Write On!

Or how to avoid headlines like that one

    The bar and the library.

    The bar is self-explanatory. A nice glass of Scotch is always great inspiration.

    The library, however, is probably more practically useful. As well as being full of works by favorite authors, a writer's library is also usually packed with reference books - from style guides and grammar texts to encyclopedias and dictionaries.

    But, despite anything a door-to-door encyclopedia salesman will tell you, agood reference library is an expensive tool.

    Thankfully, the Internet offers a cheaper and handier solution.

    There are a host of resources on the Net available to the connected wordsmith - resources that could help free up some shelf space in the home library.

    Although many of these writing aids are often incorporated into high-end word processors like Microsoft Word or Corel's WordPerfect 8, Internet resources usually have greater depth. If your thesaurus, for example, can't come up with another good word to replace "said" -  a word writers tend to use more than their scotch glass - you can bet Roget's Internet Thesaurus (http://www.thesaurus.com) will have it. The University of Chicago also has a pretty expansive thesaurus at (http://humanities.uchicago.edu/forms_
unrest/ROGET.html)

    Spelling counts, and although spell checkers can take care of the proper letters words should contain, a good dictionary is the only way to ensure that those letters convey the correct meaning. Merriam Webster operates an on-line dictionary at (http://www.m-w.com/dictionary.htm). A thesaurus is also available there.

    Grammar checkers are also often included in today's word processors, although they only provide a quick and superficial check of the most obvious mistakes. For those sticky grammatical questions, there are a host of on-line resources. Some of the best sites, like the Grammar Queen at (http://www.grammarqueen.com), offer not only advice in the form of style guides, but invite users to contact the site operator for answers on specific questions.

    And John Barlett, the friend of every writer suddenly stuck without something original to say, also has a site complete with search engine for his famous Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (1901 version) at (http://www.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby/bartlett).

    But the one site I would recommend to writers to cover all of their needs is the On-Line Resources for Writers (http://webster.commnet.edu/writing/writing.htm) operated by the English Faculty of Capital Community-Technical College in Hartford Conn. There are many links to resources both at the school and along the info-baun including guides to grammar, dictionaries, thesauri, encyclopedias,  hints on proof-reading and other similar aids.

    While these on-line aids may not guarantee you'll produce a best-seller, you'll probably have an easier time getting back to the Scotch.