At Stephen King’s suggestion (no, he’s not a personal friend – it’s in his book, On Writing), I created a file on my computer entitled “Toolbox”. In it, I keep my tools for writing. One section is for websites that come in handy. I’ll share the best with you here (all are free - I'm cheap). More can be found at: http://www.writersdigest.com/101BestSites/
Here are my favorites:
Readers-
http://www.amazon.com/ - (of course)
http://www.bookspot.com/reviews/ - For reviews by NYT, and many others
http://bookmooch.com/ - A free online used book sharing site – Did I say FREE?!
http://www.biblio.com/ - find/purchase out of print books
Writers –
http://thesaurus.reference.com/ - The best online thesaurus I’ve ever found
http://dictionary.reference.com/ - The best dictionary I’ve found
http://babelfish.altavista.com/ - Online translator – popular languages (no Swahili-sorry)
http://baby-names.adoption.com/ - Names – listed by country of origin as well.
http://www.bartleby.com/100/ - Quotations
http://www.slangsite.com/ - slang terms
http://www.moviecliches.com/ - movie clichés
http://www.rhymezone.com/ - rhyming dictionary
http://www.azlyrics.com/index.html - index of song lyrics. Great search features
http://silmaril.ie/cgi-bin/uncgi/acronyms - need an acronym? It’s here.
http://geology.com/state-map - Maps
I collect these like baseball cards – you can’t have too many! I’m always looking for new helpful sites, so I’d love to hear your favorites.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Wandering musings on writing - and life
I attended a one-day conference a few weekends ago - Literary Orange. If you live in the Southern California area, I highly recommend it. I attend anything locally I can find, mostly for the inspiration I find there. Writing is such a solitary endeavor that I enjoy the opportunity to hang out with people who “get,” writing.
The keynote speaker was Elizabeth George. She gave insights into her creative process that were fascinating. She said something that stuck with me.
“I don’t know what I think until I write it down.”
I had never thought of it that way, but I realize this is true for me as well. Some days after I read what I’ve written - an emotion or opinion of a character - I realize that I didn’t know that I knew what they knew! It somehow solidifies a random thought, and feels like a puzzle piece falling into place, and I see things differently. Love it when that happens!
Writing (as in life) is all about focus. I think what you chose to write about gives insight into what you’re focusing on. This reminds me of a very wise thing I heard from a Native American over the summer. My husband and I were on a bicycle vacation through New Mexico, and visited the Acoma “Sky City” pueblo. The following quote was from our guide.
“Our culture is an oral one, and we ask that that you don’t write, tape or otherwise record anything while you are on the mesa. We ask this not because we do not want you to have it - we believe that through listening only, you will take with you that which speaks to you.”
I believe that we all take along that which speaks to us - and what we chose tells us something about ourselves, doesn’t it?
The keynote speaker was Elizabeth George. She gave insights into her creative process that were fascinating. She said something that stuck with me.
“I don’t know what I think until I write it down.”
I had never thought of it that way, but I realize this is true for me as well. Some days after I read what I’ve written - an emotion or opinion of a character - I realize that I didn’t know that I knew what they knew! It somehow solidifies a random thought, and feels like a puzzle piece falling into place, and I see things differently. Love it when that happens!
Writing (as in life) is all about focus. I think what you chose to write about gives insight into what you’re focusing on. This reminds me of a very wise thing I heard from a Native American over the summer. My husband and I were on a bicycle vacation through New Mexico, and visited the Acoma “Sky City” pueblo. The following quote was from our guide.
“Our culture is an oral one, and we ask that that you don’t write, tape or otherwise record anything while you are on the mesa. We ask this not because we do not want you to have it - we believe that through listening only, you will take with you that which speaks to you.”
I believe that we all take along that which speaks to us - and what we chose tells us something about ourselves, doesn’t it?
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
I read on Publisher’s Lunch the other day that Harris International did a poll of American adults and asked, “What is your favorite book of all time?” The answers:
1. The Bible
2. Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
3. Lord of the Rings (series), by J.R.R. Tolkien
4. Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
5. The Stand, by Stephen King
6. The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown
7. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
8. Angels and Demons, by Dan Brown
9. Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand
10. Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
Wow, I was shocked - first, because 4 of my top 4 favorites were there (2,5,7& 9). Second, because there wasn’t one “literary work” listed (not counting the bible – I don’t know how to categorize that).
In my humble opinion, this tells us several things about the American reader: First, obviously reading is not dead. The fact that none of these were comics tells us people are still reading, and not at a low level. They didn’t publish the demographics, so I don’t know whom they asked, but Harris is an esteemed poll, so I’m going to assume it was a true cross-section of the population.
Next, in spite of critics, ivory-tower professors and snobs, “literary works” aren’t as well loved as a good, a old-fashioned yarn. After all, I don’t see Faulkner or Hemmingway on that list – not even Jane Austen! What I see all the above have in common is that they’re great stories, told in a colorful and straightforward manner. I’ve always had the secret belief that “literary fiction” (apologies to my friend Ann who swears the term doesn’t exist) is what people buy as a “coffee table book” to leave around the house to impress their friends with what they’re reading (but don’t).
Now don’t misunderstand me, I really enjoy Steinbeck, Twain, Dickens and others. I’m just saying that they don’t make my top ten list, and apparently not others' either. What’s wrong with popular fiction? What’s wrong with admitting you read Harlequin? I’ll admit to cringing at taking a “bodice ripper” to the beach to read - but, given the stats on how many books the average American reads per year, shouldn’t we be happy they are reading anything?
Read what you like – proudly
1. The Bible
2. Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
3. Lord of the Rings (series), by J.R.R. Tolkien
4. Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
5. The Stand, by Stephen King
6. The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown
7. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
8. Angels and Demons, by Dan Brown
9. Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand
10. Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
Wow, I was shocked - first, because 4 of my top 4 favorites were there (2,5,7& 9). Second, because there wasn’t one “literary work” listed (not counting the bible – I don’t know how to categorize that).
In my humble opinion, this tells us several things about the American reader: First, obviously reading is not dead. The fact that none of these were comics tells us people are still reading, and not at a low level. They didn’t publish the demographics, so I don’t know whom they asked, but Harris is an esteemed poll, so I’m going to assume it was a true cross-section of the population.
Next, in spite of critics, ivory-tower professors and snobs, “literary works” aren’t as well loved as a good, a old-fashioned yarn. After all, I don’t see Faulkner or Hemmingway on that list – not even Jane Austen! What I see all the above have in common is that they’re great stories, told in a colorful and straightforward manner. I’ve always had the secret belief that “literary fiction” (apologies to my friend Ann who swears the term doesn’t exist) is what people buy as a “coffee table book” to leave around the house to impress their friends with what they’re reading (but don’t).
Now don’t misunderstand me, I really enjoy Steinbeck, Twain, Dickens and others. I’m just saying that they don’t make my top ten list, and apparently not others' either. What’s wrong with popular fiction? What’s wrong with admitting you read Harlequin? I’ll admit to cringing at taking a “bodice ripper” to the beach to read - but, given the stats on how many books the average American reads per year, shouldn’t we be happy they are reading anything?
Read what you like – proudly
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