Mentor Monday--Unusual Sites

I thought that today I'd share a few sites that can help you with your writing. These are not "how to write" sites, but rather sites to consult when you're looking for help with more practical aspects of writing--like finding things to write about.

The History and Geography of Inventions. Not much more to say!

In the First Person: An Index to Letters, Diaries, Oral Histories and Personal Narratives. "A free, high quality, professionally published, in-depth index of close to 4,000 collections of personal narratives in English from around the world."

Inflation Calculator. At the Bureau of Labor Statistics you can find out what a dollar was worth back in 1913 and any year in between 1913 and the present. Use it in your historical novel or to make comparisons for today's kids in your nonfiction works.

International House of Logorrhea. Obscure and other interesting words.

Macrohistory and World Report. From the site:

Macrohistory -- or big history as some call it -- describes connections as far back as the "Big Bang," and across centuries of human history. All of us have a picture of this past, some more vague than others. It's this picture that makes us Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Skeptic or what have you. Macrohistory creates perspective. Its purpose should be to make the big picture more clear.

State Standards and National Standards. Sometimes you need to know about educational standards so that you can put your writing in terms of fulfilling educational goals.

362 Nursery Rhymes. An alphabetic listing of nursery rhymes.

Time and Date. Lots of calendars, calculators for events such as full moons and eclipses, past and future time, etc.

Have fun!

--Diane