Contact the Librarian at your campus for more help!
University Park and
World Campus:
Manuel Ostos
(MUO16@psu.edu
or 814-865-3693)
Behrend (Erie):
Jane Ingold
(JLI4@psu.edu or 814-898-7278)
Berks:
Brett Spencer
(DBS21@psu.edu or 610-396-6261)
Harrisburg:
Heidi Abbey Moyer
(HNA2@psu.edu or 717-948-6056)
Welcome!
This guide is intended to support emerging creative and professional writers as they develop their craft. Whether you are a novelist, poet, essayist, or work in another genre, this site is for you! Below are some favorite resources. On the left side of the page, click on the tabs to explore additional resources for wordsmithing, adding detail, submitting your work, copyright, and more. If you need further help, please contact a librarian at your campus: Manuel Ostos (University Park and World Campus), Jane Ingold (Behrend/Erie), Brett Spencer (Berks), and Heidi Abbey Moyer (Harrisburg).
Favorite Magazines, Blogs, and Sites
- Daily Writing TipsLearn something new about writing every day at this popular site.
- diyMFAHundreds of helpful articles about writing, reading, and creating community.
- NewPagesLinks to writing programs, contests, publishers, and other opportunities.
- NaNoWriMo Pep TalksCelebrated every November, National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) encourages *everyone* to write creatively. This collection of "pep talks" provides inspiration for those who needs to get start, or need to keep writing.
- Poets & Writers MagazinePoets & Writers is one of the largest writer's organizations in the United States. Its bimonthly magazine provides news, publishing opportunities, and tips for the writing community. For additional content, see http://www.pw.org.
- Writers DigestSimilar to Poets & Writers, Writer's Digest provides practical advice and other resources for writers.
Inspirational Bookshelf
Bird by Bird by Call Number: PN147.L315 1994 -- consult the CAT (Penn State's library catalog) for more informationISBN: 0679435204Publication Date: 1994-09-06A step-by-step guide on how to write and on how to manage the writer's life. From "Getting Started,' with "Short Assignments," through "Shitty First Drafts," "Character," "Plot," "Dialogue." all the way from "False Starts" to "How Do You Know When You're Done?" Lamott encourages, instructs, and inspires.
How Fiction Works by Call Number: PN3331.W67 2008 -- consult the CAT (library catalog) for more information.ISBN: 9780374173401Publication Date: 2008-07-22What makes a story a story? What is style? What's the connection between realism and real life? These are some of the questions James Wood answers in "How Fiction Works," the first book-length essay by the preeminent critic of his generation.
On Writing by Call Number: PS3561.I483Z475 2000 -- consult the CAT (library catalog) for more information.ISBN: 0684853523Publication Date: 2000-10-03A series of vivid memories from childhood, adolescence, college, and the struggling years that led up to King's first novel, Carrie, will afford readers a fresh and often very funny perspective on the formation of a writer. He also offers practical and inspiring advice on everything from plot and character development to work habits and rejection.
Reading Like a Writer by Call Number: PE1408.P774 2006 -- consult Penn State's CAT (library catalog) for more information.ISBN: 0060777044Publication Date: 2006-08-22Sit by the author's side and take a guided tour of the tools and the tricks of the masters. She reads the work of the very best writers -- Dostoyevsky, Flaubert, Kafka, Austen, Dickens, Woolf, Chekhov -- and discovers why their work has endured.
Writers on Writing by Call Number: onlineISBN: 0313315922Publication Date: 2005-06-30A variety of writers comment on the short short and its many meanings and manifestations. Contributors from Amiri Baraka to Richard Ford and Jayne Anne Phillips to Janette Turner Hospital discuss their own writing, the writing of others, the short story form, gender, politics, and other issues concerning the writing of short fiction.
The Writing Life by Call Number: PS3554.I398Z478 1989 -- consult Penn State's CAT (library catalog) for more information.ISBN: 0060161566Publication Date: 1989-09-01The bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning author provides a delightful and informative look into her experiences and struggles with her craft.
