Useful

Knowledgeable people, stealing from: useful links to great resources.

with apologies to Peg Bracken

Updated 6/11/18

For everyone:

Barking Up the Wrong Tree –  Eric Barker’s weekly blog in which he concisely and entertainingly summarizes the research on some useful way you can make your life better. This week: motivating yourself to exercise, in one compelling introduction and 4 proven tips.

Study Hacks Blog – Cal Newport’s site, with great stuff on productivity. I used to be a huge fan of Merlin Mann’s 43 Folders site, in which he put David Allen’s Getting Things Done approach into action, but Mann has moved on to other things. Newport is helping to fill the gap in my life.

99U – This is surprisingly good. It’s run by Behance, a company that makes fancy notebooks and such. The site has some really good articles focused on “creative professionals,” from doing better work to managing the business side better.

CollegeInfoGeek – This is designed for college students (obviously) but applies to anyone who’s trying to learn something new, remember things better, develop good habits, etc. I like his videos on the Feynman technique and spaced repetition.

For writers:

The Snowflake Method – How to plan and organize your novel. I’m using this approach with my current project. So far, so good.

Absolute Write – Loads of information for writers, including a resources section with links for agents, workshops, and writing organizations, plus a forums section.

NaNoWriMo – Of course. The official site of National Novel Writing Month. Then there’s Camp NaNoWriMo. Motivation, a blog with pep talks, forums. What more do you need?

Creative Writing Prompts – Just what it says it is. 346 ways to get your fingers moving.

Query Shark – Advice on how to write a successful query letter, and critiques of actual queries.

Gwen Hernandez’s site – Expert information on using Scrivener, from the author of Scrivener for Dummies.

Terrible Minds – Chuck Wendig’s writing advice and more.

Scrivener Virgin – Another site with what looks like lots of great info for Scrivener users.

Ambient Sounds for Writers – Loads of links, so you can choose where you want to write.

For banjo players:

Banjo Hangout – Terrific forum with advice, instruction, and banjo tab sources.

Banjo Tom – Site with thousands of free banjo tab for songs of all genres.

Classic Banjo site – For old-time, pre-Scruggs style banjo players.

Clawhammer.net – Lots of clawhammer songs, plus advice on learning as an adult. (Front page is now an ad for the course, but if you click on a link it will take you to a place with more options.)

Bulletproof Musician – A musician/psychologist gives great advice on better ways to learn to play any instrument.