wd 101 best websites 2013

8/11/2019 WD 101 Best Websites 2013

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BY TIFFANY LUCKEY, WITH OPHELIA THOMAS

T H E 1 5 T H A N N UA L

101BEST

Websitesfor Writers

38 I WRITERS DIGEST I May/June 2013

ccording to the Indexed Web on

WorldWideWebSize.com, there

are currently more than 14 billion

Internet siteswhich explains why its

such an impossible task to scour them

in search o the jewels that are most

valuable to the writing lie.

Tats where we come in.For a decade and a hal, weve been busy doing the

legwork or you, combing through seemingly endless

streams o websites that target writers and highlighting

the very best in our annual roundup so you can spend

more time doing what you love: writing.

As in the past, weve mined this years gems rom thou-

sands o nominations submitted by the writing commu-

nity across the globe. Whether youre a longtime reader

or coming to this list or the rst time, youll nd the 15th

Annual 101 Best Websites or Writers to be a careully

chosen mix o sites that consistently earn a place here ortheir riches o resources, sites reclaiming their spots afer

some time away, and newcomers (highlighted in yellow)

making their debuts in our rankings.

For easy reerence, the list is divided into nine sections:

creativity, writing advice, everything agents, jobs and mar-

kets, general resources, publishing/marketing resources,

genres/niches, online writing communities, and just or

un. Weve also included symbols or a quick glance at

what each site offers: advice or writers, classes/workshops/conerences, contests, critique sections, e-newsletters/

RSS eeds, orums, content or young writers, job listings

that pay, markets or your work and a witter eed. And

in each category, weve spotlighted one site as the Best o

the Besttruly deserving o a close look rom practically

every writer.

Tis handy roundup o websites will steer you to

a bevy o useul resources that will keep your muse

inspired and your career moving orward. So grab your

laptop, tablet or smartphone, because a whole network o

community and support or writers has just gotten a loteasier to nd.
http://worldwidewebsize.com/http://worldwidewebsize.com/


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WritersDigest.com I 39

16

CREATIVITY

1. Bulwer-Lytton FictionContestbulwer-lytton.com

Craf the best terrible opening line to

a novel, and you could win! No wonder

writers ock to this un challenge year

afer yearits not ofen you can win an

award or writing something bad.

2. Creativity Portalcreativity-portal.com

Get inspiration on demand rom this

sites Imagination Prompt Generator

(under the Writing section), alongside

articles and exercises ocused on helping

you brainstorm ideas or your work.

3. Easy Street Prompts

easystreetprompts.blogspot.comI you preer visual inspiration, then Easy

Street is or you; it offers both photo and

video prompts to spark your imagination.

4. First 50 Wordsfirst50.wordpress.com

Author Virginia DeBolt posts new

prompts regularly and invites writers

to respond live in the comments thread.

Short and sweet, in 50 words or ewer

participants are asked to ollow only one

rule: Dont judge, dont edit, just write.

Key to Icons Advice for Writers

Classes/Workshops/

Conferences

Contests

Critiques

E-newsletter/RSS

Forums

For Young Writers

Jobs

Markets

On Twitter

# First Appearance on Our List

5. Six-Word Memoirssixwordmemoirs.com

alk about instant gratication! Founded

by SMITH Magazine, Six-Word Memoirs

celebrates bite-sized vignettes o lie. Just

register (its ree) to submit:Allentries are

published on the site, with eatured sub-

missions chosen by SMITHeditors orhome-page spotlights.

6. Te Story Starterthestorystarter.com

Do you nd it easier to continue a

work-in-progress than to ace a blank

page? Enter Te Story Starter, a data-

base that randomly generates opening

lines (3 billion and counting). And or

kids, theres Story Starter, Jr. (thestorystarter.com/jr.htm).

728

WRITING ADVICE

7 A. Victoria Mixon,Editorvictoriamixon.com

Tis experienced reelance editor gener-ously offers craf tips to even nonclients

via her active blog and witter eed.

8 Anne R. Allens Blog With Ruth Harrisannerallen.blogspot.com

Prolic author Allen and ormer Big Six

editor Harris share their endless wealth

o writerly advice, tips and insight

through this blog thats updated weekly.

Find thoughtul posts on the pros and

cons o publishing traditionally versus

independently, the most common mis-

takes new writers make, and more.

9. Daily Writing ips

dailywritingtips.comSign up or the newsletter and get tips

on grammar, punctuation, word choice

and more every 24 hours, or access the

complete tip archive online.

10 Grammar Bytes!chompchomp.com

Brush up on your grammar with plenty

o advice and exercises using this un,

interactive site. Its writing instruction

with spunk.

11. Grammar Girlgrammar.quickanddirtytips.com

A staple on the 101 list, bestselling

author Mignon Fogarty tackles the

toughest o grammatical conundrums

the ones even proessionals grapple

with. Her audio podcasts and written

posts are conveniently categorized to

help you nd the answers you need.

12 How to Blog a Book

howtoblogabook.com

Want to make progress on a book

manuscript and a blog at the same

time? Nina Amir literally wrote the

book on How to Blog a Book(WD

Books), and her blog continues to

deliver resh tips on how to success-

ully do just that.

13. InkyGirl.cominkygirl.com

BEST

OF

THE

BEST

BEST

OF

THE

BEST
http://bulwer-lytton.com/http://www.creativity-portal.com/http://www.easystreetprompts.com/http://first50.wordpress.com/http://www.smithmag.net/sixwords/http://thestorystarter.com/http://thestorystarter.com/jr.htmhttp://thestorystarter.com/jr.htmhttp://victoriamixon.com/http://annerallen.blogspot.com/http://www.dailywritingtips.com/http://chompchomp.com/http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/http://howtoblogabook.com/http://www.writersdigestshop.com/how-to-blog-a-bookhttp://inkygirl.com/http://inkygirl.com/http://www.writersdigestshop.com/how-to-blog-a-bookhttp://howtoblogabook.com/http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/http://chompchomp.com/http://www.dailywritingtips.com/http://annerallen.blogspot.com/http://victoriamixon.com/http://thestorystarter.com/jr.htmhttp://thestorystarter.com/http://www.smithmag.net/sixwords/http://first50.wordpress.com/http://www.easystreetprompts.com/http://www.creativity-portal.com/http://bulwer-lytton.com/


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http://writerunderground.com/http://writerunboxed.com/http://accrispin.blogspot.com/http://wow-womenonwriting.com/http://wordservewatercooler.com/http://www.writersdigestshop.com/story-engineering-paperbackhttp://storyfix.com/http://theqqqe.blogspot.com/http://pred-ed.com/http://plotwhisperer.blogspot.com/http://www.novelrocket.com/http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/http://blog.nathanbransford.com/http://killzoneauthors.blogspot.com/http://goinswriter.com/http://janefriedman.com/


4/9
http://www.fundsforwriters.com/http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com/http://www.editorandpublisher.com/http://www.ed2010.com/http://journalism.berkeley.edu/jobs/list/jobs/http://allfreelancewriting.com/http://redsofaliterary.com/http://www.rachellegardner.com/http://queryshark.blogspot.com/http://pubrants.blogspot.com/http://kidlit.com/http://agentcarlywatters.wordpress.com/http://www.andreahurst.com/category/blog/http://agentquery.com/


5/9
http://www.theindependentpublishingmagazine.com/http://thecreativepenn.com/http://www.coalition-independent-authors.com/http://www.bosacks.com/http://www.wealthywebwriter.com/http://copyright.gov/http://writing.shawguides.com/http://thereviewreview.com/http://www.babynameworld.com/http://www.babynameworld.com/http://www.babynameworld.com/http://www.authormedia.com/http://www.mediabistro.com/http://marketlist.com/http://journalismjobs.com/http://journalismjobs.com/http://journalismjobs.com/


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WritersDigest.com I 43

56. Joe Wikerts Publishing2020 Blogjwikert.typepad.com

OReilly Media publisher and general

manager Joe Wikert shares experience-

based predictions on the uture o printpublishing and online media to help you

position yoursel or success.

57. Mashablemashable.com

Social media, the Web and technology

are constantly changing. Mashable pub-

lishes news on these topics daily to help

you stay with the timesand ahead o

the curve.

58.OnceWritten.com

oncewritten.com

Are you a beginning writer? Ten nd

support at OnceWritten.com, which

caters to newbies by offering writing

prompts, contests and other resources to

help you reach your publishing goals.

59. Publetariatpubletariat.com

Founded by April L. Hamilton (author

o Te Indie Author Guide,rom WD

Books), Publetariat is one o the leading

online communities and news hubs spe-

cically or sel-published authors and

small presses. Check out the Publish

section, which offers helpul articles on

getting your work out there.

60. Winning Writers

winningwriters.com

Winning Writers instantly emails you

inormation on more than 150 poetry

contests just or signing up or its ree

monthly newsletter. Optional upgrade:

A paid membership ($9.95 quarterly)

will gain you access to listings o 1,250

other writing competitions or bothpoetry and prose.

6186

GENRES/NICHES

CHILDRENS/YOUNG ADULT

61 Adventures in YA &Childrens Publishing

childrenspublishing.blogspot.com

In an era where suddenly everyone

seems to be writing childrens and YA,

getting your work noticed can be a chal-

lenge. Tis site rom a trio o the genres

authorsMartina Boone, Lisa Gail

Green and Jan Lewisaims to make that

journey to publication easier with postson nding an agent, landing book deals

and more.

62. Resources forChildrens Writers

resourcesforchildrenswriters.com

Author and editor Rachelle Burk

shares links to hundreds o articles

or childrens writers, covering every-

thing rom craf tips to publishing

advice to strategies or networking

with other authors.

BEST

OF

THE

BEST

Beyond 101:TheWriters DigestFamily of Sites

WritersDigest.com

For everything writing related, check out WDs online hub of free articles and

downloads. Make it your virtual writing home for useful craft tips, practical

career advice, creativity-sparking prompts and more.

WritersMarket.com

Along with 9,000-plus market listings updated daily, subscribers receive sub-

mission trackers, articles, industry updates and more. Annual, six-month and

monthly paid subscriptions are available.

WritersDigestUniversity.com

Get one-on-one instruction from professional authors in the comfort of your

home. WDU classes start year-round and cover everything from grammar to

novel writing to marketing.

WritersDigest.com/editor-blogsGet daily doses of writing advice direct from the WD editors. Our family of

bloggers has you covered on everything from staff-led discussions of craft and

publishing to poetry, agent news and more.

DigitalBookWorld.com

DBW offers year-round education, networking and resources, online and off,

for publishing professionals and their partners.

ScriptMag.com

Though the newest member of the WD family, Script Magazineis anything but a

newbie in the scriptwriting world. For years, its been delivering essential advice and

must-read news on craft, film festivals, how to make it in Hollywood and more.
http://jwikert.typepad.com/http://mashable.com/http://oncewritten.com/http://oncewritten.com/http://oncewritten.com/http://www.publetariat.com/http://www.writersdigestshop.com/the-indie-author-guide-paperbackhttp://www.writersdigestshop.com/the-indie-author-guide-paperbackhttp://winningwriters.com/index.phphttp://childrenspublishing.blogspot.com/http://resourcesforchildrenswriters.com/http://www.writersdigest.com/http://www.writersmarket.com/Dashboard.aspxhttp://www.writersonlineworkshops.com/http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogshttp://digitalbookworld.com/http://www.scriptmag.com/http://www.scriptmag.com/http://digitalbookworld.com/http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogshttp://www.writersonlineworkshops.com/http://www.writersmarket.com/Dashboard.aspxhttp://www.writersdigest.com/http://resourcesforchildrenswriters.com/http://childrenspublishing.blogspot.com/http://winningwriters.com/index.phphttp://www.writersdigestshop.com/the-indie-author-guide-paperbackhttp://www.publetariat.com/http://oncewritten.com/http://oncewritten.com/http://oncewritten.com/http://mashable.com/http://jwikert.typepad.com/


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http://www.poetrysociety.org/psa/http://poetryoutloud.org/http://www.poetryfoundation.org/http://poems.com/http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com/http://mysterywriters.org/http://www.jungleredwriters.com/http://horror.org/writetips.htmhttp://darkmarkets.com/http://www.therenegadewriter.com/http://freelancewriting.com/http://freelancewriting.com/http://freelancewriting.com/http://www.sfwa.org/http://www.scbwi.org//


8/9
http://www.moontowncafe.com/http://www.moontowncafe.com/http://jpicforum.info/http://critiquecircle.com/http://absolutewrite.com/http://murderby4.blogspot.com/http://thrillerwriters.org/http://seekerville.blogspot.com/http://muslimwriters.blogspot.com/http://www.christianstoryteller.com/http://thescriptlab.com/http://www.scriptdoctoreric.com/http://moviebytes.com/http://romanceuniversity.org/http://romancejunkies.com/http://www.poets.org/


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46 I WRITERS DIGEST I May/June 2013

My Ca Space account to connect with

other scribes. MoonownCae.comalso

provides ree poems, contests, workshops,

orums and blogs.

91. My Writers Circlemywriterscircle.com

My Writers Circle boasts critique orums

or prose, poetry and screenwriting.

Submit material to the Workshop or

Poets Corner sections or other writers

to give honest eedback o your work.

92. National Novel WritingMonthnanowrimo.org

Join more than 250,000 writers annu-ally and take part in the NaNoWriMo

marathon by cranking out a 50,000-

word novel in November. (Also offered:

Camp NaNoWriMo, which hosts smaller

versions o the challenge in July and

August.) Tis site helps you track your

books progress with its online word

counter, and connects you with other

participants or support.

93. Review Fusereviewfuse.com

Heres how it works: For every our cri-

tiques o others works you give, you get

three back. All reviews are done behind

the privacy o a wall that only those witha ree membership can access.

94. WritersCafe.org

writerscafe.org

Read and rate material rom ellow

writers in this ree virtual community,

then get critiques or your own work.

Forums provide a place to discuss the

craf urther.

95 Writers-Networks

writers-network.com

Poets and writers are invited to join this

ree community to share work, get eed-

back and discuss writing-related topics.

Members can also participate in contests

and live chats, and earn points (the sites

currency system, redeemable or ad

space or special contest entry ees)or reviewing others works.

96. Young Writers Online

youngwritersonline.net

Exclusively or teens and writers in their

early 20s, this orum provides a place or

young scribes to meet and discuss and

critique one anothers work.

97101

JUST FOR FUN

97. Apostrophe Abuseapostropheabuse.com

Lets ace it: Clearly not everyone is

as horried (or as entertained) by

misplaced apostrophes as writers are.

Blogger Chris Duval rounds up many

o these grammar ails or your amuse-

ment on this hilarious site.

98 Bos Caf Lifeboscafelife.wordpress.com

Need a quick laugh? Swing by Bos

Ca Lie and enjoy the daily comics

o Wayne E. Pollard, a ormer mar-keting director currently writing his

rst novel.

99 Goodreadsgoodreads.com

Breaks rom writing are well-spent

studying the craf by reading other

published work. Tis site allows you to

keep track o your reading by gener-

ating library catalogs. Youll also ndexclusive interviews with bestselling

authors and chances to partake in live

chats with them.

100. LibraryTinglibrarything.com

Log your bookshel on LibraryTing,

and receive customized book recom-

mendations. Other site perks include

the Early Reviewers program, in

which you can register to receiveadvance copies o orthcoming books

in exchange or writing a review, and

the chance to take a peek at the book-

shelves o amous authors.

101. Wordsmithwordsmith.org

Word lovers, unite! Sign up or the

A.Word.A.Day e-newsletter to increase

your vocabulary (and look like a

genius every time you play Words

With Friends). WD

BEST

OF

THE

BEST

BEST

OF

THE

BEST

NominatingNext Years 101

Dont see one of your favorite sites

here? Wish wed add a new cat-

egory? Send your comments and

nominations for next years list to

[email protected]

101 Websites in the subject line

between now and Dec. 1.
http://www.moontowncafe.com/http://mywriterscircle.com/http://nanowrimo.org/http://www.reviewfuse.com/http://www.writerscafe.org/http://www.writerscafe.org/http://writers-network.com/http://www.youngwritersonline.net/http://www.apostropheabuse.com/http://boscafelife.wordpress.com/http://www.goodreads.com/http://www.librarything.com/http://wordsmith.org/http://wordsmith.org/http://www.librarything.com/http://www.goodreads.com/http://boscafelife.wordpress.com/http://www.apostropheabuse.com/http://www.youngwritersonline.net/http://writers-network.com/http://www.writerscafe.org/http://www.writerscafe.org/http://www.reviewfuse.com/http://nanowrimo.org/http://mywriterscircle.com/http://www.moontowncafe.com/

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