# Recommended websites for writers



## Poetigress (Dec 11, 2007)

Since this has been a useful thread elsewhere, I thought I'd toss out a few of my bookmarks and see what others have to share...

Articles and how-to

*Writing-World.com*
http://www.writing-world.com
A vast library of writing articles on a broad range of topics, as well as monthly columns, classifieds, and more.  (Yes, the little ad columns to either side of the page are irritating, but they pay for the site.)  I especially recommend subscribing to their e-newsletter.

*Forward Motion*
http://hollylisle.com/fm/
I have to admit, I've never read any of Holly Lisle's books, but her info for writers here is great.


Market listings

*Ralan.com*
http://www.ralan.com
Great source for sf/f market listings, separated by pay rates.  (There are also categories for humor and adult markets.)  It's worth subscribing to their monthly newsletter just to keep up with the latest dead markets and other changes.

*Duotrope's Digest*
http://www.duotrope.com/
Another market site, this one easily searchable and covering all genres and types.


Ideas and inspiration

*Fantasy Name Generator*
http://www.rinkworks.com/namegen/
I have named a few characters with this tool... and it's always amusing to see some of the random combos that come up.  

*Dragon Writing Prompts*
http://dragonwritingprompts.blogsome.com/
Need an idea?  Tons of prompts and exercises to get you going.


Critique, editing, proofreading

*Virtual Editor*
http://www.veditor.net/
A free (for now) service that basically runs a more powerful spelling and grammar checker on your submitted document and then emails you the results.  It's a good way to get one more check, but bear in mind that it is still a machine.  (And if it stops being free, I would say it really isn't worth paying for.)

*AutoCrit*
http://www.autocrit.com/index.cfm
This one has a limit of 800 words for the free version, and obviously members get access to more useful features.  Still, a check for overused words and repeated phrases might be helpful if you have a few paragraphs that just aren't working.

*Critique Circle*
http://www.critiquecircle.com
If you'd rather have other humans reading your work and giving crits, I recommend this site.  Only members (basic membership is free and includes all the features you'll need to get going) can view and crit the stories, so you don't have to worry about losing any rights or having your stuff ripped apart by some random passer-by.  The site works on a credit system: you earn credits by giving crits, and then use those credits to pay for posting your own work for critique.  There are writers of all skill levels and genres here, and a good number of the members tend to be fairly active -- most stories (or novel chapters) tend to get at least a half dozen crits while they're up for review.

Anyone else have some bookmarked sites they'd like to share?  >^_^<


----------



## Le_DÃ©mon_Sans_Visage (Dec 11, 2007)

For ideas and inspiration, 7th Sanctum at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/index-writ.php has a ton of excellent random generators. And I use Chris Pound's page quite often for generating alien names and languages, http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~pound/


----------



## M. LeRenard (Dec 11, 2007)

It can be a little (okay... a lot) on the biased side against certain things, but I've learned a lot from http://www.anti-shurtugal.com.  Mostly things like how to avoid tired plotlines, card-board characters, Mary-Sues, the like.  And the articles are amusing, if you agree with them.


----------



## TheGru (Dec 11, 2007)

Anyone want to study the works of one of the greatest writers of his time?
http://shakespeare.mit.edu/ Contains the complete works of Shakespeare, and I'm enjoying it, and using it as reference to certain ideas I have.
(Tenza linked me to this a while back, so I thought I'd share.)

BTW thanks for the links Tigress.


----------



## Koronis (Dec 12, 2007)

Thanks for the links!


----------



## Poetigress (Dec 12, 2007)

Le_DÃ©mon_Sans_Visage said:
			
		

> For ideas and inspiration, 7th Sanctum at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/index-writ.php has a ton of excellent random generators.



And there are some good columns on the same site -- full listing is at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/www/wwwfull.html

I'm still working my way through them, but so far they've been interesting.


----------



## Freehaven (Dec 12, 2007)

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/

Daily tips for writers of all levels of skill.


----------

