I decided to organize this thread into some actual sections and such since people seem to be contributing their own helpful resources as well. It'll make it easier to navigate for people coming in looking for some resources.

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:idea: Virtual publishing resources
(These are links and resources for publishing your work online, either for profit or simply constructive criticism. Keep in mind that publishing anything online does count as "real" publishing, and can affect one's chances for publishing later on down the road.)

Fictionpress This is a great place for uploading your own work to get constructive criticism. It's not the best, but I'm yet to come across any better places.


:idea: Character naming resources
(These are links and resources that can be helpful when coming up with that perfect name for our hero or heroine, or that baddy that needs a name to strike fear into the hearts of innocents.)

Babynames.com This link goes specifically to a section of the site that offers some good advice and tips for naming characters; you can also do searches on the rest of the site for international or cool sounding names.

United States Census/Genealogy This link leads to a census compilation of surnames in the United States from a few years ago, and can be helpful if you're looking for a unique but realistic last name for a character.

Alternative Baby Names This site is a compilation of lists and generators for unique, exotic, and alternative names for your characters.

20,000 Names From Around the World This is a great site that is basically what it sounds like. If you're looking for some unique or exotic names, take a look at this link. It's a great resource to find some different names for a variety of ethnic groups.


:idea: Writing style references and resources
(Here are links and books that can assist with honing your writing style, or understanding what styles might suit a certain genre/plot better.)

Spunk & Bite: A Writer's Guide to Bold, Contemporary Style by Arthur Plotnik.

On Writing by Steven King.

The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White.


:idea: Writing prompts and generators
(These are some links that provide prompts and starts, and random generators for names, places, plots, and themes.)

Seventh Santum This link goes to a site chock-full of generators for the most random of things: plots, themes, names, events, symbols -- you name it, there's probably a generator for it.

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If you have any resources of your own that you've found helpful in your writing process, please feel free to share them. Double check the list as it grows to make sure we haven't already added it. Any and all suggestions are welcome. ^-^

Might I also recommend the following books for those interested in improving their writing style and/or comprehension?

• Strunk and White's The Elements of Style
  
• Stephen King's On Writing

Thanks for the suggestions, Prelude! :D

Alternative Baby Names; uncommon / unique / unusual baby names. Good place to look for fantasy stories, or stories set during specific times.

I wasn't, personally, a fan of Strunk and White. It's good for starting out...but honestly I found that it hurt my writing moreso than helped it. I do suggest that people read it so they understand where the stylistic patterns of modern writers come from, but after reading it I do highly suggest reading the book Spunk & Bite: A writer's guide to bold, contemporary style - Arther Plotnik

Thanks for all the contributions, guys. :) Keep 'em coming. =3

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I've reorganized the intro thread to incorporate all of the suggestions you guys have given so far; I encourage more people to provide links they've found helpful in their own writing processes. :)

Seventh Sanctum is a site dedicated to generating characters, plots, themes, settings, quick story ideas, technology, symbols (as in symbolism, not pictures)... and the list goes on. I've found it to be useful, as well as just plain fun to play around with.

20,000+ Names from Around the World is exactly what it sounds like. This is my go-to site for names, especially when I need names that go beyond "Bob" or "Mary." I've found it to be a great name resource from many different ethnic groups, as well as just fun to browse through.

I'd forgotten about Seventh Sanctum! I love that site so much though. I've used it a few times for getting RP ideas and such. :) Thanks for the links. I'll add them to the list.

I have three writing books that I have found to be either fun or helpful or both! There's another one that I bought, but haven't had the chance to read through yet. The links go to their Amazon.com pages, in case you want to look at reviews and such (or buy them outright!). They're all around ten US dollars on their Amazon.com pages (I paid more at the bookstore, boo me).

Write: 10 Days to Overcome Writer's Block. Period. by Karen E. Peterson, Ph.D.-- This book concentrates on how the right brain and left brain differ in how they generally make us think (for instance, the left brain is more logical, and the right brain more emotional). The author's stance is that many people write based on their right brain way of thinking. The book is a kind of "boot camp" for how to think, and hence write, more with the left brain. I've read it through and done the exercises, and it's pretty cool. I found that for me, personally, it worked, but of course this isn't a guarantee for everyone. It's very interesting just from a psychological point of view, as well.

The 3 a.m. Epiphany by Brian Kiteley--This is a book of writing exercises. They are designed to get you out of your "writing comfort bubble" and think more outside the box. The writing exercises are generally well explained, but still leave some room for personal interpretation. I have done several of the writing exercises with a friend of mine, and we both agree that they're really helpful in getting you to just WRITE about something you might not normally write about.

The Art and Craft of Storytelling by Nancy Lamb--This is an AWESOME book. Even if you think you have a good idea of the process of storytelling and plot formation and how to establish setting and so on, I would still highly recommend picking up this book. I have found the author's explanations and examples of various aspects of setting up a story to be life-savers for a story of mine that I chose to focus on and think about while reading this book. She uses examples from various published books, as well as personal examples, to explain her points.

The other book that I have is Writing Begins with the Breath by Laraine Herring. It is supposed to help ground yourself in your body, and hence help you utilize your five senses in order to lend authenticity to the voices of the stories you write. This is the book that I haven't had a chance to read through yet; I will try to remember to drop by here and give my impression of it once I finish it.

Might I suggest some ideas for getting your work actually PUBLISHED? :) Building up publishing credentials is essential if you intend to become a professional writer. I'm an English/writing major with a slew of publication credentials, thanks to just putting myself out there. Hell, if a 19-year-old can have her own regular column, you can get published, too. (I'm now 21, but started a biweekly column in a local paper at 19.)

1) Local newspapers and magazines. They don't pay much, if at all, but that's not what you should be looking for if you're a newbie at publishing. What you want are by-lines. Write a movie review for a local independent magazine. Write an editorial for a local newspaper, or take a national news story and find a local angle. Learning to be a good reporter is the best thing you can do for yourself as a writer, even if you're only planning on being a "fiction writer" down the road. Good reporting leads to good observation; good observation leads to good writing.

2) Make a list of literary magazines looking for submissions. The Writer's Market (published annually) is an excellent source, as is Poet & Writer Magazine (which has calls for submissions at the back of each issue). Again, don't get hung up on money--bylines are far more important when you're just starting out.

3) KEEP TRACK OF YOUR SUBMISSIONS, especially if certain publications discourage simultaneous submissions (i.e. submitting the same piece to multiple publications at the same time). Make a chart of what piece you submitted, who the contact person at the publication is, and the date of submission. Then, if/when the piece gets picked up by one, all you have to do is contact the other submissions and say, "I am withdrawing this piece from publication consideration." Don't be shy about doing this--it happens a lot.

You just inspired me to look up books on writing and publication in my library's catalog. There's lots! So thanks! I know what I'll be reading this week. ;D

A place to post your writing I've found is Storywrite.com. Great place to post work and work on freewriting.

Oh man, I use so much when I write.

World Building:
-Language Construction Kit
---This is basically the most comprehensive guide I've ever seen for constructing languages. I'm still no good at it, as I have very little patience for it, but I have a friend who loves this stuff and swears by this guide. So if anyone needs/wants to create languages, here's an excellent place to start!

Reference:
[Note: I don't know if you consider this a "writing resource", but I use them when I write, so I thought I'd pass the links along.]
-Being a Multiple in a Singleton World
---I have no way of knowing whether this woman is really disassociative and living with DID or not and people can argue about whether DID (in the form of Multiple Personality Disorder) really exists or is brought on by suggestion. What I do know is that characters with MPD/DID are rather popular and this is a good start to learning about the disease.

-God Checker
---This place is hilarious. It's basically a big, online database of gods from all sorts of pantheons. I use it a lot to name my own gods and I use it to do research about how most gods come about, interact with mortals, and what general belief systems are for various areas. Also, it's really, really funny.

-Symbols
---This is another database. This contains all sorts of symbols from all over the world. It's great for coming up with symbols for anything you need in a story. Mostly I've been using it for governmental/rebellion symbols.

-Occultopedia
---This place has a very... geocities feel to it, but at the same time it is awfully useful when looking up things about the occult. It may not all be correct, but it does seem to be written by people who have mostly done their homework and probably believe in it. So you can at least know it's authentic. In its own way.
Possible Warning: It does seem to all be written with the belief that it's real. If you're offended by that for some reason, don't go there.

Character Creation:
-Behind the Name
---I love this place so much. It's a database of first names that talk about the origin and nationality of each name. It's not perfect and certainly not complete (can any naming database really be complete?), but it's huge and wonderful and I love it.
---Also: Behind the Surname
------It's even less complete than the original, but useful none-the-less.

-Carny Lingo
---Another site that has a "geocities" feel to it, but it is useful. It's got a little history and slang lists for a couple different kinds of circus/carnival life. It's great for making your carnie/gypsie or other carnival-related character sound more authentic!

-Writer's Guide to Character Traits by Linda N. Edelstein, Ph.D. [Book]
---It's basically lots of bullet lists about characteristics for dialogue and mannerisms concerning age, gender, race/nationality, group structures and so on and so forth. It seems to have originally been a study on generalized human behavior turned into a helpful guide for writers. You may not agree with everything she says, and it is kind of generalized, but it's very useful and I quite like it!
[Usually I pair this book together with 3 a.m. Epiphany mentioned above. The drabble/exercises turned out fantastic.]

Editing and Publishing:
-Critique Circle
---For people who want honest critique and have thick skin/trying to grow thick skin. No one there is going tell you how perfect your story is, as the stance there is that there is no such thing. But they will generally give you some great critique and the system of submitting your stories tends to keep things balanced and fair.

-Writer's Market
---For people who are honestly ready to start searching for a publisher. You have to be serious about it or it will be a complete waste of money, but if you are serious it's a great resource. It helps to bring everything together and guide in the direction you need to go.

Other:
-Online Rhyming Dictionary
---I fail at rhyming and poetry and anything of the sort. Whenever I am forced to write something vaguely poetic I fly to this site and cling to it. You type in a word and it finds everything that rhymes with it! You can set the search function by: End Rhymes, Last Syllable Rhymes, Double Rhymes, Beginning Rhymes and First Syllable Ryhmes. There's a Delux Version you can buy and download, though I've never used that myself.

-Write or Die
---Basically a browser-based application that says, "GO AND DON'T STOP". If you do stop for too long (you can set the time) the browser will do various things depending on what you've set it as. Sometimes it blinks, sometimes it plays alarms, sometimes it plays babies crying. Oh god is it annoying. Believe me, it'll make you write.
The best part is that it doesn't care whether what you write is gibberish or not. Just keep going!

Places for Writers -- it's a pretty good resource for writers.

Preditors & Editors --if you are looking for an agent, how not to get conned.