Day Eighteen: 28,481 of 50,000 words
I was going to blog tonight, but this damned plot has finally started to put itself together in some semblance of a story – it’s still a bit like a paper maché sculpture dropped in a full bathtub, but I think I can see the shape of things to come. At the very least, I need to give it a fair shake instead of derailing myself to come up with something entertaining, informative, etc.
So.
In the mean time, you tell me:
What writing books or writing advice is absolutely invaluable to you?
Which bits of inspiration do you turn to over and over again?
Can’t wait to see what you have to share! See you all tomorrow.
The official blog of Michelle Tuckett, word ninja. 
I just started writing a novel myself, though I fear I won’t be at your word count in such a short amount of time.
As far as inspiration – it’s my material. I feel I have such a great story to tell, it inspires me to push on and write more. Not that any of it is good, but it does push me on.
As for books, I liked On Writing by Stephen King although a lot of the tips are a little meh.
Beth Revis has some really editing useful tips that have totally helped me along. Check it out:
http://bethrevis.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-revision-rewriting-process.html
Also, Nancy Kress’s Dynamic Characters is a solid book for all sorts of things from character sketches to plot development.
http://www.amazon.com/Dynamic-Characters-Nancy-Kress/dp/1582973199
The most useful piece of advice I think I read when doing this was not to worry about getting all the details spot on at the first draft point – as long as you have your story and characters down in broad brush strokes you can come back and fill in details later when you’ve had time to do proper research. I read that on Nicola Morgan’s blog which I would suggest you have a look at – it’s got tons of stuff on writing and publishing 🙂
http://helpineedapublisher.blogspot.com/
Over the years I’ve amasssed a sizeable collection of writer help books, but some of them are so outdated… I’ve gone back and highlighted parts that still work for me… I am also a big reader of JA Konrath’s blog, and there’s always great advice there…
Armand Rosamilia
I believe in always going back to the basics… the foundation is where all creativity sprouts from. For me, it would be ‘Writing Fiction: the Practical Guide’ (by Gotham Writers Workshop), I find it indispensable and inspiring.
Good luck figuring out the plot.
Unfortunately, the writing advice that works for me tends to fall into the category of tedious cliches. I will say the most helpful was this: like your characters – or at least be generous with them.
It’s true that some writers have produced brilliant works with characters they detested, but there is something distinctly unpleasant about reading them.