Research resources. As writers we all have them. And don't try to deny your messy list of bookmarks (or am I the only one?) What about you? Are their any websites or books you find particularly helpful when it comes to research for your stories? What are they? (And, no, Wikipedia doesn't really count since we all know of it.)

Not having access to a good library, I don't really know of any good research books... except the "Art of War" by Sun Tzu.

When it comes to websites, there's two a use quite a bit:
The Writer's Forensic Blog (which Jay mentions here and is not for the squeamish or faint of heart.)
The Bookshelf Muse - This is a blog that explains different settings and weather using the senses. Also they key in on character and emotional traits.

Here's a few I've been finding lately: For Information about Castles, Seige Engines, medieval weapons, etc.

And I don't know if this is something that would help you too, but I really like to watch History dvds about ancient weapons and things, here's a link to a search that I did yesterday, you'll have to use your discretion to decide which ones to get, as some of them could be mildly offensive especially to younger siblings, etc.: http://search.history.com/search?w=anci ... &v=history

I don't know what setting you're using/going to use for your world, but if it's not very medieval-ish, these links might not be so helpful to you. I hope these helped!

I'll be following this thread, because research is a hobby of mine.

Thanks, Runningwolf! I'll have to look into those. No worries about offending younger siblings though. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only HWer that doesn't have any.

Same here, Varon. I was looking forward to see what other HWers post.

*laughs* I know the feeling. I'm an only too.

Really, Elly? I didn't know that. How did I miss that?

Never mind, don't answer. We'll get in trouble for being off topic.

I found this cool (though slightly obscure) site somewhere. Ever heard of it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

This one for photos, especially historical.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

I know how it feels to be an only, too, I and my little brother are ten years apart...but at least this means you don't have as much to worry about! (but I still don't recommend the torture dvds...they're kind of gut wrenching some of them especially to guys though, so maybe you could handle it) I hope they help!

I've never seen that first one before! That second one is pretty cool though, I actually haven't visited that one.

It's pretty neat.

Here are some helpful sites.

Cambridge University Dictionary
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
Answers in Genesis (more of an online store, though)

Ooh Yeah! Answers in Genesis is a great ministry, you can find all kinds of articles on their about many different things from how to witness to someone, to information about weather, to expeditions of people who supposedly found Noah's ark! Good websites, Elly!

We have a book about Noah's ark, it's very interesting.

I like Answers in Genesis.

Creation Research is also another good website similar to Answers in Genesis.

My preferred source for creation-science stuff is the Institute for Creation Research, which provides a wealth of largely hard-science articles for free; Answers in Genesis seems more oriented toward giving lectures and selling books.

I believe Answers in Genesis, Creation Research and the Institute are all branches of the same organization.

I love ICR, but I also like Answers in Genesis.

I'm quite sure they're not ... unless you just mean "the Church"


We've had two AiG "video conferences" and one "live conference" at our chirch over the past three years. ICR, as far as I can tell, simply doesn't do anything like that outside of the Southwest, so I'm certainly grateful that AiG exists ... but given my inclination and curiosity I'm more interested in the details that ICR investigates and publishes (some of which the speaker at our "live conference" cited) than the mass-media approach AiG uses.

So many cool links to check out!

I use the Physics Forums for questions about classical physics, relativity and cosmology.

For anything steampunk (Like airships! ), there's lots of useful discussions to browse at the Brass Goggles Steampunk forum, especially in the "Metaphysics" board.

Most of you probably know this place already, but http://thesaurus.com/ is great for when you're trying to find that word you know you're thinking of that you just can't remember, or when searching for a more archaic/fantastic synonym for an ordinary-sounding term.

http://english.stackexchange.com/ Is a half-decent Q&A site about the english language and its usage. Actually, a lot of the stack exchange websites (which span topics like math, physics, linguistics...and also game development, RPGs, and sci-fi & fantasy) are good. Unfortunately, the ones that involve theology tend to be small and are required to maintain a neutral (ie. secular) point of view.

In fact, most reliable scientific resources (including the physics forums) are plagued with secular assumptions, which can sometimes be annoying. If anyone wanted to research something scientific from a Christian PoV, I would be inclined to point them to Biologos, myself.