HELPFUL SITES FOR WRITERS

25 Helpful Websites for Creative Writers

Need help getting your creative juices flowing? These websites for creative writers offer grammar tips, writing prompts, peer critiques and advice on getting published. Read on to learn how you can strengthen your creative writing on the Web.

General Writing

Writer's Digest - The website for the publication Writer's Digest is a one-stop shop for creative writers. The site hosts everything from writing advice and prompts to community forums and blogs, and you don't have to be a magazine subscriber to access it.

Writing Fix - Sponsored by the Northern Nevada Writing Project, this site offers interactive lessons and other tools for creative writers. Specific resources include creative writing prompts, plot generators and character trait generators.

Writer's FM - Writer's FM is a radio station that was created by writers, for writers. The station broadcasts music and author interviews all day every day, as well as professional writing tips from host Karl Moore.

Teen Ink - Designed especially for teens, this site features a writing workshop forum and a general discussion forum to help young creative writers. Teens can also submit their work for publication on the Teen Ink website or magazine, or find inspiration in work by other young authors.

U.S. Copyright Office - This government website offers important copyright information for creative writers, as well as a step-by-step guide to registering your work.

Writing Prompts

The Story Starter - This website offers over one trillion randomly generated story starters for creative writers.

CreativeWritingPrompts.com - Looking for something a little less random? This site offers over 300 clever prompts to help you start putting words on paper.

Fifteen Minutes of Fiction - This site is designed for people who don't have a lot of free time to dedicate to writing but want to keep their skills sharp. Each week there is a new writing prompt to which site users can respond with a quick piece of short fiction or poetry.

Imagination Prompt Generator - The Imagination Prompt Generator from Creativity Portal automatically generates one prompt after another to get your creative juices flowing.

Bonnie's Online Story Spinner - The Online Story Spinner from Bonnie Neubauer, a writing instructor, offers millions of computer generated story prompts for creative writers. These prompts offer a little extra guidance, including a setting, a starting phrase and a few words that must be included somewhere in the story.

Writing Mechanics

Grammar Girl - Grammar Girl's famous Quick and Dirty Tips (delivered via blog or podcast) will help you keep your creative writing error free.

The Owl - Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL) is another popular go-to source for grammar guides, style tips and other resources for creative and academic writing.

Web English Teacher - This site provides an excellent section on grammar that any writer could benefit from. Topics include grammar and punctuation, parts of speech, sentence structure and mechanics.

GrammarBook.com - Grammar Book.com is another useful source for basic grammar rules and help with commonly confused words. It also offers free interactive English quizzes and resume assistance for job-hunting writers.

AutoCrit Editing Wizard - If the idea of memorizing a whole bunch of grammar rules bores you to death, you can skip it all and send your story through the AutoCrit Editing Wizard. The free trial version of this program will point out all of the errors in a short manuscript, and users can purchase unlimited access to the Wizard for a yearly fee.

Writing Forums

WritingForums.org - This bustling writing community has over 28,000 members. Forums are organized and monitored and encourage friendly community interaction and useful feedback.

Writing.com - Writing.com is an online writing community that has been operating for a decade. Users can post stories, store work and take part in other community activities. Membership is free and available to writers of all skill levels.

The Water Cooler - The Absolute Write Water Cooler is a great place to chat with other writers and learn about the creative writing craft. Membership is at 25,000 and growing daily.

About Fiction Writing Forum - The About.com Fiction Writing forum provides a place to share work, get writing tips and chat with other writers.

The Writer's Beat - This site hosts a small, but tight-knit writing community that welcomes all sorts of authors.

Getting Published

First Writer - First Writer is the ideal website for any writer who is interested in searching for magazine publishers, book publishers, agents and writing contests. The site also provides writing tips, book reviews and copyright information.

Agent Query - With the largest searchable database of literary agents on the web, Agent Query is the place to go when you're looking for representation.

Literary Marketplace - Literary Marketplace is a 50-year-old organization that serves as a directory of book publishers in the U.S. and Canada. Their website offers a database of large publishers and small presses, as well as literary, lecture and illustration agents.

Duotrope's Digest - Duotrope offers a database with over 3,425 fiction and poetry publications that can help creative writers find the right markets for their work.

Funds for Writers - This site specializes in legitimate grants and contests for writers, but also offers market listings and contest listings. Users can also sign up for three free newsletters or a paid newsletter subscription.

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT STUDY.COM

DAH- The home of music and literature: INTERNATIONAL SITES THAT WILL BOOST YOUR WRITING C...

DAH- The home of music and literature: INTERNATIONAL SITES THAT WILL BOOST YOUR WRITING C...: It is no news that writers in Nigeria have to go the extra mile if they plan on achieving success in their art. For this to be possible, in...

INTERNATIONAL SITES THAT WILL BOOST YOUR WRITING CAREER

It is no news that writers in Nigeria have to go the extra mile if they plan on achieving success in their art.
For this to be possible, information is very vital and we must be well aware of the recent innovations in the international scene of creative writing.
HERE ARE SOME OF THE VERY HELPFUL SOURCES THAT ALL WRITERS MUST ADD TO THEIR LIST OF SUBSCRIBED WEBSITES:

1. WRITERS DIGEST
2. WRITER'S FM
3. WRITING FIX
4. US COPYRIGHT OFFICE
5. TEEN INK
6. CREATIVEWRITINGPROMPTS.COM
7. THE STORY STARTER
8. IMAGINATION PROMPT GENERATOR
9. FIFTEEN MINUTES OF FICTION
10. BONNIE'S ONLINE STORY SPINNER

Check out these ones for now or visit www.study.com for more information
HAVE A PLEASANT DAY...

THE FACE OF TRUE LOVE II

in a house filled with mirrors
and all i see is a bright light
arms spread with hallowed wings
i have soared yond the dross of vanity

my heart swells with an unheard melody
it dances, prances to its ethereal rhythm
i must feed her fiery passion
for souls out there craving these words

time has watered this arid soil
and made fruits of our barren thoughts
even if the world quakes and shake
if each moment cries in its wake

yet shall i scream from the mountain of genuis
from the lowly hills of the morally upright
that time defines what is right
and love defiles all in its path

                                     DA ALLOSIAN POET



HAVE YOU EVER EXPERIENCED THAT EMPTY FEELING?
LIKE EVERYTHING YOU DO IS WORTHLESS AND YOU JUST FEEL LIKE GIVING UP IN YOUR BELIEFS.
LISTEN CAREFULLY...
MAYBE THE PROBLEM IS THAT YOU ARE TOO CAUGHT UP N YOUR SELF TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE TRUE ESSENCE OF ART AND LIFE IS TO SHARE AND SPREAD LOVE.
TRY CHANGING YOUR ORIENTATION AND SEE YOUR ART FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE AND YOU WILL NO LONGER SUFFER FROM THAT DEPRESSION.
THIS IS MY MESSAGE FOR THE WEEK
KEEP IT TO HEART AND NEVER FORGET IT
GOOD MORNING Y'ALL

WINNING THE LAGOS HUSTLE

I AM BACK!!!!
and better...
I have decided this time around to start with something different
something from a different perspective
SO HERE IT IS
One of the introductions to a new era in our creative writing forum
THE GUEST WRITER OF THE WEEK
This week's guest is a colleague of mine whose style of writing is catchy as well as inspiring
he is a patriot both in words, in action and in the pen
here is one of them
ENJOY...

this work is culled from his collection of short stories titled: UNDESIRABLE INCIDENTS

CULTURAL PROBLEM

I have been in Lagos for over ten years. These years were a hard time for me. Everything was very different for me: different language, different customs, different food, and different people. I was like a foreign because there were many things that I didn't know, and I had to learn everything again. 

On March, 2005, while I was sitting in a commercial bus from Anyigba to Lagos, I was thinking about my family, my friends, and my future. I thought, "Why do you want to go to Lagos? You are fine here with your mother and other friends. Everything in Anyigba is very good. If you are going to Lagos, you don't know what will happen in your future. My mother was not worried about me because she wanted me to further my university education in Lagos." Suddenly in my mind I heard these words: "You are a competent young man. You will have a beautiful future in Lagos." I thought my friends were just talking. Yes, I could do many things in Anyigba, but I also would be able to do many things in Lagos. When the bus arrived in Lagos, I walked very firmly like others. I believed that I would be a competent young man in this new land. 

During the first two months, I had a very happy time living with my elder brother. This is a beautiful place and it’s indeed depicts her name as a centre of excellence. Many things were fresh. "I need to do something by myself," I thought. I told my brother, "I want to know this community. I want to find a job." "Are you sure?" he asked. "Yes, I am sure." 

The second day, I went out wanting to find a job. "How long have you been here? Can you speak Yoruba?" Everybody asked me. Even though I had studied some Yoruba in those days I mixed up with Yoruba tribe in the same house where my brother lived, I couldn't speak at all. After a few days, nobody wanted me to work in his or her company. I was very disappointed. I couldn't speak Yoruba. 

I felt very bad. I went to the store, the hospital and everywhere I always needed my brother with me. If we went to some Yoruba friends' party, my brother needed to teach me the Yoruba customs. I couldn't speak to anybody. I was like a baby. I lost my confidence. I began to hate everything about Lagos life. I hated the people. I hated that my brother brought me to Lagos. I missed my home, my family, my friends, and my teaching job. In Anyigba, I worked as a teacher in Muslim High School where I earned three thousands Naira in a month. I am a smooth talker in my hometown, and many people trust me. In Lagos, however, I didn't have any good friends to talk to. I started looking and feeling lonely like a man who lives in solitude. My brother said, "You must go back to Anyigba. Otherwise, you will go crazy." But I didn't want to leave the land of great opportunity, and I didn't want my family and friends to see how I had changed for the worse.  After that, my brother spent a lot of time helping me overcome those cultural problems. He took me traveling to different places, and told me many good things about Lagos. I had some good changes.

A year later, I was admitted to study English in Lagos state University, Ojo. I met new friends who later changed my thought about Lagos. I had a wonderful time in the institution.

Right now I am very happy in Lagos. Lagos is a really nice place. I feel warm because there are nice people, and I have made new friends here. I am happy in my place of work because my Yoruba language is getting better and better. My confidence is growing more and more. I can talk again. Even though I can't speak very well, I believe I will be able to speak well someday. 

 If you ask me how I could overcome those cultural problems, I will tell you: my brother helped me overcome them, Lagos helped me overcome them, and the friends I met in the university helped me overcome them.

E-mail: alihrilwan@ymail.com

Name: Alih Rilwan


ARE YOU A WRITER?
then send a touching and inspiring piece with your name and details to daallosianpoet@gmail.com and stand a chance of getting and international audience
N.B: send only the works you want to share but if you want people to patronize your genius and art, we will promote you as long as your work contains vital and integral information

Hey guys!
I know I've been out for quite a while but i assure you it's all for a good cause
I have been underground trying to find meaning and the right direction so i can share the right content with you guys on this forum because i believe you deserve the best and truthfully:
I AM MOT DONE YET
 soon... yeah very soon
But i will not be able to forgive myself if i do not share this great revelation of knowledge i stumbled into in my quest for true meaning
I found it in a great book
THE SECRET by Rhonda Byrne
y'all should try and read it
but in summary, what the book really points to is one of the greatest secret that has been exploited by great minds with outstanding results:
I'M TALKING ABOUT THE LAW OF ATTRACTION
this principles simply states that everything you've had, you have and you will have later is connected to what you think about
In summary: THOUGHTS ARE THINGS
There is no such thing as fate or chance because we attract to our lives the things we think about daily
THINK ABOUT THAT...
see you in a very short while...