Ten Great Websites For Writers

How many websites are there that are devoted to writers and writing? I would venture to guess there are tens of thousands, and I may be low in that estimate. How does a writer sift through the deluge of sites and find some that will actually help?

Well that is exactly the purpose of this article. I have been visiting writing websites for three years now, and I decided to compile a list of my ten favorite writing sites in hopes that it will help you in some way. They obviously will not all appeal to you, but I think there is a decent mix of sites here so that you will find one or two that you might find beneficial.

If by some chance you find nothing here, rest assured that I have ten more to share with you in another article coming soon.

Are you ready?

I love this site, found at bulwer-lytton.com. This is a site dedicated to bad writing, and a contest is actually held for terrible writing. This is an interesting challenge and it might not be as easy as you would think. As writers we spend a great amount of time trying to perfect our craft. Do you have the ability to write something so terrible that it is actually good? Find out and enter the contest.

FIRST 50 WORDS

This site is run by Virginia DeBolt, and you can find it here at first50.wordpress.com.

Each morning Virginia gives you a new prompt and asks you to write fifty words about that prompt. She only has one rule to follow: “Don’t judge, don’t edit, just write.” This is a wonderful writing exercise to get your juices flowing in the morning before you tackle your writing to-do list.

AGENT QUERY

Have you ever queried an agent hoping for representation, only to be rejected time and time again? I know I have on numerous occasions, and that is why I find this site so helpful. This site, found at agentquery.com is a comprehensive database of agents complete with what those agents are looking for. This is like a one-stop shopping center for writers hoping to find someone to represent them.

Do you write books for children? If so, you might want to visit this great blog by Mary Kole, an agent for the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. You will find some great insider information from Ms. Kole, and it is written in a very easy and informative manner. You can find it at kidlit.com.

RED SOFA LITERARY

I love this blog site. Created by Dawn Frederick, Red Sofa Literary offers tons of great submission tips as well as general advice on writing. The site also has “Red Sofa Chat” interviews with publishing pros and authors that I have found to be very interesting and valuable. If you want to learn from the pros for free then this is a must-see site. Find it at redsofaliterary.com.

BACKSPACE

How would you like to learn from bestselling authors? Sort of like sitting in your living room talking with the biggest names in literature; how does that appeal to you? Well, if that sounds like something you would like then go to bksp.org, a great site filled with advice articles, videos and much more. If you want to take part in the forum it will cost you $40 annually, but there is so much here that is free that you really can’t pass up this site.

WRITERS CAFÉ

Would you like someone to write a review about your book or article? Well welcome to Writers Café where you can get those reviews from other writers and also take part in discussions about writing. Yes, this is a free community and you are always welcome. Find them at writerscafe.org.

THE WRITER’S CHATROOM

Real-time moderated chats with writers, agents and publishers, all a click away at writerschatroom.com.

The crowd is growing at this site because of Celebrity Sunday and Open Chat Wednesdays, but you can find great information all seven days of the week.

STORYFIX

How to write a story or novel? Answering that question is the purpose of this site constructed by author and writing instructor Larry Brooks. On it you will receive expert advice on story structure, character development and other writing topics. You can find Mr. Brooks at storyfix.com.

FUNDSFORWRITERS

Would you like some money for writing? Are you interested in grants, fellowships, contests and other ways to get paid for writing? Well if so then visit fundsforwriters.com. You will be surprised at the various and numerous ways that you can find money for writing.

TOO NUMEROUS TO MENTION BUT I’LL TRY

Like I said, there are thousands. I’ll give you another ten next week and I guarantee that I have visited each and every site and I speak from experience. We are all busy and I don’t want you wasting time going to a site if it isn’t worth your time.

As an added bonus, I’m going to throw one more your way.

Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative projects. You can find it here. What you will find there are projects in art, music, film, writing and other genres, all created by people like you and then offered on Kickstarter for funding. It truly is a one of a kind site that has had incredible funding results and it is well-worth the time to visit there to see what they have to offer.

And that’s all the time I have this week. I’ll be back next week with more great sites for writers.

2013 William D. Holland (aka billybuc)