Create strong passwords!

If you use your computer to research, write, publish and promote your historical fiction, you have probably created a lot of accounts for which you need a password.

Tech experts tell us it is a good idea to change our passwords from time to time. You do that, right? How safe is your password? Microsoft offers tips for creating strong passwords at http://www.microsoft.com/security/online-privacy/passwords-create.aspx. The site recommends that you create strong passwords based on four variables: length, complexity, variation and variety.  At the site is a password checker tool that rates the strength (or not) of your passwords.

Where to find primary documents for historical research

The Wilson Center Digital Archive recently published a new set of 73 collections of declassified historical documents. Sets include Chinese Foreign Policy, Berlin Wall, Intelligence Operations in the Cold War, and Cuban Missile Crisis documents. Writers of historical fiction looking to strengthen their settings by adding event details might find these documents useful.

Finding Focus for Your Historical Fiction

Today’s Technology tip:  How might authors of historical fiction determine a focus for their stories? You’ll want to read as much of the genre as you can in order to discover the answer to this question. This website for cataloguing authors and their works of historical fiction lists recent historical fiction bestsellers and can be searched by timeline: www.histfiction.net  Not sure about the quality of the historical fiction you are reading?  View the “Evaluating Historical Fiction” guidelines I give my college students at http://softchalkconnect.com/lesson/serve/JWuhxMV2YtoKqN/html.

Anne R. Allen's Blog: Three Keys to Writing Memorable Fiction

Anne R. Allen's Blog: Three Keys to Writing Memorable Fiction offers great advice to any writer, but especially to writers of historicals.

Attract readers and book clubs

Today’s Technology tip: Start your own online book club featuring your book, and invite your friends (and their friends) to participate in the discussion.  One site specifically for book conversations is Book Club It. http://www.bookclubit.com/.

·         Got images?  Consider setting up a sharing site of your historical images, maps, drawings (be sure they are copyright free or you  own the copyright) to showcase your story in a visual way. If you do this before your book is published, you can include the URL on the cover.

In celebration of Patriot's Day

Yesterday was Patriot’s Day in the U. S., so as I was browsing sites about the American Revolution, I stumbled across the Museum of the American Revolution site, a project under grants from The Lehrman Institute and The Hertog Foundation. One of the features at the site is an interactive timeline that allows viewers to explore important objects in American history. For example, at 1776 on the Timeline, I was able to view American currency and firearms of the period. A writer of historical fiction might find this site useful when describing objects used in an era. At the collection link on the site, viewers can observe art, manuscripts and printed works assembled by the Museum over the past century.

Search engines to maximize your research results

Technology tip: Although Google is a great search engine to use for your research, different search engines often return different results.  Why not use a meta search engine (a search engine that queries other search engines and then combines the results) to maximize your search results? Here are a few of my favorites:

http://Dogpile.com

http://mamma.com

http://ixquick.com