Clipmarks | RiverRed's Writing collection

30+ Online Resources to Expand your English Vocabulary

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 23:04:20 GMT

clipped by: RiverRed
clipper's remarks: Many more sites are listed on the referring page.

HowJSay.com - This is a brilliant web 2.0 tool, just type in a word and get it pronounced immediately. It might prove very useful in some situations. This site has a large database of words so you won’t be disappointed.

Enso Dictionary and Spell Checker - Instantly check the spelling in your text by holding down a hotkey (works universally in Windows). Also included is a dictionary that can be activated using the command ‘define’

Wordie.Org - This is a social network centred around words. You can list your favourite words and phrases, see who else has your favourite word in their list, browse around their lists, tag them and have lots of fun. Create words you hate, words you find weird, words that make you laugh etc. Within a few minutes of wandering on the site, you’ll find lots of new terms that could improve your vocabulary skills.

About.com Grammar Quiz, Interactive Grammar Quizzes, Grammar Self Tests, 40+ Resources to improve your Grammar and Punctuation

Freelancing as a Business

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 02:25:48 GMT

clipped by: RiverRed

Clip Source: therenegadewriter.com

Write Your Own Reality - Business Plans for Writers

Business Plans: Not just for corporate conglomerates anymore

Clip Source: www.writingwhitepapers.com

Pricing Your Work for Writers

Make Money Writing Booklets

Clip Source: copywriterunderground.com

Writing Cheap? The Five Steps Every Struggling Writer Should Take

Clip Source: brandcurve.com

How to Negotiate Rates with a Freelance Copywriting Expert

How Ghost Writing Articles and Booklets Can Earn You Big Money!

Fab Freelance Writing Blog

Work in a Great Home Office

Plan to Make More Money Writing

Clip Source: contract-worker.com

Setting Goals: It’s All About Writing Them Down

Clip Source: www.eileencook.com

Freelance Writers' Manifesto

Using the Great Home Office Effectively

Freelance Writing Jobs

Clip Source: inkthinker.blogspot.com

Does Writing Feel Like a Chore?

Tags: blogging, freelance, writing

Writing Exercises & Experiments

Sun, 25 Feb 2007 05:17:23 GMT

clipped by: RiverRed
clipper's remarks: Many other resources at this page as well.

Clip Source: www.languageisavirus.com

Writing Exercises & Experiments
(great for jump-starting your NANOWRIMO writings!)

66 Writing Experiments by Charles Bernstein
Cut-up Spellcheck
82 Writing Experiments by Bernadette Mayer
16 Writing Experiments by Jonathan Mahew

Tags: writing

12 Writing Tips From George Orwell

Thu, 15 Feb 2007 18:14:30 GMT

clipped by: missangelyss

Clip Source: www.writingclasses.com

George Orwell has earned the right to be called one of the finer writers in the English language through such novels as 1984 and Animal Farm, such essays as “Shooting an Elephant,” and his memoir Down and Out in Paris.

George expressed a strong dislike of totalitarian governments in his work, but he was also passionate defender of good writing. Thus, you may want to hear some of George’s writing tips.*

A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four questions, thus:

What am I trying to say?
What words will express it?
What image or idiom will make it clearer?
Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?

And he will probably ask himself two more:

Could I put it more shortly?
Have I said anything that is avoidably ugly?

One can often be in doubt about the effect of a word or a phrase, and one needs rules that one can rely on when instinct fails. I think the following rules will cover most cases:

Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
Never use a long word where a short one will do.
If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
Never use the passive where you can use the active.
Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

* From “Politics and the English Language” by George Orwell.

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Tags: writing

Free Software Programs for Writers

Tue, 13 Feb 2007 00:38:06 GMT

clipped by: kwonsu

Clip Source: www.teresciaharvey.com

NoteTab Light — Free Version — I built this web site with this program (every single incarnation of this site, including the current version, stylesheets and all).
Go to the NoteTab website.
Sonar — Free (donations accepted) — Created by the creator of yWriter, this handy program tracks submissions better than a spreadsheet.
Go to the Sonar website.
EverNote — Freeware — EverNote is a fantastic notekeeping program that makes keeping up with notes and research for multiple projects an absolute breeze. Highly recommended for all writers. More of my comments on Evernote.
Go to the EverNote website.
WordWeb — Free Version — WordWeb is a thesaurus and dictionary that can integrate with other programs or run as a standalone program.
Go to the WordWeb website.
RoughDraft — Freeware — RoughDraft is an easy to use word processing program created specifically for writers with features that meet a writer's unique needs.
Go to the RoughDraft website.
Similar programs: WriteWay, yWriter
TreePad Lite — Freeware — Great for notes, detailed lists, character and scene sketches, or just anything at all. I've created a story note organizer for TreePad. It's a simple document in the TreePad format that can be used as a template to help you organize all those documents that invariably accumulate as you work on your most recent novel(s). It also lets you keep track of submissions and rejections. Download my template story_note_organizer.hjt (right click and choose "save target as" or "save link as").
Go to the TreePad website.

AbiWord — Free — Word processing program.
Go to the AbiWord website.

Celtx — Free — Scriptwriting program
Go to the Celtx website.

Dramatica Pro — Demo
Download the demo from The Writers Store.

Final Draft Screenwriting Software
Go to the Final Draft Screenwriting Software website.

Indelible Ink (Scriptwright & Bookwright) — Demos
Go to the Indelible Ink website.

Innovation Toolbox
Go to the Innovation Toolbox website.

Tags: freeware, software, computers, writing, writers

Guides for Writing Papers

Mon, 12 Feb 2007 14:06:59 GMT

clipped by: kwonsu

Clip Source: www.uga.edu

Guides for Writing Papers

Elements of Style by William Strunk is the classic writer's guide. This edition has been formatted for the Web. Students should pay particular attention to the sections on the paragraph and topic sentence.

How to Write a Paper, by P. Halsall, discusses the basic steps involved in writing a paper.

MLA Manuscript Format (in html) and MLA Based Guide for Writing Research Papers (PDF document, link fixed 25 Nov., 2005). This will answer most questions concerning the proper formatting of a research paper. The basis steps in writing such papers are also discussed.

How to Write a Thesis Statement

Paragraphs and Topic Sentences

How Do I Write a Coherent Paragraph and Make Transitions? from the Academic Resource Center, Wheeling Jesuit University. The section on "topic sentences" is particularly useful.

Rhodes College Writing Center Guide to Writing Papers

The Writing Guide, developed by Prof. Carolyn Schriber of Rhodes College, is an excellent guide to the basics of constructing an expository essay (also, it is here as an MS Word doc.)

Chicago Manual of Style Online I recommend this as a guideline for properly formatting the documentation of a paper.

Tags: people, writing, web sites, technology

Daytipper Will Pay $3 (US) for Useful Tips

Sat, 03 Feb 2007 21:38:08 GMT

clipped by: RiverRed

Clip Source: www.daytipper.com

Welcome to Daytipper. Every day, content is added to this site that has helped someone before. The content here can help you. The editorial staff at Daytipper does not create the content found on this site. People like you do.

If you have a tip that is insightful, helpful, and original, we will publish it and pay you $3 (US). You write the content. We share it with the world.

Tags: freelance, writing, earn money