Just sharing a quick list of jolly good sites probably every single soul and their aunt knows, but whatever – sharing is caring and you might still find something new.
I think these are particularly useful if you are English-as-a-second-language and I’m dropping some Italian-specific pages (prego, non c’è di che):
OneLook Thesaurus (Reverse Dictionary): so useful for varying your writing and finding that one word you can’t remember.
Tip of My Tongue: for scatterbrains like me who will remember how the word looks or sounds but not the word itself. Spoiler: 90% of times you find out that was absolutely not how the word looked or sounded but it’s a fun journey.
Thesaurus: a classic, I guess. You get the occurrence rate for every synonym, antonyms, usage and some related words. The homepage is awful but it gets better once you search something.
Urban Dictionary: of course everybody already knows it, but it has to be mentioned (use with caution, of course, and double/triple check everything elsewhere).
RhymeZone: I find this to be the most reliable one among the ones of this kind I’ve tried out. You get results by syllables and almost-rhymes that actually make sense.
Related words: so, this is kind of like playing a Minesweeper round, and it’s all but reliable, but I’ve found it useful when trying to describe a place and needing to know what might be found in that specific place.
Fantasy name generator: it says fantasy but it also has fandom-specific generators, maps, places and so on. There’s also a description generator but I’d skip on that if I were you, even though it can kick creativity back into motion. Probably useful if you’re writing a game and need item descriptions.
Visual Dictionary: this is my holy Graal every time I need to describe a machine or how it works, or when I’m in doubt about how a specific item is addressed in English. It’s maybe basic if you’re a native speaker, but it does wonders if you’re not, especially for what concerns packaging (e.g. is it a carton, a brick or a box?). It also offers fairly detailed descriptions of animal anatomy, and, in general, all that has parts or components with technical names.
I used to use some schematics for teaching my tutoring students more advanced English, since the pics help a great deal and words can be easily erased (Paint, my beloved) for exercises and tests, so you might want to try it out.
Dizy (ITA only): this is a game changer since it gives you a definition, antonyms and synonyms AND adjectives to describe substantives listed by occurrence, examples, proverbs and films/books containing the word. It has also a lot of trivia about the words and their composition (roots, syllables, accents etc.) that can be extremely useful if you’re learning Italian. If in doubt, double-check meanings and etymology on Enciclopedia Treccani.
Since I’m a translator, as well as a wannabe writer, I often resort to glossaries if I’m reverse-translating something technical. Just for fun, I’m sharing a bunch of extremely specific glossaries I’ve found in my faves, so you can have a laugh:
- Ichthyology (ita). Specifically, fish in the Mediterranean Sea and I don’t even remember WHY I needed that.
- Scuba diving glossary (ita but has also eng). I’m seeing a pattern here and it’s not remembering why I needed something. Please shield your eyes, the layout is hideous.
- Finance (ita&eng). ‘Cause seriously, you guys use words you probably made up on the spot.
- Jail slang (ita). I mean, why not? Not really reliable and sus as hell, but it had what I needed.
- Neapolitan language (ita). Let’s just say I ended up giving up on using any expression listed here since I have no idea how to make them sound in a non-cringe way for native speakers. The book is also dated but I needed to write about Naples in the 30s so it worked for me.
- Hessisch for beginners (de). A fun little dictionary I pick quirky words from just to have a laugh with my German family.
- Panamanian slang (eng). Not at all related to one of my fics.
- Aviation glossary (ita). I needed it for one (1) line and that’s all I’m gonna say about it.
- Fixed phrases glossary (ita). You have no idea HOW useful this is, even for a native speaker.
- Mando’a dictionary (eng) + Mandor - Guide to Mandalorian Language (sadly they removed this grammar book online but hit me up if you want the PDF).
- League of Legends + MOBA glossary (ita&eng). Let me tell you that translation job was NOT FUN.
Here it was, I hope this might help someone and make their struggles with writing a bit easier.
stay completely still until "danger" has passed; i.e. anxiety lessens
listen for something to ground me; e.g. a pet snoring or childhood clock ticking
shouting in fear or rage within the dream wakes me up, and then I lie there wondering if anyone heard me (one time I kept trying to yell while awake until I calmed down)
If you're stuck in the first draft of your novel, these three words will set you free:
Fix it later.
Right now, all you need to do is get the story on paper. You'll have time to make it perfect. You'll have plenty of chances to fix everything. For now, just write. 🤞💚
I’m sick. I’m tired. I’m a bit punchy. So I’m going to subject all my followers to a post dedicated to my new favorite sidekick ever. I Stan one Tapi, thank you.
pairing: dean winchester x reader & damon salvatore x reader
series status: ongoing
synopsis: dean and sam are on the hunt for their father and the yellow-eyed demon that killed their mother when they're suddenly sent the coordinates to a small town in virginia. the last thing they expect to find when they arrive is an old childhood friend, who to dean's surprise is not exactly a child anymore. oh and a town brimming with vampires and other supernatural creatures. (the supernatural x vampire diaries crossover fic of your dreams)
notes: set in the story arcs of season 3 of tvd & season 1 of spn (i know the years don't match up but just roll with it)
