Below you’ll find tools, books, and other resources to help you in your writing and author career. I use or have reviewed all the resources on this page. I’ve noted the tools that I use.
Writing Tools
- NovelCrafter – Similar to Scrivener, NovelCrafter helps you organize all the elements of your book in one place. What I like about it over Scrivener is that it isn’t overwhelming. I also like that all the features are integrated for easy reference during writing. NovelCrafter offers a Codex where all the information about characters, locations, items (e.g. magical stuff), and more including plot summary can be stored. You can outline and view in various formats, have chapter summaries for easy reference, notes (Snippets) and NovelCrafter also offers an AI element for when you need brainstorming or other other help (it connects through Open Router). But where it gets interesting is that if I mention something in the book text, like a character, that is in the codex, the word is highlighted and I can hover it to reference what I have about it in the codex. Further, the codex and chapter summaries are integrated into the book project so if you do need AI help for brainstorming, it knows the reference materials so that it gives you ideas based on the project. For those of you wanting to write with AI, it can do that too.
- Scrivener – Scrivener is a long-standing writer’s tool that helps you organize your writing project in one place. From outlines to research, you can keep it all in the same place as your writing. Plus, you can find free romance templates for Scrivner at Gwen Hayes or Jami Gold’s websites. WWH Members can access a Scrivener romance template in the Freebie area of the site. I own Scrivener but don’t use it, only because my writing process doesn’t quite fit with it.
- Jot from Boogie Board– An Etch A Sketch for note-taking and will send notes to an app.
- Nuance’s Dragon Naturally Speaking: I’ve doubled my output and spend less time at my desk by getting the Professional Individual version where I can digitally record and the software transcribes the recording. It’s expensive, but for me, it’s well worth it for the increase in output and a decrease in time spent writing. (Get rewards using Swagbucks or Rakutan)
- Digital recorder: You can use your phone, but I like to use my phone to refer to my plot, so I use a small Sony Recorder that has the USB plug built in. I record and then plug the recorder into my laptop.
- Microsoft 365 (Business) – I resisted moving away from my old version of Word, but now I’m glad I’ve gone with MS 365. I have the business version which has lots of apps to help you in your writing business. First of all the MS 365 Word has a really good editor, plus a few other bells and whistles such a transcription of audio without having to tell it punctuation (if you dictate away from the computer), and it will read your MS to you which is a great way to hear errors you might miss while reading. Along with Word, you get Powerpoint, Excel, Chimpchamp (videos), Loop (similar to Notion), Outlook, OneNote, OneDrive (storage for easy switching between computers), Planner, Lists, Copilot (MS’s new AI) and more. There is a Home version for single use or family that doesn’t have all the apps, but it does have the basics.
Romance Resource Books
Phrasing Books
- Character Expressions: A Fiction Writer’s Thesaurus of Facial Expressions
- Romance, Emotion & Erotica Writer’s Phrase Book
- Action Writers’ Phrase Book: Essential Reference for All Authors of Action, Adventure & Thrillers (Writers’ Phrase Books)
- The Romance Writer’s Phrase Book (This may be out of print)
- Master Lists for Writers
- The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression – This doesn’t have phrases, but it provides physical signals, internal sensations, mental responses, and more to help you come up with ways to express emotion in your writing. There are several books in The Writers Helping Writers series that are helpful to writers. I’ve listed them below.
- The Synonym Finder
- Another Way to Say That (website)
- Other Ways to Say (Pinterest) – This is a board I created that has all those infographics on “Other Ways to Say” (this I tend to pull up on my phone if needed)
Writers Helping Writers Series
- The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression
- The Conflict Thesaurus
- The Emotional Wound Thesaurus
- The Positive Trait Thesaurus
- The Negative Trait Thesaurus
- The Occupational Thesaurus
- The Urban Setting Thesaurus
- The Rural Setting Thesaurus
You can get all 8 books together on Kindle here.
Character Development Books
- The Conflict Thesaurus
- The Emotional Wound Thesaurus
- The Positive Trait Thesaurus
- The Negative Trait Thesaurus
- The Occupational Thesaurus
Settings
How-To/Help Books
- Romancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels (How to Write Kissing Books Book 1)
– How to plot and write a romance. - Write True: A Bestseller’s Guide to Writing Craft and Achieving Success in the Romance Industry – Insights and tips on being a romance author.
- The Writer’s Guide to Training Your Dragon: Using Speech Recognition Software to Dictate Your Book and Supercharge Your Writing Workflow– How to maximize voice recognition software to write more in less time.
– How to plot and write a romance.
– Insights and tips on being a romance author.Idea Generators