Writing Resources

All links were working as of September 10, 2001.  If you find a broken link or would like to suggest an addition, please email Adrastea at ksa_adrastea@hotmail.com.

• Magnesia ad Maeandrum
    - Photos of Greek architecture with brief notes.

Canon: Hercules and Xena

• AXIP Episode Guide
    - X:WP episodes seasons 1-6.
• Whoosh!
    - Great for ep guides and articles. Even has transcripts for some eps, including What's In A Name?
• Xena Online Resources
    - General links to sites in the fandom.

Dictionaries

• The Alternative Dictionaries Project
    - Features online dictionaries of dirty words in an impressive variety of languages.
• British to American Dictionary
• One Look Dictionaries
    - Multi-dictionary (including slang) search.

Etymology

• Etymologically Speaking...
• Wilton's Word and Phrase Origins
• The Word Detective
• A Word With You

Fan Fiction

• Commandments of the William Shatner School for the Correction of Bad Writing
    - Humorous list of the abuses of the English language found in fanfic from a Ksares chat.
• Dr. Merlin's Guide to Fan Fiction
• The Less Than Legendary Guide to Writing in the HtLJ Universe
    - Grammar guide; examples of how not to write.

General Reference

• Bartleby.com's collection of reference books
    - Includes encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri, English usage manuals, quotation collections, and more.
• Encyclopedia Britannica
    - Not even sure where to start? Try the EB.

Grammar

• alt.usage.english FAQ
    - An ugly lot to wade through, but quite comprehensive and with good discussion.
• Grammar, Punctuation, and Capitalization: A Handbook for Technical Writers and Editors (NASA SP-7084)
    - Writing the scientific name for an animal and can't remember if the genus or the species gets capitalized? Answer's here. Call it the grammar guide of last resort.
• Grammar Links
    - In case you still haven't found what you need.
• Holy Mother Grammatica
    - Lots of grammar and punctuation and lists of common mistakes; entertainingly written.
• Ms. Nitpicker's Fan Fiction Test--How Well Can You Write?
    - Do you need to read these grammar sites? Check yourself here.
• The Online English Grammar
    - Excellent discussion of parts of speech. Check the archive of questions or submit a question of your own.
• Punctuating Dialog Correctly
    - Specific examples, very useful for fiction.
• Tham's Sexed-Up Grammar Guide
    - A most entertaining approach to grammar.

History

• Ancient Greek Links on the Web
• Argos: Limited Area Search of the Ancient and Medieval Internet
    - Academic search engine for classical and medieval sites.
• Gaius Julius Caesar
    - Links to various aspects of Caesar's life.
• Greek Costume Through The Centuries
• The Hellenic Neo-Pagan Calendar
    - Has a wonderful section on festivals, among other things.
• Ships of the Ancient Greeks
    - An annotated collection of links.

Law

• Roman Law

Maps

• Map of Ancient Greece
    - Includes often detailed notes about places and timelines.
• Map of the Roman Empire
• Map of the Underworld
    -

Mary-Sue

• The (Original) Mary Sue Litmus Test
• Self-Insertion and Mary-Sue-ism

Mythology

• The Encyclopedia Mythica
    - Excellent, comprehensive, searchable resource.
• Greek Mythology Link
    - This is a great site—it has maps, biographies of mythological figures, genealogies, discussions of key historical events.
• Mythological Characters WorldWide
    - Mythological characters in the Greek and Celtic pantheons, as well as numerous others.
• The Perseus Digital Library
    - Primary material (all the Greek drama in English translation), as well as biographies of mythological characters.

Names

• Behind the Name
    - The etymology and history of first names; includes Greek and Latin names; great for determining if a name existed in an historical time period.
• Names from the Ancient World
    - From An Onomastikon, or dictionary of names; explains Roman names (e.g. praenomina, nomina, and cognomina).

Point of View

• Point of View (Is Playing by the Rules for you?)
    - The basics; the place to start if you've never heard of third person viewpoint.
• Point of view ­ Who's telling the story?
    - More in-depth than the above; gives some decent examples.

Quotations

• Quotation Center
    - Lots of quotes, searchable.

Sex

• BDSM World
• Deviant's Dictionary
    - A dictionary of kink.
• Glossary of Unusual Sexual Practices
    - A glossary of unusual practices, sometimes hard to believe, many bizarre, and some strange or just plain weird.
• Minotaur's Sex Tips for Slash Writers
    - What it sounds like—with pics, too!
• Tantra: Kama Sutra

Translation

• Bable Fish
    - Good for at common phrases and words in a limited set of languages.
• Word2Word's Language Dictionaries and Translators
    - Single words only, but more obscure terms and wide variety of languages.

Writing Links

• Other Fanfic and Writing Resources on the Net
• The Writer's Toolbox
    - Links by a Xenite to just about everything: writing guides, maps, historical clothing, medicine and more.
• Writing and FanFic Links