Purdue University On-Line Writing Lab
The Purdue OWL offers many free resources (over 200, their homepage says), including guides to MLA and APA style, grammar and mechanics information, tips on writing in the workplace, and much more—they even have online practice exercises to help you spruce up your grammar. The information is geared mostly towards writers of nonfiction, but I [...]
WOW! Women on Writing
I first stumbled upon this site about a year ago, and my first thought was “Wow!” (Sorry—I couldn’t resist!) WOW! Women on Writing offers tips and advice from the pros, contests, workshops and classes, information on paying markets … The content is useful and always good. This little paragraph has taken me half an hour [...]
Bryson’s Dictionary for Writers and Editors (Bill Bryson)
This is an inexpensive reference that can help us all sort out tricky spelling and usage issues. Yes, there are larger usage guides and “normal” dictionaries that offer the same service, but Bryson’s Dictionary tends to tell you only what you need to know right now, which is a blessing for those of us with [...]
Bartleby.com
Bartleby (www.bartleby.com) is an excellent resource for writers, students, researches, and other curious people. I use it most often to search for quotations, but the site’s content is wide-ranging. You can search through encyclopedias, a dictionary, usage and style guides, poetry collections, and much more. Best of all, the site is very easy to navigate. [...]
The Online Slang Dictionary
The Online Slang Dictionary is a collaborative project and an indispensible source for anyone who writes or edits contemporary (mostly urban) American slang. Particularly when used in speech, slang can provide color and help establish character, but many of us aren’t sure how to spell some of these strange phrases we hear, and this is [...]
The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor
If you listen to National Public Radio, you are probably familiar with Garrison Keillor from A Prairie Home Companion. You may not know that Keillor also records a daily five-minute spot that includes information on important events or milestones in literature and the arts. He also reads a poem—sometimes two—every day (one of my favorite [...]
Writing Calendar
Some of the best resources are those you create for yourself. A writing calendar can help you set and meet goals and keep track of your work over the course of the year. All you need is a calendar with enough space to record a goal or accomplishment on any given day. If you plan [...]
FictionPress.com
This is a site I have only recently discovered. If you are a fiction writer or poet looking for a new outlet for your work, FictionPress.com may be the place for you. After you register and have your registration confirmed, you will be able to upload your stories, poems, or plays to be read and [...]
The Creative Writer’s Style Guide (Christopher T. Leland)
This is a handy, accessible style guide for writers of fiction and creative nonfiction. If commas confuse you or you’re not sure when to use italics, this guide may help you. Leland lays out the basics of grammar and usage and then tackles such topics as slang, offensive language, pacing, transitions, and more. Unless you’re [...]
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