In my effort to be more “online social” in the course of the next year, I came across a couple of interesting websites. One site provides a service that any writer holds invaluable: someone to actually read and critique your stories. The other site provides an interesting little online application for all of you visual thinkers out there.
Critters.org – The Critters Workshop describes itself as “an on-line workshop/critique group for serious Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror writers.” You’ve got to actually do some work to be involved in this group, but I believe it’s worth it. Each member must complete at least one review per week in order to keep the community viable. I haven’t had one of my stories reviewed yet, but I have been able to review one and to begin some interesting conversations with other authors online. If you’re like me, you probably have trouble finding friends and family willing to take a look at the latest stories after reading so many in the past. Give them a break, take it online.
Bubbl.us – Bubbl.us makes my inner organizational nerd squeal with delight. They describe their service as “a simple and free web application that lets you brainstorm online.” It’s a quick and easy way to create a diagram to get all of those ideas out on a screen. You can let your ideas branch off in any direction, and you can even color code the levels to make it more quickly accessible. I mapped out a plotline using Bubbl.us, and I’m hooked. Imagine how many scraps of paper I’m going to save.
