— The Write Sites —
We hope the following links provide answers and inspiration for writers on all stages of their journey.
EBOOK SELF-PUBLISHING EXPLAINED
An epublishing revolution is sweeping the industry. We explain what is happening and show you how to self-publish your own ebooks.
http://www.PublishYourOwnEbooks.com
New Book Journal
Authors and publishers can submit press releases about new books, awards, events, etc. free to this site. Click on the "Contact Me" button to upload information. The site can also embed trailers and cover art, plus links to Amazon.
http://NewBookJournal.com
Women of Mystery
The list of topics covered by this blog must be seen to be believed. It covers writing, reading, true-life crime and much more. A link of particular interest is their list of other writing blogs, at
http://www.womenofmystery.net/2007/07/writers-who-blog.html http://www.womenofmystery.net
LadiesWhoCritique.com
A free critique partner match-making service for female writers. Right now they're looking for writers to sign up; the site will officially open later this summer when enough interested writers have joined.
http://www.LadiesWhoCritique.com
RippingOzzieReads.com
This is an amazing site for anyone who wants to write science-fiction, horror, fantasy, steampunk or young adult. It has lots of tips written by successful authors in these fields. They each have a blog. Have a look around, check out the visiting authors' posts and then if you have something specific in mind, use the search box towards the bottom right-hand side of the page.
http://ripping-ozzie-reads.com/
How to Write Great Blog Content
With more and more jobs for bloggers being advertised and the growth of the blog set to continue, this site will help you to find ways to create blog content. http://www.problogger.net/how-to-write-great-blog-content/
Expressions and Sayings
A huge collection of the origins of words, phrases and expressions. Of course, there is always considerable debate over the origins of many popular expressions, but this offers a good summary of more generally accepted definitions.
http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/sayindex.htm
InkPop
A site aimed at teen authors where they can submit their work, review others' work and if they're lucky, have their work read by a HarperCollins editor. The site is owned by Harper Teen and seems a friendly community where teens can not only post their own writing, but discuss books, authors, etc.
http://www.inkpop.com/
Writing Forward
This is an excellent blog on creative and poetry writing. It has lots of posts on such topics as creative writing, grammar, poetry, lyrics as well as useful exercises to help you to develop or polish your creative or poetry writing skills.
http://www.writingforward.com/
One Million Monkeys Typing
If you like collaborative writing or are thinking of dipping your toes in the creative writing genre, then this site might be just what you were looking for. You read a story then when you come to the end of the section you can either continue to read or add your own section.
http://www.1000000monkeys.com/#
Scribendi
This site offers an extensive selection of helpful articles for writers and bloggers. Unfortunately the articles are listed chronologically, with no topical navigation index, so it's hard to see what's available on any given topic (e.g., grammar), but it's worth investigating.
http://www.scribendi.com/advice/authors/page/authors
Sellingbooks.com
This site is absolutely packed with useful articles on how to develop, design and market books. http://www.sellingbooks.com
Essay Writing Resources
Though aimed primarily at students, this site has a wealth of information on how to research, organize and write essays and various types of papers.
http://www.accredited-online-college-degrees.com/essay.html
Writing for Audio Theatre
This is a handy little site that shows you how to write radio plays.
http://www.ruyasonic.com/rdr_writing.htm
Aswiebe's Market List
A regularly updated market list of speculative fiction markets with a wonderful list of pending anthologies, something hard to find in other market resources.
http://www.aswiebe.com/writing/markets.html
Travel Writing Online Course
This is being run for a limited time only by the organisers of the Guide Gecko contest below. It is a non-cost travel writing e-course. Worth a look at if you want to enter the contest or learn how to be a travel writer.
http://www.guidegecko.com/writing-contest
Novel Writing Advice From Caro Clarke
Caro Clarke, a published author, has written a series of informative articles offering advice to novelists. This would be a very handy site to bookmark if you are intending to enter NaNoWriMo or are struggling with your novel.
http://www.caroclarke.com/writing.html
BookBuzzr
This site enables you to make a "widget" that lets a reader actually flip through selected pages of your book. It's a nice marketing tool; the downside is that it takes a lot of effort to set up or change, and once readers have flipped through your pages, they'll come across ads for other people's books!
http://www.bookbuzzr.com/
DocSymmetry.com
This is a must-visit site if you have ever considered technical writing. It explains how to become a technical writer and has excellent information on such matters as the writing process, document design and editing your work.
http://www.docsymmetry.com/
DiplomaGuide.com
Maybe I should have kept this site a secret. It is a guide to the best writing reference sites on the web and as such could have furnished me with write sites for months to come! It lists poetry sites, journalism sites, technical writing sites, fiction, writing for the web and details of free and paid for courses. It is definitely one to bookmark.
http://tinyurl.com/2ezr4jo
Grammar Girl
No nonsense quick and easy tips on tricky aspects of grammar. Visit it regularly to improve your writing.
http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/
Magical Words
This is an intriguing blog run by published fantasy authors which covers most aspects of how to write a successful fantasy novel. You need to hunt around the blog a bit, but there is some really useful information here.
http://magicalwords.net/
Writinghood.com
A fresh site that covers all forms of writing, Writinghood is updated regularly and has articles in the form of blog entries on topics such as speculative fiction, poetry and calls for submissions. http://writinghood.com/
The Short Story
This is a UK site that praises the short story in all its forms. It not only publishes short stories, but lists competitions, magazines that purchase short stories and has a handy list of articles on the short story form.
http://www.theshortstory.org.uk/
AP Style Questions
For those of you who need to know more about AP style or for those problems to which you cannot find an answer, check out this 'Ask the Editor' section from the AP Stylebook.
http://www.apstylebook.com/?do=ask_faq
Happily Ever After
A site for romance writers with helpful articles, a round-robin romance story to participate in, software and writing resources.
http://www.teresciaharvey.com/hea/index.html
Great Writing
Great Writing came into existence when the BBC decided to pull the plug on its 'Get Writing' writer's forum and free online courses. Great Writing offers a supportive place for new writers to submit work for criticism and feedback as well as lots of articles about writing and interviews with successful authors such as Jasper Fforde. http://www.greatwriting.co.uk/
Poetry Magic
Poetry Magic is an introduction to poetry for students, amateurs and poetry lovers. What is poetry? How does it differ from prose? Why is poetry special, and so difficult to write? his site provides the answers to these and other vexing questions, plus a vast array of material to make your own poetry writing more compelling, authentic and relevant. http://www.poetrymagic.co.uk/
English Practice
A good selection of short "lessons" on various grammatical topics. http://www.englishpractice.com
Book Beat - The Podcast
This is a major resource for all who care about books, authors, and the art and craft of writing. Based on a long-running CBS Radio feature, posted on line are audio interviews in mp3 format with hundreds of the world's greatest authors. http://donswaim.com/bookbeatpodcast.html
MysteryCozy.com
A site dedicated to "cozy" mysteries, with articles and lots of good links. http://mystery-cozy.com/
The List of Slang Dictionaries
An excellent selection of slang dictionaries, including links to sites on street slang, Internet slang, hip hop, sports slang, international English slang and much more. http://www.realisticdiplomas.com/The-List-Of-Slang-Dictionaries.aspx
FilmScriptWriting.com
Lots of useful articles and tips on script writing, including issues of content, format, and more. http://www.FilmScriptWriting.com
Ultimate Songwriting.com
Hundreds of pages of advice on how to write a song, song-writing tips, ideas and techniques. The site also has a step-by-step tutorial on song-writing and a free newsletter. http://www.ultimatesongwriting.com/
Blogs to Bookmark!
Query Shark, by Janet Reid
Wondering why your novel query has been rejected 22 times? A quick scan through literary agent Janet Reid's marvelous "Query Shark" blog will give you an idea of what works, what doesn't, and why -- and better yet, you can submit your own query for comments. (Brace yourself, though; the comments are likely to be barbed!) Just be sure you follow the instructions -- which, as Reid points out, is a vital skill whether you're submitting to her or to an actual editor or agent. Writers who can't follow instructions simply aren't going to succeed (gee, I may have pointed that out myself a few times...) http://www.queryshark.blogspot.com/
RightsofWriters.com
This is a blog by a lawyer and writer on all aspects of law relating to writers covering such matters as fair use, public domain, copyright and whether or not you can use famous people, brands etc in your work. If you've got a legal question, check out this blog. http://www.rightsofwriters.com/