Get Inspired

I’m on vacation, and while I’m away I’m highlighting some of my favorite fun creative websites and writer’s resources. Hope your holidays are joyful, and I’ll see you in the New Year!

You can find a variety of inspirational devices over at Language is a Virus, including writing prompts, a character name generator, a poetry generator, the text collage, madlib poems, the haiku-a-tron and much more. Let your muse go wild in this writer’s playground!

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Ride the Internet Back to the Past

I’m on vacation, and while I’m away I’m highlighting some of my favorite fun creative websites and writer’s resources. Hope your holidays are joyful, and I’ll see you in the New Year!

It’s easy to lose a whole day at the Internet Archive, an online digital library.  This great resource features a “Wayback Machine” that catalogs older versions of webpages; public domain books, audio, television shows and films; vintage newsreels; classic cartoons and much more.

Thanks to writer Wendy Nelson Tokunaga for steering me toward this fun and informative site!

Another Great Writing Tool to Keep You Focused

When you log  in to One Page Per Day, it presents you with a single blank page. Sign up using your existing Google account or Twitter username, then start writing. The program automatically saves your work so you can return for another session the next day. (Or any time.)

You can also choose to share some of your writing anonymously on the “Glimpses” page. Or read the words other have left behind and see if you find some inspiration!

Freebies for Writers

Quick post today to direct you to some great reference tools and free things for writers, courtesy of The Freelance Writing Jobs Network:

49 Free Online Reference Tools for Writers. Includes dictionaries, encyclopedias, a zoological glossary, NASA’s Thesaurus, connections to academic and public library collections around the world, profiles of American businesses and much more.

45 Free Things for Writers. Free calendars, software, business cards, e-books on various aspects of writing, journals and pens, financial tools for writers, tutorials and more.

A Great Source for Photo Prompts

Roka Walsh posts a compelling new photo every day on her wonderful blog Stories Without Words, and invites readers to “tell a story…pen a poem…write an essay…sing a song…create a title or caption” inspired by the image. She also offers interviews with the photographers and writers who contribute their work to round out her creatively stimulating blog. Check it out, scroll down and find a picture you’re drawn to, then write something inspired!

100 Ways to Fire Up Your Muse

I just discovered writer/illustrator/guerrilla artist Keri Smith‘s list of 100 Ideas to spark your creativity. These prompts include writing, drawing and other types of inspirational stimulants.

Find the list here, then print it and cut along the dotted lines, creating 100 squares of inspiration. Use them in any way that works for you. Pick a random square every day/week and follow its instructions. Or choose one that appeals to you and do it every day for a week. Journal about your creative experiments. Or join a friend/a group and do them together. However you use these, make sure you’re having fun!

Add Some Rhythm to Your Writing

Here’s another fun resource for you poets out there: Write Rhymes, a site designed to help you find rhymes as you create. When I plugged in the word “muse” I received dozens of options, divided into one-, two- and three-syllable words.

The kangaroos love to schmooze and guzzle booze while listening to Blues and paddling their canoes in search of news about their favorite zoos in Santa Cruz.

Okay, that’s just silly. You get the idea.

Copyright @ Sandy Ackers, Strangling My Muse: Struggling to Live a Creative Life in a Stressful World, http://www.stranglingmymuse.com

Ride the Internet Back to the Past

It’s easy to lose a whole day at the Internet Archive, an online digital library.  This great resource features a “Wayback Machine” that catalogs older versions of webpages; public domain books, audio, television shows and films; vintage newsreels; classic cartoons and much more.

Thanks to writer Wendy Nelson Tokunaga for steering me toward this fun and informative site!