"There are patterns in storytelling and they are ancient. As much as we, the literary artists of the world, might wish to believe that we have some new angle, a new method or insight, the truth is otherwise. We are telling the same story, all of us." Jamie Grove

"Your job as an author is to find the story within the story. The healing transformation of good writing depends on making it your own from within. In other words, what you write is not separate from your deepest self. These are the stories needed today. First you must discover meaning for yourself in the story. Then discover the necessary form that can make it meaningful to others." -- Catherine Ann Jones. Catherine is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter whose films include UNLIKELY ANGEL (Dolly Parton) and THE CHRISTMAS WIFE (Jason Robards) and whose television work includes Touched by An Angel.

Links, Resources & Websites for Writers

View the Video: Elizabeth Gilbert on the Creative Divine Spark, author of the wonderful memoir "Eat, Pray, Love," about anguish and creativity. "We have accepted this notion that creativity and suffering are inextricably intertwined," she says. Elizabeth's best-selling book "Eat, Pray, Love" will be released as major feature film starring Julia Roberts in August 2010.  In this talk, Elizabeth shares the idea that all of us have a genius inside of us, instead of the rare person "being" a genius. A funny, personal and moving talk.

Writers Resources

Writer's Digest

Writers Online Workshops

Brainy Quote

brainyquote.com

Need a famous quote for your article? Stop by Brainy Quote and search by topic, author or type to find the words of wisdom (or humor) you desire.

Dictionary.com Translater

dictionary.reference.com/translate

Do you have an English phrase that you need translated to Spanish? This site will help bring your characters to life—even if they speak a different language than you do.

Freelance Writing Organization-International

fwointl.com

With more than 11,000 registered members (membership is free), Freelance Writing Organization-International offers thousands of online resources and job offerings. It also gives members a free blog listing (as long as the blog deals with writing).

Worldwide Freelance Writer

worldwidefreelance.com/writing.htm

Sign up for this site’s e-newsletter and receive access to a list of more than 500 magazine market listings. There’s also a European market listing available through a subscription.

Critique Groups for Writers

critiquegroups.com

Members of this site can form private groups to workshop their writing. There’s also a section dedicated to publishing news, agents and signings.

Edit Red

editred.com

Head over to Edit Red for peer critiques, publishing tips and opportunities to promote your writing and connect with publishers. The site offers a free personal webpage, and promotion and marketing tools.

Fanstory

fanstory.com

Founded in 2000, this site presents free contests and peer-to-peer reviews. One fairly unique feature offered by the site is the ability to create your own contest and challenge other writers.

My Writers Circle

mywriterscircle.com

This forum boasts nearly 6,000 members and an active critique section. There’s also a job board, a resource center and a section of writing games.

The Internet Writing Workshop

internetwritingworkshop.org

If you’re not into message boards, The Internet Writing Workshop offers discussions and critiques delivered right to your e-mail inbox. There’s no fee for this service, but there’s a minimum participation time of 30 minutes a week.

Armchair Interviews

armchairinterviews.com

Take off your glasses, kick up your feet, relax and listen to interviews with some debut and bestselling authors. Armchair Interviews also offers an excellent list of resources.

Writers FM

writersfm.com

Created by writers for writers, this online radio station broadcasts author interviews, writing prompts, music to inspire and mini-mysteries. Most of the material is available for podcast download.

Travel Memoir Books

1. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson 
2. A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle
3. Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes 
4. Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across… by Elizabeth Gilbert 
5. The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial… by J. Maarten Troost
6. Down Under by Bill Bryson 
7. Without Reservations by Alice Steinbach 
8. Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson 
9. Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck 
10. I'm A Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America… by Bill Bryson 
11. Getting Stoned with Savages: A Trip Through the Islands of… by J. Maarten Troost 
12. Almost French: Love and a New Life in Paris by Sarah Turnbull 
13. Bella Tuscany by Frances Mayes 
14. Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Capetown by Paul Theroux 
15. Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure by Sarah Macdonald 
16. Bill Bryson's African Diary by Bill Bryson 
17. A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle 
18. Arabesques: a tale of double lives by Robert Dessaix
19. Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe by Bill Bryson 
20. A fortune-teller told me by Tiziano Terzani 
21. Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik 
22. Long Way Round: Chasing Shadows Across the World by Ewan McGregor 
23. The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux
24. Eastward to Tartary: Travels in the Balkans, the Middle… by Robert D. Kaplan 
25. Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucia by Chris Stewart 
26. The Travels of Marco Polo by Marco Polo 
27. Blue Highways: A Journey into America by William Least Heat-Moon 
28. Old Glory : A Voyage Down the Mississippi by Jonathan Raban 
29. River Horse by William Least Heat-Moon 
30. The Kingdom by the Sea: A Journey Around the Coast of Great… by Paul Theroux 
31. A Cook's Tour: Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisines by Anthony Bourdain
32. In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin 
33. Extra Virgin: A Young Woman Discovers the Italian Riviera by Annie Hawes 
34. Passage to Juneau by Jonathan Raban
35. A Walk Across America by Peter Jenkins 
36. My Love Affair with England: A Traveler's Memoir by Susan Allen Toth
37. The Ends of the Earth: From Togo to Turkmenistan, from Iran… by Robert D. Kaplan 
38. Educating Alice: Adventures of a Curious Woman by Alice Steinbach 
39. England as You Like It by Susan Allen Toth 
40. The Road to Oxiana by Robert Byron
41. Sorcerer's Apprentice by Tahir Shah 
42. Survivors in Mexico by Rebecca West 
43. The Bird Man and the Lap Dancer: Close Encounters with… by Eric Hansen 
44. Pillars of Hercules by Paul Theroux
45. The Royal Road to Romance: Travelers' Tales Classics by Richard Halliburton 
46. Stranger in the Forest: On Foot Across Borneo by Eric Hansen 
47. Malaria Dreams: An African Adventure by Stuart Stevens
48. French Lessons in Africa: Travels with My Briefcase Through… by Peter Biddlecombe 
49. Riding the Iron Rooster by Paul Theroux 
50. Colossus of Maroussi by Henry Miller 
51. Slowly Down the Ganges (Picador Books) by Eric Newby 
52. In Tuscany by Frances Mayes
53. Japanland: A Year in Search of Wa by Karin Muller
54. The Sea and the Jungle by H. M. Tomlinson 
55. Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell 
56. Bad Land: An American Romance by Jonathan Raban
57. Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World by Rita Golden Gelman
58. Honeymoon with My Brother: A Memoir by Franz Wisner 
59. Nothing to Declare: Memoirs of a Woman Traveling Alone by Mary Morris 
60. The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America by Bill Bryson 
61. No Touch Monkey!: And Other Travel Lessons Learned Too Late… by Ayun Halliday 
62. Istanbul : memories of a city by Orhan Pamuk 
63. Transit of Venus by Julian Evans 
64. Monkey Dancing: A Father, Two Kids, and a Journey to the… by Daniel Glick 
65. Swahili for the Broken-hearted by Peter Moore 
66. Spanish Steps by Tim Moore
67. The Happy Isles of Oceania: Paddling the Pacific by Paul Theroux 
68. Route 66 A.D. by Tony Perrottet 
69. A Year in the World: Journeys of A Passionate Traveller by Frances Mayes 
70. The Possibility of Everything by Hope Edelman 
71. A Thousand Days in Venice (Ballantine Reader's Circle) by Marlena De Blasi 
72. Falling Off the Map: Some Lonely Places of The World by Pico Iyer 
73. An Area of Darkness by V.S. Naipaul 
74. Iron and Silk by Mark Salzman 
75. The Reluctant Tuscan by Phil Doran 
76. A Thousand Days in Tuscany: A Bittersweet Adventure by Marlena De Blasi 
77. Great Plains by Ian Frazier
78. Encore Provence by Peter Mayle 
79. Italian Neighbors by Tim Parks 
80. Roads : Driving America's Great Highways by Larry McMurtry 
81. For a Pagan Song: In the Footsteps of the Man Who Would Be… by Jonny Bealby 
82. Serpent in Paradise by Dea Birkett 
83. Africa Solo: A Journey Across the Sahara, Sahel, and Congo by Kevin Kertscher 
84. C'est La Vie: An American Woman Begins a New Life in Paris… by Suzy Gershman 
85. European Journey by Philip Gibbs 
86. Unconducted Wanderers,With 72 Illustrations - Travel… by Forbes 
87. Pictures from the Water Trade: Adventures of a Westerner in… by John David Morley 
88. Hovel in the Hills: An Account of the Simple Life by Elizabeth West 
89. Black on Black: Iran Revisited by Ana M. Briongos 
90. Floreana: A Woman's Pilgrimage to the Galapagos by Margret Wittmer 
91. Gelato with the Pope: and Other Adventures of a Travel… by Kim Herdman 
92. Travelers' Tales: Spain (.) by Lucy McCauley 
93. Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville 
94. The Silent Traveller in Oxford by Chiang Yee 
95. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig 
96. The Southern Gates of Arabia: A Journey in the Hadhramaut… by Freya Stark 
97. Constant Rider Omnibus: Stories from the Public… by Kate Lopresti 
98. Hokkaido Highway Blues by Will Ferguson 
99. Along the Edge of America by Peter Jenkins 
100. Inhaling the Mahatma by Christopher Kremmer 
101. Long Way Down by Ewan McGregor 
102. Een seizoen in het paradijs : dagverhaal, nachttaal :… by B.B. Lazarus 
103. De pracht van het dagelijks leven by Suzanne Visser 
104. South from Granada by Gerald Brenan 
105. Italy, A Love Story: Women Write About the Italian
106. A Book of Migrations by Rebecca Solnit 
107. Walk the Land : A Journey on Foot through Israel by Judith Galblum Pex 
108. Black Lamb and Grey Falcon by Rebecca West 
109. French Impressions : The Adventures of an American Family by John S. Littell 
110. The Motorcycle Diaries: Notes on a Latin American Journey by Ernesto "Che" Guevara 
111. The Innocent Traveller by Ethel Wilson 
112. Fellowship of Ghosts: A Journey Through the Mountains of… by Paul Watkins
113. The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest… by Eric Weiner
114. Lost in Transmission by Jonathan Harley 
115. The Expedition of Humphry Clinker by Tobias Smollett 
116. At Home in France by Ann Barry 
117. Forbidden Journey (Marlboro Travel) by Ella Maillart 
118. Passionate Pilgrims: English Travelers to the World of the… by James C. Simmons 
119. Fire Ox and Other Years: An Account of His Travels in
120. River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze (P.S.) by Peter Hessler 
121. The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hanff 
122. The World of Bemelmans by Ludwig Bemelmans 
123. A Visit to the United States in 1841 by Joseph Sturge 
124. The Snoring Bird: My Family's Journey Through a Century of… by Bernd Heinrich 
125. A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World by Tony Horwitz 
126. Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez 
127. The Arabs by David Lamb 
128. Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain 
129. Here's England; a highly informal guide by Ruth McKenney 
130. In Arabian Nights: A Caravan of Moroccan Dreams by Tahir Shah 
131. The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain 
132. The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen 
133. Pass the Butterworms: Remote Journeys Oddly Rendered by Tim Cahill
134. India: A Million Mutinies Now by V.S. Naipaul
135. I'll Never Be French (no matter what I do): Living in… by Mark Greenside
136. Lonesome Traveler by Jack Kerouac
137. Civil and Savage Encounters: The Worldly Travel Letters of… by Pavel Nikolaevich Golovin 
138. Long Ago In France: The Years In Dijon (Destinations) by M. F. K. Fisher
139. Escape: Stories of Getting Away by Lena Lencek 
140. Petticoat Vagabond in Ainu Land and Up and Down Eastern… by Neill James 
141. The Names of Things by Susan Brind Morrow
142. My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell 
143. Touch the Dragon: A Thai Journal by Karen Connelly
144. The Lost Men: The Harrowing Saga of Shackleton's Ross Sea… by Kelly Tyler-Lewis
145. Mantras & Misdemeanours: An Accidental Love Story by Vanessa Walker
146. Thailand : zacht als zijde, buigzaam als bamboe by Sjon Hauser
147. Connemara: Listening to the Wind (Connemara Trilogy 1) by Tim Robinson
148. American Nomads by Richard Grant
149. Narrow Dog to Carcassonne by Terry Darlington
150. The Road from the Past: Traveling through History in France by Ina Caro
151. Amazing Traveler Isabella Bird: The Biography of a… by Evelyn Kaye
152. A Journey to Vienna by Mrs Robert Henrey
153. Shopping for Buddhas by Jeff Greenwald
154. The Olive Farm: A Memoir of Life, Love, and Olive Oil in… by Carol Drinkwater
155. Love and War in the Apennines by Eric Newby
156. Surrender or Starve: Travels in Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia,… by Robert D. Kaplan
157. A Place in Normandy by Nicholas Kilmer
158. Die Seidenstraße. Mythos und Gegenwart. by Claus Richter
159. God's Middle Finger (US) / Bandit Roads (UK) by Richard Grant
160. The Reader's Companion to Alaska by Alan Ryan
161. Toujours Provence by Peter Mayle
162. Gullible's Travels: The Adventures of a Bad Taste Tourist by Cash Peters
163. Traversa: A Solo Walk Across Africa, from the Skeleton… by Fran Sandham
164. In Wonderland by Knut Hamsun
165. On Persephone's Island: A Sicilian Journal by Mary Taylor Simeti 
166. Mad Monks on the Road/a 47,000-Hour Dashboard… by Michael Lane 
167. The Road by Jack London 
168. Asian Aphrodisiacs: From Bangkok to Beijing--the Search for… by Jerry Hopkins
169. Ripe for the Picking by Annie Hawes
170. Quer durch Borneo : Ergebnisse seiner Reisen in den Jahren… by A.W. Nieuwenhuis
171. Swimming to Antarctica: Tales of a Long-Distance Swimmer by Lynne Cox
172. The Best American Travel Writing 2003 by Ian Frazier 
173. Looking for Lovedu: A Woman's Journey Through Africa by Ann Jones 
174. Ugandan Travelogue by Donna Kakonge
175. The Old Patagonian Express: By Train Through the Americas by Paul Theroux
176. The Atlas by William Vollmann 
177. Borderlines : A Journey in Thailand and Burma by Charles Nicholl
178. Crete on the Half Shell by Byron Ayanoglu 
179. In Southern Light: Trekking Through Zaire and the Amazon by Alex Shoumatoff 
180. Four Months in a Sneak Box: A Boat Voyage of 2600 Miles… by Nathaniel H. Bishop
181. Het Spaanse van Spanje by Cees Nooteboom
182. Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs, She Thinks I'm a Piano… by Paul Carter
183. In the Land of the Blue Poppies: The Collected… by Frank Kingdon Ward
184. Expat: Women's True Tales of Life Abroad (Adventura Books) by Christina Henry de Tessan 
185. Spanish Lessons: Beginning a New Life in Spain by Derek Lambert
186. In Search of Nomads: An English Obsession from Hester… by John Ure
187. Le Dossier: How to Survive the English! by Sarah Long 
188. Robert Young Pelton's The World's Most Dangerous Places:… by Robert Young Pelton 
189. The Best American Travel Writing 2000 
190. In Afrika by Adriaan van Dis
191. In India by Hans Plomp
192. Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of… by Fuchsia Dunlop
193. Carnet De Voyage (Travel Journal) by Craig Thompson
194. The Naked Tourist: In Search of Adventure and Beauty in the… by Lawrence Osborne
195. Round Ireland with a Fridge by Tony Hawks 
196. The Shadow of Kilimanjaro by Rick Ridgeway 
197. The Jungle and the Damned by Hassoldt Davis 
198. Not So Funny When It Happened: The Best of Travel Humor and… by Tim Cahill