Group items tagged

I keep copies of all my writing on this Cloud site.

I use Dropbox for pictures and Google Drive for text, in essence. The benefit of Google Drivein my opinion is that it ties in (almost) seamlessly with Google's online word processing tools.

Agreed. Simple to use and really terrific for online collaboration. Slightly different concept as the files aren't natively in Word or Excel or whatever, but still very handy.

I loved this TED Radio Hour special on storytelling. It includes interviews and TED talks from a Pixar scriptwriter, the author of the historical reimagining The Girl with the Pearl Earring and a book cover artist. "Storytelling is joke-telling."

Rich repository of journal articles and published papers on almost anything. If you are a member of a university library or State Library and put that in your Scholar profile, it will tell you when you have direct access to an article in a subscription-based database.

It's is always worth investigating the authors of a paper before you use it from Scholar, I reckon. Universities overseas, particularly in the US, have different funding arrangements and sometimes the papers here (especially health-related ones) are less than independent.

Fair call. True also of many materials online - factual or opinion-based ... or in the hard to tell the difference category. One good measure of credibility (or arguments against the findings) is to look at how many other people have cited the material and what they've done with it, which you can do via Scholar.

Take a story by a writer you really, really admire - preferably a short short story that won't take for ever to reproduce. Analyze it in minute detail: from word choice to sentence length. Now, choose a different setting and different characters with different dreams from that of the originals, and write a copycat story, following the exact structure and tone of the original.

'"I have read and agree to the Terms" is the biggest lie on the web. We aim to fix that.' Community does the hard work of reading all the terms and conditions small print, then rates the service and points out key issues for each.

New Australian publisher of short stories and novellas. Must be by a Brisbane writer or have some connection to Brisbane. Pays $10 for a story and wants all world-wide rights for a year after the anthology is published, then rights revert to the author.

I forgot this most important thing: Waterproof notepads made of waterproof paper. A notepad and pencil you can use in the shower for those brilliant ideas you'll otherwise forget. I use it ALL the time.

lol

I get all my best insights in the shower, but the fact that I forget them immediately may have something to do with my lack of success, lol.

I've belonged to this for more than ten years. It is a huge community of people who write, at all levels of experience. Mostly Americans, but many from all around the English-speaking world. There is a free course you can do to see if you like it, before paying to join. If you join, there are many interest groups, self-moderated. I belong to one focusing on literary short story writing, invitation only, full at the moment and not taking members. There are groups writing every kind of genre you can think of. The standard varies hugely from group to group, and from course to course.

This is an example of one of the intensive writing events I was talking about. NaNoWriMo (National Novel-Writing Month) is another.

Readers go for a ride. This is the best writing cartoon: all the things to avoid in your story at one glance.

So much to really love about this. It's great!

medieval doodles by a boy learning the Russian alphabet. 

A fabulous post by YA author Libba Bray on her writing (or not) process. Hilarious but true. Recommended reading.

I spent ages one day checking the dates on my spices and tossing out the ones that were old. At the end of that time I had no writing and lots of empty spice bottles - in alphabetical order. I loved this article. I'm sticking to short stories. Novels sound even more horrifying to try to produce.

My favorite dictionary. You have to pay to use it.

Good addition. This is often cited as the dictionary standard for Australian authors. You can access it free if you join the State library and many of your local public libraries too.

Great software for drafting - much easier to use than MS Word for longer pieces of writing. It's worth downloading the trial and setting aside some time to play with the tutorial.

Yes it is, though it's only about $40. Have a play.

Writing software designed especially for writers. Costs around $40 (but do a search for vouchers and you may get a discount).

This is the free web-based mind mapping program I mentioned last night; it's basic but has all the functionality that most of us would need.

I just discovered this app - iTunes blurb below: A Novel Idea is the premier tool for plotting your story and recording bursts of inspiration. Use its simple interface to create your characters, locations, scenes, and novels and then link them together to create your story's plot. Use the Idea feature to quickly jot down your creative sparks and link them to your story elements.

Downloaded for a play. Looks good - pity no timeline though. Another good thought capturer I was using was Werdsmith but I think Novel Idea has more features.

"Discover and share books you love on Goodreads, the world's largest site for readers and book recommendations" (and obsessively check your reviews and star ratings). Author dashboards, book discussion groups and lists, your library and bookshelves. Where readers are.

I didn't know I had an account until you mentioned it. As it turns out, I told Goodreads a year ago that I'd begun reading Noah Devine's Dharma Punx. I am, to this day, still trying to read Dharma Punx! It is keeping me honest...

Yes, I look like I've been reading the same books for a year, too.

new, unique collection of interviews with some of the most significant Tribal Elders of Australian publishing and writing.

Ths is a TED talk where Jason Fried talks about the importance of flow time, or time spent thinking/scheming. Thought it might help you guys.

That link looks dodgy to me. It might just be my iPad* playing silly buggers but in case it isn't: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XD2kNopsUs&feature=youtube_gdata_player * Yes, Michael, I know: I should dump the evil empire... ;)