Teresa Wells

It's a Hawaiian word.  My kids at school love saying it.  And they've become pretty good at using one.

And I'm getting there.

It's an online tool for collaborating, or for just writing and changing information at will.

Actually, I'm using one for the purpose of planning my novel.  

Since I HATE outlining -- SO BORING!!!!! -- it's a great way of 1)keeping up with details in research, 2) putting down where you want your story to go, 3) jotting down logistical details like how many miles from one place to another and how much time it would take to walk from here to there. Papers get lost; wikis don't.  At least, not if you remember what you've named them. (That's why you write it down. . . preferably somewhere you can easily find it, along with all your computer passwords)

You can also post pictures to your wiki.  I've found a lot of pictures of places that I've put on this blog that I've also put on my wiki.  Some are just on my wiki, to remind me of what my characters see when they are walking on the Trail of Tears (since I live so far from the locale of my book, I rely heavily on memories and pictures).

Will I share my wiki with you?  No.  It's strictly for my eyes only, like a messy workbook in progress.  But I thought I'd share the idea with you in case you wanted to use it.

Here are some wiki sites to check out:

www.pbworks.com

www.wikispaces.com

Happy Wiki-ing!