Reference Sources Recommendations

[kanshu]

I thoughth it be useful to give this its own thread.

Post here books, links etc that you found useful for writing.

Format should be for internet links:
URL:
Page Name:
Summary/Resource:
Additional info:
What you like about this pae:


For books:

Name:
Author:
Warnings: (optional)
Summary:
Why you like it:

Name: Body Trauma - a writer's guide to wounds an injuries
Author: David W. Page, M.D.
Genre: Reference book
Summary: Body Trauma explains what happens to body organs and bones maimed by accident or intent.
Warnings: None. But you will think twice before you injure your characters again.
Why you Love it: Apart from that this nook simply helps me not looking like a complete idiot (like, there are some things a character just shouldn't be able to do, even if his name is Son Goku...), this book also is educational. It's easy to use and explains things in layman's terms, ready to use for authors. Still, once you start out, you can't help but research further.


Name: Cause of Death - a writer's guide to death, murder & forensic medicine
Author: Keith D. Wilson, M.D.
Genre: reference book
Summary: Cause of Death is designed to be an efficient desktop refernce for the layperson, with vital information indexed and cross-refernced for easy access.
Warnings: None. Except for death. Lots of it...
Why you Love it: Since CSI, there's a lot known about forensics. STill, I like this book, because it always gives me ideas, or warns me about possible unhealthy sideeffects for my characters.

[kanshu]

URL: www.erowid.org/index.shtml
Page Name: Erowid Experience Vault
Summary/Resource: First hand reports on the effects of drugs, how it feels to be high, etc.
Additional info: Safe drugs don't exist. And a fair warning:

One of the things that has become extremely clear over Erowid's 5 years of researching psychoactives is that the variation in individual experience with any specific chemical is dramatic and unexpected. Huge differences occur in intensity and character of reactions even within a single individual at consistent dosages. Within a large population containing many different biochemistries, psychologies, personal histories, pharmacological baselines, varying dosages, quality of materials, and idiosyncratic reactions, the picture becomes extraordinarily complex.

What you like about this page: If you still think drugs are great after reading through those reports, then I guess there's nothing that can help you. That's the one message I got from this page. Apart from that, if you want to decribe the effects of various types of drugs, and combinations of drugs, this is a good way.

[kanshu]

Here's another useful reference book:

Name: Deadly Doses - a writer's guide to poisons

Author: Serita Deborah Stevens with Anne Klarner
Warnings: None

Summary: Deadly Doses gives a great overview over what can be used to poison people - ranging from acids to Zebrafishes. It gives detailed information about dosages, taste, colour, shape and antidote for a lot of legal and illegal substances. The book is written in layman's terms and contains a medical glossary where all medic terms used are explained.

Why you like it: This book contains what I love - lots of information, and is a great source for story ideas. It helps creating reasonable reactions in a character when it comes to being poisoned, or having allergic reactions, or just to make someone sick.

[Salmastryon]

These aren't exactly books, but they are very helpful for naming characters who need Japanese names.

URL: business.baylor.edu/Phil_VanAuken/JapaneseNames.html
Page Name: Japanese Names
Summary/Resource:
This is an extensive list of romanized Japanese female, male and family names.
Additional info:
While this page does not list meaning, how common or kanji for the names. See resource below for how to look that up.
What you like about this page:
Not being Japanese, when I have to think up a name for a character more often then not names of characters from books, mangas or anime pop in my head. While that isn't necessarily a bad thing, sometimes I don't want my characters to have a distinctive name. Also since the list is all there I can look it over till something hits me as being appropriate.

URL: linear.mv.com/cgi-bin/j-e
Page Name: Jeffrey's Japanese<->English Dictionary - Gateway
Summary/Resource: This is a comprehensive Japanese<->English online dictionary. Not only can you look up common words but it also has dictionaries for names, legal terms, life-science terms, Four-Character Idiomatic Compounds, aviation terms, computer terms, compound verbs terms, concrete terms, engineering and science terms, environment terms, finance terms, forestry terms, geological terms, Japanese place names, linguistics terms, marketing terms, pulp and paper terms , star and constellation names, Buddhist Terms and of couse Kanji.
Additional info:
I've given the gateway because there are several different versions of the dictionary depending on what type of japanese support you have on your computer. You can use this page even if you don't have Japanese support.
What you like about this page:
While I primarily love this page for looking up terms that aren't in the standard dictionary, it is also great for names. For example, if I was to grab one of the female names at random from the previous resource I mentioned Fumiko then plug it in to the names dictionary. I'd get this: linear.mv.com/cgi-bin/j-e/dosearch?sName=on&H=R&L=J&T=Fumiko&WC=none&fg=r&S=26&I=on&IK=on&LI=on All the entries with an f next to them are different spellings of Fumiko. If you click on the kanji info link on one of those it will look up the meaning of the kanji for you. Neat huh?

If you are truly adventurous you can even do the look up from the Kanji end. An example: www.solon.org/cgi-bin/j-e/jis/tty/dosearch?sName=on&H=PW&L=J&T=%1B%24BNI%1B%28B&WC=none

[kanshu]

Hey, those were really helpful! Thanks, Salma.

This URL I use all the time when writing:

URL: www.dictionary.com

Page Name: dictionary.com

Summary/Resource: It's an online English dictionary and thesaurus that describes the meaning and proper usage of most words in English language. It contains literature references, too.

Additional Info: I do have English-English dictionary books, but for most purposes, this is an up-to-date source.

What you like about this page: It's easy to use, and defines words and their usage in a way that even I, as a non-native English speaker, can access easily. I also like how you can look for synonyms in the thesaurus, and then just check back with the dictionary if the chosen replacement word really fits what you are looking for - and ll in mere fragments of a second!

[kanshu]

URL: www.rapecrisiscenter.com/Male%20Rape%20Info%20Sheet.html
Page Name: Infolink - Male Rape
Summary/Resource: The page gives a brief, but intensive introduction into the topic of male rape.
Additional info: Mature content.
What you like about this page: It gives a usable summary about the fears and reactions in victim, rapist and society.

From the same page:
www.rapecrisiscenter.com/Education.htm

Gives insight into a variety of topics concerning rape.

[kanshu]

Lunchbreaks... gott luv 'em


URL: www.bullyonline.org/stress/ptsd.htm
Page Name: Symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Summary: Information about PTSD, with foccus on bullying

URL: www.ncptsd.org/facts/index.html
Page Name:Facts About PTSD
Summary: Information about PTSD, with focus on violence survivors/witnesses

What I like about the pages:
While researching a bit for Saiyuki, I ran into these two very interesting pages aubout Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (and at least Sanzo and Hakkai are suffering from that, telling by the near 100% match of symptons)...
The two pages are an excellent source of information.

[Terra Fire]

Here's two general writing reference books:

Name: Essentials of English (Fifth Edition)
Author: Vincent F. Hopper, Cedric Gale, Ronald C. Foote, and Benjamin W. Griffith. (It's a Barron's book)
Warnings: none
Summary: Covers grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and correct word usage, along with much more.
Why you like it: I like it because it's a very convenient way to touch up on my grammar.



Name: Word Magic
Author: Cindy Rogers
Warnings: none
Summary: This shows you ways in which the words in your story can flow even better.
Why you like it: I like this because it give you an in depth description from Alliteration to how to hook the audience.


*Note: I got these books through the Institute of Children's Literature, so I don't know if it'll be available to everyone not in the US, but I'm not quite sure.


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[Salmastryon]

Name: A Writer's Reference
Author: Diana Hacker
Summary:
This is a very handy resource that covers the basics for writing non-fiction. That mean about the siixth of the book isn't very useful for pure fictional writing if you are a native english speaker. (Those sections deal with process of writing adocument MLA and APA styles of citation and ESL trouble spots.) The rest of the book deaks with grammar punctuation, word usage and sentence structures.

Why you like it:
There are two reasons I really love this book. First being the explainations in this book make sense and don't put me to sleep. The second is the easy of looking up specific point. There are three different method to look up a topic: the index, table of contents and by tabs.

[kanshu]

My following resources are all mailing lists. However, you can decide while signing up if you want to receive mails, or if you want to read online.

URL: groups.yahoo.com/group/fanfic_med/
Name: fanfic_med (mailing list)
Summary/Resource: This list is for people who write (or edit) fanfiction and include medical information--when characters are injured or ill, for use in fanfic about doctors, or as part of historical information in period pieces.

What you like about this page: You can ask all kinds of questions from disease name to how to treat a burn, and they have created a huge database.


URL: groups.yahoo.com/group/fanfic_law/
Name: fanfic_law (mailing list)
Summary/Resource: This list is for people who write (or edit) fanfiction and include legal information--when characters are arrested, arresting, on trial, or involved in investigations; for use in fanfic about lawyers, police officers, investigative agents, etc.; or as part of historical information in period pieces.

What you like about this page: As above, the group has gathered a huge base of data, and I get a lot of ideas reading about the legal problems brought up here.

URL: groups.yahoo.com/group/fanfic_geography/
Page Name: fanfic_geography (mailing list)
Summary/Resource: If your characters are in Chicago, what El stop do they need? If they're on a whirlwind trip to Paris, what hotel might they stay in? This is a place for fanfic writers to ask questions about places and locations they need to know more about. Everyone can potentially benefit AND be a resource -- you never know when somebody's characters might be near your hometown.
What you like about this page: There's no better resource than people living in a town you want to write about.

[wildelamassu]

URL: www.wikipedia.org
Page Name: Wikipedia
Summary/Resource: The extensive, free, open-source encyclopedia.
Additional info: It's up-to-date and covers more than your traditional Britannica. It's sort of like a futuristic database from a comic book--it's got an article on Saiyuki, even, though it's sparse (someone go fill it in!).
What you like about this page: When I don't know something, I start here. ^^

[swallowtail]

URL: www.livejournal.com/users/limyaael/168013.html
Page Name: Original Fantasy Mary-Sue Litmus test
Summary/Resource: A improved version of the Mary-Sue test.
Additional info: I like this test, because it doesn't discriminate and gives characters who really aren't sues/stus a fair chance, with a faier rating system.
What you like about this page: See above.

[kanshu]

URL: www.fbi.gov/publications/leb/leb.htm
Page Name: Law Enforement Bulletin
Page summary: ARticles about the investigational work.
Additional Info:
Covers a wide range of police and FBI work. Examples:
- Intuitive Policing (Feb 04)
- Computer Forensics (March 04)
- Negotiating with Fellow Officers in crisis (April 04)
- Conducting Surveillance Operations (May 04)
- The Witness Security Program (May 04)
- Kidnapping Investigations (July 04)
What you like about this page: It provides some interesting thoughts and insides

[kanshu]

Characters & Viewpoints (Elements of Fiction Writing)
Orson Scott Card
Writer's Digest Books; Auflage: New Ed (April 1999)
ISBN-10: 0898799279
ISBN-13: 978-0898799279

The Weekend Novelist: Learn to Write a Novel in 52 Weeks
Robert J. Ray and Bret Norris
Billboard Books,U.S.; Auflage: Rev Upd (April 2005)
ISBN-10: 0823084507
ISBN-13: 978-0823084500

The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile
Noah Lukeman
Prentice Hall & IBD (Januar 2000)
ISBN-10: 068485743X
ISBN-13: 978-0684857435

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print
Renni Browne and Dave King
HarperCollins Publishers; Auflage: 2 Sub (April 2004)
ISBN-10: 0060545690
ISBN-13: 978-0060545697

How to Grow a Novel: The Most Common Mistakes Writers Make and How to Overcome Them
Sol Stein
Saint Martin's Press; Auflage: Reprint (March 2002)
ISBN-10: 0312267495
ISBN-13: 978-0312267490

Plot (Elements of Fiction Writing)
Ansen Dibell
Writer's Digest Books (1. March 2001)
ISBN-10: 0898799465
ISBN-13: 978-0898799460