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References & Resources

These are just a few references and resources that I have collected. Of course there are many more that would be a great help to the writing community. Please send any that you recommend to: editor@sdwriteway.org.


The Reference Desk

http://www.refdesk.com/


Dictionaries & Thesaruri

» Bartleby: Great Books Online — a reference site for literature, providing dictionaries, thesauri, author index and quotations
» Cambridge Dictionary Online — British English
» Merriam-Webster Online — dictionary and thesaurus of American English
» Online Etymology Dictionary
» Yiddish Online Dictionary — English Yiddish dictionary.

Idioms

(These are good if writing historical fiction to weed out modern references.)
» A-Z List of Idioms - UsingEnglish.com
» Answers.com — encyclodictionalmanacapedia
» Idiom-attic Dictionary/Thesaurus of Idioms.

Skills & Technique/Grammar

» Common Errors in English — common errors in English and alphabetical list of misused words; easy grammar checking
» OWL Handouts - Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling — brought to you by the Purdue University Online Writing Lab.

Style Guides

» Associated Press Stylebook — "the journalist's 'Bible'" widely used by newspapers (but not book or magazine publishers)
» Chicago Manual of Style — the most widely used style manual for book and magazine publishing (but not newspapers); see also: One Space or Two? — answers the timeless question of whether to put one or two spaces following a period.

Research

» Bartleby: Great Books Online — a reference site for literature, providing dictionaries, thesauri, author index and quotations
» Google Book Search — search the full text of books to find ones that interest you and learn where to buy or borrow them
» Internet Movie Database — to locate a quote from just about any movie ever made; also good for other movie trivia
» Literary Law Guide - free articles and podcasts by an intellectual property law firm regarding legal issues for writers

Critique Groups, Chat Rooms and Forums

» Betsie's Literary Page - How to Critique
» Chat and Forum Listings — Preditors and Editors guide to publishers and publishing services for serious writers
» Critique Circle — give and receive feedback through online critiques
» Writer Circle — an active site for critiques
» Universal Writer's Group — chatrooms, forums and critiquing for all writers

Classes and Workshops

» Allpoetry Community — focuses on education and sharing your poetry; chat rooms, contests, critiquing, classes and workshops
» Fiction Factor — classes and workshops to help you publish and warnings about publishing schemes; site contains forums, newsletters and markets
» La Jolla Writers Conference
» Spoiled Ink Writing Community — workshop your short stories and poems; contests, critiques and forums

Resources

» A Newbie's Guide to Publishing — author JA Konrath's blog on writing
» Absolute Write — forums, classes, market listings, editorial services, writers directory, agents, software, newsletter
» Betsie's Literary Page — lots of links to book reviews, author interviews, upcoming events, author-friendly radio sources
» Book Marketing Update — resources for self-publishing and promoting your books
» CaliforniaAuthors.com-CaliforniaWriters.com — book news, author and reader resources
» Dictionaryreference.com — sources for reference books and software
» Folio Literary Management (formerly Creative Media Agency Inc.) — helpful articles for writers, including "How to Get Published"; a must site for anyone hoping to sell a book to a publisher.
See also: How To Write A Kick-Ass Query Letter — voice of experience from agent Paige Wheeler, president of Folio Literary Management
» Donald Maass Literary Agency — good writing still gets noticed: an interview with Donald Maass. See also: 10 Secrets for Dazzling Query Letters by Rachel Vater, author of "The Agents Directory: Everything You Need to Know to Sell Your Book or Script," and editor of "Guide to Literary Agents"
» The Market List - A Writers Market Resource for Genre Fiction
» Preditors & Editors — a guide to publishers and writing services for serious writers
» Publishers Marketplace — fee-based site with book-publishing news
» Publishers Newswire — bills itself as "The News and Marketing Resource for Book Publishers and Authors"
» Publishers Weekly — monitors the pulse of the book publishing industry
» Quotes About Writing — get inspiration (or not) from the famous and infamous
» Scriptorium — a virtual room for writers; on The Writers Digest 101 best writing websites for 2004 and 2006
» Tips Products International — Booklets and Info Products as Business Propositions
» Writer's Digest Magazine — writing books, competitions and other resources for writers

The Online Books Page

http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/

The Online Books Page is a website that facilitates access to books that are freely readable over the Internet. It also aims to encourage the development of such online books, for the benefit and edification of all. Listing over 25,000 free books on the Web.


More Directories

One Look Dictionary Search

http://www.onelook.com/

Webster's Online Dictionary with Multilingual Thesaurus Translation

http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/

Online Etymology Dictionary

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=defenestration

Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Babel Fish Translation

http://babel.altavista.com/

SDL/Free Translation.com

http://www.freetranslation.com/

USPS Zip Code Directory

http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp

San Diego Unified School District Media Directory

http://www.sandi.net/comm/media/news_media.html

Gebbie Press: The All-in-One Media Directory

http://www.gebbieinc.com/

Directory of Bookclubs

http://bookclub.com/

Library of Congress Online Catalog

http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&PAGE=First

US Copyright Office

http://www.copyright.gov/

BowkerLink Publisher Access System

http://www.bowkerlink.com/corrections/bip/itemsearch.asp

Book TV on C-Span2

http://www.booktv.org/