Husky laying down
Hound dog sitting
Young Husky sitting
Golden Retriever sitting
Gray Pitbull sitting
German Shepard sitting
Cocker Spaniel sittting
Jack Russel sitting
Black and white spaniel sitting
Big, fuzzing brown puppy sitting

A Writer’s Toolbox: Prepping for 2011

by Martina Boone

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”
-Agatha Christie

With the holidays coming to a close, it’s time to snap out of that food coma and gear up for another productive year, right? Maybe you have plans to work on a new writing project. Or revise the NaNo novel that almost made your eyes bleed a few weeks ago. Or maybe you just want to get a little more organized. 
No matter what your New Year’s Writing Resolution is, here’s a list of resources to help you ring in 2011:
FOR THE BRAIN
Behind the Name – Need a name for your character?
Scholar Google – Search for specific scholarly literature
Crime Spider –search for crime, police, fire, and prosecution info
CIA World Factbook – current facts about the history, government, population, economy, and more, of almost 300 countries/entities
How Stuff Works – Want to know how animated tattoos work? Or how to change the oil? What about lock-picking? This site puts all the research in one place.
Encyclopedia Mythica – Encyclopedia for mythology, folklore, and religion
FOR THE MUSE
Rory’s Story Cubes — Like throwing dice. Except with images. ($)
The Story Starter — “first sentence” writing prompts
The Imagination Prompt Generator — More writing prompts than you’ll know what to do with!
Seventh Sanctum — Need help with a name for a supervillain?
DeviantArt — An artist-based community offering everything from anime to photography; great for visual inspiration
Flickr — Browse through thousands of photos shared by users from around the world
FOR THE TASK-MASTER
Scrivener – Many Mac writers swear by this content organizer. Windows version coming soon. ($)
Ywriter – Free word processor to help you organize your novel into chapters and scenes.
OneNote – Compile all your notes and research links in this application ($)
Evernote – Free note-taking application; iPhone app available
MindMeister – Online brainstorming tool used for creating visual outlines; basic version is free
Bubbl – Free, easy-to-use mind-mapping application to help you brainstorm and collaborate with others
DropBox – Great for backing up your work and syncing between multiple computers; iPhone app also available
Remember the Milk – Online to-do list helps you manage writing tasks and deadlines; compatible with Google calendar, gmail, Outlook, iPhone, Blackberry, Twitter, and more
FOR THE NUDGE-NEEDERS
Write or Die – Use the online version for free or download it to your desktop ($) for those times when you really need to crank out the words
Dragon NaturallySpeaking – Speech-recognition software ($)
Freedom (for Mac) – Turn off the internet or use Anti-Social for just the social networking sites
Writechain App – an iPhone app that stores and tracks your  word count with the intention of training you to write daily; If you miss a day, you break your “write chain” (free for a limited time)
Q10 or WriteMonkey – Free text editors with no bells or whistles to distract you; can also be set up to sound like a typewriter when you type
Pandora Radio – personalized radio stations
Playlist.com – Listen to free music online and create playlists for your WIPs
FOR THE EDITOR
Wordle — A visual way to see what words you like to use in your manuscript.
Wacom Bamboo Pen Tablet — I just got this little gadget, but I can already tell it’ll be great for editing ‘on the page.’
EditMinion — From Dr. Wicked, the mastermind behind Write or Die, is the editing application (still in beta) to help you spot common editing mistakes.
Grammar Girl — Daily grammar tips and podcasts
Lulu/FedEx Office (formerly Kinkos)/Office Depot/Staples — Get your manuscript printed and bound to catch editing mistakes you might otherwise miss by reading on the screen.
So obviously this is just an abbreviated list to help you get 2011 off to a great start. But there are tons of great resources for writers these days. What tools have you stumbled on? Is there anything you wouldn’t be able to write without? For me, it’s DropBox, Pandora, and DeviantArt. I think I’d go crazy if I couldn’t sync my work between computers, and whenever I’m stuck, the right music or image will usually guide me back on track.
 Beautiful Snow 3 by Saphitri
Exercise:
For this week’s writing prompt, use the photo above as inspiration to write a short story based on the theme: Beginnings (a new start). If you’d like to share it with us, enter it in the comments below (up to 250 words) or provide a link to where we can find it on the web. (And please don’t forget to credit and link back to the photographer if you choose to post the picture on your blog or website.) We also welcome comments on the stories or the craft tip.    
And the winner of last week’s giveaway of Nothing Like You by Lauren Strasnick is:
Lee Mandel
Congrats Lee! I’ll be mailing out your copy this week. 
Today’s giveaway is a signed copy of Forget You by Jennifer Echols. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post and fill out the entry form. The contest is open to US residents and will run until Jan. 3 at 8pm EST. The winner will be announced next Tuesday. Good luck!
Happy New Year!
Cam

Martina Boone

Martina Boone is the award-winning author of the romantic southern gothic Heirs of Watson Island series, starting with COMPULSION from Simon & Schuster, Simon Pulse and the Celtic Legends Collection of novels set in Scotland, Cornwall, and Ireland beginning with LAKE OF DESTINY. She’s passionate about improving lives through literacy and the love of books, and she runs the Compulsion For Reading program to distribute books to underserved schools and libraries.

She lives with her husband, children, Shetland Sheepdog Phinney, and Zoey the lopsided cat, and she enjoys writing contemporary romantic fiction with a hint of magic set in small towns and beautiful places. When she isn’t writing, she’s addicted to travel, horses, skiing, chocolate flavored tea, and anything with Nutella on it.

Post © Martina Boone and/or Adventures in YA Publishing. All rights reserved.
Posted: Dec 28, 2010
Category: Imported from AYAP
Tags: Craft of Writing | Inspiration for Writers | Literary Agents | Resources | Writing Prompts

Welcome to Transmedia Mutts

Yellow origami dog on a teal background

Unleash your creative bark!

Shout out to AYAP!

Logo for Adventures in YA Publishing

Thank you to the women who started Adventures in YA Publishing and ran it for years. AYAP and TMM have merged to form Adventures in PUPlishing, and the legacy AYAP posts are now part of TMM. Click here to learn more about the earlier AYAP team.

 

Click to Join our Facebook Group

Share advice, practice pitching, celebrate successes, and support each other through writing and publishing adventures.

The first slide is an animation of a science/magic room in a castle. A cartoon character of a mad-scientist looking man in in the foreground says: “Hello! Dr. Frankenstein here to say, Well Done on kid lit zombie week! I’m an expert at reviving the dead, and let me assure you, with a little spark, you can bring dead projects to life. Especially if you dig up parts from other dead things. I’ll even let you have a sneak peek at my laboratory’s store room to consider potential parts for your dead project. If you see something with a yellow glow, that means you should click it. Have fun!”

He points to the right side of the screen and a new scene slides in of a castle science/magic storage room. There are various cartoon Frankenstein body parts scattered around. Some of them have a yellow glow. If you click on them, the images below appear (I’ve added alt text to them, so I hope it works).

The Heart of your story is the main character. The protagonist is the beating core that truly brings your story to life. If your MC doesn't make kids (and their grown-ups) care within the first few pages, your story will flatline. </p> <p>Your main character needs to be:<br /> • Relatable enough for kids to see themselves<br /> • Unique enough to stand out in the slush pile<br /> • Active enough to drive the story<br /> • Memorable enough to survive multiple readings at bedtime</p> <p>Where do you find this amazing donor heart? It might be the very thing you loved so much about the manuscript you want to revive. It might be the younger sister from your shelved YA novel. Or maybe it’s the hilarious kid you blogged about meeting at a school visit. Find a character beating with potential and place it in the center of your story.<br />
The Brain of your story is the theme or central message. The theme is the big idea that controls everything else. Picture books are more than stories - they're tiny life lessons disguised with humor and heart.</p> <p>But your theme needs to be:<br /> • Subtle enough not to trigger the dreaded "didactic" rejection<br /> • Clear enough for a four-year-old to grasp<br /> • Universal enough to speak to both kids and adults<br /> • Fresh enough to prevent agents and editors from responding with "Not another sharing/bedtime/first-day story!"</p> <p>Check your other dead manuscripts to see if there is a recurring theme, something that really seems to be speaking to you. Find the bit of poetry you scribbled on the back of a receipt to see what theme inspired it. Reread the pep talk you texted your critique partner at 1am. Pick the theme that will drive your story, giving it purpose, direction, and deeper meaning.<br />
The Legs of your story is the plot. Not to be confused with a grave plot.🤪 The plot is what keeps everything upright and moving, as well as providing support for all the other elements. You have very few words to use in a picture book, so you need to do a lot with each plot point.</p> <p>In general, your plot should:<br /> • Hook readers fast<br /> • Build tension that a child can follow<br /> • Create page turns that feel natural<br /> • Wrap up in a way that satisfies</p> <p>You can borrow a plot twist (a leg) from one manuscript and the opening (the other leg) from a different manuscript. Consider if the subplot of the middle grade novel you trunked would work better as a picture book. Or maybe your Facebook post about a disastrous camping trip could become a story for kids. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other until you have your storyline.
The Arms of your story are the side characters.
The Torso of your story is the setting. Setting helps a story breathe and connects all the elements of the story. It isn't just where your story lives, it's what makes your story ALIVE. It's the difference between "this happened in a park" and "this happened in that park, the one with the twisty slide that burns your legs and the creaky swing that sounds like a baby crying.”</p> <p>Your setting should:<br /> • Make your character's world feel real<br /> • Contain your story in a way that makes sense to young readers<br /> • Connect different scenes and moments organically<br /> • Give your illustrator enough room to add visual subplots</p> <p>Half-finished manuscripts are a great place to dig up settings, since you worked out the place details before the plot petered out. Or maybe you had to cut a second fantastic location from your chapter book. You can also revisit the detailed caption from your Instagram carousel documenting your tour of that delish candy shop. Disinter a robust setting that can house all of your story's vital organs.

After you press the Click When Done circle button, the lights flash with the sound of electricity buzzing. Then the screen goes black and lightning zaps across the screen with the sound of thunder.

The screen then lights up to show the storage room, and all the Frankenstein pieces have been assembled into the whole monster. An upbeat song plays in the background. Then a speech bubble pops up with the words, “I’m alive! I’M ALIVE!” Then the screen goes to black. 

Use of this site constitutes an agreement to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

AFFILIATE LINK DISCLAIMER: This site contains affiliate links, images, and ads to purchase various products. As an Amazon Associate, and a member of other affiliate programs, this site earns a commission from qualifying purchases if you click on one of these links, images, or ads.

© 2025 Transmedia Mutts, LLC. All Rights Reserved.