Sunday, January 27, 2013

An Ode to Notebooks (or it would be if I could rhyme)

To my spiral notebooks and my hardbound journals. From the three-inch binders to the post-it notes. In honor of every note-taking software, be it my phone notepad or Microsoft Word.

Thank you for your pages, your canvases, your open fields of white...or blue...or green...or...y'know what, let's move on.



I know most of my scribbles never become anything more than that. I plot and plan and even though you must know nothing comes of it, you're always eager to listen.

And no matter how long you're left shelved or boxed or unopened, you remember. And most of the time, you don't even smudge the lead.

One of you can always come with me.

I appreciate that I don't always have to be on topic. Or strong. And that you never mind when I try something crazy. Or just doodle.

And sometimes, I swear, you are as much a portal as any hardbound book.

If my stories are my other world, then you are my portals to those places, and I thank you 
for always
being 
open.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Making Writing Resolutions for 2013?


Need/want some online resources to help you out?

Wordcount Meters:
Requires a Facebook account as an 'anchor' for your image (doesn't postanything or pester you in any way). Easy to modify and lots of personalization available.

Svenja Liv's Word Count Meter
Very clean and classy lookin' counters. Be willing to copy & paste your counter's code often, or have some knowledge of HTML to adjust. 

Write Daily Sites:
Write 750 words per day. The entries are kept completely private, can betagged using metadata, exported, plus you can earn achievements. 

OhLife sends you an email every day (or however often you like) asking how your day went. Just reply to the email with your entry or story or what-have-you, and the site stores them. Again, the entries are completely private andcan be exported.

Just in case you're having trouble making your daily wordcount ;)

Writing Prompts:
WritingFix's Random Writing Prompt GeneratorMight have to scroll down. The prompts were designed for school journals, but some work just fine for story ideas, and if nothing else, writing about the topic from a character's point of view could be useful.


*Not just for dragons*

Language Is a Virus
Generates random writing exercises




Enjoy and good luck!