Some Favorite Writing Newsletters--and Sites to Explore--to Boost Your Creativity

Some days, I resent the flood of info that enters my inbox. I don't really want more input or stim--those days, I'm barely juggling my own life.

Then there are the quieter times--or internally less fertile periods--when I seek out other people's words for inspiration. I want to read how other writers have handled stuckness, too many ideas or too few, publication woes, and having enough time and space to write.

Dana, who reads this blog, suggested I share some of the newsletters and sites that I read regularly and find inspiring. You probably have your favorites, but perhaps some of these will be welcome additions.

Most newsletters focus on either craft or publishing. Some are geared to nonfiction writers seeking jobs and others are all about how to write better prose. I like a variety, but scan the list below to see what might appeal to you.

If any of the links don't work, just google the newsletter name or the author.

George Saunders Story Club. I'm a big fan of this writer and his honest, educational newsletter on the craft of writing, flavored with personal anecdotes. There's a free and paid version. Link above will take you to a signup page for the free version.

Jane Friedman's Electric Speed. Clicking on this link will take to you her signup page as well. She also has a paid and free version; I subscribe to the free one, very much worth it. She usually shares links to tools that streamline the writing process, everything from great software (often free) to online resources. She also writes a short inspiration note about her own writing life.

The Write Life has been one of my favorite websites for a lot of years. They also send out a newsletter. I like them for great information and writerly companionship. A good community to check out. Link above takes you to their website--scroll down to look at the blog posts.

Ann Handley's Total Annarchy is still new to me but I'm intrigued--it's been highly recommended by other writers for its wit and info. Again, the link will take you to the signup page if you want to check it out,.

Pub Rants from the Kristin Nelson Literary Agency is a newsletter that a client told me about. I enjoy it a lot--Kristin writes about her experience with publishing, from an agent's point of view, which is often very eye opening. She asks other agents in her group to post articles as well, often on craft issues they encounter when reading submissions. Quite educational if you're a writer looking to eventually find an agent.

And here are a few posts that feature other lists.

The Write Life best newsletters list

Swapstack's newsletters for writers list

Authors Publish newsletter list

Some of these collections focus on marketing, publishing, and submissions more than the writing process itself. But worth scanning and seeing if any light up for you.