Best Websites for Writers

The May/June 2009 issue of Writer's Digest, in addition to containing a cover story it bills as an "epic conversation on writing" with Stephen King & Jerry B. Jenkins, has a feature article about the 101 best websites for writers.

The article lists a handful of recommended sites that may be of interest to you.

http://sixsentences.blogspot.com: Writers from across the world have posted sharply honed stories that, you guessed it, are no more than six sentences in length. These stories can be read in just a minute or so, but can provide an insight or perspective that lasts much longer. Anyone can try his or her hand at this story telling format as well, as the blog features a link detailing how to make submissions. Readers can browse months of submissions to the blog or set up an RSS feed to receive newer posts.http://grammarbook.com/: This site features the rules for grammar, punctuation, capitalization, & much more, as well as links to video lessons for almost 70 English-usage issues. Even better, there are dozens of interactive & free online quizzes for various grammar concerns. This site may be particularly beneficial to those learning English as a second language, those returning to school after some time off, or anyone else who loves grammar. Note: the site is commercial in nature, so it does advertise for subscribing to extra tests or features. But, anyone can scroll down on the pages, specifically the Free Online Quizzes page, to find the free content.

http://www.bookglutton.com/: After setting up a free account, users can upload samples of their own writing to get critiques of the work. The site also has many book discussion or author discussion forums to join. The Writer's Digest best 101 list has about a dozen sites similar to this which offer similar content & functionality.
http://agentquery.com/: If you have writings you feel are ready to be published, this site of "the Internet's largest and most current database of literary agents" might be your source for finding representation. http://writingcontests.wordpress.com/: On this frequently updated site, you will find information about a parade of writing contests, focusing primarily on short story, flash or micro fiction & poetry. This site also allows users to set up RSS feeds to receive newer posts.

http://jc-schools.net/write/create.htm: Features what is called a writing prompt generator, which randomly selects topics to help start your creative writing engine. Two examples of these random topics are "She seemed like such a sweet old lady. Who would ever believe that she was really . . " and "You have to babysit a pet chimpanzee. Write about your experience."

http://www.flashlightworthybooks.com/: An excellent source for finding the most well regarded books across a wide spectrum of genres, topics & age groups.

Again, these are but a few of the 101 resources recommended by Writer's Digest. You can find the complete list in the May/June 2009 issue of Writer's Digest -- available at the Bangor Public Library for checkout -- or online at http://www.writersdigest.com/101BestSites/?m_nYear=2008.

Let me know if you have other recommendations. Feel welcome to comment to this blog post if you would like. You can email me directly at playne@bpl.lib.me.us also.

Patrick Layne