C. M. Skiera's Blog

The day before Thanksgiving (US) may not be the optimal time to post, but here goes anyway. Consider this a little holiday treat and my best wishes that everyone enjoys their holiday (or regular) weekend. Based on the positive response from my last blog post , I thought I'd share another one of my favorites lists with you. Here's a collection of reference web pages (i.e., cheat sheets) I use when writing, mainly in pursuit of finding the right word. If you have good ones to share, please do. 41 Flavors of Body Language for Writers  by Susan J. Morris at Omnioracious   Describing body language of a non point-of-view character is one way to convey their mental state with head-hopping. Catalogue of Human Features   by Majnouna at DeviantArt   An excellent tool to help all your character descriptions from sounding the same. Also useful for those times when you can envision how a character looks, but can't find the right words to describe their appearance. HTML C...

I've compiled a list of my favorite 'go-to' websites related to writing, quasi- Listverse -style. Hopefully you'll find a hidden gem or two in this list. Indies Unlimited   What it is: A blog run by and for independent authors. Why I like it: Indies Unlimited offers 3-4 posts per day, covering a plethora of topics including, but not limited to: free self-service promo features (Freebie Fridays, Thrifty Thursdays, Print Book Paradise), flash-fiction contests, new release announcements, video trailer features, sneak-peek showcases, interviews, guest posts, a bookstore featuring members, and a knowledge base featuring past articles, which include great tutorials on just about everything related to indie writing. Plus, the folks that run IU are nice, helpful, and accessible. Pro Writing Aid   What it is : A free online editing tool that lets you paste blocks of your writing and then analyzes it and highlights problems and offers tips and suggestions. Why I like it ...