It's All About Writing » Resources for Writers http://nicolehumphrey.net Mother. Writer. Author. Friend. Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:47:38 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Story Write – Publish Your Stories http://nicolehumphrey.net/2010/07/story-write-publish-your-stories/ http://nicolehumphrey.net/2010/07/story-write-publish-your-stories/#comments Thu, 01 Jul 2010 16:27:10 +0000 Nicole Humphrey Cook http://nicolehumphrey.net/?p=1284 Have you checked out Story Write? It’s totally new to me, so I know very little about it so far, but if you like reading (and critiquing) other people’s stories, this might be a great site for you.

You can also post your own stories, though I am still learning how that all works. There is some . . . → Read More: Story Write – Publish Your Stories]]> Have you checked out Story Write? It’s totally new to me, so I know very little about it so far, but if you like reading (and critiquing) other people’s stories, this might be a great site for you.

You can also post your own stories, though I am still learning how that all works. There is some kind of point system that I wish I could be clearer about, but its still a little unknown to me, but I plan to figure it all out.

The site encourages authors of all levels. You can post your stories and you retain the copyright to all of your work. You can join writing groups, participate in contests, and all of this for FREE.

There are other options for membership available too that have upgraded features, but it appears that a regular old FREE membership is actually all you need.

According to the site 3266 authors visited this week, and they read 23,008 stories.
There are 67,022 total authors with 197,125 stories and 937,162 comments! Not bad.

Are there other sites like this that are the same or better? Tell me about them. Are you a member of storywrite?



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]]> http://nicolehumphrey.net/2010/07/story-write-publish-your-stories/feed/ 3 writeoncon for MC18 http://nicolehumphrey.net/2010/06/writeoncon-for-mc18/ http://nicolehumphrey.net/2010/06/writeoncon-for-mc18/#comments Mon, 28 Jun 2010 15:02:25 +0000 Nicole Humphrey Cook http://nicolehumphrey.net/?p=1254 I’m not sure why I haven’t posted about this before. I’ve been pretty excited about it for a short while now and cannot wait until it finally arrives. Are you a YA, Middle Grade or Children’s writer looking for a convention that works with your completely busy, no time for anything schedule? You found it.

What is . . . → Read More: writeoncon for MC18]]> I’m not sure why I haven’t posted about this before. I’ve been pretty excited about it for a short while now and cannot wait until it finally arrives. Are you a YA, Middle Grade or Children’s writer looking for a convention that works with your completely busy, no time for anything schedule? You found it.

What is writeoncon?

WriteOnCon is an Online Children’s Writers Conference (rated MC-18, for Main Characters under 18 only) created by writers, for writers.

When: Tuesday – Thursday, August 10 – 12, 2010

Where: http://www.writeoncon.com

Cost: Free!

Who: That’s the best part—it’s for EVERYONE!

The problem is, I have to wait until August. But registration begins July 1, 2010.

In the meantime, there’s a forum that you can utilize to get to know everyone – let’s liven the place up a bit over there.

Are you attending writeoncon?



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]]> http://nicolehumphrey.net/2010/06/writeoncon-for-mc18/feed/ 2 Favorite Tweets for Writers June 14-20, 2010 http://nicolehumphrey.net/2010/06/favorite-tweets-for-writers-june-14-20-2010/ http://nicolehumphrey.net/2010/06/favorite-tweets-for-writers-june-14-20-2010/#comments Wed, 23 Jun 2010 03:36:11 +0000 Nicole Humphrey Cook http://nicolehumphrey.net/?p=1178

Thank you my wonderful followers for being so patient with me over the past two weeks. Mike is doing so much better, and we start his Cardiac Rehabilitation this upcoming week, so I have a feeling it is only uphill from here. Thank you  so much for all the wonderful thoughts and prayers, we feel them . . . → Read More: Favorite Tweets for Writers June 14-20, 2010]]>

Thank you my wonderful followers for being so patient with me over the past two weeks. Mike is doing so much better, and we start his Cardiac Rehabilitation this upcoming week, so I have a feeling it is only uphill from here. Thank you  so much for all the wonderful thoughts and prayers, we feel them surrounding us and I am so blessed to know such awesome people. Thank you.

I am enjoying this new format a lot for the Tweets for Writers. It makes it a lot easier to search for tweets and posts that are relevant to my writing friends. Is there a category I have forgotten to cover or a category you wish I had here? Let me know in the comments and I will add it next week.

If you are interested in older posts of Favorite Tweets for Writers you can either search the blog with the search box on the right or try looking under Tweets for Writers.

Agents/Querying/Submission

Blogging

Book Promotion

Character Development

Copyright

Editing/Revision

Freelance Writing

Genre/Writing Type Specific

Inspiration/Creativity/Organization

Publishing

Resources/Apps for Writers

Script Writing

Self Publishing

Social Media and other Programs for Writers

Writing Process

Writing for Children/YA/Middle Grade

And just because this is my list, I am including:

Hilarious Stuff That Makes Me Giggle (and that I can almost relate to!)

If you know of a tweet/post I might have missed this week, please feel free to leave the link in the comments. Next week’s will be even bigger – how do I know? I already have more on next week’s than I have all together on this weeks and it has only been two days!



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]]> http://nicolehumphrey.net/2010/06/favorite-tweets-for-writers-june-14-20-2010/feed/ 9 Being a Writer: Lakeside Dedication http://nicolehumphrey.net/2010/06/being-a-writer-lakeside-dedication/ http://nicolehumphrey.net/2010/06/being-a-writer-lakeside-dedication/#comments Sat, 05 Jun 2010 16:16:41 +0000 Nicole Humphrey Cook http://nicolehumphrey.net/?p=1059 We had the busiest day yesterday. We decided to go spend the day at Hurricane Harbor – the water park inside Six Flags. It was sunny, hot and now I’m sunburned, but it was loads of fun!

I had one of those “you know you’re a writer when…” moments last night though. We left Six Flags and . . . → Read More: Being a Writer: Lakeside Dedication]]> We had the busiest day yesterday. We decided to go spend the day at Hurricane Harbor – the water park inside Six Flags. It was sunny, hot and now I’m sunburned, but it was loads of fun!

I had one of those “you know you’re a writer when…” moments last night though. We left Six Flags and decided to head out to the lake where my husband was fishing with a friend and just hang out for a bit before going home to crash.

I was sitting on the beach and was frustrated because I didn’t have my laptop or even a notebook to write with. So what does a writer, who has ideas swarming through her head, do in a situation like that?
She is suddenly thankful for good apps. and iPods.

So, my “you know you’re a writer when…” is this:

You know you’re a writer when you’re at the lake with your family, you suddenly want to write and there is no paper or laptop in sight, so you improvise. You pull out your iPod, that you installed the My Writing Nook app on a couple of days ago and then you proceed to type 812 words. That’s dedication. (oh, and can I just say how hard it is to type that many words on an iPod. lol)

Do you have any stories of somewhere you wrote that was a little odd, or something a bit less conventional writing surface wise? Would love to hear!

Oh, and if you are interested in the app.  it is available for iPod or iPhone. It is also available for android and there is a web app. I’ve tried lots of apps for writer’s but this is by far my favorite one.



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]]> http://nicolehumphrey.net/2010/06/being-a-writer-lakeside-dedication/feed/ 6 20+ Free or Trial Version Software Programs for Writers http://nicolehumphrey.net/2010/06/20-free-or-trial-version-software-programs-for-writers/ http://nicolehumphrey.net/2010/06/20-free-or-trial-version-software-programs-for-writers/#comments Thu, 03 Jun 2010 11:47:45 +0000 Nicole Humphrey Cook http://nicolehumphrey.net/?p=1045 Free PC Software Programs for Writers

Open Office Suite yWriter (my fave!) Liquid Storybook Binder Yeah Write Celtx – Screenwriting Vizual Einstein Millenium Edition WriteSparks Storybook Organized Writer E-Calendar

Trial Versions of PC Software Programs for Writers

Power Writer Power Structure Power Tracker Dramatica Pro Trial Edition For PC or Mac. WriteItNow For PC or Mac.

Free and Trial Version Mac Software Programs for Writers

OmmWriter Scrivener Tinderbox Z-Write Nisus Writer Express CopyWrite WriteRoom Mariner Write Storyist Ulysses Jer’s Novel Writer StoryMill Montage – . . . → Read More: 20+ Free or Trial Version Software Programs for Writers]]> Free PC Software Programs for Writers

Trial Versions of PC Software Programs for Writers

Free and Trial Version Mac Software Programs for Writers

If you know of any that were forgotten, it wasn’t for lack of research and trial programs being installed on my computer. LOL
Please feel free to add them into the comments with a link so we can go find out the features. Thanks!



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]]> http://nicolehumphrey.net/2010/06/20-free-or-trial-version-software-programs-for-writers/feed/ 1 40+ Twitter Uses for Writers http://nicolehumphrey.net/2010/06/40-twitter-uses-for-writers/ http://nicolehumphrey.net/2010/06/40-twitter-uses-for-writers/#comments Tue, 01 Jun 2010 12:40:34 +0000 Nicole Humphrey Cook http://nicolehumphrey.net/?p=1038 Not everyone loves Twitter. I get a lot of comments and talk to a lot of people who just don’t understand Twitter or how it can be helpful to  communicate in 140 character messages. I’ll admit, that’s my least favorite part. I often find myself using “text chat” which I never do in real life. As . . . → Read More: 40+ Twitter Uses for Writers]]> Not everyone loves Twitter. I get a lot of comments and talk to a lot of people who just don’t understand Twitter or how it can be helpful to  communicate in 140 character messages. I’ll admit, that’s my least favorite part. I often find myself using “text chat” which I never do in real life. As a writer, I really don’t like that. However, I got used to it, and thankfully have not carried it over to anything I do normally anyway. It does make you more aware of what you are saying and you say it in the most direct way you can because of the limitations.

Are you anti Twitter? If so, why would Twitter be useful to a writer? I have over 1000 writer’s I’m following that I am pretty sure will give you different reasons why they use Twitter and what they get from it. I hope that some will pop over and leave a comment to tell you why they find the Twitter platform to be useful to them as a writer. Perhaps the list will grow far beyond the 40+ we are at now. Feel free to leave your comment below.

In the meantime, here are 40+ reasons you should be on Twitter if you are a writer.

  1. Meet new people – and the best part is, there is a writer that shares a lot in common with you on twitter. How do I know? Because I have been blessed enough to find a few that share a lot in common with myself.
  2. Meet authors – find your favorite author on twitter. Often they offer advice and sometimes even tweet back to you.
  3. Networking – In my opinion, socializing with other writers on Twitter is one of the best parts of using the social networking service. I love Twitter just for the many new friends I have made. Where else in the world are you ever going to be able to communicate with this many writers so frequently?
  4. The support you receive from other writers when you are having a particularly hard day, a bout of writer’s block or just feel uninspired or need motivation.
  5. Share writing tips (and even tips on how to use twitter with other writers doing the same).
  6. Get writing tips (or even find out how to use twitter better.)
  7. Use the hashtag #writegoal to post your word count goal for the day. Get cheered on, or celebrate when you accomplish it. (completely motivating to finish it too!)
  8. Meet writers that live near you. I see writers groups and critique groups formed all the time. Go out to lunch or grab a Starbucks with a few new writer friends from your area.
  9. Share your favorite books, authors, etc. Find new books to read or authors to check out.
  10. Find awesome writing blogs or posts.
  11. Ask others to read or critique something you’ve written (posted to your blog).
  12. Get advice on queries. #querychat
  13. Get advice on manuscripts.
  14. Get advice on finding an agent.
  15. Talk to agents or get advice from agents. Who knows, you might find one. (Just don’t bug them to death. That is sure to NOT get you an agent, and they really do run in circles together – your name will quickly be passed around.)
  16. Ask questions about finding an agent.
  17. Ask questions about submitting.
  18. Ask questions about publishers.
  19. Find a publisher. There are hundreds of publishers on twitter. Follow @bookpubs to find out which publishers are on Twitter, and which ones are accepting submissions.
  20. Discover trends in writing – fiction/non-fiction/article writing. Find out what is popular right now.
  21. Find writing jobs. Follow @JobsForWriters or _Writing_Jobs or @Writing_Jobs to find out the latest jobs available for writers.
  22. Tweet the blog post you just wrote to get more readers.
  23. Tweet a blog post you just read to share with others who might be interested.
  24. Learn about writing scams, publisher scams and more. The world of writing can be tricky, and more often than not, someone has the latest scoop to keep yourself safe.
  25. Find a digital publishing company/ebook company.
  26. Learn how to market your book.
  27. Market your book.
  28. Ask questions about a story you are working on. For instance, don’t know how police procedure goes in a drug  bust? Ask someone. Don’t know how much teachers are paid on the east coast, ask someone. You get the point… when you are stuck and want to make your story as realistic as possible, Twitter is a great place to get answers quickly.
  29. Find great short stories to read, flash fiction, etc.
  30. Participate in writers chats. #writechat and #Writers_Life are two of my favorites.
  31. Participate in other types of chats. #askagent is set up to ask questions to agents you wouldn’t be able to ask otherwise.
  32. Find cool software/gadgets/electronic media, etc… developed just for writers.
  33. Share your trials and tribulations of being a mom/dad/WAHM/SAHM/WAHD/WAHM with other writers who are going through the same struggles.
  34. Share your trials and tribulations of trying to juggle a writing life with a real life.
  35. Commiserate with other writers when the rejections come through. Know you are not alone.
  36. Find writing prompts, inspiration, quotes and other fun stuff to get you motivated.
  37. Find guest writers and authors to interview for your writing blog.
  38. Find sponsors or donations for a blog giveaway you want to host.
  39. Get referrals for just about anything. Helps to get your name out there, and find people who admire you/your work.
  40. Tweet about the disaster you just wrote into your novel… just because.
  41. Work on character development through twitter. I know several people who tweet as their characters.
  42. Help other writers. When the day is done and you have gotten the help you needed/advice you longed for/critique you requested, etc. Look around for other writers who might just need some help too.

So tell us fellow writers, what do you use twitter for?



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]]> http://nicolehumphrey.net/2010/06/40-twitter-uses-for-writers/feed/ 6 25+ Favorite Twitter Hashtags for Writers (clickable list) http://nicolehumphrey.net/2010/05/25-favorite-twitter-hash-tags-for-writers-clickable-list/ http://nicolehumphrey.net/2010/05/25-favorite-twitter-hash-tags-for-writers-clickable-list/#comments Tue, 11 May 2010 16:56:17 +0000 Nicole Humphrey Cook http://nicolehumphrey.net/?p=862 This morning I posed the question, what are your favorite hashtags for writers on Twitter. These are the responses I got in order of votes (mentions).

1. #amwriting 2. #writechat 3. #yalit or #yalitchat 4. #amediting or #amrevising 5. #Writers_Life 6. #writetip or #writetips 7. #LitChat or #kidlitchat 8. #writers or #writer 9. #writing 10. #nanowrimo or #scriptfrenzy 11. #publishing or #selfpublishing 12. #FridayFlash 13. #thepennydreadful 14. #askintern or #askagent 15. #journalchat 16. #StoryStarters 17. . . . → Read More: 25+ Favorite Twitter Hashtags for Writers (clickable list)]]> This morning I posed the question, what are your favorite hashtags for writers on Twitter. These are the responses I got in order of votes (mentions).

1. #amwriting
2. #writechat
3. #yalit or #yalitchat
4. #amediting or #amrevising
5. #Writers_Life
6. #writetip or #writetips
7. #LitChat or #kidlitchat
8. #writers or #writer
9. #writing
10. #nanowrimo or #scriptfrenzy
11. #publishing or #selfpublishing
12. #FridayFlash
13. #thepennydreadful
14. #askintern or #askagent
15. #journalchat
16. #StoryStarters
17. #pubtip
18. #writegoal or #editgoal
19. #fiction or #nonfiction
20. #wip
21. #authors
22. #ac or #examiner
23.  #articles
24. #copywriting
25. #weblit

Let me know if you can think of any others that I missed or that you love.



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]]> http://nicolehumphrey.net/2010/05/25-favorite-twitter-hash-tags-for-writers-clickable-list/feed/ 11 Best Websites For Writers http://nicolehumphrey.net/2010/04/best-websites-for-writers/ http://nicolehumphrey.net/2010/04/best-websites-for-writers/#comments Thu, 08 Apr 2010 15:54:41 +0000 Nicole Humphrey Cook http://nicolehumphrey.net/?p=757 The benefits I get from networking with other writers has been absolutely amazing. I have made real friends, get encouragement when I’m having a rough time, I can bounce ideas off others and get feedback, sometimes immediately. All of these things alone are great just to have, but they have also helped improve my writing and . . . → Read More: Best Websites For Writers]]> websites for writersThe benefits I get from networking with other writers has been absolutely amazing. I have made real friends, get encouragement when I’m having a rough time, I can bounce ideas off others and get feedback, sometimes immediately. All of these things alone are great just to have, but they have also helped improve my writing and my focus on writing.

I have a very extensive bookmark list of great websites and blogs that are writing specific, as I’m sure many of you do too. But I thought I’d share the sites I think are the best based on several criteria, including endorsements from other major sites.  So here we go.

edited to add: I am not including blogs for anyone but agents because that will be a whole other post. :)

Agent Blogs
These blogs are my favorites to go to for information.

Rachelle Gardner or @RachelleGardner

Janet Reid or QueryShark or @JanetReid or @QueryShark

Nathan Bransford or @NathanBransford

Kristin Nelson

KT Literary or @DaphneUn

Lori Perkins

Noah Lukeman or @LukemanLiterary

Writing Communities
Great places to hang out and meet other writers (besides twitter.com of course)
Backspace: The Writers Place

Critique Circle

Edit Red

Long Story Short

My Writers Circle

Writing.com

Writing Forward

Resources
General place that all writers should have bookmarked.

copyright.gov

Grammar Book

Grammar Girl (Mignon Fogarty) or @grammargirl

Writer Beware

Fun & Creative Challenges
Fun places and challenges for writers of all types

Armchair Interviews

Cool Stuff for Writers

National Novel Writing Month

Ninth Moon

Writing Fix

Writing Quotes

If you have any I might have missed that you feel should have made the list, please feel free to leave a comment! :) I will update this list periodically.



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]]> http://nicolehumphrey.net/2010/04/best-websites-for-writers/feed/ 5 Examiner.com – St. Louis Frugal Family Examiner http://nicolehumphrey.net/2010/01/examiner-com-%e2%80%93-st-louis-frugal-family-examiner/ http://nicolehumphrey.net/2010/01/examiner-com-%e2%80%93-st-louis-frugal-family-examiner/#comments Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:58:54 +0000 Nicole Humphrey Cook http://nicolehumphrey.net/?p=633 Very excited!! I applied to be the examiner.com St. Louis Frugal Family Examiner after noticing that the previous writer had not published anything since April of last year. I waited for awhile before applying to see if she would post again, but she never did. I took the chance about two weeks ago and went ahead . . . → Read More: Examiner.com – St. Louis Frugal Family Examiner]]> Very excited!! I applied to be the examiner.com St. Louis Frugal Family Examiner after noticing that the previous writer had not published anything since April of last year. I waited for awhile before applying to see if she would post again, but she never did. I took the chance about two weeks ago and went ahead and applied.

After I submitted everything, I learned that examiner had just opened up to Canadian applicants and they had a surge of applications. So, for me, it wasn’t looking promising. I didn’t say a word to anyone about applying (not even family), so I just patiently waited to see what would happen.

Last week I got the email that I was invited to be an examiner writer for the St. Louis Frugal Family section. I cannot tell you how happy I was and am, and how awesome it is to be selected to do it, as I’ve also since learned that many have trouble getting in to write for them. Anyway, my first article is finally published and since this is a residual income kind of site, feel free to click on it and read it, so I can get paid. :) Free Activities

I figured my topic over there is awesome and worth it, since I just began teaching Frugal Living classes again in my area, so this will all connect together nicely. And even if we do move at some point, we are not moving THAT far away, that I would ever not be part of St. Louis, so I’m safe.

My first article was approved after an hour and my site is live. You can see it here.

Please, please stop by and say hi to me over there. I’m the newbie on the block and many of these peeps have been writing for examiner for awhile. I could use the support.

If you write for examiner, are you loving it?



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]]> http://nicolehumphrey.net/2010/01/examiner-com-%e2%80%93-st-louis-frugal-family-examiner/feed/ 2 Words That Aren’t Words http://nicolehumphrey.net/2010/01/words-that-arent-words/ http://nicolehumphrey.net/2010/01/words-that-arent-words/#comments Mon, 04 Jan 2010 17:33:00 +0000 Nicole Humphrey Cook http://nicolehumphrey.net/?p=624 A couple of years ago, one of the pastor’s of my church left, details aren’t important. He moved to Arkansas and now is the pastor at a church there. There are two things I regret since he left. 1.) I never realized how extremely funny he is. 2.) I never realized what a grammar/word nerd he . . . → Read More: Words That Aren’t Words]]> A couple of years ago, one of the pastor’s of my church left, details aren’t important. He moved to Arkansas and now is the pastor at a church there. There are two things I regret since he left. 1.) I never realized how extremely funny he is. 2.) I never realized what a grammar/word nerd he actually is.

Recently on his blog, he posted a list of non-words, titled (in humor) The Ain’t List – Words That Aren’t Words.

I know I could add countless other words that perturb me beyond words (gasp) but his list is awesome. My favorites (and biggest pet peeves EVER) irregardless and unthaw.

It’s sad that my wordpress spell check immediately noticed that unthaw is not a word, but left irregardless alone….
I’m sure that is because of this. Grammar girl rocks btw!



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