Writers Victoria Writer's Toolkit

On productivity, storing documents safely, and how to write without being disturbed.

Free versions of the official Pomodoro timing apps

Simple timer for your Pomodoro sessions. Download to your desktop (Mac or Windows) or device.

Another new option in development for those looking for a replacement for Google Reader

The (IMHO) most simple and beautiful task list. Just like writing it down. And yet not. On web and apps.

For Chrome users, an extension to block out those enticing sites that distract you (this is the one I use). if you accidentally try to access a blocked site, you get a message: shouldn't you be working?

For Firefox users: an extension that blocks out social media and other attention traps while you work.

For Mac, iPad & iPhone users to write without distractions. WriteRoom is a full screen writing environment.

Perhaps the most famous paid ($10) noise blocking software for Mac that cuts out distractions to allow you to write.

Here's the Delanceyplace snippet I mentioned about soldiers.

This is the site I mentioned last week that sends you a random piece out of a book each day. Non-fiction. Good for ideas to write about, or just interesting. American.

This is the home site for AWM. Each Wednesday night they invite people to write for an hour together, via Facebook. I think you don't need to be a member to join in.

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.

Great for assembling scrap books of images - settings, moods, characters, inspirations, details, books, authors, booklists, etc. Excellent search engine of collective obsessions. Also addictive.

One of my friends on FB was complaining about the addictive aspect only this weekend. I'm almost afraid to try it!

Great post by Lee Kofman on how to kill that poor novel stone dead.

Followed this link from the Writers Victoria posting. Some of my writers workshop people would do well to take it to heart!

One for the nonfiction writers especially but everyone will benefit, I think. Snopes debunks urban legends, lies and ridiculous social media campaigns by a team of fact-checkers. It is very fast and pretty reliable.

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.

Another possible Google Reader replacement - has a good rap so far, and promises to work on ANYTHING. You folk with old Safari versions - try to break it.

Some of the hand-made plot systems, timelines, etc by Rowling, Heller, Faulkner and others.

Summary of session on plotting, drafting and timeline tools