You've probably noticed that there's a wealth of material out there that can help you as a writer, whether you're a beginner or more experienced, whether you're seeking general or more specific advice. Bookshops have creative writing sections, and there are many blogs and websites which encourage, inform  and welcome you into the community of writers. If you are open to advice and willing to learn, these resources can be of inestimable help.

There is a danger, though: be careful that reading about writing doesn't become a replacement for writing itself!

Like many writers I've built up my own writer's bookshelf over the years, so I'm going to start this section with a book list. I've divided it into categories: Inspiration and Techniques; Reference; Markets/Agents/Publishers; Self-Publishing, Marketing and Publicity; Memoir and Mockery. If I let it, this list could be endless! I'll add to it whenever I find anything new and useful.

After the book listings, you'll find magazines, competitions, websites and blogs (websites posted at present - the rest to follow). This is very much a work in progress so do keep coming back to check what's new!

INSPIRATION AND TECHNIQUES

I'm listing these books alphabetically. Some are entirely practical: they focus on the acquirement and development of particular skills such as plotting or editing. Others are more about finding your writing mojo, helping you define why you want to write, encouraging you to explore personal fulfilment and even a spiritual dimension to your creativity.

Armstrong, David: How Not to Write a Novel, Allison and Busby

Bailey, Tom (ed.): On Writing Short Stories, OUP

Bell, James Scott: Plot and Structure, Writer's Digest Books

Bell, Julia and Magrs, Paul: The Creative Writing Coursebook, Macmillan

Brande, Dorothea: Becoming a Writer, Macmillan

Burns, Carole (ed.): Off the Page - Writers Talk About Beginnings, Endings, and Everything in Between, Norton

Cameron, Julia: The Right to Write, Tarcher/Penguin

Collett, Peter: The Book of Tells, Bantam

George, Elizabeth: Write Away, Hodder

Goldberg, Natalie: Writing Down the Bones, Shambhala

King, Stephen: On Writing, New English Library

McKee, Robert: Story, Methuen

Newman, Sandra and Mittelmark, Howard: How Not to Write a Novel, Penguin

Palumbo, Dennis: Writing from the Inside Out, Wiley

Sellers, Susan (ed.): Taking Reality by Surprise, The Women's Press

Singleton, John: The Creative Writing Workbook, Palgrave

Stein, Sol: Solutions for Novelists, Souvenir Press

Tew, Philip ; Tolan, Fiona and Wilson, Leigh (eds.): Writers Talk - Conversations with Contemporary British Novelists, Continuum

Turner, Barry (ed.): The Writer's Handbook Guide to Crime Writing, Macmillan

Vogler, Christopher: The Writer's Journey, Pan

Weatherly, Lee and Corner, Helen: Teach Yourself How to Write a Blockbuster, Hodder Headline

Wood, James: How Fiction Works, Vintage

Woolf, Virginia: A Room of One's Own, Penguin 

REFERENCE

The Oxford Writers' Dictionary, OUP

Collins Dictionary for Writers and Editors

MARKETS/AGENTS/PUBLISHERS

Blake, Carole: From Pitch to Publication, Macmillan

Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market UK, David and Charles

Lukeman, Noah: The First Five Pages - A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile, OUP

The Writers' and Artists' Yearbook, A & C Black, annually

Turner, Barry (ed.): The Writer's Handbook, Macmillan, annually

SELF-PUBLISHING, MARKETING AND PUBLICITY

Anthony, Jo: What Do I Have to Do to Get a Book Published! - the essential guide to self-publishing for the UK market, Pen Press

Anthony, Jo: What Do I Have to Do to Sell a Book! - the essential guide to book marketing in the UK for the independent author, Pen Press

Cavanagh, Mary: A Seriously Useful Author's Guide to Marketing and Publicising Books, Troubador

Crosbie, Anna: How to Publish Your Own Book, Howtobooks

Ferris, Stewart: How to Publish Your Own Book, Summersdale

Stock, Rachel: The Insider's Guide to Getting Your Book Published, White Ladder Press

MEMOIR AND MOCKERY

Atwood, Margaret: Negotiating with the Dead - A Writer on Writing, Virago

Blacker, Terence: Kill Your Darlings, Phoenix

Colapinto, John: About the Author, Fourth Estate

Fadiman, Anne: Ex Libris - Confessions of a Common Reader, Penguin

Goldman, William: Adventures in the Screen Trade, Abacus

Goldman, William: Which Lie Did I Tell?, Bloomsbury

Mantel, Hilary: Giving Up the Ghost, Harper Perennial

Morpurgo, Michael: Singing for Mrs Pettigrew - a Storymaker's Journey, Walker Books

Robertson, Robin: Mortification - Writers' Stories of their Public Shame, Harper Perennial

Spufford, Francis: The Child that Books Built, Faber

Woolf, Virginia: A Writer's Diary, Penguin

WEBSITES

Academi - the Welsh National Literature promotion agency: www.academi.org

Amazon: www.amazon.co.uk

Arts Council of England: www.artscouncil.org.uk

Arvon Foundation: www.arvonfoundation.org

Association for Scottish Literary Studies: www.asls.org.uk

BBC writersroom: www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom

Booktrust: www.booktrust.org.uk

Crime Writers' Association (CWA): www.thecwa.co.uk

National Association for the Teaching of English (NATE): www.nate.org.uk

National Association of Writers' Groups (NAWG): www.nawg.co.uk

National Association of Writers in Education (NAWE): www.nawe.co.uk

Oxford University Summer School: www.conted.ox.ac/oussa

Oxford University Dept. for Continuing Education: www.conted.ox.ac

The Open College of the Arts: www.oca-uk.com

Scottish Arts Council: www.scottisharts.co.uk

Society of Authors: www.societyofauthors.org

Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators: www.britishscbwi.org

Ty Newydd, the National Writers Centre for Wales: www.tynewydd.org

For writing groups you can join, go to www.writers-circles.com which lists groups by postcode and is a very useful resource.