Margie Dana

What are my go-to resources when I’m writing content for myself or for a client? These guys:

http://www.dictionary.reference.com – well, duh. I suppose you thought I consulted that big, 3-inch-thick book sitting not 4 feet away. No, I go online like everyone else does.

http://www.thesaurus.com – which I consult more than the Dictionary. Actually, on the above link, you just need to toggle over to the Thesaurus. I get bored with the same old terms I have been writing or reading. The Thesaurus gets consulted a lot.

Sometimes I’m jonesing for a particular adjective to create an alliteration (you know, a phrase or group of words with the same first consonant sound, like “Kissing cousins” or “Manic Monday”). Then I just Google like so: “adjectives that start with a __,” and type in the letter.

Images for my blogs most often come from www.dollarphotoclub.com. I pay a low monthly fee of $10 for 10 downloads. I’ve been quite happy with their selection.

I must give a shout-out to my productivity tool, Pomodoro: an app on my iPhone in the shape of a little red tomato. It’s a timer I use to help me focus on writing (25 minutes on, 5 minutes off, repeat!). When I use it, I quit Outlook and refrain from surfing the ‘net. Silly but effective.

The only other writing aids are the two obvious ones: reading and writing. I’m always reading a novel, and I write all the time. Hopefully, I get better with age.

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