I've been retired for a while now, and I thought now was as good a time as any to throw out all the resources I've used and love for story writing.
When I was a younger reviewer, I used to promote these sites all the time, when I saw writers who needed them. As I progressed my enthusiasm ebbed, but my attachment to these resources has not. Below is a list of the most prominent resources in this Dragon's hoard.
1:
By far the most versatile site I've found so far, and easily my favorite overall writing website. Springhole has many, many tools at its disposal. From its Random Generators to articles on writing and logical fallacies, Springhole provides very foundational "why we write what we write" materials, and the occasional "don't do that." You'll learn a lot about writing philosophy, and maybe get a glimpse of your own perspective on life that you bring into your writing.
And I would be remiss in not mentioning the "explicitly" fun side of this site. Its quizzes are light-hearted, humorous little things, and its more serious side, such as its Mary Sue test, is designed to help writers improve their writing and characters. Most of all, I love the site's humor section. Whether it's about being an absolutely revolting fan, or learning about the myriads of mistakes heroes make, this section has kept the humor up and this site at the top of my list.
2:
One of the finds I came across through Springhole (and the inspiration for Springhole's "Hero List"), the Evil Overlord List in its fullness is a list of over 200 don'ts every evil overlord should know. Very poignant satire of villainy everywhere, the List contains all sorts of humor against the nefarious type, be it their base, minions, or villainous vocabulary.
But the site isn't all laughs. Writers would do well to pay attention to the criticism the List contains. I've learned a lot about what villains shouldn't do, and how to make some of my strongest villains, because of this site. If you determine not to engage in many of the cliches the List points out, you end up with a fierce challenge to create not only a realistic bad guy, but also high tension for your plot's resolution. If you deny yourself the tropes that most writers use to defeat their villains, you'll have readers' attention because they won't see it coming. And sometimes, neither will you.
3:
Stuck with just about anything in your story? Generators are often a writer's boon for overcoming writer's blocks of all kinds. Whether it be character appearance, personality, or motivation, this site has quick suggestions to help get your creativity flowing and give your productivity moving. I've used the character gen part of the site the most. Oh, and there's also a nice array of generators for writing, items, and names. While perhaps not as versatile (at least for my applications), they are nevertheless facets of this resource's capabilities.
4:
Though by no means perfect suggestions, there is a lot to be learned from these short rules. Call them guidelines, if you will, but nevertheless learn from them.
5: Character Descriptors
While not a single site, these three adjective compendiums are definitely helpful for expanding your descriptive abilities. Not sure precisely how to explain a character's mood or stance? Their looks? Perhaps one of these three sites can help you.
English Adjectives (esolcourses)
Don't be surprised by the English-to-Spanish translation side. It's surprisingly helpful to get "back to the basics" delineation of our language when you get stuck.
Physical Characteristics (YourDictionary)
6: Fantasy Title Generators
Because why not? ;)
Titles are often a big struggle, and what you name your piece is one of the most important things you'll do with your work. The name is what you and others will call the piece, and if you have a title that's too long or wordy, it's going to be a mouthful and not much fun to pass around. Yet often ideas for what to christen your piece fly away moments after inspiration.
This gen spits out six titles at a time, and they're not half bad. Probably my preferred of the three.
Sadly, this gen only produces one title at a time, but nevertheless a decent grade title that ought to get you started.
This generator creates four titles per batch. While these creations have the most "fantasy" feel to them, with all the "The"s and "of"s you could want, they're not necessarily something worth copy+pasting onto your piece. But they might give you both title and plot ideas.
7: Baby Names
Yes, these belong here. Isn't it strange that we don't have "People Names" databases? It seems humans only care about finding new names when they need one... Oh wait, because you're only born once.
This applies with your characters, too. You only make them once. Granted, not all of them are infants in-story, but IRL, where it matters, they're babies, and they need good names. Please, don't shame your character with a poor name. You may name them once, or a million times, you may toss them out and start over, but every time a character is "born" or "reborn," you should take the time to pick out a good name for them.
My absolute favorite baby name site. Not only can you search for names by letter (or starting sequence, if you feel so inclined), but at the bottom of the page, you can search for names by nationality. This is extremely helpful when your setting is in another country. World-region specific names will give your story much stronger consistency, and that unified feeling of "realness."
This site made the list because it allows you to search by name meaning, something most of the other sites I've come across do not.
Both honorable mentions. While I don't frequent these as much, they are resources and they're there. Their layout might be more to your liking than the first, so take your pick.
8:
Yes, it says anime. Whether you want to try to visualize a semi-realistic (or completely accurate, based on your medium) version of your character, or explore a little bit more animalistic creature, this can definitely help. And it has a random gen feature, if you're feeling adventurous.
A rather short list at this point, I know, but there you have it. Memory is foggy and focus is waning, meaning I've dredged up the best of the best on my list and what didn't make it has been forgotten (for now) in the ether. I shall probably remember some brilliant resource I've forgotten and haven't touched in a good long while, but if I come across such a gem I'll be sure to pass it along.
Sincerely,
Dragonfphoenix, DJM.
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Addendum 2:
THIS LIST NEEDS T.V. Tropes
Addendum 1:
Adding http://amethyst-angel.com/cliche.html for my own personal reference and exploration later.
Hey there! CaptainSalty here with another review.
I really enjoyed this. It's creative and clever at the same time. This article is very useful. When it was in spotlight but it didn't have many reviews is quite an achievement. Great job! I will probably use a lot of these websites, like Incohesive said. Otherwise, great job!
Sorry for this short review, but this is all I have to say. I do want to see more articles like this. Don't give up and always write!
-CaptainSalty
Hi Dragonfphoenix,
Thanks for this list I'll probably use a bunch of these in the future. I had fun creating a character for my story I'm writing. It came out almost perfect! When it comes around to picking a name for that series (100 years) I will use that website too. Thank you again for this compilation of resources that everyone should have!
-Incohesive Scribbles.