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Links

General Links
An all-purpose writing website with plenty of articles, blog posts, and news reports tailored to keeping you up-to-date on the goings-on of the writing world.

Contests and Events
Each year, starting November 1st and ending at 11:59 on November 30th, writers from all around the world participate in NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo challenges its participants to write a 50,000-word novel by the end of November, with discounts and prizes offered to the winners. Though the event only lasts a month, the NaNoWriMo site and forums are open year-round.

Writing Aides
If you’re anything like me, you’ll find yourself struggling to come up with a name that matches whatever character concept you’re developing. This site can help you get past that by providing you with names from many different cultures, complete with alternate spellings and meanings for each name.

Having trouble nailing down the details of your character(s)? Filling out this questionnaire can help you get to know them a little better.

A series of tips on writing from brilliant satirist Kurt Vonnegut.

Some fun and irreverent comics that attempt to explain various grammatical concepts.

This website is a favorite of professors everywhere for its plethora of writing, grammar, and citation tips. A good resource for all kinds of writers.

Professional Resources
A great resource for people who’d like to make a little money with their writing. Keep in mind, however, that freelance jobs for creative writing are few and far between.

Challenges and Prompts
Daily writing prompts and challenges. You can share your answers with the Plinky community, and on your favorite social networking sites.

A place to write and share your own short (1024 characters maximum) stories or continue someone else’s. Features challenges set by other Ficly users if you’re having trouble coming up with something to write.

Software, Apps, and Useful Websites
Let’s face it: Microsoft Office is a pricy piece of software. Open Office is a free, open-source alternative. Though the interface is a little less aesthetically pleasing, the various programs of Open Office boast many of the same features as their Office equivalents. I’ve been using this for a few years now, and it works like a dream. Just remember to save your files as .doc or .docx rather than .odt, else your readers might have trouble opening them.

If you have a Google account, you can use Google Drive as a free document creation and storage utility. Drive also allows you to share your documents with others. You can even let readers edit or comment on your documents. A great tool for writing on the go.