Memoir Writing - Use Sensory Details in Your Lifestories

Successful stories are full of sensory details (colors, shapes, textures, smells, sounds, flavors. When your stories portray a vivid world ("three sweet-scented roses") rather than a vague one ("some nice flowers"), you make it easier for readers to take the leap of faith into the world of your writing.

If your story has abstract and vague wording like "After a while absence from home made fidelity difficult for him and he committed adultery...," your readers will be less interested in (and less swayed by) what you have to say than if your narration is filled with concrete and details such as "One evening, four months after he left his wife, he went into a bar. He had worked in the sun all day building houses and he was very tired. Somebody played a love song on the jukebox, and he began to ache with loneliness. A waitress with piercing black eyes asked him how he was doing, and he told her a story. He made it into a funny story because he didn't want her to know how lonely he really was. When he had finished, she laughed, and her laughter rang in his ears. He had not talked to a woman in this way in a long time and..."

The details above not only make this story more vivid but transform this lonely man into an Everyman.

The Greek myth of the Labyrinth illustrates the need for sensory and material details in stories. The Labyrinth was a maze of passageways at the center of which lived the Minotaur, half man/half bull. In the story, a young man, Theseus, entered the Labyrinth to slay the Minotaur. Many young men had entered the Labyrinth before him only to become lost in the maze and perish. Theseus, however, connected himself to the outside world by a material detail: he used a string. After slaying the Minotaur, he followed his string to retrace his steps out of the Labyrinth and thus re-entered the outside world.

The Labyrinth story provides not only entertainment but also guidance and reassurance for us as lifewriters. As lifewriters, we enter a literary maze at the center of which is "the truth" about our lives. If we are not to get lost in the psychological and emotional labyrinth of characters and events, we and our readers must be connected to the world by sensory and material details just as Theseus remained connected to the outside world by a string.

Memoir Writing - Three Ways to Become a Better Storyteller

Some people come to lifewriting with a natural facility for storytelling. Don't despair if you aren't one of them. To a great extent, this is a facility which can be learned. It's a matter of acquiring both technical skills and belief in yourself and in your role as storyteller.

1) Successful stories usually have a recognizable beginning ("It was the year I was nine that my father fell sick"); a middle that tells what happened in the story ("He took to bed; my mother went to work; my grandmother came to stay"); and an end that reveals how the story concludes ("Finally, in the fall, he died, and slowly Mother pieced our lives back together again").

2) Successful stories have characters who are recognizably human. Don't let your loved ones come off as "stick characters" in your stories. Even if you are writing about people you do not like and would prefer to show only their faults, write about some of their positive qualities or habits. Otherwise, your readers will not feel the humanity of your characters and may dismiss not only what you say about those persons, but also whatever it is you want your story to convey.

3) Successful stories have action. Action is often presented as a conflict (the clash of opposing or contradictory desires, or an unfolding of events) that is resolved before the end. ("Afternoons after school, Janie and I would take turns sitting next to his bed, reading aloud, enticing him to drink a little tea or listen to the radio. I willed him to be distracted from his illness and return to being the dad I used to rough-house with in the backyard.")

Good luck telling your stories!

Memoir Writing - Three Tips to Help You Get Started

Getting started on a memoir can be daunting. Here are some ideas for making it less so.

1) Write a lot and write frequently. Don't worry about whether or not your writing is "good enough!" As you write, be comfortable with letting first drafts be first drafts: rough, incomplete, contradictory. Thinking in terms of "good enough" is a trap that will prevent you from writing a lot or writing frequently. It will inhibit your ability to remember.

Unfortunately, we all have an inner censor judging our actions. It is the inner censor who asks if our writing is "good enough." Our censor causes us to hold back, instilling fear that we will look silly.

Only the inner censor expects you to write elegant prose on your first attempts--so tell your inner censor to relax! You are not competing for the Nobel Prize in Literature: you are merely getting a start on your lifestory writing.

If you haven't already written some of your memories, stop right now and compose a list of memories. This memory list will provide you with a ready supply of topics for you to elaborate on later. Turn your computer on or pick up a pen. Do it now. Don't continue writing until you've composed at least one page of memories!

Writing is a different skill from that of remembering, but developing skill with one will enhance the other. The more you write, the more easily your memories will return to you.

2) Free yourself, once and for all, from the sense of obligation to write "from the beginning." Start writing your story from anywhere you want to start writing, and write for as long as you wish to write. Don't fret about how to start your story-if you do, you'll get bogged down at this stage. Remember: it is the reader's experience of a story that starts at the beginning, not the writer's. Compose the beginning of your memoir during the final stages of writing. The beginning sets the tone for a story, but until you have written the story and have come to understand its storyline and its meaning, you may not be able to establish the tone the beginning needs.

3) Each stage of your writing will provide its own rewards and challenges. Perfection is something to strive for later-but not at this early stage of lifewriting. For now, retire the inner censor and strive for volume.

It's Versus Its - A Common Grammatical Error Explained!

The distinction between "it's" and "its" is one of the top pet peeves and most common errors out in the writing world. This article attempts explains the distinction between the two words so you can keep them straight!

"It's" is a contraction. Most of us have heard of and are familiar with contractions. Here's how they work:

If you want to say "Here is" in a short, informal way, squash the words together and substitute an apostrophe for the last vowel ("I") to create "Here's." If you want to say "Do not" less formally, squash the words together and substitute an apostrophe for the last vowel ["o"] to create "Don't."

This process of contraction is how we form many words such as: can't; doesn't; aren't; there's; and (drumroll please)... it's!

Simple isn't it? If you want your word to mean "it is" or "it has" then just make a contraction: it's.

Examples:

It is time for bed. = It's time for bed.

It is a girl! = It's a girl!

It has been raining for days. = It's been raining for days.

I think where people get flummoxed is when they want a word meaning "belonging to 'it.'"

Why is this confusing?

When something belongs to Harry we add an apostrophe after "Harry" and say it's "Harry's." When something belongs to the barber we add an apostrophe and say it's the "barber's." However, when it comes to saying something belongs to "it," the apostrophic form goes out the window, i.e. we do NOT use an apostrophe. Something belonging to "it" is "its."

Why is there no apostrophe in "its"?

There are other times we do not use an apostrophe to show possession. When something belongs to "her" we say it's "hers" (NO apostrophe). When something belongs to "him" we say it's "his;" when something belongs to "us" we say it's "ours" and when something belongs to "them" we say it's "theirs." There are many irregular constructions here. Yet people rarely make mistakes when it comes to these other possessive forms. It's "its" that continues to baffle us.

What all the examples have in common where apostrophes are NOT used to show possession is that they are all a part of speech we refer to as a pronoun. Pronouns are our shortcuts so that we do not have to keep referring to people and things by their name or other descriptor. They are a referential shortcut. They replace, or substitute for, nouns.

Some examples of pronouns are the following: he, she, they, you, her, him, us

Some examples of POSSESSIVE pronouns are the following: his, her, your, our, their, its.

Here's your rule to remember: When forming a possessive PRONOUN, do NOT use an apostrophe. Since "it" is a pronoun, we do NOT put an apostrophe after it to make it possessive. Just as you would not write "her's" or "our's," do not write "it's" when you are intending to show possession.

It's my fervent hope this article has cleared up some common misperceptions and that its contents will be distributed widely by its readers!

It's Not About Writing, It's About Rewriting

Want to know how good writers consistently produce high-quality work? Here's a clue: it's not about writing. It's about rewriting.

Regardless of how talented of a writer you are, most of the first draft you will write won't be good. In fact, most of them will probably be crap - unless you're some kind of robot who can crank out a high-level of writing every single time. Do you think your favorite author sat down, wrote chapter by chapter of a book and turned it in without so much as a second pass?

The polish you see in professionally-written materials is rarely the result of one inspired night of writing. Most of the time, it is about people using a good writer's editing software, as well as taking the time to read through their pieces objectively, finding parts that can be improved and doing what's necessary to make it better. The bulk of the job rests not in the writing; rather, it relies on how well you can edit and revise what you've originally put to paper.

Your first draft isn't supposed to be good. That's true of everyone - even the most brilliant among us. That's why recommend people just barrel through any blocks, any hindrances in order to finish a draft. Who cares if it's bad? What sets the pros from the dabblers, though, is the ability and the willingness to keep plugging at the material, rewriting it till it's as good as they imagined it can be.

Introductions - Crafting a Good Introductory Paragraph

There is one simple key to success in writing -- spend 99% of your time on the introduction. 10% on all the rest.

Your most important paragraph is your first. Your introduction. For it is the introduction which grabs your reader and tells him "You must read this!"

Consider writer's block. When does it occur? At the beginning of your writing, not in the middle. It's not the writing that causes writer's block. It's the introduction. It's the need to grab the reader's attention in the strongest, best way. That's why one suggestion for breaking writer's block is to just start in the middle. You avoid that piece of writing that in fact justifies all you are going to say in the whole rest of your book. That piece which is the hardest to write.

When writing a good introduction there are four things you should concentrate on.

First, you must focus on your reader. Too often a writer will focus on himself, on her ideas, on their wording. In the body of your writing that's bad but forgivable. If done for short periods. But not in the introduction. Always focus your introduction on the reader. Solve her problems. Touch his emotions. Promise what she wants. Make him aware of what he fears. Leave your solution until later.

Second you must grab your reader's interest immediately. Be strong. Be blunt. Don't just tap your way around the issue. Use a sledge and drive your point home. Focus on their emotions. Think motivation. Your reader must be made to want to read. Think in terms of their problems, their fears, their hopes and dreams. Don't just focus on them. That's important but it's not enough. You must cut through to the bone and blood. You must make them scream in agony or cry out "Yes, he understands". You must grab their interest with terrier teeth and shake them out of their complacency.

Which leads to my next point. Think Hemmingway not Browne or Bulwer-Lytton. Your introduction should be simple, short and to the point. Forget the "It was a dark and stormy night" and the four ports of knowledge. Focus on rabbit words. Fast. Quick. Clear. The rest of your writing can be flowery, if there is a point. But your introduction needs to be spare. One of the strongest introductions I've ever heard consisted of only three words, and one of those was a contraction. That introduction was, "They're wrong!" Could you stop reading after that? I couldn't.

Finally, don't over promise in the introduction. If you've paid attention so far, you probably can't make that mistake. But if you choose to talk solutions in your introduction be humble. Expand on pain. Hint at solutions. If you over promise in your introduction you will come off as too much hype. If you must talk solutions, talk end results. Ask questions -- "Would you like...?", "How does this sound to you?", "Would your life be easier if...?" and other indirect references.

Inside the Mind and Experiences of a Writer

The writer's mind is always on, and can rarely be switched off. Everything is potential material--from the most inspirational, to the most sobering.

Writers are keen observers of human nature and psychology, and of the most minute details in speech and impressions. I think that good writing should act as a reflecting pool for people's arrogance, misdeeds and a person's conscience, and it is also a reflection of the writer--in that regard, its color and tone takes on the personality of the writer.

Writing is an amalgam of fact, fiction, a gross exaggeration of facts, and a psychic by-product of the Collective Unconscious. It can be cathartic, drive some over the edge, and some have even theorized that writers are like modern day shamans, giving form to the abstract, and creating a kind of intellectual and creative alchemy.

Of all the types of artists that there are, writers are the ones who are left with their ideas to ferment and even torment for years until they can find an outlet for it.

Writers are always keeping a constant inventory, a mental checklist, and if you're lucky, you can see the gears turning in their heads. They are highly insecure, and part of what makes a writer a writer is an openness to let in impressions, but this is also what can make them very vulnerable to the world at large.

A good writer, too, might also have a complex about calling themselves a writer, or a good one. A good writer is always in search of truth in this life, and has a clear and distinct vision about what they are trying to illuminate.

Writers are in some ways the unsung heroes of society, the dark horses who must somehow learn to march to the beat of their own drum and keep their heads held high.

In Loving Memory Poems - Overcoming Writers Block

In loving memory poems can be hard to write. Death can be difficult to deal with for many people. How do you say goodbye to someone you love when you are grieving and have writers block? Thinking of all the wonderful memories you have of your mother, father, sister, brother, husband, or wife can help give you inspiration and get you over that hump.

What makes writing in loving memory poems easier is if you speak from your heart. Think of all of the good times you had with the person. Think of your poem as a way to let the world in on a piece of the unique relationship you and that person shared. I assure you that there are other family members, loved ones, coworkers, friends, and neighbors in the room that will be able to attest to what you are saying.

Let us be honest. Sometimes you are asked to write poems in memory of someone who may not have been the most pleasant person to be around when they were alive. Even if all of the memories are not good you can try to spin their personality traits and events of their life to be a positive thing. What have you learned from their actions, how did they make you grow as a person? There is some good in almost all people.

Another way to get past grieving writers block is to envision the person right there in the room with you. Now have a conversation with them. Let them know what is on your mind, how you are feeling, and how much they meant to you. Recall events and situations that made them special, and reasons why you will never forget them. You may have to write through tears, but if you sit and think long enough the words will come. Use these tips the next time you find yourself needing to write a loving memory poem for a person or pet that you love.

How Writers Promote Their Online Short Story Submissions

If you've ever been to a website that features an archive of submitted short stories, you'll notice that certain story submissions and their authors attract a great deal of reader feedback and attention, while others hardly get noticed at all. So, what exactly is the magic element that attracts a great deal of reader traffic to some stories, while others remain unknown, unseen, and unappreciated?

The magic element is promotion.

Hopeful and novice writers often make the mistake of assuming that the simple act of posting their short story online will be sufficient to attract readers. Yet they fail to put themselves in the place of the reader. When faced with a large archive of posted short stories, the average reader will often look to the best rated, or most recently posted, short story. Some websites will merely showcase a random sampling of stories from its archive. Yet you'll notice that, in some cases, there are posted stories that aren't necessarily the best rated, nor are they the most recently submitted - yet they keep on getting an abundance of daily reader traffic. How do they keep bringing them in? The answer is that their authors are getting out there, spreading the word, and letting other readers on other websites know where their short story postings can be found. A few tips on what they do:

Tip One: Post Links To Your Story

Easier said than done, right? Well, actually it is quite easy. All you need do is to go where the community of readers and writers are. Do a search for online Groups and Forums that are set up specifically for people who love to read and write short stories online. Join those groups - which usually entails little more than registering a username and password - and then start letting your fellow group members know where they can find your posted stories: "Hey, guys, check out my newly posted short story at this link...!"

Posting links to your story also helps your short story to get better coverage on search engines. But first, make sure that your chosen story submission website is one that is set up to properly showcase your short story on search engines. To do that, simply do a search for your short story posting and see how it displays on the search engine. Ideally, you would want the author by-line to show up alongside the story title in the search listing, since your by-line is ultimately your branding mark as a writer.

Tip Two: Going Viral - Spread The Word On Social Networking Websites

As a writer, you should realize that a social network website can serve as a crucial weapon in your promotional arsenal. Websites, such as Facebook or LinkIn, allow you to set up friendship networks or to join Groups consisting of members with similar interests - in your case, groups with an interest in literary fiction.

On such websites, you can set up your own profile page as you concentrate on amassing a network of friends and contacts. Those contacts then follow your various postings and links. Again, you want to post messages to your network contacts and Group members along the lines of, "Check out my short story posting at this link...!"

Tip Three: The Value Of Excerpt Marketing

As you work to increase your social network of contacts and groups on these websites, you should take care to start posting choice excerpts from your story submission, accompanying it with a link. Again, check that your chosen story submission website is properly set up to attractively showcase such links on social network sites, providing your title and author by-line in the posted link. This strategy is what I dub Excerpt Marketing. The key is to pique the curiosity of your network friends with your excerpt, and to get them to click on the link that brings them to your posted story. For such purposes, choose a brief story excerpt that can stand on its own, that provides a hook, and that's punchy.

You don't have to stick with just one excerpt from your story, either. If it's a strong short story with a great number of punchy, interesting passages to choose from, it will furnish you with more opportunity to provide a series of excerpt posts, with links, for that story to your network. Think of it as serializing your short story through a series of brief excerpts. But again, make sure that each excerpt is strong enough to stand on its own.

Tip Four: Suggesting The Story Submission Website To Your Social Network Contacts

Now that you've done the work to promote your short story submission to the social network that you're building, you might want to consider whether your chosen story submission website has its own page on the social networking site that you've joined. Moreover, you would want to know whether the story submission site has a policy of promoting its participating writers on such a page. If so, then you might consider suggesting this page to your social network contacts. Invite them to choose that page as their favorite. They, in turn, might suggest that page to their own contacts, thereby increasing your prospective reader audience beyond the reach of your own immediate network. In such cases, you'll have a web of contacts whose pages will contain various and interlinked references to your story submission site and your specific story posting. All in all, an excellent way to keep your posted story fresh in the minds of your contacts and their own extended contacts.

Tip Five: Extend Your Author Brand With More Story Postings

Keep in mind that your author by-line is your brand. If a reader likes one of your story postings, then it is likely that the next time they visit the story submission website, they'll look you up as an author. Thus, it helps to have a regular schedule of story postings in order to give your fans a reason for coming back from time to time to check for updates.

When you post more short stories, you also have a further reason and opportunity to provide another fresh round of announcements, postings, and links for your social contact network, once more extending your brand as an author worth checking out.

Tip Six: Don't Be Complacent

This last tip is the most valuable tip of all. Before, you might have scratched your head, wondering why the writers who amassed the largest fan base and the most reader traffic for their story postings were not necessarily the best. Well, now you know. Unlike the vast majority of writers who submit their short stories online, these writers weren't complacent with their posted stories.

They understood that, in the end, submitting your short story online is only the first step to getting read.

How to Write Vampire Fanfiction

Vampires are in these days. It's debatable whether they ever really went out-I mean, who hasn't at least gone through a phase where they were entranced by vampires? Vampires are sexy, strong, and forbidden-what could be more fascinating than that? And there are so many vampires worlds to choose from now: Twilight, House of Night, Vampire Academy, Vampire Diaries, Vladimir Tod, True Blood, Blue Blood, the Van Alen Legacy, Blood Ninja, Blood Coven, and even Buffy and The Lost Boys, who never get old.

It's no wonder so many people want to play in those worlds by writing fanfiction. Here are a few tips for writing vampire fanfiction.

Vampires aren't just people with odd eating habits. Being a vampire changes something in the formerly human nature of these beings. You can certainly have vampires with positive human characteristics, such as the compassionate Carlisle or the loyal Stevie Ray, but those characteristics are tempered and tested by their essentially blood-craving nature. No matter what your fandom, there's something different about vampires.

Know your fandom. Do you know the difference between a drudge, a friend, and a mate? A coven, a tribe and a family? A legal vampire and an illegal one? Don't assume that all vampire worlds follow Bram Stoker's mythology, because they don't. Some vampires sparkle, some are allergic to garlic, some have mystical powers, some are masters of seduction, some drink synthetic blood, some are tattooed, some fall in love with humans and some regard humans only as dinner, some can turn into animals, some can enslave you and some can be enslaved. If you're writing fanfiction, the whole idea is to write within that world, so you have to follow the rules of the world.

Know the difference between AU and AU-Human. This is, of course, where you get to break the rules, but even in AU, you have to do it right. Alternative Universe is where you take the basic canon and you change something from canon. What if Bella hooked up with Jacob (or Jasper or Emmett or Alice) instead of Edward? What if Vlad and Henry discovered an attraction to each other? What if Zoey remained human but still fell in love with Erik? In these stories, you change an element of what the author has given you. AU-Human is a little different; in these stories, the vampires aren't vampires. So, Zoey really is a human, Taro falls in with ninjas who are just ninjas, and Edward is a brooding, dark young man, but doesn't want to drink Bella's blood. Both of these can make fabulous stories...but stick as close to the canonical world as you can, so that the change is even more powerful.

All the rules of good writing apply. Just because it's fanfiction, doesn't mean you don't have to make it the best story you can. Keep your vampires hot and dangerous, your worlds true to canon, your dialogue sharp and witty, and your plots realistic (within the fantastical world of the story). Get a good beta to double check your chapters so that you don't have spelling or grammar errors. Always respect both your original author and your readers...and the vampires you all get to share.

There's so much variety in the fictional worlds of vampires, but they all seem to draw us in and make us want to explore them more. The next time you want to spend more time with a vamp, follow these tips and write for yourself the story you always wanted to read.

How to Write a Progress Report

In some classes where you've got an ongoing project on the pipe, you may be asked to produce progress reports detailing how far you've advanced on the undertaking. While required mostly to assure instructors that you're on a good way with the project, they can also help you out by leading to better-organized and more transparent results.

Most progress reports are done every week, although the frequency can vary based on the requirements of your class. Don't worry about having to write them every seven days - completing these reports need not be taxing work, especially with the best grammar checker in tow. In fact, most progress reports don't ever go more than a page. The idea is just to provide an update of your status, after all, not create a minute-by-minute account of all the activities you did.

If you're looking for a format to follow, you can use the typical three-part structure to arrange your writing:

1. List down the previous report's plan. Quote the goals you set out from the last progress report, using them as a basis to measure how much you've accomplished since the last one.

2. State the current progress. What have you accomplished since the last report? What difficulties have you overcome? What challenges continue in your path? Basically, just rattle off on how the project is going.

3. List down your plan until the next progress report. What are your goals for the next time period? This is a good time to use a bulleted list style of presentation, listing down each target you would like to accomplish.

How to Write an EBook - 3 Steps You Must Take

Writing an ebook isn't difficult, but most people go about it all wrong. In this discussion let's focus on nonfiction ebooks. Let's focus on three key things to do before you even get started writing your ebook.

Most people sit down, write a book, convert it into an ebook, and then ask, "Now, how can I sell this thing?" That is the first huge mistake they make. Writing your ebook is actually one of the last things in this process that should be done.

• The very first thing to do is to ask yourself, "What search phrase would people use to find my ebook with?"

• Next find out if anyone is interested in your topic. There are any number of keyword research tools you can use to determine how many monthly searches are done for a particular keyword on a monthly basis. There is no sense in trying to sell an ebook online if only a hundred or so searches are being done for your main keyword phrase.

On the other hand, if you can find a keyword phrase related to your ebook that is getting thousands, or tens-of-thousands of searches a month - you have a chance to sell some books if you can tap into that traffic.

• Finally, use your main keyword phrase and check out your competitors' web pages. How do they promote their ebooks? How attractive and powerful is their sales page? How did they price their ebook?

If you will do your research before writing your ebook, the process of actually selling it will be much easier. After you have done your research, I would strongly suggest you create your sales page before you actually write your ebook. Get some tips on copywriting online and get ideas from your competitors' sites. If your sales page won't convert visitors into buyers, it doesn't matter how great your ebook is - you will never sell a copy.

You may consider this a sad fact, but the amount of money you make from your ebook has much less to do with its quality and much more to do with the quality of the sales letter you put up online.

I am in no means suggesting you try to put up a shoddy ebook to sell online - by no means, I am not. What I am saying is that you must learn everything you can about marketing ebooks first. That is the biggest key to your success.

How to Write a Good Introduction

Want to write good introductions? Apart from using an English proofreading software, you need to get these three things right.

1. State the topic and key facts clearly.

Opening paragraphs are tricky because they have to accomplish two things: state the key facts of the piece and engage the reader's attention. Specify the main topic and the various details readers need to know right away, expressing them in a manner that the target audience will understand.

2. Deliver a strong thesis statement.

Most students state a topic and think that's all they need to get an essay off the ground. Fact is, a main topic is just the subject you want to talk about; the position you're taking on the key issue comprises your main thesis. Two essays can actually have the exact same topic, yet take on absolutely opposing claims. Without a strong main thesis, the reader will have a hard time figuring out what's the exact point you're trying to accomplish.

3. Set a good tone for the rest of the piece.

Your introductions do more than express key ideas; they also set the tone for the remainder of your essay. In fact, many essays falter not because of their arguments, but because the introductions failed to set the right tone. The main thing to watch out for here is coming on too strong at the start. Doing so will likely lead you to lose the reader before they get any further. Instead, try to set a reasonable, open-minded tone by finding a common ground for both your claims and its potential opposition.

How to Write a Formal Review

Asked to write a formal review of a piece of written work? While it's not the easiest thing in the world, it isn't worth sweating over either - especially with a writing correction software ready to assist you. Most of the time, you will get a template for organizing formal reviews, although the following tips should help you accomplish them in a more thoughtful and complete manner, regardless of the prescribed structure.

1. What are the claims of the source material? The claims are usually obvious, unless the original writer is deliberately trying to be ambiguous. Look for key phrases that prepare the reader for the "major" ideas of the piece.

2. How are the claims supported? Are the arguments supported by statistically-significant findings or are they mere conceptual reasoning. Most papers will strike a balance between the two, so your job is not quite that clear-cut. Tough luck.

3. How useful are the ideas it promotes? A claim is just a statement a paper argues for. Whether anyone cares beyond its confines is a matter for the readers to decide. Even the most poignant, solidly-argued ideas will sound underwhelming if they're absolutely useless in the real world.

4. Is the paper up-to-date with developments in the field? Do they use current ideas or are they stuck in a simpler universe? The more in tune it is with the realities of today's industry (or society, whichever the case might be), the more meaningful it probably is.

5. Is it complete? Does it cover the subject adequately or is it lacking in parts? Will someone reading it need further materials to brush up on or can it stand on its own?

How to Write a Comprehensive Proposal

Business proposal: structure and winning tips.

Introduction

A proposal is the final step before the beginning of a project and it is almost a contract. But there are guide lines to follow if you do not want to waste your effort with a client. A poor proposal, bad done, not exhaustive can easily transform a good client in lost time.

In this article, there are described the golden rules for a winning proposal and the mistakes to avoid.

Background

No boilerplate: be specific with the results you can get.

Emotional plus rational: using rational impact explains your professionality and clients need also a positive feeling on your proposal.

Do not underestimate the proposal: time and quality are constraints to write a clear proposal.

All around the client: use your time to talk and fully understand your client. A proposal should show how well you have understood your client.

Structure of the proposal

There is a specific structure a proposal should have to answer all the possible questions a client can have. The normal questions are Who, How, Where, When, Why. There are also special sections to give more results to your work.

The nine key elements of a business proposal are: Executive Summary, Background, Goals, Results, Methodology, Team, Time line, Fee and Warranty, Qualifications.

Executive Summary

This is the most important part of writing a proposal. Everybody reads it and it has the main points of the proposal. It is not the place for technical details, but about your results, innovativeness and benefits for your customer. It is the key paragraph, therefore it should be clear, concise (one, two pages), jargon- free, client oriented.

Background

This is the section to describe the client context. It contains the client situation in the past and the present opening prospectives and possibilities for the future (where the future is generally who is writing the proposal!). It can be quite short and without how and when. It answer to the question Where: where are operating, in which context.

Goals

This part underlines the goals you can give to your customer. It should be rational highlighting what it possible to achieve. It should be exactly what customer wants and that could be a problem. Sometimes clients change their mind without notifying that to who writes the proposal and that can lead to a disaster (or simply loosing the client). For this reason, it is always better to talk with the client on a regular basis. This part answers the question What: what to do.

Results

This section vary according to the field of the proposal. It should be quantifiable, specific and concrete in terms of client benefits. A winning example is: "The project will arise your sales by 15% due the new flow of your website in the next six months". It is measurable and customer oriented. And it is not easy to predict! In this section, references to similar projects are welcome. This section answers the question Why: why a client should do that.

Methodology

That is your way to work. Generally customers do not have time or resources to make what you are promising to do: that is why they put interest in your way to do your job. There should be possible to see the capacity to problem solving, experience, client knowledge. It describes how to put together tools, people and processes to achieve the goals with clear responsibilities. It also contains the interactions with the client. This answers to the question How: how you work and achieve your goals.

Team

Introduce the real persons who will work on this project. Customers wishes to know who will do the job and they want to have a positive feeling on that. This answer to the question Who: who is doing the job.

Time line

Time has always an important role in projects and customers want to know how long it will take to achieve their goals. It is also possible to define milestones when customers can see part of the project or the results. Take attention to all the possible reasons that can delay the project, from political and cultural, to holidays and customer time. It answer to the question When: when it is possible to realize everything.

Fee and warranty

This is another part everybody is interesting in: the price. It must be clear how much the client pays. It can also made of several steps, with range of prices, so the client can see the mandatory and optional parts of the project. Another element that make clients happy is the warranty: it basically says that if you are not able to achieve your goal or you are not on time, you will reduce your fee of X%. It can also be a statement to finish earlier the project if it is not going as client expects. Those warranties are based on the results, the timelines or the process. It is not important because client will use it for sure (statistics show that is the other way around), but because it states your ability and confidence in what you promise and it makes the client in a safe situation considering the volatility of the actual market.

Qualifications

Now you have to sell yourself! Write everything interesting for that client about you and your skills and your methodology. Concrete case studies, testimonials and previous customers should be here. In this part it should be possible to understand why you are unique.

Final review

It is a long process to write a comprehensive and effective proposal. Generally it is better to write everything and then wait for one day, before reading the whole proposal. Three readings are suggested. The first reading checks syntax and grammatical errors. Although there are many automatic ways to do that, they are not always perfect. The second reading focuses more on the logic of the proposal. Each chapter should be logically connected with the others. The main section of the proposal are like a story that should interest your readers. The third reading should be more focused on the objective of the proposal: if you are the customers, would you like to give your money to who wrote the proposal?

Conclusion

A proposal is an important step during the communication between you and clients. You should show to have understood your client giving him/her a positive feeling about you. There should also be a strong rational attitude that shows goals, methodology and results. The nine sections of the proposal answer the normal questions a story does: so tell your story, your way to see the project and how you imagine the success of your client!

Refences:

Levingson J.C. and McLaughlin M. W. (2005) Guerilla Marketing for Consultants, Wiley.

How to Write a Basic Romance Novel

Inside Conflict and Exterior Conflict

You'll require each internal and exterior conflict in your novel. Without having inside conflict, your novel will really feel flat and non-engaging. Without having exterior conflict, it is going to be difficult to build any kind of suspense inside your novel.

Why do visitors want to study books? The cause is conflict. We all love to see a persona being placed in a predicament after which watching them get themselves out of the scenario. Conflict automatically adds excitement and suspense for your novel.

Whatever the conflict is should be introduced in your first chapter. In fact, by the end of your very first chapter, the reader ought to have a clear view from the concern that must be resolved. The reader is then motivated to read the second chapter simply because they're dying to find out what the character(s) is heading to do very first.

You'll discover that writing that very first chapter is the most difficult. It's wherever you are introducing your primary characters, where you are divulging a sufficient amount of backstory to construct up the character's personality.

Backstory

Backstory is a term meaning the actions that took place Before the story began. Backstory must be woven into your story, preferably starting in the first chapter. In other words, don't stop the action of the story for any paragraph or a page on backstory.

Backstory can be put in by dialogue, by brief thoughts, etc. Adding backstory is an art and also you will find that really great authors are masters of weaving in backstory successfully.

The Significance of Conflict

As the story progresses, the persona(s) will try and attempt once again to overcome the issue. Never market your reader short. Do not make the mistake of giving the characters a conflict that can be resolved too easily. Your visitors will place your book right down and pick up another a single. In fact, attempt to give your hero and heroine a problem so gigantic and horrendous it seems they'll never get past it.

Also, give your readers the kind of characters which are powerful, invincible, and fearless. Yes, even in a romance we all want characters who do not give up easily. If you're hero's ex-girlfriend comes about the scene, your heroine might lick her wounds for any short while, but at some point she needs to arrive out fighting (not literally), but we don't want her to take this problem lying down.

Readers want a character with spine, with gumption and with an indomitable spirit. But remember no one wants to read about a perfect person.

Your hero and your heroine will have a goal they are trying to attain in your novel. And there will be reasons they can't attain these objectives. Those reasons must be each inside and exterior.

When we talk about plot-driven novels, the conflicts are usually exclusively external, nevertheless, for any romance, which can be character-driven, the reason for not becoming capable to attain the objective should be both internal and exterior.

How to Use Specific Details For Better Writing

Specifics can make even the most ordinary writing shine. It's true. Pieces that focus on general ideas and blanket statements can pass all the criteria of a grammar and writing correction software all they want, but they can't hold a reader's attention with the same intensity that ones dripping in details can compel.

What kinds of specifics can you add to make your writing shine?

1. Examples. Citing actual situations that illustrate your conceptual points is one way of using details to your writing's advantage. Many readers, especially those not well-versed on your topic, can find explanations a bit too stuffy for comfort. Detailed examples of your ideas in action are the best way to clear up any confusion.

2. Detailed Evidence. No paper that makes a claim can ever stand by reasoning alone. If you don't believe me, try it with the next essay you write for class and let's see how strong your arguments can become. You need detailed evidence - statistics, quotations and previous research - to bolster support for any position you take.

3. Vivid Descriptions. When trying to get the reader to imagine a situation, vivid descriptions are a great way to get there. Don't just describe, provide a graphical account.

4. Sensual Elements. Using phrases that make readers see, hear, smell, feel and taste what you're describing go a long way towards personalizing the for them experience. Don't just limit it when describing scenes - use it everywhere possible and benefit from the color they can add to your writing.

How to Open Your Writing With a Bang

What makes a certain content more appealing? As a writer, what are the things that you need to develop within your writing in order to hook up your readers interest by making your content an explosive one? No better way to start a piece than grabbing the reader by the throat and commanding their full attention. Here are three of the most effective ways to make that happen.

1. Cite a sensational fact. People enjoy being provided with interesting data. For the purposes of starting a piece of writing, though, relaying facts only works if the factoid is unique, startling or shocking. Unless you have that, don't bother. There's almost always something meaty to dig up, regardless of topic, so use this technique if you manage to find one.

2. State a contentious opinion. Leading off by expressing an opinion that is unpopular, debatable or hotly-contested is one way to get the reader emotionally-involved right from the start, especially when they're intent on maintaining an opposite position. If they agree with your opening statements, they are likely to read further to affirm their opinions; if they don't, the statement might be able to suck them enough emotionally to want to read further.

3. Ask a controversial question. A rhetorical device, such as a question, can pique the reader's curiosity to the point that it gets them involved as an active participant in your work.

Of course, your introduction can't be error-ridden if you want this to work, so make sure to use an error-fixing writing software when cleaning up your text.

How to Make Money Writing Articles Online - 3 Different Models You Can Pursue

Are you wondering how to make money writing articles online? In this article, we will talk about 3 different models you can pursue.

1) Making Money From Advertisement

If you are a good writer, you can always start a free blog. For example, you can always use Blogspot. First, just put up some content on the blog. After you have a few post, you can apply for Google AdSense account.

Once your AdSense account is approved, you can place those advertisement on your blog. When visitors come to your website and click on the advertisement, you will make money from every click.

The amount of money you earn per click depends on the topic you choose. Typically, you can expect to earn a few cents and up to a few dollars per click.

2) Bum Marketing

For bum marketing, what you are going to do is to write an article for a low competition but high searches keyword. Then you are going to submit the article to high ranking article directories.

By doing so, your article have a good chance to rank in first page of the search engine. You will also be leaving a link to an affiliate product of your choice or a landing page. When people purchase the affiliate product, you will make some commissions.

3) Free Lance Writing

The most common way of making money through article writing is free lance writing. You can find many free lance assignments at many free lance websites. If you have a knack for writing, this may be the path you want to choose.

How to Make Money by Writing

With access to the Internet, anyone can get paid money for writing. Whether you're looking for a little extra pocket change, a reliable part-time income, or the opportunity to quit your day job and earn a healthy living, there are plenty of opportunities.

Earning money by writing can be as simple and basic as writing short reviews, or writing longer articles, authoring ebooks, and everything in between.

You don't need to be a great writer to get paid for writing; you don't even need to be a good speller or touch-typist. And there are opportunities to write on nearly any subject imaginable. There is an astonishingly huge need for "content". Just browse around the Internet - there are literally billions of pages and millions of websites. A large number of them "outsource" their content, meaning people are paid money for writing it.

Specific opportunities include writing instructional, "how-to" guides; product or service reviews; articles on nearly any imaginable subject; copywriting or writing copy for advertisements; catalogs; marketing pieces; and websites. A huge market also exists for "short writing" and "creative writing" - think greeting cards, poems, lyrics, jingles, speeches, cover letters, resumes, etc. Yet another gigantic market is for news reporting, and editorial content such as "opinion" pieces.

There is also an entire field of freelance work, or "writing-for-hire" where people hire you on a project by project basis to write a specific piece such as an article, about a particular topic. There are literally thousands of people earning their full-time income as freelancers.

With the economy still in the doldrums, more and more people are looking to supplement their incomes, and increasingly to replace the earnings from a job that was lost. Beyond the financial need, many people dream of the chance to be able to earn money from home, but aren't in a position - or don't want - to start their own business. Now, anyone can get paid for writing without having to start a business, and can do so from the comfort of their home.

And of course there is the tremendous benefit of being able to work whenever you want. It's one of those rare opportunities that can be done without interfering with your schedule or a 'regular' job, and can be done in your bathrobe or pajamas and slippers. You can devote as much or as little time as you like, which also means you can earn more simply by putting in more time.

How to Fictionalize Real People in Creative Writing

There is a growing trend when it comes to fictionalizing real people in novels. While this trend has always been followed in film, it is now coming to light in fiction novels as well. There are a number of novels that have taken creative liberty with people of history and fictionalized them for the benefit of the plot.

The first thing that you need to do before you decide to fictionalize a real person is to get their permission. Some will grant permission only if their character is made out in a positive light. Eliot Ness is one person who granted permission to Oscar Fraley to fictionalize him in the book The Untouchables. The book, although touted as a biography of Ness, is fiction. Ness died six months before the book was published.

If, as is the case with Ness, the person you wish to fictionalize is dead, then you need permission from the estate. The reason that Eliot Ness has been fictionalized in so many novels, including Torso, Nemesis and Chasing Eliot Ness, is because he left no estate and there is no name and likeness trademark on his name. His exploits as a crime solver and a ladies man have become fair game for writers. In Nemesis, he is on the trail of the Mad Butcher of Cleveland while having problems with his first wife. In Chasing Eliot Ness, he trails Al Capone in the first half of the book and discusses the notorious murders in Cleveland as he pursues the female protagonist after his first divorce.

While writers can get away with fictionalizing some historic characters, in many cases, they cannot. In some cases, the family may have a name and likeness trademark to protect the name of their deceased loved one. Someone writing about the sex live of Frank Sinatra, for example, would have a difficult time with name and likeness issues as his estate is protected, whereas the sex life of a Chicago prohibition agent is up for grabs.

Some books will use only one real character and then intermingle them with fictional characters while others, including The Untouchables and Chasing Eliot Ness use several real life people who are also fictionalized, including Al Capone, members of the treasury department nicknamed The Untouchables, silent film star Alla Nazimova.

Using real people in fiction can make a book more dramatic, although the writer should make it clear that the book is fiction and not a biography. Using historic events as well as places can also work well when intermingling notable historic figures with fictional characters in novels, although creative license can be taken with some events that took place over time.

Those who want to write a book using historical figures should first make sure that there is no name and likeness issue associated with the person they wish to portray in their book, do research on events that took place in the time period in which they lived and then create their story. Mixing real people with fictional people can make for a thrilling book if it is done properly

How to Discuss Related Work in Your Papers

For many technical reports, especially those in cutting-edge industries, including related works in your papers is a mandatory requirement. Even in brief, you will need to discuss them, in order to demonstrate how your work stands in relation to the current state of the field.

How long should they be? My personal preference is to devote at least one short paragraph for them. You don't need to go into heavy detail. More often than not, short summaries will suffice. What's more important is to write them in such a way that they sufficiently inform your target audience of recent developments.

Where should you put them? There are two schools of thought here. One decrees that they're best found at the start, since they help you set the context for your main topic. Others, however, believe they work best in the end, where they will not interfere with the main body of the piece (which is why readers are looking at your paper in the first place).

My take is that both styles can work, although one should be better suited than the other based on various factors. If the related work can be discussed in a short enough manner to not to draw too much attention, they could work well as a paragraph right after the introduction (or a separate section right before the body). You also want to put it at the beginning if it's important to take a strong stance right away. On the other hand, if the related works will require the technical content of your paper for clarity, then it should appear at the end. Be sure to add one or two sentences of summary in the introduction, though, so as not to help establish the context.

Like all parts of your report, you should write this section with the most clarity you can manage using the help of an English correcting software.

How to Decrease Writing Errors

Writing errors are very common in any writing compositions. Want to shave down the amount of errors that find their way into your writing? Here are a few ways to do it.

1. Write slower. You might be setting a pace that is too fast for your own good. While drafting rapidly is good, some folks really just need a little more time to let things take shape, lest produce text that's dripping in mistakes

2. Practice writing fast. If you really want to write fast, then practice it over and over. Being able to manage thoughts and verbalize them quickly can be trained in most people - but it's something you'll likely need to work on many times.

3. Use a professional writing software. Use available writing tools to your advantage. Many writing software will thoroughly clean up a large percentage of your writing errors, especially those that fall under mechanics, such as grammar, spelling and style.

4. Hire a second set of eyes. A human editor or proofreader can severely drive down your mistakes. That's what newspapers, magazines and other professional publications do, so it's something that's also likely to work for you.

5. Spend more time in the editing and proofreading stages. Some people just leave their text with tons of mistakes because they either skip or rush through the editing and proofreading stages. Always remember that you should spend as much time on those activities as you do on your draft if you really want to produce well-written text.

How to Deal With Your Arguments' Weaknesses

Do you know how to use arguments in your writing? There are times that you are prone in creating such weak arguments. All arguments have holes. That's the very nature of a claim. Since they will always exist, there's a good chance an analytical reader will find them during their perusal of your piece.

No matter how well you write your sentences and paragraphs with the help of your writing skills software, there's no masking dissenting position. The more your work engages the reader, in fact, the better the likelihood they will come across this thought.

These weaknesses can come in the form of contrary evidence, missing pieces of information or plausible alternative interpretations. If an argument doesn't have a corresponding counter, then it becomes a fact - one that cannot be disputed by any evidence. It's this very reason why it's always a bad idea to sweep holes in your arguments under the rug, masking them behind an air of confidence, all while hoping the reader doesn't dig hard enough to find them.

Instead, it's always in your best interest to acknowledge these potential pitfalls, all while demonstrating why the claim remains valid. Rather than cast a doubt upon your work, it shows the reader how thoroughly you've thought things through. It tells them, "I've considered the whole picture and this remains as a more valid interpretation of the situation." This, on its own, helps build trust. More importantly, conceding the limitations in your assertions disarm potential opposition, allowing the readers to focus their attention on the claims at hand.

How to Choose the Right Words For More Colorful Writing

Putting together sentences and paragraphs is one thing. Knowing which words help you craft more colorful lines and stronger arguments is a whole other skill. Sometimes, your English writing software can help you make that choice; mostly, though, you will have to choose your own words thoughtfully.

There are many ways to choose the right words for the job. The one guideline you should always keep in mind, though, is to recognize general language and replace them with more specific words. While it's not probably not a good idea to do this for every instance, using specific terms in majority of your piece should lead to both a clearer and livelier writing style.

Specific verbs. You've probably learned about passive verbs already. Focusing on "being" rather than "doing," they lack the action that can potentially make your constructions sound more vibrant. As always, look towards choosing active verbs, instead of passive if you'd like your sentences to sound clearer and more alive.

Apart from these, look for ways you can make your use of verbs more specific. Instead of saying a teacher "taught a class," for instance, you can say the same person "discussed the principles behind 80s-era Russia's foreign policies."

Specific adjectives and adverbs. Probabilistic adjectives, ones whose actual meanings denote several specific possibilities, are the biggest transgressors here. Descriptors such as "many," "common" and "possible" are examples of these general modifiers, all of which can actually cause more confusion than clarity, which is what adjectives and adverbs are supposed to do in the first place.

Specific nouns. Many writers who watch out for the general use of verbs and modifiers do tend to overlook the same problem with their use of nouns. This happens frequently, especially when referring to groups of people or things. Avoid using vague nouns like "someone" and "persons," as well as pronouns like "this," "that" and "they."

How to Become a Writer - 4 Steps Along the Way

You've heard it... the best way to become a writer is to write. You shouldn't be surprised. It's true.

But it's not the whole truth. There's another element that's equally important. You have to believe in yourself as a writer. That can be quite a challenge, particularly for young writers just starting out.

When you lack the confidence to call yourself a writer, sitting down to write becomes exponentially more difficult.

So what can you do to overcome this behemoth challenge?

See if these suggestions can help:

1. Write For Yourself

Writing is about passion. It doesn't matter if your love is for writing magazine articles or poetry or historical romances or a newspaper column. As long as you hold true to your vision, you'll have a powerful bedrock to help you through the tough times. As a result, you'll find yourself working much quicker through those days when the right word just never seems to show itself and you feel like anything but a writer.

2. Take A Chance

Sometimes it's easy to forget that writing is a form of communication. It doesn't do you any good to lock your writing in the bottom drawer of your desk and forget about it. If that's what you've been doing, then it's time to pull it out and give it a little sunshine. Meaning...

Share your work with someone. Try it out on a co-worker, or your grandmother, or your spouse, someone you feel you can trust has your best interests at heart.

Just give it a shot.

It'll probably be scary at first, but that's the whole point. You have to be willing to challenge yourself, to step out of your comfort zone and take a chance.

3. Behave Like A Author

Want to feel like an author? Do what an author does. Write every day, at a set time. Set a daily goal. Maybe it's an hour a day. Or maybe it's a daily word count, such as 500 words. Either will do the trick. The point is to hold yourself accountable on a daily basis.

4. Make Things Happen

Again, if you want to feel like a writer, act like writer... submit your work to publishers. Are you setting yourself up for rejection? Yeah, there's a good chance of that. Won't a rejection make you feel like a failed writer? It shouldn't. Not in the slightest. I've never met a professional writer who hasn't got a file of rejection letters. It's an important part of the process.

Bottom line: you have to send out your work.

How Teachers Will Assess Your Essay

Different professors teaching different courses will assess your class essays in different ways. Some will probably give you a clear breakdown of the grading, while others will keep the evaluation criteria under wraps. Whatever they're standards or their way of assessing your essay, you need to write one that will surely make them approved you work.

For the most part, though, majority of teachers will appraise your essay under a few standard criteria, namely:

How well you answered the question. Did you answer the essay question correctly? Surprisingly enough, most students fail to understand the actual questions asked in the essay, writing page after page of content that tackles entirely different issues altogether.

How clear and organized your writing style is. Is your essay clearly-written, with well-organized ideas? Does it illustrate your thoughts in a way that your target audience will understand? Is it properly edited and sufficiently proofread? It goes without saying, an academic writing software can benefit you greatly on this end.

How well you analyzed the issues. Were you able to address all issues involved in the topic? How accurate was your analysis of each, especially in relation to your main thesis.

How well you understood and interpreted the source materials. Is your understanding of the source material accurate? Do you interpret them in a reasonable manner for your purposes?

How robust your references are. A typical 5,000 word essay should have at least 15 reference sources. While you can have less, it gives readers the impression that you didn't exhaust the range of available materials for constructing your work.

Help With Writing - Effective Teaching Methods

Are your children having a hard time in writing composition such as others? Have you experienced teaching them again every time they have new writing assignments and yet they still were not able to do it by themselves? Encouraging and giving them confidence are some things that your children should acquire to give them extra help in writing their own assignments. Children also need easy instructions to help them remember the right formats in writing, whether it is a letter, essay, article or bibliography.

Your children might have trouble writing in school if they do not have a good base with it. Of course, you do not have all the time monitoring them when they reach secondary and tertiary school. They should learn to be independent by correcting their own works sooner. There are many guidelines and writing software in the internet, which can help your children defeat writing struggles. Writing defects and development in interpretation, rewriting, text production, self managing, social writing context and planning process were examples of various solutions that discussed by these software that can help your children. Their outlines mostly are adequate that benefit the parents in evaluating their children. Knowledge about forms, intention of writing, and strategies are needs to develop by every child. These things can motive children to write and they use them for planning, assessing their work.

Here are some solutions and help for writing struggles

Help with writing own sentences. Several students find it uneasy to construct their own sentences. They are usually not confident in creating their own one because they are scared with negative feedback like their works are not good enough, their work has no sense, their work is incomplete and much more. According to research, creating game regarding writing own sentences is an excellent way to eliminate children's fear. Putting learning and fun together will be very effective for children because having fun will remove the stress and they will tend to remember the things that were taught to them.

Teach them how to correct sentences in just changing verbs. You should show or teach your children the right verbs for different sentences. By them knowing how to use the right verb in a right place will be a big advantage for them in making good sentences. This will help them create articles and essays much easier than when they are just guessing what verb to put.

Fill in the blank method. Teachers have been using this consistently because this is one of the most effective ways in teaching their students on how to compose sentences correctly. What they do is that they give their students fill in the blank exercises in which they let them answer it by making them insert the correct words in the blanks that should be in it.

Gossip Writer - Your New Career - No Kidding

Gossip writing is a rarely discussed category for freelance writers. Sure, we all aspire to be published in The New Yorker and gossip writing is not taught in journalism schools. Almost everyone gossips. In fact, more people gossip now than ever before. Their medium is the blog, particularly Facebook and other social networking sites that have replaced the old-fashioned diary with personal gossip. Most of us gossip about people we know.

In the media, gossip is about celebrities. Hundreds of "commercial blogs" are devoted to celebrity gossip, notably Deadline Hollywood Daily, The Dirty, Gawker, Hollywood Life, Just Jared, Perez Hilton, PopSugar, TMZ and many more! Some of these blogs pay for tips and use freelance writers and photographers, but it's the magazine category that provides the greatest opportunity for freelancers.

The top-circulation celebrity news magazines are People, Us Weekly, Star and Entertainment Weekly. People, with a circulation of over 3.5 million, doesn't call itself a gossip magazine, but it competes with the others for exclusives about celebrities. Celebrity fashions are covered by In Touch Weekly, Life & Style Weekly (both published by Bauer, a German company), People StyleWatch and InStyle (both published by Time, Inc.) and all of the big-circulation monthly women's, men's and teen magazines. Advertising declines in recent years have resulted in staff reductions at most magazines. Editors increasingly turn to freelancers, including those at magazines that formerly were almost totally staff written.

Celebrities are not just in the entertainment industries. Famous people include VIPs in government, sports, food, real estate, business, media and other fields. All of these fields are superbly covered in Vanity Fair, a prestigious monthly published by CondГ© Nast that works with many of America's renowned freelance writers. You may not be ready for Vanity Fair but you should read it for insights about celebrity coverage. Cosmopolitan, the top-selling newsstand magazine, is a gossiper's paradise, as are New York and other regional magazines, as well as Interview and other small-circulation magazines.

Perhaps your first thought about a gossip magazine is one of the supermarket tabloids. The National Enquirer pioneered in the placement of magazines in racks at checkout counters. Today, American Media, Inc. owns Star (its top circulation magazine), the National Enquirer and Globe. You definitely should not be embarrassed about writing for these weekly magazines. The National Enquirer had accurate scoops about O.J. Simpson, John Edwards and Tiger Woods long before other media, and mainstream journalists give it appropriate credit.

Now that you're convinced of the importance of gossip magazines, here's how you can get started. It's not likely that Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Angelina Jolie, George Clooney or Brad Pitt will grant an interview to you, even if you're able to get the e-mail, phone or Twitter address. Here are five other interview possibilities.

1. A celebrity may be in your city promoting a book, touring a show, working in the production of a movie or TV show, vacationing or visiting friends and family. You don't have to live in New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Las Vegas or Miami to be a celebrity reporter. Not all celebrities live in major cities. Many A-listers have primary or secondary homes in small towns, as well as such big cities as Atlanta, Chicago and San Francisco. Chances are you know that Sundance, Utah, is the home of a global celebrity.

2. It's relatively easy to interview a relative, friend, former classmate, former boyfriend (or girlfriend), teacher or someone associated with a celebrity. Google and Wikipedia can provide biographical details. A "remembrance story" is always in demand.

2. Find a retailer, restaurant, fashion designer, architect or anyone who has a celebrity as a customer. You may find this source to be appreciative of the publicity and you can get great anecdotes about the buying, dining and entertainment habits of a celebrity.

3. Become a gossip columnist. Maybe not in the New York Post (home of Page Six and Cindy Adams) but a good place to start is a weekly newspaper in your area. Contact local theaters, restaurants, hotels, charities and their public relations representatives, and you soon will be receiving more than enough press releases to fill a weekly column. You will be invited to social events so that your column can include your personal comments and descriptions of apparel worn by local socialites. As you develop friendships with local celebrities, keep in mind that they can lead you to national celebrities. Also, when a national celebrity comes to your town, your columnist credential puts you in the press corps.

4. Here's an assignment for you. Find a person or group in your community who you can transform from an unknown to a celebrity. Examples: a translator of a foreign best-seller, winner of an offbeat contest (best pies, most hot dogs, spelling bee winner), American Idol loser, an octogenarian, triplets (also quadruplets and quintuplets, but stay away from the Octomom), tallest, fastest (but not thinnest)... well, you get the idea!

As with any magazine article, you must be familiar with the writing style of the publication. The weekly celebrity newsmagazines and supermarket tabloids are read mostly by women. College-educated upscale women read People and the supermarket tabloids have lower demographics. Like the tabloid newspapers, the gossip magazines enjoy alliteration, colorful metaphors, puns and other humor, abbreviations, slang and coined words (usually combining parts of two words). Most important, make sure that all your information and quotes are accurate! You may want to attach to your article the names of verified sources. The magazine probably will add sensational headlines and subheads, but that's not your job.

During the last three years, I have been writing a book about gossip. Interviews of over 200 psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, historians and media people in the U.S. and around the world have increased my appreciation of the gossip media. I have learned that gossip, as defined by social scientists, is oral or written information about another person that usually is true or has a strong basis in fact, and often is judgmental. A rumor, on the other hand, usually is false and unverified.

Get Started Writing For Profit - 10 Simple and Free Tips to Advertising Your Services

Many writers use only free advertising methods and are successful. In fact I know several writers that are currently landing more jobs than they can handle and they don't pay a single penny for advertising.

Below are 10 useful 100 % free advertising tips and ideas for promoting your writing services

* Article Marketing - Article marketing is an excellent and free way to gain article writing experience and writing experience in general. It's also an effective way to get your writing in front of others, therefore, getting your website links and services freely advertised. Once you get your articles cycling throughout the web, webmasters and home business owners will see them and post them on their own sites. Also they may contact you if they need your writing services. As you can see article marketing is a win-win situation. It gives you writing experience as well as getting your name out there for others to see.

* Create a Website - You will want to create a high quality site including content for your target market in mind. To sell your writing services, you will need to include various examples of your writing. Let your writing style shine through the content you have displayed on your website. If you need help with a website, you may want to hire a web designer for this.

* Guest Blogging - Guest blogging is an excellent way to show off your writing skills. As a guest blogger, you will want to enter the best writing you can. Also for guest blogging, you will need to write exclusive articles or blog posts and include key words that will benefit the blog owner, and not you. You will have a chance to have your website displayed at the end of your article or blog post, (in your signature).

* Create a Blog - With creating a blog, you will be showcasing your writing. Only thing with a blog, you will want to write exclusive material, just like you would on a guest blog, as stated above. Follow blogs and comment on those that share the same niche as you. Most often, they will return the favor and frequent and comment on yours.

* Trading Articles - Trading articles with other webmasters will benefit both parties since you always include your resource box. Both parties will have a chance to gain another link out on the web and also receive new content for their website.

* Social Networking - Social network marketing is a must. If your social networking skills have grown stale, for your business, it's a good idea to sharpen up on them. You will find good networking places on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and other social media. The idea is to network with others by building business relationships and really getting to know others that share the same niche. Also, by doing this, you will get others to trust you, therefore, they will often times purchase your products and services. Are you starting to see the benefits of social networking? I've tried it personally myself and I know it works and so have countless other people.

* Join Message Forums - Just as the social media sites are excellent for marketing, so is message forums. I've always loved networking on forums. If you carefully follow the rules and don't spam your web links all over and join forums and participate the way a member is supposed to, you will gain much and be highly respected as a home business professional and forum member. Spamming ads on forums simply doesn't work. If you practice advertising in this way, other members of the forum will never give you the time of day.

* Email Marketing - If you have a message forum or you have accumulated a mailing list over the years through marketing, you can send your members legitimate offers and also let them in on special sales you may have going on or any available discounts The main thing about email marketing is always give your members an option to opt out of the group if they so choose to.

* Business Cards and Flyers - Have you ever tried offline marketing? There are so many creative ways to market your home business offline. Business cards and flyers is a good place to start and you can make them yourself for hardly any cost at all. If you have a printer and some good crafting software, you can make these up yourself and save a bundle. Many stores, schools, libraries, restaurants, and other public places would be more than happy to let you display your business cards and flyers at your leisure. Just always make sure you ask before posting anything on bulletin boards. Some people may object for the simple reason of not getting permission first hand.

* Contact Old Clients - If you've been freelancing for awhile and have built a sizable clientele, why not contact your old clients? If you've been a top notch professional with them, and have always met deadlines, they will more than likely be needing (and desiring) your services again.

There you have it, 10 absolutely free ways to market your writing services to your advantage. I hope they are helpful.

Freewriting - It Can Boost Your Creativity, and it Can Clear Those Frustrating Mental Blocks

This is the second article I've written on freewriting (also called rapidwriting). Why am I doing it? Because I want anyone who has to write a proposal, or other kind of business or personal communication, to use this tool/technique and realize just how valuable it is. Most people simply don't get it.

For those of you who don't know, freewriting is taking a topic, or an issue, or a situation and writing about it for a limited period of time without stopping. I'll usually do at least ten minutes. You can go longer or shorter, but don't stop. Here's what I just did.

I set my office timer for ten minutes and then wrote like mad. Much of what's in this article comes out of that ten minutes.

One of the major reasons I use freewriting is that it gets me in the groove. Let me explain.

I've been dealing with work-related projects this morning. It's involved some research, some checking of web sites, a little writing. I'm reasonably focused so I've accomplished much of what I intended. My next task? To write this article. By putting ten minutes on the timer and forcing myself to only think about the topic at hand, I gave myself a huge burst of concentrated energy. In ten minutes I came up with 525 words. That's a lot. Is it all going to be good stuff? Probably not. But in sorting out the wheat from the chaff there are going to be some gems.

It's actually a kind of holistic writing, where nothing is barred and everything is accepted and put on the table to be examined. It's OK to be critical. It's not like brainstorming where you don't judge or censor what you've written. With freewriting anything goes, no matter what. That's why the technique is so valuable. It gets your mind thinking in tangential ways - so that every part of it is working on the topic.

You can freewrite anywhere, any time. All you need is a timer, plus pen, paper, computer. I love it because it lets me flow without having to consider whether I'm right or wrong. I can put down ideas that I know are not going to work, with impunity. Why is that important? Because something may still come out of it. Idea fragments pop up in your mind and you take those fragments and see if they can become part of a whole, or at least lead you somewhere.

I use freewriting - sometimes to get clear, sometimes to get new ideas, always to get the brain to focus on a particular area. That's why the time limit is so effective. You don't have a chance to be distracted. Sometimes you do run out of ideas before time's up. That's OK too. Just read through what you've got, keep the valuable bits and discard the rest.

Why don't more people use this technique? Frankly, I don't think a lot of us are aware of it. So first you have you know about it, and second, you have to use it. It's another tool in your arsenal like mind mapping and it's well worth trying. Here's one final piece of advice. If you're stuck, or you're experiencing some kind of mental block, the technique that might open things up for you is freewriting.

Freelance Writing - Tips to Earn a Great Living From Home

If you are thinking of starting out as a Freelance Writer on the internet or even off, you should be well prepared as it can be a daunting prospect and is not particularly easy unless you have a leg up or you are lucky enough to know exactly what you are doing.

With that in mind don't be put off and take note of these tips to help you on your way to making a great living from home.

A good way to start is by writing articles for sites that will pay you for your writing allowing you to practice your skills while you earn an income. I'm not suggesting this will be a living but you can make a good portfolio for yourself at someone else's expense.

Once you have become a little more proficient you should start to look into bidding for work. This can be done via freelance bid sites which you can find easily through the internet search engines. Look through forums and blogs to make an informed and easier decision on the best ones for you to use.

Try try to write about things that you know and/or like when you bid on projects when starting out. This will help your portfolio look a little more professional and will help you as you won't feel overwhelmed. In time you may find yourself writing in a particular niche like "SALES TECHNIQUES" simply because you worked as an insurance salesman for 5 years. The more long term the material is (or evergreen) the better for you.

Make sure you get yourself a blog or website. These are now so ridiculously easy to set up it's child's play and are free from places like blogger.com and web.com so you would be mad to miss out. They are a great place to show your portfolio and gives you a chance to show your full potential to prospective clients. Do not miss out on doing this.

Freelance Writer - Top Five Ways to Increase Your Earnings

When you offer your services as a freelance writer to prospective clients do you give them reasons to choose you? There are plenty of writers out there who are probably better than you and there are writers who work cheaper than you and in a nightmarish scenario a combination of better and cheaper competitive writers.

Here are some reasons you ought to give you clients to get them to source their work from you.

• A client primary goal is to increase their site search engine rankings. After all what is a site worth without traffic or viewers. Therefore learn how to provide writing service which can provide search engine optimization and convince your clients that you can do so all the while creating interesting and useful content.

• Most freelance writing involves writing for internet savvy clients. Being updated and comfortable with technology and its associated tech talk is very important. This will help you put in the right expressions and connect with your readers. Therefore let your clients know that you understand technology.

• Do not ever sell yourself as a cheap content writer. Even clients on a shoe string budget want to squeeze out as much quality as their penny is worth. So never admit that you will provide cheap low quality writing even if you bid for it rather deal with it tactfully.

• Be consistent with your writing quality. The bulk of your work will come from repeat business. Clients will come back to you if they like your work and will gladly even be willing to pay a little higher if you are consistent and on time. Therefore build long term working relationships with your clients.

• Lastly keep writing, write especially when you have no assignments from clients. Be prolific and produce articles in blogs, submit to article directories or best of all create your own website and put your articles in it. This will show your clients that you love to write and that you write not just for money.

Format For Writing a Newspaper Article - A Useful Guide For New Journalists

Writing news articles is relatively easy. This is because there is only one format that you need to follow and here's how it look like:

1. Headline. Every news article must start with a headline. As you want your articles to stand out from other articles that are published on the same page, you need to make sure that your headlines are enticing. They must have what it takes to get your target audience to want to read your copies. Use only powerful words that can evoke action. If possible, target emotions or pique the curiosity of your readers.

2. Lead paragraph. I know you might already heard this before but let me just emphasize that the first paragraph of your news article is the most important one. This is because it's usually the only one being read by your audience. Offer the complete most important details on this part. Tell your readers the gist of your chosen story using as few words as possible. Anticipate the questions that the might have and provide the best answers.

3. Article body. This pertains to the succeeding paragraphs after your lead paragraph. In here, you're required to offer supporting details to help your readers fully understand your chosen story. The supporting details should be presented in a logical manner. The more important ones should come first. You can also insert quotes on this part. Interview all those people who have great insights to share or those that are personally involved in the situation. Get all their opinions and insert those quotes that are really interesting and worth your readers' while.

Format For Writing a Newspaper Article - 3 Most Important Elements You Cannot Afford to Ignore

Although news writing does not actually give you a lot of room for experiments and creativity, one thing that I like about it is that it's very easy to do. The rules are well-defined and the format is very easy to follow.

Here are the elements that you must always remember when writing effective news articles:

1. Headlines. Every news article starts with a good headline. Something that will tell the audience what the content is all about and why these people should go ahead and invest their precious time in reading this particular article. As you surely don't want your articles to be left unread, you must do everything that you can do grab your readers by the throat. Make your headlines explosive by targeting very interesting angles. Communicate using only powerful words or those that can target the emotional hot buttons of your target audience.

2. Lead paragraph. They say that this is the most important part of any news article. This is because it's usually the only one being read by people. As a journalist, it's your responsibility to make sure that your readers will understand your story the moment they finish reading your first paragraph. Put in all the most important details on this part. Anticipate all the questions that your readers might have and strive to provide complete answers so they'll walk away well-informed.

3. Article body. This refers to the succeeding paragraph after your lead. In here, you can present quotes, supporting details, and images that are related to the stories that you're covering. These should help your readers see a clearer picture of your chosen stories.

Five Signatures You Must Avoid

Normally, I desist from analysing signatures unless they are accompanied by handwriting samples. If the signature is analysed in isolation, there are chances of me going wrong about the personality of the writer. It's because handwriting shows how the person is, whereas signature reveals how he wants the world to see him. Hence, it's possible that signatures can mislead me. They can project a face that may not be true at all.

However, signatures cannot be written off as unimportant because though they may not be adequate for the purpose of a complete handwriting analysis, they are a part and parcel of the writers' lives. Every time you do a signature, you make a statement to yourself and to the rest of the world, saying, "See, this is who I am." It means that the signature is a reflection of how one behaves in public and how he handles himself. A woman may wear a pleasant smile all the time (reflected by signature), but whether she is really happy or not, will be revealed by her handwriting, not signature. Hence, it is not fair to judge a book by its cover, but still the cover is crucial because it keeps the pages together.

So, in this article we will talk only about the covers i.e. signatures. There are many kinds - good and bad. I can't discuss them all. Here, I will tell you about five kinds of signatures you must avoid. I will also tell you why. If you find yours similar to any of them, change it immediately.

But before that, a few more words on signature. Many of us decided on our signatures when we were around 15 years of age. We liked a combination of strokes and decided that this is how our signature should be; this is how we should appear to the world. All that is fine. No problem here. But would you disagree that as a teenager, our needs and responsibilities were different from what we have as an adult? We had fewer responsibilities and a certain attitude towards life and the world around us. As a grown-up person, we now have many more responsibilities and at times we need a great deal of attitude adjustment to survive.

Let me explain: as a 15-year-old, many of my needs were being fulfilled by my parents. Whatever I needed, I was given. If did not get something, I would even throw tantrums. Never felt any need for attitude adjustment. I did not even know what attitude adjustment meant. Understandably, with an approach like that, it would be difficult to survive because people around me do not love me as my parents did. They will not be as forgiving as my parents were. They have no reason to put up with my tantrums. As a result, I might lose friends. Similarly, if one is used to getting things too easily and effortlessly, one will lack patience in real life and therefore would become a quitter. Now, you tell me: how far will a quitter go? Well, these are just a few examples. There might be many more.

So, the question arises is how the attitude and approach of an individual is linked to his signature. I said in the beginning that signatures show who we want ourselves to be. And every time we sign in a particular way, we reinforce those beliefs. Therefore, if we change the way we sign our names, it will result in a change of attitude far more conducive to interpersonal harmony. Let's see how.

JUNK THESE SIGNATURES

(1) STRIKE-THROUGH SIGNATURE

This is one kind of signature which I always find alarming. The signature you see on your right has been lifted from the suicide note of a Mumbai-based girl who killed herself in 2008 under the pressure of exams. The girl wrote in her suicide note that she was taking the extreme step because she was not well-prepared for her exams. The baseline of her suicide note clearly said she was depressed and her signature said she really did not like herself. Look at the strike-through strokes in her handwriting. Such strokes in signatures reflect self-hatred, a tendency to stab and punish oneself. That's exactly what the girl did.

If you have a signature with horizontal or vertical strike-through strokes (like my reader Mr Chaturvedi has), get rid of it because every time you do a signature like this, you reinforce whatever the strokes stand for. If it's self-hatred, you will dislike yourself all the more and take rash steps to sabotage every thing you have accomplished or achieved. Therefore, keep it plain 'n' simple.

(2) CAMOUFLAGE SIGNATURE

To be honest, I had this type of siganture till about four years ago. On the face of it, the signature looks clean and there are no twisted strokes here. But notice the first letter of my name and a circle around it. Now, here is the problem. The stroke is not right. The circle, which kind of camouflages my first name, is self-limiting. Circles around the first name ( see another example ) shows the person gets very defensive in public and he is too protective about himself. Such writers have a problem making friends because they do not open up and are always scared of getting hurt. They suspect the motives of people around them, which results in their social isolation. Consequently, they fail to become a part of the life around them. Usually, people who are extremely sensitive have such signatures. The circle is used by the writer as a protective robe to avoid pain. If you have such a circle around your signature, get rid of it. I did that. The results will surprise you.

(3) VERY SMALL SIGNATURE

A very small signature reflects lack of confidence to pull off day-to-day tasks. If it co-exists with other strokes showing low self-esteem, such as low t-bar and small personal pronoun, it becomes an inexhaustible source of diffidence. Whenever such a writer is in a group, he thinks he is the one who has less of every thing - looks, money, talent or success - than others. They are the people whose self-respect is always trampled by the crowd. They become an easy target because they do not protest. They lack the courage to speak their mind. After several bruises, they begin to avoid social gatherings. In many cases, such people develop psychological problems. If you have such a signature, enlarge it a bit. But not too much.

(4) TRACE-BACK SIGNATURE

A lot of people I met have this signature. From the last stroke, they go backward - from left to right - and draw the underline without lifting the pen. This is called trace-back signature. Such writers never come out of their past and most of the time, they run in reverse gear. They think too much about past matters and that the days gone-by occupy more space in their mind. They fail to let go of something that was good or bad in the past. Recently, I met a businessman who most of the time kept talking about how bad his last garment business was and how it failed "despite his efforts". I tried to engage him into a conversation on his current business, but after a minute or two, he would again go back to the old one. I have a question for you. What do you think the businessman would have been doing while running that garment business? My guess is he would have spent more time talking about his previous business. If you have a similar signature, draw an underline from left to the right.

Note: There are many other types of trace-back and underline signatures.

(5) SCRIBBLED SIGNATURE

This is one of the most common signatures. Such writers are always in a hurry. They say: "I have to sign hundred times in a day. I can't write my full name..." There are two reasons they scribble. One, their mind is faster than their hands. And second, they are hoity-toity rascals who tell others: I don't care whether you can read my handwriting or not. I am just too busy to be bothered by that. I have no time for you..." Such writers seldom take total responsibility for things in their lives. For example, many people scribble on their credit card charge-slips so that it could never be proven they made the purchases.

Also, such individuals are too busy for themselves. Yes, you heard me. They are too busy for themselves and seldom finish their tasks and blame it on others. If you have this signature, write your full name. It will slow you down a bit. But you will complete every thing you do. Sounds good?