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Friday 7 January 2011

Friday Thoughts…What happens when you get stuck?

I write all sorts of things (well except Erotica – I’m useless at that) and often when I am trying something different or I’m stuck on something, I research it on the internet. Over the last couple of years, I have gathered a list of my most useful websites and today I thought I would share them with you!

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Rhyme Zone

I write rhyming stories for children – they’re easy to read and you can make them nonsense and the kids will still love them. I do get stuck for rhymes every so often and Rhyme Zone is great! It does phrases as well as individual words, rather handy when you’ve made up a word and have to rhyme it!

Godchecker

This is the best place on the next to get the basics about the various pantheons. It’s funny too and you can get caught up in their interpretations of the stories surrounding the gods, saints etc.

Ten Ways to Kill a Zombie 

I might write horror stories, but I hadn’t written anything about zombies before and I wasn’t sure how to kill them, apart from dismembering them. So I looked it up. This is one of the best articles I have ever read on such a gory subject!

Shakespeare Insult Kit

Insults get boring when you are writing. Using the modern ones (and no I am not going to detail them) can make a fantasy piece sound completely wrong. So coming across this page was a goddess send. It’s fun for playing with words on Facebook too…

20,000 Names

I already have a couple of Baby Name books, but even companion creatures have names and some, like particular breeds of horses for example, have to have particular names. This website has names for everyone, no matter the race, religion or species.

Creativity Tools

I discovered this recently. It’s an interesting place with lots of ways of breaking blocks, generating prompts and just general wordplay fun.

Maps of The World 

I don’t know how good your geography skills are, but mine are terrible! I got a D in GCSE Geography. This website comes in handy when I need to place a story somewhere in this world and reality…

Duotrope

Of course, once you’ve finished your story, you need to get it published. This website is a wonderful place for Editors, Writers and Poets. You can find every market from Competitions to Anthologies and Independent Publishers here. As Essential a Tool as The Writer’s Handbook.

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These are just my favourite tools by the way. So here’s Friday’s thought –


What happens when you get stuck? What tools or Websites do you like to use to get out of the hole / rut?

2 comments:

  1. What is this getting stuck of what you speak???

    Seriously, I don't. What does happen is I sometimes need some information and I get very frustrated trying to find it.

    Existing railways lines and schedules in England and Scotland in late 1860 drove me crazy. However, I was able to describe actual hotels by the end of the research.

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  2. lolz "Shakespeare Insult Kit." Why does no one tell me about the awesome stuffs? *pins on wall*

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