The Harry Potter Writers Guild - Links and Resources

Books, Magazines, and Other Materials

Achtert, Walter S. and Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers Standard college English book but great for grammar and referencing other materials used in novels.

Delton, Judy. The 29 Most Common Writing Mistakes and How To Avoid Them This book's advice applies to all types of writing - fiction and monfiction, poetry, novels, essays, and articles.

Jason, Philip K. and Lefcowitz, Allan B. Creative Writer's Handbook Designed to help beginners, this book concentrates on tapping and shaping a writer's creative energies and get them flowing in the direction the writer wishes them to go.

Kelly, Valerie. How to Writer Erotica Make money in the growing erotica marketplace - selling letters, stories, novels, scripts, or screenplays.

McCloud, Scott. Reinventing Comics Part 1 of this book includes: the life of comics as an art form and as literature; the battle for creators' rights; reinventing the business of comics; the shifting public perceptions of comics and the sexual and ethnic representation in comics. Part 2 includes: the intricacies of digital production; the exploding workd of online delivery; and the ultimate challenges of the infinite digital canvas.

Maloy, Timothy. The Writer's Internet Handbook Gives advice on getting connected, effective search techniques, promoting and marketing on the web, building your own web page, protecting your writing and much more.

Marius, Richard. A Short Guide to Writing About History A book useful for giving guidelines on making clear the muck of factoids that history can be to make it concise and understandable...another good tool for those writing historical novels or stories.

Shafer, R.J. A Guide to Historical Method An excellent book for those researching history, including tips on how to get to the "meat" of what your are trying to discover and other useful things.

Warriner, John E. English Workshop An actual book from Wolfie's English classes in college (it was her minor), very good for grammar and sentence structure and all the other technical things about English that makes it such a pain to learn. More of a reference guide of "what's a preposition again?" type of thing.

Williamson, J.N. (edited by). How to Write Tales of Horror, Fantasy, and Science Fiction By the masters of speculative fiction: Ray Bradbury, Dean Koontz, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Calin Wilson, Ramsey Campbell, Robert McCammon, and others.

Books on Mythology and Stuff Good for the Harry Potter World (This is besides any books by or about JK Rowling)

(For those who don't know, I use these books for my Immortals group, found on Wolfie's Den...don't panic...I'm not a Satanic worshiper.)

Beard, Henry. Latin for All Occasions From cocktail party chitchat to bumper stickers to personal ads - everything you'll ever need to say in perfect Latin (hysterical but I've actually used some in stories!)

Borgenicht, David and Piven, Joshua. The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook and it's companion The Worst-Case Survival Handbook: Travel. These books are great for clearing misconceptions of those wierd things that happen or you might someday need to know, like how to properly kick down a door, do a 180 in your car or how to control a runaway camel.

Conway, D.J. Magickal Mythical Mystical Beasts (and how to invite them into your life) Good reference to magical creatures and some of the lore surrounding them in human interaction with them.

Cunningham, Scott. The Complete Book of Incense, Oils and Brews Good reference guide to herbs and spices used in Wicca or Celtic traiditonal "magick". Many of these are very old and some of them have been given more "magical" setups in Rowling's books (see Mandrakes).

Daraul, Arkon. Secret Societies: A History Almost every society has produced its secret societies. Here is a unique, sensational study of such societies from the earliest recorded time to the 20th Century, and an analysis of their forms, rituals, and beliefs. Includes analysis of such groups as The Charcoal Burners of Italy, the Castrators of Russia and the Illuminated Ones (the Illuminati)...needless to say I've found it useful for DeathEaters and my own original stories alike.

Hughes, Kristine. The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in Regency and Victorian England (from 1811-1901) More Victorian than Regency, still an excellent source of information about society and the times.

Jones, Richard. Walking Haunted London Twenty-five original walks exploring London's ghostly past - you never know when the mood to write a ghost story hits, eh?

Kenyon, Sherrilyn. The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in the Middle Ages (The British Isles from 500 to 1500) 'Nuff said. I love these books.

Kramer, Samuel Noah. Mythologies of the Ancient World Very heavy book (reading-wise) but an excellent source of classical literature from Greece, Rome, Etrusca, Egypt, etc.

Leon, Vicki. Uppity Women... She has several. I recommend them all, they are fabulous sources of women throughout history. She corrects historical misconceptions about famous and infamous women as well as reveal women we never knew existed. The titles are (all start out as Uppity Women of) Ancient Times, Medieval Times, Shakespearean Times (or of the Renaissance depending on version) and the New World.

McCoy, Edwin. A Witch's Guide to Faery Folk Another good reference for magical creatures..the important part for me was the "includes a dictionary of 230 faeries!"

Mack, Carol K and Dinah. A Field Guide to Demons, Fairies, Fallen Angels, and Other Subversive Spirits Excellent source of lore and legend surrounding the beasts of heaven and earth with not so good intentions. Covers just about every country in the world.

Pottle, Fredrick A. (edited by) Boswell's London Journal 1762-1763 For those interested in historical stories, James Boswell (biographer to Samuel Johnson), kept a journal of his time in London which is a valuable resource to that period's London, from travel and geography to personalities and politics.

Simmons, Marc. Witchcraft in the Southwest: Spansih and Indian Supernaturalism on the Rio Grande I think the title says it all...those interested in America's native cultures this is a fabulous book. It's also a good source of American Indian supernaturalism in general.

Wilkinson, Phillip. Illustrated Dictionary of Mythology A fully illustrated guide to more than 500 key characters in the world of mythology.