Monday, May 3, 2010

Five Novelists' Web Sites That Offer Great Writing Advice

JA Konrath
Konrath is a mystery and horror novelist, but his writing advice goes far beyond those genres. One of the best things about his advice is he's not afraid to tell the truth about the harsh realities of getting published, and the things every writer needs to know to work at getting published. He will tell you exactly how things are, or at least how he sees them, and not be all nicey nice and beat around the bush. He's not only a writer, but a businessman. He has a downloadable pdf, that can be found here, that offers tons of solid advice to beginning writers who want to be novelist. But you've been warned. Joe Konrath pulls no punches. Make sure to check out his ongoing blog, A Newbie's Guide to Publishing, and all the free pdf books he has to offer. And just so you know, Konrath also writes under the name Jack Kilborn.

Jennifer Blake
For you fans of romance fiction, Jennifer Blake is just right for you. She has been writing romance novels for more than thirty years. And her Web site offers more than simply advice for writers. She has recipes, reviews and more.

Nicholas Sparks
Sparks is likely best known for his debut novel, The Notebook, but he's written plenty of novels since then, nearly all bestsellers. He's not exactly a romance writer, or at least not a traditional romance writer, though his stories do tend to be about love and hope and family. His Web site offers a writer's corner with plenty of free information about the practice and business of writing. Sparks is also a prolific reader, and he keeps tabs of what he's reading on his site. Check out his forums to talk with his fans.

Holly Lisle
Fantasy novelist Holly Lisle has had 32 of her novels published, and she's working on the next one. Her online site has tons and tons of advice for beginning writers. She covers everything from techniques to submitting to publishers to tax and money and much, much more. She also has a writing diary, a blog of sorts, so you can keep tabs on her latest projects.

Ursula K. Le Guin
Le Guin is best known as a fantasy author, specially her Earthsea series of books, but she has written much outside the fantasy genre, too. Her Web site is another with plenty of advice for writers. She even goes so far as to include a harsh rejection letter she received from a book editor back in 1968 when her writing career was beginning; the letter is meant to give hope to writers today who have to face rejection letters.

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