Conundrum

The girls at the Renegade Writer blog have posted a great interview with Michelle Goodman who's book The Anti 9-to-5 Guide: Practical Career Advice for Women Who Think Outside the Cube surfaced last year. (Here's Michelle's blog.) In the interview, Goodman addresses the question of how to make the jump from small, low-paying assignments to more rewarding work. I've been mulling this one myself recently. I've now written nearly 20 articles for the Post-Tribune, and I like the work well enough, but it's not what I want to be doing. I take the assignments because, hey, at least they're assignments! But they take up time I could be using to pursue more challenging work. Do I keep working for peanuts or suck up the money shortage for a couple weeks to push out some queries? What do you think?

Napkins

A quick link today, for I have stories to write before I blog, stories to write before I blog.

Everyone go write a story on a napkin. Right now.

Toys

I'm back after a jaunt to St. Louis and a bout of illness. I take my writing with me when I go to St. Louis, but I almost never get any work done. I can't concentrate! Plus, my DH was in Manchester, England having a great time at a conference, and I was livid with jealousy. (No, not really. Well, just a little. Maybe.)

Today's post: writing toys. How I love toys! While I am skeptical that using toys can help you write anything truly inspired (that's what your own damn brain is for!) I like messing around with electronic generators. Good for practice.

So, first up is RhymeZone, not actually a toy but a respectable and proper rhyming dictionary which is impressively thorough. The challenge, write a poem using a truly odd collection of rhyming words. Mine: through, peacock blue, taboo, pas de deux, hullabaloo, epoxy glue, blink 182. That poem practically writes itself!

Next, for the truly lazy, the Story Base Online plot tool. Pick a few architypical characters, choose an emotion or conflict, and presto -- a bunch of potential plots.

Finally, an enormous list of writers tools at DMOZ. Some useful stuff, mostly not, but it's fun to sort the wheat from the chaff.