|
The Author Resources section aims to provide
authors with articles, links and software that will help them
develop their skills and make the process of writing as simple
as possible. The Authors Haunt staff have scoured the Net
to find the best possible resources, and some of our members
have contributed articles they've written, sharing their
knowledge and experience to benefit all the authors who visit
this page.
The resources on this page have been
divided into four categories, and descriptions have been
provided with every link and article to help you find the
resources you need. Take time to browse this page, as
we're confident there's something in here for everyone.
And if you have an article to contribute, or know of a link or
article that we should include here,
email
or
PM
Rob Hawes.
The following articles have been written
by authors, editors, staff and members here at The Authors
Haunt, and have been added to this list because each one
contains information and/or advice beneficial to authors.
These articles are exclusive to The Authors Haunt and may not be
reproduced on other sites without the express permission of the
author and the Site Administrator. Articles are listed in
alphabetical order by title.
|
Article |
Description |
|
Anymore or
Any More
|
|
A common mistake
authors make is confusing anymore and any more.
Some stick religiously to one, while others seem to
think they're interchangeable. This article
outlines a simple rule to ensure you use the right
one. |
|
|
Editors and
Beta Readers
|
|
Editors and Beta
Readers provide authors with valuable assistance,
but all too often authors, and indeed those doing
the jobs, don't fully understand what is expected of
them. This article examines the role of these
two groups. |
|
|
Establishing a Reader Base
|
|
One of the hardest tasks any
author has to face once they publish their work is to establish a
strong and stable reader base. This article explores the
difficulties faced by readers and offers some creative solutions. |
|
|
Getting People Talking |
|
After generating readership,
convincing people to give you feedback about your latest story or
poem is probably one of the greatest challenges faced by a
publishing author. Get some help with this useful article. |
|
|
Haiku
Writing |
|
To some
people, haiku are just "silly little poems", but to
others they are a form of art and a challenging
poetic style. In this article, Resident Author
Marty offers his advice to help you understand how
to write haiku. |
|
|
Self-Promotion |
|
Marketing is a valuable tool
for any author wanting to attract readers to their work. These
days you need to be able to promote both your writing and yourself.
This article looks at some of the best methods for self-promotion. |
|
|
Sex...Writing Effective
Erotica |
|
For many authors, sex scenes
are a trial. Some are too uncomfortable to write them, some
rush right in and produce clumsy results. This frank and
sometimes graphic article discusses how to write erotica
effectively. |
|
|
The Epic
Blunder |
|
Readability is essential when it comes to writing.
You can write the next bestselling novel, but if
people can't read you work it's no damn good.
This article explores what you need to do to ensure
your article can actually be read. |
|
|
You, Me & I |
|
The
English language is filled with grammatical rules
and tricks that can easily trip the unwitting
author. One such rule relates to the use of
"me" and "I" in a sentence. This article
explains how you can make sure you get it right. |
|
The following are articles published on other sites
which may be beneficial to authors at The Authors Haunt. The articles in this
section are not published on The Authors Haunt site - clicking on the titles will take
you to another site. Please notify the Site Administrator if the
content of the pages linked to are not what you would expect based on the
article description. Articles are organised in alphabetical order by
title.
|
Article |
Description |
|
Dialogue: Punctuation, Capitalization,
Spacing
|
|
This is a useful
article that discusses the use of punctuation and
grammar in dialogue. An essential guide for
authors who want to write effective (and accurate)
dialogue. |
|
|
The Elements of Style
|
|
"The Elements of
Style" is a reference book instead of an article, but it is the
leading authority when it comes to the rules of language usage and
so this online version of the book is sure to be of interest to most
authors. |
|
|
Get It Write
|
|
This is actually a collection
of smaller articles - writing tips - with exercises in correct
grammar and punctuation usage that would be extremely useful to any
author looking to improve his/her skills. |
|
|
Style: The Rhythm of Prose
|
|
This article from
"Fiction Factor" talks about developing your own style and
the importance of rhythm in your writing with some excellent tips
even more experience authors can benefit from. |
|
|
Ten Ways to Beat Writer's
Block
|
|
Writer's block is the bane
of an author's existence and this article from "Fiction
Factor" provides some useful advice for not only dealing with,
but also recognising the symptoms. |
|
|
Ten Ways to Increase Your
Productivity
|
|
From "Fiction
Factor", this article discusses ways writers can increase the
amount of writing they do and, therefore, the number of stories or
poems they produce. |
|
|
When to Submit: Are You Ready?
|
|
This is an informative
article that examines what writers need to do before they submit
their work to a publisher. Though this article is aimed at
print authors, the principles can be applied to publishing online. |
|
|
Why I Killed My Muse...And You
Should Too
|
|
This is a humorous article
about how your "muse" can occasionally be your own worst
enemy, causing you to leap between ideas and rewrite text so much
that ultimately you accomplish nothing. |
|
|
Software |
Description |
|
AbiWord |
|
Not
everyone has Microsoft Word on their computer, and
the software is extremely expensive to buy, so
AbiWord represents a great alternative, containing
most of the features found in Word for the best
price of all - nothing! |
|
|
Open Office |
|
If
you don't have Microsoft Office on your computer, it
can be very expensive to buy. Open Office is
free, open-source, multiplatform and multilingual
office suite that is comparable to Microsoft Office,
but without the hefty price tag. |
|
|
yWriter4 |
|
A
great piece of software that can be extremely
helpful when writing novels, allowing you to break
stories down into chapters and scenes and build
profile information for characters, locations and
events. |
|
The following links have been reviewed by the Site
Administrator and deemed to contain information beneficial to authors at The
Authors Haunt. Please notify the Site Administrator if the content of the pages
linked to are not what you would expect based on the link description.
Links are organised in alphabetical order by title.
|
Link |
Description |
|
Answers.com |
|
Answers.com is an online
database of information and articles on a wide range of subjects.
With a well-deserved reputation for hosting reliable and accurate
information, it is an essential research tool for authors. |
|
|
Behind the Name |
|
Ever found yourself stuck coming
up with a name for your characters? If so, this is the site you
need. Behind the Name is a vast multi-cultural dictionary of
names and their meanings. |
|
|
Common Errors in English |
|
A useful archive of common
mistakes made by writers and the correct use of words and phrases.
This site lists the most common mistakes made by writers and provides
an explanation as to why that usage is incorrect. |
|
|
Chilling Effects |
|
A joint project of the
Electronic Frontier Foundation, Harvard Law School and others, to help
writers understand and use their First Amendment and intellectual
property law rights. |
|
|
Dictionary.com |
|
An online dictionary with a
range of other valuable features, all of which are essential for
writers, including a free translator, thesaurus, encyclopedia and much
more. |
|
|
Dictionary of Slang |
|
A dictionary of slang terms and
colloquialisms. The dictionary includes slang terms from the UK
and US, as well as a large links section to sites with slang from
other countries and specialist slang dictionaries (e.g. prison slang). |
|
|
Dr Grammar FAQs |
|
The Dr Grammar site is no longer
updated due to the death of its creator, but the FAQs section is still
a useful guide with a list of common mistakes and explanations
regarding the correct use of words and phrases. |
|
|
eHow |
|
An extremely valuable resource
for authors, with articles describing how to do just about anything.
The articles are organised into easy to use categories and
subcategories, helping you to quickly find the information you need. |
|
|
Encyclopedia Mythica |
|
With over seven thousand
articles, this award-winning encyclopedia is an essential guide to
mythology, folklore and religion, complete with an image gallery of
deities, heroes and monsters. |
|
|
Fiction
Factor |
|
Fiction Factor is an online
magazine for writers that hosts a number of articles and features
about writing, some of which are listed in the "Other
Articles" section above. |
|
|
Internet Quick Reference |
|
A virtual library of significant
websites created for a wide range of visitors, but for authors this
can serve as an important research tool, allowing you to find useful
sites with the information you need. |
|
|
Langenberg.com |
|
A useful site that uses multiple
sites/resources to help you not only to translate text into your
chosen language, but also to identify languages or even translate
whole webpages. |
|
|
On This Day |
|
Need to know what happened on a
certain day in history? This site gives you information for each
day of the year about historic events, famous birthdays, music,
television and more. |
|
|
Quotations Page |
|
Need a famous quotation?
Then this is the site for you. Drawing on multiple resources,
this site has a wide variety of quotations available to access through
a variety of means, including a keyword search. |
|
|
Reference.com |
|
Part of the dictionary.com
family of sites, reference.com is a valuable resource for authors with
an extensive online encyclopedia that's certain to be of use should
you need more information on just about any subject. |
|
|
Shadow Poetry
Resources |
|
A
collection of extremely useful resources for poets
compiled and created by the Shadow Poetry site,
including information about poetic forms and the
mechanics of poetry. |
|
|
Thesaurus.com |
|
Part of the dictionary.com
family of sites, thesaurus.com is an extensive online thesaurus with
multiple alternatives for almost any word that's certain to assist you
out whenever you're lost for words. |
|
|
Timelines of History |
|
Need to brush up on your
history? This site catalogues historic events through timelines
from the Big Bang to the present day, with interesting tidbits of
information distributed throughout. |
|
|
Wikipedia
|
|
An online encyclopedia with a
massive database of articles. Even though just about anyone can
edit almost any article in the database, the information is extremely
accurate, making this site a valuable research tool for authors. |
|
|