Writers in the Storm

A blog about writing

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November 14, 2011

New & Improved Writer's Toolbox

from Laura Drake's files...

You have found Laura's treasure map to her favorite, most useful, fun online locations for references, writer's resources, and just plain fun.

Warning:  This blog could be hazardous to your time schedule.  You're going to want to spend a lot of time mining for the gold buried in these links!

Language, Grammar, etc.

Names, Quotes, and other stuff:

http://www.bartleby.com/100

www.quoteland.com

www.brainyquote.com

Research - General

www.ehow.com

www.answers.com

Writer's Resources

Plotting – Structure

Just Plain Fun

  • Are you looking to create a character through psychology or just interested in what qualities make up a particular personality?  The Similar Minds website has a nearly every personality test developed by man.
  • OneWord.com offers one of the simplest (and rewarding) writing exercises I've ever seen.  One word is listed at the top of the page.  You
    have sixty seconds to write about it.  Go!
  • At the Your Amazing Brain website you can explore your brain, take part in real-life experiments and test yourself with games, illusions and
    brain-benders.
  • Epiguide.com has one of the most extensive and detailed character charts I've ever seen. If you're into getting to know your characters before you start writing the story this site is for you.
  • Archetype Writing.com (the fiction writer's guide to psychology) has
    a host of fact sheets on psychology for use by writers, articles, a Q & A
    section, and a muse section containing idea generators and visual prompts.

Having trouble getting organized?  Life Organized.com has a wide
array of articles, checklists, blogs, book reviews and other tools to help
you!

If you've got must-have sites, please share them with us.  Between all of us here at Writers in the Storm, we pretty much have an interest in everything on the planet!  So give us your killer sites!

0 comments on “New & Improved Writer's Toolbox”

  1. Thanks to WITS and Laura. YOu have provided an amazing list of valuable links. I do not nec. have something "different" ... however I use Google Live Earth to research actual locations (mostly New York) and I've traveled from Brooklyn to San Fran. to islands off the coast of southern Italy. If anyone uses foreign phrases, I have found several language sites by for instance, google: Common Gaelic phrases; Everyday Greek and so on. I use foreign sites for the meaning of names, if I want a foreign name to have symbolic meaning.

    But with great historical romance writers I am sure you already knew ... not as spectacular as what you provided. I will copy these and refer to them often 🙂

  2. OMG, I think my head just exploded! At this particular moment, I'm struggling with comma placement so I'll be using some of the links in your grammar section. Thanks so much for all of the great links, Laura. 🙂

    1. Sheila,
      I don't have a specific link on comma usage, though, god knows, I should! Just ask the other WITS bloggers about my 'comma drama issue."

      Well, that and my improper semicolon usage, and my complete inability to understand the rules for 'lay' and 'lie.'

  3. Happy dancing in Texas, Laura! This goes in my blog "keepers" folder.

    I think you have a visual of Wordle.net up there (names illustration) but didn't notice it in your list.

    After I get past the "shiny bauble" phase with fonts, colors, layouts, I use wordle as an editing tool. The first time I used it, the largest word in the display was "back." Huh? Back? Now, THERE'S a power word-worthy of repetition. Turns out my characters couldn't sit, turn, sit, set, step, look, or lie without a back attached. I also use it to count "power words" (showing my Margie here) in each chapter.

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