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Everyone loves F.REE stuff. Writers are no exception.

Here are links to some great information and other goodies for writers. Every single thing listed is absolutely F.REE!

Looking for a literary agent?
Sign up here for the Absolute Write Newsletter and get the Agents! Agents! Agents! report.

Need marketing help?
Then sign up for The Marketing Minute from Marcia Yudkin and every week you’ll receive a short marketing tip via email.

Want to learn to write a winning press release?
Sign up here and learn 89 powerful press release tips from Joan Stewart, the Publicity Hound.

Looking for tips to build your freelance writing career?
Then visit Writers in the Sky and sign up for their newsletter and also get an ebook called Tips for Freelance Writing from fulltime freelance writer Yvonne Perry.

Trying to find some freelance writing assignments?
Then check out the freelance writing jobs listed at About Freelance Writing. Ads are updated almost daily and you can sign up for a f.ree newletter here, too.

Let me know if you have other favorite links where writers can get f.ree stuff.

Enjoy!

Suzanne Lieurance
The Working Writer’s Coach

Join us this Thursday night, March 1st, at 7:00 p.m. (central time) for Writers on Call.

This week will be Session 2 of a coaching teleclass all about Effective Networking.

Personally, I think networking is the Number 1 way to grow your business. You can reach many more people, so much faster, when you network with other professionals.

Don’t worry if you missed Session 1 of this teleclass. You’ll still learn things this week that you can put to use immediately.

Subscribe to Writers on Call here.

If you’re reading this post, chances are you’re a writer. But maybe you just write as a way to promote your business. Either way, you might be able to help me and I can help you at the same time.

I’m putting together membership packets for my new Children’s Writers Coaching Club.

I want to include coupons, special offers, and other promotional materials for anything and everything that might appeal to children’s writers, elementary school teachers and librarians, and parents.

Do you have a business that would appeal to any of these groups?

Do you have a new book you would like to promote?

The packets will be mailed on March 9th, and I will need at least 50 copies of any item you might choose to send.

If you’re interested in having something included in this month’s membership packets, please email me and let me know.

Every month the membership will grow, so I’ll constantly be sending out new member packets, which means your materials will constantly be reaching new prospective clients and/or customers for you.

Visit my new Writing for Children Center to learn more about the CWCC.

Thanks for your help. Have a great week!

Suzanne Lieurance
The Working Writer’s Coach

by JJ Murphy

What do you do when the muse abandons you? How do you cope with the blank page?

Writers, like all artists, get stuck from time to time. Here are a few techniques that will help you negotiate past the obstacles in your writing path:

1. What’s the problem? If you can identify the source of your anxiety, you will have a better chance of finding the right solution. You may be attempting to write in a new genre, shape your piece for a new audience, rewrite a piece because you have learned new information, or have ambivalent feelings about your subject matter.

2. Ask questions. If you are dealing with new material or a new editor, you may need to ask questions about the most important information for your readers. You may need to copy or transcribe interview notes, re-read the work of experts or find a mentor. If you know why you are writing the piece and can envision your reader’s expectations, you narrow the focus of what may have appeared to be a broad topic.

3. Seek out examples of successful writing. If you are attempting an essay, a short story or brochure content, read well-written essays, short stories, or brochures. What makes you keep reading? Try making an outline to see how the piece is organized. Plagiarism is never acceptable, but some writers transcribe or copy pieces to develop a more visceral sense of the rhythm, pace, tone or other elements that distinguish a compelling written work from an ordinary piece.

4. Invite your muse to join you. Sometimes you need to switch from computer screen to colored index cards or from keyboard to markers. Scramble your sentences, play a word game, write a nonsense piece, change from third person to first person - do whatever it takes for you to feel like writing is fun. For me, taking a long hike with my notebook and pen often gets me unstuck. A sentence or concept suddenly “snaps into place” when I move and breathe rhythmically.

5. Pace yourself. A brainstorming or free writing session is often an effective way to capture your passion. Get everything written, then let the piece rest. Return at a later date and read what you have written, noting the most compelling ideas or language. Some writers stop writing mid-sentence to give them a place to start after taking a break. Unless you are under an extreme deadline, let time pass between each draft. You need time to shape and organize your ideas.

6. Set mini-goals or deadlines. If you have a well-run critique group, test your draft before submitting it to an editor, client or instructor. Do your readers follow your arguments? Are you able to add or delete information to help shape your writing? Give yourself time to draft, edit, rewrite and revise from the time you accept the assignment until the time you have to submit the work.

7. Change is constant. If you write regularly, you will get stuck sometimes and you will flow effortlessly sometimes. Accepting that writing is a process, like breathing and eating. No two days will be the same. Sameness leads to boredom. If you are bored, your readers will be bored. You don’t need to cave in or give up when you get stuck, you just need an accessible Plan B, Plan C or other way to get past the obstacle.

8. Checks and balances. Are you reaching your goals? Have your goals changed? Keep a log of your typical day. Do your actions carry you toward your goals or are they distractions? Which writers typify success to you? How do they use their time? Are you willing to make changes in your day/week/month to reach your goals?

Writers are compelled to write. Noticing stale writing or mistakes gives you a chance to think outside the box. Sometimes the only real block is how you think. Instead of telling yourself that you’re worthless, give yourself a pat on the back for noticing what is not working and let yourself try again.

************************************

JJ Murphy is a freelance writer who helps a variety of companies, small businesses and individuals to express their awareness and dedication to developing sustainable technology and to preserve our natural resources. She provides articles for natural magazines, hiking publications, simple living publications in print and online. She also writes curricula to help public schools home schooling groups, private schools, wilderness camps, adult learning groups, continuing education programs and others stretch and expand their students’ knowledge.

She holds a Master of Arts degree from the William Allen White School of Journalism at the University of Kansas and a B.A. degree in English and Anthropology from the University of Connecticut. Her client list includes writers, business consultants, motivational speakers, psychologists, financial planners, educators, and politicians.

Visit her website for articles, wild food recipes and for more information, including JJ’s favorite places for gear and supplies.

Article Source: ezinearticles.com

Freelance writer Jo Linsdell is offering everyone a whole day to help promote their products and services.

The PROMO DAY! website is now online at Promo Day.

PROMO DAY! takes place on Saturday 3rd March 2007, from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. CET (NOTE: Jo Linsdell lives in Rome, Italy, so all times are Rome time)

This is a whole day to promote your latest releases and chat with readers and other members of the writing industry. There will be giveaways including free handouts for writers, competitions and more…

If anyone would like to donate a copy of their book, a handout for other writers etc… to be given as a free give-away or prize during PROMO DAY! please contact Jo Linsdell (you’ll find her contact info. at the Promo Day website).

BE PART OF THE ACTION, BE PART OF PROMO DAY!

This is a Kevin - otherwise known as a brownie with nuts

We’ve all played word association games where one person says a word and the other person says the first thing that pops into his head about that word.

For some reason, I have my own associations with words. Every time I hear a person’s name, a type of food pops into my head. The reason behind some of my associations is evident. But I can’t figure out how or why I associate some of the following foods and names.

When you hear people’s names do various foods pop into your mind?

Gee. No wonder I’m always overeating. I associate food with everything, even people’s names for gosh sakes!

Here’s my list of some of the names and foods I associate with them (in no particular order):

Adrian - cooked, mashed sweet potatoes with cinnamon, sugar, and butter

Judy - Nice juicy chewing gum

Helen - a soft, fresh dinner roll

Elizabeth - a loaf of crusty french bread

Richard - Ritz crackers

Henry or Janet - jellied cranberry sauce (not the kind with whole berries, it has to be just the plain jellied kind)

George or Howard - Juicy oranges, cut open, there is no peel associated with either George or Howard, just the juicy orange inside

Clinton - cottage cheese

Mary - Some kind of red fresh berries - not strawberries though, more like red raspberries

Leon - this one is weird, it’s not a food that I associate with the name. For some reason, the word “toenails” comes to mind when I hear the name Leon.

Meredith - fresh whole cranberries

Nicholas - Necco wafers

Valerie - a piece of fresh, raw liver (I like liver, though)

Tyler - beef jerky

Pam or Pamela - Baked beans

Linda or Leonard - The lemon in lemon meringue pie. But there’s no meringue associated with the word Linda or Leonard

Sarah - Rice Cereal (like the kind babies eat)

Kevin - Brownies with nuts (if there are no nuts in the brownies, then I don’t associate them with the name Kevin - strange, isn’t it?)

Michael - a fudgesicle

Tim - cooked turnips or parsnips mashed up and served with a little butter

Smith - something white, like Milk-of-Magnesia

Anne - Rice pudding

Oscar - a hotdog (this one is obvious)

Olivia - Olive oil (specifically, not the olive but the oil)

Oliver - an olive (not the oil this time - go figure)

Peter - a fresh ripe pear

Jill - a cheese slice like you buy individually wrapped and use for sandwiches - Jill is never just a hunk of cheese, always a neat slice

Tom - Again, an olive for some reason

Brett or Brent - chocolate covered toffee, like a Heath Bar

Kristin - Rice Krispy Treats (this one is obvious)

Samantha or Patrick - A nice neat slice of cooked ham like you buy for sandwiches. Samantha or Patrick are never just chunks of ham, always neat slices

Carol - Rich, creamy macaroni and cheese

Kate - A nice soft and chewy macaroon

Yvonne - bubbly champagne

Bernadette - Rich, sweet barbeque sauce

Sondra - a Pecan sandy cookie from Keebler

Maybe all this means I’m really meant to be a food writer. Ya think?

Suzanne Lieurance
The Working Writer’s Coach

If you live in the Kansas City area
JOIN US FOR A ONE-DAY WRITERS’ CONFERENCE
Learn what it takes to be a freelance writer,
meet and greet editors

For more information click here.

Need help getting organized as a writer? Then you won’t want to miss this live chat tonight (sponsored by freelance writer Jo Linsdell) when guest speaker Christry Barritt will discuss being an organized writer.

The chat starts at 6pm CET (Rome, Italy time) - tonight, Saturday, February 17th.

There is a free handout for all who attend.

Don’t miss out, join the chat!

Just go HERE then click on the chatroom page.

Enter your name in the little white box and if asked enter without password.

Oops! I think I’ve confused people with the time for this chat. If you’re in the USA the chat took place this afternoon. Sorry gang…maybe Jo has a transcript of the chat. I’ll find out.

BRRRR!!! The weather here in the Midwest has been so cold lately, it is actually painful to step outside - so I avoid doing so whenever I can.

But the good news is, things should start to warm up around here soon.

Yipee!!! I can hardly wait.

However, every winter I try to make good use of the cold weather by getting some extra reading done. I make a cup of hot tea, then settle into the big comfy chair in my bedroom, wrap up in a soft, velvety lap robe that my son gave me for Christmas a few years ago and then just read, read, read till my heart’s content.

Yesterday the UPS guy brought my author copies of 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, so I made my cup of tea, wrapped up all “snug as a bug in a rug” in my cozy chair and started reading.

I’m merely one of 101 authors in this book, so it’s filled with great tips from other authors besides me.

In fact, by the time I finish this book I’ll have so many great tips I’ll be so happy I probably won’t be able to stand it!

Okay. I’m just kidding about that.

But it really is a good book, if I do say so myself.

Click on the cover below and you can receive even more great stuff when you order it:

Happy reading! Stay warm.

Suzanne Lieurance
The Working Writer’s Coach

Have you subscribed to Writers on Call - weekly teleclasses for freelance writers?

If not, sign up here.

Class 3 of the 8-week course called How to Write a Book, by Yvonne Perry will cover the basic components for writing a non-fiction book. Yvonne will cover:

. the use of operators to narrow an internet search
. documenting sources with MLA style
. using footnotes
. citing quotes
. formatting the bibliography

Yvonne and subscribers will also talk about average book length and how long each chapter should be.

Bring your questions and comments to this informative teleclass for freelance writers.