5 Excellent Free Resources for Writers and Artists
find inspiration, markets, and other tools
Public Domain Image Archive - This is not the only digital image archive by any means—but what sets this archive apart is that all the images are out of copyright, which means you can use/reuse/sell them to your heart’s content without worry. Great images here for social media posts, book covers, design inspiration, collage, etc.
The archive was created by the Public Domain Review, which is another great resource for inspiration.
Authors Publish - Interested in submitting your work to magazines or publishers? Authors Publish is an excellent resource for submitting. They do organize paid workshops and classes, but their free content is wonderful! It includes write ups of literary journals that don’t have submission fees, lectures from working writers on aspects of craft and publishing, and ebooks on submissions that demystify the process.
Google’s Ngram viewer - Okay, this might be rather niche, but this tool lets you chart the usage of different words over time and points you to books they appear in. I can imagine this being very helpful for historical fiction writers in particular, but it’s also great for anyone interested in language usage over time.
Slow Drawing Workshops - Every Wednesday, take an hour out of your day to do some meditative drawing with a simple, botanic inspired pattern. I cannot tell you how much I enjoy these classes. If you can’t attend live, there’s a 48-hour replay. It’s so relaxing and approachable and worth carving out some time for whether you draw regularly or not. I find that it helps recharge my creative battery quite a bit.
As a library lover and MLIS degree holder, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention your local library as an excellent resource. Of course they have a collection worth strolling in (I especially like taking an oversized coffee table book for inspiration), but are you using their other resources?
These are some that my libraries have:
Libby for audiobooks and eBooks
Hoopla for all kinds of digital media, including music (they have access to the Great Courses for in depth university lectures on different topics)
Kanopy for streaming documentaries and indie films
historical archives of the local area including photographs
discounted or free museum passes
newspaper and magazine access
database access
in person lectures and classes.
Seriously there is so much worth exploring. Use and support your library!
Do you have any free resources for creatively inclined people you’d like to share? I’d love to explore them!