Women’s Fiction, etc.

An ongoing discussion for readers/writers of Women’s Fiction

Archive for fiction

Reader’s / Writer’s toolbox

May 15, 2008 at 4:25 pm · Filed under Reading, Writing, books, fiction, women and tagged: , ,

 At Stephen King’s suggestion (no, he’s not a personal friend – it’s in his book, On Writing), I created a file on my computer entitled “Toolbox”.  In it, I keep my tools for writing.  One section is for websites that come in handy for reading or writing.  I’ll share the best with you here.  More can be found at: http://www.writersdigest.com/101BestSites/

Here are my favorites:

 Reading-

http://www.amazon.com/  - (of course)

http://www.bookspot.com/reviews/ – For reviews by NYT, and many others

 

http://bookmooch.com/ – A free online used book sharing site – Did I say FREE?!

 

http://www.biblio.com/ – find/purchase out of print books

 

 Writing -

http://thesaurus.reference.com/ – The best online thesaurus I’ve ever found

 

http://dictionary.reference.com/ – The best dictionary I’ve found

 

http://babelfish.altavista.com/ – Online translator – popular languages (no Swahili-sorry)

 

http://baby-names.adoption.com/ – Names – listed by country as well.

 

· Quotations:
http://www.quotationspage.com/
http://www.bartleby.com/100
brainyquote.com

· Slang:
http://www.slangsite.com/

· Movie Cliches
http://www.moviecliches.com/

· Rhyming Dictionary
http://www.rhymezone.com/

· Lyrics
http://www.azlyrics.com/index.html

Urban Dictionary
http://www.urbandictionary.com/

Slang Dictionary
http://www.alphadictionary.com/slang/

Language Dictionary
http://www.alphadictionary.com/langdir.html

Alpha Agora: A forum for discussions on dialects, slang, accents, etc.
http://www.alphadictionary.com/bb/

Internet Acronym Server
http://silmaril.ie/cgi-bin/uncgi/acronyms

RhymeZone Rhyming Dictionary and Thesaurus
http://www.rhymezone.com/

Dictionary and Thesaurus – Merriam-Webster Online
http://www.merriam-webster.com/

 Word Spy – The Top 100
http://www.wordspy.com/topwords.asp

Words
http://www.answers.com/main/words.jsp

A.Word.A.Day
http://wordsmith.org/awad/

WA’s Curious Words Page
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/WarrenAllen/words.htm

· Grammar
http://www.grammarlady.com/
http://www.junketstudies.com/rulesofw/
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
http://www.bartleby.com/141/index.html
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/cws/wworkshop/writer_resources/grammar_handbook/gram…
http://www.bartleby.com/141/index.html

· Ask Jeeves
http://www.ask.com/#subject:ask|pg:1

Agent Query
http://agentquery.com/
http://firstwriter.com
http://writersmarket.com – I use this – its’ the BEST!
http://longstoryshort.us – critting queries free!

Check out agents – scams
http://agentresearch.com/agent_ver.html
http://anotherealm.com/prededitors
http://sfwa.orge/beware

· Thesaurus
http://thesaurus.reference.com

· Maps
http://geology.com/state-map

 Critiquing

http://writing.com -great, especially for new writers.

Inspiration/ideas
http://refdesk.com
http://book-in-a-week.com
http://smithmag.net/sixwords
http://thestorystarter.com
http://writingfix.com

Romance sites
ghttp://groups.msn.com/romancewritingtips
http://rwa.com
http://coffeetimeromance.com
http://romancedivas.com

Market/event listings/writer organizations
http://forwriters.com
http://www.wga.org/
http://writing.shawguides.com – writing conferences

Just plain interesting!
http://coolstuff4writers.com
http://eighteenquestions.com
http://writersfm.com
http://writesideout.com

 I collect these like baseball cards – you can’t have too many!  I’m always looking for new helpful sites, so I’d love to hear your favorites.

 

 

 

Comments

RWA – A Shameless Plug

May 9, 2008 at 3:13 pm · Filed under Writing, books, fiction, women and tagged: , ,

For any writers who may read this – I just wanted to recommend membership in a wonderful organization, Romance Writers of America.  Look it up online – chances are there’s a local chapter not far from you. 

 

First, let me say that membership is not restricted to Romance Writers.  I’ve met members in my chapter who write Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Westerns, etc.  I joined for several reasons:

·        Writing is, for the most part, a solitary endeavor.  My husband and friends support me, but none of them really understand my passion.  It’s amazing to attend a monthly meeting with 100 other people who do.

·        Education – we have speakers at every meeting, covering different aspects of writing: plot, characterization, dialog, etc.  I’ve learned so much –free!

·        Classes.  My chapter, as well as many others Nationwide put on low cost online classes.  Everything from Query writing to forensic facts… and lots in between.  You’re bound to find one that would help your writing.

·        National Annual conference.

·        Networking – when (not if) you get published, you have a ready-made network of readers, and buyers.

·        Recognition

 

I’ve even met an agent through my chapter to whom I’ve submitted a partial manuscript (fingers firmly crossed!)

All this in just four months of membership – believe me, I’ve sure gotten a “bang for my buck” of dues.  You may want to look into it!

 

 

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Hello world!

April 4, 2008 at 5:18 pm · Filed under Reading, Writing, books, fiction, women and tagged: , , , , , ,

Yay - I’ve entered (allbeit with trepidation) the blogosphere!  Please chalk up any errors in format or etiquette you may notice to ignorance on my part…I’ll attempt to get up to speed quickly.

What’s this blog about?  Well, for starters anyway – Women’s Fiction.  I’ve noticed that there is a ton of info out on the net about the Romance genre, but not much about Women’s Fiction.  I think the distinction is important to those who read it, so this is my attempt to fill the void.

What is Women’s Fiction?  If you Google it, you’ll find a few definitions, but the one I like best is:

Women’s fiction is just that: fiction about women’s issues for a female readership. However, it is not the same as chick lit or romance. While utilizing literary prose, women’s fiction is very commercial in its appeal. Its characters are often women attempting to overcome both personal and external adversity.  The mature depth and tone of their development within women’s fiction set them apart from other genre classifications.

My sincere apologies to the author of the above – I am not finding the source to give credit.  The nuance, I believe is in the focus.  Romance (and all subgenres-chit lit, Regency, Westerns, etc) are ulitmately about a romantic  relationship between two individuals.Women’s fiction may contain elements of romance, but that’s not the main focus – it’s about a woman’s struggle to overcome adversity, and that, to me is endlessly facinating. 

I foresee this as being an intertactive discussion, so anyone stopping by, please feel free to comment – the more the merrier!

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