Online Writing (and art inspiration) resources

I'm always looking for good writing resources, both online and in print. One of my favorites websites is Bartleby Reference. When you do a word or phrase search, you can search all of Bartleby, or narrow it down to dictionary, thesaurus, literature citations, verse, prose, symbols, synonyms, etc.

I also like the RhymeZone for poetry, poetic-prose writing stimulation and inspiration -- or, for that matter, you can also use the Rhyme Zone as a thesaurus. The Rhyme Zone also has a feature for searching for particular words in the works of Shakespeare (in case you're into that ...)

Today I stumbled upon the HyperDictionary, which seems pretty comprehensive - there is even a "Dream Dictionary" search to find associations for many words. Although I'm not one to "interpret" my dreams in the strict sense, I do like to consider my dreams, use them in therapy, use them in my creative life as inspiration or as jump-off points for my artwork or poetry. And the fact that this reference gives you a comprehensive list of the word's definition, along with the "dream dictionary" meanings, synonyms, related words, antonyms ... makes it an excellent resource for using your dreams as fodder for your writing, art, whatever ... Reading through the official definition of a word might spark a unique line of thought or inquiry when considering your dreams.




The diagram above is from one last reference site I have to mention, although you can only "try it" for a few times before they ask you to buy a subscription. Even so, the Visual Thesaurus is so fascinating it's worth checking out. It is an interactive visual (duh...) constellation of words and connections between words - a creativity and thought-stimulating interactive tool for exploring the relationship between thousands of words. It takes a bit to get used to it, and in some ways I think of it less like a direct tool for writing and more of a tool for getting my creative juices going. If you find it useful, and want to take more time to explore the Visual Thesaurus, a subscription (or buy it outright for your desktop) may be worth it.