A “URL” is a Uniform Resource Locator—Web speak for the address of a Web site. WRWA members are encouraged to submit the URLs for sites that you believe would be of broad interest and value to members. Please submit only those sites relating to writing. Send the URL and a brief description (use the items below for examples).

Information about writing programs available to the public from UW – Madison.

[Thanks to Pat Fitzgeralg for the tip.]

Wisconsin Screenwriters Forum. Aspiring screenwriters may join for $35.00 a year.

The membership dues includes a free critique and the opportunity to enter the Wisconsin Screenwriters screenplay contest.

[Thanks to Pat Fitzgerald for the tip.]

ScriptForSale is an online community for screenwriters. It offers several free classes, screen play tips and online forums. One may also sign up for online classes offered for a fee.

[Thanks to Pat Fitzgerald for the tip.]

Free downloads of many screenplays. One may read screenplays online or print them out to study the works of successful movie scripts.

[Thanks to Pat Fitzgerald for the tip.]

Allows the user to look up a word. The display will show a tree of words related to the primary search term and allow you to click on any one to find more related words. It is not free, however. Individual subscriptions cost $39.95 for a dowload or CD ROM version you can install on your desktop or $19.95 for one year of online access (with discounts for multiyear subscriptions). Subscribers also have access to the site’s magazine about writing, language, and the creative process. Go to the site for a free limited trial to see how it works.

[Thanks to Shirley Gutkowski for the tip.]

WordWeb is a free cut-down version of the WordWeb Pro software. It includes a comprehensive English thesaurus and dictionary, and can be used to look up words from within most programs. Features of the free version include:

Definitions and synonyms, related words, pronunciation, 140,000 root words, 115,000 synonym sets.

[Tip from Boyd Sutton.]

PublishLawyer.com™ is a web site that provides information about publishing law, contracts, copyright, trademark, and many other common legal issues affecting writers, publishers, editors, and the Internet community. You'll find pertinent articles, free forms, and a bookstore with titles of publishing-specific books. Click on the legal services link to obtain flat-fee consultations from publishing attorney Daniel N. Steven. Check out the frequently asked questions (FAQ) about publishing law. Sections include forms, articles, legal services, and more.

[Tip from Boyd Sutton.]

These are the home pages for the part of the Wisconsin Department of Revenue for people seeking to start a sole proprietorship or a Limited Liability Corporation. In the winter edition, John Campbell’s article, “Tax Tips for Writers,” suggested the advantages of setting up such business entities. If you plan to do it for tax year 2007, here are the starting points.

[Tip from Boyd Sutton.]

Use CallWave.com’s Call Alert and don’t miss important phone calls while you are online on a dial-up Internet connection. It’s a free download from callwave.com or from the above URL. When you're online, it uses Caller ID to show who's calling. It lets you decide whether to log off the Internet and take the call. Or, you can ignore it and have the caller simply leave a message -- you're in control! And you can save money using CallWave Call Alert because you don't have to install a second phone line. CallWave Call Alert can also dramatically change the way you use your phone. For instance, you can have it record a voicemail messages and then alert you with e-mail. Imagine being at work but you want to know when messages are left for you at home. You can also listen to your voicemail messages right over the Web.

[Tip from Patty Miler]

Using key words or author, search for specific quotations. Used recently by Jack Magestro and Pat Fitzgerald to find the author of a quotation that Nancy Schneider had, but didn’t know how to attribute, another great advantage of belonging to the WRWA’s Online Discussion Group.

[Tip from Jack and Pat]

This site translates blocks of text from one language to another. But it does so literally, not transforming correct syntax. Even so, it is potentially useful to writers who have characters who speak languages other than English. Jenny Turner, for example, points out, “A trick I enjoy is having the speaker able to use "broken English" which allows them to sprinkle their speech with words in their own language, plus allows the reader to understand what is being said without having to translate.”

[Tip from Larry Van Veghel]