Free Resources from Bob & Jack's Writing Blog

 I think you're going to be thrilled with today's resource. When I researched Tuesday's post on strong verbs, I found a blog with so many amazing resources, I've spent a couple of days browsing. It's time to feature Bob and Jack's Writing Blog.

Jack Remick and Robert J. Ray are successful novelists independently. Together, they wrote The Weekend Novelist Writes a Mystery, one of several sequels to The Weekend Novelist by Robert J. Ray. And together they host a blog bursting with information for fiction and memoir writers. If you've been looking for a site that not only gives detailed information on the craft of writing, but writing exercises, too, you've found the right place.

Bob and Jack's goal is to get you writing. To give you lines to get you started. Instead of just reading about how to write, they'll make you do it. I can't ask for anything better. It's like being a kid in a candy store.

On their site, Bob and Jack offer not one, but seven free writing courses. Courses like From Memory to Story and A Course in Memoir. Elements of Dramatic Writing or Make Bad Writing Better.

Are you a visual writer? They post diagrams to help writers of particular genres. The Birth to Now Diagram for memoir writers blew me away. But don't worry if you aren't writing memoir. There are diagrams for mystery, crime, and the hero's journey.

Of course there are plenty of articles on craft. Like How to Read Like a Writer, a three-part series that will make you a better reader. I'll definitely begin using the Scene Checklist--seventeen critical elements of a scene. If you're just getting started, check out the Beginner's Mind, an article explaining how to face a blank page, and use a timer to help you get going.

I've barely scratched the surface of Bob and Jack's blog, and that doesn't even include a separate site they maintain, based upon the Weekend Novelist books. The Weekend Novelist site has many more resources for the hungry writer.

I'm so glad I came across such giving authors. Many others would charge for the information they give away. Makes you want to go buy some of their books, huh?