Archive for the ‘Resources for Writers’ Category
Posted on June 3, 2010 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook
20+ Free or Trial Version Software Programs for Writers
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 – Screenwriting
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!
Popularity: 9% [?]
Posted on June 1, 2010 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook
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.
- 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.
- Meet authors – find your favorite author on twitter. Often they offer advice and sometimes even tweet back to you.
- 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?
- 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.
- Share writing tips (and even tips on how to use twitter with other writers doing the same).
- Get writing tips (or even find out how to use twitter better.)
- 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!)
- 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.
- Share your favorite books, authors, etc. Find new books to read or authors to check out.
- Find awesome writing blogs or posts.
- Ask others to read or critique something you’ve written (posted to your blog).
- Get advice on queries. #querychat
- Get advice on manuscripts.
- Get advice on finding an agent.
- 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.)
- Ask questions about finding an agent.
- Ask questions about submitting.
- Ask questions about publishers.
- 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.
- Discover trends in writing – fiction/non-fiction/article writing. Find out what is popular right now.
- Find writing jobs. Follow @JobsForWriters or _Writing_Jobs or @Writing_Jobs to find out the latest jobs available for writers.
- Tweet the blog post you just wrote to get more readers.
- Tweet a blog post you just read to share with others who might be interested.
- 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.
- Find a digital publishing company/ebook company.
- Learn how to market your book.
- Market your book.
- 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.
- Find great short stories to read, flash fiction, etc.
- Participate in writers chats. #writechat and #Writers_Life are two of my favorites.
- Participate in other types of chats. #askagent is set up to ask questions to agents you wouldn’t be able to ask otherwise.
- Find cool software/gadgets/electronic media, etc… developed just for writers.
- Share your trials and tribulations of being a mom/dad/WAHM/SAHM/WAHD/WAHM with other writers who are going through the same struggles.
- Share your trials and tribulations of trying to juggle a writing life with a real life.
- Commiserate with other writers when the rejections come through. Know you are not alone.
- Find writing prompts, inspiration, quotes and other fun stuff to get you motivated.
- Find guest writers and authors to interview for your writing blog.
- Find sponsors or donations for a blog giveaway you want to host.
- Get referrals for just about anything. Helps to get your name out there, and find people who admire you/your work.
- Tweet about the disaster you just wrote into your novel… just because.
- Work on character development through twitter. I know several people who tweet as their characters.
- 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?
Popularity: 14% [?]
Posted on May 11, 2010 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook
25+ Favorite Twitter Hashtags for Writers (clickable list)
UPDATE: Please go visit the NEW, UPDATED version of this page: 60+ Favorite Twitter Hashtags for Writers (clickable list) and please RT the new one. Thanks!
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.
Popularity: 55% [?]
Posted on April 8, 2010 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook
Best Websites For Writers
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 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
Noah Lukeman or @LukemanLiterary
Writing Communities
Great places to hang out and meet other writers (besides twitter.com of course)
Backspace: The Writers Place
Resources
General place that all writers should have bookmarked.
Grammar Girl (Mignon Fogarty) or @grammargirl
Fun & Creative Challenges
Fun places and challenges for writers of all types
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.
Popularity: 8% [?]
Posted on January 11, 2010 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook
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?
Popularity: 4% [?]
Posted on January 4, 2010 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook
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!
Popularity: 4% [?]
Posted on October 16, 2009 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook
Need Help With Your Novel Outline?
The one complaint I have heard a lot this year, is that many newer novelist are unsure how to outline for their story. Some people swear by a certain method, but I believe we can learn from them all. Here is a nice list of outline helpers you can use to start planning for your novel.
The Snowflake Method This is the most popular method used, but is definitely not the only method.
Writing.Com Worksheet The popular writing website writing.com has offered up a worksheet to help you get started.
Brainstorming Questions I’m all about brainstorming and these questions will definitely help.
The Notecard System This method can be done on note cards, which is great, but you can also modify it to work with the ever popular post it notes.
The Phase System Another unique outlining system developed by fmwriters.
Marshall Plan for Novel Writing and the Accompanying Work Book I checked this book out of the library and found it extremely helpful for outlining/planning your novel.
Plot and Structure Another extremely helpful book for outlining and planning.
No Plot, No Problem Chris Baty’s product has been dubbed the NaNoWriMo bible and is extremely helpful. I read it each year before NaNo to refresh myself and get ideas. It’s amazing how much I forget. Many libraries have this book, but I definitely recommend buying it.
Outline Helper A more manageable downloadable version of the Snowflake Method that has a built-in scheduler.
The Questionnaires This was a former writing community on live journal who put together great questions to ask yourself and get prepared. This is the archives, but is awesome.
Popularity: 31% [?]
Posted on September 28, 2009 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook
Fun Way to Create Names of Any Kind
I absolutely love the idea of using anagrams to create names for people, locations and buildings in your stories. For instance, the past couple of years, it has been a tradition to include someone in your novel with an anagram formed from NaNoWriMo. The favorite is Mr. Ian Woon, (after all he is the original!) however I have included: Winona Rom, Ian Monrow, Noma Orwin, Mona Orwin (they were in diff. stories) and Norma Wion. I have also had someone live on Manino Row. We have a restaurant in our area that is named Mannino’s so it was kinda close to home anyway. I loved it.
This site is AWESOME for creating simple anagrams and advanced anagrams. You can just randomly create all Anagrams based off a word or set of words, or you can narrow it down a little bit more and use only proper names, etc. by using the advanced anagram area. Love it!!
What do you think??
Oh, and this year, I believe Mari Onnow and Ami Nornow will be appearing somewhere in each novel. I think one is going to wind up being an old friend from high school, the other will be more strategically blended in.
Are you going to try using anagrams in your novel?
Popularity: 3% [?]
Posted on September 26, 2009 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook
Looking for Writing Software?
I’m always on the lookout for writing software for my laptop that will help or enhance my writing. My favorite program for novel writing, which I have mentioned a few times on this blog, is Liquid Story Binder. Simplistic, but perfect. It offers so much, and has seriously helped me get FAR more organized than I used to be. Plus they offer a free download so you can try it out.
I know there are many of you though, who are looking for other options and other types of writing software.
Here are some terrific writing programs:
Character Pro – Great stories begin with great characters, yet creating memorable, well-defined characters can be one of the hardest things to pull off. Now there’s writing software that will help you find the perfect character every time!
Dramatica Pro – Dramatica Pro software is your creative writing partner. Create great characters. Plan your plot from start to finish. Dramatica Pro blasts away those writer’s blocks. Dramatica Pro is the only story development software to receive four stars from Writer’s Digest magazine.
Power Structure – Power Structure helps you shape your good ideas into a great novel, screenplay, or stageplay.
Know of any other great software for writers? Especially free downloads or trial/demo versions, please leave a comment and a link and let us know!!
Popularity: 1% [?]
Posted on September 25, 2009 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook
Character Development Helpers
Been working on my characters for the past few days, and found some useful websites that I thought I would share. I figured these would help anyone that was doing any type of character development.
Need an Irish first name? (this is really for myself, because I am working on something that required me to have a very Irish first name.)
Need a first name for any culture or country?
Need to know your character inside and out?
Need to know the legal age for any magnitude of things in any country?
Need to find a job for your character? - This site tells you salary, education requirements and what you would be expected to do in each job. I love this site… great resource.
This is another great job locating informational site!
Find out how much you would be paid to do any job in any state.
Want to learn more about people/areas/etc. in your stories?
Need to know more about an ailment/disease/medical condition?
Learn about any world religion.
So, that’s it for now. I have lots more resources, and I will add more as time allows. Enjoy and if you find something useful, please leave a comment with the link or links below. Thanks guys!!
Popularity: 1% [?]
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