NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo month is almost here.  Only five more days (and since Samhain is one of them, that hardly even counts!!!) until over 2 hundred-dozen-thousand immature  (I actually intended to say “amateur” but the autofill suggestion is probably more correct)  writers start spewing forth words.  Have I signed up?  I’ll never tell…  But if you, my friend are as poorly constructed as most of your sentences are, then we all have a need to worry.  So sign up.  Write 50,000 words in less than 30 days.  Or, even if you are a 90 lb. weakling like everyone says, you should still check out all the lovely (and free) writing tools available on the web.    That, at least will keep your participles from dangling. Such an embarrassing problem, to be sure.

 

 

30+ Tools For The Amateur Writer

October 25, 2007 — 04:12 AM PDT — by Sean P. Aune — Share This

NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is almost upon us. On November 1st, brave souls everywhere will embark on a month long endeavor to write a story of at least 50,000 words. We’ve gathered 30+ tools to help those folks who want to try their hand at it.

Collaborative Writing

Coventi.com – A site offering several different packages, with the cheapest being free for the personal user.

Google Docs – Part of the Google suite of products, which enables you to invite others to work with you on a document.

Glypho.com – Put down the basic idea of your story, get a plot and character suggestions.

Novlet.com – Collaborative writing where you write just a couple of paragraphs at a time.

Portrayl.com – A site that lets you write one chapter at a time, and when done, release it as a PDF. You can also allow others to write a chapter if you want.

SynchroEdit.com – A browser-based editor that allows multiple users to edit the same document at the same. Will indicate who’s doing with with colors.

WideWORD.net – Create a secure document online and then pick who can look at it and participate.

Writeboard.com – A collaborative writing system by the folks at 37 Signals.

Writewith.com – Upload your documents and work with others on it together online.

Zoho Writer – A free online word processor from Zoho.

Dictionaries & Thesauruses

Alternative Dictionaries – Sometimes we all need to bend the rules some, and this site gives you definitions of various slang words.

Cambridge Dictionaries – Multiple dictionaries and references from Cambridge press.

Dictionary.com – Based on the Roget’s Dictionary. Also gives you quick access to thesaurus.com.

Dictionary.hm – An AJAX powered dictionary that pops up the definitions as you type.

Merriam-Webster.com – The online version of the well known print dictionary.

The American Heritage Dictionary – Over 90,000 words, a full print version of a dictionary put online.

UrbanDictionary.com – Multiple slang definitions of just about every word you may encounter in every day conversation.

Word.sc – A user-edited dictionary that lets you vote on definitions and upload photos of the word.

YourDictionary.com – Gives you the definition and suggest idioms.

Grammar & Tips

Bartleby.com – A collection of books in the public domain, broken down by category. Has a large election of books on language usage.

EnglishForums.com – Stumped by a tricky grammar moment? Join these forums to get advice from others who love the language.

Guide to Grammar & Writing – Gives tips on grammar from the word level up to essay paper length.

WordNet – Simple in appearance, WordNet is a huge lexicon of the language.

World Wide Words – Articles on word usage, turns of phrase, weird words, and more.

Plotting & Writing Tips

BlockbusterPlots.com – Get numerous free tips on how to construct a sensible plot for any story.

Character Questionnaires – Every good author will tell you that you need to know your characters before you write. This will help you interview them.

Freytag’s Pyramid – From ReadWriteThink, it explains the concept of “Freytag’s Pyramid” which is the basis of how any plot should be structured.

The “Basic” Plots in Literature – Describes the theories behind all of the known basic plots, and the schools of thought for each list.

Tips for plotting for every type of character – A lengthy list of stupid archetype characteristics for just about every type of character.

Word Processors

ajaxWrite – An AJAX based online word processor that runs in Firefox. Looks like Microsoft Word so you have a familiar interface.

Nevercode Docs – A downloadable word processor that allows you to store your documents online so they are accessible anywhere.

ThinkFree.com – Looks almost exactly like Microsoft Office and offers 1GB of free online storage.

30+ Tools For The Amateur Writer

Tags: NaNoWriMowriting

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