Recommend your favorite writing reference sites

[mike2363]

This is an excellent website. I remember about 8 years ago I was part of a group online that wrote Star Trek stories together but totally forgot what the website was called. It something that I'd love to get back into so if anyone has any advice, it would be very much appreciated!

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Haven't used it myself, but this, birthed on this bbs thru my suggestion and the hard work of many. https://startreklitverse.yolasite.com/character-names.php

 

[WarpTenLizard]

Love you for this thread! Bookmarked.

Anyway, the ones I tend to turn to include:

Memory Alpha, for all things canon: http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Portal:Main
Memory Beta: Refers to information from "non-canon" but still published sources, like the novels and video games and such. I usually ignore these when writing fanfiction, but will use elements from them, in regards to certain species' biology or history. http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page
Ex Astris Scientia: This magnificent nerd basically chronicles everything from onscreen canon that can be chronicled, from Klingon hybrids to Starship designs to exactly how many American humans appear in the "diverse" world of Starfleet. http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org
Chrissie's Transcripts Site: Online postings of original episode scripts from a variety of "Star Trek" series and other sci-fi shows. This is GREAT if you're trying to write a story that overlaps with or refers to a specific canon scene. http://www.chakoteya.net/StarTrek/index.html
Trek Core: Screencaps for every scene from every episode of every series. Very useful if you want to recapture the appearance of a scene, person or whatever, and don't have a video clip on hand.

 

[think]

https://www.wattpad.com/
Large trek fan fiction population plus you can do YouTube and images integrated into your stories,..with their app ,,,free with ads and other things you pay to have or not..

Wordpress and blogspot from google are good but massive..

 

[Sgt_G]

Anyone heard of a software package called CAMPFIRE? (campfire technology dot com)

I just saw an ad for it the other night. It's an application that allows authors to track characters with arcs and relationships, timelines and events, locations and maps, and all the background / world-building behind the story.

I want to get opinions before I jump into yet-another piece of software. If you've tried it, was it worth the time/money/effort??

Thanks!!!!!!!!

 

[Sgt_G]

Something I have started using very recently for proofreading -- the new version of WORD has a text-to-speech feature that will read your story aloud to you. It's amazing how many missing-word and wrong-word errors you can catch this way.

 

[D'Artagnan]

A thread has been requested for links to handy sites like

Memory Alpha
http://memory-alpha.org/

So, here it is.

Memory Alpha is excellent for tech and historical reference.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

The Universal Mary-Sue Litmus Test.

This character sheet generator is quite useful and suprisingly detailed:

http://www.cthreepo.com/writing/character.shtml

The rest of the site is pretty good also

"What Not To Wear"
(For Fic Sites)

http://starbase_hellsgate.tripod.com/blog.html​

Heads up - none of the above links are operational anymore.

I really wish Chakoteya's dxdy script search engine worked again. It was much better than searching the whole site.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

I really wish Chakoteya's dxdy script search engine worked again. It was much better than searching the whole site.

Ask and I shall receive. Different site, but so far so good. https://searchtrek.org/ This one can even do phrases without quote marks around them.

 

[MaryWhite]

AP Stylebook
WritersDigest is a comprehensive resource with a wealth of articles, tips, and guides covering every facet of writing, from honing your craft to getting published. Their extensive materials provide insights on technique, style, grammar, publishing, and more.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

From https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/stardate-calculator-for-ttrpgs-or-just-for-fun.316734

I found this today:

https://stardatecalculator.com

It's for calculating Stardates. If you are playing a Star Trek table-top roleplaying game with friends or even running a Solo game with Captain's Log, this page is great.

You'll have to figure out a day and Earth year. Memory Alpha is good for these things. Then select the date and time you want and hit Calculate.

I put in 12 noon on my birthday 2 years after Star Trek V The Final Frontier, and it spat out

Stardate 8883.85

Sounds like a good starting spot for my Captain's Log Solo game.

 

[Dr. K.R. Kollman hon.]

From https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/stardate-calculator-for-ttrpgs-or-just-for-fun.316734

Of course!
I didn't even think of it for writing.
Glad you found it.

 

[Galen4]

This is actually a Youtube channel, but I can't recommend it enough. The author gives writing advice in tight, short segments that I've found to be very helpful. While there are other ones out there, this guy is no nonsense.

His name is Brandon McNulty. Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@WriterBrandonMcNulty

 

[Turtletrekker]

I found this handy name generator for Star Trek species, among others.

https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/#Avatar

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Update:

SearchTrek

A Star Trek Script search engine, search every word spoken in the Star Trek TV series and movies

searchtrek.org

Now with Kelvin films, Discovery, Picard, and Lower Decks searchable, images for context, and timecodes so you can find the moment you're looking for.