this is an archive filled with writing tips, prompts, inspiration and resources.
"If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it" - Toni Morrison
“I’ve learned that we all have different associations with color words,” Sundberg told Bored Panda.
“For example the color sapphire is a light blue to me (since that’s the
color of the sapphire on my engagement ring), but a sapphire can also
be a very dark blue. I doubt there can be an ‘official color guide,’ as
color is so subjective.” Regardless of the subjectivity of color,
however, Sundberg’s guide will help expand your descriptive vocabulary
beyond green, red and blue.
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]
Hughes, Kristina - Everyday Life in Regency and Victorian England
Jackson, Lee - Daily Life in Victorian London
Mayhew, Henry et al - The London Underworld in the Victorian Period
Mitchell, Sally - Daily Life In Victorian England
Pool, Daniel - What Jane Austin Ate and Charles Dickens Knew
Stevens, Mark - Life in the Victorian Assylum
E V E R Y D A Y L I F E
Popular Names in the Victorian Era
Cassel’s Household Guide (1869) - basically an instruction manual from 1869 telling you how to do everything from making tea to picking a job.
Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management: A Guide to Cookery In All Branches (1907) - Lots of period recipes, plus information for the Mistress, Housekeeper, Cook, Kitchen-maid, Butler, Footman, Coachman, Valet, Upper and under house-maids, Lady’s-maid, Maid-of-all-work, Laundry-maid, Nurse and nurse-maid, Monthly, wet, and sick nurses, etc.
The Victorian Era-Society
Appendix D: English Society in the 1840s
Class Structure of Victorian England
Victorian England Social Hierarchy
Social Restrictions in the Victorian Era
(Excerpts From) Promises Broken: Courtship, Class, and Gender in Victorian England (Regarding Broken Engagements and Premarital Sex)
Five Filthy Things About Victorian England
1841: A window on Victorian Britain
The Demography of Victorian England and Wales
What was life like for children in Victorian London?
Historical Essays: The Victorian Child
The Life of Infants and Children in Victorian London
The Inequality Between Genders During the Victorian Era in England
Women as “the Sex” During the Victorian Era
Writers Dreamtools - Decades - 1840
Victorianisms – Adventures in Victorian Slang
56 Delightful Victorian Slang Terms You Should Be Using
A Dictionary of modern slang, cant and vulgar words (1859)
Victorian slang - a guide to sexual Victorian terms
A Glossary of Provincial and Local Words Used in England: To which is Now First Incorporated the Supplement, by Samuel Pegge (1839)
Anecdotes of the English Language: Chiefly Regarding the Local Dialect of London and Its Environs (1844)
British Slang - Lower Class and Underworld
Lee Jackson - Dictionary of Victorian London
Domestic Violence in Victorian England
The Victorian wife-beating epidemic
How to Survive and Thrive in the Victorian Era
19th-century Radiators and Heating Systems
The Picture of Dorian Gray; a mirror of the Victorian Era, era of Hypocrisy
The Victorian Supernatural
Politics of Victorian England
Dualism & Dualities - The Victorian Age
Black Victorians: History we’ve been taught claims we’ve only ever been slaves
Video: Mini-lecture - London’s Black history
Flowers - Victorian Bazaar (The Language Of Flowers)
Victorian Funeral Customs and Superstitions
Racism and Anti-Irish Prejudice in Victorian England
M E D I C I N E & I L L N E S S
Victorian Health
Medical Developments In Britain During The Nineteenth Century
Hospitals
The Entire Case Records from a Victorian Asylum Are Now Online
Victorian psychiatric patients’ grim fate in hellish 1800s hospitals
Locating Convalescence in Victorian England
Sanitation and Disease in Rich and Poor
19th Century Diseases
Death & Childhood in Victorian England
Health and hygiene in the 19th century
Disease in the Victorian city: extended version
Musing on Illness in the Victorian Era
Female hysteria / Vapours
Sent to the asylum: The Victorian women locked up because they were suffering from stress, post natal depression and anxiety
The History of Women’s Mental Illness
Anorexia: It’s Not A New Disease
Rebel Girls: How Victorian Girls Used Anorexia to Conform and Revolt
Warburg’s tincture
Apothecaries and Medicine in the Victorian Era
The Creepy Factor in Victorian Medicine
Medical Advancements: Victorian Era Prosthetics
The Victorian Anti-Vaccination Movement
food poisoning in the Victorian era
Typhus (Gaol Fever)
L A W , G O V E R N M E N T & C R I M E
Crime in Victorian England
The 222 Victorian crimes that would get a man hanged
Juvenile crime in the 19th century
Victorian women criminals’ records show harsh justice of 19th century
Organised Crime in “The Mysteries of London” (1844)
Dickens and the ‘Criminal Class’
Victorian prisons and punishments
Victorian Prison Conditions
The Development of a Police Force
Life in Nineteenth-Century Prisons as a Context for Great Expectations
Gaols
Sentences and Punishments
Courtroom Experience in Victorian England at the time of Great Expectations
Courts of Justice - Victorian Crime and Punishment
Victorian Criminal Laws: Barbarism and Progress
Child prisoners in Victorian times and the heroes of change
Victorian Legislation: a Timeline
Women and the Law in Victorian England
The Corn Laws
The Corn Laws in Victorian England
The Anti-Corn-Law League
The Corn Laws and their Repeal 1815-1846
The Poor Laws During the Victorian Era
Private Property and Abuse of Rights in Victorian England
Bastardy and Baby Farming in Victorian England
Baby Farmers and Angelmakers: Childcare in 19th Century
C L I M A T E , W E A T H E R & E N V I R O N M E N T
The Climate of London (Luke Howard, 1810-1820 - PDF)
The Illustrated London Almanack 1847
Victorian London - Weather - Fog
F A S H I O N
Victorian Fashion Terms A-M
Victorian Fashion Terms N-Z
Early Victorian Undergarments; an introduction, and about silk
Victorian Violence, Part Four ~ Elegant Brutality for Ladies and Gentlemen of Discernment
10 Deadly Street Gangs Of The Victorian Era
Early Victorian Handguns; Part 1
Early Victorian Handguns; Part 2
Early Victorian Handguns; Part 3
Pistol Duelling during the Early Victorian Era
Cane Guns: Victorian Concealed Firearms of Gentlemen & Cads
M A N N E R S & E T T I Q U E T T E
Manners & Tone of Good Society (This is a Victorian book on manners, written by an unnamed ‘Member Of The Aristocracy,’ and is available in full to read and covers a ton of ground, everything from leaving cards and morning calls to introductions and titles, and etiquette for many different types of parties and events).
The Ladies’ Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness: A Complete Hand Book for the Use of the Lady in Polite Society (1875)
Manners for the Victorian Gentleman
Victorian Dancing Etiquette
A Checklist of 19th Century Etiquette
Social Rituals During The Victorian Era
An Online Dating Guide to Courting in the Victorian Era
Calling Cards and the Etiquette of Paying Calls
Morning Calls and Formal Visits
A Time Traveller’s Guide to Victorian Era Tea Etiquette
Traveling Etiquette and Tips for Victorian Women
Equestrian Etiquette and Attire in the Victorian Era
Etiquette Faux Pas and Other Misconceptions About Afternoon Tea
Victorian Table Etiquette
Victorian London - Publications - Etiquette and Household Advice Manuals
Etiquette Rules for Dinner Parties from a Victorian Magazine
The Etiquette of Proper Introductions in Victorian Times
Forms Of Introductions And Salutations. Etiquette Of Introductions
Etiquette for the Victorian Child
Victorian and Edwardian Mourning Etiquette
Etiquette Of Carriage-Riding
Victorian Etiquette - Shopping
U P P E R C L A S S & N O B I L I T Y
Royalty, Nobility, Gentry, & Titles; A Matter of Victorian Ranks & Precedence
Order of Precedence in England and Wales
The Victorian Era - The Debutante Tradition
The Gentleman - The Victorian Web
“Coming Out” During the Early Victorian Era; about debutantes
The London Season
The London Season - The History Box
T H E M I D D L E C L A S S
The middle classes: etiquette and upward mobility
The Rise of the Victorian Middle Class
The Victorian Man and the Middle Class Household - Domesticity as an Ideal
Middle Class Life in the Late 19th Century
A Woman
’s World: How Afternoon Tea Defined
and Hindered Victorian Middle Class Women
Working Women in the Victorian Middle-Class
The ASBO teens of Victorian Britain: How middle-class children terrorized parks by shouting at old ladies, chasing sheep and vandalizing trees
“A Dangerous Kind:” Domestic Violence and The Victorian Middle Class [PDF]
Eligible Bachelors: Suitors and Courtship in the Lower Middle Class
T H E W O R K I N G C L A S S
The working classes and the poor
Poverty and the working classes (links to relevant articles)
Dirty Jobs of the Victorian Era …
The Working-Class Peace Movement
in Victorian England
Victorian Child Labor and the Conditions They Worked In
History of Working Class Mothers in Victorian England
Income vs Expenditure in Working-Class Victorian England
What about the Workers? - 1830s - 1840s
T H E S E R V A N T C L A S S
Household management and Servants of the Victorian Era
Victorian Domestic Servant Hierarchy and Wages
Domestic Servants
Serving the house: The cost of Victorian domestic servants
Domestic Servants and their Duties
Precedence in the Servants Hall
The Servant’s Quarters in 19th Century Country Houses Like Downton Abbey
The REAL story of Britain’s servant class
Servants: A life below stairs
The Green Baize Door: Dividing Line Between Servant and Master
The Victorian Domestic Servant by Trevor May: A Review
T H E U N D E R C L A S S (T H E P O O R)
The Underclass (or the Submerged Class)
Poverty in Victorian England: Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist
Down and Out in Victorian London
Poverty and the Poor | Dickens & the Victorian City
The Victorian Poorhouse
Poorhouses
Victorian Workhouses
Entering and Leaving the Workhouse
The Poor Law
The Poor Law Amendment Act
The New Poor Law - Victorian Crime and Punishment
London’s Ragamuffins
I N T E R S E C T I O N A L I T Y (Of Class, Gender, Race, and Ability)
Class, Gender, and the Asylum
The Impact of Social Class Divisions on the Women of Victorian England
The Daily Life of Disabled People in Victorian England
W O R K &
Early and Mid-Victorian Attitudes towards Victorian
Working-Class Prostitution, with a Special Focus on
London
Prostitution and the Nineteenth Century: In Search of the ‘Great Social Evil’
Attitudes toward sexuality and sexual identity
Victorian slang - a guide to sexual Victorian terms
O T H E R M A S T E R P O S T S
Writing Research - Victorian Era by ghostflowerdreams
How to Roleplay in the Victorian Era by keir-reviews
Legit’s Historical Fashion Masterpost by legit-writing-tips
Susanna Ives - Many Research Links (covers Regency Era - Victorian Era)
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:
World War II (WWII or WW2), also known as the Second World War, was a global war. It is generally considered to have lasted from 1939 to 1945, although some conflicts in Asia that are commonly viewed as becoming part of the world war had begun earlier than 1939. It involved the vast majority of the world’s nations —including all of the great powers —eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis.
It was the most widespread war in history, with more than 100 million people, from more than 30 different countries. In a state of “total war”, the major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, erasing the distinction between civilian and military resources. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the first use of nuclear weapons in combat, it resulted in an estimated 50 million to 85 million fatalities. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history. [1]
Names
Social Security: Top Names of the 1940s
Top 100 Names in England and Wales in 1944
Top 100 Australian Baby Names in 1940
Top German Baby Names in 1940s
Japanese Baby Names for 1915 - 2000
Popular Japanese Names in 1945 - 1949 (In Japanese - Use Google Translator)
Society & Life
Conscription in the United States - World War II
United States Imposes the Draft
The National WWII Museum - The Draft and WWII
Military Classifications For Draftees
World War II Fitness Test
Recruit Training in World War II
The Old Army, It Turns Out, Was the Fitter One
The War Relocation Camp of World War II
The U.S. Home Front During World War II
Britain’s Home Front in World War Two
Japan’s Home Front During World War II
Germany’s Home Front During World War II
Canadian War Museum - Life on the Homefront
Canadian War Museum - Women and the War on the Home Front
How was it that Sweden managed to stay neutral during WW2?
What was going on in Ireland during World War II?
Canadian War Museum - Canada and the Second World War
Mount Allison University - Canada’s Role in WWII
The Home Front in Rural America During World War II
Living in the 1940s (Australia)
BBC - WW2 People’s War: My Memories of My Childhood in South London
BBC - WW2 People’s War: Growing Up in London 1939-45
Time Witness - Memories Project: Stories from the 1940’s
BBC - The Blitz
History.com - Worst air raid on London
EyeWitness to History - The London Blitz, 1940
LIFE Magazine - World War II: London in Color (Photos)
Local Histories - Life in Britain in The Second World War
Telegraph - WW2: Former Evacuees Look Back
British Council - A 1940s Childhood in Wartime
The Wartime Memories Project - Evacuees
My Learning - Children’s Experience during WWII
Imperial Wartime Museum - Children During the Second World War
It’s 1940, a lovely day in England and I want to write to my German cousin. Was that possible? What was international communication between the civilian populace of warring WWII powers like?
The New Yorker - The New Yorker in the Forties
The Atlantic - World War II: The Battle of Britain
The Guardian - Children of the Wartime Evacuation
NY Daily News - 1940 New York census records are now searchable by name
New‑York Historical Society - WWII & NYC
About.com - World War II In Brooklyn: Places to Visit
New-York Historical Society - New York during WWII (Photos)
Wikipedia - History of New York City, 1946-77
Business Insider - Take A Tour Of Manhattan In The 1940s (Photos)
Madison Magazine - Ida’s Wyman’s Photography Documents Life in the 1940s and ‘50s
Growing up in Inwood, New York City in the 1940’s and 1950’s
Reminisce Magazine - Brooklyn Stoop Served as Sisters’ Stage
NY Times - Working-Class New York Life and Labor Since World War II
Wessels Living History Farm - Rural Life in the 1940s
Historic Color Photos of U.S. Life in the 1940s (Photos)
Wessels Living History Farm - WWII Causes a Revolution in Farming
Partners in Winning the War: American Women in World War II
World War II: Women and the War
Building Bombs & Planes
Women in World War Two
Wikipedia - Canadian Women in the Second World War
Canadian War Museum - The Canadian Women’s Army Corps, 1941 - 1946
About.com - Canadian Women in World War II
Veterans Affairs Canada - The Second World War: Canadian War Brides
Global News - Looking back at the role women from western Canada played in World War II
Canadian Red Cross - History of Women in the Red Cross
Women Under Fire in World War Two
How did women fulfill their romantic/sexual needs during WWI/II?
Women at War
Life During World War II
Everyday Life During World War II
World War 2 - Growing Up in Wartime
Wartime Homes
World War 2 - Blackout Time
What was it like for children?
The Huffington Post - Memories Of 1940s Childhood
The Life of a Teenage Before and After World War II (PDF)
School and War Work
I’m a 13-15 year old in 1939 USA. What is youth culture like during this time?
A Black Nurse, a German Soldier and an Unlikely WWII Romance
What was it like to be in the Forces?
World War II - A Soldier’s Daily Life
My Army Service in World War II
WWII: A Soldier’s View
Loose Lips Sink Ships
Eye Witness To World War Two
World War II First Person Accounts, Letters Home, Diaries, & Journals
Pictures of African Americans During World War II (Photos)
Daily Life of the Average African American in the 1940’s
Veterans Affairs Canada - Second World War: Black Canadians In Uniform
The Memory Project - Black Canadian Veterans of the Second World War
University of Washington - Japanese Canadians During World War II
Vancouver Public Library - Chinese-Canadians in World War II (1939-1945)
Canada at War - Video & Footage: World War II
Canadian War Museum - Canadian Newspapers and the Second World War
Veterans Affairs Canada - Second World War: Diaries, Letters, And Stories
Library and Archives Canada - Canada and the First World War: War Diaries
Veterans Affairs Canada - Second World War: My Grandmother’s Wartime Diary
The Canadian Letters and Images Project - WWII
McGill University Library Digital Collections - Canadian War Posters Collection
World War II Military (Photos)
World War II Records
World War 2: A Day in the Life of a German Soldier
The Life During World War II
Nazi Germany
The Role of Women in Nazi Germany
Diary of Second World War German Teenager
Germany During World War II: A Child’s Experience (PDF)
Reminiscences of a German World War II Veteran
What kind of physical training would a German soldier in WWII have to do?
Jewish Life in Europe Before the Holocaust
The National WWII Museum - WWII and Holocaust Bibliography
Blacks During the Holocaust
Conditions for Polish Jews During WWII
Understanding the Treatment of Jews during World War II
There’s a lot of close-to-combat photographs from WWII, but I don’t often hear much about the photographers. Were WWII war photographers armed? Were they subject to neutrality/immunity/respect? Were they deployed with soldiers as part of the army?
World War II Weapons
List of World War II Weapons
Canada at War - WWII: Weapons & Arms
Small Arms Pt. II - The World War Two Era
Technology During World War II
WWII Military Ranks
WWII Japanese Soldier Diary
World War II Japanese Military Training
Canadian War Museum - The Second World War: Information, Propaganda, Censorship and the Newspapers
When was the last shot of World War 2 fired?
Post-War American Life: Culture of the late 1940s & 1950s
Library of Congress - Postwar United States, 1945 - 1968
American History: Life in the US After World War Two
Student Pulse - America in the Post War Period
PBS - Women and Work After World War II
PBS - New York After WWII
BBC - Life in Britain after WW2 (Video)
The Atlantic - World War II: After the War
Digital History - Overview of the Post-War Era
Mount Holyoke College - Background of Post-WWII German History
Youtube - Germany After WW2 | A Defeated People | Documentary on Germany in the Immediate Aftermath of WW2 (Video)
Der Spiegel Magazine - Out of the Ashes: A New Look at German’s Postwar Reconstruction
Commerce
The Cost of Living in 1940
Prices and Wages in 1930 - 1939
The People History - Food, Groceries and Toiletries in the 1930s: Prices
The People History - Clothes in the 1930s: Prices
Library at University of Missouri - 1940-1949 Prices and Wages
The People History - Food, Groceries and Toiletries in the 1940s Prices
The People History - Clothes in the 1940s Prices
Datafiles of Historical Prices and Wages
Curbed NY - What Would $50 In 1940 Rent A New Yorker Today?
Entertainment & Food
What did people eat in the Second World War?
Why was food rationed?
Rationing
World Ward II - Food and Shopping
Food on the Front Home
Wartime Recipes
What Did Children Eat During World War 2? (PDF)
World War Two Recipes
History Cookbook - World War 2 Recipes
The 1940’s Experiment: 100+ Wartime Recipes
Retro-Housewife: In the 1940s Kitchen: 1940s Recipes
A 1940s Menu: Food in the 1940s
Food Timeline: 1936 to 1940
Vintage Food Advertisement of the 1940s
World War II: Rest and Relaxation (Photos)
Chocolate! The Wars Secret Weapon - America in WWII Magazine
Chocolate - Energizing Soldiers
U.S. Coffee Rationing
The American Scholar: Rum and Coca-Cola
Wartime Canada - Food on the Home Front during the Second World War
Alberta Online Encyclopedia - World War II: Homefront in Alberta: Rationing
Wartime Canada - Recipe Ideas from BC Electric
Pop Culture Goes to War in the 1940s
WWII Guide: Wartime Hollywood
Rationing and Scrap Drives in Rural America
Baseball and World War II
Baseball Goes To War: The National Pastime in World War II
Entertainment in Britain During WWII
Entertainment Industry During World War II
World War II on the Radio
Wartime Entertainment WWII
Wartime Entertainment
Canadian War Museum - Art and War: Australia, Britain and Canada in the Second World War
The Forties and the Music of World War II
World War II Songs
Music 1940 - 1949
List of Billboard Number-One Singles of the 1940s
American Music During World War II
Role of Music in World War II
Entertainment in 1940 - 1949
Food Rations in the Japanese Forces
Makeshift Cooking, German Army, WW2
Radio in Nazi Germany
Newspapers in Nazi Germany
Films in Nazi Germany
Art in Nazi Germany
Hygiene, Health & Medicine
Medicine and World War II
Social Security - Life Expectancy from 1930s+
WWII Disease Table
History of WWII Medicine
The Use of Atabrine to Fight Malaria During World War II
The Use of Plasma During World War II
The Use of Morphine as a Pain Killer During World War II
Nursing and Medicine During World War II
The Army Nurse Corps in World War II
Equipment of a WWII Combat Medic
Personal Accounts of WWII Medics
WWII African American Combat Medics
Penicillin: Medicine’s Wartime Wonder Drug
Medicine in Germany, 1918 - 1945
World War II Exposures
Controlling Disease during World War II, 1939 - 1944
Health on the Home Front - Health Care and World War II
WAR & Military Mental Health
Mentally Ill and Jewish in World War II
U.S. Veterans Affairs Lobotomized Soldiers After World War II
Lobotomy For World War II Veterans: Psychiatric Care by U.S. Government
Fashion
1930-45 in Fashion
Clothing, 1930-45
Rationing Fashion in the United States
Fashion in the 1940s
1940s Make-Up Guide
1940’s Beauty Secrets
1940s Fashion: The Decade Captured in 40 Incredible Pictures (Photos)
1940s Rationing - Utility Clothing Fashion and Costume History
Women’s Clothing in 1940s
Fashion in 1940 - 1949
Fashion in the 1940s: Clothing Styles, Trends, Pictures & History
Fashion in the 1940s - Prices & Examples
What did they wear? Gas masks for all
What is Utility Wear?
The Front Line of British WWII Fashion
World War II and Fashion: The Birth of the New Look (PDF)
The impact of World War II on women’s fashion in the United States and Britain (PDF)
The History of Fashion WWI to WWII
Women’s Shoes in 1940s
Authentic WWII Era Hairstyle & How To
United States Army Uniforms in World War II
World War II German Uniform
List of World War II Uniforms and Clothing
Nazi Style
LIFE.com - Fashion in Post-War Paris
Dialogue
WWII US Naval Dictionary
Glossary of German Military Terms
Military Slang: Terms Used By Soldiers in WWII
FUBAR F***ed Up Beyond All Recognition: Soldier Slang of World War II (General Military)
Military Slang For WWII
List of Ethnic Slurs by Ethnicity
The Racial Slur Database - Germans
Morse Code
Military Time Chart for 24 Hour Time Clock
Converting Standard Time to Military Time
WW2 Civilian Slang
Teen Slang of the 1940s
1940s Slang
Forties Slang
Words That Were: 1940–1949 (Canada)
Law Enforcement & Crimes
New Jersey State Police - History: 1940’s
New York State Police - History: 1940’s
Anaheim Police Department - History: 1940
Academia.edu - British Police Training in the 1940s and 1950s
Art Theft and Looting During World War II
Rape During the Occupation of Germany
War Rape in World War II
Allied War Crimes During World War II
Nazi Medical Experiments
World War II Crimes
Nazi War Crimes
German War Crimes Against Soviet Civilians
Nazi Crimes Against Soviet POWs
Execution of Women by the Nazi during World War II
World War II and the Holocaust
World War Two - German Prisoner of War Camps
List of WWII POW (Prisoner of War) Camps in Germany
German Prisoners of War in the United States
Japanese Prisoners of War in WWII
Sexual Slavery - Germany During WWII
German Military Brothels in World War II
Rape, Murder and Genocide: Nazi War Crimes as Described by German Soldiers
Okay, has anyone ever heard of chaoticshiny.com? It has everything that a writer needs. Lists, generators, everything. You want to know what it has? It has:
I am writing a story in which my characters live in a fictional town that I have created but I am a visual person so I was wondering if you know some website where we can create the plan of a fake town? I hope that was clear, thank you!
Of course! According to Rachel Aaron/Rachel Bach of This Blog Is a A Ploy, you can now use Google Maps to make custom maps which is great news for all authors. “Being an author practically guarantees you will struggle with real life details like travel distance at some point in your book. If you’re writing about a real city, the bar is even higher. Even if you’re writing about your own city, a map can be a life saver just for keeping everything straight in your head,” says Bach; you can read more about her discovery and the How-To Tutorial [here].
Here are some other sites I’ve found that I hope might help:
I found these free pendulum charts and thought they might be useful to somebody. When I printed them out, I used the “fill page” option to get them to come out large … I used the Chakra Chart to ask what my resonate aura color is. Very useful!
Heyo, so school is fast approaching, and seeing as Tumblr is made up of a lot of younger users who will soon be shipping off to college or university soon, I thought I would take it upon myself to help spread my knowledge of essay-writing. Essay-writing is my thing. I love it. I live for it. It’s how I make up for my shitty test marks, and still get by with an 85 average+ in University classes. I’m a historian by trade, so perhaps this information will seem a bit off from what you’re used to, but hopefully, It’ll help you out. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an ask.
1. Consider your question and find your thesis.
I know, I know. People always say, no! Never start with your thesis/intro paragraph! Go to the body!! Well i’m here to say forget everything you’ve been told. Forget that, forget the stupid hamburger shit they teach you, forget it all and start reading.
I ALWAYS start with my thesis. Why? Because you cannot make good paragraphs without knowing what you’re researching. You need direction, and a thesis is your map.
So, the question we’ll use shall be: What is one way in which the Union won the American Civil War?
Now remember, your thesis is your map. It shows you where to go, what to look for. The thesis is the heart and soul of all your work. You want a good, solid thesis. What does that include, you ask?
An idea
A reason for said idea
Evidence to support said reason, and thus validate the idea.
So, lets do an example. Let’s say I’m writing on the use of media during the American Civil War. I like photography, and wrote a paper on this in my second year, but im gonna be doing this example freehand(idk where I put that essay lol) so lets work with how I got an A+ on that paper. This will be my idea:
“Photography during the American Civil War influenced the war’s outcome in the Norths favour.”
This is VERY vague. This is an example of a thesis in bloom! Let’s take it further. Look at the above. What questions would you have from this thesis?
-Who was taking photos at that time?
-Why did it influence the outcome?
-How did it influence the outcome?
-Who consumed photography as a media at that time?
This is where you STOP, and start the next step.
2. Research
Start your basic research with your idea, and the above questions in mind. Look at libraries, ask your professor or TA or librarian, or just do some basic google searches to get to know the subject(but for the love of god if you include a google link in your citation I will personally hunt you down and castrate you.)
I like to start with the basics of any inquiry: WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY, HOW. Who was taking photos? Where were they displayed that caused influence? ect…These, in relation to your beginner thesis, will help guide you in what form your thesis will take.
Once you’ve finished that, and have a general feel for the time period, go back to your thesis.
3. THESIS 2.0
Go back to your original question: What is one way in which the Union won the American Civil War? Now look at your thesis again. It’s too vague, isn’t it?
As you can see, our original thesis was too vague to be a real thesis. So, we NARROW IT DOWN using our WWWWWH progress we focused on during early research!
“Photography during the American Civil war influenced the war’s outcome by providing a visual for ordinary citizens about the horrors of war, and thus helping to increase donations and awareness to the cause.”
Great! But once again, too vague! Questions that may arise include:
Who was taking the photos
Evidence for donations?
Evidence for social awareness?
So, we NARROW IT DOWN again. I’m going to use Andrew Gardner’s photography during the Civil war, as he was one of the most famous and influential at the time.
“Andrew Gardner’s photography during the American Civil war influenced the war’s outcome by providing a visual for ordinary citizens about the horrors of war, and thus helping to increase donations and enlistment in the Union through awareness to the cause…”
The above then gives us the following(why and how are sometimes grouped together):
Who: Andrew Gardner
What: Photography helped the north win the war.
Where: Union-aka northern states
When: American Civil War
Why/How: Because Andrew Gardner’s photography raised social awareness through this new and budding medium
Use this sort of outline to guide you in the next step!
4. Now that we have a thesis, you need to do some more research and evidence gathering.
The way I like to do this is to go check out a few books from the library(look for text books in particular), and leaf through the index for matching terms. Our matching terms would be:
Photography, civil war, Andrew Gardner, media
From there, you read over the pages, and see if any of the info relates to your subjects. Copy down quotes, page numbers, book title, author, publishing date and publisher. You need these for your bibliography. Pick and choose relevant information. The filter for relevant information relies entirely on your thesis, because it decides what you need to be looking for—this is why I hate when people tell me to start writing paragraphs before I write a thesis! It’s simply impossible and counter productive, and will cost you hours in revision.
So, gather your information from the library, and cross-reference with peer-reviewed articles and data. For our thesis, we would need data on enlistment numbers in an area after a date of Andrew Gardner’s photography exhibit showcases. No matter what type of essay you’re writing, you can always back up your evidence with data, and it won’t hurt one bit. Don’t be afraid of the numbers, kids!
So, if we were to go back to our thesis, we could now expand on it like this:
“Andrew Gardner’s photography during the American Civil war influenced the war’s outcome by providing a visual for ordinary citizens about the horrors of war, and thus helping to increase donations and enlistment in the Union through awareness to the cause. An increase in donations and enlistment in relation to exposure to Gardners work is seen in data/evidence point A, as well as in data/evidence point B, which will be fully outlined in the points below.”
This gives you an example of how to lead from a thesis, to your opening paragraph.
5. Data and Evidence Justifications—Paragraph making
This is the section where you can branch your essay into your data and evidence points you gathered in steps 2 and 4. You can have as many paragraphs as you like, just make sure your evidence and data is strong and supported. I personally like to work with my thesis copied and pasted onto the top of every page I write on. This keeps you on track, with your clear goal in mind, and will help you from straying. I will give you an example of how a paragraph might sound.
Andrew Gardner’s photography during the American Civil War became heavily influential upon the American population at the time, particularly the north, wherein which his work was showcased. The influence of Gardner’s photographic works is seen in the _____, which shows us that without the influence of Gardner’s media influence, war efforts and awareness may not have been as successful as they had been.
This is an alright opener for you to work with. The ___ is where you could put in your data point or evidence piece. The point of the paragraph is to show your support for your thesis by confirming it with evidence.
Your paragraphs should take this form:
Present, Confirm, Conclude, Lead.
You present your evidence, confirm its relation to the thesis and confirm the validity of the thesis, conclude by brief revision of evidence, and then lead into your next paragraph.
6. Conclusion
Your conclusionary paragraph should be a look-over of the above paragraphs. Restate your thesis, present a summarized version of your paragraphs(one or two sentences only), and perhaps take the time to look at your own views on the subject. An example might look like this:
“Taking a moment to step away from the above mentioned evidence, I believe it to be scholarly acceptable and even necessary to state my own views on the subject presented. In drawing conclusions, I felt that the above information was correct in that it presented a reality of the time period, in which photography was becoming a medium to be embraced by popular society. People were not only astounded by Gardner’s photographs on a social level, but also a technical level. The astonishment people held at seeing the war-torn battle fields spurred them into action, and even today can still present feelings of dread, fear and loss when looking at his photos…blah blah blah”
Why is it scholarly acceptable and perhaps necessary to state your views? Oftentimes, it is to reassure the reader of your own personal bias’, which exist whether you like them or not, to the subject at hand. Having a small tidbit on your own thoughts about your research ect, breaking away from the third-person droning of an essay can be refreshing and welcoming for a prof at the end of his stack of essay reading.
7. In summary
Thesis
WWWWWH
NARROW IT DOWN
Data and Evidence
Present, Confirm, Conclude, Lead
Self opinions/Conclude
All in all, do unique things. Professors love it when they come across something that’s not cookie cutter! Even if they present you with a list of essay topics, take the leap and ask them if you can do your own research topic!! Take risks with your essay writing, talk to your professors about what you want to do, and try to have fun with your research. I’ve written on everything from civil war photography to Disney princesses in american media, to the religious formation of idea of heaven and earth. Remember, so long as there’s credible, documented evidence, it’s possible to write about it.
