Here are links to articles with writing tips or common writing errors authors make. Weeding out errors will tighten your prose and make your story easier to read.
4 Ways to Verify Your Story Concept is Strong Enough
6 Ways to approach your edits with objectivity
7 Steps to Write Your First Novel
8 Tips for Punctuating Dialogue Tags
12 Common Writing Errors Even Bestselling Authors Make
12 Most Popular Grammar Questions and Answers on Writer’s Digest
43 Words You Should Cut from Your Writing
Adding depth to your fiction — body language 101
American/Canadian/British English spelling guide
Anatomy of a best — selling novel: structure part one
Change passive voice to active
Description: Fiction Without the Fillers, Story Without the Stuffing — by Kristin Lamb
Filter words and phrases it’s best to avoid
Free online punctuation exercises
Gender-neutral pronouns: singular “they”
Grammar Girl’s Editing Checklist
Here (with two years of exhausting photographic detail) is how to write a book
How to Create Subtext in Settings
How to Edit Your Own Lousy Writing
How your hero’s past pain will determine his character flaws
Lousy Writer Site — This site contains a free online resource to improve your writing skills and help you write better.
Most Common Writing Mistakes — a comprehensive list by K. M. Weiland
Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 58 — an excellent post on writing description, by K. M. Weiland
Save Money on Professional Edits — 6 Easy Ways to Clean Up Your Own Manuscript
Ten Reasons Why I’ll Quickly Reject Your Story by David Farland
Three Things to Do Before You Write a Book
Using Hyphens for Kick-Ass Wordage
Editing Software
Natural Reader — A free version is offered for download. This text-to-speech software allows you to listen to someone else read your work, helping you to catch errors you might overlook when reading it yourself.
Online Editor — Grammar Checker
Genre Writing
The articles at these links address the specifics of writing in various genres:
Sexual Tension on the Sentence Level
The Differences Between a Crime Novel, Mystery Novel, and Thriller Novel
Loglines
How to easily write a great logline
The Logline as both a sales and writing tool — Excellent article on writing loglines. The logline should be written before the story. It’ll help you prove your concept.
The Log-Line: Can You Pitch Your ENTIRE Story in ONE Sentence? by Kristen Lamb
Scenes
Writing Dialogue
Dialogue in fiction: part I — How to write authentic dialects and foreign accents
Writing Tools
A list of 194 tools and resources
Random Plot Generator — Stuck for a plot? No problem. This plot generator will provide one. The dropdown allows you to select from a variety of genres.
Indie author support & Discussion 