Recommended Resources
Beth Hill
An extremely valuable resource for authors, this text is one of the most valuable reference materials in my collection, it can be bought here, if you want to add it to your own.
It is available in PDF here.
It is available in hardcopy here.
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers
Renni Browne
This book looks at show and tell, dialogue mechanics, interior monologue, point of view and a few other aspects of novel writing. It walks you through each topic expertly and in depth but is incredible easy to absorb. Check your local bookshop, or your favourite online bookseller!
Christopher Vogler
This text is a distilled version of Joseph Campbell's The Hero's Journey and the Power of Myth (a PBS miniseries). It's easier to absorb, and looks at archetypes, too. It is specifically geared to authors and screenwriters.
Brandon Sanderson's Laws of Magic
Brandon Sanderson sets out the critical aspects of including magic in your world.
Mignon Fogarty's website is (almost) a one-stop-shop for all your grammar questions. The Chicago Manual of Style outlines how everything should be used, but Mignon explains the how and why of grammar (and punctuation), allowing writers to get their minds around the complexities of the English language.
Recommendation - Use the search function to find what you need faster.
Ngrams scans its book depository for the frequency of words used from 1800 to 2008. You can adjust the date range, as well as the language (American English, British English, even French or Spanish).
When your dictionary gives multiple variants that can all be used in the same way, Ngrams has you covered. It is also of particular use to speculative fiction writers.
Not sure if it's meant to be dragonfire or dragon fire?
What about ice-cream, ice cream, or icecream?
How about nanite, nanobot, or nanoid?
These tables manage the different forms of address for royalty, nobility, gentry, clergy and a slew of others. How should your characters address their king or queen in dialogue? What about in a letter?
While not every novel will use these particular forms of address, many fantasy novels are set in a medieval English-type setting, so this page, at the very least, can be a helpful guide.
Chicago Manual of Style Hyphenation Table
Ah, hyphens. They can get the best of anyone, author and editor alike. Thankfully, the group at Chicago Manual of Style understand our dilemma and released this table for public use. Of particular use for authors writing for the American market, the table is useful in other modes, too.
This site is the site. Editors love it. Writers do too, if they know about it. Beth Hill began writing her very helpful articles here, prior to publishing her novel, The Magic of Fiction. She releases new articles frequently, so stop by, take a look, and subscribe.
Useful Facebook Groups:
Facebook can be a minefield as far as writing groups go. Sometimes you need help, but you don't want to be inundated with advertising (from editors or writers). Here's a few groups that can help you get what you need.
This group allows authors to ask the (large) pool of editors questions. There's no advertising allowed, obviously, it's purely to get answers to the questions you have from experienced professionals.
This is a group for editors to post resources for authors – it's the only purpose of the group, and most of the resources are super handy.