From Barb Shoup, Executive Director of the Writers' Center of Indiana:

Dear Members and Friends of the Writers' Center of Indiana

We can't give you spring on this snowy February day, but we can give you...our new, vastly improved website! Designed by WCI member and instructor Victoria Barrett, the site provides all the information the old one did and more in a contemporary, easy-to-navigate format.

Joining the Writers' Center and registering for classes has been streamlined, and the new site has a wealth of resources for writers, as well as useful tips for teaching creative writing and classroom-ready curriculum for teachers.

My favorite feature of the new site is the Members-Only network, which will allow members to showcase their writing, share resources, form writing groups, and chat about books and ideas. Members, watch your e-mail in the next few weeks for an invitation to join the network, along with directions to set up your own page. If you're not a member, there couldn't be a better time to join our ranks.

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Inspired by Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules for Writers, the Guardian asked a bunch of writers for their own rules.

Here are a couple of cuts:

- Take something to write on. Paper is good. In a pinch, pieces of wood or your arm will do. (Margaret Atwood)

- Do not place a photograph of your favourite author on your desk, especially if the author is one of the famous ones who committed suicide. (Roddy Doyle)

- Have more than one idea on the go at any one time. If it's a choice between writing a book and doing nothing I will always choose the latter. It's only if I have an idea for two books that I choose one rather than the other. I always have to feel that I'm bunking off from something. (Geoff Dyer)

- The first 12 years are the worst. (Anne Enright)

And, finally, from AL Kennedy:

- Remember you love writing. It wouldn't be worth it if you didn't. If the love fades, do what you need to and get it back.