Latin America
Inter Press Service: Latin America A good source for English language stories about Latin America. Tends to focus on certain themes like development, human rights and the environment.
NACLA Report on the Americas “The most widely read English-language magazine on Latin America.”
Two Weeks Notice: A Latin American Politics Blog Author Greg Weeks is a professor of political science at UNC Charlotte and a UNC-Chapel Hill Ph.D.
Writing
UNC Writing Center: Student Resources I’m working as a tutor here this year (2012-2013). We have an amazing selection of resources, with something for everyone. Our handouts are particularly good (the one on procrastination is popular with many students). Remember, our job is to help you become a better writer: make use of us!
Davis Library Reference Department Rumors to the contrary, Davis Library is for everyone, not just graduate students. Just as the folks at the writing center are ready to help you with your writing, the reference desk has fantastic people who would be happy to help you with your research. No question is too basic. They’re on the first floor of the library, so feel free to drop by. If you’re a good trek away from the library you can also contact them by phone, email or IM.
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott. Some of it focuses on writing fiction, but it is entertaining and and helpful for any writer.
The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield.
Software I’ve Found Helpful for Writing
Freedom Designed by a UNC graduate student. Turns off the internet on your computer for up to eight hours. The only way to get back online is to reboot your computer. Free 5-use trial, $10. Money well spent if the internet distracts you from achieving your writing (or other) goals.
Scrivener “Scrivener is a powerful content-generation tool for writers that allows you to concentrate on composing and structuring long and difficult documents. While it gives you complete control of the formatting, its focus is on helping you get to the end of that awkward first draft.” Free 30-day trial. $38.25 education price.
Dropbox Popular service for automatically backing up 2 GB of files and syncing them between computers.
Remember The Milk A big part of writing is breaking a larger task into smaller, less daunting sub-tasks (what Lamott calls “the small assignment”). Some people find computer to-do lists helpful for doing this. RTM is an online service that lets you keep as many lists as you want. You can assign items due dates, priority, location, tags, time estimate and more and have it send you reminders via email or text message. Free, paid version required to use mobile apps.
Zotero Bibliography management software. Browser plugins automatically recognizes citations on the library website and all over the internet, which you can save with one simple click. Lets you drag the citation directly into a document and can export a full bibliography in a number of formats. Can also take a snapshot of any website. Free.