Ever wonder why I'm not getting any work done? Want to avoid
your own? Need to do some research? Or do you simply want to
follow me around? Here's a nice breadcrumb trail... just watch
out for strange old women with tasty houses...
One of the best ways for writers to write (or avoid writing while still feeling like they're writing) is to join an online community for writers. You
learn stuff. You can ask pesky questions of people who might know answers even to things like "Does anybody know anything about diseases of the
common garden weasel?". And you meet people who become lifelong friends. Writing is a lonely business, but sometimes, it doesn't have to be.
Here are some of the best communities I've found, all free:
Absolute Write Easy to join and easy to get lost for hours in, with plenty of hangouts for all. This place is a knowledge
fest.
Authors by Design It's still a new kid on the block, but growing, and run by some of the sweetest so-and-sos around.
Forward Motion for Writers This is where I cut my teeth. Not only is there an excellent community, there are some of
the best articles on writing I've ever read. It's a wee bit SF slanted, seeing as how Holly Lisle is a fantasy author, but there
is a good time to be had by all.
There are roughly three times as many opinions on how to write as there are writers. That's because nobody really knows how to do it. I, of course,
advocate my method of Learning the Craft: 70% learn by doing; 25% learn by reading twelve kilotons of conflicting advice by expert and amateur
alike and, like some sort of literary baleen whale, filtering out the stuff that seems useful to my work; and 5% "I don't know how the fuck I just did
that, but it worked!" sheer dumb luck. Here's where I go when I need to fill in my 25%:
Hatrack River Orson Scott Card is of course one of the most brilliant authors in fantasy and sci fi, but he's also one of the
best advisors ever. He's the one who made me into a real writer instead of a crass, naive young thing who scribbled really
terrible stories.
Writers Store These articles are for the most part slanted for scriptwriters, but we literary hacks can learn a lot from our
Hollywood cousins. I certainly have. There are a lot of scary-smart people writing articles on this site.
One of the toughest things a writer must do is name their characters. You can't have a story world populated with nothing but Bobs, Janes, Joes,
and Nancys. After many frustrating nights, I stumbled across the following sites, many of them with dozens of excellent links to help you pin the
right name on your folk.
Writing World Character Naming Resources A cornucopia of naming links. You can find just about everything you need
here, from ethnic names to Joe and Jane names, from modern to ancient, first to last, Biblical to .... Well, there's a little
bit of everything, even a link to a name generator for those who love to write fantasy and sci fi, but can't stand creating
names for their brave new worlds.
Free Surname Search I use this all the time when I need to find out the ethnic origin and meaning of a last name. You
can find out really interesting things about your characters by figuring out where their last name came from.
Looking for someone who knows really obscure stuff? Need an answer to one particular research question and can't wade through massive tomes in
search of said answer? Can't find an expert in the forums? I've got just the link for you:
Yahoo! Answers There's some truly bizarre people posting questions here, so you'll fit in just fine. Ask anything - Yahoo
has a stable of experts who just might know the answer, or can point you in the right direction.
Answers.com Become an instant expert on nearly anything. The site includes a variety of topics, with links to other
resources inside those topics. Truly valuable to the writer who needs to know it all ASAP.
Wikipedia The best ever free encyclopedia. The articles are often written by experts in their fields, and contain a wealth
of links and resources. Just be sure you fact-check what you're using - since Wikipedia can be edited by anyone, it can
also be inaccurate. But for general knowledge and further direction, there's no better place to start.
Do you need to know everything there is to know about swords? Talk to someone from Japan? Welcome to some of the best links on the Web:
ARMA The Association for Renaissance Martial Arts has a whole passel of essays on all aspects of medieval and
Renaissance sword fighting, from how to forge a blade to how you stick someone with it. If you are a fantasy or
historical writer, read the content on this site before you make an utter ass of yourself.
JREF Japan Reference has anything and everything you'll ever need to know about Japan, including a free forum where
you can talk to folks from Japan. There are essays, photos, language resources... everything the writer needs to know if
they're going to write about Japan.
Cockeyed.com You won't think this is a research resource when you hit this page, but trust me. If you've ever needed to
know how big an acre actually is, all you have to do is click the How Much Inside? Adventures link and go to it. And
you can learn other useful stuff along the way, such as science stuff, then go look up the Naughty Food Items and get
some quality procrastination time in. It's a one-stop shop!
Need something to inspire you? Want a pithy quote to start the story off right? Here's some of the best places to find them:
Quoteland Me old standby. Lots of great quotes, simple to search and easy to read.
The Quotations Page Even more great stuff. This one has some topics not found on Quoteland, too.
Famous Quotations Network These people are excited by quotes. It really shows. A great resource, but if you despise
pop-ups, don't go here.
Quote World This is truly a world of quotes. If you go in, you may not come out for hours...
productive evening online doing bugger-all. And hey - it's work - writers have to know about people, don't
they? Anything can spark an idea, can't it? Gotta free up the right brain, right? Right! So procrastinate
away.
News of the Weird
Culled from the most ridiculous headlines ever,
and with tongue firmly in cheek...
BBSpot
We love geeks. Geeks rule! And geek horoscopes
are ever so much better than the newspaper
variety...
The Onion
Satire sublime. It's even better that some people
think it's REAL news...
Homestar Runner
The minds that came up with this site are, not to
put too fine a point on it, twisted as hell. check
Strongbad's email. That's how I got hooked.
Stupid Crimes and Misdemeanors
CourtTV's Dumb crooks site. Oy, what morons!
CNN
MSNBC
Yahoo! News
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
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