[INFO] General writing advice

For those who wish to write something other than MLP fanfiction one day; here is a collection of writing tips covering pretty much everything there is to be covered.

 

Don't let this wall of text intimidate you, many of these tips repeat the same things.

These are -not- rules, these are guidelines.

They might help you in areas that you have little experience in and/or are uncomfortable with.

 

Overview of subjects that will be addressed:

 

General writing tips;

character development;

female characters;

male characters;

tips for specific characters;

dialogue;

point of view;

plot, conflict, structure and outline;

setting and worldbuilding;

creativity boosters;

revision and grammar;

tools and software;

specific help.

 

 

                                                GENERAL WRITING TIPS

 

 

>       34 Writing Tips that will make you a Better Writer

 

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/34-writing-tips-that-will-make-you-a-better-writer/

 

>       50 Free resources that will improve your writing skills

 

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/06/28/50-free-resources-that-will-improve-your-writing-skills/

 

>       5 ways to get out of the comfort zone and become a stronger writer

 

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2012/06/11/5-ways-to-get-out-of-the-comfort-zone-and-become-a-stronger-writer/

 

>       10 ways to avoid Writing Insecurity

 

http://www.copyblogger.com/writing-insecurity/

 

>       The Writer’s Guide to Overcoming Insecurity

 

http://menwithpens.ca/overcome-writer-insecurity/

 

>       The Difference Between Good Writers and Bad Writers

 

http://goinswriter.com/the-difference-between-good-writers-and-bad-writers/

 

>       Developing Your Own Style

 

http://kgillsrpc.tumblr.com/post/36677314196/youre-not-hemingway-helping-you-develop-your-own

 

>       7 Ways to use Brain Science to Hook Readers and Reel them In

 

http://writetodone.com/2012/08/06/usebrain-science-to-hook-readers-and-reel-them-in/

 

>       8 Short Story Tips from Kurt Vonnegut

 

http://kgillsrpc.tumblr.com/post/36375268657/eight-short-story-tips-from-kurt-vonnegut

 

>       How to Show, Not Tell

 

http://kgillsrpc.tumblr.com/post/36351603234/how-to-show-not-tell-a-writing-lesson-from-john

 

>       5 Essential Story Ingredients

 

http://kgillsrpc.tumblr.com/post/36349738694/the-5-essential-story-ingredients

 

>       How to Write Fiction that grabs your readers from page one

 

http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/there-are-no-rules/write-fiction-that-grabs-readers-from-page-one

 

>       Why research is important in writing

 

http://kgillsrpc.tumblr.com/post/36145323791/why-research-is-important-in-writing

 

>       Writing Ergonomics (Staying Comfortable Whilst Writing)

 

http://productivewriters.com/2011/09/12/writing-ergonomics-posture-alignment-writer/

 

>       The Importance of Body Language

 

http://all-american-rph.tumblr.com/post/37225376161/the-importance-of-body-language

 

 

 

                                                CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

 

>       10 days of Character Building

 

http://poewar.com/10-days-of-character-building-wrap-up/

 

>       Name Generators

 

http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/names/generators.htm

 

>       Names

 

http://www.nameplayground.com/

 

>       Universal Mary Sue Litmus Test

 

http://www.springhole.net/writing/marysue.htm

 

>       Seven Common Character Types

 

http://www.fictionfactor.com/guests/common.html

 

>       Handling a Cast of Thousands Part 1 - Getting To Know Your Characters

 

http://www.writing-world.com/fiction/greenway3.shtml

 

>       Web Resources for Developing Characters

 

http://www.writerswrite.com/journal/jun00/gak14.htm

 

>       Building Fictional Characters

 

http://www.charlottedillon.com/characters.html

 

>       Fiction Writer’s Character Chart

 

http://www.eclectics.com/articles/character.html

 

>       Character Building Workshop

 

http://www.writersvillage.com/wvu2/

 

>       Tips for Characterization

 

http://trutor.net/char.html

 

>       Character Chart for Fiction Writers

 

http://www.epiguide.com/ep101/writing/charchart.html

 

>       Villains are people too but…

 

http://www.stellacameron.com/contrib/villains.html

 

>       How to Write a Character Bible

 

http://www.ehow.com/how_2049246_write-character-bible.html

 

>       Character Development Exercises

 

http://www.pgtc.com/~slmiller/characterexercises.htm

 

>       All Your Characters Talk the Same - And They’re Not A Hivemind!

 

http://io9.com/5379280/all-your-characters-talk-the-same--and-theyre-not-a-hivemind

 

>       Family Echo (Family Tree Maker)

 

http://familyecho.com/

 

>       100 Character Development Questions for Writers

 

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976908598

 

>       Aether’s Character Development Worksheet

 

http://aetherial.tumblr.com/post/33213688834/checklist-for-character-development-created-by

 

>       Creating Believable Characters With Personality

 

http://kgillsrpc.tumblr.com/post/36871105016/creating-believable-characters-with-personality

 

>       Creating Fictional Characters

 

http://writeworld.tumblr.com/post/35990334503/creating-fictional-characters

 

>       Three Ways to Avoid Lazy Character Description

 

http://kgillsrpc.tumblr.com/post/36440998550/three-ways-to-avoid-lazy-character-description

 

>       Character Development Questionnaire

 

https://sites.google.com/site/novelwritingsite/fictional-character-outline

 

>       Character Development Through Hobbies

 

http://consulting-helper.tumblr.com/post/36534314557/character-development-through-hobbies

 

>       Character Flaws List

 

http://www.darkworldrpg.com/lore/flaws.html

 

>       10 Questions for Creating Believable Characters

 

http://consulting-helper.tumblr.com/post/36512295460/top-10-questions-for-creating-believable-characters

 

>       How to Craft Compelling Characters

 

http://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles/by-writing-goal/write-first-chapter-get-started/hooked-on-a-feeling

 

>       Character Development: Virtues

 

http://prancingloon-rph.tumblr.com/post/36112051177

 

>       Character Development: Vices

 

http://prancingloon-rph.tumblr.com/post/36113247926

 

>       Character Morality Alignment

 

http://prancingloon-rph.tumblr.com/post/33351831442

 

>       List of Positive Personality Traits

 

http://prancingloon-rph.tumblr.com/post/33346517796

 

>       List of Negative Personality Traits

 

http://prancingloon-rph.tumblr.com/post/33349804753

 

>       List of Emotions - Positive

 

http://prancingloon-rph.tumblr.com/post/32908812502

 

>       List of Emotions - Negative

 

http://prancingloon-rph.tumblr.com/post/32989873636

 

>       Loon’s Character Development Series - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

 

http://prancingloon-rph.tumblr.com/post/32189872551

 

>       Phobia List

 

http://prancingloon-rph.tumblr.com/post/32863719038

 

>       30 Day In Depth Character Development

 

http://asgardianthunder.tumblr.com/post/12903597383/the-most-in-depth-30-day-character-development-meme

 

>       Words for Emotions based on Severity

 

http://prancingloon-rph.tumblr.com/post/32992171458

 

>       Eight Bad Characters

 

http://roleplayersresources.tumblr.com/post/32758436754/eight-bad-characters

 

>       High Level Description of the Sixteen Personality Types

 

http://roleplaybookstore.tumblr.com/post/30775047711/high-level-description-of-the-sixteen-personality-types

 

 

 

                                                FEMALE CHARACTERS

 

>       How Not to Write Female Characters

 

http://impishidea.com/writing/how-not-to-write-female-characters

 

>       Writing Female Characters

 

http://heroinesoffantasy.blogspot.ca/2012/08/writing-female-characters.html

 

>       How to write empowering female characters

 

http://exploringbelievability.blogspot.ca/2012/04/how-to-write-empowering-female.html

 

>       Why I write strong female characters

 

http://io9.com/5912366/why-i-write-strong-female-characters

 

>       Red Flags for Female Characters Written by Men

 

http://www.superheronation.com/2011/08/27/red-flags-for-female-characters-written-by-men/

 

>       The Female Character Flowchart

 

http://www.overthinkingit.com/2010/10/11/female-character-flowchart/

 

>       Eight Heroine Archetypes

 

http://prancingloon-rph.tumblr.com/post/33351836394

 

 

 

                                                MALE CHARACTERS

 

>       Eight Hero Archetypes

 

http://prancingloon-rph.tumblr.com/post/33351833637

 

 

                                        TIPS FOR SPECIFIC CHARACTERS

 

>       Writing Drunk Characters

 

http://kgillsrpc.tumblr.com/post/24476394871/writing-drunk-characters

 

>       Writing A Manipulative Character

 

http://kgillsrpc.tumblr.com/post/36455509701/how-could-one-play-a-manipulative-character

 

>       Writing A Friends With Benefits Relationship

 

http://kgillsrpc.tumblr.com/post/37198994252/any-tips-on-writing-a-friends-with-benefits

 

>       Writing A Natural Born Leader

 

http://kgillsrpc.tumblr.com/post/36958756771/how-does-one-play-a-natural-born-leader

 

>       Writing A Flirtatious Character

 

http://kgillsrpc.tumblr.com/post/36755207348/hi-do-you-know-how-to-play-a-flirtatious-character

 

>       Writing A Nice Character

 

http://kgillsrpc.tumblr.com/post/36374407580/how-do-you-play-nice-character-ive-played-many-nice

 

>       Writing Characters Using Conflict & Backstory

 

http://www.movieoutline.com/articles/writing-characters-using-conflict-and-backstory.html

 

>       Fiction Writing Exercises for Creating Villains

 

http://prancingloon-rph.tumblr.com/post/33351840721

 

>       Five Traits to Contribute to an Epic Villain

 

http://prancingloon-rph.tumblr.com/post/33351838698

 

>       Writing Villains that Rock

 

http://roleplayersresources.tumblr.com/post/32642139014/writing-villains-that-rock

 

>       On Assassin Characters

 

http://roleplayersresources.tumblr.com/post/30271957276/on-assassin-characters

 

 

                                                DIALOGUE

 

>       It’s Not What They Say...

 

http://www.writing-world.com/fiction/say.shtml

 

>       Top 8 Tips for Writing Dialogue

 

http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/crafttechnique/tp/dialogue.htm

 

>       Speaking of Dialogue

 

http://www.sfwriter.com/ow08.htm

 

>       The Great Said Debate

 

http://writeworld.tumblr.com/post/19595947188/ive-read-many-time-that-using-words-other-than-said-or

 

>       He Said, She Said, Who Said What?

 

http://jomichaels.tumblr.com/post/23229687764/he-said-she-said-who-said-what

 

>       How to Write Dialogue Unique to Your Characters

 

http://kgillsrpc.tumblr.com/post/35768730278/how-to-write-dialogue-unique-to-your-characters

 

>       Writing Dialogue: Go for Realistic, Not Real-Life

 

http://kgillsrpc.tumblr.com/post/36583526071/writing-dialogue-go-for-the-realistic-not-real-life

 

 

                                                POINT OF VIEW

 

>       Establishing The Right Point of View

 

http://www.writing-world.com/fiction/POV.shtml

 

>       How to Start Writing in the Third Person

 

http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/writingexercise1/ht/ptofview.htm

 

>       The I Problem

 

http://kgillsrpc.tumblr.com/post/36582023323/the-i-problem

 

 

                                        PLOT, CONFLICT, STRUCTURE AND OUTLINE

 

>       Writing A Novel Using the Snowflake Method

 

http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/articles/snowflake-method/

 

>       Effectively Outlining Your Novel

 

http://www.fictionfactor.com/articles/outlining.html

 

>       Conflict and Character Within Story Structure

 

http://www.musik-therapie.at/PederHill/Structure&Plot.htm

 

>       Outlining Your Plot

 

http://www.sff.net/odyssey/tips2.html

 

>       Ideas, Plots and Using the Premise Sheets

 

http://www.tennscreen.com/plots.htm

 

>       Creating Conflict and Sustaining Suspense

 

http://www.fictionfactor.com/articles/createconflict.html

 

>       Plunge Right In…Into Your Story, That Is

 

http://www.writing-world.com/fiction/plunge.shtml

 

>       Tips for Creating a Compelling Plot

 

http://trutor.net/plot.html

 

>       36 (plus one) Dramatic Situations

 

http://www.sff.net/people/Julia.West/CALLIHOO/ideagen2.htm

 

>       The Evil Overlord Devises A Plot: Excerpt from Stupid Plot Tricks

 

http://sff.net/paradise/plottricks.htm

 

>       Conflict Test

 

http://home.earthlink.net/~kpanov/conflict_test.htm

 

>       What is Conflict?

 

http://www.caroclarke.com/whatisconflict.html

 

>       Monomyth

 

http://orias.berkeley.edu/hero/

 

>       The Hero’s Journey: Summary of Steps

 

http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/smc/journey/ref/summary.html

 

>       Plotting Without Fears

 

http://www.aliciarasley.com/art4.htm

 

>       Writing The Perfect Scene

 

http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/articles/writing-the-perfect-scene/

 

>       One-Page Plotting

 

http://pbackwriter.blogspot.be/2008/05/one-page-plotting.html

 

>       The Great Swampy Middle

 

http://jimbutcher.livejournal.com/1865.html

 

>       How Can You Know What Belongs In Your Book?

 

http://emptymanuscript.tumblr.com/post/18865116590/how-can-you-know-what-belongs-in-your-book

 

>       Create A Plot Outline in 8 Easy Steps

 

http://writeworld.tumblr.com/post/28800464810/how-to-create-a-plot-outline-in-eight-easy-steps

 

>       How to Organize and Develop Ideas for Your Novel

 

http://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles/by-writing-goal/write-first-chapter-get-started/how-to-organize-and-develop-ideas-for-your-novel

 

>       Choosing the best outline method for you

 

http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/choosing-the-best-outline-method-for-you

 

>       Hatch’s Plot Bank

 

http://www.angelfire.com/nc/tcrpress/plotbank.html

 

 

                                                SETTING & WORLDBUILDING

 

>       Magical Word Builder’s Guide

 

http://www.web-writer.net/fantasy/

 

>       I Love The End Of The World

 

http://www.deepgenre.com/wordpress/craft/i-love-the-end-of-the-world/

 

>       World Building 101

 

http://www.fictionfactor.com/articles/worldbuilding.html

 

>       The Art of Description: Eight Tips to Help Bring Your Settings to Life

 

http://www.writing-world.com/fiction/description.shtml

 

>       Creating the Perfect Setting

 

http://www.writerswrite.com/journal/nov98/keegan13.htm

 

>       Creating a Believable World

 

http://poewar.com/creating-a-believable-world/

 

>       Setting

 

http://www.eclectics.com/articles/setting.html

 

>       Character and Setting Interactions

 

http://www.aliciarasley.com/artset.htm

 

>       Maps Workshop - Developing the Fictional World Through Mapping

 

http://hollylisle.com/maps-workshop-developing-the-fictional-world-through-mapping/

 

>       World Builders Project

 

http://hiddenway.tripod.com/world/

 

>       Creating Fantasy and Science Fiction Worlds

 

http://www.elfwood.com/farp/thewriting/liljenbergworlds/liljenbergworlds.html

 

 

                                        CREATIVITY BOOSTERS     * denotes prompts

 

>       *Creative Writing Prompts

 

http://www.creativewritingprompts.com/

 

>       *Ink Provoking

 

http://www.inkprovoking.com/

 

>       *Story Starter

 

http://thestorystarter.com/

 

>       *Story Spinner

 

http://bonnieneubauer.com/storyspinner.shtml

 

>       *Language is a Virus

 

http://languageisavirus.com/writing_prompts.html#.UXrlwLUwwfZ

 

>       Solve Your Problems By Simply Saying Them Out Loud

 

http://litemind.com/solve-your-problems-simply-by-saying-them-out-loud/

 

>       Busting Your Writing Rut

 

http://www.therenegadewriter.com/2007/10/28/busting-your-writing-rut/

 

>       Creative Acceleration: 11 Tips To Engineer A Productive Flow

 

http://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2007/09/19/creative-acceleration-11-tips-to-engineer-a-productive-flow/

 

>       Writing Inspiration, Or Sex on a Bicycle

 

http://cornerscribe.com/wordpress/187/writing-inspiration-or-sex-on-a-bicycle/

 

>       The Seven Major Beginner Mistakes

 

http://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2007/09/10/the-seven-major-beginner-mistakes/

 

>       Complete Your First Book with these 9 Simple Writing Habits

 

http://www.dumblittleman.com/2007/09/complete-your-first-book-with-these-9.html

 

>       Free Association, Active Imagination, Twilight Imaging

 

http://www.languageisavirus.com/articles/articles.php?subaction=showcomments&id=1099110778&archive=&start_from=&ucat=&#.UXrmhrUwwfY

 

>       Finishing Your Novel

 

http://www.timothyhallinan.com/writers.php

 

 

                                                REVISION & GRAMMAR

 

>       How To Rewrite

 

http://justinelarbalestier.com/blog/2008/01/02/how-to-rewrite/

 

>       Editing Recipe

 

http://www.junkfoodmonkey.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Fics/Articles/EditingRecipe.html

 

>       Revising Your Novel: Read What You’ve Written

 

http://poewar.com/revising-your-novel-read-what-youve-written/

 

>       Writing 101: Revising A Novel

 

http://www.lazette.net/vision/Vision54/Write101.htm

 

>       20 Common Grammar Mistakes That (Almost) Everyone Makes

 

http://litreactor.com/columns/20-common-grammar-mistakes-that-almost-everyone-gets-wrong

 

>       Synonyms for the Most Commonly Used Words of the English Language

 

http://criticalcharlize.tumblr.com/post/30196433043/synonyms-for-the-most-commonly-used-words-of-the

 

>       Grammar Urban Legends

 

http://kgillsrpc.tumblr.com/post/36499448171/urban-legends-from-the-world-of-grammar

 

 

                                                TOOLS & SOFTWARE

 

>       Tip Of My Tongue - Find the word you’re looking for

 

http://chir.ag/projects/tip-of-my-tongue/

 

>       Write or Die - Stay motivated

 

http://writeordie.com/

 

>       Stay Focused - Tool for Chrome, lock yourself out of distracting websites

 

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/stayfocusd/laankejkbhbdhmipfmgcngdelahlfoji

 

>       My Writing Nook - Online Text Editor, Free

 

http://www.mywritingnook.com/

 

>       Bubbl.us - Online Mind Map Application, Free

 

https://bubbl.us/

 

 

                                                SPECIFIC HELP

 

>       Fashion Terminology

 

http://all-american-rph.tumblr.com/post/31011011096/fashion-terminology

 

>       All About Kissing

 

http://all-american-rph.tumblr.com/post/37440933737/dalekrps-this-post-is-all-about-kisses-not-the

 

>       Genre Help: Romance

 

http://all-american-rph.tumblr.com/post/37233488486/genre-help-romance

 

>       Types of Mental Illness

 

http://prancingloon-rph.tumblr.com/post/33351630321