Research Links

The Acronym Finder

The perfect antidote to technical manuals and characters who like to talk in letters to one-up their peers. -- offers big searchable database of acronyms, plus one-look dictionaries, standard dictionaries and the top search engines. TGINSFAA (Thank God I'm not stuck for an acronym).

Airliners.Net

Visual site for writers seeking drama in the sky. -- Biggest aviation site on the internet. Over 65,000 photos. Airliners, military aircraft, classic planes, crashes, tech infor, etc., etc., etc.

Allexperts.com

Question? Ask a real person.
-- Biggest free Q and A site on the internet: arts and entertainment, cars and vehicles, computers, legal, medical, religion, sports (pro or recreational), travel, plus some other fluffy items and a fascinating miscellaneous category (get help searching the internet, cops, fire safety, personal security, and UFO's),.

Animated American Sign Language Dictionary

For scripts that deal with sign language. -- This cool site uses animated photos to teach basic American Sign Language (ASL). Although kind of slow, it's an excellent use of the Web, and includes resource links of interest to the deaf community.

Babel Fish

A translation tool. -- Downloadable translator.

Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (the 1901 version)

Quote Searches. -- Still as useful as it was at the beginning of the last century, but if you're looking for a quote from Hunter S. Thompson, forget it.

Bulfinch's Mythology

Archetypes and Story Roots. -- The standard reference work on the subject, with links to other related topics.

Canadian English Page (by Cornerstone)

-- "In Canada we have enough to do keeping up with two spoken languages without trying to invent slang, so we just go right ahead and use English for literature, Scotch for sermons and American for conversation." -- Stephen Leacock. This site also contains links to writing, editing and PR services.

Canoe-Jam Page

Inet's answer to Hollywood Reporter, National Enquirer, and ET, all in one -- all the news thats fit (some that's unfit) to print about the movie and television business. Uniquely au courant. Bonus: has a great search engine for drilling down into its pages and returned fascinating info. I tested the word "Screenwriter" and...oh, well, YOU do it, see if they'll put a cherry on it for you.

Carlweb

Need an answer to the question, "Is there a book on my subject?" or "What images can I grab about my topic?" -- A sophisticated library search engine with associate libraries across the U.S. Book searches available, plus searches which can pull images from a host of image collections.

CIA World Factbook

If the CIA doesn't know it, who does?
-- "Intelligence" on 250 countries. Defense systems, flags, geography, government, maps, population, transportation. The online leader for fingertip facts on countries around the world.

Common Errors in English

Even in screenplays, which are not usually destined for publication, grammar and spelling do count. -- Literate and learned, but very readable and entertaining, site by Paul Brians, Professor of English, Washington State University. Professor Brians also deals briefly with the "politics of usage" (my term).

Crime Writing

Links to everything from The Autopsy Screenwriter's Guide to The Smoking Gun.

Did You Know?

Are you a "pack rat" writer?
-- The subtitle of this site is "Fascinating Facts and Amazing Stories." Search engine on board, which turns up unexpected gems. Great for the lateral thinker.

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Crime genre? Investigation thriller? Mystery? -- the FBI's own site.

Firearms.com

Mystery, crime, or action genres resource. -- The quintessential firearms site, hosted by Jeffrey Scott Doyle. Excellent resource when your script deals with the technical aspects of weaponry. Comprehensive and easy to navigate.

Forensic_Entomology and Virtual Pathology

Need to know how your Hero's going to get the goods on the criminal? Try these sites.

FRANK's Creative Quotations

Looking for a different approach to famous quotations? -- A unique site created and maintained by Franklin C. Baer, who originally started his library when on a quest for quotes to put on a calendar to give to his wife. How's that for creative inspiration?

How Stuff Works

When the plot point gets "techie," here's some help. -- From smoke detectors to medical school, from cruise missiles to tomatoes, from boolean logic to invisible pet fences, make sure your plot twist is technically right.

Hyper History Online

When did what happen and who did what to whom? -- If you're one of those people who loves to use the "Timelines of History " books, this site is for you. Hyper History Online indexes events and famous people by utilizing graphic timelines. It contains an alphabetical index for 810 persons in HHO with 350 www links.Covers 3000 years of world history. Endorsed by the Discovery Channel, and the History Channel. A great fact checker, and stimulation for script dialogue, etc., etc., etc.

From Toronto With Love

For those who love to watch the Canada Goose flying. -- shameless, chauvinistic homerism. Great resource for those who live in Hogtown. Has links and info to the movie scene, arts and entertainment, and good pages for those of us in the movie and television industry, as well as those wonderful American folk brave enough to venture here to save 40% on production costs.

Law Desk

Wondering about what your rights are?
-- U.S. jurisprudence about the film business, with a specific site on Writers' Rights.

Medical Page

What disease or medical condition is it?
-- Links to eight top medical sites

Movie Cliches List

These are the things to steer clear of in your script. -- A good way to check on where you went "derivative" in your story or screenplay.

Overlawyered

Love things legal and litigious?
-- Everything you wanted, and didn't want, to know about things jurisprudential. If you need legal inspiration or stories or--well almost anything, you can find it or link it here. Monster site. Mostly U.S. Very readable

Pearson's Index to Screenplay
Articles on the Internet

Important articles on a broad range of topics. Written by the best in the business -- Screenplay professionals like Terry Rossio, Michael Hauge, Richard Michaels, Linda Seger, Frank Darabont, and others. The articles are categorized into groups like Audience, Agents, Becoming a Screenwriter, The Biz, Character, Dialogue, Format and Page Style, Low-Budget Scripts, Queries, Selling, Sex and Romance, Structure, Theme, Tips and Tricks of the Trade, Writer's Block, and many more. A great way to get answers and get inspiration!

Police Scanner.Com

Listen in for the lingo. -- Also Aviation and Fire. Requires Real Player (an easy download if you don't have it).

Quoteland

Who said it? -- Find quotations on anything; identify quotations by anyone. A good sidekick to Bartlett's.

Reference Desk

Need to look it up? -- This page has everything from Academic Info to Wisdom Knowledge & Literature Search.

Search Sites

Find the best search portals.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

A Treasure House of Story Material.
-- Go there.

The Semantic Rhyming Dictionary

Doing Doggerel? -- Be a poet. Type in a word and let the database generate perfect rhymes, partial rhymes or homophones.

Shakespeare Insults Page

-- The great bard's acerbic side. Search by play or by category

Unloved Crimes

Cop show? Crime story? -- Virtual "Cold case" site. Good spider links to crime research pages.

Vanessa Grant Writer's Resources

For those writers interested in love stories and romances, here's a unique site by a pro in the field. -- this site offers a wide variety of services for both professional and developing writers, including an online writer's bookstore, writing seminars on tape and online, software for writers including the Dogwood Compendium of Names and Storycraft software, research links and other writers' links, and a massive online romance bookstore.

Web Mania

Everything you need to build your own website for free!

Writing at the University of Toronto

Technical and academic. -- Designed to support academic objectives, this site offers some excellent research aids and resources.

CREATE YOUR SCREENPLAY
With Barry Pearson

Research links

Hollywood Screenplay
Formatting Made Easy

Hot off the press.
Second Edition!

GET THIS--

• Do all your own formatting
...without buying expensive
...software .

• Get started in less than twenty
....minutes.

• Clear, step-by-step instructions.

• Learn how to register your |
...screenplay.FAST with the .Writers
..Guild .of .America.BY EMAIL!~~

Order the book here

Create Your Screenplay site
has been updated
May 5th, 2009

Click to send me an e-mail and get one of my
free mini-books

How To Write Better Screenplay Dialogue

Summary, Outline, Treatment

How to format "parentheticals" -- an
excerpt from the new edition of my book,
Hollywood Screenplay Formatting Made Easy

OR email.us.atcreateyourscreenplay
at rogers dot com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SCREENPLAY FORMATTING PROGRAMS?
Final Draft is one of the best at. $169.00

CREATE YOUR SCREENPLAY With Barry Pearson

Research links

Hollywood Screenplay Formatting Made Easy

Hot off the press. Second Edition!

GET THIS--

• Do all your own formatting ...without buying expensive ...software .

• Get started in less than twenty ....minutes. • Clear, step-by-step instructions.

• Learn how to register your | ...screenplay.FAST with the .Writers ..Guild .of .America.BY EMAIL!~~