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Help Thread: Writing Resources

Dagzar

The Dreamer
444
Posts
15
Years
Alright, guys, welcome to the Resources Thread! This is exactly how it sounds. Here is a list of links that other members and I find useful to all things writing. Of course, if you have a link that you find useful for writing, go right ahead and post it here and I'll add it.

Pokemon Related:
http://www.serebii.net/index2.shtml - This is the first website I go to when needing Pokemon information since it's quick, reliable and navigable (not including times when it's as slow as hell).

http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Main_Page - My second Pokemon resource, this site is useful when I need to know anime stuff, like what an attack looks like and things that Serebii doesn't have.

http://veekun.com/dex - Another Pokedex.

http://www.psypokes.com/dex/index.php - And another Pokedex. You can never have too many of them. ;)

http://www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?t=140933 - This is a guide on OT fics. More specifically, how not to write them. Everyone who writes or wants to write an OT fic better check this out, because not only is it useful as heck, but entertaining to read.

Character Related:
https://charahub.com/ - Create and share your characters with this site.

http://www.mybirthcare.com/favorites/babynames.asp - A nice site for getting names when you can't think of one.

http://www.behindthename.com/ - Another site for names, but this one has the history of the name and way more options to play around with.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Sue - The most comprehensive guide to Mary Sues, believe it or not. A definition of what they are in general, followed by the basic archetypes and examples.

http://fullcircle.comicgenesis.com/characterdevelopment.htm - Definitely something to look at if you want to know how to flesh out a character and make them feel like a real person.

http://www.poewar.com/get-ready-for-10-days-of-character-building/ - Ten articles on building and fleshing out a character. Includes questions and ideas to help you on this path.

http://www.gaminggeeks.org/Resources/KateMonk/ - Ever wanted to find a good, obscure name for your character but other name sites aren't giving you many option? Then lucky you, because this site is a dictionary of names from all over the world. Greek, Egyptian, European at all? Congrats, it's in there… Somewhere. Warning: a big site, try not to get lost.

http://familyecho.com/#edit:START – Now this is something you might need for your fantasy verses. Now all your giant family needs can be met here, a site which creates a family tree for your family, complete with profiles and pictures if you want to add one. While it is primarily used for real world families, it certainly works well for my own sixty plus member fantasy family.

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2...perceptions_by_character_resource-d4tir1z.png - Have a specific character interaction you want to develop more? This chart has some good questions to jumpstart that!

Plotting Related:
http://www.sfwa.org/2009/08/fantasy-worldbuilding-questions/ - Awesome site of awesomeness. It's a great help for building fantasy worlds like you wouldn't believe. Includes questions on geography, culture, history, magic- all that fun stuff.

http://www.writing-world.com/romance/starters.shtml - Ever have trouble thinking up a plot? Then here's a list of ten ways to jump-start that epic plot waiting to be found! It's sot of romance related, but it's still has great advice, so check it out.

http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/art/snowflake.php - This is more for writing novels then fanfiction, but it can still be used. This is the ultimate plotting guide which will help you on the way to making a strong and structured story.

http://www.springhole.net/writing/create-better-futures.htm - Another good article on worldbuilding. The Springhole website also has several more writing articles/resources worth checking!

Writing Mechanics:
http://dictionary.reference.com/ - Exactly what is says (it even has a thesaurus!).

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/exercises/ - A pretty thorough guide to grammar, complete with various exercises that help you develop your grammar-related skills.

http://www.grammarbook.com/english_rules.asp - Another guide that's just as thorough as the above. Includes detailed examples and more details about rules OWL's a bit fuzzy on. (This includes a list of commonly confused words, too.)

http://orangoo.com/spellcheck/ - Online spell checker.

http://www.uky.edu/AS/Classics/rhetoric.html - Goes over rhetoric terms (simile, metaphor, exc.) and lists examples.

http://www.usingenglish.com/glossary.html - Contains definitions and examples of all those terms you vaguely remember from your elementary school days.

http://www.studio-revolution.net/summary.php - Reviewing and You, everything you ever wanted to know about reviewing but were afraid to ask. (Includes a guide on how to get reviews as well as how to do the entire review exchange thing civilly.)

http://www.pgtc.com/~slmiller/fictiontips.htm - Contains articles on many sources of writing, including mechanics, characters, and other useful tips.

http://fychuckpalahniuk.tumblr.com/post/9285901274/thought-verbs-by-chuck-palahniuk - An article on showing versus telling.

http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/writingexercises/qt/punctuation.htm - Need to learn how to punctuate dialogue, but don't have the time? Check this out.

http://litreactor.com/columns/talk-it-out-how-to-punctuate-dialogue-in-your-prose - A more in-depth look to make sure your conversations are perfectly punctuated.

Word Processing/Story Project Software and Websites:
OpenOffice.org - A fully-featured office/productivity suite, just like Microsoft Office only better because it's free. It runs on every major OS. What you want is Writer, their word processing application; unfortunately you can't download Writer by itself and need to install the entire suite, but OpenOffice as a whole is so good that you really shouldn't care. It reads/writes .doc and .docx files from Word, too, by the way.

Abiword - A much smaller program that is strictly a word processor but is also free and multi-platform. Not as sophisticated as Writer or Word, but if you want something fast and simple and don't need to make spreadsheets then it's a good option.

Celtx - More free, more multi-platform. It says it's for "media pre-production" and is really intended for things like screenplays or radio dramas, but it still works beautifully for plain-ol' fic writing. Chances are very, very high that you don't need something like this and will do just fine with a simple word processor, but if you are hopelessly disorganized like me then you may find its project-oriented structure helpful for your longer works.

yWriter - Similar to the above, but specifically geared toward novel (or longfic!) writing. Again, aids with structure and organization if you are beyond redemption in that area. Intended for Windows, though you can try running it on a Linux computer with some tweaking.

Google Docs - Yes, Google has a word processor. Sign up for an account and start creating documents; simplistic, but more than adequate for most fanfics. You can choose to share docs with collaborators, which could be useful if communicating with a beta reader. Doesn't require downloads but does need an internet connection.

Adobe Buzzword - Similar to Google Docs, but run by Adobe. I find it a little slower than GDocs, but it's fancier and is capable of more complex formatting should you need it.

WriteRoom - A simple program for what is called "distraction-free writing"--it removes all of the bells, whistles and buttons of standard word processors and often hides most of your computer screen so that you can focus on what you're writing and only on what you're writing. It sounds primitive (and is) but is actually incredibly useful. WriteRoom itself is Mac and iPhone only, but this page on their wiki lists similar options for people who have different platforms or need slightly different features.

Write or Die - An online or desktop program for people who need to get some writing done Or Else. It not only removes distracting interfaces but introduces the added condition that it will punish you if you do not write constantly. You can choose punishments that range from annoying beeps to Hanson songs to deleting what you just wrote, so it's great motivation when you're having trouble getting stuff out. For rough drafts only; you will also need to make sure you have an actual word processor to save your work in, whether it's Word or GDocs.

Storybook - A program designed to help with novel-writing. Helps organize plot lines, characters, chapters, and whatever else one tends to lose track of while writing long novels.

General:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BadWritingIndex?from=Main.BadWriting - A list of tropes that are generally considered to be a part of bad writing. Remember that exceptions do exist, and to only browse when you have at least three hours available. This site is addictive!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page - It may not be that reliable, I suppose, but it's good for a quick fact.

http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/forum - You can find anything here and the forum comes with its own resources thread that includes information on medicine, police stuff, geography, history, and so many other things.

http://community.livejournal.com/little_details/ - A LJ community geared specifically towards helping writers do their research by answering their questions. It's already an impressive community filled with information (sorted by the tags) that you can't find practically anywhere else. PC writers with LJ accounts can also sign up for the community and ask away if they can't find the answer they need in the archives.

http://www.google.com - Best search engine in the world and your first stop before trying to tear your hair out over not finding things in Wikipedia first.

http://www.rainymood.com/ – Some people, like me, need noise to write properly but regular songs and music is too distracting. Therefore, I turn to this site, which gives you a loop of thirty minutes of the sound of rain (plus some thunder). It's very useful and very refreshing.

http://thewritersarchive.tumblr.com/post/51965789306 - A handy archive list of various resources for all your writing needs!
 
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Giratina ♀

what's your sign?
1,439
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15
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  • Age 27
  • Seen Jul 23, 2013
I think this thread would make a good addition. Yes, it's pretty tongue-in-cheek, but it also points out a lot of the more nonsensical tropes of Pokémon fanfics (not just journeyfics, as the title suggests).
 

Ayutac

Developer who wants your help
157
Posts
12
Years
I would like to recommand the Litmus-Test for Mary Sues. Can really open someone's eyes :)

EDIT: Just tested one of my main characters again.
Kill it dead.
Haha, again. But if I remember right, he improved. And he is indeed a Gary Stue, more to say a game breaker, and he doesn't not particate a lot in the part of the story I tested him for.
 
Last edited:
10,173
Posts
17
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  • Age 37
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I'm kind of against adding any Mary-Sue tests to this thread. They really don't take into account the fact that the best way to tell if a character is a Sue is by the way they are handled in the story.

For example, one of my characters had a high enough score to be considered a major Sue that I needed to completely rethink over. But what hurt her was points added to the score for qualities that are really kind of important to the story. (She's a member of a secret group that saves the world, but it makes complete sense for the fandom it's for).

Just saying that a character has certain qualities doesn't mean that the character is a Sue and should be completely rewritten. The character should be compared to the canon of the story and the story itself to see if they are handled correctly. Those "Sue" qualities might be completely explained and make sense in the story.
 

Venia Silente

Inspectious. Good for napping.
1,224
Posts
15
Years
Some details that could be added / changed:

1.- By this time it would be more convenient to change the link from OpenOffice.org to LibreOffice.org, the forked equivalent, since that one is more likely to see new development and not leave people who want to use it long term "stuck". In particular if eg.: .docx support is important.

2.- Would recommend Storybook but only for those writers who have already built a large structure for their fics that can benefit from maintaining an actual database of characters, locations, events and plot strands. This software allows to create sheets of events in the story and link them chronologically, to then write them later. It also allows to do the inverse, more or less.

3.- I agree that in general Mary Sue tests should not be linked to. They tend to have the problems described above. And Pokémon is such an open fandom that coming up with a sensible Mary Sue litmus test for this fandom would be a logistical nightmare. However, it should be mentioned that tests exist, and warned that some tests are better tuned to test certain traits than others, "canonness" being one of those traits.

4.- I wonder if a link to the Writing Excuses blog and audio tapes would be useful. They tend to be pretty concise in the matters they discuss and sometimes hearing about stuff gives a better perspective than reading about it.
 
10,173
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17
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Thank you, solovino, for the updates! I changed OpenOffice's link and added Storybook's to the first post. And if you like, you can link to the Writing Excuses blog/audio tapes, since they could be helpful.
 

Venia Silente

Inspectious. Good for napping.
1,224
Posts
15
Years
Allright, here it goes, more or less.

http://www.writingexcuses.com/ - "Writing Excuses", a weekly audio podcast and associated blog, dedicated to the aspects, efforts and difficulties of the writing process. How to worldbuild, avoid a deus ex machina, give your character a gun that he can actually use, or avoid the dreaded Writer's Block. Podcast is in MP3 format and there are (apparently unofficial, not sure yet) associated transcript archives.
 
10,173
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  • Age 37
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It's okay to post here. Sticky threads can be posted in at any time. And I'll add those links when PC isn't so busy and there's a fear of server errors!
 

Nolafus

Aspiring something
5,724
Posts
11
Years
Well, I might have something to contribute. I refer to this article when I'm concerned about showing v telling. It takes one of the hardest things to learn, and simplifies it down. Not for the really advanced writer, but perfect for someone who is just getting into it and looking to improve. I know how some people feel about tumblr, and I remember the conversation we had going on in the dcc, but I think this article actually makes sense. Let me know what you think.

http://fychuckpalahniuk.tumblr.com/post/9285901274/thought-verbs-by-chuck-palahniuk
 
10,173
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Tumblr links are fine so long as they aren't what we were talking about in the DCC.
 
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starseed galaxy auticorn

[font=Finger Paint][COLOR=#DCA6F3][i]PC's Resident
6,647
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19
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http://thewritersarchive.tumblr.com/post/51965789306 Is it okay to contribute this? It's helped me a lot with my writing. I wanted to share it with you guys. :3 There are so many things to offer. Need to look up a disability or disorder? You can. Want to make your characters better? You can do that also! A friend of mine link me to this not long ago, and I've used it ever since.
 
77
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  • Age 27
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To see a list of writing resources go this long without mentioning TV Tropes is a sin. I set off to search for a link to the Bad Writing Index, clicked what felt like a few links, and ended up on a page talking about different types of SciFi-Fantasy combinations without noticing it's been over six hours. Not many writer's resources are entertaining enough to be addictive.

Here's the link, by the way.
 

bobandbill

one more time
16,876
Posts
16
Years
Tvtropes can be useful, certainly, although it is important to remember that not all tropes are bad. (Is that a trope...?) That and it doesn't help people who already have procrastination issues, haha.
 

starseed galaxy auticorn

[font=Finger Paint][COLOR=#DCA6F3][i]PC's Resident
6,647
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19
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For the record, I forgot all about this thread. I posted here before, but that was fucking ages ago. I actually discovered another site I use often. For those who have trouble keeping up with their characters are just want an easier way to plan them... there's a site called Charahub. I discovered it recently on the writing site I go on. I find it to be very useful for writers like me who have a hard time with developing their characters, so maybe it'll be useful to others: https://charahub.com
 
77
Posts
9
Years
  • Age 27
  • Seen Dec 5, 2015
Tvtropes can be useful, certainly, although it is important to remember that not all tropes are bad. (Is that a trope...?) That and it doesn't help people who already have procrastination issues, haha.
That is a trope. Good point nonetheless, though there are plenty of pages of how to do things right as well. The index I linked to is just a good launch point, nothing more.

AdorbzFangirl said:
For the record, I forgot all about this thread. I posted here before, but that was ****ing ages ago. I actually discovered another site I use often. For those who have trouble keeping up with their characters are just want an easier way to plan them... there's a site called Charahub. I discovered it recently on the writing site I go on. I find it to be very useful for writers like me who have a hard time with developing their characters, so maybe it'll be useful to others: https://charahub.com
Currently registering. I like their terms & conditions.
 

Bay

6,381
Posts
17
Years
I'm already aware there are a few articles on writing mechanics, but I thought it would be more beneficial in bringing in a couple articles focused on punctuating dialogue as that can be often confusing for many writers.

-Punctuating Dialogue (short and sweet, straight to the point)

-Talk It Out: How to Punctuate Dialogue In Your Prose (a more indepth one, but still pretty accessible I think)

If any of you believe there are better articles for punctuating dialogue I'm fine with that too!
 
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