Learn a Little Something: Resources for Writers

As I’ve mentioned before, I love learning. I am always reading, researching or looking for ways to expand what I know or have experienced.

Here are some sites (in no particular order) I love to lose myself in and learn something new (yes, I know the first two are on my list of writer resources–that’s how much I like these sites):

www.BrainPickings.org
The site features articles on famous writers, artists and philosophers. I highly recommend following Maria Popova on Twitter @brainpicker and subscribing to the weekly newsletter for easy access to the latest articles.

www.OpenCulture.com
This site has so much to find if you spend time exploring it. I also like to follow their Twitter feed for quick links. @openculture

www.TodayIFoundOut.com
This site is full of random articles about fun, obscure things. It is a fun place to kill some time wandering. Plus you are guaranteed to learn something.

www.AllTop.com
Alltop lets you create your own news feed on any number of subjects. It is a self-curated site that gives access to top blogs in every industry and subject–all topics. Create your own page to hit your favorites all in one place or choose the random feeds to learn something new and different. Registration is free.

www.StumbleUpon.com
This site allows you to set your preferences and then stumbles through postings at random. You can skip if something is not to your liking. It’s a fun way to stumble upon knowledge. Registration is free.

www.DenofGeek.us
For the geeks among us, there is Den of Geek. It covers news from all areas of geekdom–comics, movies, television, games and more. It’s a fun place to geek out.

www.MentalFloss.com
Who doesn’t love Mental Floss? If you haven’t read the magazine or site, you are missing out. It has articles on a wide variety of subjects offered in a fun way. Check it out. You won’t regret it.

PublishersWeekly.com
As a writer, I cruise the publishing rags. Publishers Weekly is the best for publishing news and trends.

EveryFrameaPainting.tumblr.com
This is the brain child of Tony Zhou where he talks film in a way that no one else is. It is a great site if you love films and filmmaking. Just check out his thoughts on the big directors or even a lowly chair. Once you watch, you will find yourself falling through the rabbit hole of his brilliant videos while you are learning. @tonyszhou

RedPenofDoom.com
Red Pen of Doom is Guy Bergstrom’s web site where he analyzes all things writing whether they be books, films, television shows or anything else that had to be written. I love his style. This is another one of those sites that takes you down the rabbit hole. @speechwriterguy (Another repeat, I know. Sorry.)

Apple.com iTunes U
I love iTunes U and take classes frequently. It was built for people like me who get depressed every September because I am not heading back to school. Instead, I open up my iTunesU and get to work. I am taking a fantastic class through Yale University right now on the American Revolution from Dr. Joanne Freeman. If you want to learn something new, browse through their offerings.

ocw.MIT.edu
If you would rather go to a real school, then check out the open courseware at MIT. It is impressive. Most courses have select videos of lectures, as well as course materials and notes. It is a great place to learn something new.

AcademicEarth.org
Many universities offer courses online for free, including Yale and other ivy league institutions. This is a site that gathers free courses from many top universities.

TED.org
Ted Talks are amazing and worth watching. Enough said.

SI.edu/researchers
This is the research section of the Smithsonian web site. It has videos and articles from the 19 different Smithsonian museums covering a wide range of fields. It is easy to lose time here.

NYPL.org
The New York Public Library has a wealth of information available online. I like the online projects in particular and have used the Thomas Addis Emmet Collection often. It is a expansive collection of documents from America’s Founding, but there are other equally impressive collections available for browsing.