5 Cool Places to Find Writing Inspiration Online

Rainbow Ocean by *Thelma1 at Deviant Art

This last week I finally finished the second draft of my book and am now taking a much needed break away from that story.  After a few weeks I’ll have the perspective I need to be able to edit and revise.  During my break I plan on writing one or two short stories to submit to various literary magazines.  I have a few ideas stashed away that I plan on finishing, but I’m always in the market for more.

Today’s post is a list of  fun resources and web based generators that you can use to mess around with your writing. Whether you’re working on a new idea for a story or on a scene that needs an extra boost, you are sure to find something here that will get your gears running.

1. Scenario and problem generators over at Archetype: The Fiction Writer’s Guide to Psychology.  These handy little generators create random scenarios and problems and even types of people.  Not sure what your character’s motivation is? Explore hundreds of possibilities here.  Beyond the generators, this website has all sorts of fascinating information geared for writers.

2. Random word generator at CreativityGames.net.  One of the easiest writing exercises is to use random words in a story, this handy website will give you as many random words as you need.

3. The Random Art Prompt generator is meant for visual artists but can be used to generate ideas and mental images that can be used in stories.  Many writers may find this more unique and compelling than the other generators because all of the words trigger concrete images.

4. Story Spinner – This handy device will give you the setting, the first few words, and four words that you must include in your story.  After that it’s up to you to figure out how to put it all together.   Used in connection with the scenario and problem generator at Archetype and you have a complete story.

5. Write or Die – When you come down to it, nothing beats free writing for helping the creative juices flow.  This webpage forces writers to keep typing as stopping will cause alarms and other obnoxious things to happen.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be having a bunch of fun playing with these different tools.  I hope you will have fun as well.

Do you use any web tools to help with your writing?  Feel free to share in the comments!

Happy Writing!

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