Resources for Writerly Fun

As writers, we use a variety of resources to help us do our work: dictionaries, thesauruses, style manuals, reference materials, Wikipedia, and many many more. But in between the writing spurts, writers also needs distractions, something to get the creative juices flowing when we are stuck staring at a blank screen. I'm not sure what people did before the computer... stare out the window? But before the internet, this "break" was often accomplished by playing a few games of Solitaire or Minesweeper. Then along came email, news websites, lol cats, and ultimately Facebook, all of which are excellent time wasters, but sadly have very little to do with writing and, therefore, rarely spark creativity.

However, the internet is always evolving and providing us with new forms of entertainment. Wordle creates "word clouds" from text you provide, giving prominence to words that appear most often. It allows you to change the color schemes, fonts, and layouts of your clouds. This little application really helps you see your text in a new way and definitely makes you feel less guilty about not actually writing.

This is a Wordle of this website, The Write Impression.

Writer's Blockade

Writer’s Block is nothing compared to the barricade I am standing behind. Take a moment to imagine, if you will, my obstruction. A giant purple dinosaur, a furry red monster, mountains of books offering one to five words per page, and an assortment of flashing, beeping, singing paraphernalia (a miniature kitchen, a smiling car, a table and chair that talks, even shoes that flash) together impede my view of the world outside of stay-at-home-momville.

There are many women, as well as men, who consciously make the transition between holding careers and staying at home with their children. These stay-at-home moms and dads (SAHM, SAHD) often possess college degrees, or positions of power, and have the ability to work in coveted occupations, but feel that the most important job that they could possibly embrace is the one of raising their children. I once read a woman and work poll/reader survey that found “if moms could choose to do whatever they wished, only 4% would choose full-time employment.”

So, here I sit in the majority as a mom who chose to stay home with her children over her career. Does that mean my mind should no longer focus on anything non-toddler or teen related? I co-created this blog, The Write Impression, in an effort to keep my foot in the “real world.” My goal is to appeal to other writers, continue to write, think about writing each and every day, and learn more about writing. These are things that I feel should not end just because my career is temporarily on hold. So, why do I sit here not knowing where to begin?

This blog entry is an appeal to all writers and blog readers who visit our site. Tell us what you want to read about. Give me the key to unlock the block! Perhaps we have answers to your questions, or perhaps you have answers to ours. In either case, I promise to break through this blockade and begin writing more regularly. I look forward to writing with you.