Tools You Can Use: One Stop Online Dictionary

Find, Define and Translate Words
OneLook Dictionary is a OneLook® search engine, indexing over 1000 online dictionaries, including more than 12 million words.

Save Time
You can find, define, and translate words at one web site. You can browse different types of dictionaries: General, Art, Business, Computing, Medicine, Miscellaneous, Religion, Science, Slang, Sports, and Technology.

Reverse Dictionary
OneLook's reverse dictionary lets you describe a concept and get back a list of words and phrases related to that concept.

Another Cure for Writer's Block

My deadline was Friday.
It was Wednesday.
And my article was dead in the water.
I had nothing. Not a beginning. Or a middle. Or an end.
In my defense, I hadn't ignored my deadline. I'd tried writing something. Anything. The tried and true writer's rule: Just throw up on the page, produced nothing but dry heaves.
What's a writer to do?
In my case, I took my blank Word document to my writers group.
Want a sure-fire cure for Writer's Block?
Brainstorm.
Tiffany, Scoti and I gathered around Scoti's table. The first thing I did was read them the editor's notes about what she wanted for the article. That way we all knew what I was supposed to be aiming for.
Then I handed them a page with some extremely sketchy ideas: a quote, a sentence, a phrase. Maybe something would prove to be worth nurturing into an article.
Scoti manned the laptop, ready to take notes.
Tiffany asked questions. (She's very good at it.)
I talked. I told them the lead sentences I'd thought of and discarded. I told them stories. I told them what I thought the article was about--and what it wasn't about.
Scoti typed.
Tiffany questioned.
I talked some more.
They told me what they liked. What they thought might work. What they thought was a rabbit trail or was done to death.
By the time I got home from the group, Scoti's notes were in my inbox. I printed them out and used them as a guide to start pulling together an article. I sent Scoti and Tiffany two drafts to critique on Wednesday. Another two drafts on Thursday. On Friday, I submitted my article on time.
And the editor loved it.
Once again, I thank God for my writers group.

Tools You Can Use: Unconfuse Confusing Words

Do you pause for a second before typing a certain word? Writers often misuse or abuse words that are pronounced alike (homonyms) or sound similar, but have different meanings.

What Words Confuse You?
Lay and lie?
Affect or effect?
Insure vs. ensure
Accept or except

Confusing Words contains a collection of over 3000 troublesome words. To double-check the word in question, type in that word. You’ll see words grouped according to the way they are most often confused or misused.

Any Fantasy Writers Out There?

While I admit to wandering from my nonfiction roots and trying my hand at fiction--Wait! One of my characters is talking! I need to get this line of dialogue down before I continue this post.
Sorry about that.
Anyways, while I'm having some fun with fiction this summer, I'm sticking with this world, rather than delving into fantasy. But I came across The Fantasy Novelist's Exam, with thanks to Josh over at Through a glass, darkly.
The exam was compiled by David J. Parker and Samuel Stoddard. Here's reasoning for the exam:


Ever since J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis created the worlds of Middle Earth and Narnia, it seems like every windbag off the street thinks he can write great, original fantasy, too. The problem is that most of this "great, original fantasy" is actually poor, derivative fantasy. Frankly, we're sick of it, so we've compiled a list of rip-off tip-offs in the form of an exam. We think anybody considering writing a fantasy novel should be required to take this exam first. Answering "yes" to any one question results in failure and means that the prospective novel should be abandoned at once.


Here's a glance at some of the questions, picked at random because they made me laugh. Go here for the entire exam--there are 75 questions in all.

• Does nothing happen in the first fifty pages?
• Is your story about a quest for a magical artifact that will save the world?
  How about one that will destroy it?
• Does "a forgetful wizard" describe any of the characters in your novel?
• Did you make the elves and the dwarves great friends, just to be different?
  Does everybody under four feet tall exist solely for comic relief?
  Do you think that the only two uses for ships are fishing and piracy?
• Did you draw a map for your novel which includes places named things like "The Blasted Lands" or "The Forest of Fear" or "The Desert of Desolation" or absolutely anything "of Doom"?

Tools You Can Use: Avoid Repeated Words Forever

What words do you overuse? Last night I discovered a wonderful website called Wordcounter. No, it doesn’t provide a word count. It counts the words you write most frequently.

Copy and paste your text into the Wordcounter box, then click go. To avoid repetitive words, bookmark this page and avoid redundancy forever.

Mark Repeated Words in Your Manuscript
To highlight each repeated word throughout your manuscript, on the Edit menu, click Find. In the Find and Replace box, enter the word or phrase. Then click on the Replace box. Select Highlight. Then Find All.

Here are repeated word results for this blog entry.

Word Frequency
word 8
repeat 3
box 3
find 3
avoid 3
click 3
count 2
replace 2
forever 2
highlight 2
website 1
entry 1
page 1
wordcounter 1
paste 1
copy 1
doesn’t 1
write 1
night 1
discover 1
enter 1
frequent 1
result 1
wonderful 1

And The Winner Is . . .

Wanita won the copy of Leave It To Chance by Sherri Sand! Congrats, Wanita! Send me an e-mail via this blog with your address and I'll get the book in the mail to you.

Speaking of contests: There's one over at The Writing Show. It's their third annual First-Chapter-of-a-Novel Contest. The deadline for entering is June 20th. First prize is $1000! Four other cash prizes and ten 750-word critiques also awarded. For more information, go here.
But, here's a quick take on what they're looking for:

We want to find the world's best first chapter of an unpublished novel. Above all, you must tell a compelling story. That means that you have to grab us so quickly, so completely, that we can't stop reading, even if the house is burning down.

And thanks to The Writer's Edge blog for bringing this contest to our attention.
Have at it, all you fiction writers. Let us know if you enter!

Taglines: Can You Hear Me Now?

“Believe it or not.”—Robert L. Ripley

From products to movies to TV shows to authors to books, a believable tagline goes a long way to being remembered. Ever heard of “Bundy Very Used Cars?” No? How about “Rent-a-Wreck?” Bundy’s changed tagline made their business standout. I wish I could think up an author tagline that readers remember, even with a lobotomy.

Taglines are supposed to be like the “It’s a Small World” ride at Disneyland. Once you take the ride and hear the tune, it keeps playing repeatedly in your mind. Studying taglines may trigger an idea for your tagline.

ABC Taglines
Ajax: Stronger Than Dirt
Alien: In Space No One Can Hear You Scream.
Alka-Seltzer: I Can’t Believe I Ate The Whole Thing.
Allstate Insurance: You’re In Good Hands With Allstate.
Altoids: Curiously Strong Peppermints
American Express: Don’t Leave Home Without It.
Apollo 13: Houston, We Have A Problem
AT&T: Reach Out And Touch Someone.
Avis: We Try Harder.
Bic: Flick My Bic.
Blue Bonnet Margarine: Everything's Better With Blue Bonnet On It.
Budweiser: Wassup?!
Burger King: Have It Your Way.
BMW: The Ultimate Driving Machine
California Milk Processor Board: Got Milk?
Calvin Klein Jeans: Nothing Comes Between Me And My Calvins.
Camel Cigerettes: I’d Walk A Mile For A Camel.
Capital One: What’s In Your Wallet?
Chiffon Margarine: It’s Not Nice To Fool Mother Nature.
Chrysler: Inspiration Comes Standard.
CNN: The Most Trusted Name In News.
Coca-Cola: It's The Real Thing!
Crest: Look, Ma, No Cavities!
DeBeers: A Diamond Is Forever.
Disneyland: The Happiest Place On Earth.
Dr. Pepper: The Friendly Pepper Upper.
Ebay: The World’s Online Marketplace.
EF Hutton: When EF Hutton Talks, People Listen.
Fed-Ex: Relax, It’s Fed-Ex.
Fox News: Fair And Balanced.
Friends Of The Animals: Extinct Is Forever.
FTD: Say It With Flowers.
General Electric: We Bring Good Things To Life.
Gerber: Babies Are Our Business.
GLAD: Don’t Get Mad. Get GLAD.
Greyhound: Leave The Driving To Us.
Grey Poupon: Pardon Me, Do You Have Any Grey Poupon?
Hebrew National: We Answer To A Higher Authority.
Hertz: We Try Harder.
In And Out Burger: In And Out, In And Out, That's What A Hamburger Is All About.
International Coffee: Celebrate The Moments Of Your Life
Ivory Soap: 99.44% Pure.
Jaws II: Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Go Back In The Water...
Jimmy Dean Sausage: Breakfast Never Sounded So Good.
Kay Jewelers: Every Kiss Begins With Kay.
Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes: They’re G-R-R-R-Eat!
Kellogg’s Smart Start: Start Aging Smart.
Kentucky Fried Chicken: Finger-Lickin’ Good!
Las Vegas Convention And Visitors Authority: What Happens In Vegas Stays In Vegas.
Lay’s Potato Chips: Betcha Can’t Eat Just One.
M&Ms: Melts In Your Mouth, Not In Your Hands.
McDonald’s: I’m Lovin’ It
Memorex: Is It Live Or Is It Memorex?
Merrill-Lynch: Merrill-Lynch Is Bullish On America.
Morton Salt: When It Rains, It Pours.
Mountain Dew: Do The Dew.
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association: Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner.
National Crime Prevention Council: Take A Bite Out Of Crime.
National Pork Board: Pork. The Other White Meat.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: You Could Learn A Lot From A Dummy. Buckle Up!
Nike: Just Do It.
Nikon: At The Heart Of The Image.
Oldsmobile: It’s Not Your Father’s Oldsmobile Anymore.
Ore-Ida: Ore-Ida! It’s All-Righta!
Parkay Margarine: The Flavor Says Butter.
Partnership For A Drug-Free America: This Is Your Brain. This Is Your Brain On Drugs. Any Questions?
Paul Masson: We Will Sell No Wine Before Its Time.
Pep Boys: Cars Like Us. People Love Us.
Petco: Where The Pets Go.
Quiznos: M’m, M’m, M’m, M’m, M’m...Toasty!
RAID: RAID Kills Bugs Dead.
Reebok Athletic Shoes: Because Life Is Not A Spectator Sport.
Rolaids: How Do You Spell Relief? R-O-L-A-I-D-S.
Secret Deodorant: Strong Enough For A Man, But Made For A Woman.
7-Up: The Uncola.
Star Trek: To Boldly Go Where No Man Has Gone Before
Star Wars: A Long Time Ago, In A Galaxy Far, Far Away...
Surprise By Design TV Show: We're Not Just Changing Rooms. We're Changing Lives.
Taco Bell: Think Outside The Bun.
Target: Expect More. Pay Less.
The New York Times: All The News That’s Fit To Print.
The X-Files: The Truth Is Out There.
Timex: Takes A Licking And Keeps On Ticking.
United Negro College Fund: A Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Waste
UPS: See What Brown Can Do For You
U.S. Army: Be All That You Can Be.
U.S. Dept. Of Transportation: Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk.
U.S. Forest Service: Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires.
U.S. Forest Service: Give A Hoot, Don’t Pollute.
U.S. Marines: We’re Looking For A Few Good Men.
U.S. Peace Corps: The Toughest Job You’ll Ever Love.
Verizon Wireless: Can You Hear Me Now?...Good!
Visine Eye Drops: Gets The Red Out.
Volkswagen: Drivers Wanted
Wal-Mart: Always Low Prices. Always.
Wall Street Journal: The Daily Diary Of The American Dream.
Waterford Glass: Every Piece Is A Work Of Art.
Wendy’s: Where’s The Beef?
Wheaties: The Breakfast Of Champions
Wisk Laundry Detergent: Ring Around The Collar.
Wrigley's Chewing Gum: Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun.
Xerox: The Document Company.
Xerox: We’re Moving Beyond Documents.
Yellow Pages: Let Your Fingers Do The Walking
Zenith: The Quality Goes In Before The Name Goes On.

Taglines are reader oriented. What do you feel when you read a tagline? What benefit or promise do you perceive?