Free Stuff — Hand-Picked List of Helpful Links

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We hope these links will assist you as you learn more about creating memoirs and oral histories.

Writing and Editing :: Oral History :: Reference Sites :: Quotations
Photographs :: Focus on History :: Copyright Laws :: Military Sites
Ethical Wills :: Northwest Region :: Associations and Extras

Writing and Editing

Writing workshop directory
This Shaw Guides site is a great place to find writing workshops and conferences, no matter where you live. You can search by country, state, genre or other criteria.

National Writers Workshops
Find a National Writers Workshop near your home, offered by the Poynter Institute, a school for journalists. Dates and locations for 2004 include: April 17-18, The Hartford Courant, Connecticut, and St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Missouri; April 24-25, Seattle Times, Washington; May 1-2, The News Journal, Wilmington, Delaware; May 8, Orange County Register, California; May 22-23, San Antonio Express-News, Texas; June 5-6, Sun-Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Florida; and fall 2004 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Free Writing Tips - A or Free Writing Tips - B
The Writers Manual describes itself as the bragging zone for writers worldwide. In addition to interviews with various authors, the Web site offers free mini-courses in technical writing, copy editing and screenwriting, as well as free e-books about publishing, children’s writing, freelance writing and promoting and selling your book. The site, a sister site to the Writers Gazette, was listed among the best by Writers Digest in 2002 and 2003.

Grammar and usage guides
American Heritage Book of English Usage
The American Heritage Book of English Usage online offers a search engine to answer grammatical questions, as well as the table of contents addressing grammar, style, word choice, science terms, gender, names and labels, pronunciation challenges and word formation (plurals, possessives, affixes and compound words).

Guide to Grammar and Style
This excellent guide, authored by Jack Lynch, an associate professor in the English Department at Rutgers University, explains the different uses of words, punctuation, sentence structure, wasted words, passive voice and troublesome words such as “that-which” and “who-whom.”

Purdue’s Writing Lab
The lab provides wonderful handouts on general writing as well as specific issues, such as English as a Second Language, grammar, spelling, punctuation, research and documenting sources, professional writing and practice exercises.

Common Errors in English
This excellent Web site, produced by English professor Paul Brians of Washington State University, lists dozens of words and explains the proper uses, such as explaining when to use “accept” and “except” or “backwards” and “backward,” and offering tips to remember the rules.

World Wide Words
Researcher and writer Michael Quinion compiled 1,400 pages of World Wide Words, which identifies English words and phrases and what they mean, where they came from, how they have evolved, and the ways in which people sometimes misuse them. He also offers a free newsletter.

Creative Teaching Web Site
A humorous list of grammar rules, written so that each sentence violates the rule described.

Editing Resources
Northwest Independent Editors Guild
The Northwest Independent Editors Guild, founded in 1997, is a regional alliance of more than 175 professional freelance editors: developmental and substantive editors, copy editors and proofreaders in Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

‘Camp Edit’
The Institute for Editing of Historical Documents, which takes place June 20 to 25 in 2004, is sponsored by the Wisconsin Historical Society, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). It takes place on the university’s campus and provides 15 to 18 people with instruction and hands-on experience in editing these documents.

Stylebooks
This site, the Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin—Madison, provides a quick look at citations for articles, books, encyclopedia entries and other sources, as stated in the 14th edition of The Chicago Manual of style and the 5th edition of Turabian's Manual for Writers.

MLA Citations Guide
The Honolulu Community College Library Web site offers Modern Language Association (MLA) Citation Examples so you can quickly find out how to properly credit sources in the context of a book or within a bibliography, footnotes or other list.

Chicago Style bibliographic citations
The University of Georgia Libraries offers a quick review of the bibliographic format for citing references, according to the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition.

The Ohio State University also lists the Chicago Manual of Style, Citation Guide, as a pdf file on this Web site.

Florida State University style guides
This comprehensive Web site links to occupation-specific style guides as well as overall style guides, including the AIP (Physics) Style Manual, the American Medical Association Citation Style, the American Psychological Association rules for documentation, MLA documentation guides and frequently asked questions and electronic styles

The Chicago Manual of Style
If you are a member, you can use a search engine to find a relevant entry in the stylebook

Chicago Manual of Style FAQs
This Frequently Asked Questions forum discusses issues that may not be clear in the Chicago Manual of Style, interpreting the information in the 1,000-plus page book.

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Oral History

Oral History Association
The Oral History Association, established in 1966, brings together people interested in using oral history to collect human memories. Members include local historians, librarians, archivists, students, journalists, teachers, academic scholars and independent personal historians. The national OHA will hold its annual conference in Portland, Oregon, on Sept. 29 through Oct. 3, 2004. In 2005 the conference will be held in Providence, Rhode Island.

Northwest Oral History Association
The Northwest Oral History Association is a regional group of oral historians, users of oral histories and others interested in preserving historically significant memories, according to the NOHA Web site. The region includes Alaska, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

Step-by-Step Guide to Oral History
A step-by-step guide to oral history put together by Judith Moyer can be found at this Web site. Among other things, the site explains what oral history is, identifies questions, offers release forms and discusses the accuracy of oral history.

Oral History Workshop on the Web
The Institute for Oral History at Baylor University in Central Texas offers a very complete guide to oral history interviewing, including interviewing techniques, equipment tips and a transcription style guide.

How to Do Oral History on Video
This Web site, designed to help teachers guiding students on how to conduct oral histories, offers tips on equipment and interviewing as part of the World War II History Class, created through a grant from the Washington state Superintendent of Public Instruction’s office.

Washington State Oral History Program
Working under the auspices of the Secretary of State’s office, the Oral History Program interviews, records, transcribes and publishes the recollections of legislators, state officials and citizens who have played roles in the state’s political history.

See also our extended list of Oral History Links.

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Reference Sites

This Yahoo site offers links to many reference sources, including American Heritage Dictionary, American Heritage Spanish Dictionary, Roget’s II Thesaurus, Columbia Encyclopedia, World Factbook, Gray’s Anatomy, The Oxford Shakespeare, Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations and Weights and Measures. It also features country profiles, demographics, currencies and 267 full-color maps and flags.

Biographical Dictionary
A valuable classroom resource, the dictionary covers more than 28,000 notable men and women. The dictionary can be searched by birth years, death years, positions held, professions, literary and artistic works, achievements and other words.

Biographical Directories
The University of Pennsylvania Web site links to books and other sites identifying biography directories that have been written, such as the American National Biography, Who’s Who in the Twentieth Century and World Biographical Index. It also links to the African American Biographical Database, Biographical Database of the United States Congress, the Oxford Guide to People and Places in the Bible and dozens of other directories.

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Quotations

Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations
The Web site offers the 10th edition of the book compiled by John Bartlett, with a search engine to track down specific quotations, passages, phrases and proverbs, and it identifies the source of these familiar quotations.

Quoteland
This Web site helps you find quotations to make sure they’re correct and identify the source. If you don’t find the quote, you can follow the link to the Quotations Forum on the site and pose the question.

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Photographs

The Library of Congress Web site featuring 160,000 black and white photos and 1,600 color photos from 1935-1945, the Great Depression through World War II.

Scanning tips
This site features photo scanning tips provided by Wayne Fulton, who explains the basics for photos and documents so people can get the most from their scanners.

Simple PhotoShop
Greg Roberts offers basic PhotoShop techniques to improve any photo using the rubber stamp, focus fixer, levels, brightness, variations and saturation tools.

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Focus on History

National Preservation Week
The National Preservation Week, created by the National Trust in 1971, spotlights grassroots preservation efforts throughout the country. It is scheduled for May 3-9 in 2004, with the theme “New Frontiers in Preservation.”

Family History Month
This Web site, Saving Graves, talks about the designation of October as Family History Month and prints the resolution making that designation.

National Grandparents Day
This Web site talks about the designation of National Grandparents Day and includes links to many other sites, including the proclamation by President Jimmy Carter, tips for oral history interviewing, keeping romance alive—generations later, Ancestry magazine, a family reunions editorial in the magazine, the history of Grandparents Day, GrandparentWorld.com, Grandparent Place and the Foundation of Grandparenting site.

Older Americans Month
The theme for the 2004 Older Americans Month, celebrated in May, is “Aging Well, Living Well.” The theme recognizes older Americans who are living longer, healthier and more productive lives, according to the Administration on Aging Web site. The site also lists previous Older Americans Month themes, a history of Older Americans Month and the proclamation.

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Copyright Laws

Copyright and Fair Use
This incredibly comprehensive Web site sponsored by Stanford University describes copyright, fair use, the public domain, permissions, releases, U.S. agencies and lists dozens of copyright Web sites.

Copyright Crash Course
The University of Texas offers a free crash course on copyright, addressing the use of photos, images, videos or other items; defining fair use; copyright management; concerns with multimedia creations and the digital revolution; and a tutorial with a test.

10 Big Myths
Brad Templeton explains 10 Big Myths about copyright. For those who don’t know about copyright, the site offers a brief introduction to copyright.

United States Copyright Office
The Web site offers information on copyright basics, answers questions, outlines fees for copyright searches, tells how to register a work, and provides information on patents and trademarks.

Fair Use
Cornell Law School describes the limitations on the exclusive rights of fair use of copyrighted material.

Copyright infringement and remedies
This Cornell Law School site links to the sections of the Copyright law, including infringement, remedies, damages and profits, attorney’s fees and other issues.

Copyright and Genealogy
This copyright and genealogy site describes the use of pre-existing material and offers a brief study of copyright law and copyright facts, written in an easy-to-understand layman’s voice.

Copyright Fact Sheets
The U.S. Copyright Office offers information circulars and fact sheets, which can be downloaded from its Web site.

What is Copyright Protection?
This Web site, written and maintained by a licensed attorney who specializes in financial tax law, explains copyright laws, fair use and international copyrights in a question-and-answer format.

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Military Sites

Veterans History Project
The Veterans History Project seeks to honor the service of the nation’s 19 million war veterans by collecting their stories and experiences so that future generations will know about their lives, service and sacrifices. The United States Congress created the Veterans History Project in 2000. The project calls upon the American Folklife Center and the Library of Congress to collect and preserve audiotaped and videotaped oral histories, along with photos, letters, diaries, maps and other memorabilia.

California State Military Museum
This Web site provides dozens of links to sites such as the National Museum of the United States Army, United States Army Center of Military History, Airborne and Special Operations Museum, Army Aviation Museum, Calvary Museum, National Infantry Museum, Military Police Corps Museum, Patton Museum of Calvary and Armor, Transportation Corps Museum, West Point Museum and others.

The War Times Journal Archives
The WTJ Archives features online editions of military memoirs, dispatches, correspondence and eyewitness accounts. It also features galleries of rare or interesting military photos.

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Ethical Wills

Dr. Barry Baines
A 3,000-year-old tradition, ethical wills enable people to share their values, blessings, love, life’s lessons, hopes and dreams with family, friends and others in the community. Although they aren’t legal documents, these wills often become one of the most cherished and meaningful gifts left behind when a person passes away, according to Dr. Barry Baines, who wrote the book Ethical Wills: Putting Your Values on Paper.

The Legacy Center
The Legacy Center helps people preserve their values, beliefs and stories in ethical wills so they can be passed on to family members through gathering information and preserving it for future generations.

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Northwest Region

Northwest Books, Regional Writers in Review
The site offers reviews of books published by Northwest authors, as well as access to back issues.

Pacific Northwest Writers Association
The Pacific Northwest Writers Association, established in 1956, helps writers develop their talents through education, access to the publishing industry and involvement with the writing community.

Oregon Writers Colony
The colony’s Web site features an events calendar that describes upcoming sessions for writers in the Pacific Northwest.

Field’s End
Field’s End, a writers’ community on Bainbridge Island near Seattle, started in fall 2002 offering writing classes taught by award-winning authors as well as other programs and events. Field’s End offers a free monthly Writers Roundtable series and Writers’ Connection. A free Writers’ Workout series is scheduled to begin in March 2004. The Web site also lists additional organizations in the Northwest designed to serve writers.

Northwest Bookfest
The 2004 event is scheduled Oct. 23-24 at Sand Point Magnuson Park in Seattle. The Web site offers more information about the event that features well-known local authors.

Northwest Association of Book Publishers
The basic site lists the meeting schedule and location.

Washington State History Museum
The museum on Pacific Avenue in Tacoma features exhibits, special events, educational courses, tours and a magazine.

Washington State Capital Museum
Located in Olympia, the museum is dedicated to preserving and interpreting the history and culture of Washington state through special exhibits, archives, events and programs. It also features Native American history and temporary exhibits.

Museum of History and Industry
The museum, which opened in 1952, attracts more than 60,000 visitors a year. The museum collects, preserves and presents the history of the Northwest, including through oral history preservation.

Pacific Northwest Historians Guild
According to its Web site, the Pacific Northwest Historians Guild promotes the study of history, preservation of historical resources and publication of materials relating to Pacific Northwest history.

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Associations and Extras

Association of Personal Historians
The Association of Personal Historians is an organization whose members are dedicated to helping others preserve their personal histories and life stories.

Legacy Memoirs
Publish your life story in 99 days or less … and you need not write a single word! Oral history interviews conducted and hardbound autobiographies delivered worldwide.

American Society of Journalists and Authors
The organization, founded in 1948, brings together more than 1,000 nonfiction writers including freelance writers of magazine articles, trade books and other nonfiction writing.

The Dash
The Web site of Linda Ellis, the author of the wonderful 1998 poem, The Dash, which describes so well why personal historians are in the business of preserving those stories that came between the dash (date of birth and date of death). Her site also has a beautiful poem called A Letter to Cancer.

Basic Elements of Grant Writing
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which evaluates hundreds of requests for funding each year, offers a guide to grant writing to help people applying for grants.

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We also have a list of Oral History Links and selected list of recommended books. Learn more about how we create memoirs and read the 13 Reasons to Create a Memoir. We hope you will contact us with your questions.

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