Have you ever dreamed of traveling to a cozy place that also contains the exact tools you need to write a fantastic story? Enter One Stop for Writers.
Have you heard of One Stop for Writers? It’s a website with a plethora of writing tools designed specifically for story writing, and I absolutely love it.
I discovered One Stop for Writers in 2019 while gearing up to write the third draft of my first novel. My second draft was a mess, so I took a deep dive into this writing website and emerged with a MUCH improved story.
Basically, this tool transformed my story writing, and I wanted to share the awesomeness with you. Who created the website? What tools do they have? Do they teach storytelling? My aim is to answer all those questions, and more.
But first, I’d like to share my top three reasons why I love and recommend One Stop for Writers:
- It is literally our one stop for story maps, character builders, or quick tutorials we might need while planning our novels.
- The teaching on creating characters is heavily based in psychology, a science I find fascinating and extremely helpful in understanding our characters and how to write them.
- It is fun to use! Every time I type in the web address, I feel like I am stepping into a secret library where only writers are allowed. My imagination can run free without judgement.
Still interested? Perfect, because I’m about to give you a brief summary of all One Stop has to offer for writers.
About the Creators
One Stop For Writers was created by Becca Puglisi, Angela Ackerman, and Lee Powell. Becca and Angela are the current resident librarians at One Stop. You might recognize those names as the authors of the popular The Positive Trait, The Negative Trait, and Emotion Thesaurus to name a few.
Well, they are one and the same! They brought all their story writing mojo to One Stop, and I could not be more grateful to these wonderful women!
If you’d like to learn a little bit more about these ladies, head over to the What Is One Stop? page, or visit their blog Writers Helping Writers.
Want to start writing quickly and painlessly? This free cheat sheet is packed with 10 easy ways to get yourself writing, even when the words feel like they’re stuck. Get started right away with these simple tips and tricks to keep your inventive juices flowing!
Send it!
Inside One Stop For Writers
As promised, here’s a peek into what the website has to offer.
The Stacks
Inside The Stacks is a whole lotta writing tools. There are tip sheets and checklists to assist you in writing better descriptions, realistic characters, how to craft good first pages—a bit of everything.
Need a list of crutch words to beware of in your prose? What about a list of words on how to describe a character’s breath or voice? They’ve got you covered.
If you’re stuck and need a little help jogging loose you creative ideas, jump over to One Stop’s idea generator for plot ideas, character wound possibilities, and much, much more.
Searching for story maps, scene maps, timelines, or world building surveys? You are in luck. Not only can you map out your story on the website and save your work digitally or to a pdf for print, but there are tutorials to help you along the way.
One of my favorites tools at One Stop for Writers is the Character Builder. I’ve used numerous character building workbooks and questionnaires, but none compare to this tool.
Seriously, with every character question and writing tutorial they provide, all you have to do is follow their system and you’ve got a well-developed character.
Curious to learn more? Watch this walkthrough of the character builder by Becca Puglisi:
Thesauruses
Remember the amazing thesauruses I mentioned earlier? Well, One Stop has their own comprehensive thesauruses uploaded to the website.
Now, these thesauruses aren’t just a list of synonyms. These entries explain in-depth what fear a character with a specific emotional wound would have, how someone who feels frustrated will act, the internal response of someone excited, and so forth.
One Stop even has resources like the Weather and Earthly Phenomenon, Color and Pattern, and Symbolism and Motif Thesaurus.
I recommend you check them out for yourself, because my explanation does not do them justice!
Personal Workspace
Do you love organization? When you have an account with One Stop For Writers you are given a personal workspace where all your projects are housed and organized. I love this feature!
If you like having a hard copy of all your planning efforts, you can even generate a pdf of your story prep and print it!
How Do You Get In?
One Stop For Writers is now offering a 2-week free trial (at the time this post was written). Why not give it shot and see what you think?
If you do fall in love, the subscription plans are affordable. Now, I am not an affiliate with One Stop For Writers, I just sincerely love this tool and think its a great resource for certain writers.
I know first hand how overwhelming prepping and writing a novel can be, and this website cuts down on the blog hopping for information and worksheets. (Of course, I still recommend picking up books on the craft of writing.)
If you’re eager to take an even deeper dive into this website, check out this behind-the-scenes walkthrough of OneStopforWriters.com by Angela Ackerman:
Related Reading: 17 Practical Novel Prep Tips
Storytellers, what do you think? Will you check out One Stop for Writers when planning your story? Tell me below!
Subscribe to Sarah’s Newsletter for Writing Resources, the Latest Content, and Book News
We won’t send you spam. Unsubscribe at anytime. Our Privacy Policy
S.J. Siedenburg is a thriller & fantasy novelist, an editor, and a bibliophile with a passion for stories and helping writers finish their novels. She’s the author of the guidebooks Character Presentation, Before the First Draft, and the How to Write a Novel online course. Six of her short stories have been published through writing contests. Sarah lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and their Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” —John 1:5
6 thoughts on “How to Nail Your Novel Planning With the One Stop for Writers Website”
Oh my! I just found out about One Stop through Pro Writing Aid, via The Writers Workshop TT Face Book Group. And I can say that is seems like the tool that I need to keep me organized as I write my future books. I’m an Indie New York Times Bestselling author of 8 books so far. I’m working on my third series and I’m having trouble keeping tract of the world I’m building (a fictitious island in the south Caribbean) that’s inhabited by two different ethnic groups. One Stop will help me keep my characters and time lines straight. The best thing is that it can be exported to Scrivener. Thanks so much for your short review that has helped me make the decision to give it a try.
So glad you found this review helpful, Ana! Wow! That is impressive work, and a story in the south Caribbean…uh, yes please 🙂 I don’t believe you will be disappointed with One Stop!
Thank you. I have just one question, though: Can I use the license on multiple devices, and if so how many?
It’s an online platform in itself, so all you need to do is create an account and log in via the One Stop website on whichever device you are using. No license needed. Which I love, because sometimes when I’m out and about I can do some novel planning on my iPhone! Hopefully that helps 🙂
Ahhh, I am hugging you so hard–this is such a lovely review of the site. Thank you! It is so neat to see the site through your eyes and what you find helpful. I am so glad these resources are being put to work so you can get those ideas onto the page – the world needs great books, especially now.
You are the absolute best, Sarah! <3
Awe Angela, of course! Yes, the world needs great books right now—I’m hoping mine will qualify : )