Those of us who write full time (no, I don't make a living doing it, yet. I'm a stay at home mom, so I write a majority of the day) always have ways to waste time instead of writing. Following is a list of some of my favorite sites where I waste time. Having said that, I should also mention I have found some of the best writing information and advice at some of these site, so I guess they weren't a complete waste of time.
1.
facebook - Of course, I linked you to my fan page, but obviously that's not where I spend the most time. However, I'm an opportunist...head over, like my page, then hang out for a while. This site is where I connect with friends, family, fans, and of course, fellow writers.
2.
Twitter - Here's another place where I get some info from fellow writers, editors, agents, publishers, and of course, celebrities. I don't find this site as engrossing as others, but I can see how people can become hooked on it.
3.
Absolute Write Water Cooler - This site is nothing but a HUGE source of info! Any question you can imagine writing related can be answered by people in this forum. There's categories for everything. I tend to spend a lot of time in these threads!
4.
Writers Digest - If you pay for a subscription you'll get lists constantly of pubs, agents, etc who are currently accepting submissions. I subscribed once, but now I just traipse through the forum. Another place with gobs of info.
5.
The Writers Cave - Who doesn't like looking into other people's windows? Okay, that sounded creepy. What I mean is, who wouldn't want to see the work space of their favorite author.
Paige Cuccaro has compiled dozens of authors' caves; I can spend a lot of time, and have in the past, just flipping through the pics, comparing work spaces of successfully published authors.
6.
Nathan Bransford's blog - This former agent turned writer has a great blog. Everything from How to Write A Query, to his take on books. Mr. Bransford's blog is another site I find myself spending hours reading.
7.
Query Shark - This site is just all around fun. Sure, it's informative, but I get a kick out of reading some of the really bad queries. Oh come on...you know we've all written a query to make you cringe! But don't worry; this site isn't just the bad American Idol auditions. She has very helpful info, as well as great critiques. She'll show you what works, what doesn't work, and why for both on all things query.
Well, that'll do for now. Don't want y'all to spend all day playing instead of working. You gotta keep your AIS, but that's not just to play on the Internet. Have a great day, and make it productive. The end of the month isn't that far away for you participating in NaNoWriMo!
Ooh good sites that you have listed! For me, I spend a lot of my time wasted on........blogs. :) But that can be a good thing, right?
ReplyDeleteOh! That and obsessively checking the status updates of my Facebook friends. :)
Gotta say I spend a lot of time on other blogs, too. I try to justify it by saying I'm researching....riiiight!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info. I'm always searching for new ways to distract myself from doing what I'm supposed to-- writing. Heh.
ReplyDeleteI knew about most of these, but I'll have to take a look at The Writers Caves.
Oh, I can spend hours in The Cave. I fantasize about having people interested in what my office looks like someday!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
ReplyDelete