About Writing

You’ll do a better job of writing if you have ready access to good reference materials. First, and foremost, is a dictionary. Find one you’re comfortable with, whether it’s online or in print, and keep it handy. You want nothing to discourage you from consulting it, whether you need to check the meaning of a word, confirm a spelling, or find a synonym. I like the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, but there are other good choices out there.
Also buy yourself a good grammar reference book. English is difficult to master even if it’s your native tongue and you had a good grammar education, which few of us did. I have a shelf full of grammar books, but the one I turn to over and over is “Woe Is I” by Patricia T. O’Conner. It’s out in paperback and well worth the small cost. Her explanations of grammar rules are the clearest I’ve seen, and the book’s index is easier to use than those in many other grammar books.

After that, I’d recommend having a thesaurus or use one online (although I find a dictionary usually works just as well for synonyms). I  often consult an atlas to check spellings and find locations. Although most geographic information can be found online, it’s often easier to check maps in a book. An added bonus is the fun to be had looking at maps of exotic places.
Finally, I have a Bartlett’s book of quotations. Bartlett’s is available online, but it’s harder to use than the print version.
Occasionally, I want to use a quote that I don’t fully remember, so I pull the book off the shelf. More often, I use Bartlett’s for inspiration. When I can’t get started writing on a topic, I look for an appropriate quote to use. Even if I don’t find the right quote, reading the possible quotes gets my mind working again and then I start writing.