Catch of the week

Through the wonders of Entrecard, Stumble, MyBlogLog and a variety of other social tools, I have been finding some really great blogs and other web sites recently, to the point where I read in the region of around 110 blogs on an almost daily basis via my RSS reader. And maybe it is time to start sharing those great sites in a more formalised way, other than randomly linking to them in blog posts. I know I mentioned this briefly in a recent post, but I have been giving it a lot more thought, and decided that I would like to make this a regular feature.

I will choose a couple of web sites on a weekly basis that have, in some way, helped me, either by providing great advice on the craft of writing itself, or in some other, writing-related way. There will be no set criteria, other than the fact that I found it useful, and there is no way to apply for being mentioned. This is also not a blog/web site review program in any way, nor is the aim to drive traffic to any of these sites. Rather, this would be my humble way of saying thank you for enriching my life in some way or another and hoping it can help other writers.

Purely writing related:

• Finish Writing: I discovered this blog in the past week, and it has been a great help at a time where I have have a mental block against the words. Site features some great tips as well as prompts for writing exercises.
• Amanda’s Bookclub: Blog by South African writing coach, Amanda Patterson, that is mainly aimed at promoting her writing course, but don’t let this put you off, she still offers some great advice for first time writers, especially in the South African market.
• Query Shark: Literary Agent Janet Reid (who gets a double linkie) offers a service allowing unpublished writers to send through their query letters, and she will critique them, with the aim to improve. Her own blog also offers great insights into the publishing world.
• Daily Writing Tips: This must be one of the handiest web sites on the Internet, I swears. A team of writers offers advice on every type of writing in a way that anyone can understand. They also help with grammar, spelling, vocabulary and general language questions.

Other:

• stock.xchng: A great source for free stock photographs to spice up your blog entries. There may be some restrictions around the use of certain images, particularly in printed media and redistribution, but still a great source for (legal) free pictures.
• Quality Icons: A great source for free icons. It hasn’t been updated for a while, but what is there already is great to use.
• Good reads: Catalogue your books and track your reading habits. A friend sent me the link recently, and I have started adding all my books. It is relatively simple to use, and you can import your Amazon.com wishlist too.

Well, that’s that for this week.

Are there any sites you find incredibly useful, to the point where you read them every day? If you would like to recommend a site to me, please leave a comment.