Great Writing Resource Site

So, I’ve been poking around on line for great writing sites, and since I’ve found quite a few, I thought I’d start cataloging them here on the blog (I’ll be filing them under the new Websites for Writing category).

Today, I’d like to give two big thumbs up to William Martell’s Script Secrets site. Now, for those of you out there saying, “Um, J.K., are you on crack? That’s a screenwriting site and you’re a novelist,” I answer: “No, and I know.” There is a wealth of information that novelists can take away from screenwriting theory. Think about it-a screenplay is 90-120 pages long and filled with gegobs of white space. That means that some serious characterization and plotting has to be mapped out, and the dialogue has to be dead on. In other words, in a screenplay, you really need to make sure that every word counts. And by analyzing screenwriting, novelists (both aspiring and published) can examine their craft from a slightly different angle, something which can make all of us better writers.

So why do I think Bill’s site is cool? Lots of reasons, but the first and best is the DAILY writing tip. And we’re not talking one sentence. We’re talking fleshed out analyses that are educational and interesting. (Honestly, this guy writes, teaches and maintains this site. And I thought I was a busy girl!).

But wait (as they say in the late night infomercials)…there’s more! The site also offers a message board (on that one, it probably is more useful to screenwriters) and offers Bill’s books and CD’s for sale (not to mention cool monkey merchandise, and when you get right down to it, who doesn’t need more monkey stuff?).

I don’t have any of the books (yet) though I’ve heard writers sing their praises on other message boards, and if you doubt, just look at the price for Bill’s Secrets of Action Screenwriting over at Amazon (holey moley! None of my backlist goes for $99 to $250! Oh, wait. I don’t, ahem, have a backlist yet. Right……).

What I can personally praise are the CD’s. Not only are they great quality (yes, it’s important), but the information is first rate. I recently bought the “classic” discs on sale, and got Ideas & Creativity, Guerrilla Marketing, Thriller Writing parts 1 & 2, Indie Films, and Writing Horror. I listened to them all on Friday and Saturday as I was making a very large triangle around Central and North Texas in my trusty Subaru. ALL of them had tidbits I could apply to my novel writing, though if you only want to try one and you’re only working on a novel, I’d recommend you start with Ideas & Creativity (I have a feeling that if you do, you’ll follow up with another order). It’s an awesome CD that really takes you through a process for sparking creativity and generating unique and marketable ideas.

Now I just have to decide which ones I’m going to order next!

So there you go. Check out the site. Report back. Let me know what you think!