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Category: Reference and Tools for Writers

Absolute Write
(Posted February 07, 2006)
Egads, I thought I had already raved about Absolute Write already but I've just discovered I haven't. Run by the talented Jenna Glatzer, this site is bursting at the seams with useful resources for freelance writers of all levels of... (More)

Internet faxing: MaxEmail and others
(Posted December 30, 2005)
Most freelance writers tend to work out of their own homes. If you're like me and have limited desk space, you may not want to have a physical fax machine taking up room in your home office. I use MaxEmail,... (More)

U.S. postage rates increase
(Posted December 29, 2005)
Don't forget that U.S. postage rates go up starting January 8th. For the new rates, see this press release.... (More)

Mindola's SuperNoteCard for writers
(Posted December 13, 2005)
I started using SuperNoteCard from Mindola software when it was still called "Miss Lonelynotes." It's gone through several upgrades since, and is now specifically geared towards writers. SuperNoteCard uses virtual notecards to help writers capture and organize content in fiction... (More)

Phrase Thesaurus
(Posted November 21, 2005)
The Phrase Thesaurus will generate a list of phrases and sayings related to a word you enter. "This writer's resource uses a unique intelligent search function to locate related phrases from whatever you input. Behind the search is a database... (More)

The Scriptorium, Scriptorium Scribbles
(Posted June 15, 2005)
The Scriptorium is much more than just a monthly Webzine for writers. In addition to its free newsletter, this award-winning site for writers has a message board, reviews, inspirational exercises, tools for writers such as printable character sketch and plot... (More)

Google research tools
(Posted May 11, 2005)
I've been using Google for a while, but haven't checked out other Google tools recently until my librarian friend Rand started talking about them. So I finally started really browsing Google's other services (yes, yet another way to procrastinate) and... (More)

Backpack
(Posted May 06, 2005)
So I've been playing around with a new online organizational tool called Backpack which combines To-Do lists, Notes, Files and Reminders all in one place. Simple, clean user interface, and it's FREE; you can pay for perks like more... (More)

Factcheck.org
(Posted September 16, 2004)
One of the advantages of the Internet is the wealth of info available, a great boon to writers trying to do research. One of the disadvantages is that not all of this info is valid. Wired has an interesting article... (More)

Merriam-Webster dictionary/thesaurus
(Posted March 22, 2004)
I have switched online dictionary allegiance from dictionary.com to the Merriam-Webster site. Online dictionary, online thesaurus, and you can hear how the word is pronounced.... (More)

Ted's Punctuation Guide
(Posted August 14, 2003)
Confused about semicolons? Ellipsis or hyphen? Ted's Punctuation Guide has easily accessible tips about proper punctuation use, with examples.... (More)

The Visual Thesaurus
(Posted February 16, 2003)
The Visual Thesaurus is as fun to play with as it is informative. VERY cool resource. (Thanks to my friend Parki for the link)... (More)

The Slot
(Posted February 13, 2003)
The Slot is the spot for copy editors, but writers would do well to browse this site as well. I love this site, mainly because of Bill Walsh's crusty and highly opinionated writing style. It's hard not to be fascinated... (More)

The Elements of Style
(Posted February 11, 2003)
I love The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. partly because the author is so opinionated but also because he writes so concisely. This Bartleby.com site page lets you search for specific words or phrases as well as... (More)

Googlism
(Posted February 07, 2003)
I'm sure everyone's already familiar with Google, but have you tried out Googlism? Obviously not 100% reliable, but I have found it useful in some cases. Or at least entertaining. :-) Basically, the search engine tells you "what Google thinks... (More)

Wikipedia.org
(Posted January 30, 2003)
I find the idea of an open source online encylopedia fascinating and scary at the same time. Wikipedia.org is a free, multilingual encyclopedia apparently created entirely by volunteers. I found out about this in Wired, but haven't yet been able... (More)

Canadian and U.S. postal rates
(Posted January 28, 2003)
For those trying to figure out how much postage to put on SASEs, here are some useful tools: Canada Post rates U.S. postal rates (here are international rates)... (More)

currency rates
(Posted )
As a Canadian writer being paid mainly by U.S. markets, doing my finances can be somewhat of a pain when trying to convert payments and expenses across currencies. In case any of you are in a similar situation, you might... (More)

Bravenet.com revisited
(Posted January 24, 2003)
Ah, I see. Although each service is free, you get a lot of ads. You can upgrade to a paid service to get rid of the ads, get customization features, other goodies. The catch is that you need to do... (More)

Bravenet.com
(Posted )
I'm working on my Press Kit (author promotion) column for next month. Going through the e-mail comments from users in response to my last column, I became intrigued by the repeated mention of Bravenet by authors who were using it... (More)

MaxEmail update
(Posted January 22, 2003)
MaxEmail seems to be working out fine so far. Easy to set up, and I've send and received several faxes so far with no problem. Looks like we can get rid of our second phone line as well as our... (More)

MaxEmail.com
(Posted January 17, 2003)
I've been investigating Internet fax services, looking for one that I can use to send and receive faxes through my laptop. I almost signed up for eFax, but stopped when I started to read rumours about poor customer service. Kevin... (More)

Dictionary.com
(Posted January 12, 2003)
I currently use Dictionary.com as my online dictionary. I like the fact that the search field is right at the top of the page (I don't have to go searching for it), and there's also a thesaurus option. Upgrading to... (More)

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Category: Reference and Tools for Writers