3 Useful Writing Sites

While perusing the ol' interwebs, I discovered a few sites that are handy dandy for a writer to have in his back pocket to pull out in times of need . . .

Online Symbolism Dictionary
If you'd like to use some symbolism in your story but aren't sure what to use -- or -- you did use a symbol and want to check to make sure you used it correctly, the University of Michigan put this site together just for that purpose.

Best Of History Web Sites
If you're looking for a particular historic fact or need to check on what you already have as facts, this is the site for you. This link has over 1200 annotated links to history websites and is recommended by many scholars.

Descriptive Thesaurus Collection
Need a different way to show your character is angry? Try the emotion thesaurus. Looking for a particular mood or setting? Check out the weather and earthly phenomena thesaurus. This site has a thesaurus for pretty much anything writerly related.

And don't forget there are still a few more days to enter the drawing for a signed copy of THE CAPTIVE HEART . . .

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Web Tools for Writers

So, how's that NaNoWriMo going for you? Needing a little pick me up yet? Here are some sites for a writerly kick in the pants.

31 Ways to find Inspiration for Your Writing
This is pretty self explanatory. Check it out.

7 Can't Miss Ways to Kick-Start the Writing Habit
Okay, so this on isn't really a site; it's a blog post but it's highly informational.

LooseStitch
Share outlines for your pieces with writing partners and editors with this totally free collaboration tool.

The Book Marketing Network

Join this network to find publishers, agents and marketers, check out the network blog, join groups and view photos or videos.

Coffee House for Writers

An online coffeehouse offering writers a safe space for finding encouragement, taking online workshops, talking about books, and learning about the writing and publishing industries.

Character Questionnaire

A fun and clever way for developing your characters.

Got any other favorites? Feel free to share in the comment section.

Five Fun and Fantastic Sites

It's summer. It's hot. And do we really need to be outdoors playing Pokemon Go? I think not. We should be parking our warm bodies on the couch inside of our air conditioned living rooms and playing on the internet instead . . .

Passive Aggressive Notes
Everyone gets annoyed. This site shows you the expression of that annoyance. Some of the notes are more aggressive than passive, but they all creatively vent the writer's frustration.

Bad Translator
Ever read a sign in a shop window that's clearly been written by someone who doesn't fully grasp the English language? Here's your chance to create your own terribly sliced and diced sentences.

Found Magazine
From love letters to birthday cards, here's a collection of items that were randomly "found."

Cleverbot
Okay, of all the sites I'm mentioning today, this one is by far my favorite. Not that the others aren't entertaining, mind you. I just happen to like chatting with a clever artificial intelligence, and that's exactly what Cleverbot is.

Emergency Yodel
Umm. Yeah. Because you never know when you might need a yodeller. Go head. Push the button. It's so satisfying.

Need a Recharge?

post by Michelle Griep

Yeah, I know I recently posted about writerly time management, but doggone it, every now and then you just gotta take a break. And have I found some fun sites for you while you're on that break . . .

Plink
This is an interactive, multiplayer musical experience. All you do is enter a screen name and the computer matches you up with 3 or 4 other people out there who are wasting their time, I mean, recharging. You play music with them with just the click of your mouse. This one is super addicting, so beware.

A Soft Murmur
Looking for some ambient noise but it's too early in the season for crickets or you're too lazy to go to a coffee shop? This is the place for you. Pick your soothing background noise and let it calm your nerves or inspire your muse while you write. Or nap. Your pick.

Shut Up and Take My Money
Need a quirky gift for someone? Need to treat yourself? Just want to gawk at some freakishly awesome items for sale? Yeah. Click on this one.

I Side With
I purposely do not talk politics on this blog. I figure I offend enough people just by being me without the added abrasiveness of political opinion. However, in this particularly heated season of elections, here's one site you might want to check out. It asks you a series of questions on a variety of issues. You answer yes or no and how important the issue is to you. Then voila. It matches you with the candidate you share the most views with. Yeah, I know you might think who that is already, but I also know you might be surprised. I was.

Geo Guesser
I admit it. I'm geographically challenged. This site confirmed it. It shows you a picture from Google Earth and you simply guess where in the world it is.

There you have it. Go out there and have a good time. Don't forget a helmet.

Stranger Than Fiction

post by Michelle Griep

Stuck for a story idea? Need a pick-me-up in the middle of your plot? Sick of sitting around in your underwear watching re-runs of Gilligan's Island? Have I found a few sites for you . . .

Weird U.S.
Historical anecdotes, bizarre facts, odd news clippings, these things and more, all within the boundaries of the United States. That means not only can you read about strange stories, you can actually go and visit the places where they happened.

Weird Universe
From the 1900's to the 1990's, this site presents news stories and personal accounts of strange happenings from all around the world. But it's more than that, with items ranging from quirky old commercials to bizarre fashions.

Cracked
This is the mother lode of freakish journalism. It's kind of like watching a train wreck. Just when you think you've read the most unbelievable yet true story out there, whammo! Another is there just a click away.

Strange Magazine
A bit more on the paranormal end of the spectrum, Strange Mag gives personal accounts and documented stories of the Twilight Zone variety.

Happy Birthday Goodreads

post by Michelle Griep

Go ahead. Eat a slab of cake today in honor of Goodreads 9th birthday. I've been on there for 7 of those years. Yikes. That's a long time. But I'm certainly not the only one who's been writing reviews for years on end. Goodreads now has more than 50 million reviews. And here are a few more fun facts . . .

First book reviewed on Goodreads:
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

Most reviewed book: 
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Star rating that's used the most often:
5 stars

Highest rated book:
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The thing I appreciate most about Goodreads is that reviews tend to be a bit more gritty and real. It's less of a fan club trying to sell books like on Amazon.

If you haven't yet moseyed over to Goodreads, jump on in. The water is fine. You can find me and my reviews HERE.

Creative Websites for When You're Not Feeling Creative

post by Michelle Griep

Is anyone else out there currently in a sugar coma? Wow. Do I regret that last chocolate bunny I shoved in my mouth. Needless to say, the ol' create-o-meter needle is barely jiggling above zero. So, what to do when you should be writing but your brain is in a fog? Play around on goofy-butt websites, of course. And here are some fantastic time wasters for you to try out . . .

Incredibox
Sweet mercy! Do not visit this site if you have an addictive personality because this place can hook and reel you in. How's that for mixed metaphors? Anyway, this site let's you create music by dragging beats or melodies or sounds into different players. I made some awesome music and I'm not musical. Give it a whirl. It's super fun.

Blues Maker
This is another musical site but with a twangy shade. Create your own blues song. Really, all you do is click the choices and it creates it for you. It bills itself as being "for those days that everything is so messed up, that all you have left is the blues."

Ball Pool
You know those germ-laden ball pits at Mickey D's? Yeah, this is a LOT more sanitary. Go ahead. Play with the balls no matter what your weight or age.

Screaming Beans
Umm. Well. The name kind of says it all. At first you may look at this site kind of like a train wreck, unable to turn away, but then it changes into hilarious bean smashing fun.

Ball Droppings
When you were a kid, did you like playing with those marble games where the little ball rolls down wooden rails until it finally lands? This is kind of like that but the balls make music as you draw the lines for them to travel on.

Trending Websites

post by Michelle Griep

Usually writers write. But there are times that writers go off-roading on the internet and stumble across some pretty sweet sites. I am one of those writers. Hey. Quit judging. I'm going to share those sites with you . . .

Instructables
This is kind of like Pinterest on steroids. Basically it's DIY's with pictures and instructions from people all over the world. Some projects are super hard. Others easy. It includes pretty much anything you can think of from building your own dune buggy to how to scramble a perfect egg.

Wolfram/Alpha
Speaking of steroids, what if Wikipedia got pumped up? Well, it would turn into this site. Anything, anyone, pretty much any any can be found here. It's a ginormous database that let's you explore whatever topic or person you're interested in.

MyFridgeFood
Been writing or reading all day and you haven't been to the grocery store in over a month? Pop on over to My Fridge Food and enter the few ingredients that you do have on hand. With a click of the button, voila . . . instant ideas for a meal.

downforeveryoneorjustme
Ever go to a website and the dang thing just won't pull up? Is it your computer? Your router? Your server? Your neolithic technological skills? Or maybe it's not you and it's simply down for everyone in the world, which would make you feel a lot better. This site let's you know.

findtheinvisiblecow
Umm. Need I say more? Okay, I will. This is freakishly addicting.

Don't Overlook Your Neighborhood Art Institute

post by Michelle Griep

Book Tours . . . who knew?

I'm not normally the type who haunts the hallowed halls of art institutes, oohing and aahing over a Degas or Rembrandt. I figure glancing at Instagram once a day is good enough.

But today I visited the Minneapolis Institute of Arts at the request of author/buddy Julie Klassen. Who knew that besides paintings and relics, the institute offers Book Tours? Well, apparently Julie did.

Every month a different book is featured. This month's selection was Emma by Jane Austen. Here's how it works . . .

Author Julie Klassen

The group meets at an appointed time. It's free. Turns out this is quite the event because there were about 5 or 6 docents at the ready. We joined a group of about ten people. Our docent led us from painting to painting, relating how either the topic or the era of the art tied in with Emma, Jane's story about a matchmaking busybody who thought rather highly of herself. The tour culminated in a period room that was decked out as if Emma herself lived there.

I don't know if all art institutes do this type of thing, but it's worth checking if yours does. It was super interesting plus there's usually a nearby coffee shop to start and end your tour.

Who Says Bookstores Are Dead?

post by Michelle Griep

Fair Trade Bookstore, Red Wing, Minnesota

What should one do when the weather dips below zero? Visit a bookstore, of course, and today I found a hot shop to warm the cockles of any booklover's heart.

Fair Trade Books in Red Wing, Minnesota, about 50 miles south of Minneapolis/St. Paul, is well worth the drive. Located in the heart of small town America, this little bookstore is awesome.

The first one to greet you with a smile and handshake is owner, Rick DeVoe. And right on his heels is Reveler, a pile of fur and love.

Fair Trade's Owner, Rick DeVoe

After greetings, Rick asks if you're a first-time visitor, and if you are, you're in for a surprise. He goes on to discover what you like to read, lets you browse around, and then he awards you with a free book that he's chosen based on your answers. How many bookstores do that?! Like none. The only catch is that he has you proclaim in public, "Books make great gifts."

And they do. I went on to purchase two as gifts and a few for myself.

This is more than simply a bookstore, though. This is a community bedrock, bringing neighbors together for all kinds of readalicious events.

Reveler, the resident bookstore dog.

January highlights range from an open mic night featuring music, poetry and comedy, to an author signing, and even a game night where anyone can come and play cooperative board games, featuring the locally created game 3 Seeds. They're also sponsoring an evening for a new initiative to conserve and invest in renewable energy.

Okay, enough gushing from me. Fair Trade Books is in the running to be one of my all-time favorite bookstores, but if you're not in the area, I challenge you to go out and find a bookstore that captures your heart. You might as well. What else is there to do in January?

Avoid Humans

post by Michelle Griep

It always surprises people when I label myself an introvert. But I am. Sure, I can paste on a smile and yuk it up for awhile, but I need me some alone time to recharge. Like lots of alone time. Like I turn into a raging axe murderer if I'm with too many people for too long of a time. Thankfully, I've never reached the manslaughter limit of my aversion to people because I discovered a magical website that I'd love to share with all the other loners out there.

AvoidHumans.com

Yeah, I know. Great name, right? Here's how it works. You click on the link and then allow the site to figure out where in the world you're located. Using that information, it draws from a real-time database (based on Instagram and Foursquare check-ins) to let you know which places in your area are currently housing the least amount of humans.

The information is broken down into four categories: food, coffee, nightlife and refuge. Coffee shops are the one I care about most because that's where I do the bulk of my writing. I don't mind a little noise, in fact I thrive on it. But if the shop is full and I can't even find a place to sit down, that's annoying. All I do is click on the site and it brings up other coffee shops for me to go with less humans.

You might want to copy this site down. With the holidays coming, finding a quiet corner is always a challenge.

Beyond Goodreads

post by Michelle Griep

How real do you like your fiction? Personally, I like to read authentic, gritty reality-fiction. I want to feel the characters' emotions as if they're mine. I want to taste and smell and live inside the skin of the hero and heroine. I want the author to rip out my heart, swing it around on a string until I laugh and cry and throw up, then set it gently back in with a light kiss. Is that too much to ask?

Apparently it is. Some readers don't feel the same way I do, and as a result, not all publishers will put out that kind of fiction. Okay, so most won't, leastwise in the Christian market. Is that good or bad?

Neither, actually. It just is, which makes it tricky for readers like me to find a book that satisfies. But never fear, little readers. Besides the mothership of them all, Goodreads, I've found several more sites to help you discover books no matter where you land on the gritty to fluffy spectrum . . .

FictionFinder
Their motto is "So many books . . . so easy to find!"

WhatShouldIReadNext
An entire database that compares "like" books. Enter a book you like, and it will bring up a list of other books that are similar.

YourNextRead
This is somewhat like What Should I Read Next but their stated goal is to "make discovering, buying and enjoying a book as simple as finding your next film or band."

Books at a Glance

I've often lamented, "So many books, so little time." My TBR pile isn't a little heap on a coffee table. It's a mountain. Like seriously. I need to hire a sherpa to help me scale it just to grab the top one off the stack -- and that's only after I've gotten acclimated to the lesser oxygen levels at each base camp.

Sorry. Got off track. Anyhoo, my point is how can you choose the next great book to read when there are so many to choose from? Never fear, little cowboy, have I found a site for you!

Books At A Glance is a site dedicated to publishing weekly book summaries. The reviews are written by pastors, university and seminary professors, theologians and authors whose stated ambition is "to equip and encourage the people of God in the faith."

Normally this service costs $9.97 a month, but you can try it out for 30 days for free. You'll get a new summary each week as they are published (and a summary is about 7 pages). So go ahead. Give it a whirl. And if you find a super great read, share it here at Writer Off the Leash. I'm always looking for new books. It's the sherpas that are hard to find.

Keowee and Table Rock . . . Two Gems of South Carolina

post by Michelle Griep

Indian Princess Screams Like a Banshee.

With a belly dragging the ground from too much banana pudding, what better way for me to finish a southern trip than to hike off all those calories at a few of South Carolina's finest?

KEOWEE/TOXAWAY STATE PARK

This area of upstate South Carolina is the lovely countryside that my hero travels in with his heroine to visit the Cherokee lower town of Keowee. I've read a lot about this land, past and present, and must say that it lived up to my expectations on our 3 hour hike today.

But one thing I didn't count on was the spiders.

Now don't get me wrong. Usually I can mash up a spider like nobody's business and not even bat an eyelash. But sweet mercy! They grow 'em big down here. Like the web I ran into today. Literally. And the spider at the center of it was freaking enormous. Like the dude should purchase license plates because someone could drive this sucker with a CDL. If there were any bears anywhere within a twenty mile radius, my scream scared the bejeebers out of them.

Lake Keowee, former site of the Cherokee Lower Town.

Takeaway value for my book: give my heroine a run-in with a spider

TABLE ROCK STATE PARK

Whew. No spiders here, folks. Just plenty of beauty. I'm talking waterfall, after waterfall, after waterfall. We did the shorter hike -- Carrick Creek -- but it took us nearly as long as Keowee because we stopped to take pictures like idiot tourists.

Takeaway value for my book: after all my heroine's hardships, she can finally stop and smell the roses, er, woodlands . . . this place smells heavenly!

One of the bajillion waterfalls at Table Rock.

I must admit that at both places it kind of creeped me out to have to sign in a ton of information just in case we got lost, eaten by wild animals, met with a tragic selfie end by falling off a cliff backwards, or twisted an ankle and couldn't crawl our way back. Thankfully none of that happened.

And that wraps up our little off the leash romp to South Carolina. It was a great research trip. Of all the places I went, I have to say that the Cherokee Museum, Ninety Six, and hiking at Keowee (despite the spiders) were my top 3 sites.

Dear South Carolina

post by Michelle Griep

Lake Crawford dam at King's Mountain.

Dear South Carolina,

Really? Do you really have to close a visitors' center just because it's a little windy outside? Yeah, I know Charleston got hammered and Columbia is flooded and y'all are a little busy, but sheesh. King's Mountain is like on the opposite side of the state, practically North Carolina.

But at least you had the state park open . . . which made for some pretty sweet hiking. The replica 1820's yeoman farm was a nice touch and the chickens super cute.

Hiking the Catawba Nation trails.

Also, thank you for the education. I used to think that Catawba was a sparkly kind of grape juice I buy for Thanksgiving and Easter. I had no idea it's also a people group. The Catawba Nation Reservation is a little tricky to find but oh so worth the trouble. Lovely trails along the Catawba River and the smell of kicked up leaves in the woodlands is spicy woodsy deliciousness.

Speaking of deliciousness, shall we talk BBQ? South Carolina, your BBQ is awesome with a side of sauce. Literally. And dang if I didn't pack any stretchy pants. Grr. Next time give me a heads up on the weight gain.

There is so much history in this area that my six days here are not going to be enough. You should up your advertising game, SC, and let the rest of the world know that you're a destination worth the trip.

That is all,
your faithful friend,
Michelle

Hiking in a Hurricane

post by Michelle Griep

Hurricane Joaquin, I spit in your general direction. Stupid weather. Apparently things get cancelled in South Carolina when a little rain gets in the way. Okay, so it's a freaking lot of rain, but still I'm a little mopey the Revolutionary War reenactment at King's Mountain got cancelled.

That didn't stop us though, and bonus, I can check off experiencing a hurricane on my list of things to do.

First stop today was the Cherokee Museum in Walhalla. It's a little town with an even littler museum but we spent over an hour and a half talking with a few of the founders, Luther Lyle and Hugh Lambert. I learned a ton about the Cherokee culture. Definitely worth the visit.

The Cherokee Museum

Then we tooled over to Oconee Station, a 1792 stone building used originally as a military outpost and a place where settlers could run to when threatened by Indians. But that's not all that's there. Even older is the Station Falls. We hiked it in the torrential rain. Was it worth the soggy hike? You betcha. In hindsight, though, it probably wasn't a brilliant idea to cross a river when flash flood alerts are everywhere. 

That earned us a bowl of soup in a nearby local restaurant. I'm not sure, but I think I ate okra. Anyone? Can you identify? And apparently cornbread is the go to side dish because it comes with every meal.

What is this?

Since our later walk at King's Mountain got scrapped, we hung out in downtown Greenville for awhile. Lo and behold, they've got some falls too, right smack in the middle of downtown . . . a much easier hike than the one in the afternoon.

One other observation . . . southerners take seriously the decoration of graves. There are flowers galore at every cemetery we pass.

Stay tuned. More tomorrow, rain or not.

A Yankee in the South

post by Michelle Griep

Treasures found on a hike in Camden.

Day two of the research trip is in the can. The weather is making me feel right at home: cold and rainy. Actually, it was warmer in Minneapolis today than it was in South Carolina. Even so, I would not be stopped. Here are a few random insights into southern culture from a cold northerner . . .

- People really do "set" on the porch around here. I keep looking to see Andy Griffith out strumming his guitar.

- There are a LOT of abandoned houses and storefronts with vines and undergrowth squeezing the life from them.

- I've never been called sugar, honey, baby, and ma'am so much in my life -- especially not at a Burger King.

- Can we all just stop and give a big round of applause for banana pudding?

On today's dockett were two Revolutionary War sites. Despite the drizzly weather, we worked them both into our schedule.

Tiny houses were trendy back then too.

Site #1 BRATTONSVILLE

I had no idea this living history site was the place used to film The Patriot. I chose to visit simply because it had some sweet historical replicas of log cabins. They look like the original tiny houses but when you step inside, wowzer. Much more spacious than I imagined. We mostly hung out with the blacksmith, learning all about rifles and muskets

The Battlefield of Camden.

Site #2 CAMDEN

You don't have to be a huge military buff to visit this place because the tour guide is well-versed on way more than that. But yes, if you are into the Revolutionary War, then this is a must see. This is the place the Brits took over and used to supply their entire Southern campaign.

It doesn't look like you'd expect a battle"field" to look. It's in the woods, mostly because, well, that's where they fought, eh?

Stay tuned . . . the adventure continues tomorrow. Too bad the national weather service is predicting record rains and there are flash flood warnings galore.

#HorribleWaysToStartAStory

post by Michelle Griep

Not only do I teach a high school creative writing class but people crawl out of the woodwork to ask me to read their work. It's pretty rare I get handed a spectacular piece of writing, more common that it's meh, and unfortunately, all too often it's horrible.

Turns out I'm not the only one reading horrific first lines. There's an entire hashtag dedicated to it over at Twitter. Here's a sampling . . .

Earlier, before the explosion that killed everyone, we find our hero...

This is all about how I met your mother's parole officer.

My bowels released like a fiery inferno from the gates of hell

Remember when your goldfish died, and we flushed him down the toilet? Your grandma doesnt fit in the toilet, but . . .

Call me Ishmael, but whatever do you, don't call me late for dinner! Wakawaka!

'What do you mean 'No WiFi for 30 miles?' trembled the blogger.

So if you like looking at train wrecks, pop on over to #HorribleWaysToStartAStory for some spectacular crash and burns.

Type Racer

Most writers I know use a keyboard. Not all are lightning fast typists, but some get their fingers to smoking. I think I'm a pretty snappy typer, so I put my skills to the test on TypeRacer.

TypeRace is a site that's an online typing competition. It pits you against other people by typing quotes from books, movies, and songs.

But it's not only a game. It actually improves your typing speed, some say as much as 50 words-per-minute. So I decided to give it a whirl.

For my first go around, I played against 2 others. The site chooses who and how many you play against. The text was taken from The Thermodynamics of Pizza by Harold J. Morowitz. I came in first place at 92 WPM. Since I was a little champion, I decided to do it one more time.

I should have quit while I was ahead. I came in 3rd with only 80 WPM typing a quote from the movie The Dark Knight.

Go ahead and pop over there. It's super fun and it's free. And if you're brave enough, let me know how you did in the comment section.

Podcasts For Writers

Okay, so I might be a little late jumping on the podcast bandwagon, but I've recently discovered these things are great. They're like documentaries for the ear. And you can find them on pretty much any topic in the universe. But the ones that are really useful are the ones on writing. Here are a few . . .

Conversation With a Bookseller
Sara Glassman talks about her perspective as a bookseller, namely the things that make it easy for her to get a book into a customer's hands. She talks about back cover copy, covers, query letters, signings and what booksellers look for on page one.

Q & A on Middles

Marie Brennan discusses the bane of all writers: the sagging middle.

What Makes a Scene?

Want to know what makes a great scene, other than having a slap fight with your mother-in-law in the lingerie aisle at WalMart? Then this is the podcast for you because it dissects the ingredients that go into creating a satisfying scene.

The trend with these 3 sites is that they're all from Writing Excuses, one of the first and longest running podcasts for writers. Their tagline is:

"Fifteen minutes long, because you're in a hurry, and we're not that smart."

They've got tons of other great titles so pop over and check them out.