My 10 Favorite Writing Websites

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m thrilled to welcome Soul Mate author Kim Hotzon to the Power of 10 series. Today, Kim shares her favorite writing websites and her novel, Hands Full of Ashes.

Here’s Kim!

computerusehotzonI love lists. They’re handy, neat and informative. So, I’m thrilled to be joining author Joanne Guidoccio on her blog ‘The Power of Ten’.

Many ideas floated round my head, and I wondered, What could I contribute that would offer fresh content and interest readers? In the end, I thought I’d share my ten favorite websites that I’ve used in my writing career. Some of these sites cater to blogging, others to grammar and writing resources while some offer insight into marketing and publishing.

*Disclosure: I do not have any affiliation with these sites and I’m not being paid to promote individual sites. This list is merely a compilation of sites I’ve personally found useful.

1. http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl

Site name: Quick and dirty tips. Aka Grammar girl.

What it includes: This is a wonderful site created by Mignon Fogarty, a woman whose roles have included senior editor, magazine writer and technical writer, among others.

Why I love it: Her blog posts offer comprehensive grammar rules, memory tricks to recall those rules, and word choice guidelines. I love the questions posted by fellow writers as well.

2. http://www.rachellegardner.com/how-to-write-a-book-proposal/

Site name: Rachelle Gardner.

What it includes: Like many professionals in the writing/publishing industry, Rachelle has worn many hats, including agent, writing/publishing coach, speaker and book editor. She pens blogs about writing and publishing.

Why I love it: Rachelle offers several succinct, helpful blogs covering everything from crafting compelling book titles to writing a good query letter.

3. http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/new-agency-alerts

Site Name: Writer’s Digest.

What it includes: Several online editors contribute blogs and poetry on this site. Brian A. Klems writes a blog titled The Writer’s Dig. He covers all areas of writing, editing and publishing on his site. Chuck Sambuchino offers regular lists of agents seeking submissions. He also shares dates for writing conferences and lists upcoming writing competitions.

Why I love it: Besides the agent lists, another great thing about this site are the free downloads which include helpful articles on how to promote your work and protect it. Another great feature? The weekly writing prompts that can help jumpstart your creative juices if you find yourself in a writing rut.

4. http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2011/01/07/how-to-create-a-book-trailer/

Site name: The Creative Penn

What it includes: A site of resources for writers including book writing, publishing and marketing, by bestselling author Joanna Penn.

Why I love it: Though the site is filled with prompts to buy her books (she needs to make a living too!) there is a ton of free stuff that is relevant and current. I used one of Joanna Penn’s blogs on book trailers as a tool to create my own book trailer.

5. http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/

Site name: The free dictionary.

What it includes: A free dictionary and thesaurus online.

Why I love it: In addition to the online dictionary, there is also a feature for idioms and acronyms, though the thesaurus remains my favorite feature.

6. http://www.yourwriterplatform.com/category/blog/

Site name: Your Writer Platform

What it includes: Video podcasts and blog posts that offer information on book marketing! Know your target audience, create a marketing plan and have a successful book launch. The site’s owner, Kimberly Grabas offers detailed video podcasts about how to do this and what to avoid.

Why I love it: It’s nice to have a site that offers clear help on marketing your book. There is a lot of information on this site and it may take a few minutes to scroll through and find what you need but it’s there. I particularly liked the blog post about how to organize social media tools and plug ins for my website.

7. http://www.dailywritingtips.com/about/

Site name: Daily Writing Tips

What it includes: Whether it’s tips you’re after for creative or business writing, this site has you covered. A comprehensive list of blog articles about writing and grammar by a team of writers and editors. As the site name indicates, this website is updated daily!

Why I love it: I like that it’s constantly updated with fresh content; also I found the manuscript formatting tips quite useful.

8. http://www.scribophile.com/blog/keeping-the-purple-out-of-your-prose/

Site name: Scribophile

What it includes: An online writing community you can sign up and join to get critiques and reviews of your writing.

Why I love it: The blog posts are informative. One of my favorites was ‘Keeping The Purple Out Of Your Prose’ – a call to arms for eliminating flowery language and tightening your writing.

9. https://janefriedman.com/novel-synopsis/

Site name: Jane Friedman

What it includes: Jane Friedman is a well-known international speaker with many years in the publishing industry. Her site offers interviews, and resources for writers.

Why I love it: Helpful articles covering every aspect of writing and publishing. Need to find an agent? What about constructing a query letter? Should you keep writing? All of these topics and more can be found on her site. Jane also has guest bloggers post on her site. Recently, I found an article discussing best practices for Facebook author pages to be timely.

10. http://absolutewrite.com/about/

Site name: Absolute Write

What it includes: An online forum where writers can ask and answer questions on every imaginable topic related to their writing journeys. Some discussions get testy, but the Absolute Write Water Cooler is an informational juggernaut of names, places, events and sites that either come highly recommended or not!

Why I love it: It is a cornucopia of writing and publishing news. I find it enlightening first of all, eyebrow raising second of all. I also like that I don’t have to register or sign up (unless I want to submit my own comment). There are plenty of conversational threads to scroll through on any topic I might have a question about. You’ll find warnings about publishers or do’s and don’ts for querying in addition to general advice from writers both published and unpublished.

I’d love to hear from other writers as to their favorite sites! Whether it’s online forums, resource or publishing sites, share what you use and what you know!

handsfullofashes

Blurb

Olivia promises to fulfill her dying husband’s wish – to scatter his ashes around the world. Wading through grief and depression, she journeys to a remote orphanage in Uganda. Living amongst the children in their threadbare surroundings, she vows to fight for the children’s lives as she begins to fight for her own. While Olivia develops a passion for humanitarian work, the lonely director of the orphanage develops a simmering passion for her.

Just as time begins to heal the wounds of her heart, Olivia learns the truth of her husband’s unimaginable betrayal. She flees to the tiny country of Rwanda where her soul is reawakened with a startling new love. Olivia realizes that love always comes with a price when she is faced with a decision she thought she would never have to make.

Surrounded by the rugged beauty of Africa, Olivia is determined to find true love while learning how to survive in a region left torn apart by civil war.

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Bio

kimhotzonBorn in beautiful British Columbia, Kim developed a passion for writing at an early age. Her interest in people led her all over the globe, including a two year stay in Japan and a humanitarian trip to Rwanda.

She loves to write romance stories with a twist, usually involving a dangerous and dramatic backdrop. Her first novel, Hands Full of Ashes, was inspired by her trip to Africa.

Kim spent many years teaching young adults with learning disabilities at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, and she currently resides in the sunny Okanagan with her husband and two children. When not writing, she can be found plying the local ski hills, or getting lost in her kayak in the surrounding lakes.

Where to find Kim…

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads | LinkedIn


Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

martinlutherking

Today is Martin Luther King Day, an American federal holiday that marks the birthday of an inspirational clergyman, activist, and leader who is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights in the United States.

My favorite quotations from Dr. Martin Luther King…

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.

Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, “What are you doing for others?”

We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.

Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.

We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.

We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.

The time is always right to do what is right.


Are You Keeping Up?

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

24646207_sTechnology has shaped language, introducing new words and altering the meaning of well-known words. While many of us are aware of the differences between tablets and laptops, texting and e-mailing, websites and blogs, we may not be too familiar with more subtle linguistic changes.

To mark the occasion of its 20th birthday, Dictionary.com has compiled a list of words whose meanings have changed in the past two decades.

Continue reading on the Soul Mate Authors blog.


An Original Invention

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have The Tea Pixie sharing her inspiring journey.

theteapixie-hobby-art-and-jewelry-for-JG-January-2016 (2)

Reinvention is an interesting way of looking at life changes. It suggests we were invented. I am the result of everyone who came before me, and I am their original invention. If you keep this in mind as you read my Second Acts story, you will understand my life decisions.

First Act

My Mom graduated from high school when I was 12. When I graduated from high school, she graduated from a technical institute as a certified Laboratory Technician. Her courage to return to school in her thirties inspired me to study in university. I never envisioned my life beyond university, so when I graduated with a degree in communication and $11 dollars in my bank account, I raced to get employed at ANYTHING!

Within a year of graduating, I was a researcher in educational television, and within five years I was a supervising researcher. I was doing well-paid work that fit with my values, I felt that I was successfully serving my staff and the population that relied on the service we provided, and I really loved the people I worked with.

Trigger for Change

But working long hours in a luxurious office was only one of many stairs in the grand staircase that is my life. Having a child seems so biologically natural but with the introduction of contraception, having a family is now a basket full of choices, not only a choice between having children or not. I wanted to raise a child.

At age 32, I brought our amazing daughter into the world.

And then I left my job.

Second Act

It was not an easy decision, but I couldn’t see how I could be dedicated to my job and dedicated to raising our daughter – something would suffer. My husband’s response? “Two can live as cheap as one!” But we were three.

I left that job with tears in my eyes and began searching for alternative work. Many people work for themselves, even though statistics in Canada indicate that the average income of self employed people is less than $10,000 per year. I did not see myself as an entrepreneur…yet.

I began by voluntarily writing a communication plan (my first ever) for a local business and that document garnered me a part-time marketing manager position. My daughter would join me in meetings, happily munching away on Cheerios while I negotiated advertisements. I no longer had a work persona – what you saw was what you got.

Among myriad ways of making that business into a household name, I was publishing a quarterly newsletter and was surprised to learn that customers excitedly awaited each new publication.

People wanted to read what I was writing.

Boom. BOOM! And that is when I started to write, and write, and write. I took on book contracts, waiting until my daughter had fallen asleep and then writing on the computer in my storage room until 2am, getting up with her at 6am. Some days I was delirious because, as I discovered, I couldn’t survive with only four hours of sleep every night. Did I know what I was doing? Not a chance. I had never written a book before and wrote that first book outline based on a two-hour meeting on the 18th green of a golf course while drinking ciders. And I discovered that I loved working like that, unsure of what I was creating, but confident that I could figure it out.

Why was I confident? Because I had loads of failures and I survived them. One of the best of the worst failures was a book that got published with one line of complete gibberish in the middle of the book. Complete gibberish. On that project, I was the writer, the content and copy editor, and the publisher. I thought I was sunk. Instead, I was given an even bigger contract with the same organization – and became a book layout designer, as well.

And, art kept me sane through everything. When parenting was hard, I painted. When the work flow was unsatisfactory, I studied the flow of metals as I made jewelry. Doing art together was a wonderful way to connect with my daughter and provide her with the opportunity to explore her power and control. She also saw her Mom doing art as a normal part of life. Working with the unknown that is central to producing artistic pieces, just furthered my courage and my ability to face challenges.

Where Am I Now?

Eighteen years later, my daughter is in university, and I am working in research in women’s health, and continuing my life-training as a semi-precious metals jewelry designer and artist. Being a parent is a really, really hard job. I recommend it, wholeheartedly, as the most rewarding job I have had the good fortune to do.

I also recommend jumping into the unknown, even if the jump is small and the unknown seems insignificant. To get to the bigger jumps we need to learn that we can handle the smaller ones. But pave your own road – make your opportunities. When you realize that you have something (a product – a service – a skill) that people want, sell it. You might not know the “best” way to sell it, but there is no rule that says you have to do it the best way, you just have to do it.

Favorite Quotation

As Sue Monk Kidd says: “If you need something from somebody give that person a way to hand it to you.” My life choice was to invent my daughter. I made everything else happen to support that.

Joanne here!

Thanks for your insights and advice. Best of luck with all your creative endeavors.


Seeking Purpose

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have Canadian author Carol Balawyder musing about the two acts of her writing journey.

Here’s Carol!

carolbalawyderI am so grateful to be featured among so many (over 90!) wonderful writers in Joanne Guidoccio’s Second Acts series.

In life one has many second acts but the one which I wish to focus on here is my writing journey.

ACT ONE

Five years ago I retired from a successful teaching career with the luck of a pension that allowed me the freedom to write without the financial burden of having a day job. My initial intention was to put my heart and soul into writing crime novels. After all, wasn’t that the purpose for my going back to school to study criminology and later teach Police Tech and Corrections so that I would have credibility as a crime writer?

mourninghasbrokenBut then people around me started dying: Father. Mother. Sister. I was stricken with a deep grief that I only knew how to express through writing. They say that one must go through a year of mourning and so when my dear sister, Diana, died I wrote for a year about my pain and sorrow which became my requiem: Mourning Has Broken.

Parallel to this my heart broke in a different way: Man leaves wife for younger woman. Here I was seeking out another partner to fill a hole that partly got filled by writing Getting To Mr. Right in which I created four female characters and their relationships with their fathers.

With the novel self published, I found I still wasn’t finished with these characters and followed up with novella length epilogues for each of them. So far I’ve written Missi and Suzy’s stories.

balawydergettingtomrrightbalawydermissisdatingadventuresbalawydercafeparadise















I will soon publish Felicity’s story (Not By Design).

That still leaves me Campbell which will likely be the end of this series.

But in this first act there were my crime novels lurking at the back of my mind. I have three manuscripts at different stages of the writing process, one which I hope to publish soon.

ACT TWO

Pieces of magic.

I am a woman seeking purpose. At this stage of my writing career I feel the need to use my writing to help bring awareness to causes that are dear to me. I have begun to do this with Not By Design where the main character, Felicity Starr, develops Multiple Sclerosis.

Logically, I should be more interested in cures for cancer, particularly blood cancer such as lymphoma, leukemia and thrombocythemia – all cancers that run like river water in my maternal side of the family’s blood stream.

Before I wrote Not By Design I knew nothing about MS. I knew no one who suffered from the disease. But then again as Felicity discovers:
“The thing about having MS is that no one can tell that I am sick. A bizarre illness where you look fine but you’re not fine.”

In the early stages of writing this novel –still at the stage of trying to discover what my book was about I happened to meet (The Universe works its magic) Irene Grazzini, a young physician from Italy who was doing research at Montreal’s Neurological Institute. Because of her own writing we developed a friendship where during her stay in Montreal we met weekly for walks and talked about writing. On one such walk I said that I wanted my character, Felicity, to be struck with an illness. Because Felicity is an artist I wanted her to have a disease which would force her to give up her art (at least as she knows it) and told Irene that she could develop Parkinson’s.

Irene: How old is she?

Me: Mid-thirties.

Irene: Why don’t you give her MS? It’s more common for her age group. It’s a disease that affects coordination.

magicwandMore magic.

The other day I was at the library thinking about my second act.

As usual, whenever I go to the library, I check out the new books. And there it is. Very Good Lives by J.K. Rowling (in case the name is unfamiliar, think Harry Potter).

Very Good Lives is Rowling’s commencement address delivered to the class of 2008 at Harvard University. Its subject is on the fringe benefits of failure and the importance of imagination.

I imagine Rowling’s words transitioning me from my Act One to my Act Two as a commencement speech is meant to do. I am especially struck by these lines:

“If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice; if you choose to identify not only with the powerful but with the powerless; if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped change. We do not need magic to transform our world; we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.”

So this is how I imagine my second act.

My warmest thanks to you, Joanne, for inviting me to be a guest on your inspiring blog.

Where to find Carol…

Amazon | Goodreads | Smashwords | Blog

Joanne here!

Carol, Thanks for sharing your back story and hopes/plans for the future. I also enjoyed reading Very Good Lives and like the quote you shared. Best of luck with all your literary endeavors.


Spotlight on Shifting

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Book 2 Shifting_805x1275 (3)

Blurb

Dr. Keely Bennett, a healer at Paranym University, can’t shift.

Her mate, Hugh Blackwolfe doesn’t mind—but his pack sure does. Hugh is the strongest alpha on the east coast and the pack’s single females challenge Keely, forcing her to find a shifter willing to meet and win this challenge for her, so that she and Hugh can mate.

Keely’s dragon best friend, Lindy, with her controller and mate, Alex, also struggle with shifting. They must learn the nuances of how Lindy shifts, and soon.

After several random attacks, and with an unknown enemy gunning for all of them, time may be running out. As if Keely doesn’t already feel unworthy, the dragon appears to be calling everyone but her to her team of allies.

Excerpt

“We, the females of the Tri-City Pack issue a challenge to Keely Bennett, the supposed mate of our alpha male, Hugh Blackwolfe.”

Murmuring broke out around the room.

Keely raised a hand and it ceased. “According to shifter law, a mate who cannot shift is permitted to choose a willing shifter to accept an alpha challenge on her behalf.” She spouted the information as though it was common knowledge.

While he had been vaguely aware of the law, it was hazy at best. Keely didn’t stumble.

Heather and the females around her all blinked and a few took another step back, into the women behind them.

Uncharacteristically, Heather hesitated. “What does that mean?”

“It means I accept your challenge, and will formally announce your challenger at a later date. The rules state I must choose the person, who must be the same gender as me, and she must be a shifter.”

“So if this other shifter stands in for you, does it mean she is our new alpha female?” Cynthia, the mated female spoke, and she sounded distrustful.

“No. She shifts and fights in my stead. I will remain the alpha female. As I am a paranormal being, a healer, I am within my rights to claim my chosen mate. However due to circumstances beyond my control, and despite my own lineage, I do not shift. Therefore it is my right to name your challenger.” Keely’s voice pulsed with power.

Pride surged through him at her strength, but contemplating the defiant faces of the women facing off with Keely, his jaw tightened. He fought off the urge to unleash all of his power because Keely needed him to stand with her. Berating the doubtful in his pack would not help her. Right now she needed his silent support.

If there had been any doubt as to his rightful mate, she successfully chased them away with her knowledge and courage. No other woman would ever do for him.

This one.

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Bio

drgradyD.R. Grady lives with her husband near Hershey, PA. She adores chocolate, laughing, collecting bags, books, and shoes, and adores writing stories that resonate with others.

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