Archive for July, 2008

Ghost Writers Around the World will write for you: outsourcing

July 19, 2008 - 7:43 pm

The content of your site tells a whole lot about your website. They will basically describe what your site is about and also tell people what your site has to offer. Articles and website content makes a whole lot of difference in your site because they can catch the attention of your website visitors and keep them in there.

With good website content you get the benefit of clearly depicting what it is you want to share with people. Also, good content and articles can lead people to your site. With more traffic, you get to earn more from your site making it profitable. A sites success, be it for profit or not, is the number of the flow of traffic in your site.

So how does good content and great articles get you traffic? Well, many search engines rely on the keyword and keyword phrases of a site to put it in their results list. If your content contains a good number of keywords and keywords phrases, it may be chosen to be a part of the top listed sites in the search result pages.

But before you think of just plastering your site with all the keywords and keyword phrases it could hold, search engines also filter out that abuse. You must have good well written articles that incorporate the keywords and keyword phrases properly in their content and articles.

There are many of those who cannot afford the time to write their own website contents and articles. While writing content and articles specifically designed for the internet may take some getting used to and some researching and learning, there are many writers that can be found all over the world who could do it for you.

Many of us do not have the time to learn web content writing and article writing designed for the internet. There are writers who have great experience in doing this and charge only a minimal fee for such work. Writers like this can be regarded as experts in this style of writing and can greatly help your website to get that coveted spot in the search engine rankings.

Other than getting your site in the web results page of search engines, they can also provide your site with meaningful articles and content that can impress your website visitors and entice others to view your site. Every website could use the extra traffic website visitors could invite.

Then there are those who need papers to be done either for their school or office work. Top writers around the world are very knowledgeable and do extreme researching to get a job done right. They are also very adept in many writing styles that are needed to best suit the client’s need.

Many writers around the world charge a minimal fee depending on the type of writing job needed and the number of words needed in the content. Usually, a two hundred fifty worded article would cost from 4 to 8 dollars depending on the writers experience and ability. This is a small price to pay for having a content rich site or for a well researched and written paper.

There are also many sites that can offer you these services with their team of well trained and experienced writers. They offer many writing services to cover any writing needs. A writer can be based anywhere in the world and are guaranteed to offer good contents and articles. Each one are checked, edited and proofread so that you would get your money’s worth.

Finding a good writer or a site that offers these kinds of services is simply done by searching for them in search engines. Type down your keyword or keyword phrase (e.g. Content Writers, Article Writers) and you will see a long list of sites that offer these services.

The top sites would probably be the best since they have done a good job of keeping their content at a high quality to get them high rankings. But you may also want to shop around and read some of their sample work to get an idea of how much it will cost you.

All About Freelance Writing

July 19, 2008 - 5:56 pm

Do you love to write? Do you have a knack for making words come alive on a page? You may want to consider freelance writing as a way to make a good living from home.

Freelance writers write anything from newspaper columns to web content and even ebooks.

Getting Started

Before you go looking for freelance jobs, you should build up a portfolio of articles. You can write for your own website or blog, offer to write free articles for friends, or contact your local paper about writing a column for them. Work on some articles that you can use as samples of your work and build a list of references for your potential clients to contact.

Where To Find Work

The next step will be finding potential clients. You can visit some of the big freelance sites like elance and bid on projects. It is also a good idea to set up a website that showcases some of your writing, tells a little about you and your area of expertise, and of course you will have your contact information on the site. You may also want to consider adding a blog to your site. It’s an easy way to add articles, short tips and any other writings to your site on an ongoing basis.

Networking is another great way to find work. Think about friends, former colleagues, bosses and clients that would be interested in having some writing done and call them up. As you start building your own client base, ask for referrals. Do you know someone that successfully freelances now? Ask them for advice on getting started and spend some time with them. They may refer clients to you that they don’t have time for. Do the same for other freelancers if you are contacted with a project you can’t handle.

Many magazines will accept freelance work. Keep a spreadsheet with names and addresses of the editors of the various publications and pitch story ideas on a regular basis. It can be tough to get a foot in the door with magazines, but once you start getting published it will become easier and in many cases more lucrative.

Getting Paid

How much you will get paid will largely depend on the size of the project and how involved it is. Short articles on general topics that don’t require research may pay as little as $5.00 a piece while doing research for and writing an ebook may bring you several hundred dollars.

If you love writing about a variety of topics, I encourage you to give freelance writing a try. It’s a great way to do what you love and stay home with the kids at the same time. The main key to becoming a successful freelance writer is to practice writing all the time, whether you get paid for it or not. Just get out a pen and paper, or open you favorite text editor and start writing.

Breathe Life Into Your Writing

July 19, 2008 - 4:23 pm

Have you ever read a passage and felt the breath of life, then was too speechless to describe it? That’s writing at its best. The method for creating such a moment comes from the use of emotions. Emotions are one of the single most important, touching, impressive and non-intrusive writing tools. It is often not recognized as a concrete tool, but as a feeling, a stirring, a capturing that catches the reader up in the fictive state.

My aim is to take the mystery out of it. Break it down and make it easy for you. I want to shorten the learning curve for conquering this bestseller-kind-of writing. When you set your scene do not describe it separate from the protagonist’s thoughts, feeling, observations, analysis. If we know how the protagonist feels about the description, the situation, we’ll experience it also. Feelings make us remember a character, a story, a plot long after the last page is closed. Good emotional impact resonates because you have felt what the character felt. On the other hand, description apart from your character’s feelings and observations are impersonal and cold, no matter how detailed and colorful they are. In other words, find smooth ways to integrate your character’s feelings into the description. Here are three examples:

THE MAYOR’S WIFE by Martha Tucker&ndashIndigo is in the hospital after she finds out her husband is dead. “Life, death, acceptance, rejection, ability to feel it and inability to bear it. She turned her face to the cool white wall and her body curled into a fetal position. She pleaded with God to return her to the state of unconsciousness. Devastation only comes to those who are conscious.

Something twisted her heart like a wringer. She turned back to the doctor to face what he had to say, not sure that this moment wasn’t still a dream. When he answered, her throat hurled a howl.

“Aaaaaaaa!”

The scream took her mind to a place that didn’t hurt so much as she felt the sting of a nurse’s needle.

This is the description could have been written separate from her EMOTIONS. Just a straight description of her in the hospital room. Indigo lay in the cool white bed. Everything around her was white. She turned to the doctor and stared, waiting for him to answer. He spoke in a deep voice and told her that her husband didn’t make it. She screamed loud.

THE END JUSTIFIES THE MEANS by T.H. Moore. In reaction to a ruckus his mother and father are having: Jalen balled his body in his arms and tightened his blanket, hoping she would just stop talking. What is she doing? Jalen sprang up and glared at the closed door…A blood-curdling scream jerked him out of bed like he’d been stung by a bee. His feet barely touched the carpet as he tore down the stairs. He froze at the sight.

Moore could have just described the dark room, the warm blanket and the yelling voice that stole in under the door.

THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Here is how the master did it, and it has lasted well over 50 years&ndash“Now it was a cool night, with that mysterious excitement in it which comes at the two changes of the year. The quiet lights in the houses were humming out into the darkness and there was a stir and bustle among the stars. Out of the corner of his eye Gatsby saw that the blocks of the sidewalk really formed a ladder and mounted to a secret place above the trees&ndashhe could climb to it, if he climbed it alone, and once there, he could suck the pap of life, gulp down the uncomparable milk of wonder.

His heart beat faster and faster as Daisy’s white face came up to his own. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable vision to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God. So he waited, listening for a moment longer to the tuning fork that had been stuck upon a star. Then he kissed her. At his lips’ touch she blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete.”

Scott Fitzgerald interpreted his setting, the feelings of his young manhood, of the night, the life of it, the forever endearing kiss.

Now, it’s your turn to describe your favorite scene and lace it with emotions. If you’re going to be a bestseller-kind-of author, then you need to practice writing with emotions.

The End

You are welcome to publish this article in its entirety, electronically, or in print free of charge, as long as you include my full signature file for ezines and my website address in hyperlink for other sites.

bestsellercirclezinester.com,

.urbanclassicbooks.com

Thank you.

Martha “Marti” Tucker

Writing Article For Internet Marketing

July 19, 2008 - 4:17 pm

I recently decipher an zestful tale on romance writing. It was certified in SiteProNews - as beneath as I am concerned, the ‘Google of Newsletters’. It is my infatuation one era to procure an romance into SiteProNews!

Mark Daoust said in this news item The Misunderstood Marketing Method, that exceptionally family godsend articles in fairly the base formula to move ahead their sites. I completely shake hands with him and in fact, the research that I’ve done into the success of various of my article submissions is bearing this out.

Since the apprehension of ‘Article writing is the blessing design to outlive your website’ became the vogue recently famously bourgeois reckon on that it is enough to vitality waste a tie up of words and then mass submit these articles to the slew of Article Directories that has recently sprung up all over the place. Even worse, they think that it is enough to string together a bunch of keywords and submit them to the Article Directories.

Being an Article Directory owner myself, I can cite to the profit of junk that is submitted unbefitting the guise of ‘articles’. Frankly, I am wholly excessively cheerful to look at these types of spammy articles in that I can punctuate the ‘delete’ button with a clear conscience. But they just keep on coming regardless. As with all good ideas, article writing has fallen prey to the spammers and scammers of the world.

Let’s lucre a appurtenant heavy glad eye at tragedy writing as a marketing method.

There are in truth two reasons to pen articles

1. To consummate as sundry tasteless and evident (or is it gaudy and nasty?) links to your website as you can with the aboriginal assessment of effort.

2. To cause yourself as an subordination in your career (with the in addition benefits of getting supplementary traffic and receiving hysterical constitution links fetch to your website).

Unfortunately it IS easier to seal the finest than to get the second. Writing a belonging old saw is operose work. And I accredit that it all depends on what you wish to achieve. If your author is to uphold your ‘Adsense trap’ website then a couple of low quality or Private Label articles might do the trick. But forget about building a reputation. But then, that was never the intent, was it?

So let’s whammy at some guidelines:

If your lead off principle is to bring about further links funnel to your ‘cheap and nasty’ Google Adsense website in consequence I befriend that you communicate the prime stale of article that you can in the shortest timeframe. Do still write proper English, do not string spammy keywords together, do not use all capitals in your title, do not use exclamation marks and words like ‘easily’ and ‘cheaply’ anywhere in your title or summary and try not to use Private Label articles. Yes I know it is tempting since they are so readily available (heck, I am sitting with a whole folder full of them that I don’t really know what to do with!), but even if you use the software that changes the wording here and there, frankly, they still stand out a mile and often the software that changes the words really messes up the sentence context.

Some chestnut directories have software that checks for the reputation of duplication that you would actualize with Private Label Articles (lucky them). Other Article Directory owners felicitous betterment their eyeballs and usual bent and the eliminate button is always a workaday tool.

But wait - IS the finest tack therefore emphatically easier to produce winged links siphon to your site? I recently went to end a grant on some articles that I submitted in March and April. Sure, the scoop titles show up when you search for them, however, when you check the links back supposedly generated by those articles, only 4 links out of the 500+ that I would have expected, based on the number of article titles displayed, were showing in the Yahoo link results.

If you recognize in MSN, the delineate is slightly better, but parallel MSN distinct shows 11 links out of the vigor 500+

What is vitality on here? There could be a accompany of explanations:

1. The contrary regular pages containing the shape of the chestnut and the assemble support are applicable not indexed yet. The tour is why not? MSN, in particular, seems to be terrifically belonging with indexing these days, so you would at least expect the links to show up in MSN. These articles were submitted in March and April respectively. Why are the search engines not fully spidering or indexing these articles in the article directories?

2. The far cry possibility is that the horrifying ‘duplicate content’ drain had put away again. I personally sign not conclude that the picture elated bleed is such a big bogeyman as we are lead to believe. There is duplicate content all over the Internet. The argument though is that you might find an article that has been written by someone and submitted to be published on various websites. Now, it is said that the article might either only show up (depending on whose theory you believe) on the site that it was published first, or on a higher PR site offering the article as more ‘relevant’ content. The problem with this theory in this situation though is that the four articles that did show up as being fully indexed in Yahoo, are published on Article Directories that variously have a PR of 3, 5 0 and 2. Neither of them is the site on which the articles were published first. Scarcely a pattern, I would say.

But based on these results I would respond that society are wasting their pass writing and submitting their articles to legend directories in order to effect hypersonic and no bother links hump to their websites. But then, typical sense seems to be singularly uncommon when it comes to snake oil in the SEO and Internet Marketing space.

What I have observed is that some mortals letter a LOT of articles, in peculiar words, they in conclusion spam the gag directories with unhappy type articles. If you transcribe enough of these blue quality articles, SOME of the links will start to show up. But the chances that these spammy types of articles are going to be picked up and syndicated on other websites (apart from ‘Adsense trap’ websites!) are virtually nil; which means that the only links that will be pointing back to the website will be from the actual article in the article directory - and these are not indexed very quickly at the moment.

In synopsis therefore:

If you hunger to copy articles truly for the interest of obtaining a pack of moody personality links convey to your website, you are commotion to have to play the numbers game - lots of low quality articles submitted through automated tools to the various article directories. Don’t expect lots of links back from these articles soon, however. They will also not do anything for building your reputation or really draw traffic to your website.

How To Write Ezine Articles In Clusters

July 18, 2008 - 4:38 pm

Writing several articles at once might seem pretty much impossible to do if you are just starting to write Ezine articles and find producing them one at a time hard enough. However, writing articles in clusters is not difficult and, once you understand how it’s done, you will enjoy the benefits. A group of articles written as a cluster can easily be turned into a series but for now we are looking at the how to produce a group of unique articles written at the same time around a central topic.

Some of the main benefits are as follows:

1. Writing articles in groups saves time when you are researching your subject;

2. It gives you space to fully develop a theme;

3. It gives you more unique content for your blog or website;

4. It gives you extra articles to submit to ezines or to sell.

When you write an article for publication in ezines, you have to keep the word count within certain guidelines (about 500-800 words is usually most acceptable). If your article is too long, ezines might not be prepared to give up the space required to reproduce it. If the article is too short, there is a danger Ezine publishers won’t take it seriously. Cluster writing is definitely not about turning out a number of truncated Ezine articles instead of one full length one. Neither is it about stretching or padding your material (you’ll only ever get a poor fit if you try that). It is about making full use of ideas and not wasting time or words.

If you are writing about a topic you know well, you will find yourself constantly having to edit your articles to keep the word count down. Instead of throwing away the excess material, paste it immediately into another document with a new title. I would suggest keeping the titles similar - eg “Puppy Training, Why To Do It” and “Puppy Training, When To Start”, you can swiftly move on to “Puppy Training, The Best Methods” etc. Don’t let the document get too big, anytime your word processor reaches page 2, it’s time to think about breaking it into two.

As you write, be alert to any tendency to wander off topic. You might be writing about how it is one thing to have a cute puppy jump on your bed but quite a different experience when that pup has become a 10 stone hound with muddy paws. Suddenly you remember something about doggy vitamins. Instead of popping the idea into one of your puppy training articles as an aside, put it into another new document which you can later use as part of a new cluster about dog nutrition. With one quick “cut and paste” you have kept one article focussed on the main topic and saved an idea, which might otherwise have been wasted, for a new project.

If you are writing an article on an unfamiliar topic, you might think you won’t have the problem of needing to cut down your article and will have trouble finding enough to say. However, if you undertake proper research about the subject matter (as you should if you want your article to be taken seriously), you are bound to come across material which relates to the article you have planned but does not quite fit it. Make notes of all this related material. If you get ideas for further articles as you are researching, make a note of these ideas. Research for article writing takes time, so make the most of it. Even if you can only manage two articles on an unfamiliar subject, it is two for the price of one.

Let’s look at how to use just one passing idea as the basis for a group of articles. Take the thought “my first home business venture reminds me of Apollo 13″. To make this idea into an article, we have to say what is behind the initial thought. Otherwise, the reader will be left thinking “What, it nearly got lost in space?” or “You were trying to land on the moon?”. With no explanation or clarification, the idea is meaningless to anyone but you.

The thoughts behind the idea could be about a series of numerical coincidences in regard to events, about surviving near-disasters, about how duct tape solved a huge problem and about the power of prayer. With all these four things encapsulated in the idea, you have the basis of a four paragraph article. It does not require much of an imagination stretch to see that you could have the basis for four separate articles clustered around a central idea.

Never let an idea or a word go to waste. For the time and effort cluster writing saves, it is worth trying to use the technique even in the early days of your Ezine article writing career. Once you try it, you will realise it’s even better than “buy one get one free”.

Seven Tools Every Writer Needs

July 16, 2008 - 6:11 pm

Writing for some people is the toughest job you can ever ask them to do yet given the right write tools and circumstances anyone can actually write high quality articles with a little bit of work and practice. There are in fact seven tools every writer actually needs regardless of whether they are writing a novel, a science document, a University assignment, a web article or journal for the local paper. Without these tools you will find it very difficult to succeed.

Tool #1 - Book and Pencil

The Book and Pencil is one of the most important tools you will ever use. I carry a book and pencil where ever I go so that I do not miss out on the ideas I have, words that I have heard and the visuals in front of me. The key advantage of the book and pencil is that when you see something or have a good idea, you write it down so you do not forget.

For example, while I was in bed last night I was thinking about a new article that I could write. This article in fact because I wanted to help new writers. The first thing I did was to jot down the title in my book and then the seven tools I believe every writer should have.

I actually have two books I use for writing, a little A6 size pad that fits in my wallet and another journal size A4 book for writing more detailed information. Whenever you a walking around a shopping centre or out to dinner, use the little A6 wallet book to write down words you hear and phrases you see so that you can use those in your writing. Often people you come across from other states or countries will use different phrases to say the same thing, and often those phrases can be sexier than your own and may inspire more readers to read your material.

Tool #2 - Dictionary

No writer can survive without a dictionary. I still have my Macquarie dictionary I got when I was in Grade 2 which is some …(a slight pause here to realise one has gotten old) … 30 plus years ago. However, if you are just starting out there are lots of really cool online dictionaries out there for free now. Alternatively, I also recommend visiting a book fair held by Charity Groups. In Australia, Lifeline holds a book fair every year and you can actually buy bags of books for a dollar and very often they will have a couple of thousand dictionaries there for just $1 which is really cheap.

So, why do we need a dictionary? Actually for two reasons, the first is to make sure we spell the words correctly and for all the techno geeks who say, but the computer can do that, let me inform you, not all words in the electronic dictionaries are correct and there are lots of words that do not exist. The second reason, and this is the most important reason, the dictionary will tell you the meaning of the word, which helps ensure the word you are using is the right one for the context of your article.

Tool #3 - Thesaurus

This is one of the most awesome tools for writers. A thesaurus allows you to look up a word and to find a better word to use than the one you used. So here is a really good exercise. I have used my thesaurus to locate more appropriate words for that previous sentence so here is the result …

The Thesaurus allows you to hunt for those words that are more appropriate and improve the sound of the language in your article.

You will notice that I substituted the word “better” for “improve” and rewrote the statement using words that were descriptive to outline what you were trying to achieve like “hunt”, “more appropriate” and “sound of the language”. When you are writing the thesaurus can be a fantastic and fun tool to help you dramatically improve the language of your documents or articles.

Tool #4 - Digital Recorder

As a writer the digital recorder has become a mainstay of our industry. The digital recorder allows you to simply speak into the recorder and record parts of your article without having to laboriously (notice the use of the descriptive term … my thesaurus is working overtime today) write it down. One thing you might want to consider is purchasing a PDA that includes a digital recorder and the ability to write down notes and take phone calls so that you are not carrying a million and one devices. The new PDA’s I have bought for my team actually have software that is voice activated so that when they have an idea or want to add to a previous message you can do so without having to press any buttons.

Probably the most common profession that uses the digital recorder is the legal profession. My lawyer uses one every single time I go into a meeting to tape his notes and letters I am going to receive and get charged a fortune for.

Tool #5 - A Good Library Of Books

Look the number ONE tool every good writer needs is their own library of books. A good writer will also be a good reader and the more you read the better your writing will become. I now have in-excess of 10,000 books in my collection and growing. My library of books range from fiction to non-fiction, research journals, magazines and much much more and I am building an even bigger video selection as well.

Why?

Well the more exposure you have to the various writing techniques and languages by the citizens of the world and the more refined your own technique will become. Further to that you need to gain a solid understanding of what technique is appropriate for the medium and the audience you are writing for. For example, the style of writing I use for articulating articles for the web will be of a more relaxed nature and more personal than for a document I might be producing for a corporate organisation. To be a really great writer you must be able to be flexible in the style you use dependant on the type of document or article you are writing.

Great writers are not born, they create themselves through practice. When I was at school, even through to high school I was a terrible writer but as I have practiced more and more (with the help of my mum), my writing has improved 100,000 percent and I know the more I write the better I am getting at structuring the article and making it flow and the faster I can write.

The library of books will be a great source for research as it will allow you to see how different writers structure their sentences, the sort of words they use how they describe experiences and use descriptive words like adjectives in their sentences. When you are building your library, do not get caught into the trap of buying just brand new books and to be honest that is an expensive way to start. Like I said before, visit places like the Book Charity Fairs and second hand book dealers and often you will find bags of books for just $1. I recently went to a Lifeline Book Fair and we bought bags of books for $1. The more extensive the library of books you have, with styles from the past and the present, the more effective, fantastic and outstanding your writing will become.

Tool #6 - Quality Music

Everybody has heard of writers block and I am not really sure there is such a thing, but some days I do find it harder to write then others. However, one way I overcome this problem is by listening to music that will help entice the creative element of my brain. The music I have found that is really good for this is baroque music which is played at 60 beats a minute.

Briefly, research shows that baroque music at 60 beats per minute causes your brain to produce more alpha [calmness] waves. This happens on both left and right sides of your brain.

This simply means that you calm down and relax, in a way similar to when you whistle a happy tune, or when you daydream. This “alpha” state of mind is ideal for learning, creativity, or just relaxing. It is used in schools all over Australia. A quote from the teacher of a remedial class here in Australia: “It seems to slow them down so they can think.”

I have seen corporate trainers improve the effectiveness of training sessions dramatically by playing Baroque Music during a session and the creativity really comes to the forefront. A colleague uses the music as background for his memory training seminars and swears by it because recall and creativity are improved.

Tool #7 - A Good Computer

Nobody in the world today can seriously survive a writing career without a good computer. If you are going to be writing professionally for a media house, newspaper or magazine, you will need a good computer as they will not accept your copy without it being in electronic form. Gone are the days where a writer would produce their manuscript in hand written form and send it to their editor. Those days are well and truly over.

On your computer you will require a few pieces of software to make your computer worthwhile. The first thing you will need is an Internet connection, without it you will not be able to email your copy and as I said all media houses, newspapers and magazines today require their writers or journalists to produce electronic copy. You will also need a good word processing software application. If you can afford it, I strongly recommend Microsoft Word 2003 simply because of the quality of the spell checker and built in Thesaurus. I also recommend this version as you can now use the speech recognition software in the application to dictate your article into the computer. Many years ago you had to actually buy third party applications, like Dragon Speak.

The last thing as a writer you will need is a good printer. Do not scrimp on printers, because as a writer you will probably find it is easier to review you work printed out, so buying a cheap printer will normally cost you 3 times as much as a slightly more expensive printer. I recommend to all my clients to buy a laser printer over an ink jet when you are writing as a laser copy is less likely to smudge when you write notes on the copy.

To finish off, writing can really be a really fun and exciting career or simply something to do in your days off, but having the right tools will certainly make life a lot easier for you. Here are the seven tools every writer must have:

Tool #1 - Book and Pencil

Tool #2 - Dictionary

Tool #3 - Thesaurus

Tool #4 - Digital Recorder

Tool #5 - A Good Library Of Books

Tool #6 - Quality Music

Tool #7 - A Good Computer

Writing Advice From The Experts Part #2

July 16, 2008 - 3:56 pm

The most valuable of talents is never using two words when one will do. - Thomas Jefferson

There are many books that provide tips and guidance for publishing success. This series of articles takes you directly to a trusted source of wisdom &ndash established authors. The hope is the experiences they have encountered will assist you in your writing objectives.

On Editing

There is but one art, to omit! - Robert Louis Stevenson

A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. - William Strunk, Jr., from The Elements of Style

My most important piece of advice to all you would-be writers: when you write, try to leave out all the parts readers skip. - Elmore Leonard

The great art of writing is knowing when to stop. - Josh Billings

As to the adjective, when in doubt, strike it out. — Mark Twain

When rewriting, move quickly. It’s a little like cutting your own hair. - Robert Stone

Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it and, above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light. - Joseph Pulitzer

On Writer’s Block

If you are in difficulties with a book, try the element of surprise: attack it an hour when it isn’t expecting it. - H. G. Wells

On Motivation

Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self. - Cyril Connolly

The most original thing a writer can do is write like himself. It is also the most difficult task. - Robertson Davies

If you wish to be a writer, write. - Epictetus

Talent is helpful in writing, but guts are absolutely essential. - Jessamyn West

You write about the thing that sank its teeth into you and wouldn’t let go. - Paul West

On Humility

Young writers should be encouraged to write, and discouraged from thinking they are writers. - Wallace Stegner

In the third and final part in this series we will look at a few words of wisdom from authors on the naming of your work, learning from the success and failure of other writers and the inner struggles authors often face.

Cover Letter For Accountants

July 16, 2008 - 8:15 am

An accountant is viewed by the population to be a boring, tedious career. However, the cover letter used to get that career should not be. Just like any other cover letter, an accountant’s should be clear, concise, and grab attention. However, there are some very important differences between an accountant cover letter and one written by other career applicants.

The first step in the resume review process, for most companies, is to have the human resource department review all applicant submissions and then hand the ones who qualify off to the hiring manager. This means that an account cover letter needs to expand on specifics of the job. In order to find out which specifics one needs to include, they should review the job application or put in a call to the company in order to research the needs. However, do not make a cover letter which is a factual list of qualifications. That is for the resume.

Since the cover letter is reviewed by the human resource department, they are generally given a list of qualifications an applicant should have, since they are not overtly familiar with the accountant field. If one’s accountant cover letter does not state these qualifications, or uses a generalization of the qualifications, it is likely that it will be overlooked. Using bullet points in an accountant cover letter, or a table for organizing information, can be an effective way to ensure the specific skills one needs to emphasis are noticed.

Once one’s cover letter and resume make it out of the hands then the chance of receiving an interview is already well in hand. There are just a few other elements when an accountant’s cover letter need to possess which will seal the deal. An accountant cover letter should contain effective word choices to convey enthusiasm and proficient communication skills to the hiring manager. While being an account is mostly about numbers, it is also about interaction with others and a desire to do well in the position. As stated, an accountant is seen as tedious and a hiring manager wants to ensure that the applicant they choose will be readily available and want to excel.

Also, an accountant cover letter should ask for an interview, just like any other cover letter. Asking for an interview is an essential element. This demonstrates confidence and security to the hiring manager, and makes them immediately know whether or not they would be interested in meeting the job-seeker. An accountant cover letter should, also, state why their skills will be beneficial to the company. What is about the accountant which makes them different from the other hundred of applicants? An accountant cover letter should house elements of personality, and know-how, as well as technical jargon which will get a hiring manager’s attention.

An accountant’s cover letter, just like any other cover letter, should not be generic. One should not get their cover letter from a template, or download a sample from the internet. This is especially important concerning an accountant’s cover letter because there is a need for more specific information. A sample cover letter cannot truly define an accountant’s skills and abilities. In the world of accounting, there is not as much generality as much people think. A company has a particular area which they need their accountant to excel, so in order for this to come across properly an accountant’s cover letter needs to ensure they list these things.

Another element that all cover letters should have, including an accountant’s, is a first sentence that compels the reader to continue. Without this first sentence an accountant’s cover letter may be skimmed by the human resource department, and perhaps even have the qualities picked out that are needed to send the application to the hiring manager, but it is unlikely to go any further than that. A hiring manager wants to, and needs to, find a job-seeker who fits in with the company atmosphere and will bring a great deal to the table. If an accountant’s cover letter does not get their attention after the first line or two, then it will be cast aside into the trash pile.

So remember these tips when writing an accountant cover letter and the results should be fruitful.

What Everybody Ought To Know About Creative Writing And Being A Professional Writer

July 15, 2008 - 9:07 pm

There are many people trying to be a writer. They keep practicing—which is good—but sometimes they are lack of guidance. Thus, their goal to be a professional writer gradually deteriorates.

This must not happen if one has made a decision to be a writer. When there is a strong will, there’s a way.

To avoid your will from fading away, here are some tips that you can try doing:

• Join writing clubs

By joining this club, you meet many people having the same goal or at least hobby with you. You can share ideas, talk about your script, discuss details about it such as your writing style, setting, plot or characters. Gathering with these people helps you strengthen your motivation and desire to be a writer and one thing for sure, you’ll get as much support you need.

• Participate in some creative writing workshops

Joining the workshop, you will be trained to work on your writing in better ways. You will be experimenting a lot with words and writing style. This of course enhances your skill. Speakers or instructors in workshops are mostly professional writers. That way, you can learn a lot from their experiences which normally are shared during the course. And, these writers certainly will reveal some useful tips about writing and how to have your script published.

• Open up

As a writer, you should be like a thick notebook, ready to be filled in with experiences, emotions, happenings and other things that can deepen your collections of resources for your writings. Also, learn from experienced writers. Read their biography to get more inspiration.

• Believe that there is no such thing like writer’s block

Some writers stop writing by using these words, writer’s block, as an excuse. They keep saying that they don’t know how to continue the story. So what? Write another story, then. Make a new one and put aside the old one. The point is, you need to keep writing no matter what. You can always go back to the old one, anyway.

• Enjoy it

Things are easier when you enjoy it. Even if you plan that it’s going to be your profession, it doesn’t mean that you have no right to enjoy it.

Keep learning. Writing is a process of learning.

Beginning Your Memoir Despite Family Guilt and Critic Voices

July 14, 2008 - 3:52 pm

When we first decide to write, we feel good about it&ndashwe have memories and stories that form who we are. We want to explore ourselves, to capture times long gone and preserve them in story form. To leave a legacy about our lives. But other voices compete with our writing&ndash“what will people think; you should be ashamed; you will embarrass the family. Don’t air dirty laundry; you know only part of the truth, so be quiet. Your mother will roll over in her grave if she found out you wrote that.”

We all know these voices. They make us throw down the pen, sit back and turn on the TV. We don’t want to lose our family. We don’t want to make them angry. Writing a memoir is an act of courage, even defiance against powerful family dynamics. We need to find a way out.

As a family therapist, I have worked with many families, and because of my background, I’m in a position to help my coaching clients understand the source of their resistance to writing their stories, and the source of the critic voice inside.

When we write memoir, we reclaim our own voice, we stake a claim to our version of the story. Every family has multiple story lines. There is the “official” version, controlled by the most powerful people in the family, usually the parents or those who have the most to lose. The “lesser” points of view&ndashmost often held by the children or those lesser in power&ndashare often not believed or accepted as true.

Who decides what version of a story to believe? Who is not listened to? Whose point of view is unwanted? The answers to these questions will be decided by family dynamics and power.

In most families there is a “scapegoat,” or a clown, or the most sensitive. People in these roles may hold a unique, and unpopular, view of the family stories, and those with the most power may try to suppress it.

A memoirist must begin by writing her story in a protected bubble so the story can evolve. Take care of your writing environment, and protect you from forces that will derail your efforts.

1. Figure out the power dynamics in your family. If the critic voice stops you, write down what it says. Try to find the original source of those voices in your background.

2. Begin with an image&ndasha photograph is often a good prompt. Write in your own natural voice.

3. If the voices say: “I don’t know how to write; my family will hate me; how do I know I am writing the truth.” don’t stop. Write anyway. Your critic/family protector will try to silence you. If you were silenced when you were growing up, you will need to work through it now.

4. DO NOT hit the delete button when you feel critical after writing. DO protect your writing from curious family or friend invaders. Treat your work like a young plant that needs protection.

5. Find supportive people to write with. Write in caf