Ancient Rome was an Italic civilization that began on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to become one of the largest empires in the ancient world with an estimated 50 to 90 million inhabitants (roughly 20% of the world’s population) and covering 6.5 million square kilometers (2.5 million sq mi) during its height between the first and second centuries AD.
In its approximately 12 centuries of existence, Roman civilization shifted from a monarchy to a classical republic to an increasingly autocratic empire. Through conquest and assimilation, it came to dominate Southern and Western Europe, Asia Minor, North Africa, and parts of Northern and Eastern Europe, Rome was preponderant throughout the Mediterranean region and was one of the most powerful entities of the ancient world. It is often grouped into “Classical Antiquity” together with ancient Greece, and their similar cultures and societies are known as the Greco-Roman world. [x]
Names
- Behind the Name: Ancient Roman Names
- Behind the Name: Roman Names
- List of Names of Ancient Romans
- Choosing a Roman Name
- 2000-NAMES.COM: Male Roman Names
- 2000-NAMES.COM: Female Roman Names
- Ted’s Roman Name Generator: Female Names
- Ted’s Roman Name Generator: Male Names
Society & Life
- HISTORY.COM - Ancient Rome
- What was Daily Life like in Rome?
- British Museum - Ancient Rome
- BBC - City of Rome
- Map of the Roman Empire
- National Geographic - 10 Facts about the Ancient Romans
- Daily Life in the Country
- Roman Life
- PBS - The Roman Empire - Life in Roman Times
- PBS - The Roman Empire - Women
- Women in Ancient Rome
- Status of Women in Ancient Rome
- Ancient History Encyclopedia - Women in the Roman World
- Ancient World - Women in Ancient Rome
- PBS - The Roman Empire - Family Life
- Family and Children in Ancient Rome
- Roman Family and the Exposure of Infants
- All About the Ancient Roman Family
- Roman Families
- Athy College - A Child in Ancient Rome
- Rome Exposed - Roman Children
- Ancient Roman Jobs
- Jobs in Ancient Rome
- Matrimonium: Types of Roman Marriage
- PBS - The Roman Empire - Weddings, Marriages & Divorce
- When were the Romans married?
- Marriage in Ancient Rome
- Roman Weddings
- Rome Exposed - Marriage, Customs and Roman Women
- Ancient Roman Weddings
- Roman Divorce - Could Women Divorce in Ancient Rome?
- Divorce in Ancient Rome
- Standard Roman Male Sexuality
- Non-Standard Roman Male Sexuality
- Ancient Roman Sex and Prostitution
- Gay Marriage and Homosexuality were part of Moral Landscape in Ancient Rome
- The 7 Weirdest Sex Stories of the Ancient World
- Psychology Today - Sexuality in Ancient Rome
- Household Sex in Ancient Rome
- Roman Houses
- Ancient Roman Homes
- Sample Plan of a Roman House
- Rome Exposed - Roman Houses
- Rome Exposed - Interior Decoration
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Roman Housing
- Ancient Rome Environment
- Discovery News - Climate Changes Linked to Fall of Roman Empire
- Roman Education
- Roman Schools
- Roman High Schools
- Education in Ancient Rome
- Rome Exposed - Education
- Schools in Ancient Rome
- BBC - Romans Religion
- Roman Slaves
- Ancient Rome - Roman Slaves
- Women and Slavery in Ancient Rome
- Rome Exposed - Slavery
- Day in the Life of a Slave
- The Role of Horses in Rome
- BBC - Religion & Ethics - Ancient Rome’s Maidens: Who were the Vestal Virgins?
- Encyclopedia Britannica - Vestal Virgins (Roman Religion)
- Ancient History Encyclopedia - Vestal Virgin
- Roman Gods
- Roman Funerals
Commerce
- Roman Economy
- The Economy of the Roman World
- The Roman Art of Counting
- Roman Currency
- Ancient Roman Economy
- Ancient History Encyclopedia - Roman Coinage
- Ancient Coins for Education - What Things Cost in Ancient Rome
- Money and Prices in the Early Roman Empire [PDF]
- Roman Coins
- Roman Weights and Measures
Entertainment & Food
- Roman Food
- Ancient Roman Food
- Roman Silverware and Dishes
- Breakfast in Ancient Rome
- The Aeneid - Lunch and Siesta
- The Evening Meal
- Food for Rich Romans
- Rome Exposed - Roman Food
- Rome Exposed - Meals of the Day
- Which Were the Popular Roman Wines?
- What Did the Ancient Roman People Eat at Meals?
- Poor Romans Food around the Mediterranean Sea
- Internet History Sourcebooks - Saturnalia Convivia, III.13: The Bill of Fare of a Great Roman Banquet
- Eight Ancient Roman Recipes from around the Roman Table
- PBS - NOVA - Ancient Roman Recipes
- Reclining and Dining (and Drinking) in Ancient Rome
- Roman Kitchens
- Roman Entertainment
- Roman Music
- Ancient History Encyclopedia - Athletics, Leisure, and Entertainment in Ancient Rome
- Entertainment - Spectacles
- The Forum
- Toys, Games, and Pets in Ancient Rome
- Roman Games
- Roman Gladiators
- HISTORY.COM - 10 Things You May Not Know About Roman Gladiators
- Ancient History Encyclopedia - Female Gladiators in Ancient Rome
- Roman Circuses
- Rome Exposed - Circuses and Races
- British Museum - Chariot-Racing in Ancient Rome
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Roman Games: Playing with Animals
- Roman Sports
- Roman Art
- Art & Architecture in Ancient Rome
- Roman Pottery
- Roman Theatre, Pantomime
- Rome Exposed - Theatres and Plays
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Theater and Amphitheater in the Roman World
- Scholastic - Ancient Roman Art and Architecture
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Roman Painting
- Roman Holidays & Festivals
- Roman Festivals
- Roman Literature
Hygiene, Health & Medicine
- Roman Medicine
- Kentucky Educational Television - Doctors
- Medicine in Ancient Rome
- Roman Medicine
- Roman History Center - Roman Medicine
- Kentucky Educational Television - Roman Medicine
- Kentucky Educational Television - Surgery
- University of Virginia - Surgical Instruments from Ancient Rome
- Roman Hospitals
- Cesarean Section in Ancient Rome
- Birth Control in Antiquity
- Indiana University - Midwives and Maternity Care in the Roman World
- Hollins University - Midwives and Birth in Ancient Rome
- Kentucky Educational Television - Drugs
- BBC - Malaria and the Fall of Rome
- Medicine of Ancient Rome
- Smallpox in Ancient Rome
- Kentucky Educational Television - Diseases in Ancient Rome
- Ancient History Encyclopedia - Disease and Death in the Ancient City of Rome
- The History of Shaving
- Roman Bathhouse Drains Found To Contain Jewelry, Scalpel, Teeth
- Rome Exposed - Games, Exercise and Baths
- Roman Baths
- Roman Baths and Hygiene in Ancient Rome
- The Roman Baths
- Role of Social Bathing in Classical Rome
- Roman Aqueducts
- PBS - NOVA - Watering Ancient Rome
- Roman Sewage
- What Romans Used for Toilet Paper
- BBC - How did Romans go to the Toilet?
Fashion
- Clothing & Hair Styles
- Roman Hairstyles
- Journal of Investigative Dermatology Symposium Proceedings - Hairstyles in the Arts of Greek and Roman Antiquity
- Smithsonian - This Woman Is a Hair-Style Archaeologist - Recreates the Hairstyles of Ancient Roman
- Ancient Roman Clothing
- Roman Makeup
- Roman Make-up
- Women’s Fashion in Ancient Rome
- Rome Exposed - Clothing of Women and Girls
- Rome Exposed - Clothing of Men and Boys
- Pictures of Ancient Roman Clothing
- Colors of Roman Clothing
- Roman Trousers and Breeches
- Roman Children Clothing
- Roman Soldiers Clothing
- Roman Wedding Clothing
- Roman Slaves Clothing
- Vestal Virgins Clothing
- Roman Emperor Clothing
- Roman Cloaks
- Roman Fashion
- Roman Jewelry
- Roman Jewelry - Antique Jewelry University
- National Geographic - Ancient Roman Glass Jewelry
- Shoes - Ancient Roman Sandals and Other Footwear
- Roman Cloaks - Roman Cloaks and Other Outerwear
- Smithsonian - Purple Dye Was Made from Snails
- Smithsonian - Children’s Shoes Were a Status Symbol
- Roman Shoes
- Gladiator Sandals
- Roman Sandals and Boots
- Fashion Encyclopedia - Makeup
- Fashion Encyclopedia - Roman Footwear
- Roman Helmets
- Roman Hats
- Roman Crowns and Wreaths
Dialogue/Language
- Kinship Terms - Terms of Roman Relationship in Families
- Discovery - How Have the Ancient Romans influenced Modern-day Language?
- An Introduction to the Development of the Greek Alphabet
- Michael C. Carlos Museum - Roman Writing
- Glossary of Roman Terms
Justice & Crime

Ok here is a compilation of all the software and useful tools I’ve come across whilst writing. Some of them I’ve reviewed on here already, more coming soon.
Got an idea? Well get planning! Here’s some useful outlining, brainstorming and mind- mapping software:
- Coggle
- Lucidchart
- Mural.ly
- Blumind
- MindMeister
- Mindmaple
- Mindomo
- NovaMind
- Popplet
- Scapple
- Tree Sheets
- Visual Understanding Environment (VUE)
- XMind
- FreeMind
- Oak Outliner
- Work Flowy
- The Outliner of Giants
Just want to get writing? You want a word processor:
Making notes? Here you go:
Timelines giving you a headache? Try these:
Now perhaps you want to organise those notes. Got a lot of research? Character sheets? Images? Well here’s some tools to keep all that together:
Are you easily distracted? The following tools will keep you on track:
Even more productivity tools to help keep you focussed on your task:
- Cold Turkey
- FocalFilter
- Freedom
- InternetOff
- Keepmeout
- Nanny
- Productivity Owl
- RescueTime
- SelfControl
- SelfRestraint
- Simple Blocker
- StayFocusd
- Strict Workflow
- Time Doctor
- Waste No Time
- Website Blocker
So you’ve got something down? Need to edit?
All done? Perhaps you’d like some e-publishing tools:
Turns out I’d forgotten about screenwriters, so here goes:
I’m feeling generous, have some more cool stuff:
ETA: After a request I’ve added screenplay software to the list.
The full list of resources RFW has reblogged or shared.
Editing Software
- StyleWriter 4 (14-day trial period)
- Editminion (free)
- Pro Writing Aid (online editor; mostly free, but offers more features if you pay.)
- AutoCrit (offers free analysis for under 500 words)
- Paper Rater (designed for essays)
- Grammarly
Writing Software
- WriteRoom (distraction free; $9.99)
- Scrivener (multi-faceted writing platform; $45)
- Pages (mac specific writing software; $20.99 with iWork)
- MS Office for Mac (multiple programs for composing; $150)
- Google Docs (free online writing)
- My Writing Nook (online text editor; free)
- Bubbl.us (online mind map application; free)
- Freemind (mind map application; free; Windows, Mac, Linux, portable)
- XMind (mind map application; free; Windows, Mac, Linux, portable)
- Liquid Story Binder (novel organization and writing software; free trial, $45.95; Windows, portable)
- SuperNotecard (novel organization and writing software; free trial, $29; Windows, Mac, Linux, portable)
- yWriter (novel organization and writing software; free; Windows, Linux, portable)
- JDarkRoom (minimalist text editor; free; Windows, Mac, Linux, portable)
- AutoRealm (map creation software; free; Windows, Linux with Wine)
- ZenWriter (free and for $9,95; autosaves; Windows; you can add music; easy to carry on a flashdrive)
- BigHugeLabs (online; minimalistic; free; auto-saves; you can create and account and see your documents anywhere you log in)
- More Free Software
Generators
- Plot Scenario Generator
- Script Frenzy’s Plot Machine
- GotPoetry.com’s Short Story Starter
- Fictiongen’s Genre-Fiction Generator
- Nine.FrenchBoys.net’s List of Generators
- Warpcore SF’s Science Fiction Plot Generator
- Ugoi.net’s Regency Romance Generator
- Teresa Nielsen Hayden’s Random Plot Generator
- Squidoo’s Step-By-Step Story Plot Generator
Character Questionnaires
- Character Development Questions for Writers (113 Q’s)
- Character Questions (30 Q’s)
- Character Questionnaire 1 and 2 (Interesting questions)
- Child Character Questionnaire (40 Q’sl)
- Adult Character Questionnaire (32 Q’s)
- The Mother of All Character Questionnaires (382 Q’s)
- Character Questionnaire (50 Q’s - Generic)
- Character Outlines (Very Complete)
- Character Questionnaire Tag
Writing Communities
- FictionPress (FanFiction.net’s original fic counterpart)
- Figment
- Wattpad
- Archive Of Our Own (mainly fanfic)
- BBC English Literature Message Board
- Scribophile
- Writer’s Cafe
- Writing Community: Writer’s Workshop
- Book Country
- GreatWriting
- Flickspin
- Writing.com
Organization
World Building
- Eplans (visualizing apartments, houses, etc; floorplants)
- Planet Maker (visualize a whole planet)
- TimeAndDate (timelines, dates)
- RoomSketcher
- Fractal World Generator (maps of worlds)
- Creating a City From Scratch
Productivity Boosts and Background Sounds
For more resources, check this tag and this list. Suggest some if you know of any.