You Gotta Love This Writing with Janice Hardy

Are you ready for some more You Gotta Love This Writing expertise? This week, we have Janice Hardy with us.

Janice Hardy has garnered success in the literary world through both pen and web. She is the creator and owner of the writing self-help website Fiction University.

As a writer, Janice was constantly frustrated when someone would tell her, “Just do this,” but would give her no direction as to how to “just do it.” Because of that frustration, she was inspired to create her writing self-help website, which aims at doing what others have failed at: providing writing tips and tricks with clear-cut examples.

In addition to running a successful website with her website, Janice is also the award-winning author of the teen fantasy trilogy The Healing Wars and a few other self-help books for writers.

We thank Janice Hardy for taking time out of her busy life to grace us with some resources she personally uses to get her creative juices flowing. These resources were handpicked specifically for you, readers! Hope you enjoy.

Here are Janice Hardy’s writing tools, as suggested and described, in her own words.

Outside Resources

1. Microsoft OneNote

OneNote allows me to keep notes and organize my books. It’s also a cross-platform, so I can take notes on any device, and it automatically syncs the file. It’s incredibly helpful when I’m out and about and an idea hits me.

2. Fiction First Aid by Raymond Obstfeld

Fiction First Aid was one of the first books I ever bought when I was learning to write. Unlike so many others, this one was clear and easily understandable, and I loved how Raymond broke everything down into easy-to-manage bites. I saw immediate improvement in my writing after I read this book.

3. Scrivener

I wrote in Word for a long time, but it was always a hassle to move scenes or find what I was looking for. Scrivener makes it easy to break files into how I structure my manuscripts, and I can move scenes with ease. It has a bit of a learning curve before you figure it out, but it’s worth the hassle.

4. Anything by Penny Sansevieri

From her workshops, to her books, to her newsletters, Penny always has great and practical advice for authors. I love the way she makes the daunting task of marketing manageable and not only explains how to do something, but also adds those extras touches on how to make it effective.

Resources I Have Created

5. Understanding Show, Don’t Tell (And Really Getting It)

Understanding Show, Don’t Tell (And Really Getting It) is by far my most popular book on writing and one of my most requested workshops when I teach at conferences around the country. I learned early on that I had a way of explaining this difficult topic that made sense, and I’ve been able to help a lot of writers with it.

6. Plotting Your Novel: Ideas and Structure

Plotting Your Novel: Ideas and Structure was the first writing book I ever published. It helped me really examine my process and teach other writers how to find their own. It’s a book that’s helped a lot of new writers navigate their first book, as well as those who are having trouble finishing a novel.

7. Revising Your Novel: First Draft to Finished Draft

This is one of my favorite writing books. It started out as an online workshop on my site (Fiction University), but there was just so much more I wanted to add to it. I would have needed six months to cover it all. It’s like having an editor in your pocket who can guide you (not tell you what to do) through a revision and ask the right questions to bring out the best in your manuscript.

Janice Hardy is the award-winning author of the teen fantasy trilogy The Healing Wars, including The Shifter, Blue Fire, and Darkfall from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins. She also writes the Grace Harper series for adults under the name, J.T. Hardy. When she’s not writing fiction, she runs the popular writing site Fiction University and has written multiple books on writing, including Understanding Show, Don’t Tell (And Really Getting It), Plotting Your Novel: Ideas and Structure, and the Revising Your Novel: First Draft to Finished Draft series.