Would you like one of my thirty-five collections of ideas for free?
Email me at mail@ideas4writers.com, let me know which collection you would like, and attach your proof of purchase for this book. I’ll send you a link to download the collection of your choice. You’ll receive a PDF e-book copy of the collection. Choose one of the following:
Characters (377 ideas)
Description and Setting (94 ideas)
Dialogue (138 ideas)
Plot (109 ideas)
Structure (60 ideas)
Theme (21 ideas)
Fiction (394 ideas)
Novels (192 ideas)
Plays (65 ideas)
Screenplays (87 ideas)
Short Stories (234 ideas)
Storylines (125 ideas)
Comedy (189 ideas)
Crime (215 ideas)
Erotica (78 ideas) – over 18s only
Fantasy (139 ideas)
Historical (92 ideas)
Horror (106 ideas)
Mystery and Suspense (87 ideas)
Romance (176 ideas)
Science Fiction (122 ideas)
Thrillers (102 ideas)
Editing (117 ideas)
Getting Ideas (218 ideas)
Getting Published (128 ideas)
Improving Your Writing/Writing Tips (159 ideas)
Overcoming Rejection (30 ideas)
Overcoming Writer’s Block (143 ideas)
Self-Publishing (75 ideas)
Magazine Articles (301 ideas)
Non-Fiction Books (160 ideas)
Poetry (125 ideas)
Travel Writing (75 ideas)
Writing for Children (201 ideas)
Writing for Teens/Young Adults (73 ideas)
If you’d like more than one collection, they’re available as PDF e-books from ideas4writers.com or from Amazon’s Kindle Store (search for “ideas4writers” to see the full list).
The Romance, Science Fiction and Thrillers collections are also available from Amazon in paperback. We’re planning to release the rest of the collection in paperback eventually.
Resources
Introduction
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) – every November
nanowrimo.org
International Three-Day Novel Writing Contest – every September
3daynovel.com
Chapter 3
Healthy Computing
Setting up and using computer equipment correctly
healthycomputing.com
Google search
google.com or google.co.uk
Google maps
google.com/maps or google.co.uk/maps
Wikipedia – free online encyclopaedia
wikipedia.org
Dictionary.com – free online dictionary
dictionary.com
Power Thesaurus – free online thesaurus
powerthesaurus.org
ideas4writers Facebook group
facebook.com/groups/ideas4writers
Mastery by George Leonard (book)
Available from Amazon in paperback
Online backup services:
Dropbox: dropbox.com
Google Backup and Sync: google.co.uk/drive
Apple iCloud: icloud.com
Microsoft OneDrive: onedrive.live.com
Online email services:
Gmail: gmail.com
Yahoo! Mail: yahoo.com
Chapter 4
Evernote – write notes on any device and keep them synchronised
evernote.com
Microsoft OneNote – another popular note-saving application
onenote.com
DBS check – needed for working with children in the UK
gov.uk/government/organisations/disclosure-and-barring-service
I Used To Believe
iusedtobelieve.com
Facebook
facebook.com
eBay – online shopping and auction site
ebay.co.uk
Freecycle – pass your unwanted items on to someone else
freecycle.org
CraigsList – online small ads
geo.craigslist.org/iso/gb
Wordtracker – online keyword and key phrase generator
wordtracker.com
Misheard lyrics and other interesting mistakes:
Kiss This Guy: kissthisguy.com
Am I Right: amiright.com/misheard
How to Win Short Story Competitions (book)
by Dave Haslett & Geoff Nelder
Available from Amazon on Kindle and in paperback
Google Translate
translate.google.com
Instagram – photo and video-sharing social network
instagram.com
Pinterest – photo-sharing social network
pinterest.com
Flickr – image-sharing website
flickr.com
Pixabay – image-sharing website
pixabay.com
Stock image sites:
Pexels: pexels.com
Shutterstock: shutterstock.com
Unsplash: unsplash.com
Canva – design your own book covers and other artwork
canva.com
The Creative Penn – writers’ resources and podcast
thecreativepenn.com
The Sell More Books Show – book marketing podcast
sellmorebooksshow.com
The Fastest Way to Get Ideas: 4,400 Essential What Ifs for Writers(book)
Available from the Kindle Store or as a PDF e-book from ideas4writers
Chapter 5
The Mind Map Book by Tony Buzan and Barry Buzan
Available from Amazon in paperback
Chapter 6
Drag-and drop website builders:
SiteBuilder: sitebuilder.com
Weebly: weebly.com
Wix: wix.com
The Sealed Knot – English Civil War information and re-enactments
thesealedknot.org.uk
Blogging platforms:
Blogger: blogger.com
Wordpress: wordpress.com
YouTube – video-sharing website
youtube.com
The British Library
bl.uk
Amazon – online retailer of books, music and just about everything
amazon.co.uk
AuctionSniper – online tool that places eBay bids in the closing seconds
auctionsniper.com
The Speed Reading Book by Tony Buzan
Available from Amazon in paperback
Speed Reading tools that flash text onto your screen at high speed:
Spreeder: spreeder.com
ReadMe!: readmei.com
Encyclopaedia Britannica
eb.com
Style guides – available from Amazon:
The Oxford Manual of Style
The Times Style Guide
The Elements of Style by Strunk and White
The Chicago Manual of Style
Recommended books for writers – available from Amazon:
The Creative Writing Coursebook by Julia Bell and Paul Magrs.
How to Write a Million
More About How to Write a Million
Research for Writers by Ann Hoffmann
Chapter 7
Workflowy – outlining app and ideas organiser
workflowy.com
Chapter 8
News websites:
BBC News: news.bbc.co.uk
CNN: cnn.com
Chapter 10
Online speech-to-text conversion services:
Rev.com – uses human typists
Trint.com – uses intelligent software, returns text file in minutes
Writing Magazine’s critique service
writers-online.co.uk/writing-courses/critique-service
Chapter 11
Harlequin Mills and Boon – publisher of romantic novels
harlequin.com
Chapter 13
Touch Typing in Ten Hours by Ann Dobson (book)
Available from Amazon in paperback
Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing (software for PC and Mac)
Available from Amazon
EasyScript and ComputerScript – simple shorthand system
easyscript.com
Dragon voice recognition/dictation software:
shop.nuance.co.uk
Tips for using Dragon software, microphones, voice recorders, etc.
scottbakerbooks.com
StoryWeaver – story creator/outlining software
storymind.com/storyweaver.htm
The Marshall Plan for Novel Writingby Evan Marshall (book)
Available from Amazon in paperback and on Kindle
WriteItNow – creative writing software
ravensheadservices.com
Scrivener – word processor, outliner and book creator software
literatureandlatte.com
Dabble – similar to Scrivener but cleaner and simpler
dabblewriter.com
Final Draft – screenwriting software
finaldraft.com
Free office suites (word processor, spreadsheet, database, etc):
OpenOffice: openoffice.org
Libre Office: libreoffice.org
Chapter 15
Reedsy – find and work with publishing professionals and designers
reedsy.com
Fiverr – online marketplace for freelance services
fiverr.com
Index
3-Day Novel Contest, 15, 257
abbreviating, 195
accuracy, 123
affirmations, 401
advanced, 413
anecdotes, 273
artwork, commissioning, 364
Asimov, Isaac, 27
authority, writing with, 284
AutoText, 301
back ups, 52
Baker, Scott, 306
beginnings, 278
blank page syndrome, 391
blogs, 130
body clock, best use of, 173
book coaches, 368
book covers as motivators, 402
books that write themselves, 46
books, recommended, 145
bookshops, best use of, 138
Bradbury, Ray, 14
brainstorming, 107
breaks, importance of, 35
Buzan, Tony, 117
carpal tunnel syndrome, 29
Cartland, Barbara, 14, 348
characters
creating, 243
knowing, 228
minimising number of, 254
naming, 255
reusing, 337
stereotypes, 348-349
charting your progress, 208
cheating, 321
adding pictures, 332
editing, 323
non-fiction, 321
other people write book, 328
public domain works, 343
rewriting, 322
using copyrighted work, 344
write what you know, 331
chess as a fiction structure, 226
cloning bestsellers, 337
clustering, 117
coaching, 356
collaborating, 353
communication skills, 36
Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur, 14, 343
controversy in marketing, 286
courses, creating, 283
credibility, 18, 282
critique services, 211
DBS checks, 58
deadlines, importance of, 43, 377
delegating, 166
dialogue, 253
dictation, 193, 304
distractions, avoiding, 197
Dragon voice recognition, 305
Dumas, Alexandre, 347
EasyScript, 297
eBay, 138
AuctionSniper, 138
editing, 48
by listening, 324
editors, working with, 368
emails, dealing with, 172
ergonomics, 29
exercise, physical, 34
exercises, practical, 275
expertise, 261
Facebook pages and groups, 131
fame, 19
FAQs, 272
fast fiction, 213
fear of success, 389
feedback, getting, 210
Final Draft, 312
Fiverr.com, 370
freewriting, 106, 158
friends, best use of, 142, 361
gaps, 121, 123
genre, 230
getting organised, 30
getting started, 183
ghost writers, 368
Healthy Computing, 29
Hemingway, Ernest, 14
heroic myths, 225
hiring help, 168
historical sources, 129
ideal reader, 110
ideas, 55
dreams, 66
evaluating, 102, 120
recording, 55
ideas4writers (website), 73
interviewing skills, 132
jobs and job-shadowing, 136
jobs, yours, best use of, 146
journalists, befriending, 287
keeping up with the news, 170
Kerouac, Jack, 14
keyboard shortcuts, 30
keyboards, 293
Dvorak, 295
keywording, 118
Kindle, Amazon, best use of, 324
knowing your subject, 38
Lawrence, D.H, 14
legacy, 17
length
chapters, 215
novels, 213
librarians, 78
libraries, best use of, 133
Libre Office, 319
life and death, 248
locations, 251
longer writing sessions, 205, 403
longhand, 313
magazine articles, writing, 288
market, connecting with, 406
marketability, 282
Marshall Plan Novel Writing, 313
method acting, 231
Microsoft Word
free alternatives, 319
tips, 314
Mind Maps, 113
mini writing sessions, 152
money, making, 22
mood, matching, 234
motivation, 395
narrowing your subject, 105, 263
NaNoWriMo, 14
natural sound recordings, 32
negative thoughts, beating, 196
newspapers, best use of, 135
noise, dealing with, 31
non-fiction, 259
note-taking, 124
OpenOffice, 319
organising your book, 50
outlining, 155
pace, 244
pantsers vs. plotters, 154
passion, 40, 256
Patterson, James, 349
people, real, using, 250
perfection, 188
persona, adopting a, 355
personal assistants, 367
pictures, importance of, 236
planning, 149
plots, guaranteed, 335
poetry as a motivator, 402
positive mental attitude, 384
practice, 38
preparing for the next session, 190
professional writers, 21
progress, measuring, 44
public domain works, reusing, 230
purpose, 241
quality, maintaining, 25
question and answer format, 271
question brainstorming, 112
questions, controversial, 137
readers, profiling, 326
recognition, 19
recycling old work, 178
relaxation, importance of, 388
repackaging knowledge, 325
repetitive strain injury (RSI), 29
research, 123
local, 134
primary, 137
universitie
s, 145
researchers, 367
resources, 429
rewards and motivators, 398
rewriting other people’s work, 269
Scott, Sir Walter, 14
Scrivener, 311
self-help books, using, 384
self-hypnosis, using, 385
senses, 247
series, creating a, 105, 339
shorthand, 297
side panels and boxes, 334
Simenon, Georges, 14
six degrees of separation, 360
sleep, importance of, 34
software for fiction-writers, 306
speeches, adapting into books, 280
speed-reading, 140, 165
stenography, 302
storyboarding, 239
storytelling skills, 39
StoryWeaver, 307
structure, non-fiction, 276
style manuals, 145
success, 386, 395, 400
targets, 44, 206, 398
teaching, 42, 274
technology, best use of, 291
television, 141
text expanders, 299
thinking time, importance of, 378
three-act structure, 216
time management, 176
time of day, 33
time, finding, 161-162
timelines, 238
travel, 142
typing speed, 291-292
unique selling point (USP), 77