A List of the Best Young Writer Resources

The internet is a fruitful place for aspiring writers when it comes to writing resources. There are sites dedicated to helping writers with grammar, plot structure, character development, and every other element of story writing. If you’re a writer who’s struggling with some aspect of storytelling, Google what you need help with, and you will find a resource that will help you out. Here is a list of four websites you may find useful next time you need some writing advice:

1. Purdue OWL

Purdue Owl is a well-known and trusted website created by Purdue University. The site specializes in providing writers with writing tips and tricks, outlining subjects like grammar, punctuation, and syntax in great detail. Purdue is a great writing resource for those looking to improve their writing starting with the basics. Once you’ve got the basics of writing down, then you can start to develop your own style and move on to one of the other sites on this list to develop your skills as a writer. The site is fantastic for young writers who need help with academic writing—there are specific sections on research, making citations in APA, MLA, and Chicago style, and writing for college applications.

2. Plot Factory

Plot Factory is an “online story planner that lets writers plan, organize, and write stories & fictional universes" all in one website! It’s easy to become disorganized when creating dozens of fictional characters and a world that only you can picture in your head, so by using Plot Factory, you’ll have an organized way to compile all of your story’s information into one space without missing a single detail. The site has sections for you to list and post chapters of your story, to plug in details about your characters and what role they play in your narrative. There is even a section to build the universe you’ve created and list all of its defining principles and laws. When it comes time to share your story with the world, Plot Factory can turn your finished story into a link that you can send to your friends, family, and (hopefully) publisher.

3. Notebook.ai

Notebook.ai, like Plot Factory, provides a space for young writers to create a universe and characters, but this writing resource delves further into character development, setting, and the minute details of objects that appear your story. Used by writers, role-players, and designers alike, Notebook.ai allows creators to track every detail of a character’s “thoughts, appearance, and personality" and if you get stuck, the site asks you questions about your characters and ideas to promote creativity. If there is an object that is incredibly important to a character or the plot of your story, the site also allows you to create its backstory—you’ll track its owners, who made it, and whatever else you need the reader to know about the object. Notebook.ai is the best writing resource for writers who want to share all the nitty-gritty details they possibly can with their readers.

4. Writing Exercises

Writing Exercises is a site that is what it says it is. It’s a site made for young writers to complete writing exercises. And though it’s not as versatile as the other sites on this list, this writing resource is just as valuable. It has a first-line generator to play around with, a random subject generator to get the ball rolling, a setting generator that provides the where, amongst dozens of other generators. Writing Exercises is the perfect resource for a writer looking for inspiration—it’ll give you that extra push you need to start your story.

There are hundreds of other sites and resources for young writers all over the internet, and I can only include so many here, and they are all worth trying out. If you are a young writer who is having trouble developing some aspect of your writing, the internet is certainly here for you—all you have to do is look!