Wednesday, November 18, 2009

writing resources

I belong to Goodreads, which is a social network for readers.  It has a section to post your writing -in addition to some blog features, I think.

I see there are other websites offering support for writers.  I don't know if i will look at them all but here are some that have caught my attention.

This blog  (with the most annoying ad ever on the right side) lists writing sites which pay the authors.
I was looking for legitimate writing sites which compensate authors. Writing sites like these are mushrooming and there are worries of scams amongst them. Triond has been on the top list of writing websites which pay me dutifully every month. But I decided that I need to look at other sites to earn more from my freelance writing activity – thus, the search for legitimate writing sites.
Here is a short list of get-paid-to-write sites which I know for sure has actually paid its authors.

Writing.com :

Writing.Com is the online community for writers and readers of all interests and skill levels. Whether you're an enthusiastic, creative writer looking for the perfect place to store and display your writing online or a casual reader searching for a good story, Writing.Com is the website for you!
With 668,359 members and 1,401,761 literary items created since inception,
this community is bursting with activities, inspiration and creativity.



Free memberships are available to everyone. Each membership includes an online writing portfolio, numerous writing tools, email services and the chance to meet and bond with fresh creative minds, just like you! No other website services theWriting world better than we do.



Scribd:
From their "About Us" FAQ:

About Us

Scribd began with a simple observation – that there's a writer in all of us. And that even more fundamental than our desire for self-expression is our need to learn and be inspired.
Today, Scribd is the place where you publish, discover and discuss original writings and documents. More than 50 million people each month are finding or sharing fun, functional or fantastical writings and documents on Scribd.com and tens of thousands of other websites that have embedded Scribd's document reader.
We built a technology that's broken all barriers to traditional publishing and in the process also built one of the largest readerships in the world.

Democratizing Publishing

With Scribd's document reader, anyone can easily upload and immediately share their original works on Scribd.com or any other website. Scribd transforms PDF, Word, PowerPoint and many other file formats into an elegant web display. Your work can be shared with Scribd's community of passionate readers, and because every word of your document is indexed for search engine optimization, your screenplay, novel or even sheet music and recipes also can be discovered by the world.
You can create (or liberate from your hard drive) anything you want to share – that comparative essay on Nietzsche and Kierkegaard, the first three chapters of the book you've been meaning to finish, journal entries from your trip to Thailand... Scribd provides a creative and useful new platform for readers, authors, publishers and anyone else seeking to express themselves, share ideas and exchange information.


I think I am a Scribd member but I registered some time ago.  I know that I have seen it used on other blogs so it seems to integrate well.  There is plenty of stuff to read there.
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I looked for ten minutes but didn't remember enough specific content to find the article from Cory Doctorow at Boingboing on how he writes.  Really, this whole paragraph needs to be looked at sceptically and with the understanding this information is from memory.  Anyway, he chooses to use the simplest possible word processor he can so that he doesn't get caught up in how the first draft looks.  His goal is to get lots down while he is in writer mode.  Later, he can copy-and-paste it into other word processors to give shape to the story.  Although I have iWork '09, I typically try to do the same, using the basic Text Editor on my Mac.  On my Windows notebook, I use Wordpad, although to follow Doctorow's advice most closely, perhaps I should use Notepad.  On that same notebook, I have 2003 Office and Hangeul Word Processor (Korea's apparently famous and award winning product) from a similar year.

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