NationStates Jolt Archive

Running through my bookmarks, I ran across a few links that I think would be helpful for anyone wanting to learn or polish their writing skills. I could certainly benefit from some of them, like learning not to write in a "passive" voice.

Writerisms and other Sins: A Writer's shortcut to stronger writing. (http://www.cherryh.com/www/advice.htm) copyright 1995 by C.J. Cherryh

Dr. Merlin's Guide to Fan Fiction (http://missy.reimer.com/library/guide.html) copyright 1994 by Melissa Wilson (aka Dr. Merlin). Includes descriptions and explanations for the "Mary Sue" phenomenon!

On the Feeding and Care of Creativity Demons (http://home.earthlink.net/~eilonwy/writings/demons.htm) copyright 1998 by Constance "Eilonwy" Cochran.

And, of course, for the truly hard-core elite among you, the ever famous http://www.writers.net/.

Enjoy.

Thanks, dude. I could really use some of this.

Dr. Merlin taught me how to write good fan-fiction. :)

*tag*

For those interested in 'fun' books about grammar, my recommendations are:

"Sin & Syntax: How to craft wickedly effective prose" by Constance Hale

"The Transitive Vampire: A handbook of grammar for the innocent, the eager and the doomed" by Karen Elizabeth Gordon

The examples in these books are nothing like your mother's grammar books. Good stuff & useful, too. Gordon also has books on punctuation ("The Well-Tempered Sentence") and word usage ("Out of the Loud Hound of Darkness").