| Many an ad, business letter and TV commercial | | | | need in this enormous archive of free Q&A, |
| comes into being slowly, even painfully. | | | | send your question to an expert of your |
| Maybe because some of us write as if we were | | | | choice (also free.) |
| still using an IBM Selectric, wite-out and a | | | | |
| badly worn Webster's. For that matter, maybe | | | | | | |
| some still are. And that's OK. | | | | |
| | | | The perfect site to search for a Shakespeare |
| But in these digital days, software and the | | | | quote, fact-check a line from a great |
| Internet can help a tech-savvy writer be a | | | | classic, or look something up in Gray's |
| better writer and make getting the job done | | | | Anatomy. Unrestricted access to reference, |
| easier. While writing every day is still the | | | | verse, fiction and nonfiction books. |
| best practice for improving your writing | | | | |
| skills, there are programs and Web sites | | | | | | |
| available today that can really help your | | | | |
| writing along. | | | | How Stuff Works. Want to know how those |
| | | | traveling lawn sprinklers work? Or how to |
| Here are 18 digital tools you can use to | | | | clone a sheep? Or fix a leaky toilet? This is |
| research, brainstorm, organize, compose, | | | | the site with all the answers. Channels for |
| communicate and bring out the better writer | | | | computers, electronics, home, science and |
| in you. | | | | more. |
| | | | |
| Wordsmithing Grammar and Style | | | | | | |
| | | | |
| Cliché Finder. You've always been told to | | | | Library Spot. An easy-to-navigate |
| "avoid clichés like the plague." But | | | | uber-library that provides answers to |
| sometimes there's no other way to write or | | | | question with links to innumerable reference |
| talk your way out of a sticky situation. This | | | | sites, including many other libraries. |
| site lets you search for just the right | | | | |
| cliché, by entries that include a specific | | | | | | |
| word. | | | | | | |
| | | | Refdesk. An outstanding site filled with |
| Common Errors in English. This is a useful | | | | fact-finding links and connections to |
| list of words often misused. Plus an | | | | hundreds search engines and research sites. | |
| interesting list of usages people keep | | | | | |
| telling you are wrong but which are actually | | | | |
| standard in English. Links to other grammar | | | | Visual Thesaurus. A work of art that is also |
| resources as well. | | | | an excellent thesaurus. Synonyms and |
| | | | definitions unfold on your screen in a |
| | | | | | | beautiful ballet. A slow-loading site, but |
| | | | well worth the wait. | | |
| Dictionary of Difficult Words. Do you aim to | | | | |
| become a member of the literati, or do you | | | | Creativity |
| wish to be a savant? Do you want to avoid | | | | |
| being verbigerative and be succinct instead? | | | | Explore the creative process in your work |
| Search this list of over 13,900 difficult | | | | and in your personal life. Plus links to many |
| words to increase your vocabulary or just | | | | other creativity sites. |
| find out what those words really mean. | | | | | |
| Everything you want to know about amusing | | | | | | |
| quirks, peculiarities, and oddities of the | | | | |
| English language. Stuff like palindromes, | | | | Creativity-Portal. An elegant site that |
| spoonerisms, oxymora, and more. | | | | | | promotes creativity in all areas of life but |
| | | | features a page specific to writing. | | |
| Word Play. A list of links to dictionaries, | | | | |
| foreign language translations, word games and | | | | The Soul Food Cafe. A soothing site that |
| wacky sites like The Apostrophe Protection | | | | promotes writing and creative pursuits as a |
| Society, Burma Shave Signs, The Country & | | | | daily practice. Full of tips, techniques, |
| Western Song Generator and The Klingon | | | | references and encouragement for writers of |
| Language | | | | all kinds. | | |
| | | | |
| Institute. | | | | | | Organization |
| | | | |
| The Word Spy. This site is devoted to | | | | Tinderbox. This software application stores |
| recently coined words and phrases, old words | | | | notes, ideas and plans, mapping them in |
| that are being used in new ways, and existing | | | | colors and shapes as they're created. It then |
| words that have enjoyed a recent renaissance. | | | | scans the notes and links and organizes them |
| | | | | | | by patterns and relationships. It will even |
| | | | gather and update relative info and breaking |
| Word Menu. This software version of Random | | | | news from the Internet. Mac only. Available |
| House's printed Word Menu blends all the best | | | | from |
| features of a dictionary, thesaurus and | | | | |
| encyclopedia into one-easy-to-use reference. | | | | © Burek Group 2003 |
| Words are organized by subject rather than | | | | |
| alphabetically. Windows and Mac. Available | | | | Walter is an professional advertising |
| from | | | | copywriter who writes, edits andpublishes |
| | | | "WORDS@WORK", a FREE bimonthly newsletter of |
| WordDog Plain English Editor. Add this | | | | advice andabout writing that works. To view |
| program to your Microsoft Word app and it | | | | his award-winning portfolio and tosubscribe, |
| will sniff out ambiguous words, verbose | | | | visit You may also subscribe viamailto: . |
| phrases, redundancies and overworked phrases. | | | | |
| Windows only. Available from | | | | Thank you for your interest in this |
| | | | article.You may freely publish it in print |
| Reference | | | | oron the Web as long as you include the |
| | | | byline and credits. |
| All Experts. If you can't find the info you | | | | |