Archive for August, 2008

Write At Least 1000 Words Every Day For A Week

August 2, 2008 - 1:26 pm

Now why would anyone want to do that: write 1000 words every day for a week?

Well you wouldn’t if you are an established writer; you are already pumping out much more than that on an average day.

But you might want to give it a try if you are just starting out or if you have been writing for a while and are still struggling to break through.

Not just any old 1000 words though because that would be pointless; 1000 words tagged to the premise that presupposes you have identified a topic, you have researched the topic; you know your topic inside out - be it in the realms of fiction or non-fiction.

When you stick at it and knock out 1000 words every day for seven days you will discover in Week 2 that 2000 words a day is feasible, then 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000; whatever.

And as the weeks roll by not only will your output improve but so too will the quality of your writing.

But here is the real cruncher…

In tandem with your ever-increasing output will be a commensurate decrease in information overload, freeing your subconscious to work on new ideas, new concepts, new projects - and soon the fruits of its creativity will come flying at you in all directions.

So here in essence is what you get when you make up your mind to write 1000 words every day for a week:

1. Your output will automatically increase in the weeks to follow;

2. The quality of your writing will improve dramatically;

3. Information overload will decrease and make way for a fusion of new creativity.

This is the formula I used at the outset of my own writing career and currently I churn out around 10,000 words every day of which only 1000 might be directly related to a specific book project; the majority of my productivity being dispersed between articles, press releases, web copy and the like.

But it’s all grist to the mill; the mill, the catalyst, the engine room that creates the harvest; your overall creative output.

JIM GREEN is a bestselling author in the realms of fiction and niche non-fiction with 24 titles to his credit among the latest of which are Your Retirement Masterplan (How To Books ISBN 1857039874) and Earn Money in Retirement (How To Books ISBN 1845281128).

1st-creative-writing-course.com

Superchery

August 2, 2008 - 12:20 pm

The best way to cheapen anything is to overuse it …

I recall a sports clip from many years ago, where a veteran basketball player near the end of his career was reminiscing about his prime and comparing it to the supporting-cast status he was about to assume with his latest team. He made a comment along the lines of “I’ve been a superstar; it’s fine with me if I don’t have that role anymore.”

Perhaps he thought he was being humble. For my part, I thought that if I didn’t remember him from a fairly illustrious college career, I wouldn’t have picked him out of a lineup of one.

Superstar?

This word took flight in the 1970s, as far as I can tell. It was originally intended to draw a distinction between well-known people and really well-known people, usually from the sports or entertainment industries. However, I think most would agree that the term reached its zenith when Andrew Lloyd-Weber and Tim Rice affixed it to the title of their most famous rock opera, ‘Jesus Christ Superstar.’

Admittedly, a reference like that set the bar quite high for anyone else who might want to be affiliated with the designation. But to me, this is the way it should be.

For the past decade or so, especially in the USA, ’superstar’ has been so watered down that even pop dictionaries have begun to pull back on its significance. Any notable of the moment seems to qualify. However, for the most part, unless they’re like the basketball player mentioned above and actually believe the hype, they’re not the root of the diluted definition.

That distinction is reserved for our contemporary wordsmiths, the writers and broadcasters of our time.

There’s a reason such a seemingly innocuous bit of pedantry merits notice. The Longer Life site promotes factors which can improve your quality of living. To me, that implies that certain standards of competence must be maintained. In the bell curve of daily existence, there must be sentinels whose very actions exemplify and maintain quality in their area of expertise. This is how a culture advances.

The impact of wordsmiths in any culture is enormous. Not only do they chronicle every aspect of it, they influence its nature and perceptions. The prominence of their vocations ensures they are very aware of these realities.

Thus, there should be little or no tolerance for rendering the tools of their trade — words and grammar — in diminishing contexts.

Thus, in this instance, a ’star’ is recognized by anyone who follows his profession. A ’superstar’ is recognized by anyone. David Beckham is a superstar. So is Michael Jordan, Babe Ruth, Wayne Gretzky, Humphrey Bogart, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and Maria Callas.

So is Ernest Hemingway.

His work is proof that it’s not the tools you use, but how you use them. He’s what Hunter S Thompson and Richard Farina almost were. More importantly, he did his part to keep the bar raised high.

That Hemingway immersed himself into every aspect of that word is a backhanded tribute to his zeal for both his times and his craft.

It’s what we should expect from a superstar.

The research on the internet - its past, present and its future.

August 2, 2008 - 7:20 am

Before you start writing and designing your term paper, make sure that you know and understand the subject and topic, you are assigned with. It might be simple, yet nevertheless a lot of students experience many difficulties at this stage. Why? Because apparently, it is not as simple as it might look. Even highly experienced and well educated person can spent several hours and in many cases days to come up with some ideas and points on particular topic.

That is why it is highly important to turn to term paper help resources. What kind of resources are these? In our modern world you have access to many databases, electronic libraries and other online sources. Sometimes, it is difficult to find a particular book or journal at the library. Yet, wherever you are - in the rural area or even in some distance country, you will be able to find many useful resources if you are connected to the web. There on the internet, you can find new research on your topic, new articles and messaging boards - vital information that might give you some ideas on the topic, you research. Try to read attentively and impartially in order to understand why this particular topic or subject concerns so many people. Why do they want to discuss it? Why do they argue about it? Once you have used these term paper help resources, you can move on to other stages of the writing of your paper. You may learn more about it here: term paper help

Once you have come up with new ideas and have decided what you are going to investigate, you may start researching. This process is very important for all writing assignments; however I would like to single out two assignments where research is in the forefront of the writing process - research paper on health and research paper on religion.

When you start writing research paper on health, you may use internet extensively as well. There is a lot of information on various health topic, many health departments, organizations schools as well as societies have their web sites. One can find much useful practical information in different medicine journals which are available either free or under subscription. However, one should exercise extreme caution, when you use information from messaging boards or some unknown sites. Do not forget that in this type of the paper you should make sure that your information is relevant and authentic. In many cases internet sites or rather moderator review the information (messages and news) before it is posted. However do not forget that sometimes, though not always this information is reviewed by technical staff of the site rather than by real professional. Certainly, you understand that there are many branches of medicine and in my opinion it is virtually impossible to assign experienced and well-educated professionals in all fields to review the information. That is why one can use this information, but should be very cautious about it. You can learn more about it here

research paper on health

Internet might help you in the designing and completing research papers on religion. However, in this case you should remember that religion is viewed as interdisciplinary subject and you might visit some web sites on other disciplines as well (such as history, geography, psychology). When visiting these sites you should follow the advice given above (for the writing of the research paper on health). Try to follow the instructions of your tutor. When visiting web sites of different religious organizations, try to avoid the web sites that advertise religious intolerance. I can presume that you will not visit these sites, however remember-some of them may be outwardly aggressive, but some of them may promote hatred in surreptitious way. Learn more about it here research paper on religion

And finally, despite the fact that these papers might differ in some methods of the research, one should always follow simple rule- gather information and resources before you start working on your paper. Custom Essay Writing Service

Thesaurus: Word Roulette

August 1, 2008 - 2:50 pm

There is some beautiful literary styles that thrive on the repeated use of words and phrases. The language is poetic and beautiful. This, however, is not an article that encourages the use of repeated words.

Unless you are writing in a style that demands the use of repetition it may be in your best interest to read through your text and determine if a word or phrase is overused.

Example:

Bad

The purpose of this exercise is to find the purpose of the repeated use of a word and then purpose not to use that word so much.

Good

The purpose of this exercise is to discover the objective of the repeated use of a word. After which you resolve not to use that word continually.

Both sentences said the exact same thing, but one was infused with different, but related words that allowed a more readable flow.

Many writers work on a first draft by simply attempting to lay down the ideas in a coherent fashion. It is only after they toil through their first draft that they begin to notice a repetition of phrases or words.

Many writers utilize a tool that provides a benefit in saying something a more unique fashion &ndash that device is a thesaurus.

A thesaurus can be used to take a sentence like the following and transform it into something new.

Original

Taking part in the school play was hard for Tammy because she was so shy and awkward.

Enhanced

Participating in the theatrical production at school was challenging for Tammy since she was so reserved and self-conscious.

Many word processors provide a tool function that allows you to highlight a word and it will provide a list of word choices that you can use to replace an overused or ill-fitting word.

If you have a greater interest in writing longhand you should consider the purchase of a thesaurus that may assist you in your writing. You might be surprised at how a thesaurus can help open up new avenues of creativity and expression in your writing.

Sometimes a word will have more than one meaning and a good thesaurus can help provide words in context of the original meaning giving you flexibility in the application of any given word.

So the next time you stumble across a word that has seen lots of appearances in your writing, break out a thesaurus and expand the possibilities.