Tabitha Drake
Breaking the rules of Romance one love story at a time.
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Writer Weblinks

***This page of lists is a work-in-progress and updated as I have time to work on it.***

 

Essential Writing Tools I Personally Use

Programs and websites I can't survive without. The websites are free, but most of the apps are not; however, if you participate and win NaNoWriMo, oftentimes discount codes to some of them are included in the winner goodies. 

  1. *Scrivener - Writing, organizing, & formatting: https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview

  2. Scapple - Brainstorming and organizing: https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scapple/overview

  3. Aeon Timeline - Creating consistent timelines - *Syncs with Scrivener: https://www.aeontimeline.com/users/creative-writers/

  4. Idea Spinner - Brainstorming and organizing: http://storymind.com/page507.htm

  5. *Microsoft Word (I have Office 365) - Writing & formatting: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/office-365-personal/cfq7ttc0k5bf?activetab=pivot%3aoverviewtab

  6. *Grammarly - Editing (because it has invaluable plug-in's for Word, Chrome, and Google Docs): https://app.grammarly.com/

  7. 4theWords - Writing website that combines the productivity of writing with the fun of quest-gaming: https://app.4thewords.com

  8. Jutoh - Formatting & design: http://www.jutoh.com/

  9. myNoise - Non-distracting background noise: https://mynoise.net/

  10. Canva - Creating graphics for marketing and web use: https://www.canva.com/

  11. Things 3 - Productivity app (I use on my iPhone): https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/things-3/id904237743?mt=8

  12. Thesaurus: https://www.thesaurus.com/

  13. Dictionary: https://www.dictionary.com/

*I do most of my draft writing in Scrivener, but I prefer Word for the final editing stages for a number of reasons, one of which is that there are Word-compatible Grammarly and KindleCreate Add-ins that I find invaluable. 

Writing Tools I Don't Personally Use

These are a few that I don't personally use myself (primarily because many of them are for Mac only and I run Windows), but fellow author/friends sing their praises.

  1. Vellum: https://vellum.pub/

  2. Ulysses: https://ulysses.app/

  3. Storyist: http://storyist.com/

  4. The Novel Factory: https://www.novel-software.com/

  5. WriteItNow: http://www.ravensheadservices.com/

  6. yWriter: http://www.spacejock.com/yWriter6.html

  7. StoryShop: https://storyshop.io/

  8. Google Docs: https://docs.google.com

Character Development Questionnaires/Interviews

There are some really great character development worksheets out there. Below are a few of my favorites. These types of lists are not one size fits all. Over the years, from these and other lists, I've borrowed what is relevant and curated my own that I currently use.  

  1. https://thewritepractice.com/proust-questionnaire/

  2. http://crystalstranaghan.com/interview-your-characters/

  3. https://www.autocrit.com/editing/library/four-methods-for-interviewing-characters/

  4. http://www.pameladowd.com/Adobe/CharacterDevelopmentChart.PDF

Writing Research 

A few random but useful odds and ends of research I've accumulated over the years. 

  1. Comprehensive Clothing Styles and Designs Guide: https://www.buzzfeed.com/juliegerstein/girl-you-look-good?bffb&utm_term=.goQGGN7MJ3#.vfaNNW782B

  2. Describing Skin Tone: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/96830966357/writing-with-color-description-guide-words-for

  3. Describing Eye Color: http://www.obsidianbookshelf.com/html/eyecolorlist.html

  4. American Architectural Styles: https://99percentinvisible.org/article/style-house-visual-guides-domestic-architectural-designs/

  5. Architectural Terms & Definitions: http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/portal/communities/architecture/resources/dictionary.html and http://img.uoregon.edu/arh314/terminology/Terminology_all.html

  6. North American Trees: http://www.treesofnorthamerica.net/ and http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?guide=Trees

  7. North American Flowers: http://www.projectnoah.org/missions/5022010

  8. List of Mythical Creatures: http://www.gods-and-monsters.com/list-of-mythical-creatures.html

  9. Occult & Witchcraft: http://www.puzuzu.com/

  10. Cemetery Terminology: https://www.in.gov/dnr/historic/files/cem_glossary.pdf

  11. Legal Age to Marry by State: https://www.thespruce.com/legal-age-marriage-laws-by-state-2300971

  12. Family Relationship Charts: https://www.famlii.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Family-Relationship-Chart-Famlii-1.pdf and https://lifehacker.com/second-cousins-once-removed-and-more-explained-in-1661572056

  13. Everything About Hair (this is incredible for fiction AND real life!): https://www.buzzfeed.com/juliegerstein/31-charts-thatll-help-you-have-the-best-hair-of-your-life?utm_term=.tmeOOl6Ead#.btk88br2mO

  14. Describing Noses: https://kathysteinemann.com/Musings/noses/

  15. Reverse Dictionary: http://onelook.com/reverse-dictionary.shtml

  16. Color Converter: https://www.w3schools.com/colors/colors_converter.asp

  17. Twitter Hashtags: http://www.aerogrammestudio.com/2013/03/12/100-twitter-hashtags-every-writer-should-know/

  18. Google Translate: https://translate.google.com/

  19. Wordle: http://www.wordle.net/

Querying Essentials

Great places to research agents and publishers. QueryTracker is my favorite, but to get the most out of it, I recommend the paid "Premium" subscription. Totally worth it.

  1. Query Tracker: https://querytracker.net/index.php

  2. Publishers Marketplace: https://www.publishersmarketplace.com/

  3. Poets & Writers: https://www.pw.org/literary_agents

  4. Agent Query: https://agentquery.com/publishing_mp.aspx

  5. Writers Market: http://www.writersmarket.com/cms/open/agent

  6. Writers Digest: http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/literary-fiction-agents

  7. Absolute Write Forum: https://absolutewrite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?22-Bewares-Recommendations-amp-Background-Check

Publishing Essentials

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Marketing Essentials

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Business Essentials

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