The Ultimate Guide to Pitch Writing by Jami Gold (multiple templates for pitch writing, allowing you to focus on stakes, goal, conflict, obstacles, twist, etc)
- “Boosting” Your Prose by David Farland (fantastic checklists on setting, character, etc for editing)
- Screenwriting 101, Vol. 1 of 2 and Vol. 2 of 2 by Film Crit Hulk
- Putting Emotional Twists in Your Tales by David Farland (incredibly useful article on what emotional beats are and how best to use them)
- Story Climax by Jim Butcher
- Podcast: Writing Reluctant Characters by Writing Excuses
- Subtext: The Most Critical Tool in the Story-Teller’s Box by David Baboulene
- The One Right Way to Write a Query by agent Mary Kole of Kidlit.com
- The 22 rules of storytelling, according to Pixar by Pixar storyboard artist Emma Coats
- Fanmail Q&A: Why does it take so long to translate the book? by Patrick Rothfuss (great analysis of some of the non-verbal communication in a scene introducing one of the most important characters in NotW)
- Structure Part 3—Introducing the Opposition by editor Kristen Lamb (best article on the antagonist that I've read so far)
- Showing a Character Learning Without Being Boring by Janice Hardy
- How Do You make Non-Humans Seem Human? by Madeline Ashby on Civilian Reader
Fun & useful:
- The Story Coaster by Grant Snider (comic showing the experience of reading a story portrayed through characters riding a rollercoaster)
