Tools You Can Use: The Elements of Style

"Omit needless words."—William Strunk, Jr.

The original version of The Elements of Style is available online for FREE. This classic reference book is a must-have for writers. It concentrates on the rules of usage and principles of composition most commonly violated.

AP Stylebook Online

**First things first: Four brave souls--all women, I might add--braved the Scripps National Spelling Bee Challenge. Amy won a $10 Starbucks gift card. Contact me via my Web site and I'll get the gift card to you!**

As a magazine editor, I frequently refer to the Associated Press (AP) Stylebook with questions about punctuation, capitalization and such. I still have the copy I bought for my Journalism 101 class way-back when. Now you can access the Stylebook, a.k.a. "The Journalist's Bible," online at http://www.apstylebook.com/.

It's so handy to be able to go back and forth between a document I'm editing and the online Stylebook by just tabbing back and forth between the two. The online Stylebook also lets me compile my own custom stylebook of notes--keeping track of those tricky questions that seem to trip me up over and over again.

Does the punctuation mark go inside or outside the paranthesis? My online resource tells me:

PUNCTUATION: Place a period outside a closing parenthesis if the material inside is not a sentence (such as this fragment).
(An independent parenthetical sentence such as this one takes a period before the closing parenthesis.)

If you don't find the answer you're looking for, there's the "Ask the Editor" option, where you can e-mail your question directly to AP editor David Minthorn. And if you have a question about the AP or news in general, you can take advantage of the "Ask AP" option.

An individual annual subscription is $25. If you're a journalist or writing regularly for magazines, it's money well-spent.

Find Writers Guidelines for FREE

Have you ever found it frustrating trying to find writing guidelines for certain publications? If your budget is too tight to purchase a book or online membership listing writer’s markets, the links below will take you to writing guidelines databases that don't require a membership fee.

FREE Writing Guideline Databases
www.writerswrite.com/guidelines/
www.writingfordollars.com/Guidelines.cfm
www.freelancewriting.com/guidelines/pages/
http://home.snafu.de/gadfly/a-c.htm
www.utmostchristianwriters.com/markets/Wrpubs.htm
http://www.signaleader.com/childrens_book_publishers/magazine_publishers.html
http://www.parishwebmaster.com/writers/wresources.htm
http://www.publist.com/

Random Quotes for Writers

**There's still time to try and win a $10 Starbucks card by taking the National Spelling Bee Challenge. Read about in this post.**

I'm staring down a deadline or two and enduring a mild case of blogger's block. It's like writer's block, only it involves not being able to come up with a decent thing to post about.
So, I decided to pull my copy of Chicken Soup for the Writer's Soul off my bookshelf and flip through it, praying for inspiration. What I found were a lot of good quotes. Here are a few of my favorites:


Words are clothes that thoughts wear. ~ Samuel Butler


When I want to read a good book, I write one. ~ Benjamin Disraeli


A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit. ~ Richard Bach


All good writing is swimming under water and holding your breath.
~F. Scott Fitzgerald


When you speak, your words echo only across the room or down the hall. But when you write, your words echo down the ages. ~ Bud Gardner


Talent is long patience. ~ Gustave Flaubert


When you write from the heart, you not only light the dark path of your readers, you light your own way as well. ~ Marjorie Holmes


Have compassion for yourself when you write. There is no failure--just a big field to wander in. ~ Natalie Goldberg

Naming Your Unforgettable Character: Tools You Can Use

“I want to feel passion, I want to feel pain. I want to weep at the sound of your name. Come make me laugh, come make me cry... just make me feel alive.” —Joey Lauren Adams

What’s in a Name?
Trying to find the right name for your characters? Names change over time. Choose a popular name that fits the historical period of your story. The Social Security Administration lists the most popular names by year for every year since 1880. It also lists the five most frequent given names for male and female babies born between 1908-2007.

Researching Names

Below you will find some websites to help you research names for your characters.

First Names

This is an internet-based name generator.

The sites below list first names.

Contains 20,000 names from around the world.
Provides a first name by country origin and the meaning.
Includes 43 links other naming websites.
Lists 12 links to other naming websites.

Surnames

Research surnames on the links below.
Search for surnames and their meanings.
Find the ethnic origin and meaning of last names.
This is the Google directory of surname sites.

Avoid a Lawsuit
After you’ve named your character, Google the name. If your person lives in a town named in your book or article, check that town’s phone book to make sure no one by that name lives there.

How Would You Do at the National Spelling Bee?

**TAKE THE SPELLING BEE CHALLENGE, POST A COMMENT ABOUT IT, AND HAVE A CHANCE TO WIN A PRIZE!**

I remember spelling bees during my elementary school days.
My classmates and I would line up along the walls of our classroom. Our teacher would read off the words and we would take turns spelling them. I usually did pretty well. Sometimes I even won.
But that was long, long ago.
As an author and magazine editor, I pride myself on my spelling ability. But I would not want to go up against any of those kids who particpate in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
On the Web site, there's a link to a spelling challenge to see if you can spell with the best. I decided to give it a go. Let's just say I was informed I wouldn't qualify for the quarterfinals--and that was with my husband's help.

I double-dog dare you to take the challenge. Here's a hint: Don't forget to use capital letters!

Let me know how you do. How about this? Anyone who takes the challenge and posts back here during the week to tell me how you did, I'll put your name in a drawing for a $10 Starbucks gift card!

Want to brush up on your spelling? Check out the Study Zone over at the Scripps National Spelling Bee's Web site. Among other things, you'll find the Consolidated Word List, a compilation of over 100 Scripps National Spelling Bee word lists dating as far back as 1950. It's 794 pages!

Writing to Encourage Others: Devotions that Inspire

Tonight at Springs Writers, Jeanne Harmon is teaching a writing workshop "Writing to Encourage Others: Devotions That Inspire." She is an author, editor, and speaker, with over fifteen year’s experience in Christian publishing. As Senior Editor of Children’s Books, she co-authored the book, Become a Children’s Book Author, and has written over twenty children’s books, as well as numerous devotionals, book reviews, articles, and Sunday school curriculum.

The speaker usually provides a content rich handout. I also prepare a handout for the attendees. If they want to pursue the topic further, they have the resources to do so. Below you will find information included the Springs Writers Resource Handout.

Online Articles Tips for Writing Devotionals

To read each article, click on the title.

Help! I Want To Write Devotions
Help! I Want To Be A Christian Devotion Writer
D-E-V-O-T-E-D: Seven Steps For Writing Devotionals That Sell
Inspirational Writing: 4 FREE Lessons
Writing the Word on the Web
You Can Write Powerful Devotionals!
Writing Success 101:Devotional Writer
How Religious Does It Have to Be?
Aspire to Inspire
Ten Steps to Writing Devotionals
8 Simple Steps to Writing a Devotional - Part I
8 Spiritual Principles in Writing a Devotional Part II

Online Writing Guidelines for Devotional Articles or Books

Below you will find a few links to publishers who either publish devotionals or devotional books.

http://www.spiritledwriter.com/guidelines.html
http://www.upperroom.org/devotional/how_to_write.asp
http://www.upperroom.org/alivenow/writers_guidelines.asp
http://www.revwriter.com/congregational/writerguidelines.shtml
http://www.restministries.org/admin-writersguide.htm
http://www.marylandwomenofworship.com/WritersGuidelines.htm
http://www.augsburgfortress.org/company/submit.jsp
http://www.crosshome.com/devotionalguidelines.shtml
http://www.judsonpress.com/catalog_sp_guidelines.cfm
http://www.comfortcafe.net/?page_id=84
http://www.warnerpress.com/custom.aspx?id=3
http://www.womenofspirit.com/index.php?mnu=11
http://www.mustardseedministries.org/index/devotion_signup
http://www.chickensoup.com/cs.asp?cid=guidelines
http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com/Devotional_Door/
http://www.christianitytoday.com/men/features/guidelines.html
http://www.forwardmovement.org/writers_guidelines.cfm
http://www.upperroom.org/devozine/2007/janfeb/writers_guidelines.asp
http://www.livingfaith.com/faq.php#8
http://www.forthright.net/writers_guidelines/writers_guidelines.html
http://www.gloriaclover.com/guidelines.html
http://www.intouch.org/site/c.dhKHIXPKIuE/b.2315275/k.5704/Job_Opportunity__Writer_Guidelines.htm
http://www.upci.org/wap/assets/writers_guidelines.pdf
http://www.justformom.com/articles-guidelines.php
http://www.hannibalbooks.com/documents/writerguidelines.pdf
http://heartofthematteronline.com/2005/12/submission-guidelines.html
http://www.pathwaypress.org/evangel-guidelines.htm
http://www.messagemagazine.org/article.php?id=5
http://mission.liguori.org/guidelines/main.htm
http://www.dhp.org/author_guidelines.aspx
http://www.writehisanswer.com/writing_opportunities.htm
http://www.wels.net/cgi-bin/site.pl?2617&collectionID=1476&contentID=63261&shortcutID=23482
http://netministries.org/webdev.html
http://www.cupofcomfort.com/share.htm