Creative
One part of what Carabas is all about is the creative side of things; the enjoyment of naturally but also the… well the creation of.
This page is here to host a bunch of resources for any and all endeavours whether musical, visual or – as is the case for many of us – of a written nature. If anyone would like to recommend a site, page, or anything else they’ve found useful in their own pursuits just drop me a line at: tim at carabas dot co dot uk.
As a starting point I’ve included below the various sites I’ve made particular use of in my writing over recent years.
LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT WORD
Best all-round dictionary: http://dictionary.reference.com/
Best all-round thesaurus: http://thesaurus.com/
*** Alternatives to said: Internal link to word-lists compiled from the best found on the web
Scents: http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/style-and-usage/descriptive-words-for-scents.html
Music: http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/style-and-usage/descriptive-rds-for-music.html
Personalities: http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/style-and-usage/words-that-describe-personality-traits.html
Colours with visual guide (yep, chances are you may be looking for colours other than green, but there’s easy onward links on these pages to your colour of choice…)
http://shadesofgreen.facts.co/shadesofgreencolornames.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Shades_of_green
Skin Tones:
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/thesaurus-category/british/Words-used-to-describe-skin-colour
*** http://joshroby.com/node/325 (Includes visual guides and cautionary note)
For Etymology: http://www.etymonline.com/
Abbreviations: http://www.abbreviations.com/
Quotes & Sayings (more to come): http://www.wiseoldsayings.com/
If you’re after some other kind of word scrabble players and crossword solvers have already done the work…
Anagrams: http://anagram-solver.net/
Various: http://www.morewords.com/
GENERAL WRITING GUIDANCE
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/feb/20/ten-rules-for-writing-fiction-part-one
Literary Agent Piers Blofeld has started a You Tube channel – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFS0kUQowOYzxp5ySlA1EbQ
GRAMMAR (ALWAYS BEST TO MAKE SURE…)
Plural and possessive: http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/apostro.asp
Its / It’s: http://www.its-not-its.info/
EDITING AND RECOMMENDED WORDCOUNTS
http://theswivet.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/on-word-counts-and-novel-length.html
http://www.literaryrejections.com/word-count/
http://www.betterstorytelling.net/thebasics/storylength.html
http://indefeasible.wordpress.com/2008/05/03/great-novels-and-word-count/
OTHER BITS
Weights and Measures – Quick Conversions:
http://www.metric-conversions.org/length/feet-to-meters-table.htm
http://www.metric-conversions.org/length/meters-to-feet-table.htm
If you need a bit of Latin:
https://translate.google.co.uk/#en/la/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Latin_phrases_(full)
(Personal favourite: potest solum unum – There can be only one)
Trope references:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage
SUBMISSIONS – GENERAL ADVICE
http://proactivewriter.com/blog/how-to-write-a-successful-book-proposal/
http://www.caroclarke.com/iamyoureditor.html
http://curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/blog/submission-tips-jonny-geller/
SUBMISSIONS – SYNOPSES
http://literaryconsultancy.co.uk/media/press-publicity/how-to-write-a-synopsis/ (also has a bit on the submission covering letter)
CONTACTS
Generally the smart thing is to submit to an agent rather than a publisher; on the other hand some publishers will look at submissions.
http://www.mslexia.co.uk/resources/publishers.php
PROMOTING YOUR PUBLISHED WORK