Here's a great little on-line critique group I recently joined called Critters Workshop. (I did this for awhile then dropped out because I was spending too much time reading and critiquing. It was a great experience and I highly recommend it. I'd still be doing it if I just had enough time. I do recommend any new writer spending at least a few years in either an in-person critique group, or at least on this or another on-line group. Make sure it's a good group, though, otherwise they could mess you up. If they're being too negative get out and try another one.)
Here's an interesting website I want to check out more when I have time: Rejection Wiki.
There's an interesting writers group for new writers called Codex Writer's Group.
One of my favorite books on writing is The Secrets of Story by Matt Bird. This is written by a screenwriter and so I wasn't sure how relevant it would be to my short story and novel writing, but he does a great job with explaining plotting and character development. I liked this book so much that for my birthday I got my own copy (instead of using library books which I usually do). With my own copy I can now tab and highlight to my heart's delight - which will be a lot in this comprehensive book of great advice. There's not much on the nuts and bolts of writing though. But for that, I like...
Style, by Joseph M. Williams and Joseph Bizup. This is a great resource if you're working on making your writing clear and concise. But, my favorite part of the book is Lesson 11, Elegance. This is about making your writing more poetic and beautiful. I would have thought that was just something you had in you or not, but then they actually explain some tricks to help. I just wish I could find an entire book that focused on what this one chapter focuses on. This is another one that I bought. I love it that much!
