CONTESTS

National Readers' Choice Awards

Finally A Bride

Soon To Be Published

• The Regency Page-Everything you want to know about the Regency era, from the way people dressed, their speech, and even a wedding.

• The OKRWA Thinktank is now a reality! As a benefit to our members, the Thinktank provides you an opportunity to brainstorm characters, plot ideas, and conflict problems with fellow OKRWA members. Interested? Register at Moderator.  Our group is the OKRWAThinkTank.

• Romance Writers of America - Have you always wanted to write a romance novel? Romance Writers of America offers support and information to its 8000 plus authors. 

• RWA Chapters Online - a complete list of RWA Chapters.

Need help in learning the craft of writing?
Then check out the following websites. 

The Basics

• Write a Novel in Ten Weeks - If writing a novel seems like an insurmountable task, this series of articles by Joanne Reid might be just what you're looking for. 

• Word Count - Author Elizabeth Sinclair shares her formula for finding the word count of your manuscript. 

The Muse

• Cheat Sheets for Writers! - Need help getting those creative juices going? Michelle Jerott's grab bag of information will get you thinking ... and writing. 

The Characters

• Character Profile Blank - In need of a new character sheet? 

• Keirsey Temperament and Character Web Site - This site takes the act of defining your character one step further. 

• Building Characters Using Chinese Astrology - Author Kristen Kyle talks about developing characters. 

The Outline

• Outline Your Novel In Thirty Minutes - Regency romance writer, winner of the Rita award, and writing teacher extraordinaire, Alicia Rasely's articles are not to be missed.

The Plot

• Plotting Without Fears - More from Alicia Rasely. 

The Beginning

• On The Brink: Turbo-charge Your Opening - Still more from Alicia Rasely. 

The Middle

• Tightening The Sagging Middle - And even more from Alicia Rasely. 

Editing

• Weeding Your Garden - Silhouette Intimate author, Susan Vaughan, shows you how to weed out and refine your manuscript

• .Self-Editing by Lori Handeland - Need some help cutting that manuscript down to size? Look no further.

Dialogue

• Writing Tips - Author Christina Skye talks about dialogue. 

More Research and Author Resource Sites

Cops/Crime

• A Day in the Life of a Street Cop 

• Police Jargon: How to Talk Like a Cop 

• Police Body Language and Behavior: You Gotta Walk the Walk - Linda Sue Cooper, a retired police office, is the author of the non-fiction book TRUE BLUE. Linda also writes romance novels as Lynda Sandoval. 

• Crime Lynx - This site for forensic specialists includes links for criminal investigations, forensics, research, etc.

• CIA World Fact Book:  CIA - The World Factbook

• FBI Home Page:  Federal Bureau of Investigation Home Page

Costumes

• Manifesto Home The Costumer's Manifesto: Your Free One-stop Site for Costume Information & Images  need help dressing your characters? From historical to modern day.

• The Costume Page:  http://members.aol.com/nebula5/costume.html

• La Couturiere Parisienne:  La Couturière Parisienne

• The Costume Site:  Milieux: The Costume Site

• Swords & Stuff:  Swords 'n' Stuff, has been serving Swordsmen on the Internet since 1995

General Research

• The Internet Public Library:  Internet Public Library

• Museums--On Line / Research - An on-line directory of museums all over the world. Great for research of any type!

• Information Please - The place to go for research questions.

• Electronic Research Library - Chargeable Service: offers 2 week free trial.

• The Library of Congress

• The British Library - Equivalent to the US Library of Congress, this is a useful tool for all writers of the historical genre.

• Useful British Knowledge 1830s

• Time Capsule -- find out what happened on any particular day...includes top songs, television shows and toys for the year, Academy Award winners, food prices and more

• The Nonverbal Dictionary of Gestures, Signs & Body Language Cues

• Decoding Body Language / Decoding Body Language 2

• Native American Herbal Remedies

• Land of Enchantment Research Links (sister RWA chapter)  LERA links

• Copyright Clearance Center:  http://www.copyright.com

• The English Server at Carnegie-Mellon University--a cooperative which publishes texts online covering a wide range of interests:  EServer.org: Accessible Writing

• Your Dictionary.Com -- You can also access dictionaries from different years:  http://www.yourdictionary.com/languages/germanic.html

• Behind the Name - the Etymology and History of First Names

History

• The History Net:  http://thehistorynet.com

• The Making of America Site, sponsored by the University of Michican. - A digital library of American social history, containing 1,600 books and 50,000 journal articles with 19th century imprints.

• Godey's Ladies Book (from the 1850's-60's)

• Literary Resources on the 'Net - Find research information for any period in history

• Lively Arts Historical Gazette:  The Historical Gazette

• The Gunfighter Zone:  The Gunfighter Zone

• HistoryBuff.com -- History Library

• Resources and Links on Women in American History

• Virtual Library museums pages (VLmp)

• Making of America -- Digital Library of American Social History: Making of America

• Historical Reference Links:  IVRWA

Writing-Related Organizations

• The Professional and Amateur Writer's Society - Information on writing techniques, marketing, publishing, networking with other writers, contests, etc.

• RoseDog.com - RoseDog.com showcases unpublished writers' work. Their services to agents and publishers, as well as authors, are FREE!

• Writer's Guild - The Writer's Guild web site has an incredible number of well-organized links to writing and research sites, training programs and much more.

• Novel Advice - Featuring a journal, chat rooms, writing classes and much more.

• The Writers' Computer store - Chock full of tools to help writers improve their craft.

• Romantic Times Magazine - RT's new site, featuring book reviews, author profiles, web site links, on-line book ordering and much, much more.

• The Gila Queen's Guide to Markets - A print magazine outlining all publishing opportunities with a web site listing contests, writing resources, etc.

• iVillage.com's Books section - A special section for writers, including chats and free writing classes.

• Publishers Weekly Online - The online version of the International News Magazine for Book Publishing and Bookselling.

• Publishing Online:  http://www.publishingonline.com/en/main/index800.jhtml

• Writer's Reference Desk:  Facts - Information - Research - refdesk.com

• Resources for Writers and Writing Instructors:  Resources for Writers and Writing Instructors

• Basic Resources on the Web:  HERA - Resource Center - Basic Resources

• Sci-Fi Resources on the Web:  Dave's Somewhat Complete SF/F Writers' Internet Resources

• Language Construction Kit -- (Guide to creating your own languages):  The Language Construction Kit

Traditional Publishers

• Arabesque Imprint of BET

• Avon Books

• Ballantine, a Division of Random House

• Bantam/Doubleday/Dell

• Dell Imprint of BDD

• Dorchester Publishing Co. (Leisure/Love Spell)

• Harlequin/Silhouette/Mira

• The new eHarlequin Site

• HarperCollins

• Kensington/Pinnacle/Zebra Books

• Penguin Putnam Books

• Pocket Books

• St. Martin's Press

• Tor/Forge

• Tyndale House Publishers

• Warner Books

EPublishers

• Atlantic Bridge Publishing

• Awe-Struck E-Books

• DiskUs Publishing

• Hard Shell Word Factory

• Madeira Books

• New Concepts Publishing

• Spilled Candy Books

• The Fiction Works

• Twilight Times Books

To our sister RWA chapters:  If you have a link or article you would like for us to add to our list, please contact the OKRWA webmistress .

Copyright © 1999-2006 Oklahoma Romance Writers of America, Inc.