We had feared most TV fans would shout, "Get back to work, hacks!" in response to the Writers' Guild of America strike. Yet members of Fans4writers.com—whose motto is "Don't write until it's right"—are proud of their support for the TV, film, and animation writers' work stoppage. They believe in the core issues of the strike and are seeking creative opportunities to act on behalf of Hollywood's scribes.

If you're not sure where you stand, the site helps break down the the reasons for the strike in easily understandable terms. If you come to the conclusion that you want writers to get paid for their work regardless of whether it's on the boob tube or YouTube, participating doesn't mean you have to hike in the picket line; how about sending a box of #2 pencils to Sumner Redstone and Rupert Murdoch? And if you hop on the writers' bandwagon, find out how to spread the word. When the sun sets on this scene, it may be the fans (i.e., the consumers) who help put the WGA and the studios back at the negotation table. Then we can all get back to watching "Heroes."

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The Writers Guild of America strike that began on Monday is already causing a lot of pain on both sides of the TV screen. Whether you're a "Grey's Anatomy" fan leery of Dr. McReruns or a "Colbert Report" devotee already suffering from an extra half-hour of sleep, it behooves you to be in the know.

The United Hollywood blog provides a smart, subdued, and sometimes hilarious view of the writers' side of the strike. While Jamie Lee Curtis and other supporters expressed early disdain for the writers' (the writers!) slogans, the wordsmiths have redeemed themselves here and better explained their cause. The site serves as a one-stop WGA shop, with frequent news updates and extensive video links, featuring the stars/scribes of "The Office," the show runners of "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives," and a short, easy-to-digest explanation of the issues, Capra-esquely called Why We Fight.

Clicking around unitedhollywood.com won't get Letterman back on the air in time to guess which pies his mom's made for Thanksgiving. But it can keep you up-to-date about strike developments and informed about the heroic "other" careers undertaken by some of your favorite out-of-work screenwriters.

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We first wrote about the irascible scribbler known as the Craigslist Curmudgeon in March. The Curmudgeon is a sort of online vigilante, exposing those who advertise for writers in the writing/editing section of Craigslist but offer no pay, piddling in-kind compensation, or a dubious remuneration plan. These attempts at luring desperate writers into such unrewarding exchanges he dubs "assery," a term yet to find its way into the dictionary, though the century is still young... Anyway, we asked the Curmudgeon, with some trepidation, a few questions over email:

So you're a professional writer, we assume?

Yes I am. I recently made the switch to freelancing full time.

What prompted you to start the page?

Because Craigslist is free and doesn't seem to have too many rules and regulations, it's an assery magnet. Anyone can post a job, even if no job exists... Plus they allow job ads for people who don't want to pay their workers. I've seen it getting worse over the years and I know I can't do anything to stop it. But I can educate people and show some of the newer writers how silly some of these requests are. Hopefully by doing it in a way that makes people laugh it shows how ridiculous many of these ads and requests are.

All right. Where'd you get the term "assery" from?

Assery: The practice of being an ass. I made it up in honor of a past employer.

What's the most ridiculous attempt at exploiting writers you've seen thus far?

It's the cheap web content/SEO (search engine optimization) people. They ask for 1,000 words and pay something like $2.50. The article has to be researched and run through Copyscape and there's always this long list of requirements for this $2.00 article. Assery at its finest.

Any hate mail? Praise from grateful writers?

Lots of great mail from writers who appreciate the laugh, and that means the world to me. The only hate mail I've received was from people whose ads I featured.

But what do you say to the small publication/labor of love that genuinely wants to publish good writing but just can't afford to pay anything? Is there any place for that type of request?

They have to pay something, right? They have to pay the printer, right? The distributor? The webmaster? In these cases, it's always the writer who gets the shaft. Why? Hey if you have a labor of love, by all means, labor away. Just don't expect someone else to do all the work while you rake in the ad dollars.

What's the least amount of money you'd write for?

It depends on the gig, the hours, the research. Anything that's not insulting.

Despite all the assery, do you consider the Web more of a boon or a bust for writers?

I think it's the best thing that ever happened to us. There's work for all of us, and there will continue to be work for all of us.

Okay, then. That wasn't so curmudgeonly, after all. Thanks Curmudgeon, and as writers ourselves, we say: "Keep up the good work."

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For the amount of time she’s been blogging about books, words, and the particular perils of growing up in Florida and living in Brooklyn, we’re a little scandalized by how few interviews of Maud Newton there are on the Web. We aim to rectify that situation.

Since starting her site in 2002, Maud’s credits have bloomed. Her journey from blog to being featured in The New Yorker or writing book reviews in the New York Times, among other outlets, has been a inspirational testament to the power of personal publishing.

According to the MaudNewton.com legacy, this is how you make a lit-blog: build credibility by posting frequently and sanely about books you love, writers you respect, issues you are passionate about; prove that what ultimately makes the reading experience, and dare we say a literary community, is revealing the human being behind the blog. Maud does that in a way we have yet to see anywhere else, with modesty and honesty. Sincerity may be her trademark, and it loops us back to pay attention to the books she loves.

Sure, we love the interviews with writers, and the scoop on the latest fires burning in the land of literary fiction. But what keeps us coming back are the Ruminations on Writing (oh, that 10-year-novel), the Weekend Ancestry, her obsession with Mark Twain, and whatever future fascinations lie ahead.

As further testimony on Maud’s appeal: Maud was once asked by another interviewer, “Where do you summer?” In response, she was heard to say:

I can tell you’re not paying off student loans. “Summering” to me means a cold beer, sunglasses, a grill, and a hot breeze blowing over the factory and into my Brooklyn backyard.

This is why we love Maud.

When did you decide to start your site?

Back in the late spring of 2002. My ADD tendencies are so pronounced, I figured I’d soon get tired of it, but the medium is as well-suited to people with short attention spans as its detractors say.

We would applaud you for not having comments on your site, but our regular readers may hate us for it. Still, can you explain your position on blogging and comments.

I shut down comments in 2003 when my criticism of the Iraq War (and the run-up to it) set off attacks that I didn’t feel like dealing with on my own site. People are free to criticize and disagree with my opinions in email or on their own blogs or, really, anywhere else. But my actual site is a dictatorship, not a democracy.

How would you sum up the effect of lit-blogging in the world of traditional publishing and writing?

I don’t think it’s possible to generalize about the effect of book blogs. They’re a different, more immediate, more flexible medium for discussion about books, with all the positives and negatives inherent in that kind of immediacy and flexibility.

What has surprised you most about maudnewton.com? Any regrets or disappointments?

Honestly, I’m most surprised that I’ve stuck with it this long, given the way my interests are always evolving.

Do you have any plans for new things on the site? Any expansion of the Maud Newton empire?

I’ve been running readers’ love letters to independent bookstores lately, and I have some related ideas. Also, when I finish the latest draft of my novel, I’d like to get back to some longer-form interviews and more considered, research-oriented posts. In a way this question speaks to the one prior: I stick with the blog because the form is inherently flexible, allowing me to pursue my interests wherever they lead.

What type of content or features do you consciously avoid?

Anything that doesn’t interest me. The endless debates about the unprofessionalism/superficialitity/decivilizing nature of blogs, for instance. The fact that I have maintained one for more than five years speaks for itself, I think; readers are free to criticize or enjoy or deplore what they find there. The grading of local book reviews was another trend I was happy to skip. I work an unrelated day job and am trying to finish a book. I’m not going to spend what little free time I have on debates and publications that don’t get me fired up.

There is a plethora of lit blogs out there. Where do you place yourself on that map?

I don’t. I don’t compare my site to the other book blogs I like—The Elegant Variation, Laila Lalami, About Last Night, Bookslut, The Literary Saloon, Scott McLemee, Cup of Tea & A Wheat Penny, etc., etc., Amen—but leave that to readers.

What advice do you have for the budding writer-slash-lit-blogger?

Follow your passions. Writing about things to curry favor or get attention ultimately is a zero-sum game.

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Clichés are as trite and overused as the dictionary says they are. Still, why be a wet blanket about it? Stand up and fight for your language with The Cliché Rotation Project, a site near and dear to our hearts. We took to it like ducks to water, so much so that we're ready and willing to write a Pick about it. Join us and the Defective Yeti in a battle to replace clichés with new turns on old words. We present just a smattering of our favorites from CRP's new adages, truisms, and metaphorical malapropisms.

Submit your own replacements on the CRP webpage, and let's grease up those rusty clichés.

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It all started over lunch last year. Mary told Bryan how a particular song had been wrecked for her forever. One thing led to another, and according to legend—and MySpace—they "skipped dessert and registered the domain" for Ruined Music.

Fast forward a year. Hundreds of people have logged their achey-breaky tunes. Mary continues to handle the "word-and-grammar" parts. Bryan covers the "art-and-technology" pieces. And together, these two Brooklynites are still curating a vibrant web testament to songs painfully colored by their association with breakups, fights, death, tears, or any other brand of melancholy.

Having just celebrated its first birthday (with readings and beer and live bands, hopefully none of them blues-inducing), Ruined Music also boasts a brand new look, search functionality, and a random cat generator. Thank the big musician in the sky for kitties.

As for their own lost lullabies? Don't even try to play a certain Simon & Garfunkel song for Mary. And wild horses couldn't drag Bryan to a Tori Amos concert. Ever.

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Larry Smith had a dream of letting you and me tell our stories to the world. As simple as it sounds, a publication about average folks telling their above-average tales wasn't a quick sale (damn those cold-hearted execs!). Undeterred, Smith toiled away, writing and editing for national publications like Men's Journal, Might, and Yahoo! Internet Life. Finally, in 2006, with the help of some volunteer editors, a clear vision, and fortuitous timing, Larry launched his namesake SMITH.

In an age when MySpace and Facebook rule the roost, the world blogs itself silly, and social “interconnectivity” is blowing up bubble 2.0, SMITH mag is in the right place at the right time. Larry's vision is to spread human tales—what he calls "personal media"—online and, eventually, in book form. With a much-hailed graphic novel and a slew of intimate, personal, and top-notch contributions, we think Larry's just cracked the book open.

The moral of Mr. Smith's story? Stick to your dreams and never let someone say "the end" before your adventure's even started.

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