My Errant Mind

Featured Writer’s Site:
Very Short Novels — David B. Dale has been writing novels of 299 words each for years. Your eyes aren’t playing tricks. 299 words each. A remarkable study on the power of being concise, you simply must see it for yourself.

Featured Sites:
Dark Markets — The Online Market Guide for Horror Writers.
Soapstone — A Writing Retreat for Women.

Welcome to the latest installment of Three Great Sites For Writers.

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Very Short Novels

299 words each. Anything more is waste.

http://davidbdale.wordpress.com/

Author David B. Dale (pen name for David Hodges) owns the word concise. Dictionaries should just list his name next to the word. It would be in the spirit of what he does, which is simply amazing.

David turns out novels of 299 words in length. No, your eyes aren’t misleading you. I said 299 words.

On his site, he describes them thus:

“Character, conflict, emotional impact. And sentences! Everything you want in a novel, without one extra syllable.”

(Source: Very Short Novels)

And he isn’t kidding.

Some writers struggle when it comes to self-editing. I’m one of them. I don’t know whether David does or not, but I suspect he must be channeling every spirit of every dead editor since the dawn of time when he does it.

There’s something nice about short novels. There’s something incredible, however, about novels you can read on your coffee break at work—before your coffee even begins to get cold! His work covers a wide range and after reading several I’ve not been disappointed once.

My personal favorites were Kingdom Come and Daddy Loves Darfur. David also has a Readers’ Choice page where you can voice your own personal favorite.

You can subscribe to the Very Short Novels RSS feed and have novels sent to you that you can read in less time than it would take to read a typical news article. This site is a testament to inspiration, hard work, and also serves as a good example of niche marketing.

It’s well put together, looks sharp, and the writing is great. Oh, and he’s got a bunch of really cool sites listed in his blogroll. Go check his site out and start reading.

Now!

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Dark Markets

The Online Market Guide for Horror Writers

http://www.darkmarkets.com/

This is a niche writing site that does its job well. Dark Markets presents a collection of markets for horror writers and other great resources. It even looks and feels like it’s made for horror writers.

Market categories are broken down into magazines, online zines, book publishers, anthologies and contests. Listings contain appropriate snail mail information when available as well as links to the sites and a contact email address. That’s something many market sites don’t have, and is a welcome feature.

The site also has a handy search feature up near the top of the page as well. It sits right below the Links category at the top, which you should click on. The Links page has a bunch of great resources of its own.

Among them:

• Additional market list sites
• Online booksellers specializing in horror
• Writer’s organizations
• Helpful sites
• A webhost for horror lovers!

Perhaps the best feature on the site is its submission form that allows market listings and contest postings to be submitted right from the site. You can also update listings via the same form.

Not only is that cool as Hell (pardon the pun), but it sets this site apart from the crowd.

There are also forums on the site, however the link wasn’t working when I tried it. A bit more color differentiation on links might make navigation a bit easier, but with a sinister skull motif to keep you company, that’s a minor complaint.

A great site that’s definitely worth a look, Dark Markets should help satisfy the darker yearnings of any writer.

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Soapstone

A Writing Retreat for Women

http://www.soapstone.org/

This pick is all about the writing life. And in particular, for you ladies who write.

Soapstone is a writing retreat, and it’s just for women. Sorry guys. Still, it merits appearing here because it’s not only a great website and a great concept, but it’s a good resource for those ladies who want to immerse themselves in their writing.

Soapstone is located in Oregon, near the coast. It’s set up on 22 wooded acres, and has two writing studios. One is named Wind, and the other is named Water. Writers share a common kitchen, but the studios allow for individual privacy.

The description of the land the retreat sits on makes you want to pack your bags and head that way. You’ll have to put in an application first. It’s highly selective, and applications are accepted each summer for residency during the next year. Applications must be postmarked no earlier than July 1st and no later than August 1st.

It’s not a retreat for just every lady who writes however. According to the site, you need to be able to coexist with the other writer is residence, and you also need to be prepared to fetch wood and build fires in a woodstove.

Residencies are from 1-4 weeks. You must be 25 years of age, have your own transportation, and put down a refundable cleaning deposit of $175. The only other cost is $3 per day for unlimited long distance and local calls and high-speed Internet access.

You’ll need to bring your own computer, linens and food. Check out the site and see if it’s for you. It’s definitely not for everyone, but it’s a great opportunity for writers to get away and enjoy seclusion in a tranquil setting.

There’s even a creek with salmon in it running through the property. Can’t beat that.

Oh, and Soapstone is a registered non-profit. Ursala K. LeGuin is listed as the founding President. Yeah, that’s what I thought you would think.

Start working on that killer application now! That’s why I pointed it out months in advance, so you would have time to do so.

Aren’t I considerate?

See all installments: http://errantmind.wordpress.com/tag/three-great-sites/

I’m always looking for more Great Sites to review. Just so you know, it does matter whether or not the site looks good and functions well. If you know of a site that you think should be featured, contact me and let me know. My email address can be found on the About page.

[Note: From now on, one site featured will always be a writer's site---be it a personal website, blog, or even a hobby site of the author's about something primarily other than writing.

Whatever the case may be, it gets featured. Starting now.]