Essay Online

Have you given much thought to the voice of your narrator? Perhaps you assumed the narrator in your novel should remain neutral. Many writers believe that the narrator should have little in the way of identity and the use of a narrator is essentially a necessary means of moving the story from one scene to the next.

It may come as a surprise to learn that your narrator can, and SHOULD, have a distinctive voice. The narrator should be used to do more than simply take the reader on a guided tour of your story.

The technique used to add life to your narrator is called ‘Voice’. How you ultimately choose to define the character of your narrator can add a new dimension to your work. By adding a unique personality to your narrator the reader has a chance to visualize the story through the eyes of someone that intrigues them. They may not particularly like the narrator, but the voice you choose help the reader find a new facet of interest in your story.

Your narrator could have a strained relationship with the main character and might make occasionally negative comments as they unfold the story. The reason for the animosity could be explained and resolved as the story unfolds.

The Disney movie “Emperor’s New Groove” was narrated by the main character who interjected humor, sarcasm and arrogance that allowed the viewer to gain a clearer picture of the primary character, the conflict his actions created, and the ultimate need for him to lose some of his pride. What is interesting is the narrator’s voice also allowed the viewer to actually enjoy the Emperor’s character even more.

In western fiction the narrator often provides range-hardened wisdom during the course of the narrative that leaves you feeling as if you’ve saddled up a horse and are paired up an agreeable partner that has much to teach you.

Some writing intentionally portrays the narrator as distant and rather formal in their story telling. In this case the writer does not wish to have the narrator play a significant role in the storyline and only wishes them to fill in the blanks with no commentary or personality showing through.

Determining the voice of your narrator can be an important element in the development of your story. Choosing the ‘voice’ of your narrator may be best achieved early in the story-writing process to avoid needless rewriting.

Need content for your website well then look no further, Articles are here and the way to go. Articles provide many different things, daily content for your site, a way to voice your opinion or the opinion of others, the biggest thing is traffic to your site, and then however comes returning visitors and visits provided by other links. All of these things are a part of Articles and how you can use them to provide a great and informative way to bring people to your site.

The Pros

The biggest pro of Articles has already been mention, traffic, returning traffic to be more specific. No website can survive without people making there way to it, and returning for more. Also lets not forget the Search Engines, AOL, Google, and Yahoo, in alphabetical or and only providing the names of just a few. These Search Engines use keywords to direct viewers to different websites. Just like Articles is the keyword for this particular article, Keywords are how the search engines recognize what you are looking for. Say you wanted games you would then type in the word games and wow look at all the hits you get.

The Cons

There are a few problems with Articles. One thing they are a person’s point of view, if the person writing the article is not happy with the Keyword then the article could be damaging to the original site, product, or person. Another con to Articles is the fact they change constantly moving from one subject to another and can make finding the right one difficult.

Summary

When writing your Article be sure you do not copy someone else’s work, not only is this illegal but also wrong. Make sure you give the original provider of the article their credit and the source link is working properly, not to mention telling them you are using their work. Following these simple guidelines can keep you out of trouble and possibly create a working relationship with the person you got your information from for a long time to come.

To bring all of this to a close you have to consider what you have read today, heard from someone else, or found on your own before, Articles if used properly can bring visitors to your website and keep them returning for more.

Op-ed articles, also known as opinion/editorial articles, are a great way for aspiring writers to publicize their work and, in exchange, receive an amazing amount of publicity for free. You can write an op-ed piece and get it publicized provided you follow these simple rules.

Before you begin to write, you need to target which newspaper you would like your article to appear in. You stand a greater chance of getting into your local paper than in a national publication like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, or USA Today. Still, if one of the national publications appeals to you, then give it a try.

1. Follow the rules. Every newspaper has guidelines on what their specific requirements are. Familiarize yourself with these guidelines and stringently hold yourself to their requirements. Failure to do so will mean you will be rejected.

2. Write with precision. Newspapers do not like verbose writers, unless it is for a feature piece and it is for a high end publication, such as The Washington Post. Short, crisp, and to-the-point sentences are the order of the day.

3. Write with persuasion. Whatever your point of view, write persuasively. Do not muddy the waters by giving vague answers. If you are discussing a problem, count on offering the solution. Expect that your article may occupy one half of the op-ed page; the other half may feature a rebuttal or an opposite point of view.

4. Double space. As with any submitted writing, you must double space your text. Expect the editors to work their magic on your piece, including removing entire paragraphs to make everything fit.

5. Submit a cover letter. Yes, you more than likely will have to snail mail your letter, so send it off with a cover letter to the appropriate contact person.

6. Your contact information. Your name, address, city, state, country, zip, contact numbers, and email address are all needed. More than likely none of this will be included in the piece, but they do need a way to get back to you.

7. Resource box. Unlike ezine sites where you can write a lengthy discourse on who you are and have links to your site, it is likely that only a one or two word sentence about “who you are” will be included. So, consider writing your own resource box and hope that they like it. [You can count on it being changed if they do not.] It could be written something like this:

John Doe is a Detroit based freelance writer affiliated with Writer’s Write.

Yes, that may be about all the information they want to share about you with their readers.

More than likely you will know within two weeks time if your piece will get published. Some papers will contact you to let you know if you have been approved/rejected, while others will simply publish your article. Do not hound them as you may want to become a regular contributor.

What is the next step?

1. If you are approved, you can expect letters to the editor — from readers — in response to your piece to begin appearing in subsequent editions of the newspaper. Do not be surprised if letters begin arriving in your home or place of business too. Expect phone calls from people who may want to discuss your point of view further, or invite you to speak in front of their group, etc.

2. If you are rejected, consider modifying and resubmitting your piece or forwarding it to another publication. Accept criticism about your writing style, if offered.

3. Op ed pieces are sometimes picked up by syndicators such as Reuters or Google News; your piece can have a life well beyond the local newspaper. If you hit the national press, you can count on your article having widespread coverage. Do a search on Google a few days after publication and you may discover how wide a net your piece has cast. If that is the case, good for you!

Above all, op-ed article can help shape local or national opinion, so think of the greater good you can do as well as the publicity you just may receive when crafting your article. Although newspaper circulation continues to drop, online versions of these same newspapers continue to grow, thereby giving you exposure far beyond the intended market.

There are more articles than you can count on the internet that all you need to know these days is a mode to search for the right kind of information. That being said, there is a scramble among the different website owners to check for the data being searched by the users so that they can direct these gullible users into visiting their websites and thereby generating revenue for them. The scholarly articles are the ones published by academic publishers or professional organizations.

The targeted audience for these kinds of scholarly articles is usually consistent of specialists in professions and academic disciplines. These scholarly articles are usually subscribed by the individual scholars or university libraries. These articles are taken to be the ones with validation by the academics. Scholarly articles in publications receive what is called in the academic world as peer review and they are authentic.

Before the scholarly articles are in for publication, it is reviewed and accepted by the scholars in the respective field to judge for the scholarly merit, the research value and accuracy. Scholarly articles are normally indicative of the credentials of the particular author and also explain in detail the methodology of research and list the respective footnotes or references used to write the article.

There is the difficulty in order to get to the articles. This is because people write their own articles these days and there have been changes all along the way. There are not a lot of people who have the talent for placing the keywords carefully in the text. There are however more than just writing articles but also placing them on the internet so that they require optimization to get the right keywords in the right places to cater to the search results in the searches initiated by the users.

To find scholarly articles can be quite daunting if you are not aware of what to look for. There are a few for starters as given here. They are written with more scholarly jargon that is understood mostly by the academic fraternity. The scholarly articles are more structured which are likely to include sections like abstract, literature review and conclusion. This is one of the ways to weed out the normal articles that do not follow any specific structure. These articles are also supported by graphs, statistics and photographs. The articles also provide a bibliography that documents the research and possibility for further research.

As a writer you may be ready to cash in on the need for web content. There is a lot of money that can be made through content writing if you know what web publishers are looking for in high quality content. If you are a very versatile writer you will find that you can actually make content writing your full time job! The new trend of article marketing has writers very excited because webmasters all over the Internet are hungry for talented writers who can’t pump out the high quality content fast enough.

What to Write

Exactly what you should write will depend on whom you are writing for. If you are a writer that is writing pieces for an article directory you will want to keep things as generic as possible. The more nonspecific you can keep your articles the more likely a webmaster will choose your article to be displayed on his or her website. It’s important not to mention websites or specific products, as this can limit the usefulness of the article to webmasters because they generally do not want to promote anything other than themselves and especially not their competitors. Most web publishers are looking for content, not marketing pages.

If you are writing for a specific web publisher you will want to keep in mind what their business is all about. Think about key phrases or words that are often associated with their product, business, or service and include them in the article. Be sure that the key phrases you come up with or are provided don’t seem unnatural and they don’t disrupt the flow of the article. Key words and phrases are only as helpful as their placement. Remember, we are talking about quality content, which reads well and helps search engines figure out what the website is all about at the same time.

Research Required

Make sure that if you are writing on a topic and you don’t have first hand knowledge that you research! Content provided by websites is only as useful as the author that is writing. If you only provide fluff and no real meat in articles visitors will be less likely to come back to the website again, so you are actually working against the plan to increase traffic with the article. Always look at your article the way that a visitor would and try to provide all of the information you would want if you were that person.

How to Write

Your style of writing is really a matter of opinion. Many web publishers like for their content to be written in a very conversational style. This writing style allows for readers to feel as though the author is talking to them, and it’s just a very comfortable way to get information on the Internet. If you take an official tone many visitors may be turned off even though you are providing all of the information that is needed.

Market Yourself

Don’t forget your resource box! The resource box is the section either at the beginning or end of an article that tells the reader who you are, any websites that you are affiliated with, and may even provide links to the websites. This is a great way to market yourself. While a web publisher may first find your work on an article directory he or she may contact you personally for your services, in which case you usually stand to make a lot more money!

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.

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.

1. Don’t set yourself a writing routine or stick to it.

2. Always make sure that doing your writing is at the bottom of your list of priorities, and even when you are writing, if something else you have to do that day springs to mind, then go and do that instead.

3. If one of your friends comes round to invite you out for coffee, just go, no matter how busy you are with your writing.

4. Whenever you’re writing, answer the phone every time it rings and answer the door every time someone knocks.

5. Always feel guilty for doing your writing instead of doing what other people want you to do.

6. Don’t read any articles about writing, especially if it’s written by an expert.

7. If anyone ever tells you of a simple and profitable way to make money from your writing, don’t believe them and never try it.

8. Never take a writing course to hone your skills.

9. Don’t visit any writing sites on the internet, and never subscribe to their newsletters.

10. Don’t join any writer’s forums or participate in any online discussions.

11. Don’t get your own website to showcase your writing ability and writing services to the whole world.

12. Do everything you possibly can not to get your name known in the writing world.

13. Keep your work secret. Always put your writing away in a draw when you’ve finished and never show it to anyone &ndash especially editors and publishers.

14. Don’t enter writing competitions.

15. Don’t submit articles to paying websites.

16. Never even think about writing a book.

17. Especially don’t consider writing a profitable e-book.

18. They say you should write at least 5 article proposals or short stories every week. If you do write them, don’t mail them.

19. If a magazine or publisher offers specific guidelines for submissions, don’t follow them.

20. If an editor likes your work and publishes it, never offer to write for them again.

21. If you send in a query to an editor and don’t hear anything for a couple of weeks, start ringing them and don’t stop until they make a decision about whether or not to publish your work.

22. If one publication rejects your work, assume that it’s worthless and unsuitable for every other publication and don’t send it anywhere else.

23. Whenever you receive a rejection letter, take it personally and throw your work in the bin.

24. Never ever consider the possibility that, if your work’s written from a different angle, it could be suitable for another market and sold again.

25. And if all that doesn’t make you fail, you can always just give up writing.

You do realize that the main goal, when writing an article, is to have your readers interested in your article. You are halfway done - readers who found your article and ran onto it are surely interested in the topic your article covers. Now you only need to have something that will gain their interest even more.

I am sure that you already know how being unique is important for everything. For example, unique websites are known to succeed; unique commercials. Almost every single unique idea ascends to the throne, of course, if properly treated. So, why wouldn’t you try to achieve unique article writing style? It WILL attract your readers. And that is your goal, isn’t it?

When you develop a new style of writing (believe me, it’s not so hard), ask several readers to read one of your articles (we are going to call them “test-readers”, and they all have to read the same article). If most of the test-readers (there will always be at least one who will say “dude, this is cr*p”) say that it’s quality article, then BINGO! Bull’s eye. Now try submitting 5 more. If you get a good response, try submitting 50 more. And voila! You’re at the throne.

In addition to all of the above, I’ve isolated several guidelines you should follow in whenever writing an article:

- Note what type of publication the article is to appear in - for example, an international travel magazine for adults would require a neutral or formal register, whereas a college magazine aimed at teenagers could be written in a very informal register.

- Make sure the register you use is consistent throughout the article.

- Remember to include an appropriate title (interesting titles catch reader’s attention).

- Introduce your topic in the opening paragraph.

- Be as clear and informative as possible.

- Engage the reader’s interest throughout.

One of the difficulties a writer faces is reviewing their work in an attempt to locate all errors. There are generally two forces that work against a writer who attempts to ensure their work is error-free.

1. Being too close to the work you have difficulty concentrating on the writing.

2. You know what you want to say so it is possible you read over mistakes simply because your mind only sees your impression of the article.

In order to be effective in proofreading your own material you have to work hard at reading every word…

Refuse to speed through simply because you know what the writing says.

Consider each word, then each phrase and then the context of the thought.

Does the article flow or are there phrases that bog it down?

Check punctuation and grammar.

Look at the headline and make sure it is correct.

Do the above all over again.

Most often the best personal proofing requires multiple readings and ongoing edits. The key to the entire process is discipline &ndash personal and professional discipline.

Check and recheck the facts in your story and when possible allow another set of eyes to proofread your writing. They will likely see things that you missed.

There is another myth that is closely linked to proofreading and that is the myth of the perfect story. Anything we write will either have a shelf life because styles and accepted practices change or we have missed something in the arena of consistency, grammar, spelling or word use.

If we keep a piece of writing under lock and key until such time as we think it’s perfect we will likely find that the article will never see publication. You can go over your article with a fine tooth comb and you are likely to see some error when it is finally published.

Writing should be taken seriously, yet not so seriously that the stress of word crafting removes the joy that caused you to become a writer in the first place.

The best advice may be to simply write your story first and worry about fixing any problems afterward. If you stop writing in the midst of your story in order to correct trouble spots you are likely to lose the spontaneity of the storyline. This can ultimately have a detrimental effect on the overall reading satisfaction of the consumer.

If you have to be a perfectionist wait until the story is complete and then get out your red pen and make a few alterations.