Check out these online sources for literary criticism collections and discussion:

The Valve

Online Literary Criticism Collection

Literary Criticism Sources

Critical Reading: A Guide

Like music, writing has rhythm. Think of Shakespeare. He wrote his plays in iambic pentameter: Da dum, da dum, da dum, da dum, da dum. Okay, I know you're not Shakespeare but you and yours sales letter or your school essay or your e-zine article have rhythm too -- whether you know it or not. The beat that exists behind your writing is a key part of what we call your writing voice. It makes your work unique and recognizable. It expresses your personality. It's part of what makes you, you.

How do you persuade others to see, think, feel or believe in something? ChangingMinds can help. This huge website (2,500 pages and counting) lists disciplines, techniques and explanations related to the art of persuasion. Check out this rich resource.

Although, as noted by the Book of Ecclesiastes, there is nothing new under the sun, there is something newish in the world of mindmapping. And I'm thrilled to be able to share it with you.

"Rationalize rhetoric and it speaks to your mind, personify her and she speaks to your soul," announces the online speech bank American Rhetoric. Listen to hundreds of classic speeches on its website by MLK, JFK, FDR and other giants -- and learn from them.

After reading author John Elder Robison's inspiring Backstory about his memoir Look Me in the Eye, we wanted to learn more about what makes this particular writer tick. How did he go from touring with KISS to repairing luxury cars to writing his acclaimed book about living with Asperger's syndrome? So we called him and had a fascinating conversation about writing, storytelling, and touching readers' lives though a memoir: