Ideas and beginnings
Finding material, choosing what to pursue and turning a vague notion into something you can start.
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Writing resources
Practical help for every stage of the writing.
Browse free and premium writing resources by topic, or start with the problem in front of you and find the most useful next step.
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Go straight to the part of the work you’re dealing with.
Each area has its own section further down this page, so everything stays in one resource library.
Character
Wants, fears, contradictions, relationships, choices, pressure and believable inner logic.
See resourcesPlot and structure
Story shape, turning points, stakes, pacing, escalation, endings and making a piece hold together.
See resourcesScenes
Purpose, movement, tension, openings, endings, transitions and making something happen on the page.
See resourcesDialogue and voice
Speech, subtext, rhythm, viewpoint, narrative voice and making different people sound like themselves.
See resourcesSetting and world
Place, atmosphere, social pressure, institutions, continuity and the world around the people in the story.
See resourcesRevision and editing
Rereading a draft, diagnosing weak spots, planning revision passes and improving clarity and control.
See resourcesWriting practice and progress
Writing regularly, restarting, setting useful targets, tracking progress and making the next session easier.
See resourcesWriting from life
Memory, memoir, personal material, observation and shaping lived experience into purposeful writing.
See resourcesSubmission and next steps
Competitions, extracts, submissions, presentation and deciding what happens when the writing is ready to leave your desk.
See resourcesFind help by where you are
You don’t need to know the technical name for the problem.
Choose the situation that sounds most like yours. The links take you into the same resource library below rather than sending you somewhere else.
I have no idea what to write
Start by generating material and finding something worth following.
I have an idea but don’t know where to start
Turn the idea into a person, scene, pressure point or first manageable piece of writing.
I’m drafting
Work on movement, shape, relationships, voice and the world around the draft.
I’m stuck
Find one useful next move rather than trying to solve the whole piece at once.
I’m revising
Diagnose the draft, decide what matters most and work through revision in a sensible order.
I want to write more regularly
Build repeatable writing habits and make each session easier to return to.
I’m writing from my own life
Work with memory and lived experience without assuming that everything has to become fiction.
I’m preparing to submit
Check the work itself and the practical requirements before sending it out.
Included with paid events and products
Useful resources to carry the work on afterwards.
Paid WritersGroup workshops, courses and products include relevant take-away resources that extend what you have done in the session or on the page.
I don’t know what to write
For people starting with no idea at all, or with only a vague sense that they would like to write something and do not know where to begin.
- Workshop participant handout
- From a vague idea to a first scene
- I don’t know what to write: restart sheet
Digital resources for the writing year
The Diary will include a curated collection of planning, development and writing-support resources linked to the work inside the book.
- Project and planning resources
- Writing restart and development resources
- Resources linked directly from relevant Diary pages
Full resource list being finalised
Resources matched to the teaching
Each paid workshop or course will include a small, useful resource pack chosen to help you continue the work afterwards.
- Session or course handouts
- Reusable worksheets and checklists
- Follow-on resources for the next stage
Writing Rooms
Protected writing time with simple structure before and after the session, so you arrive ready to work and leave knowing where to begin next time.
- Writing Room preparation sheet
- Writing Room reflection sheet
Writing Retreats
Longer protected writing sessions supported by planning and reflection resources that help you use the time well and carry the work forward afterwards.
- Retreat planning sheet
- Retreat reflection sheet
Resource library
Browse everything in one place.
Each section will grow as new WritersGroup resources are added. Free resources can be opened directly. Premium resources show where access is included.
Ideas and beginnings
For finding material, testing possibilities, choosing what has energy and getting from a vague idea to something you can actually write.
Daily writing prompt
A fresh starting point for getting words onto the page without waiting for a complete idea.
Use the promptBlank page rescue sheet
Five quick ways to get from nothing to material you can work with, followed by a ten-minute writing block and a clear next move.
Download PDFIdea triage sheet
Compare several ideas without trying to find the objectively ‘best’ one, then choose the idea that gives you the strongest reason to write next.
Download PDFStory seed capture sheet
Catch a half-formed person, situation, image, line, place, question or memory before it loses its energy, then push it one useful step further.
Download PDFPrompt-to-piece development sheet
Take a promising response to a prompt, find what has energy, choose a possible form and shape a practical route into the next draft.
Download PDFFrom a vague idea to a first scene
A one-page worksheet for turning a loose notion into one scene you can begin writing.
See related sessionsI don’t know what to write: restart sheet
A quick route back onto the page when your mind has gone blank or a draft has gone cold.
See related sessionsCharacter
For developing people whose wants, fears, relationships, contradictions and choices create movement on the page.
Character builder
Build a character around pressure, desire, contradiction and story use rather than decorative profile details.
Build a characterCharacter basics worksheet
Build a character from what matters on the page: values, contradictions, relationships, habits, pressure and the choices they are likely to make.
Download PDFCharacter wants worksheet
Work out what a character wants now, what sits underneath that want, what gets in the way and how desire can generate action.
Download PDFCharacter fears worksheet
Explore the outcomes a character fears, the behaviour those fears produce and the pressure created when avoidance stops working.
Download PDFCharacter idea capture sheet
Catch a person before they disappear: the first image, contradiction, relationship, pressure point and question that makes you want to know more.
Download PDFPlot and structure
For shaping a piece, creating movement, managing turning points and deciding what belongs where.
9-point plot outline worksheet
Map nine flexible story landmarks, from the situation before the main disturbance through rising cost, decisive confrontation and the new position at the end.
Download PDFClosing line exercise sheet
Try several kinds of ending, test them in context and find the closing line that leaves the right thing behind.
Download PDFPlot idea worksheet
Turn a loose premise into a story with a central person, disturbance, resistance, meaningful choices and somewhere for the pressure to go.
Download PDFScenes
For working out what a scene is doing, what changes inside it and how it earns its place in the draft.
Scene purpose planner
Plan a scene around purpose, movement, pressure and change.
Plan a sceneScene planning sheet
Plan a scene from foundations and pressure through movement, turning point, exit and forward pull, with a final scene health check.
Download PDFScene revision checklist
Revise a scene for purpose, desire, resistance, movement, pace and line-level control, working from the large questions down before polishing sentences.
Download PDFScene idea capture sheet
Catch a scene while it still has energy, including who is there, what somebody wants, what creates pressure, what might change and how the scene could end.
Download PDFDialogue and voice
For speech, subtext, narrative voice, viewpoint and making different people sound like themselves.
Opening line exercise sheet
Generate and test different kinds of opening line, then choose the one that creates the most useful promise for the piece that follows.
Download PDFDialogue prompt sheet
Create dialogue from wants, unequal knowledge, avoidance and pressure rather than writing conversation for its own sake.
Download PDFDialogue revision checklist
Check what the exchange is doing, whether the speakers sound distinct and where subtext, pace or pressure could do more work.
Download PDFSetting and world
For place, atmosphere, social pressure, continuity, institutions and the systems around the people in the story.
Description prompt sheet
Generate description through selection, viewpoint and significance so that the detail on the page is doing more than decorating it.
Download PDFDescription revision checklist
Check whether descriptive detail is specific, purposeful and filtered through the right point of view, then cut what the piece does not need.
Download PDFSetting idea capture sheet
Capture a place while it still feels alive, including what makes it distinctive, who notices what, and how the setting can create pressure or possibility.
Download PDFRevision and editing
For diagnosing a draft, deciding what to fix first and revising with more purpose than simply polishing sentences.
Paragraph revision checklist
Revise a paragraph for purpose, order, emphasis, clarity and rhythm before spending time on cosmetic changes.
Download PDFFeedback preparation sheet
Decide what kind of feedback would actually help before you hand work to another reader, and identify the questions you most need answered.
Download PDFRevision overview checklist
Step back from the draft before editing line by line, identify the biggest structural and story-level issues, and decide what deserves attention first.
Download PDFWriting practice and progress
For getting back to the page, writing regularly, using time well and leaving yourself a clear next action.
Writing sprint timer
Use a focused writing block to get words down and record the next step before you stop.
Start a sprintTen-minute writing session sheet
Choose one deliberately small piece of work, write for ten focused minutes and finish by leaving yourself a clear way back in.
Download PDFDaily writing progress log
Track what moved forward across the week, including planning, research, revision and problem-solving as well as word count.
Download PDFOne-page writing plan
Turn a piece of writing into a manageable plan with a clear focus, next actions and a sensible way to begin.
Download PDFOne-session writing goal sheet
Set one realistic outcome for a writing session, remove likely distractions and finish with a clear next step.
Download PDFStalled draft restart sheet
Work out where a draft lost momentum, separate the actual problem from the feeling of being stuck, and choose one practical way back into the writing.
Download PDFWriting from life
For memory, memoir, observation and shaping lived experience into deliberate writing.
Object prompt sheet
Use an ordinary object to uncover association, memory, relationship and change rather than merely describing what it looks like.
Download PDFDaily writing prompt response sheet
Use a daily prompt as the starting point, then notice what has energy and leave yourself a useful route back into the writing.
Download PDFMemory prompt sheet
Return to a remembered moment through place, sensory detail, action and what you understand now, without forcing the memory into a finished piece too soon.
Download PDFSubmission and next steps
For preparing work to leave your desk, responding to readers and deciding what the next practical stage should be.
Bring Your Own Book notes sheet
Capture the passages, observations and discussion points you want to remember from a Bring Your Own Book session.
Download PDFFeedback notes sheet
Record feedback without treating every comment as an instruction, then decide what is useful, what needs testing and what you will change next.
Download PDFReading notebook sheet
Record what a book is doing, what you noticed as a reader, and anything you want to carry back into your own writing without turning reading into homework.
Download PDFHow access works
Everything is listed here. Access depends on the resource.
Free resources open directly from the library. Premium resources are included with the relevant WritersGroup workshop, course, product or membership, and each listing tells you where access comes from.
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Free resources
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Open them directly and use them whenever they are useful.
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