| Author |
Message |
    
Scott F. Falkner
Awareness Member
Post Number:
28
Registered: 08-2004
Rating: 
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, October 13, 2004 - 02:24 am: |   |
Hey everybody!
In the course of writing my third book I started thinking about all the research we do as fiction writers in order to make our novels more believable. I think we all have a few stock web pages that we go to for information, (besides Google), and I thought it might be cool if we shared them here.
I'll start with a couple that I've found VERY useful.
City Data
http://www.city-data.com/
When you're writing about a city you've never been to before, or even if you just want to know more information than is readily available in the old brainbox, City Data is a great place. The site gives you a TON of information pertaining to everything from population, climate, local businesses, local hospitals and law enforcement facilities, etc. etc. It also includes maps and aerial photos. The great thing about it is that it lists all the cities in a state from the smallest to the largest. So even if you're writing about Leola, Wisconsin (pop. 265), you can still find pertinent information.
Bartleby
http://www.bartleby.com/100/
Ah, the illusive quote. Yes, there are a lot of quotations pages out there, (just enter in "quotes by subject" into Google and you'll see what I mean), but sometimes you want something a bit more literary. Bartleby allows you to access more than 11,000 quotes from four different sources, [Bartlett's, Columbia, Simpson's-(not the tv show), and Repectfully Quoted]. There are a number of search options that easily allow you to find a good literary quote that might pertain to whatever you're working on.
OK,
Keep in mind that we're going to list "general" research pages here. Let's keep away from the Writer's Workshops, and "How to get published" research pages, as there are a bunch of threads pertaining to those already.
S.F. Falkner
www.scottfalkner.com |
Frederick A. Babb
Wandering Member
Post Number:
174
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, October 13, 2004 - 03:43 am: | |
Here is one that I enjoy using. I hope it can help. Scott, you should be commended for starting a valuable thread that will become a reference for all writers.
http://www.writersedgeservice.com/refsites.htm
Frederick A. Babb
Preview books: http://www.frederickbabb.bravehost.com |
Scott F. Falkner
Awareness Member
Post Number:
29
Registered: 08-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, October 13, 2004 - 05:58 am: | |
The Reference section on that site is uber-valuable. Thanks Frederick.
This site isn't exactly "popular" with writers, as it allows you to browse books for free--but since most of the books are "classics", it's not too bad.
http://www.PageByPageBooks.com/ lets you peruse any "classic" novel online. I find this useful if I'm not at home and I want to refer to something specific that happened in, say "Dracula" or "Moby Dick". Since I can't grab my copies of the books from my library, I can look online and make sure that my memory of the passage(s) is correct.
S.F. Falkner
www.scottfalkner.com |
Laurel Johnson
Unity Member
Post Number:
3472
Registered: 01-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, October 13, 2004 - 12:35 pm: | |
Thanks for the links Scott and Fred. I usually schlump along bit by bit.
If I need to look up something about the Cheyenne indians or their language I find a Cheyenne language and history website and save that.
Ditto just about everything I look up. I've never used one of the websites you listed. Thanks.} |
Dennis Collins
Mindsight Moderator
Post Number:
1134
Registered: 06-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 15, 2004 - 05:16 pm: | |
I have an enormous bookmark folder titled, "research" and it just got bigger. You can never have too many resources. |
Dennis Collins
Mindsight Moderator
Post Number:
1149
Registered: 06-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 29, 2004 - 11:09 am: | |
I was born and raised in Detroit, lived there for over forty years and never, ever heard this legend.
Talk about your ideas for short stories....
members.tripod.com/~mainorg/nain.html |
Scott F. Falkner
Awareness Member
Post Number:
33
Registered: 08-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, October 30, 2004 - 12:01 am: | |
The Red Dwarf... that gets the imagination running!
Here's another great site along those same spooky lines. Richard Hendricks runs "Weird Wisconsin". If you've got a few minutes, check it out. Hendricks collects "weird" newspaper articles from around Wisconsin and posts them on his site (and you'll be surprised to see just how many there are!!). You'll also find information on the "Bray Road Beast", a wolf-like beast that roams Walworth county in the southern part of the state.
Here's the link: http://www.weird-wi.com/
Truth is DEFINITELY stranger than fiction!
"There is nothing funny about Halloween. This sarcastic festival reflects, rather, an infernal demand for revenge by children on the adult world."
--Jean Baudrillard
S.F. Falkner
www.scottfalkner.com |
Dennis Collins
Mindsight Moderator
Post Number:
1302
Registered: 06-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 12:59 pm: | |
For all you crime writers (Both true and fiction) out there. This could be an interesting link and very possibly a great research source.
Did you know that FBI profilers have never identified or caught a serial killer?
This guy has a different (and successful) approach.
www.drmauricegodwin.com |
Claudia Turner VanLydegraf
Mindsight Moderator
Post Number:
1846
Registered: 06-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 01:37 pm: | |
Thanks Dennis, I put it into my favorites grouping. Will look at it later tonight. Seems to be very interesting.
Claudia
MINDSIGHT MODERATOR
|
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Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 06, 2006 - 02:09 pm: | |
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