Research Links

Writing Corner is striving to be the “Resource of Writers’ Resources”.  This is essentially a links page but you will only find links to reference or research tools here.

Don’t be bashful – if you know a good link that should be added EMAIL us and we will check it out.  We know you have one or two trade secrets online you won’t mind sharing with the rest of us.

ADVERTISING

Author Self-Promotion – In addition to some beautiful promo items like magnets and bookplates, there are some really great articles of self-promotion, book promotion etc., Earthly Charms.

BABY NAMES, MEANINGS OF NAMES, NAMES

Whats In Your Name?

Belly Ballot – A large list of baby names, origins and ethnicity.  Can be broken down by boy or girl names.

BIBLE REFERENCES

Bible Answers

Bible Trivia 

BLOGS

When You Write – Helpful tips on Productivity, Creativity, and Self Publishing – Let Me Show You How To Plan, Write, And Publish Your Book As Easily As Possible. Because Your Story Hasn’t Ended… It’s Only Just Begun.

Wristband Express – Hand Hobbies: A Resource Guide to Writing Basics  – Writing doesn’t have to be merely a practical skill: Plenty of people write as a hobby as well. No matter why we write, it’s important for everyone to be able to write in a clear and understandable way, and just about anyone can improve this skill with a bit of practice.

CALENDARS / ALMANACS

Information Please: Online Almanac Reference

Earth Calender

CASTLES AND KNIGHTS

British Titles of Noblity 

The Castles of Wales – need historical inspiration? How about the names of the various parts of a castle? This site has links to pictures for the definitions (loads slowly at times) This is the place to visit.

dMarie Time Capsule find out what happened the day you were born, or the day your hero/heroine was born.

Knighthood, Chivalry and Tournament Glossary of Terms

Odin’s Castle of Dreams & Legends – another great place to take a tour of castles and learn more about them.

COPYRIGHT LINKS

Basic Copyright Concepts for Writers — *Writers Write — The IWJ*(article)

CopyrightAct 1968 (Australian)

SUL: Copyright & Fair Use (Stanford University Libraries)

EBLIDA umbrella association of national library, information, documentation and archive associations and organisations in Eu(European information)

DICTIONARIES

RefDesk.com – This is the place to look first for the information you need.  A gigantic selection of links to dictionaries, thesauruses, language translators, almanacs, history, grammar, formatting and other information of great value to writers.

Aussie Slang Dictionary – an invaluable tool to the non-Aussie writer with the Aussie character.  Try not to get too carried away though.

Dictionary of Ballet Terms

Grammica – Check your English grammar with grammica.

Letters-Words.com – Letters-Words.com is a popular resource for everything you need to know about the English language. Students of schools and universities come here to find useful synonyms and antonyms for their essays, term papers and theses. Puzzle players share solutions with each other in our Scrabble Dictionary and in the Crossword Puzzle Help. Our Word Generator fosters creativity and our Word Unscrambler is really handy for sorting letters out. In the Knowledge Corner we present interesting information about sentences, words, letters and English grammar. The Word Finder locates words according to a user’s pre-defined parameters.

Martindale’s “The Reference Desk”  

Yahoo Reference – Dictionaries – Slang – you will find more of the above here for various countries (mostly ex-British colonies) but you will also find sub-cultures here too (i.e. mountain bikers, gays etc…)

Semantic Rhyming Dictionary – an invaluable tool for the poet – or anyone else who gets the urge to rhyme.  Allows you to search various levels of rhyme i.e. exact match, end sounds etc.

A Glossary of Hardboiled Slang – an everything crime slang dictionary.

High – Tech Dictionary – Technical Terminology

Information Please: Online Dictionary and Encyclopedia

EDUCTION FOR WRITERS

Emerald Insite – Discover Journals, Books & Case Studies

Free Education on the Internet

ENCYCLOPEDIAS

RefDesk.com – This is the place to look first for the information you need.  A gigantic selection of links to dictionaries, thesauruses, language translators, almanacs, history, grammar, formatting and other information of great value to writers.

Encyclopedia.com – a free online encyclopedia.

Encyclopedia Mythica – a great fantasy/fiction writer’s reference.  Full of myth, legend and folklore information.

GAMERS JARGON

There many different types of gamers jargon.  Below are some useful links to help you find the right terms for you manuscripts.

Computer Gamers Jargon

GENERAL REFERENCE

Library of Congress – The Internet Public Library

The Internet Public Library Wikipedia

The Internet Public Library Reference Center

GRAMMAR AND STYLE

RefDesk.com – This is the place to look first for the information you need.  A gigantic selection of links to dictionaries, thesauruses, language translators, almanacs, history, grammar, formatting and other information of great value to writers.

Elements of Style – the well-known grammar and style aid now online.

Grammica – Check your English grammar with grammica.

Guide to Grammar and Writing – This is the Internet’s solution to Strunk and White.

Plagiarism Checker – World’s first plagiarism check & remover tool. Explore fresh rewrite suggestions to diversify your language and level-up your writing

GRANTS AND OTHER FUNDING

Grants.gov – Finding funding and grant resources on the Internet.

HISTORY

Archiving Early America – Digital Library, world of early America, great site

LAW REFERENCES

Oxford Handbooks Online

MEDICAL INFORMATION
(Great for researching that medical mystery fiction story)

The Virtual Dental Center

Web MD

MISCELLANEOUS    

DillWeed ~ The Online Media Resource ~ Dictionary, radio, film, museums, engines, television, telephone, and so much more.

John Hewitt’s Writer’s Resource Center

Page ONE Lists Of Resources – Incredible list of links.

Writer’s Toolbox –  Internet Resources for Writers

Literary Trivia Links

Poets and Writers – tools, funding, jobs and more

Shakespeare Trivia

Sports Trivia

POETRY

TitleMax.com – Road Trip Activities for the Car – Poetry is perhaps the most misunderstood type of writing. It’s not something that only intellectuals enjoy, and it’s not something that only geniuses can create. Poetry is everywhere, even in the music people play in the car. After all, what are lyrics but a type of poetry set to music? Of course, some poetry is better than others, and most people who want to write poetry want to write good poetry. Luckily, through reading and practice, it’s possible to pick up the basics of poetry writing and start honing your craft. It’s also possible to work with kids so they can start developing their own voice and learn how to express themselves through the medium.

QUOTATIONS

QuoteLand– just what it sounds like.

Cyber Quotations: Cyber Quotes from BrainyQuote, an extensive collection of quotations by famous authors, celebrities, and news makers.

The Movie Quotes Database

SCREEN WRITING / READING

Octane Seating – Guide to Finding/Reading Scripts Online  Why Should I Read Scripts?  – Scripts Reading for Budding Authors – and much more.   Even if you are not interested in becoming a scriptwriter yourself, or a writer at all, scripts are still a great way to keep your mind engaged and your imagination sharp as a whip.  Aspiring writers will especially find script reading to be a rewarding experience. Whether you are hoping to write for screen, stage, or even just novels or short stories, experiencing scripts and analyzing them is a great way to bolster your confidence and strengthen your innate skills for narrative, dialogue, action, and timing.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Information Please: Weather and Climate

TALENT

Talent Development Resources – A wide variety of information available here, articles and snips about creativity, talent, personality, giftedness, including quotes from any famous and talented people.

THESAURI

RefDesk.com – This is the place to look first for the information you need.  A gigantic selection of links to dictionaries, thesauruses, language translators, almanacs, history, grammar, formatting and other information of great value to writers.

Roget’s Thesaurus – old, faithful basic English Language thesaurus.

Think Map – allows you to search words and create visual word maps from that word. I haven’t tried it yet but it sounds good (BTW this is a recommended writing “warm up”)

WORD ORIGINS

RefDesk.com – This is the place to look first for the information you need.  A gigantic selection of links to dictionaries, thesauruses, language translators, almanacs, history, grammar, formatting and other information of great value to writers.

Word Wizard – a great site full of word origins, quotes, insults and more. Stop by if for nothing else but the fun of it.

WRITING REFERENCES

Best Reviews – Best Reviews from Leena Hyat

Essay and Research Papers – Writing essays, research papers, and term papers is, without a doubt, an indispensable part of academic coursework. While students are expected to become acquainted with all of them quickly, writing any one is no easy task.

Freelancewriting.com

Georgia Writers (wonderful people to work with)

John Hewitt’s Writer’s Resource Center  

National Writing Project WWW Resources – Finding funding and grant resources on the Internet.

Occupational Outlook Handbook – a great place to find information about different occupations for your characters and other research.

Plagiarism Checker – World’s first plagiarism check & remover tool. Explore fresh rewrite suggestions to diversify your language and level-up your writing

RhymeZone – Rhyming and word search – great source for finding that “other” word.

The Dabbling Mum.com – The on-line magazine for busy parents.

The Olive Tree Genealogy – find your ancestors or a long lost knight.. The Olive Tree Genealogy is dedicated to bringing you primary sources such as passenger lists, muster rolls, church records and more, FREE of charge.

When You Write – Let Me Show You How To Plan, Write, And Publish Your Book As Easily As Possible.
Because Your Story Hasn’t Ended… It’s Only Just Begun.  We share our latest tips and hacks to getting more written every time you put pen to paper

Writer’s Way – This site is full of well organized links. If you want to find something it won’t be hard here – all links are categorized.

WritersWeekly – writer’s online newsletter, has markets and tips.

 I would like to thank David M. Somerfleck who unbeknownst to him gave me many of the links you see here.   “Thanks for sharing with Writing Corner!”