"As a writer, words are your paint. Use all the colors." -Rhys Alexander

The Internet is a valuable tool for learning about the writing process and for studying market information. As with everything on the web, though, some sites are more legitimate than others. Here's a list of the ones I found to be both helpful and trustworthy. While some do have products to sell, they all include a great deal of free information, just for the clicking.

In addition to learning more about the craft of writing, be sure to visit the websites of the book or magazine publishers you are interested in. They will have specific guidelines about the types of stories they accept, word counts, current themes and exact submission instructions.

General Writing Help

• Writing World
• Absolute Write
• Writers Digest
• Publishers Weekly
• Thesaurus/Reference
• Preditors and Editors

Children's Writing

• Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators
• Yellapalooza: Writers/illustrators for Children
• Institute of Children's Literature
• Children's Book Institute Clubhouse
• The Purple Crayon
• Write4Kids
• Kid Magazine Writers
• Verla Kay: Children's Writer
• Jan Fields: Children's Writer
• Margot Finke: Children's Writer

Writer's Guides

The bookstores and Internet are loaded with books about writing. Here are some that I've found especially useful or inspiring. The links go to Amazon.com, but you'll find them at the library as well.

• Writer's Market by Robert Brewer
• The Chicago Manual of Style
• Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
• Escaping Into the Open: The Art of Writing True by Elizabeth Berg
• Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market by Alice Pope
• Picture Writing by Anastasia Suen
• The Complete Idiot's Guide to Publishing Children's Books by Harold Underdown