Resources

writing resources samples of writing

Note: Some of these resources come from me and some come from others. Many are free, some require an email, a few require payment. The paid resources I love, use myself, and recommend to everyone online or offline.

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Writing

  • Scrivener: If you’re writing any long-form document and shirk from planning — whether it’s your thesis, novel, screenplay, or presentation — you need Scrivener. I’m serious. I don’t recommend products or specific writing utensils or programs ever because I think people generally build good systems for themselves that work if they learn how to live reflectively, BUT I so fully believe in Scrivener that I want to give you links to buy Scrivener 3 for macOS (Regular License), (Education License), buy Scrivener for Windows (Regular License), (Education License).
  • Writing Rules, Revised: These 36 unorthodox articles on the craft of writing I sold to markets like Writer’s Digest and The Poet’s Market. If you want help from my own experiences, start here.
  • RegEx — in the Tips for Writing Novels series I wrote a brief primer on using RegEx searches in both Scrivener and Word to make finding hyper specific pacing, prose, and manuscript-wide changes. Read this and bookmark it.
  • 50 Reads for Writers: The books I recommend most often to writers.
  • 251 Fantasy Agentsa list of 251 literary agents who represent fantasy literature.
  • 48 Action Adventure Agents: a list of 48 agents who represent action adventure literature.
  • Before You Start That Blog: a series I wrote that focuses on the philosophies you should consider before you start a blog. It’s essentially a checklist that will keep you from contributing to the drivel, the dross, the mess of the internet and actually help make a more reflective and helpful place.
  • Submission Logsheet: You’ll want to keep track of your submissions in one place even if you use the new tools because the truth is that many literary magazines, filmhouses, and agents still rely on pen and paper or even old submission software. I’ve made a simple submission logsheet so that you can keep track of things easily.
  • Query Tracker: When it comes time to find an agent, the $25 per year to use the data of Query Tracker is stupid cheap. I mean stupid cheap. The efficiency of this tool alone is easily worth $240 per year. Jump on this while it’s cheap.
  • Submittable: If you’ve submitted anywhere yet, you’re already familiar with this tool, but after I made a suggestion a few years back to the team they added the ability to search for magazines AND FILMHOUSES as well as contests and the like that have issued open calls for submissions. It makes it much easier to find publications in addition to the functionality of keep track of queries to magazines. You’ll still want the logsheet, but this helps a ton.
  • Romance Novel Tropes: Now more than ever, we need the tropes of the romance genre. If you’re wanting to know them and how to incorporate them — well — into your own work, this piece is for you.
  • How to Write Poetry: When I was a little boy, I complained that I didn’t “get” poetry. Now that I’ve become a man, I understand the mystery and am happy to reveal the secret to you — it’s actually pretty simple to write poetry, it simply takes some time.
  • How to Write Xmas Stories (or really any story): Most authors focus so much on their protagonist that they forget the forces that oppose the protagonist. This antagonistic outline works both for pantsers who HATE outlines (since it’s so simple), and for meticulous outliners who really need a meta frame before writing their story.
  • Top 300 Blogs and Websites that Will Review Your Book: If you’re in the marketing stage of your book, you’ll need a list like this to start reaching out for reviews.
  • Sanderson’s Laws of Magic: For those building magic systems or using magic of any kind in fantasy, scifi, or spec fic.
  • Mary Robinette’s Mice Quotient: Quick way to think about multi-tier stories and nested narratives.

Reading, Libraries, + Book Clubs

  • Contact info for every public library in America.: In case you’re launching a book or something.
  • How to Read Reflectively: One of our authors, Professor Jessica Scheuerman, wrote this quick flyer on how to read reflectively. It’s a great place to start if you want to start retaining and savoring the literature you read.
  • Book Club Suggestions: You’re starting a book club, but “HELP LANCE I HAVE NO FREAKING CLUE WHAT TO DO NEXT! SHOULD I EAT THESE PAPER PULPS?” Take a breath. Let me help you shape your first discussion.
  • The Lost Tools of Learning: If you’ve ever been in a class and asked, “When am I going to use this in real life?” You’re not alone and you’re not have a problem with subject X. You’re having a problem with learning how to learn. Dorothy Sayer’s piece is more relevant than ever as our education system collapses.
  • 12 Sources for Harry Potter: My friend and mentor Dr. John Granger teaches us the 12 sources that J.K. Rowling pulled from to write Harry Potter.

Creativity, Making, + The Artist Life

Myths + Fiction

  • How Myths Saved Me from Suicide I was suicidal in highschool and was saved by the myths of the world. This is a story about how I found meaning in life and bliss and joy.
  • Worldbuilding Checklist 101: If you’re working on fantasy or science fiction (really any fiction, since all fiction is fantasizing) you should download a copy of this worldbuilding checklist that will help you consider the various aspects of your fully-realized world.

Producing + Directing + Editing

  • Pre-production Checklist: Before you produce your film or mixed media project, make sure to take some time to think through the steps required to get to the production and post-production stages. This download will help with that.
  • Price Sheet for Freelancers: Though this should probably be in the writing section, most of the steady freelance income I made early on came from copywriting, proofreading, copyediting, and scripts for short films. This list — as of 2018 — shows what would be the upper limit for Joplin, Missouri and the lower limit for New York City, therefore constituting something like a national average for what to charge for your editorial or copywriting or other freelance writing and producing services.

Blogging tools

  • WordPress: I use and highly recommend this free blogging software. I know people like squarespace and it’s true: for musicians and stores, squarespace does good work. BUT WordPress is the eight hundred pound substance gorilla — it’s built for people that want to think cleverer, feel deeper, and act truer — publishers, in other words. All the cool kids use it.
  • Simple Perle: My website’s theme. Free and clean.
  • Canva: A simple design solution for folk like me that need some crutches in the design world.

Email marketing

  • Mailchimp: Again so fresh and so clean. Simple, free for the first 2000 subscribers, and great for folk who just want to share their work with dedicated relationships.
  • Sumo: Sumo is the email aggregator I use. Simple popups and landing pages to help you grow your list.

Finances + Fundraising

  • Online gift range calculator: I realized that all of the nonprofits, individuals, and development directors I know who raise donations and gifts could use this gift range calculator. So I asked my data friend Gab to build it.
  • How Warren Buffett picks stocks: In Warren’s words, if you’re doing math with Greek letters in it, you’ve got the wrong profession. This stuff is stupid simple if you do it right, so learn the math and do your research. Basically, the man is taking advantage of a short-sighted market by being greedy when they’re fearful and fearful when they’re greedy.
  • 3 Books that Define Personal Finance: Another four or five artists last week asked me how I schedule my own personal finance. Truth is, I read a lot and try to implement what I read. For me, there are at least three books that define personal finance.