If you're stuck on how to spell a word, you can turn to a dictionary. If you want a word that's more specific than the word in your head, you can look in a thesaurus. Sometimes, though, you may feel that what you need can't be found in a book. For example, one of the characters in your book is a police officer, but you, personally, know nothing or very little about being an officer or following police procedures. If you have time, you can probably find a class on police procedure at your local college or junior college. You might also know someone who works for your local police department who can help you with information or an answer to a question. Before you do that, though, do some research. The police or contact person with the police can't give you the answer you want unless you know what you want. You're going to have to narrow down your question. Rather than asking how police investigate a crime scene, try to narrow it down to specifically what you need t...

Have you noticed how many bloggers have lists of links to other blogs? Often, the links are labeled "favorites." Ever wonder why they are favorites? On my blog, many are in the list because they provide great advice and tips to authors. Some, like Velda Brotherton offer great tips on the process of writing and tips to improve writing such as this one on including the senses in your scenes. Teagan Oliver offers other views on writing. Recently she took us on a tour of the hero's journey. LJ Sellers , who is a tallented writer and editor, offers tips on both writing and editing. In this linked example, she shares some simple edits that make for stronger, clearer storytelling. Over at BlogBookTours , Dani Greer works hard to help us create and maintain effective blogs and to use those blogs to market our books. Helen Ginger provides all sorts of tips from writing to marketing. She often hosts guest bloggers with expertise in specific areas. Some sites are a mixed bag. Pauli...