Good Tool for Writers

Over the past few months, I've begun connecting to some of those Web 2.0-style social networking sites for writers. If you don't count the NaNoWriMo, which I joined last November, the first I joined is Writers Cafe, (Feel free to visit: I'm the ElephantGuy). The site had a bit of a disaster when some adminstrator accidentally wiped out just about everyone's writing, which upset a lot of the members. Fortunately for me, I hadn't been too active there and only lost one item.

Today, after poking around in the latest issue of Writers' Digest, I learned about a site called Agent Query. My first impression is this is the type of site I'd been hoping to find for a while now. While my hope is to connect with agents, I get the impression that the caliber of writers in this community is stronger than what I've seen at Writers Cafe (though it's possible I haven't dug deep enough there.)

Already, I've found one agency that sounds fitting for what I'm looking to accomplish. If anyone out there has any experience (good or bad) with either of those sites or if you want to recommend something else, I'm open to them. I'm ready.

Most Literate Cities

I hope I have readers who are Twins fans. Minneapolis and St. Paul, the Twin Cities, are one and three, respectively, on the latest "Most Literate Cities" survey.

But reading is declining overall, and that's a concern I share with the surveyers. "We're getting higher and higher educational attainment levels, and at the same time we're getting fewer and fewer behaviors (that reflect) what we think educated people ought to do," said researcher Jack Miller, who's been conducting this survey for the past five years.

I still maintain that people read a lot. The studies showing how many people skim through Web sites while at work should indicate that. But people are not reading for pleasure, and they may not be retaining well what they read. Another caveat of this story: It seems to point to a decrease in newspaper reading as a sign that reading is declining; it may simply show that people are getting their news from different sources -- the Web in particular.