THE BARD'S REFERENCE LIBRARY
XENA COLLECTION
Managed by Lunacy, M.L.S.
Last updated: 03/11/01

Introduction - Rules and Regulations

Guides, Manuals, And Directories

XWP Fanfic Articles

X:WP Reference Sources On The Net

X:WP Fan Fiction Contests And Auctions

X:WP Fan Fiction Indexes

X:WP Fan Fiction Reviews REVISED

X:WP Fan Fiction Art

XWP Audio Resources

XWP Video Resources

Foreign Language XWP Fan Fiction

XWP Fan Fiction Awards REVISED

General Fan Fiction Directories

General Fanfic Articles

Other Fanfic And Writing Resources On The Net

Historical And Mythological Resources On The Net

Notable Women Throughout History

  Also available: The Bard's Reference Library - Voyager Collection  

INTRODUCTION - RULES AND REGULATIONS:

Listed here you will find documents, articles and how-to manuals written by Xenites about the writing process and/or about XWP fan fiction. You will also find links to other sites on the Net that might be of interest to writers. You will find everything from technical instruction on how to construct a sentence to advice on how to develop characters and plots. Do keep in mind that the writing process itself tends to be a very personal thing. What works for one bard may not work for another. There are bards who can write without planning their stories first - they enjoy the spontaneity that comes with discovering what a character is going to do almost at the same time that the character decides to do it. There are others who prefer to meticulously plan their stories from start to finish. There are bards who pride themselves in producing technically well-written stories, who seriously want to improve their writing, who sometimes even aspire to write commercially - there are others who just want to tell a story and don't like to spend a lot of time on the technical aspects. In fan fiction there is nothing wrong with either approach. The MOST important thing to keep in mind is that fan fiction both for writers and readers should first and foremost be FUN! The documents listed here are NOT "official" guides on writing XWP fan fiction. They are simply contributions from fellow Xenite bards in which they share what works for them. Locally hosted documents include the date they were added to the library's collection.

RULES OF THE LIBRARY: Feel free to check out anything you like. No due dates are imposed and no late fees although failure to refer to the librarian as "The Goddess" will lead to severe punishment. It behooves us all to remember that Librarians these days talk softly but carry a big whip ;-)

GUIDES, MANUALS, AND DIRECTORIES:

XWP ARTICLES:

X:WP REFERENCE SOURCES ON THE NET:

X:WP FAN FICTION CONTESTS AND AUCTIONS:

X:WP FAN FICTION INDEXES:

X:WP FAN FICTION REVIEWS:

X:WP FAN FICTION ART:

XWP AUDIO RESOURCES:

XWP VIDEO RESOURCES:

FOREIGN LANGUAGE XWP FAN FICTION:

X:WP FAN FICTION AWARDS:

GENERAL FAN FICTION DIRECTORIES

GENERAL FANFIC ARTICLES:

  • a href="http://members.aol.com/janemort/fanfic.html">THE ADVANTAGES OF FAN FICTION AS AN ART FORM: A SHAMELESS ESSAY by Jane Mortimer
    FANTASTIC essay about why writers write fanfic and the many factors that sometimes makes it more appealing than commercial fiction even for published authors.

  • a href="http://members.aol.com/janemort/erotic.html">THE ADVANTAGES OF EROTIC FAN FICTION AS AN ART FORM: A MORE SHAMELESS ESSAY by Jane Mortimer
    Very insightful and at times VERY amusing, this essay takes a look at the appeal of erotic fanfic, comparing its appeal to the more traditional commercial erotica available to the sexes. Although Jane's examples and observations are primarily extrapolated from the X-FILES fandom in which she's active, her conclusions are universally relevant and should be of interest to anyone who writes or enjoys erotic fanfic in all it's wonderful, wacky, diverse manifestations.

  • a href="http://www.strangeplaces.net/torch/categorization.html">CATEGORIZATION by Torch - in a href="http://www.strangeplaces.net/torch/index.html">THE FLAMBEAU FACTORY
    A look at the use of categorization in fanfic - how stories are labeled, how this can prove both useful and limiting.

  • a href="http://www.strangeplaces.net/torch/characterization.html">CHARACTERIZATION by Torch - in a href="http://www.strangeplaces.net/torch/index.html">THE FLAMBEAU FACTORY
    A rather amusing look at characterization in fanfic.

  • a href="http://www.whoosh.org/issue25/lee1.html">COPYRIGHT 101 - A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO COPYRIGHT FOR FAN FICTION AUTHORS by A.T. Lee - in a href="http://whoosh.org/">WHOOSH #25, Oct. 1998
    An overview of copyright concepts and law.

  • a href="http://www.techreview.com/articles/ma00/viewpoint.htm">DIGITAL LAND GRAB by Henry Jenkins - in a href="http://www.techreview.com/index.htm">TECHNOLOGY REVIEW March/April 2000
    A look at how the digital age, fanfic and fandoms are impacting on the concept of intellectual property and reviving a participatory culture among the masses.

  • a href="http://www.strangeplaces.net/torch/discrimination.html">DISCRIMINATION by Torch - in a href="http://www.strangeplaces.net/torch/index.html">THE FLAMBEAU FACTORY
    A discussion of the pros and cons of offering reviews and criticism of fanfic.

  • a href="http://www.strangeplaces.net/torch/feedback.html">FEEDBACK by Torch - in a href="http://www.strangeplaces.net/torch/index.html">THE FLAMBEAU FACTORY
    A comprehensive look at the different perspectives regarding feedback for fanfic stories - how authors feel about it, the guilt syndrome it can inspire in readers, how useful it can be, etc.

  • a href="http://users.infoconex.com/helen/getsthejobdone.htm">I AM NOT A DOMINATRIX by Helen
    "An essay on women, sexuality, and internet publishing." [In the stories section]

  • a href="http://www.virtue.nu/puritybrown/integrity.htm">INTEGRITY OR NOT THE CHARACTERIZATION RANT by Katherine F - in a href="http://www.virtue.nu/puritybrown/index.html">PURITY'S ROOM
    Interesting essay about characterization and the importance of staying true to the "values" of the TV show and characters one writes about.

  • a href="http://lonestar.texas.net/%7Elochness/thesaurus.htm">JUST HOLD YOUR BREATH UNTIL YOUR PROSE TURNS PURPLE by Lock Ness - in a href="http://lonestar.texas.net/%7Elochness/">LOCK NESS
    Terrific article about "purple prose" - that tendency writers sometimes have to get just a taaaad too descriptive in scenes. The section on purple prose in sex scenes is in a word...priceless ;-)

  • a href="http://www.tushnet.com/law/fanficarticle.html">LEGAL FICTIONS: COPYRIGHT, FAN FICTION, AND A NEW COMMON LAW by Rebecca Tushnet - in the LOYOLA OF LOS ANGELES ENTERTAINMENT LAW JOURNAL, 1997
    An article on fanfic and "fair use".

  • a href="http://slate.msn.com/Features/fanfic/fanfic.asp">LUKE SKYWALKER IS GAY? - FAN FICTION IS AMERICA'S LITERATURE OF OBSESSION by David Plotz - in a href="http://slate.msn.com/Default.asp">SLATE MAGAZINE April 14, 2000
    Very comprehensive, at times humorous, article on fanfic - its history, its development over the years, the people who write and read it, and its growing popularity now on the Net. Plotz includes a discussion of slash fiction and also offers an insightful commentary on the legal challenges fanfic faces and how it, in turn, is challenging the forces that have commercialized popular culture.

  • a href="http://lonestar.texas.net/%7Elochness/MarySue.htm">MARY SUE GOT A MAKEOVER by Lock Ness - in a href="http://lonestar.texas.net/%7Elochness/">LOCK NESS
    Insightful essay about the developing tendency among fanfic writers to get around the "Mary Sue" syndrome by using established characters as their "Mary Sues"...and butchering those characterizations in the process.

  • a href="http://media-in-transition.mit.edu/articles/index_cumberland.html">PRIVATE USES OF CYBERSPACE: WOMEN, DESIRE, AND FAN CULTURE by Sharon Cumberland
    Presented as a paper at the Media in Transition Conference at MIT on October 8, 1999, this essay discusses the involvement of women in fanfic and how this Internet genre has created a forum for women to write and share erotica geared specifically toward their interests. The writer is a fan of actor Antonio Banderas but discusses fanfic from several different fandoms including Xena, Star Trek, and Highlander.

  • a href="http://commons.somewhere.com/rre/1998/The.Poachers.and.the.Sto.html">THE POACHERS AND THE STORMTROOPERS by Henry Jenkins - in a href="http://slate.msn.com/Features/fanfic/fanfic.asp">RED ROCK EATER DIGEST July 30, 1998
    This talk presented at the University of Michigan by Henry Jenkins, Director of the Comparative Media Studies Program at MIT, discusses the growing impact of the Net on fan culture and how it is helping to drive a cultural revolution as fans challenge copyright owners and other gatekeepers in a grassroots effort to democratize popular culture.

  • a href="http://www.slashaholics.org/thamiris/slash/rape.html">RAPE AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN FIC A BRIEF DEFENSE by Erin, Feklar and Thamiris
    An opinion on some of the reasons why writers include sexual violence in their fanfic.

  • a href="http://wordsmiths.net/Essays/combat.htm">THE RULES OF COMBAT - VIOLENCE IN FAN FICTION by V.Watts
    Well thought out article about the prevalence of violence in fan fiction.

  • a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/eguide/archive/1999/09/30/neva.dtl">SPOCK DOES MULDER WOMAN-WRITTEN 'SLASH' FICTION COUPLES MALE CHARACTERS FROM FILM AND TV by Neva Chonin - in a href="http://www.sfgate.com/">SF GATE Sept. 30, 1999
    A humorous look at the world of slash fanfic, tracing its evolution from mostly m/m fiction to the f/f fiction that is now growing increasingly popular with the emergence of strong female heroes on TV and in the movies.

  • a href="http://www.merrycoz.org/papers/MARYSUE.HTM">TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE: 150 YEARS OF MARY SUE by Pat Pflieger
    A look at one of the most enduring character types in fan fiction - the much-used, often hated but still popular Mary Sue, recognizable to fanfic readers as a projection of the author into the story itself.

  • a href="http://wordsmiths.net/Essays/violence_macg.htm">VIOLENCE IN FAN FICTION (A RESPONSE TO "THE RULES OF COMBAT" BY V. WATTS) by MacGeorge
    Eloquent response to V. Watts' essay with some interesting additional insights on the subject of violence in fanfic.

  • a href="http://www.brillscontent.com/features/slash_0500.html">THE X-RATED FILES by Austin Bunn - in a href="http://www.brillscontent.com/">BRILLS CONTENT May 2000
    Comprehensive article about the history, development and current state of slash fanfic on the Net.

OTHER FANFIC AND WRITING RESOURCES ON THE NET:

  • a href="http://missy.reimer.com/library/guide.html">DR. MERLIN'S GUIDE TO FAN FICTION by Dr. Merlin (alias Melissa Wilson)
    An entertaining and very comprehensive general guide to fan fiction - What it is? How to write it? Who writes it and why?

  • ELEMENTS OF STYLE by William Strunk, Jr.
    The classic English language style guide listing basic rules of grammar.

  • a href="http://www.freedict.com/">FREEDICT.COM
    Offers 16 different foreign language dictionaries allowing visitors to translate from English into these languages and back.

  • NAMES:

    • a href="http://babyzone.com/babynames/theworld.asp">BABYZONE - BABY NAMES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
      Names organized by geographical location and historical periods.

    • a href="http://www.zelo.com/firstnames/index.html">FIRST NAMES AND WHAT THEY MEAN by C. Thomas Wright III
      The site allows you to search for particular names, gives you their nationality and meaning. They have a search engine in the works that would allow you to search by meaning so that you could, for instance, find names that mean "queen" or "strong".

    • a href="http://www.angelfire.com/ar/beogodeo/101amazons.html">ONE HUNDRED ONE AMAZONS by S. Wilson
      Information on a number of Amazons whose names appear in historical and literary texts. An outstanding source of Amazon names.

  • a href="http://www.onelook.com/">ONELOOK DICTIONARIES
    Awesome site which allows you to search over three hundred specialized and general online dictionaries for definitions. When you type in a term you can choose what types of dictionaries you want to search in or you can simply search ALL the dictionaries. The dictionaries available for searching include general, legal, medical, computer, slang, religion, art, sports, and science dictionaries among many others.

  • a href="http://www.sfwa.org/">SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY WRITERS OF AMERICA, INC.
    A fantastic resource for sci-fi/fantasy writers featuring articles on the craft and business of writing science fiction and fantasy. In particular, do not miss the article a href="http://www.sfwa.org/writing/thud.htm">ON THUD AND BLUNDER by Poul Anderson - a very practical and often humorous guide to writing sci-fi/fantasy that makes sense.

  • a href="http://www.writerswrite.com/">WRITER'S WRITE - THE WRITE RESOURCE
    One of the finest resource Web sites for writers and would-be writers. Makes available a monthly publication called THE INTERNET WRITING JOURNAL with articles on every facet of writing from the technical aspects to the creative ones, advice on getting published, legal issues, etc. The site also features author interviews, book reviews, best sellers lists and classified listings of jobs and opportunities for writers, editors, publishers and agents.

HISTORICAL AND MYTHOLOGICAL RESOURCES ON THE NET:

  • a href="http://ancienthistory.miningco.com/education/ancienthistory/">ANCIENT/CLASSICAL HISTORY
    Terrific collection of links and documents about ancient civilizations. Among other things you can find maps, information about what people wore, weapons and warfare, sexuality, descriptions of what daily life was like. Includes also a nice biography section on notable women in Ancient history.

  • a href="http://www.uky.edu/ArtsSciences/Classics/diopeplos.html">ANCIENT CLOTHING
    A glossary of clothing terminology along with hundreds of illustrations of ancient costumes.

  • a href="http://argos.evansville.edu/">ARGOS
    A peer-reviewed area search engine for those seeking ancient and medieval resources on the Net. ARGOS is maintained by academicians active in these areas of study.

  • a href="http://museums.ncl.ac.uk/archive/arma/index.htm">ARMAMENTARIVM
    A very comprehensive reference source on Roman arms and armor.

  • a href="http://www.showgate.com/medea/bulfinch/">BULFINCH'S MYTHOLOGY by Thomas Bulfinch
    The online version of one of the definitive reference works on classical mythology. A truly extraordinary site with a mind-boggling system of cross-links. Includes a listing of the major Olympian gods with images showing how they've been represented in art and references to their appearances in ancient texts.

  • a href="http://members.aol.com/nebula5/costume.html">THE COSTUME PAGE by Julie Zetterberg
    Very comprehensive site featuring a wealth of historical information on clothing, armor and accessories used through the ages, ethnic and folk costumes, and theatrical costumes as well as links to hundreds of sites featuring detailed information on the construction of these costumes.

  • a href="http://milieux.com/costume/">THE COSTUME SITE by Lauren Podolak/Milieux
    An extraordinary collection of links to Web sites containing information on historical costumes, clothing and armor used through the ages as well as costumes used in film, theater and TV.

  • A DETAILED CHRONOLOGY OF GREEK HISTORY Compiled by Charlie Kyriacou
    A very nice, detailed chronology of Greek History from 70,000 B.C. to modern day.

  • DIOTIMA: MATERIALS FOR THE STUDY OF WOMEN AND GENDER IN THE ANCIENT WORLD by Ross Scaife and Suzanne Bonefas
    A resource for the study of gender around the ancient Mediterranean, the site includes links to many on-line articles, book reviews, databases, and images as well as a searchable bibliography.

  • THE ENCYCLOPEDIA MYTHICA Compiled and maintained by M.F. Lindemans
    A nicely organized online encyclopedia of mythology, folklore and legend featuring not only information on Greek mythology but on mythologies from all over the world. Includes a search engine.

  • a href="http://www.indianmythology.com/">INDIAN MYTHOLOGY
    Very comprehensive and easy to understand site featuring a character guide to the gods and heros in Hindu mythology as well as a number of the most popular legends and stories.

  • a href="http://pubpages.unh.edu/%7Ecbsiren/mythold.html">MYTHS AND LEGENDS by Christopher B. Siren
    Excellent collection of links to sites featuring information on mythologies, legends and religions from around the world and different historical periods.

  • a href="http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/%7Eatlas/">OSSHE HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL ATLAS RESOURCE A project of the University Of Oregon
    This site makes available some nice geographical, historical, political and economic maps of Ancient Greece and Rome. Also available is a Cultural Image Library showing what buildings, bridges, private homes, and other every-day things looked like. Maps of 18th and 19th century North America are also available for those of you writing those uber stories.

  • a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/">PERSEUS PROJECT Gregory Crane, Editor-in-Chief, Tufts University
    Described as a "digital library of resources for studying the ancient world", this growing site includes ancient texts and translations of these, essays on a number of different topics, pictures of ancient art contributed by over 70 museums and a VERY impressive interactive atlas that allows you to zoom in on specific areas of the ancient world and pick which cities/towns/sites you want actually listed in the atlas. [Note: You must have a Java-enabled browser in order to use the Atlas]

  • a href="http://www.eliki.com/ancient/beliefs/herbs/">PLANTS, HERBS AND OILS THROUGHOUT HISTORY by Interactive Technologies, LLC
    Discusses the use of plants, herbs and oils for medicinal and superstitious purposes throughout history. Includes a list of plants and what they've been used for in the past.

NOTABLE WOMEN THROUGHOUT HISTORY:

  • a href="http://www.net4you.co.at/users/poellauerg/Amazons/index.html">THE AMAZONS
    Lots of pictures and historical references.

  • a href="http://www.angelfire.com/ar/beogodeo/amazons.html">THE AMAZONS AND THESEUS AND THE AMAZONS compiled by S. Wilson
    General information about amazons.

  • a href="http://www.eliki.com/ancient/myth/amazons/content.htm">AMAZONS IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY by Interactive Technologies, LLC
    An overview of Amazons in Greek mythology. Includes a listing of legendary Amazons.

  • a href="http://www.corrieweb.com/amazon/dehistorica1.htm">ANTIQUITAS FEMINAE - A JOURNEY THROUGH AMAZON TIME compiled by a href="https://lunacyreviews.ausxip.com/Nene_Adams.shtm.htm">Nene Adams
    Articles about women warriors.

  • a href="http://www.angelfire.com/ar/beogodeo/101amazons.html">ONE HUNDRED ONE AMAZONS by S. Wilson
    Information on a number of Amazons whose names appear in historical and literary texts. An outstanding source of Amazon names.

  • a href="http://www.csen.org/WomenWarriors/Womens.status.html">THE CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF THE EURASIAN NOMADS (CSEN)
    Talks about the recent archeological findings of tombs and artifacts belonging to women warriors in ancient Russia. Includes pictures of costumes, weapons, head-dresses with some familiar feathers :-)

  • a href="http://www.distinguishedwomen.com/">DISTINGUISHED WOMEN OF PAST AND PRESENT by Danuta Bois
    Awesome site with information on just about every notable woman in history. For information specifically about warriors look under FIELDS OF ACTIVITY and select MILITARY AND WARFARE. Make sure to read about Fuhao - a Chinese queen and military leader who at one time commanded an army of 10,000 - this at a time when she very well COULD have met a certain Warrior Princess ;-) Also interesting is the Syrian Queen Mavia who led a SUCCESSFUL revolt against Rome in the 4th century A.D. Mulan is listed here as are other VERY IMPRESSIVE sisters! :-)

  • a href="http://www.gendergap.com/military/Warriors.HTM">WOMEN WARRIORS
    Long, OUTSTANDING study of women warriors during the past 6,000 years. Talks about women warriors from Ancient Greece and Rome to Asia, the Middle East, Africa, South America and Europe.

  • a href="http://www.koryubooks.com/library/wwj1.html">WOMEN WARRIORS OF JAPAN: THE ROLE OF THE ARMS-BEARING WOMEN IN JAPANESE HISTORY by Ellis Amdur
    Good, thorough study of notable female warriors in Japanese history.

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