resources

• Writer Beware: www.sfwa.org/beware
  Lots of information about scam and other very bad agents, such as Barbara Bauer
  
  
• Preditors & Editors: www.anotherrealm.com/preditors
  A site listing Editors and Agents (among other things) with both contact info and info on whether or not that particular person is recommended -- an excellent resource when you don't want to be scammed.
  
  
• Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America: www.sfwa.org
  There's a whole lot of stuff on this site, about writing, and publishing, and about people trying to separate you from your money. This site deserves a thorough perusal (and periodic revisiting).
  
  
• National Novel Writing Month: www.nanowrimo.org
  Be part of a large crowd of insane people, each trying to write a 50,000+ word novel in 30 days over the month of November (soon!). Useful if you have an overbearing internal editor that keeps you from moving forward, the strict quantity over quality pace is great for just getting you to do it.
  
  

• Making Light: www.nielsenhayden.com/makinglight
  Blog, source of perpetual information on writing and just about everything else.
  
  
• Evil Editor: evileditor.blogspot.com
  Blog by an unidentified editor in the field. Lots of info about how to write query letters to editors, and how not to be a clueless idiot.
  
  
• Miss Snark: misssnark.blogspot.com
  Blog by an unidentified agent in the field. Lots of info about how to query agents, and how not to be a clueless idiot. With counterexamples.
  
  

• Strunk!: Elements of Style
  The quintessential book on writing and style. Although some of the rules are made to be broken, you should know what the rules are that you're breaking. Almost universally recommended; I keep a copy at hand as part of my standard writing kit, along with my dictionary, thesaurus, and pot of tea.
  
  

• Worldbuilding Questionaire: by Patricia C. Wrede
  An exhaustive list of things to think about when building a world. Largely fantasy-oriented, but useful nonetheless regardless of genre
  
  
• PlanetDesigner: www.planetdesigner.org.uk
  You need to know a bit about what you're doing, but you can sort of learn some of it just by adjusting one figure at a time and seeing what effect it has. Very cool, if you've got the brain for it. Some days I sure don't )-:
  
  
• Language Creation:: www.zompist.com
  Fairly detailed information about how to go about creating a realistic language
  
  

• Manuscript Preparation: John Gregory Betancourt, SFWA website
  Everything you need to know, basically. Read it.
  
  
• Elements of Writing a Great Query Letter: PageWise:
  More directed towards first-time novel writers than short stories, etc., but the basic info is the same. Good description.

• Ralan: www.ralan.com
  One author's site, with a comprehensive list of markets (pro & otherwise) and fairly up-to-date news. Also, he(?) keeps track of response times, and links to various publisher's submission criteria. Definitely a good place to start when you are ready to begin submitting...
  
  
• Storypilot: storypilot.com
  Oooh, a neat interactive market database for SF/F/H! *Very* cool! Much like Quintamid, only actually kept up to date
  
  
• The Engine: engine.freeshell.org
  Also very neat, lots of options for searchable criteria.
  
  

• Locus: www.locusmag.com
  This is pretty much the definitive source for the state of the industry, plus interviews, etc.
  
  

• Writer's Digest:
  I found this magazine to be a complete waste of money. It seemed to have very little oriented towards SF&F, was full of ads including many of dubious honesty, and seemed much more oriendte towards the wanna-be and vanity-press niche than anyone trying to become a serious writer. Your mileage may vary, and if yo do by some miracle find this useful, please let me know and I will note here that my experience is not the only one.
  
  

• SFWA: www.sfwa.org:
  Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America - a very useful place to look for info. You can't actually become a member of SFWA until you've sold some stories, but there's still a good number of resources available to non-members, including a fair amount of detailed info that might help you get to the point where you are eligible for membership.
  
  

• Clarion: www.msu.edu/~clarion:
  (The Biggie). Not for the faint of heart or fickle of purpose. Six weeks long of grueling workshop, which is, according to those who've done it, just about the best thing for your writing there is.
  
  
• Odyssey: www.sff.net/odyssey/:
  For Fantasy writing. Similar in format to Clarion, also quite good according to word on the street.
  
  
• Viable Paradise: www.sff.net/paradise
  One week long, at Martha's Vineyard. Some good names involved. I went to this and it was invaluable. Plus: glow-in-the-dark jellyfish.
  
  
• ShawGuides, Inc.: writing.shawguides.com:
  Online listings of writing conferences and workshops
  
  

• critters: www.critters.org
  An online SF/F/H crit group; you have to critique other work in order to get your own stuff posted. Responses (and submissions) are a mixed bag, but I've gotten good advice here.
  
  

• rec.arts.sf.composition:
  A usenet news group, for discussion of writing (not written stuff, not movies, not tv). A wonderful support group with people who run from the amateur-wannabe (like me) up to published authors. However, before you join a usenet group, you should understand (and adhere to) the basics of netiquette, and read a group's FAQ if available.
       (Other groups include rec.arts.sf.written, rec.arts.sf.science - you need a newsreader to go there, or you can catch up on the archives at google)
  
  

• Medieval Technology: scholar.chem.nyu.edu/tekpages/Technology.html
  

• Uncle Orson's Writing Class: www.hatrack.com
  Writing advice from Orson Scott Card. Has a very strong "lecture" quality, but has useful stuff mixed in with not-so-useful pontification (in a Q&A format).
  
  
• Holly Lisle: www.hollylisle.com
  Various things, including a critique group and community stuff
  
  
• Lars Eighner's Novel Tutorial: www.io.com/~eighner
  Very interesting, but highly formulaic. Worth considering, not for adopting as canon.
  
  
• "How To Create an Instant Bestselling Novel": (by Cliff Pickover, who I've never heard of)
  This guy starts with some basic things, then descends into a horrific flurry of you-musts and you-mustn'ts. This is definitely counter-example territory: consider what he has to say, but take in a much larger context. Some of the advice here is mind-boggling.
  
  

• US Copyright Office: lcweb.loc.gov/copyright