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The Whispering Blackboard
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Issue 5 - August 2001
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Introduction
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You are receiving this ezine because you joined TRS - Resources for the Hopeful Writer's mailing list to be notified when the writing pages are updated. You will not receive any unrelated mail from my site.
I will not circulate your email address elsewhere.
If you have any complaints, queries, ideas, questions, email: Clare@hopefulwriter.co.uk Place
Whispering Blackboard in the subject field and I will reply as soon
as possible. I hope you enjoy the new sites I have listed and
thank you for subscribing.
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News
Updates
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Articles:
*Finding Ideas for Writing Articles by C. Derrick.
*How to research specialist topics on the Net by Greg Spence.
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Sticky URL's
Free Software Links
And More.
Please note that an empty section does not denote a problem with content.
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Anyone who has visited the site recently or uses Terrashare as their website host will know that it has or is about to close down. TRS - Resources for the Hopeful Writer has moved to a new free host www.100megsfree4.com and now has it's own domain name:
If you are thinking about buying your own domain name, I used Freeparking and payed £9.99 for two years. It includes domain name hosting and web and email fowarding.
|
Is your domain name available? |
I have also changed most of the text on TRS to black for ease of reading and have created a mostly black Hopeful Writer Award to give applicants a choice of graphic. If you would like to see the new award or apply go to:
http://www.100megsfree4.com/trs/hwaward.html
The e-zine Wet Wires: http://www.wetwires.com Has sadly closed down.
Don't forget to check out TRS's Looking for Literature section at:
http://www.100megsfree4.com/trs/lookingforlit.html
There are new additions to the Author Sites category.
I have quite a few interesting sites for you again, most of them are general writing resources, but I think there's something for everyone.
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TRS - Resources for the Hopeful Writer
Resources
Bella Online - Fiction Writing
http://www.bellaonline.com/entertainment/books_and_literature/fiction_writing
Wordweave
http://welcome.to/Wordweave
All About Romance
http://www.likesbooks.com/
The Passionate Pen
http://www.passionatepen.com/
AWriter's Life.Net
http://www.awriterslife.net/
authors.terrashare.com
http://authors.terrashare.com - Due to the closure of Terrashare I don't know how much longer this link will be valid, but I will update it if they move the site.
Net Writer
http://netwriter.terrashare.com - Due to the closure of Terrashare I don't know how much longer this link will be valid, but I will update it if they move the site.
Terescia's Website for Writers
http://www.geocities.com/lynn4166
Falcon's Pen - used to be WriteWolves
http://www.moonkids.net/writewolves/index.htm
Best Medicine Press
http://captaindisaster.terrashare.com/index.html - Due to the closure of Terrashare I don't know how much longer this link will be valid, but I will update it if they move the site.
Partners
http:\\www.partners_writing_group.homestead.com
I couldn't get this site when I was checking the links, but that doesn't mean it's not there anymore - we all know what the net's like! If it has closed down please let me know: Clare@hopefulwriter.co.uk
1Lit.com
http://www.1Lit.com
ABCtales
http://www.abctales.com
BookSlave
http://www.bookslave.com
HokusPokus
http://www.members.tripod.com/HokusPokus_2/ebookdls.html
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Resources
Years To Your Health Poetry Links
http://www.yearstoyourhealth.com/links/poetry.html
Passage Publishing
http://www.upcountrycreations.com
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Poetry Ezines
SPIEL
The monthly e-newsletter from Slam! Productions, contains details of forthcoming poetry slams and related performance poetry events run by Marcus Moore & Sara-Jane Arbury." SLAM! Productions is in Gloucestershire in the UK.
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(From the email list: PublishInYours-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Finding Ideas for Writing Articles
By C. Derrick
For some, it's a real struggle. For others, it's so easy that articles just pour out almost every hour of the day. Coming up with ideas, that is. How on earth does a writer keep their mind so alert all the time?
Well, on the whole, it does take a little bit of effort. Many people reading this will be active in some sort of business, perhaps, or hobby, or organisation. Within those circles, there are "tit-bits" of information flying around all the time, but much of it goes unnoticed. A chance comment, an unusual event, unusual people, a set of awkward problems...all these things can be gathered and eventually integrated into writing an article. Accumulation of personal experiences, irrespective of how trivial they might seem, is a must-have.
Cultivating an alert mind is one factor; training your observation is the other. Whether that observation be by eye or ear, it doesn't matter; make both of them work for you. When they do work, you will begin to notice things, people and events much more sharply than before. You will catch odd throw-away comments, sideline conversations and similar communications. You will add, daily, to your personal experiences. Be like a vacuum-cleaner; take note of everything that goes on around you....you can sort out the treasures from the dust later on.
For some 30 years I have been an amateur artist; and hopefully, over those years I have developed considerable sensitivity to my environment. Writing came rather later; it is not something I "got into" until just a few short years ago. It began with long-ish emails to a colleague. These led onto writing letters for one or two small opportunity magazines. I currently write a monthly "general topic" column for a small magazine, plus a monthly online newsletter for UK readers. At times I sit back and wonder how on earth I managed to do all that! Whether or not I will continue in these realms remains to be seen; but everything must develop from a start-point, somewhere. There is no obligation to remain at the starting- post.
The production of ideas does, of course, depend very much on who you are writing for. If you are operating in a relatively narrow field, then all your topics need to revolve around it; e.g small business, online marketing, dog-breeding, whatever. This is where you need to dig deep and teach your- self a great deal about your field. A lot of people don't like reading or learning anything; to write reasonably successfully, you simply cannot ignore these two activities.
Write about things you enjoy (as long it relates to your targetted readers); it makes the creation process much less painful. If you feel knowledgable in more than one field, then expand your interests. Maybe, one day, go "freelance" and write articles on a variety of topics.
People relate to articles on;
(a)emotional issues
(b) self improvement
(c) health
(d) local and community issues
(e) money!
(f) relationships
(g)animals
(h)hobbies and practical skills;
(i) curious and unusual places, events and people
(j) family matters....
this list can go on forever.
In time, you may find yourself, and your writing, falling naturally into one or two "niches" or categories. They may be quite different from those that you had originally intended to handle. It is wise not to fight this movement; just go with it. Although it's fun writing for the Internet, don't ignore offline traditional magazines. They are much more likely to pay you money!
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Author: Christine lives in the UK, runs a small personal art gallery website and writes articles occasionally on varied subjects.
http://www.cottagegallery.freeservers.com/index.htm
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"How to research specialist topics on the Net"
By Greg Spence
When writing a book or article on a particular subject it is important to have as much up-to-date information on it as possible.
Before the Internet came along research involved multiple visits to the local library, ploughing through newspapers, periodicals and journals, and took many months to complete.
Fortunately the Internet can short circuit a lot of the time and effort involved when researching. Unfortunately though it can also slow us down.
With millions of websites, mailing lists, forums and newsgroups covering just about every topic under the sun, it can be a daunting task for a technologically challenged author to get to the information needed for that next masterpiece.
Hopefully this article will help you find your way through the data jungle, and help you to be more time and cost effective by finding those sites dedicated to your topic.
Once you have found them you can then bookmark them in your browser so you do not lose them again!
Finding sites that cover your subject.
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The first thing to do is to locate any websites that are dedicated to your chosen subject.
The AskJeeves search engine is very useful here as you can ask a question in plain English such as "Where can I find information on Bill Clinton?".
AskJeeves will return all resources that answer this question including any websites dedicated to this topic and associated topics (such as Monica Lewinsky!).
Neat eh?
Try it for yourself by going to http://www.askjeeves.com.
AskJeeves will get you started and will help you to home in on your topic quite quickly. However this is not the only place to look for help.
Libraries are still extremely important and useful resources and many of the larger libraries around the world are now online. Just imagine being able to browse through libraries across the world from the comfort of your own home or office!
How do you find them I hear you ask?
My starting point is always "LibWeb", a site dedicated to listing links to major libraries across the globe. You can find them at http://sunsite.Berkeley.EDU/Libweb/. They currently link to 2,700 pages from libraries in over 70 countries.
To get more help then try these two sites:
The BBC Webguide
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/webguide/
Research a wide range of subjects at Beaucoup
http://www.beaucoup.com..
These links should give you more than enough material to work with.
Keeping on top of your subject
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Finding sites dedicated to your topic is only half the battle. If you are to do your job properly as an informed author you will need to keep abreast of the changes in your chosen field. This you can do by perusing newspapers, magazines and trade periodicals but this can be time consuming.
Here again the Internet can help us.
Most newspapers and magazines can now be read online and even better can alert you to changes and significant events happening in your field. They do this by sending you an email on a regular basis containing news items of relevance to you.
The question we need to answer then is how can I find such sites and start this flood of targeted information to my email box?
Well you basically need to visit the following websites. Some of these will keep you updated for FREE, others will charge you a fee. Take my word for it, you do not need to pay a fee to get good quality information to your email box!
Try these sites for size:
PR Newswire - http://www.prnewswire.com
NewsBytes - http://www.newsbytes.com
PR Web - http://www.prweb.com
WebWire - http://www.webwire.com
Internet News Bureau - http://www.newsbureau.com
Each of these sites has a facility to register for news updates on topics of your choice and have them sent to your email box.
Once you have registered you will start to receive press releases, company information and news items from the major publications around the world. You can then use this information as the basis for your books and articles giving the credit for your sources where necessary.
Summary
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When using the Internet for your research it is important to remember the old saying "Work smarter not harder".
Hopefully this article has shown you how to do that by getting targeted information quickly and easily without having to sift through millions of websites.
Greg Spence - Author, "How to Search the Internet and Find the Information You Need....Ten Times Faster"
http://www.search-help.net
Want to publish your books and articles online? We can help you for FREE!
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Web Site == http://www.getpub.com
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21/11/00 Moonspinners Writer's Page
http://moonspinners.homestead.com
23/12/00 BookSlave
http://www.bookslave.com
31/12/00 Joe Matlock
http://www.joematlock.com/
7/01/01 Siegfried's Loveletters
http://www.siegfried-maier.de/
8/01/01 Michael LaRocca's Writing Page
http://readers.freeservers.com/index.html
14/01/01 The Lath'roug Saga
http://www.lathroug.com/
04/02/01 Apage4You
http://www.apage4you.com/
20/03/01 Sharon's Heart
http://pages.ivillage.com/seatough
27/03/01 Terescia's Website for Writers
http://www.geocities.com/lynn4166
30/03/01 WriteWolves - Now Falcon's Pen
http://www.moonkids.net/writewolves/index.htm
19/04/01 My Sophomore Year
http://www.mysophyear.com/msy.html
24/04/01 Mud's Puddle
http://www.mudhat.com
01/05/01 Best of King
http://members.fortunecity.com/max0812/
19/5/01 Ronnie's Underneath World
http://www.geocities.com/underneath
20/05/01 Writers Sanctuary
http://www.homestead.com/writerssanctuary/index.html
22/05/01 Writers Manual
http://www.writersmanual.com
06/06/01 Lady K'Lyssia's Realms of Imagination
http://www.geocities.com/klyssia/SFF.html
19/03/01 Ancient Soul's Poetry
http://ancientsoul.com
12/03/01 NET
http://www.naveed.8m.net
16/02/01 authors.terrashare.com
http://authors.terrashare.com
06/03/01 Net Writer
http://netwriter.terrashare.com
03/03/01 Poetic Visions
http://members.optushome.com.au/angelwings/art
6/01/01 The Passionate Pen
http://www.passionatepen.com/
11/06/01 Dreamer's Romance Reading & Writing Site
http://www.geocities.com/dreameruq
13/06/01 Free-Fiction.com
http://www.free-fiction.com
13/06/01 Stephen J Williams
http://stephenjwilliams.co.uk/
29/06/01 One Writer's Journey
http://www.carolZachary.homestead.com/home.html
04/07/01 Enchanted Forest of Illusions
http://www.envy.nu/forestdwell
22/07/01 Holly Lisle's Vision: A Resource for Writers
http://lazette.net/vision
22/07/01 Jazzmans Poetry
http://www.geocities.com/jazzmanspoetry
22/07/01 Abberlaine
http://www.envy.nu/abberlaine/
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Quotes from http://bemorecreative.com/indexes.shtml
'It was a dark and stormy night. Suddenly a scream pierced the air'. . . . Good writing takes enormous concentration.
Charles Schulz (1922 - 2000) US cartoonist In "Shorter Bartlett's Familiar Quotations," by John Bartlett, 1937, 1980, 1992.
"If I create from the heart, nearly everything works; if from the head almost nothing. " -Marc Chagall
"A poem records emotions and moods that lie beyond normal language, that can only be patched together and hinted at metaphorically." - Diane Ackerman US poet, writer, social worker
While your in the mood for quotes, check out this page all about wise men and fools. The mind boggles!
http://www.bemorecreative.com/tqs/tq-wisdom.htm
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Whispering Blackboard Index
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Issue Five - August 2001.
Compiled by Clare.
Thank you for reading.
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