Thanks to technology, creating (and marketing) a world is right at a writer's fingertips. (Carlyn Greenwald/Neon Tommy)

I’d say just about everyone is thankful in some way or another for the mass of technology we have in our daily lives, whether that be websites or iPhone apps or fancy kitchen appliances. One group of people who have a particular list of apps and websites to be thankful for are writers, and the plethora of resources goes far beyond Google.

So, let’s say, for instance, you’re a writer working on your NaNoWriMo, or maybe you’re just working on a project for fun. We all know how to write without technology, but what might your writing experience look like when you begin working to integrate all these new apps and creative platforms?

Tumblr 

You’ve got your plot idea, but you’re still not so sure about how to develop a certain character, or you just need somewhere basic to get some critiques. Look no further than Tumblr. Yes, I said Tumblr.

If you can look beyond its hipster/activist/hyper-emotional reputation, Tumblr actually offers a vibrant writers’ community. There are blogs dedicated to characterization, agent and editor wish lists for querying purposes and other reference blogs. Each blog will usually post multiple times a day with prompts or answering anonymous questions about the craft of writing. Many writers also use their blogs to post excerpts or short pieces onto the site for critique.

Absolute Write

But now that you’ve checked out Tumblr and started following some blogs, there’s still no one around who can really answer your question about how viable your storyline is. If you want someone who can just give you the cold, hard truth, check out absolutewrite.com.

This site is basically the mecca for writers. Whenever questions arise—whether it's about plotting, characterization, what’s new in publishing, or having query letters critiqued—this is the site.

Formatted as discussion boards, the site allows any member (membership is free) to create their own thread for anything from working out character dilemmas to getting insight about whether or not a story idea is viable in any market or original. There are also threads made from games such as “how well do you know your character” where someone posts a question and the next poster answers that question about their character and writes a new question. Be warned though, although there are some members who are just out to have fun, this is also a site where some serious writers congregate, and they will be blunt if they feel they need to.

Pinterest

All (or at least most) of your questions have been answered, and you start writing. But, you’re a human living in the multimedia age, and you do love yourself a good reference photo or two. Plus, you’re having a hard time keeping track of what characters are supposed to look like, and you’ve procrastinated so long on your last chapter that you collected actor photos for visual references. But, how to keep that organized? Here comes Pinterest, which can be useful for much more than just searching for recipes and dorm ideas.

Pinterest can be used to make boards for writers, where they pin pictures of actors who look like their characters, possible settings or anything else potentially book-related. It helps keep a frazzled writer organized, and is a procrastinator's best friend for keeping track of what everything looks like.

You can even make your board private, so no one has to know that you think your main character kind of sort of looks like Miley Cyrus. (Tip: if you’re stuck looking for character-actor counterparts, figure out how old your character is, figure out what year actors who are that age were born, and type in “actors born in [that year] IMDB” for a great list of the right aged faces).

Spotify

You’re writing strong, amassing a lovely Pinterest board, but if you’re not just a visual person, give audio a try. Go no further than Spotify. Spotify is for a writer’s ears where Pinterest is for the eyes. Just as movies have soundtracks, writers often have playlists to help them write. It often can help inspire certain scenes, or give the atmosphere when writing (because, honestly, it feels better to write a death scene without pop music on). iTunes works just as well for this, but Spotify definitely wins in that it doesn’t cost money, and offers a bigger selection than one’s iTunes library. 

Twitter

So you’ve written that book, all thanks to your hard work and a little push from your new apps. Now you’re interested in bringing the book out to the world. Look no further than Twitter. Membership is free, and in minutes you can become a part of a vibrant writers’ community.

Twitter is full of hashtags to help the aspiring author, everything from Twitter contests to literary agents online and throwing their minute-by-minute wish lists onto #MSLW (Tip: type in #MSLW and your genre into the search, and cry of joy) to amazing Twitter contests where you can have your book requested by agents as rounds pass. Dozens of contests are held throughout the year, including specific Twitter contests where you enter a Twitter-sized pitch of your novel every hour or so along with a hashtag such as #pitmad, #adpit, or #pitchmas and dozens of agents and editors will search the feed for books they’d like to request. Everyone is welcome to participate in the pitch parties, and you can win big. (Next pitch contest is December 4th 8am-8pm EST with the hashtag #pitmad).

Even if you don’t win big in the first few contests you enter, it’s a great way to meet some new writer friends and craft your pitch skills. Or, if you’re just struggling through writing that book, there’s always the #NaNoWriMo2014 hashtag pumping out new posts, so if you need someone to suffer with and encourage you, Twitter’s the place. 

So, if you’re in a writing slump, need something more to really feel the magic, or just want a bunch of things to mess around with while procrastinating writing, try out the Internet—it may just help you out.

Other sites:

For Getting Started: http://www.writersdigest.com/prompts; http://awesomewritingprompts.tumblr.com

For Posting Your Work: fictionpress.com; fanfiction.net; figment.com; wattpad.com

For Beta Readers: http://betafinder.tumblr.com (found the best editor I ever had on this site—HIGHLY recommended)

Contact Staff Reporter Carlyn Greenwald here and follow her on Twitter here.