UPDATE 1/10: Dead links removed, new links added, as well as Revision and Tools and Software sections.
Are you still stuck for ideas for National Novel Writing Month? Or are you working on a novel at a more leisurely pace? Here are 102 resources on Character, Point of View, Dialogue, Plot, Conflict, Structure, Outlining, Setting, and World Building, plus some links to generate Ideas and Inspiration. Also, I recommend some resources for Revision and some online Tools and Software. Too many links? Pick a few at random and bookmark the rest for later.
CHARACTER, POINT OF VIEW, DIALOGUE
The Universal Mary Sue Litmus Test
Priming the idea pump (A character checklist shamlessly lifted from acting)
Handling a Cast of Thousands – Part I: Getting to Know Your Characters
Establishing the Right Point of View: How to Avoid “Stepping Out of Character”
How to Start Writing in the Third Person
Web Resources for Developing Characters
What are the Sixteen Master Archetypes?
Fiction Writer’s Character Chart
Fiction Writer’s Character Chart
Villains are People, Too, But . . .
Top 10 Tips for Writing Dialogue
Advantages, Disadvantages and Skills (character traits)
How to Write a Character Bible
Character Development Exercises
All Your Characters Sounds the Same — And They’re Not a Hivemind!
Writing the Other: Bridging Cultural Difference for Successful Fiction
Family Echo (family tree website)
Interviewing Characters: Follow the Energy
100 Character Development Questions for Writers
Lineage Chart Layout Generator
PLOT, CONFLICT, STRUCTURE, OUTLINE
How to Write a Novel: The Snowflake Method
Effectively Outlining Your Plot
Conflict and Character within Story Structure
Ideas, Plots & Using the Premise Sheets
Creating Conflict and Sustaining Suspense
Plunge Right In . . . Into Your Story, That Is!
Fiction Writing Tips: Story Grid
Tips for Creating a Compelling Plot
The Thirty-six (plus one) Dramatic Situations
The Evil Overlord Devises a Plot: Excerpt from Stupid Plotting Tricks
The Hero’s Journey: Summary of the Steps
Outline Your Novel in Thirty Minutes
The Art of Description: Eight Tips to Help You Bring Your Settings to Life
Creating the Perfect Setting – Part I
An Impatient Writer’s Approach to Worldbuilding
Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions
Character and Setting Interactions
Creating Fantasy and Science Fiction Worlds
Maps Workshop — Developing the Fictional World Through Mapping
Solve Your Problems Simply by Saying Them Out Loud
Writing Inspiration, or Sex on a Bicycle
Creative Acceleration: 11 Tips to Engineer a Productive Flow
The Seven Major Beginner Mistakes
Complete Your First Book with these 9 Simple Writing Habits
Free Association, Active Imagination, Twilight Imaging
Story Starters and Idea Generators
One-Pass Manuscript Revision: From First Draft to Last in One Cycle
Revising Your Novel: Read What You’ve Written
Writing 101: So You Want to Write a Novel Part 3: Revising a Novel
My Writing Nook (online text editor; free)
Bubbl.us (online mind map application; free)
Freemind (mind map application; free; Windows, Mac, Linux, portable)
XMind (mind map application; free; Windows, Mac, Linux, portable)
Liquid Story Binder (novel organization and writing software; free trial, $45.95; Windows, portable)
Scrivener (novel organization and writing software; free trial, $39.95; Mac)
SuperNotecard (novel organization and writing software; free trial, $29; Windows, Mac, Linux, portable)
yWriter (novel organization and writing software; free; Windows, Linux, portable)
JDarkRoom (minimalist text editor; free; Windows, Mac, Linux, portable)
AutoRealm (map creation software; free; Windows, Linux with Wine)
Wow, what a great resource. I feel really honored for your mention to Solve Your Problems Simply by Saying Them Out Loud. Thanks!
Bookmarked and Stumbled!
You’re welcome. It struck me that talking it out was a great way to tackle a story problem too. Thanks for the stumble!
Wow, this an incredible list! Thanks!
You’re welcome, Lauri! I hope it’s useful for you.
Here is another really good collaborative web-based mind mapping tool that might be worth looking at comapping.com.
This is really fantastic! Thank you for compiling this resourceful list. I like it so much I linked to it in my writers’ group. You can see the discussion here:
http://www.blogcatalog.com/group/got-character/discuss/entry/spectacular-resources-for-characters-and-beyond
Thanks, Vivienne! That looks like an interesting discussion group.
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W00t! Stumbled, and the first word I saw was ‘NaNoWriMo’… And I started grinning my head off. Yay NaNoers! I am so bookmarking this.
[...] Here to Create » 85 Resources for Fiction Writing [...]
Excellent. Will be forwarding it on to members of the Writers’ Resource Centre. Thanks!
I really enjoyed this comment. I appreciate how I can find oodles of resources on this blog. I miss your blog posts!
http://www.jenbluekissed.blogspot.com
[...] 5. For those of you planning on losing your minds this November for NaNoWriMo I have a link that I found while trolling their forums. It has a bunch of links that should helpful. And even those who don’t plan to participate, the links should be helpful for any writer. It’s 85 Resources for Fiction Writing. [...]
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Nice resources. I LUV WRITING!!!!!!!
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This is going to help out my writing a lot. Thanks for the resources.
A very huge list of useful resources. It is going to take a lot of time to go through this.
thanks a million !
this is best collection
whenever i feel down or need inspiration , now i know where to come
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[...] 85 Resources for Fiction Writing- Yes, 85 very cool sites, programs, and tips for writing. Take care before you click the link- you’ll be reading for hours. [...]
[...] for Fiction Writers. If anyone reading this happens to be a writer, you can read the article here. There’s a lot of links about character building on here that I haven’t seen before, [...]
I am an aspiring writer and happened upon this site early one morning and found it’s recources to be amazingly helpful and would like to thank you all!
I feel like I can do anything and go anywhere with my writing now. Once again, Thank You!!
I just died and went to heaven…
I happened across this post on tumblr today. you are a saint.