I found a site about grammar today. Actually, I have visited this site in the past but it has been so long ago that I forgot it existed. I was exploring a new search engine, IceRocket.com, for links to blogs about writing and/or writing resources. I’m not sure how new the IceRocket search engine is but I just found it so it’s new to me. I’m still looking for an easy way to find blogs that are specific to the writing process. This search engine has a blog specific search feature. Unfortunately, my search returns were not that great, unless you are interested in school and University writing classes. It isn’t that they don’t have some valuable information, they do but they are geared more toward academics than creative writing.

I decided to do a basic search and this site, Guide to Grammar and Writing, came up first in the returned search request. If you have any questions about grammar and the rules of writing, you will find answers on this site. It’s well thought out and provides interactive features like quizzes and samples of common mistakes and how to fix them. There is so much information on this site it could take days to explore. Just taking the quizzes to find out how well you know your grammar can be rewarding and more than a little telling; telling you what you need to learn, or be aware of, in order to write more effectively.

Yes, I know, somewhere on this blog I wrote about the rules of writing and how they can interfere with creativity. And, yes, I still believe that to be true but I was referring to the rules of storytelling, the rules of crafting a story, more than the rules of grammar. However, I also believe that a good writer can push (challenge) the rules of grammar if it helps the story but that’s another whole issue and dependent on a writers ability to break the rules consciously while still supporting, rather than compromising, their story.

Anyway, check out the guide, you will not be sorry.

I was wondering through cyber space looking for blogs on the writing craft as I drank my morning coffee. I was trying to find more good blogs that are specific to writing. With all the blog directories and search engines sprouting up you’d think it would be easy to find writing specific blogs. But no, it’s not easy. Even the directories with topic specific categories are not as good a resource as they could and/or should be. It seems that any blog with the words “write, writing, muse, musings, etc” can be in a writing specific category. Well, what’s wrong with that, you might ask? What’s wrong is that every blog on the net has some form of the word “write” in their keywords and/or in their blogs description. So, what you find is a lot of blogs listed in a writing category that have nothing to do with the writing craft and nothing to do with the act of writing other than using writing as a form of self-expression. There’s nothing wrong with that but they should not be categorized in a writing specific topic.

I guess I find it frustrating since I work on a directory that categorizes Web sites but even there the Weblog specific topics are not well categorized. Part of the problem is that bloggers rarely stay on topic. They wonder around in their minds, dripping thoughts onto the screen, and report on their daily activities. Nothing wrong with that (I do it myself), it can even make a blog interesting to read but it also makes it hard to categorize them. I’m thinking it might be time to re-assess how to categorize blogs or maybe I mean that it’s time to assess, or explore, what is a good way to categorize them. The way the Web is currently categorized in directories will not work for blogs. By their very nature the vast majority are personal, even though they may stick to a single topic. Many should be categorized as personal blogs but there are perhaps just as many that do have a topic specific intention and even though they wonder off topic occasionally, they should be categorized in topic specific categories. It would help us, the reader, find what we are interesting in reading.

Some directories are listing topic specific blogs in with regular Web sites. I’m not sure that’s the best way but it’s better than listing them all, or the vast majority, under “personal blogs.” I think blogs deserve their own top level category in the major directories, like a directory within a directory where the blog category has all the same categories as the main directory. Yes, I know that there are blog specific directories but none are human edited, yet, and humans do it better than any automated system will ever be able to do simply because they look at what’s actually inside and do not rely on meta tags and word association. But who knows, maybe some programming genius will figure out how to give a bot eyes that can actually see and determine the contents relevancy to search phrases. Google did change the way we surf the net but even they have limitations and can be easily fooled by creative schemers, though I, for the life of me, can not understand why any Webmaster would want traffic that is not looking for whatever they are selling or offering. It’s just a waste of good bandwidth in my opinion but they probably know something I don’t.

I’m going to have to give categorizing blogs some more thought. Maybe I will setup my own blog directory or just setup an organized list of writing blogs with a personal review. Who knows what I might do? Even I don’t have a clue as to what might spark my creative juices in the future. The potential for a well thought out blog directory is limitless but my time is limited for now.

Speaking of wondering off topic, I started this post to offer some information about a blog on fiction writing that I stumbled on. I found it on another blog, which seems to be the best way to find writing specific blogs. It’s called The Fiction Writer’s Journey: Musings, Announcements, Exercises, and More to Inspire by Emily Hanlon, a writing coach and novelist. While this blog has some layout problems and it doesn’t appear to be updated regularly, the information that is there is informative and inspirational. I’ve added the link to my blog and recommend it to anyone interested in writing.

Well, November is coming quickly and the National Novel Writing Month’s Web site has a new design and improved system. The premise is to write 50,000 words in one month (175 pages). The only rule is to write, period. It doesn’t matter if it’s good, it doesn’t matter if you have a plot and it doesn’t matter if you’ve never written anything of substance in the past. Because of the short time frame you will have to lower your expectations and just let the words flow. This should silence your internal critic because of the lack of expectations, except to finish with 50,000 typed words. The possibilities are endless as are the benefits of going on the NaNo WriMo journey with thousands of other would-be authors.

They are currently accepting anyone who wants to sign-up for the project. Writing begins November 1st and ends at midnight on November 30th. There is a forum where members can get and offer encouragement. It’s an interesting community and I highly recommend joining a.s.a.p. and get a feel of what is going down the month of November. Membership is free, though they are asking for donations to help cover their cost and to help in sponsoring libraries in Cambodia.

They also provide participants icons like these:

I have joined and hope to complete the 50,000 words this year. I just have to convince my internal, or is it “eternal”? editor to stay out of my way for one month! And that my design work doesn’t take up too much of my time. It doesn’t look like this blogs design is going to be changing any time soon. Oh, well … there’s always another month, another year, another lifetime.

I’m waiting for my new computer to arrive. Actually, I’m waiting for Dell to ship my new computer! I was hoping to have it already but since I did some major upgrades when ordering it, they haven’t finished building it yet. ugh! It’s painful to wait now that I finally have the money to buy the dang thing. But I should not complain. I’d still be trying to save the money to buy it if a dear friend had not gifted me with the money to buy it.

I was surprised when I opened her card and there was a large check made out to me. I wasn’t surprised at her generosity for I have always known her to be exceptionally generous and not just with her money. I was surprised that someone I know can just give away that kind of money. To me it is a lot of money, to someone else it’s probably a small amount. But large or small is only relevant to the need of the receiver and the giver. I so appreciate her gift but not nearly as much as I appreciate her friendship. She is my true gift. So…. Thank You, Elaine and I love you too!