Whether you’re a serial novelist, a casual blogger, or just like to flip through magazines at the dentist’s office, your life wouldn’t be the same without the hundreds of years of development and fine-tuning that have made English a truly global language. The sites on this list celebrate English in myriad ways. Some offer advice for aspiring freelance writers, or strategies from writers who have already “made it,” and some just revel in the enjoyment of books, literature, and language in general.
Teaching
-
ELL Teacher Pros
English Language Learners (ELL) provides practical learning tools for students and excellent teach resources at their site. The blog focuses on teaching successes with ELLs that show other teachers how to succeed with this task as well.
-
LETC Teachers’ Corner
Language ETC has been onboard providing English and literacy training to low-income adult immigrants in Washington DC since 1993. Outside being chock-full of resources for the ETC community of teachers and tutors, this blog offers insights into teaching English and its issues.
- Highlight: Teaching Advanced ESL Students at Language ETC
-
Jennifer Teacher
Jennifer Watson-Choi has successfully combined physical activities such as gym, Taekwondo, and yoga into opportunities to teach kids about the English language. Currently living in South Korea, Jennifer’s teaching style includes TESOL-based learning activities and she writes about the challenges in that pursuit.
- Highlight: Learning English while doing Taekwondo?
-
Observations of an English Teacher
Christian is an English teacher who is teaching linguistics in Paraguay. His blog, however, offers deep insights into the Paraguayan culture – one that thrives on oral stories rather than on reading.
- Highlight: Counter-Culture Habits
-
Chestnut ESL
This colorful and active English as a Second Language (ESL) blog showcases teaching resources, but it also features students and their successes. The overall focus is on teens, and the writers use a very positive approach to their issues and challenges.
-
E-Learning Queen
Susan Smith Nash has offered her advice on distance training and education for many years. Her focus on real-world issues and impacts of psychology, social, and cultural impacts on distance learning has made her blog very popular.
Writing
-
MediAcademia
Kelli Marshall’s blog is very different than most writing blogs, because she’s in earnest about teaching others how to write through film and social media advocacy. Readers can find full class notes at her site, including study tips, discussion questions, and reading supplements.
- Highlight: Bridesmaids and the Critical Hysteria Surrounding It
-
Pen & Palette Blog
Susan is an up-and-coming creative non-fiction writer who writes about the writing, mental health, and faith in her blog. Her unpublished novel, Cherry Bomb, made the Short List for the 2011 Faulkner-Wisdom Creative Writing Competition.
-
Writerly Life
Blair Hurley is a writer and instructor, and provides writers with resources, including writing prompts, tips, and advice, in her blog. Widely published, Blair focuses on literary fiction or short stories, but she also wants to write novels.
- Highlight: Tuesday Tip: Make Your Character Bolder
-
Charlotte Rains Dixon
Anyone who wants to write can learn that skill from Charlotte’s blog. As a writer and teacher, Charlotte provides more than just writing tools – she also provides creative inspiration and tries to help other writers to love writing as much as she does.
- Highlight: Where Do Writing Ideas Come From?
-
Plot to Punctuation
Jason Black is a freelance editor who wants to help creative writers achieve their publishing goals. Non-fiction authors also can benefit from Black’s services, and all writers can learn about everything from plot to punctuation at Jason’s blog.
- Highlight: Forty-five more flaws that expose your lack of storytelling experience, part 1
-
The Heart and Craft of Life Writing
Sharon Lippincott focuses on life writing, memoirs, and journaling, and she loves sharing what she learns. As an author and teacher, she freely offers amazing tips and resources for other writers, including writing prompts.
- Highlight: How to Write the Killer Query
-
The Well-Fed Writer
Peter Bowerman’s blog is just one facet of a multi-dimensional site about how to make a living as a freelance writer. His focus is on how to obtain writing jobs that pay more than $50 per hour.
-
Ghostwriting Uncovered
Writers find few blogs about ghost writing and about how to tap into that lucrative market, but Amanda Evans is an excellent choice on filling that void. She provides tips and resources to show you how you also can quit your day job (like she did!).
- Highlight: Ghostwriting Jobs – Knowing When To Say No
-
Flogging The Quill
Ray Rhamey is a novelist who focuses on storytelling, and he’s also an editor. Ray began in advertising, went to screenwriting, and now offers his help to other novelists through online constructive criticisms.
- Highlight: A book-selling dilemma
Denise Low Postings
Denise’s passion is for writings about the Middle Western grasslands in Midwestern states. Of Cherokee descent, her focus is on spirituality and Native Americans, but she also ranges widely to provide information about different genres, authors, and writing news.
- Highlight: Some Ways to Make a Good Poem Better
-
Lynda R. Young
The Hobbit turned Lynda’s life around. After reading that book, she wrote two epic-length novels during her teens and early twenties. Today, she provides excellent writing and social media tips to her readers.
- Highlight: 6 Benefits of Writing Every Day
-
Marilyn’s Musings
As a successful mystery series writer, Marilyn Meredith provides sincere and credible advice to other writers. Marilyn writes reviews, and also shares intimate insights into her writing life.
- Highlight: How My Writing Has Changed
-
Writing Creatively
Theresa Wiza is a creative screenplay writer who offers her advice on everything from how to add revenue to a blog to resources for other scriptwriters. A prolific writer, Theresa doesn’t hesitate to talk about her successes and her failures.
- Highlight: My Brain – On Internet
Reading
-
digibooklibrarian
kYmberly is a student in a library science program, and she also is a writer, entrepreneur, and “artistic socialite.” She’s a faithful chronicler for “digibook” news, events, and technology, helping readers stay abreast of national book news.
- Highlight: Class #101: Academic Survival Tips 2012
-
Adventures of a Misfit Librarian
Although this blogger calls herself “Misfit,” her blog reveals a creative spirit who happens to be a librarian. Her blog reveals a tendency for thrift, with a penchant for freebies, Pinterest, and funny letters to objects of interest.
- Highlight: Friday’s Letters…
-
A Writer Afoot
Barbara Samuel O’Neal is the author of more than thirty award-winning novels, but you’d never know this fact from her blog. Enjoy well-written articles that show an author with a very well-rounded life.
- Highlight: A baby, an appendix, and a book…oh my!
-
Lizzy’s Literary Life
Lizzy is one of those prolific readers who is a “completist,” meaning that she reads through the entire works of any given author. Her focus is on European writers, and her blog is heavy on reviews as well as artwork and information about book festivals and authors.
- Highlight: State of the Blog – April 2012
-
Chrisbookarama
A book reviewer who welcomes eBooks and organized book tours, Chris still is picky about how much she reads, and fair as possible in her reviews. This reviewer also has provided content for the Project Gutenberg Project blog and she is an active social media user.
- Highlight: Lazy Sunday Thoughts: After the Readathon
-
The Book Nut
Melissa is a self-confessed voracious reader, and she also produces more book reviews than just about anyone on the planet. She’s especially fond of middle grade and YA fiction and science fiction fantasy. She never has enjoyed a crime or thriller novel, but you might connect if you love to travel and food as much as she does.
- Highlight: The Mark of Athena