I haven’t written one of these posts in ages, so I wanted to give you a few links to blogs and websites that have provided me with plenty of writing tips and inspiration.

I apologize in advance if you have an excellent blog that’s not mentioned below. Charles Yallowitz, for example, often offers fantasy writing tips in his Legends of Windemere blog. Here, however, I’m solely focusing on websites that provide the kind of research that a writer will use to make their fiction ring true.

Too Saxon for your love | From the blog of Nicholas C. Rossis, author of science fiction, the Pearseus epic fantasy series and children's books

I’m starting with fantasy and historical fiction, as the image above suggests. Mythic Scribes is one of the best places I’ve found when it comes to historical novels and fantasy. It is aimed at authors and carries articles on everything historical and fantasy, from the basics of heraldry to map building for fantasy writers. Unsurprisingly, it has often served as inspiration for my own posts.

Erik Kwakkel’s Medieval Books is another excellent source of historical material. Erik Kwakkel is a book historian and lecturer at Leiden University. His blog brings the world of medieval manuscripts to life in a wonderful way.

Spencer Alexander McDaniel’s Tales of Times Forgotten retells obscure stories from the distant past. A student at Indiana University Bloomington, where he is pursuing a double major in classical studies and history, Spencer specializes in all things Roman and ancient Greek. He’s hugely popular on Quora and a major contributor to Wikipedia.

More contemporary writers may appreciate PyroCasanova – a recent find for me. As the name suggests, it has all sorts of information on fire and the ways it starts. If your novel features a house that has burned down and you’re looking for some plausible ways this may have happened, look no further! From faulty appliances to rodent activity and from cooking fires to light magnification or criminal activity, this blog has it all.

Speaking of crimes, Sue Colletta is the place to go to if you’re interested in crime and mystery. She has a morbid fascination with all things deadly and some excellent interviews with law enforcement officers on the minutia of police work like jurisdiction, stakeouts, etc.

Finally, Atlas Obscura is all about travel… supposedly. In fact, the website includes hundreds of inspiring articles on anything from archeology to the history of playing cards. If you’re looking for writing inspiration, or just a fascinating read, this is the place to go.

I hope you find these as useful and interesting as I have. Happy writing!