Recommend your favorite writing reference sites

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction' started by TerriO, Mar 19, 2008.

  1. JRS

    JRS Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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  2. Sanji Himura

    Sanji Himura Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    A few references for general writing a.k.a Writing 101


    Writing 101- collected by MI6 member Lethal Weapon

    11,000 baby names- a site for names. Note that they are not always accurate on nationality.

    Wikitravel- A good resource for (real life) locations.

    The Universal Currency Converter- This currency converter even converts obsolete currency(like francs).

    The CIA World Factbook- This site has a lot of info, but it is a useful resource if you know what you are looking for.

    Merriam-Webster Online- A dictionary that seems to also embrace "queen's" English as well as American English.

    Free online Thesaurus

    The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr.

    The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association of America Articles on Writing
     
  3. omgahitsbritt08

    omgahitsbritt08 Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    Quick question, does anyone know where to find the movie script to Star Trek 2009 film? I dont want to have to keep watching the movie over and over again. I mean I would enjoy that but it makes my writing slow.
     
  4. kes7

    kes7 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Tesophius likes this.
  5. omgahitsbritt08

    omgahitsbritt08 Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    THANK YOU!!!! I was looking for this! If you were here, I would definitely give you a big hug! -Squeeze- =]
     
  6. JRS

    JRS Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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  7. goofy

    goofy Lieutenant

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    Last edited: Jan 28, 2011
  8. Nerys Ghemor

    Nerys Ghemor Vice Admiral Admiral

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    OK...so you'll actually have to get a BOOK, a real, paperback book...but trust me, it's worth it. :)

    It's called Checking on Culture, by Lee Killough, and it is an amazing (yet concise) worldbuilding guide for sci-fi and ANY type of writing you could do, that helps you get a handle on your world so that it's internally consistent and you know what may be different from our world. It has a "checklist" of areas to go through, that are an awesome help for brainstorming.

    It's sold by a small press--Yard Dog Press--in Arkansas, but don't let that fool you. It's GOOD.

    http://www.yarddogpress.com/Checking%20On%20Culture.htm
     
  9. jespah

    jespah Taller than a Hobbit Moderator

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  10. Triskelion

    Triskelion Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Free writing tools:

    I love this dictionary/thesaurus. ctrl/right click on any word in any application, instant meta-lookup:
    http://wordweb.info/free/

    Note Tab Light: free notepad editor that does heavy duty fast:
    http://www.notetab.com/

    Never want to go back to how it was before I started using these. :)
     
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  11. Sandoval

    Sandoval Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    The Mary Sue Litmus Test further up the page is very witty. :)
     
  12. Trelane

    Trelane Lieutenant Commander

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  13. admiralelm11

    admiralelm11 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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  14. Nerys Ghemor

    Nerys Ghemor Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Those can be fun. :) Of course, whether or not your character is well written and sympathetic to the reader is not necessarily a factor of how a character scores on that test. Even the "dreaded" Author Insert can be done with style...especially if the character who is inserted into the story has to face real challenges, take the consequences of his or her actions, and even fail sometimes.
     
  15. Kirok_of_LStok

    Kirok_of_LStok Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

  16. jespah

    jespah Taller than a Hobbit Moderator

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  17. Kevin W.

    Kevin W. Commander Red Shirt

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    This is a bit of tooting my own horn since I am one of the administrators, but the Star Trek Expanded Universe wiki has been going for the better part of the past ten years.

    http://stexpanded.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page

    It's available for all of your fanfic needs without any of the canon restraints of Memory Alpha or Memory Beta. If you want to archive your story, go right ahead.

    Seriously, go right ahead. Unfortunately, with Abrams' film being the only major Trek production in the past five years, our membership has seen better days and we could always use more members.
     
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  18. jespah

    jespah Taller than a Hobbit Moderator

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  19. ian128K

    ian128K Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    [Edit: Compiled multiple posts into a single post.]
     
    Last edited: Jan 14, 2017
  20. ian128K

    ian128K Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    A search tool for the transcripts of all Star Trek episodes and movies on Chakoteya.net:
    http://scriptsearch.dxdy.name/?page=info_content

    This one can be pretty useful:
    Mistakes to avoid when writing TOS

    Amazingly, nobody's mentioned this one:
    http://www.behindthename.com
    (Also, the subdomain http://surnames.behindthename.com for, well, surnames.)
    It's obviously only (mostly?) useful for human names, but it's really great for it. Drill down to specific ethnicities, look up meanings/origins/variations/derivatives, etc. There's also a random name generator which you can filter however you like, and the results are even clickable so that you can see the entry for that particular forename or surname.

    [Edit: Compiled multiple posts into a single post.]
     
    Last edited: Jan 14, 2017