Decided to have a short post of nifty sites, programs, and the like that I have discovered that could come to great use for some of you guys out there.
Freemind
I’ve already mentioned this program, but it is worth mentioning again. Freemind is a mindmapping program. Here’s a picture of one of my mindmaps for a military scifi idea I have–updated from the last one I had shown. (click the image to see larger version)
StickIt
This program I randomly discovered has become one of my favorite little tools. This program allows you to put little post it notes on your desktop. Perfect for keeping track of all the writing stuff I have to do. I love it. It also apparently has a feature where you can send notes to other users provided they are added to your friends list. I haven’t used it yet, but sounds like a cool idea to me.
Here is a pic of my desktop with StickIt running. (Click for larger image)
WordWeb
What better a program to have than a portable dictionary on your desktop? Wordweb is an awesome software program that comes in a free version and a pro version ($29). It’s a great program to have on your desktop while writing. With a click on the icon in your taskbar you can start searching for a word right away.
What about stationary?
Well, what about it? Are you craving strong little journals and notebooks that can withstand a nuclear explosion and still won’t let your ink or pencil smear? Then you should probably be looking into Moleskine’s. A little pricey, but when you think about it, it’s not a bad deal at all in comparison to the competition. Moleskine notebooks come with acid free pages, a hard cover, threaded binding, a nifty place keeper, an back cover inside pocket for keeping stuff in, and a lovely elastic band for keeping it closed. You can get lined, blank, or even squared pages. There are many sizes and styles too. Check them out. Large: $14.95 Small: $9.95
Now, if you are wanting to go for a cheaper notebook, you can try the ru Journal from Xonex. Now, these are blank paged pocket journals in the same fashion as the Moleskine, only a little flashier and without the legendary reputation. $5.00
Now, I wouldn’t recommend anyone go this direction unless they intend to make good use of it. If you aren’t very serious about your writing, don’t bother forking out the money for any of these items. It falls upon the dilemma of placing value on the item rather than on the writing and really if you aren’t serious you might as well be spending $0.25 on a regular every day notebook than one of these.
But if you are serious, I can definitely recommend the Moleskine as a good start. I’ve enjoyed mine thoroughly thus far.
Critique Circle
I’ve mentioned this lovely place before, but I have to bring it up again. This is one of the best places to go for online critiquing. It’s completely free, but there is a pro account that offers a few more features that in all honesty most of us will never use unless we are in desperate need for an organized system for personal critique groups (something I brought up before as an idea). Check it out!
The Gender Genie
This site has been passed around quite a bit I think, but I find it rather interesting to allow this little web app to attempt to figure out whether you are male or female based on a sample of your writing. Go on, give it a try. Take a short story or chapter from your WIP and throw it in. According to the site (using Ch. 14 as an example) it says that I am male by a margin of almost 1,000 points (which isn’t saying much really).
The Official Seal Generator
This has absolutely nothing to do with writing, but I couldn’t help but put it in. It’s such a nifty idea. This site allows you to create a little seal with a whole slue of options. I made a couple below. Go ahead, put them on your website. It’s not my attempt at shameless promotion…not at all. Honest. Okay, it is, but I think it’s completely adorable how you can create these little things.
Go on, put it on your site, wrap some HTML tags back here on them, and there you go. Or just look at them and say they are pretty.
Enjoy!
