Resources

 RESOURCES FOR WRITERS

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IDEAS, INSIGHT, INSPIRATION & INFORMATION 

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU: 

• discover entries needing correction.

• find content that's confusing, inadequate or incomplete.

• click through to an inactive link.   (And remember to share any corrected link(s) when you find them!) 

• can provide better source origination.  (Though I strive to acknowledge the original author/organizer/website, etc., for all material shared, mistakes are pretty common in my life!     If you notice any entries lacking appropriate acknowledgement, or presented contrary to the creator's intention, I'll call you friend for alerting me so corrections can be made.)

--*****--

NOTE:    

• I love adding items to this page, so feel free to suggest a favorite -- or newly discovered -- resource (or ten!)  

• How you can help:  In order to bypass any potential lag time on my part, and to ensure that visitors will have immediate access to your suggestions and/or resources, you can share the information  (don't forget a working link!)  by comment at the bottom of this page.  

• Or send an email to: robyncorum@aol.com 

Thanks for stopping in! Hope you find something useful -- robyn

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Table of Contents:

I.    Writing Tips and Help -- All Genres

II.   Writing Tips and Help -- Romance

III.  Writing Tips and Help -- Other

IV.  'Universal' Research Sites 

V.    Historical Time Periods:

[Tip:  Look for content chronologically or by height of popularity.  For example, Wikipedia informs us that pirates were active in the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas as early as the 14th century BC, but the years 1650-1720 AD are recognized as "The Golden Age of Piracy."  Therefore, you'll find information and links for Pirates falling under 'The Baroque Era' (1600-1750).]

The Ancient Era (4000 B.C.-476 A.D.)

The Medieval Era (476-1450)

The Renaissance Era (1450-1600)

The Elizabethan Era (1558-1603)

The Baroque Era (1600-1750)

The Georgian Era (1714-1811)

The Regency Era (1812-1830)

The Victorian Era (1837-1901)

The Edwardian Era (1901-1919)

The Modern Era (1919 forward)   [not a link, scroll down]

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I.  Writing Tips and Help -- All Genres:

The BASICS:

Punctuating Speech Tags Correctly -- (GREAT resources!) 

https://www.scribophile.com/academy/he-said-she-said-dialog-tags-and-using-them-effectively
http://theeditorsblog.net/2010/12/08/punctuation-in-dialogue/
http://www.fiction-writers-mentor.com/dialogue-tags/
https://litreactor.com/columns/talk-it-out-how-to-punctuate-dialogue-in-your-prose


Tips for Writing Dialogue:

https://www.thebalance.com/top-tips-for-writing-dialogue-1277070

Money-Saving Guide for Authors and Writers:

https://couponfollow.com/research/money-saving-guide-authors-writers

(A great big "Thank You!" to Eliza, Linda Price, and the other aspiring writers at Star Falls Community Arts Center in New Jersey. Y'all feel free to holler if/when you find more awesome material! You did good! --wink--) 

 

Inspiration and FUN Stuff:

Hatch's Plot Bank --

2000+ Story Starters (normal to bizarre!)

From Bubbl.us --
Personalized Brainstorming Maps

From Author A J Barnett --

500+ Words for Said

From Author A J Barnett --

400+ Words to Describe Texture

From Author A J Barnett --
The Structure of a Novel

From Author A J Barnett --
Story Dialogue Revealed

From Macmillan Dictionary --

Words Used to Describe Colors

Online Text Correction Tool --
Check spelling, grammatical errors and correct diction

From Reverso --
Multiple Tools to Check Your Writing

Tool for Paraphrasing or Text Spinning --
Complex Sentence Generator

Great Writing Books:

20 best books on writing

From Christopher Fielden

Free Writing Critiques!

Writing advice

365 Creative Writing Prompts:

https://thinkwritten.com/365-creative-writing-prompts/

Creating the Perfect Character:

CHOOSING NAMES FOR CHARACTERS:
From the US Social Security Administration --

https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/

See what the names mean and more!

https://www.names.org/

From Fantasy Name Generators --

http://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/#descriptions

Other Character Naming Resources --

http://www.writing-world.com/links/names.shtml

Exotic Names
https://datayze.com/exotic-name-generator.php

Heather's Page of Unusual Names   (wonderful site but watch out for ads -- rc)

Behind the Name

Baby Name Guide (with suggestions for every nationality) 

babynameguide.com

https://www.babble.com/baby-names/

CREATING REALISTIC SETTINGS:

From Mithril Mages --
City and Town Name Generator
Modern Type-of-Business Generator
Modern City Block Generator
Manmade Feature Generator
Natural Geographic Feature Generator
Restaurant Name Generator
Street Name Generator

From Fantasy Name Generators -- (many other options are available here!)
English Town Name Generator
Assorted Description Generators
Other Name Generators!    (amazing site! --rc)

SS_command_of_Auschwitz_concentration_camp (positions of authority)

Food Timeline/Histories --
http://www.foodtimeline.org/

CREATING BELIEVABLE CHARACTERS:

Charater Profile Questionaire

http://www.creative-writing-now.com/writing-character-profiles.html

From Mithril Mages --
Modern Occupation Generator
Random Criminal History Generator
Wound and Disease Generator

Jumpstart the Process - From moosh.net and Mark Hassman --

Lifepath Generators

Feath's Bookcase including Character Generator

http://feath.com/idea/char.htm

Character Trait Chart and Personality Components

http://users.wirefire.com/tritt/tip8.html

CLOTHING:

The Costumer's Manifesto

http://thecostumersmanifesto.com/costumeoldsite/

Grammar/Technical:

Ask the Expert

http://www.refdesk.com/expert.html

Laura's Lists of Twenty

http://www.sff.net/people/laresnick/Fun%20Stuff/Lists%20of%2020.htm

The Writer's Knowledge Base

http://hiveword.com/wkb/search?q=verbs

English/Grammer/Research Web Links for Writers

http://www.gc.maricopa.edu/English/writing.html

Tara K. Harper:Technical/Literary Resources for Writers

http://tarakharper.com/links.htm

Painting Pictures for the Reader--
Using Adjectives/Adverbs/'Describing' Words

https://describingwords.net/

The Dreaded Synopsis!

http://writing-world.com/publish/synopsis.shtml

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032138/synopsis

http://home.centurytel.net/jax/SynopsisProject.htm

Query Letters

http://www.charlottedillon.com/QuerySamples.html

http://writersresidence.com/blog/2009/12/02/samples-of-query-letters-that-work/
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/successful-query-letters-for-literary-agents_b62590
http://chavelaque.blogspot.com/2010/01/how-to-write-great-query-letter-example.html

http://www.jmtohline.com/2010/12/biggest-mistakes-writers-make-when.html

Support/Training/Classes:

Writing Blogs and Websites:

http://www.writing-blogs.com/
http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/
http://www.writersdigest.com/

http://www.thecreativepenn.com/

Tips on Historical Research for Fiction by Catherine Lundoff:

http://www.writing-world.com/fiction/lundoff.shtml

Classes:
ProWriter: Secrets of Traditional Publishing Success with NY Times bestselling author CJ Lyons. Recommended by Joanna Penn:  "The information I learned from CJ in this course helped me immeasurably. It’s only US$99 and there is serious gold in this course."

Writing Communities:
http://fanstory.com

Programs:

Your Guide to Scrivener -    http://ow.ly/kr1a9

Best Book Review Blogs:
https://blog.reedsy.com/book-review-blogs/

http://www.shoutabout.org/review/best-book-review-blogs/

Agents/Contracts:

From Joanna Penn @ thecreativepenn.com 

• Why you don’t need an agent – with Dean Wesley Smith
• Everything you wanted to know about agents at Neil Gaiman’s blog
• What to ask an agent when you have one interested – Rachelle Gardner.
• 'Deal-breakers'  from The Business Rusch. Joanna recommends reading up on contracts, and calls this "a must read for serious authors."  (Includes other links.)
• Articles on agents and publishing contracts from the Passive Voice Blog

Self-Publishing:

Hot D_ _n's price list-     http://thekilliongroupinc.com/services/

Writers' Block:

http://www.internet-resources.com/writers/wrlinks-life.htm#block

Lisa R. Cohen's Dealing with Writer's Block

http://www.sff.net/People/LisaRC/into2.htm

How to Cure Writer’s Block ... by Ollin

http://ollinmorales.wordpress.com/2011/07/15/productivity/

                                                                             --***--

II.  Writing Tips and Help -- Romance:

Resources:

Romance Writing Resources from eBook Crossroads  

http://www.ebookcrossroads.com/romance-writing.html

Charlotte Dillon's Resources for Romantic Writers

http://www.charlottedillon.com/WritingRomance.html

Erastes Resources for Romance Writers

http://erastes.com/historical-research-links/

Karen Witemeyer's Resources for Writers

http://www.karenwitemeyer.com/links.html

The Passionate Pen

http://www.passionatepen.com/

The Romance Author's (Reference) Page

http://www.romanceauthorspage.com/researchindex.htm

Support/Training/Classes:

Romance Writers of America

http://www.rwa.org/cs/about_rwa

Romance Writers on the Journey (Critique Partnerships and Tips)

http://romancewritersonthejourney.wordpress.com/critique-partnerships-tips-and-techniques/

Once Upon A Romance's Links To A Variety Of Publishers

http://www.onceuponaromance.net/publisherslinks.htm

Marketing -- Romance/Other:

http://marketingforromancewriters.org/index.htm

https://thewritepractice.com/how-to-market-a-book/

                                                                        --*****--

III.  Writing Tips and Help -- Other

Flash Fiction:

Avoiding the Slushpile:

http://slusheditor.blogspot.com/2010/01/managing-story-length.html

http://thewritepractice.com/avoid-rejection/

http://flashfictiononline.com/main/how-to-write-flash-fiction/

The Definition of Flash Fiction:

http://flashfictiononline.com/main/how-to-write-flash-fiction/how-to-write-flash-fiction-definition/

Telling a Great Story:

http://flashfictiononline.com/main/how-to-write-flash-fiction/write-flash-fiction-telling-great-story/

Flash Fiction Resources:

http://flashfictiononline.com/main/how-to-write-flash-fiction/how-to-write-flash-fiction-resources/

Where to submit:                                 

https://thewritelife.com/where-to-submit-short-stories/

http://letswriteashortstory.com/literary-magazines/

https://www.thebalance.com/experimental-fiction-magazines-looking-for-new-writing-1277290

https://www.freedomwithwriting.com/freedom/uncategorized/19-short-story-publishers-that-pay-500-per-story/

https://www.aerogrammestudio.com/2014/06/18/literary-magazines-for-new-and-unpublished-writers/

http://thereviewreview.net/publishing-tips/show-me-literary-magazines-pay

https://litreactor.com/columns/storyville-where-to-send-your-stories

http://www.christopherfielden.com/short-story-tips-and-writing-advice/short-story-magazines.php

Competitions:

http://www.christopherfielden.com/short-story-tips-and-writing-advice/flash-fiction-competitions.php

Poetry:

"TRADITIONAL" POETRY:

Competitions:

http://www.christopherfielden.com/short-story-tips-and-writing-advice/poetry-contests.php#PrestigiousPoemComps

How-To's:
Creating the 'Poetic Line' --from the Poetry Foundation: (a great resource in general!) 

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/70144/learning-the-poetic-line

Glossary of Poetic Terms:

http://poetsgraves.co.uk/glossary_poetic_terms_e.htm

JAPANESE SHORT FORM POETRY:
Japanese Short Form Poetry (haiku/senryu, etc.)
Dealing with Negative (White) Space in Haiku:

https://livinghaikuanthology.com/lha/defining-haiku/2901-haiku-the-art-of-implication-over-explication-by-alan-summers.html

http://area17.blogspot.com/2014/03/negative-space-in-haiku-writing-poetry.html?m=1

Guidelines for Writing Haibun in English :

http://www.hsa-haiku.org/EducationalResources/Guidelines-for-Writing-Haibun.pdf

Japanese Aesthetics:

http://new.uniquejapan.com/ikebana/an-introduction-to-japanese-aesthetics/

Essay and Non-Fiction:

Competitions:

http://www.christopherfielden.com/short-story-tips-and-writing-advice/essay-contests-and-non-fiction-writing-competitions.php

                                        --*****--




IV.  'Universal' Research Information

General/Misc:

Weather Links

http://www.personal.dundee.ac.uk/~taharley/weathermisclinks.htm

Ask the Expert

http://www.refdesk.com/expert.html

Documents of Diplomatic History

http://www.refdesk.com/expert.html

From 'All My Favorite Flower Names' - Lists of Flowers

http://www.all-my-favourite-flower-names.com/list-of-flower-names.html

From Wikipedia: Alphabetical Lists of Colors and More

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_colors

Eating Habits/Daily Life:

The Food Timeline

http://www.foodtimeline.org/food1.html

The Herbal Encyclopedia

http://www.naturalark.com/herbindex.html

Clothing and Accessories
Davenport and Co

Maps/Location Info:

Historical Maps of Europe

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/history_europe.html
University of Texas Map Collection

Historic Cities

http://historic-cities.huji.ac.il/historic_cities.html

Folklore and Mythology Resource 

http://www.supersummary.com/folklore-mythology-guide/

(Thanks to Tessie Hargrove!)

Research:

Library of Congress

http://www.loc.gov/index.html

Legends of America

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/americanhistory.html

                                                                              --*****--

V.    Historical Time Periods:

The Ancient Era (4000 B.C. - 476 A.D.):

http://www.erasofelegance.com/history/ancient.html

The Medieval Era (476 - 1450):

http://www.erasofelegance.com/history/medieval.html

Vikings -- (some have expired) from Diana Cosby

http://www.dianacosby.com/oldpage/viking1.html

Fordham University's Internet Medieval Sourcebook

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.asp

Knights -- (some have expired) from Diana Cosby

http://www.dianacosby.com/oldpage/knight1.htm

Medieval Names Archive

http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/

From Mithril Mages --
Medieval Name List
Medieval Name Generator

Medieval Technology Pages

http://scholar.chem.nyu.edu/tekpages/Technology.html

Arts and Sciences of the Middle Ages and Renaissance

http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/arts_and_sciences.html

Medieval Scotland Links (some have expired)

http://www.dianacosby.com/oldpage/scottish1.htm

The Labyrinth

http://labyrinth.georgetown.edu/

A typical day:

http://medieval.stormthecastle.com/essays/a-typical-day-in-a-medieval-castle.htm

http://www.lordsandladies.org/life-in-middle-ages.htm
Extras from Pinterest:

https://www.pinterest.com/explore/middle-ages/?lp=true

The Food:

https://ritaroberts.wordpress.com/2013/03/19/some-thoughts-on-food-in-medieval-england/

The Renaissance Era (1450-1600):

http://www.erasofelegance.com/history/renaissance.html

From Open Library --

273 books on the Renaissance to Read, Download or Borrow

Arts and Sciences of the Middle Ages and Renaissance

http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/arts_and_sciences.html

The Elizabethan Era (1558-1603):

http://www.erasofelegance.com/history/elizabethan.html

The Baroque Era (1600-1750):

http://www.erasofelegance.com/history/baroque.html

17th Century Baroque Fashion, 1636-1664

http://www.marquise.de/en/1600/pics/1600c.shtml

18th Century Late Baroque and Rococo Fashion, 1700-1729

http://www.marquise.de/en/1700/pics/1700a.shtml

Pirates/Piracy/Barbary Corsairs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piracy

The Georgian Era (1714-1811):

http://www.erasofelegance.com/history/georgian.html

Eighteenth-Century Resources by Jack Lynch

http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/18th/

The Georgian Index
http://hub.yourlocaltake.com/hub/britishhistory?w=1280;rh=http://georgianindex.net/;rd=1;rd=n

18th Century Late Baroque and Rococo Fashion, 1700-1729

http://www.marquise.de/en/1700/pics/1700a.shtml

The Regency Era (1812-1830):

http://www.erasofelegance.com/history/regency.html

Regency Name Generator

http://www.ugoi.net/nonsense/name.html

Jane Austen Information Page

http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/janeinfo.html

Candice Hern's Regency World

http://www.candicehern.com/regency.htm

Allison Lane's Common Regency Errors

http://www.eclectics.com/allisonlane/common_regency_errors.html

The Regency Collection

http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~awoodley/Regency.html

The Victorian Era (1837-1901):

http://www.erasofelegance.com/history/victorian.html

The Victorian Web

http://www.victorianweb.org/

Victoriana

http://www.victoriana.com/

Victorian and Western Clothing Styles

http://www.westernersoutfitter.com/Vintage%20Patterns.htm

Victorian Fashions

http://www.retroscopefashions.com/

Victorian Web Sites

http://lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~matsuoka/Victorian.html

Victorian Slang Dictionary

http://www.tlucretius.net/Sophie/Castle/victorian_slang.html

The Victorian Dictionary

http://www.victorianlondon.org/index1.htm

Monuments and Dust

http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/london/Archive/index.html

Journal of Victorian Culture Online

http://myblogs.informa.com/jvc/

Courting the Victorian Woman

http://www.literary-liaisons.com/article009.html

The Victorian Wedding - Parts I and II

http://www.literary-liaisons.com/article003.html

http://www.literary-liaisons.com/article004.html

The Edwardian Era (1901-1919):

http://www.erasofelegance.com/history/edwardian.html

Myths and Legends

Myths and Legends

http://home.comcast.net/~chris.s/myth.html

Encyclopedia Mythica

http://www.pantheon.org/

American History

The World Wars

http://www.worldwar1.com/

The Great Chicago Fire

http://greatchicagofire.org/

The American Revolution

http://revolution.h-net.msu.edu/

San Francisco History

http://www.zpub.com/sf/history/index.html

The American Memory

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html

The Story of the Pullman Car

http://darrow.law.umn.edu/documents/The_story_of_the_Pullman_car.pdf

The American Prison in Historical Perspective

http://www.jblearning.com/samples/0763729043/Chapter_02.pdf

The History of Women's Prisons in the United States

http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/hart/PDF%20upload/womeninprison0001.pdf

The Old West/Pioneering:

(For more help with The Old West, check individual categories under Romance)

From Mithril Mages --
Old West Name Generator
Old West Name List

Jim Janke's Old West

http://jjanke.org/sections/oldwest/oldwest.htm

Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum

http://www.cprr.org/

Rails West

http://www.railswest.com/index.html

The Overland Trail

http://www.over-land.com/

Chuckwagon History

http://lonehand.com/chuckwagon_central.htm

Victorian and Western Clothing Styles

http://www.westernersoutfitter.com/Vintage%20Patterns.htm

River Junction 19th century dry goods

http://www.riverjunction.com/

Old West Insults

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-insults.html

Handguns of the Old West

http://shotdoc.com/handgunsoldwest.asp

PBS - The West

http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/

Food Timeline.org FAQs: 19th century American foodways

http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodpioneer.html#provisionprices

 For Crime Writers:

Cops & Writers/The Definitive Resource for Writers

http://www.copsnwriters.com/

The Crime Writers' Association

http://www.thecwa.co.uk/

Deadly Diversions Forensics Links

http://deadlydiversions.com/

Deadly Diversions Police Sites

http://deadlydiversions.com/

National Archive of Criminal Justice Data

http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/NACJD/

Crime Magazine/An Encyclopedia of Crime

http://www.crimemagazine.com/

Crime Scene

http://www.crimescene.com/currentcase/

In Reference To Murder: Weapons

http://inreferencetomurder.com/html/weapons.html

Serial Killers and Mass Murderers

http://crime.about.com/od/serial/Serial_Killers_and_Mass_Murderers.htm

The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, London 1674 to 1834

http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/

True Crime Links

http://inreferencetomurder.com/html/true_crime.html

Police Procedure Links

http://inreferencetomurder.com/html/police.html

From Mithril Mages -- 

Random Criminal History Generator

Twists, Slugs and Roscoes, a glossary of hard-boiled detective slang

http://www.miskatonic.org/slang.html

Misc:

Field-Specific Sources --

Financial and investment dictionary  

http://www.investorwords.com/

Medical, pharmaceutical, biomedical and healthcare dictionary with acronyms and abbreviations. 

http://www.medilexicon.com/

From Mithril Mages --
Wound and Disease Generator

Submissions, General:

The BIG List of Literary Magazines

http://www.everywritersresource.com/Biglist.html

Creative Writing Contests/Fiction, Nonfiction

http://www.manuscriptediting.com/contests.htm

Literary Markets

http://www.mamohanraj.com/Writing/litmarket.html

Find a New Poetry Magazine/Current listing, publishing short-form genres:

http://www.ahapoetry.com/TREE.HTM

Open Submissions

http://www.christwriters.info/open-submissions.php

Miscellaneous:

Astonishing Song Writing Facts That Will Release Your Inner Genius

http://www.songwriting-secrets.net/song-writing.html

Quotes

http://www.goodquotes.com/sillyquotes.htm



Self-Publishing Notes:

The Psychology of A Good Book Cover:

https://www.draft2digital.com/blog/the-psychology-of-a-good-book-cover/

The Psychology of Book Titles:

https://www.draft2digital.com/blog/the-psychology-of-book-titles/

Characters on Your Cover or Not?

http://www.indiebooklauncher.com/resources-diy/characters-on-your-book-cover-do-or-dont.php

Street Teams and How to Use Them:

https://www.draft2digital.com/blog/street-teams-and-how-to-use-them-part-1/

https://www.draft2digital.com/blog/street-teams-and-how-to-use-them-part-2/

Making Yourself the Brand:

https://www.draft2digital.com/blog/making-yourself-the-brand/

Marketing Through Twitter:

Twitter icebreakers:

http://m.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/23965.aspx

100 Great Twitter Tweet Examples:

https://marketingartfully.com/2013/09/03/100-great-twitter-tweet-examples/

Writing The Perfect Tweet To Sell Tons Of Books:

http://authorjourneyto100k.com/writing-the-perfect-tweet-to-sell-tons-of-books/

Scientific Guide to Writing Great Tweets:

https://blog.bufferapp.com/writing-great-tweets-scientific-guide