22 Blogs Every Writer Should Read

I read a lot of blogs about writing, both for the practical tips but also for the inspiration — reading about writing gets me fired up to do more writing. (Considering I write this blog about writing, perhaps I should say that reading about writing fires me up to do more writing about writing. Did I just blow your mind?!)

I’m not a huge fan of the “fuzzier”, writing-as-spiritual-quest sites, so you won’t find much of that here. Instead, I look for sites that offer real information writers can use about the craft of writing — or about the business of writing, which can be a sticky point for a lot of writers who fear sullying their creative mind with the dirty work of day-to-day business matters.

Here, in alphabetical order, are 21 22 blogs about writing that I consider good enough to read regularly — I’ve subscribed to all of them so I don’t miss a single post.

1. All Freelance Writing: Like the name says, AFW offers just about all the freelance writing info you could use.
2. Becoming a Writer Seriously: Tom Colvin is the very picture of the working writer — he’s written features, taught English and history, worked in the corporate world, and is working on a non-fiction book. His site covers tools and insider secrets for writers.
3. Blogging Bits: Written by Pakistani blogger Mohsin, Blogging Bits offers advice on blog writing and promotion.
4. Create Value or Die: Aimed at marketers, CVoD offers good advice for commercial writers whose work has to entertain, inform — and sell something.
5. Creative Freelancing: Covers news and advice for freelancers of all kinds, but particularly copywriters.
6. Freelance Folder: A multi-author blog with tips, advice, interviews, and more aimed at helping freelancers work and live better.
7. Freelance Swtich: Essential reading for freelancers from this multi-author blog. They also run a job board and a great podcast, Freelance Radio.
8. Get Paid to Write Online: Inside information from freelance writer and ghostwriter Sharon Hurley Hall.
9. How Not to Write: If you’re not writing, you might as well check out HNTW for great information on writing, blogging, and keeping creative.
10. How to Promote Your Self-Published Ebook (or Print!): With a title like that, you pretty much know what this one’s about Good advice on getting the word out about your self-published work.
11. Paperback Writer: Lynn Viehl has published 38 novels (and counting), so you can bet she knows a thing or two about novel-writing!
12. PODdy Mouth: A no-hold-barred look at the world of print-on-demand (POD) publishing.
13. Renegade Writer: Companion site to the Renegade Writer books on writing, RW has great advice on writing, especially the business end of writing.
14. Successful (and Outstanding) Blog(gers): Liz Strauss is all about connection. Her blog offers daily inspiration, tips, and things to think on, all directed towards increasing the way we use our blogs to relate to our audiences, other bloggers, and the world.
15. Time to Write: Jurgen Wolff has written for television (including “Family Ties”, “Benson”, and “The Love Boat”), movies, print, and the web. In addition to writing, he’s a writing coach, creativity expert, and hypnotherapist who shares his thoughts on brainstorming, maintaining focus, and the writing process on his blog. (PS I interviewed him on Lifehack Live in January 2008 — check it out for lots of great tips!)
16. Wordpreneur: With the tagline “How to make money writing”, you pretty much know what you’re going to get. Wordpreneur’s Eldon Sarte does it better than most, presenting tons of information for writers looking to get paid.
17. Write Now is Good: Freelance writer and editor Kristin Gorski shares her thoughts on creativity, inspiration, and, of course, writing.
18. Write to Done: Leo Babauta of Zen Habits is an amazing writer. Write to Done shares some of his thoughts on unlocking our creativity and writing more effectively — and efficiently.
19. A Writer’s Words, an Editor’s Eye: Lot’s of practical advice from freelance writer Lillie Amman.
20. Writer Unboxed: A group blog dedicated to exploring genre writing. Features lots of great information, especially the frequent interviews with authors.
21. Writing Power: English professor Loren Blinde offers stacks of advice on improving your writing, from conception to revision.
22. Writing Tips and Tricks: A freelance writer describes her experiences, and offers up the lessons she’s gleaned from them.

Know of anything I’ve left out? Let me (and your fellow readers) know about them in the comments!