Writing Articles

Writing Made Them Rich #2: Charles Dickens

2005-05-10T13:24:00.000-07:00

Charles Dickens was born in Portsea, England, in 1812. His father was a clerk in the Navy Pay Office, stationed at Portsmouth. Although his job was well paid, his father had a weakness for spending money and spent much of his life in chronic bankruptcy.

In 1824, when Charles was just 12 years old, his father was sent to debtor's jail. Charles Dickens was sent to a boarding house and given a 12 hour-a-day job preparing bottles of shoe polish in a blacking factory.

But Dickens' fortunes improved: a sudden inheritance allowed his father to pay off his debts and he sent Charles to school.

At age fifteen Charles was placed as a clerk in the office of an attorney, a friend of his father's. In his spare time he studied hard to become a Parliamentary reporter.

At age nineteen he entered the parliamentary gallery as a reporter for The Mirror. It was a well paid job and he soon became known as one of the best shorthand reporters in London.

Dickens began writing fiction at age 21, under the nom de plume of 'Boz'. In 1836, when Dickens was 23, he began writing a series of short stories (The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club) which appeared in cheap monthly installments. By the age of 24 he had become internationally famous.

Charles Dickens burst onto the literary scene at a unique moment in English history

Until the end of the 18th century, England had been a mainly rural society. But from the late 1700's onwards, land holders started forcing people off their land to make way for sheep farming.

At the same time the Industrial Revolution was creating new towns and cities with belching smoke stacks and factories that needed workers - the English countryside was emptying and a new urban working class was emerging.

The concentration of people in towns and cities created something that had never existed before - a mass audience. Newspapers, Magazines and Newsletters sprang up to cater for this new and growing demand.

Books were being serialized in Newspapers and Magazines - those who couldn't afford to buy a book could read it in weekly installments. Dickens wrote and published most of his novels in this fashion - a chapter at a time.

Between 1837 and 1839, Dickens wrote three of his most famous novels Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, and Nicholas Nickleby.

In the first ten years of his writing career, the manic part of Dickens' manic depression had given him an endless source of energy and inspiration, but now he began to succumb to depression.

In the 1840's he started to experience writer's block. He would spend days locked up in a room, unable to put words on paper. He wrote: "Men have been chained to hideous walls and other strange anchors but few have known such suffering and bitterness...as those who have been bound to Pens."

Dickens was an extremely energetic man and a compulsive traveler. He traveled the length and breadth of England, Scotland and Wales and also made frequent trips to France and Italy. In 1842 he spent six months in America, where he was given the kind of reception reserved for modern day rock stars.

In 1856 Dickens purchased a large residence in Kent, the kind of house he had always dreamed of owning.

Although Dickens became wealthy, he never forgot his origins. Throughout his life he visited the factories, the slums, the jails and the poor houses. Indeed, his novels were a social commentary on the appalling conditions of 19th century England. He was well known for his generosity and received requests for money wherever he went.

He is considered by many to have been a genius and the greatest English writer of the 19th century.

When Dickens died in June 1870, he left an estate valued at over $US6.5 million (2001 value).

About The Author

Michael Southon has been writing for the Internet for over 3 years. He has shown hundreds of webmasters how to use this simple technique to get massive free publicity and dramatically increase traffic and sales. Click here to find out more: http://www.ezine-writer.com

Writing Made Them Rich #1: JK Rowling

2005-05-10T13:23:00.001-07:00

Joanne Kathleen Rowling was born in Chipping Sodbury, England in 1965. She began writing at the age of 6 with a story called 'Rabbit', which she never finished.

In high school her favorite subject was English. From High School, Rowling went to Exeter University where she earned a degree in French.

After graduating, she spent a year studying in Paris and then went back to London where she worked in a number of jobs, including a year with Amnesty International and a short time as secretary for a publishing company, where she was responsible for sending out rejection slips.

In the summer of 1990, on a delayed train from Manchester to London, she came up with the idea of a boy who discovers he is a wizard. But it would be 7 years before the idea became a book.

In that same year her mother died of Multiple Sclerosis and she left for Portugal to teach English, hoping to find a way to deal with her grief.

In October 1992 she married a Portuguese television journalist, Jorge Arantes. But the marriage lasted just eleven months.

In 1993 she left her husband and returned to England, with the one legacy of her failed marriage - an infant daughter named Jessica.

Her life suddenly took a nose-dive. Fighting poverty and depression, she lived in a mice-infested flat in Edinburgh and struggled to raise her baby daughter on a welfare check of 70 pounds ($100) a week.

Unable to heat her flat, she sat in cafés nursing an espresso for 2 hours at a time and worked feverishly on the manuscript of 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' while her baby daughter slept in a pram.

The manuscript is said to have been rejected by three British publishers - Penguin, Transworld and HarperCollins.

But Bloomsbury Children's Books did sign her up, reportedly paying £10,000 ($14,300) for the rights to 'Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone'.

The Philosopher's Stone was published on 30 June, 1997 and was an instant success.

The book was published under her initials because her publisher feared that boys would be less likely to read the book if they knew it was written by a woman.

At a book fair in Italy later that year, Scholastic Books bought the American rights for $105,000, an unheard of figure for a children's writer with only one book to her name.

It was published in the States in 1998 with the title 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'.

The sequel - 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets' - was published in June of 1999 and later that same year, the third book in the series was released, 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'.

By the time her fourth book appeared in 2000 - 'Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire' - the series had become an international phenomenon: the initial print run for her 4th book was 1.5 million copies in the UK and 3.8 million in the US.

By 2000, JK Rowland had become the highest-earning woman in Britain, with an income of more than £20.5 million ($29.3m) in the previous year.

In 2001 her annual earnings were estimated at over £24m, ($34.3m) placing her between Madonna and Paul McCartney in the ranks of high-earning celebrities.

In October 1998 Warner Brothers bought the rights to 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone' and its sequel ('Harry Potter and the Chamber Of Secrets'), for the tidy sum of $700,000.

With the release of the first Harry Potter film, J.K. Rowling's total earnings are estimated to have exceeded $100 million.

In March 2001 she was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) by the Queen, for services to children's literature.

About The Author

This Article may be freely published in its entirety exactly as it appears above. No alterations or changes to the Article are allowed, without the express permission of the Author. The Resource Box must remain with the Article just as it appears.

Writing for the Gaming Industry

2005-05-10T13:23:00.000-07:00

Several months ago, I worked on an interesting project for a client looking to break into writing music for the video game industry. As the project progressed, I found myself fascinated with the art of interactive entertainment, and began to take "side notes" on what it takes to write for the gaming industry. I made a host of wonderful contacts and learned a great deal about how tough --- and rewarding -- it can be to become a part of the development of some of the most mainstream and high-tech forms of entertainment today. (One out of every three American households has a video game system and the fastest growing market for video games is in Europe. ) There are also many opportunities for freelancers to "break in" to the gaming industry through offline and "lower-tech" mediums.

Honing Your Skills: What It Takes to Make It

A common misconception about working within the video game industry is that workers are usually young, immature, and inexperienced. While this may have been true in the early days of Nintendo, the technology, interactivity, and the average age of "gamers" (the people that play the games) have matured at an incredible rate. The Playstation 2 has a host of games that are rated "M" for mature; the target demographic for these games are men -- and women -- over the age of 17. As gamers age, the complexity of both the plot and the theatric elements tend to resemble short skits along the lines of "Godfather," leaving the days of Super Mario Brothers long lost in the dust.

One skill that is crucial, besides writing ability, to success in the game industry is passion. If you don't enjoy games or are unfamiliar with the latest technology, then you'll find the gaming world unfriendly. If you want to learn more about video games, buy or rent a console and a few game magazines. Don't try to break into this industry if you're simply looking for work; most video game writers take the jobs , first and foremost, because they enjoy the work. A beginner's pay is, at best, enough to pay some bills. The "real money" comes with success and hard work , i.e. LATER!

Fantasy writers, science fiction writers, and scriptwriters all have an advantage in the gaming industry. Writers play many different roles in video game development, including:

Plot, Setting, and Character Development: Writers typically write the setting, character sketches, and general plot based on the game developer's idea. Many science fiction and fantasy writers have found success in video game development because of their ability to create new and complex worlds. Every word in the development of games should be chosen carefully and specifically. In-depth description is crucial for game designers -- writers need to be able to describe every element to allow the graphic designers be able to portray them accurately. In addition, the game manual should be able to guide the reader through the "How -to's" as well as the plot. The manual typically is created by the initial development writer.
Storyboards and Scripts: Depending on the game type, most have "cinematic" sequences that move the game along as the player progresses. ?A typical storyboard includes a rough sketch of each screen or level (done by the graphics department).?. (How will they look, act, move, and sound?? What, if any, interaction will each character have with other characters in the world?)?A brief explanation of every action should appear on each panel of the storyboard.

If this all sounds like Greek to you, you can find out more about the video game-making process at: http://www.howstuffworks.com/3do2.htm

For how-to's on writing storyboards and scripts for games, an absolutely essential resource is Paul Garrand`s Writing for Multimedia and the Web, available at bookstores, and of course, Amazon.com.

Getting Started, Getting Connected

Most game writers don't simply "jump into" the field without industry experience. Many of them start out as fans that write ABOUT the game industry. You'll want to network as much as possible with the game development field -- you can do this by finding out about trade shows and association meetings. "I cannot stress how important it is to go to these and network! Bring samples of your work and collect as many business cards as possible!" says Sarah Stocker, a full-time writer for Stormfront Studios. Be sure to follow up with work samples and thank you letters. She also notes that smaller publishing houses are more receptive to newcomers; it is important to keep in touch. (http://www.Gamasutra.com is a resource that lists trade events)

Many writers start "small" in their quest for work, usually by writing articles and reviews for gaming-related publications. Most game magazines hire freelancers for reviews of games and expect thoughtful, knowledgeable reviews. Normally reviewers are asked to send in a sample game review. You should treat video game magazines as you would any other magazine; get a copy and study what they publish! (Did I mention that video game reviewers normally get scores of FREE games -- they make great presents!)

Video game reviews normally take up at least one page. (If the game is good, if not, then reviewers don`t bother!) and include: Game Name, System, Developer and Publisher, Release Date, Age Rating (ESRB, RASC, SEGA)Overview, Plusses , Minuses, Graphics, Play Control, Game Design, Satisfaction, Challenge qoutient, Sound, Originality, Replay Value, Overall review score

You can find writer's guidelines through Writer's Digest or by performing web searches for "Video Game Magazines". (Web searches are more up-to-date and will yield better results!)

Many writers also break into video game writing through writing game guides and RPG books. (Remember Dungeons and Dragons?) Burning Void has an excellent page about writing for role playing game markets and many resources to help writers find a niche in the RPG Industry.

What it's Like to Freelance Write for the RPG Industry http://www.burningvoid.com/users/heather/roleplaying/resources.html

Getting the Job

Many small video game publishers and PC game publishers actually post their writer's guidelines on their website and typically require a sample script with character development. (Usually 8-15 pages long -- by the time you get to this point, you'll want to be sure you're serious. A well-crafted script reads like a story and the characters are easy to visualize.) While small game publishers are more open to newcomers, they also tend to be unable to pay up-front -- which means royalties, or a lack thereof, for writers. Of course, the experience is valuable, and you'll have a game to pass on to your nieces and nephews with your name in the credits! You'll also have something to put on your resume when you apply for a writing job at a "big" game development company.

Competition is stiff, but with experience often comes success, and you can have a lot of fun along the way if you decide to give it a try!

Here are a few places that post video game writing jobs regularly:

Help Wanted at Game Developers. net http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/forum.asp?forum_id=8

Game Jobs http://www.gamejobs.com/classic/

Database of Game Development Companies (US & UK) http://www.dperry.com/comp-dir.htm

Add yourself to the RPG Industry Directory http://www.rpg.net/directory/index.phtml?Add=1

Good luck and good game -writing! Many thanks to Sarah Stocker of Stormfront Studios and the PR Department at Sony of North America for their help with this article.

About The Author

Melissa Brewer is a full-time freelance writer and author of The Writer's Online Survival Guide, available at http://www.webwritingbuzz.com. She hosts a website for professional freelance writers and she publishes a free weekly newsletter, The Web Writing Buzz, featuring articles on freelancing, writing jobs and publishing news from around the web.
mysmys@comcast.net

Editing Secrets

2005-05-10T13:22:00.000-07:00

Once you've plotted out your book, developed the characters and written the last word of text, the real work begins. As busy editors are bombarded with hundreds or even thousands of submissions a year, it's more important than ever that authors apply their own editing skills to their manuscripts before putting them in the mail. Checking your basic grammar and spelling are of course important, but authors need to go beyond surface editing if their work has a chance of catching an editor's eye.

* Trim, tighten, hack away. First, second and even third drafts of manuscripts are almost always laden with extra words and scenes. Take a break from your book and then read it through with a fresh eye. Write down your theme in one sentence (what the book is about, such as working through shyness on the first day of school or showing how Thomas Edison's childhood experiences influenced his adult life). The plot (or progression of facts and events in nonfiction) is your vehicle for conveying the theme to the reader. Ask yourself if each character and scene advance the plot toward communicating this theme. And decide at the beginning that you will give up your precious words and finely-crafted scenes for the betterment of the book. Pithy dialogue may be fun to read, but if it pushes your story off track, it's just a literary dead end. Take the publishers' suggested word limits seriously: no, you don't really need 3000 words to tell your picture book story about Freddy the Frog's adventures in the Big Pond.

* The elements of speech. Well-crafted dialogue can be a writer's most important tool. Dialogue is not just there to break up the paragraphs or show that your characters know how to talk; ideally, it adds to character development, moves the plot along and replaces sections of narrative. Each character should sound like himself, with speech patterns and phrasing that are unique. This is especially true with talking animal books. I see many of these manuscripts where, if I took away the words that identify the speakers, each character would sound exactly the same. Don't have dialogue repeat the narrative and vice versa; "Did you hear that? Someone's at the door!" does not have to be preceded by "They heard a sound at the door".

* Show don't tell. How many times have you heard this? It's still true. Comb through your manuscript for sentences that tell the reader how a character felt (Sara was sad) and replace with sensory descriptions (Hot tears sprang to Sara's eyes and rolled down her cheeks.) Avoid telling the reader what to think about the story (Jason foolishly decided to trust Mike one more time.) Instead, present your character's actions and decisions to the reader, and let the reader draw his or her own conclusions (incidentally, this is how you "teach" without preaching).

* Wipe out passive writing. Search for verbs preceded by "would" (would go, would sleep, would eat) replace with the past tense (went, slept, ate). Also look for actions that seem to happen out of thin air. "The door was opened" is passive, because the sentence lacks a "doer". Remember, the reader needs to visualize what's happening in the story. "The wind blew the door open" is better, because the action can be attributed to something, and it puts the most important element (strong wind) at the beginning of the sentence. Simply rearranging the words ("The door blew open from the wind") puts emphasis on a door that won't stay closed, making that the subject of the sentence.

* Be precise. One of the best ways to make your writing come alive for the reader is to use exact nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. One well-chosen word is always better than three vague ones. Adjectives like big, little, cold, hot, beautiful, scary and silly; adverbs such as quickly, slowly, loudly, and softly; and general verbs like walk, went, stayed and ate don't draw a vivid picture for your reader. Of course, sometimes these words are appropriate, but try as a rule choosing words that describe specifically what you want to communicate. Words that sound and look interesting are also a plus. Tremendous, tiny, frigid, scorching, plodded, sauntered and gulped are more fun to read, and they each lend an emotional overtone to the sentence (if your character gulps his food, you don't have to tell the reader he's in a hurry).

And finally, make sure there's a logical cause and effect relationship between the scenes of your book. Each event should build upon the ones that came before. The plot should spring intrinsically from your characters; nonfiction should unfold because of the nature of your subject and your slant on the material. It's when everything comes seamlessly together that you have a winning book. Make it look easy, but don't skimp on all the hard work it takes to get there.

About The Author

Laura Backes is the publisher of Children's Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children's Writers. For more information about writing children's books, including free articles, market tips, insider secrets and much more, visit Children's Book Insider's home on the web at http://write4kids.com

A New Way To Self Publish

2005-05-10T13:21:00.000-07:00

More and more good authors are turning to the Internet to self publish. There are several reasons for that. All of them are probably well known to every writer by now, so we'll not go into them here. What we'll talk about here is a new way to self publish.

Everyone has, by now, heard of ebooks. This is a wonderful way to publish on the net, but it requires special programs to empliment it. And there are web sites that will do all that for you for a fee. But what if you simply can't afford it or you don't want to pay anyone?

This idea I've come up with may be out there in left field, but out in left field is where you usually find some great ideas. Here is what I found.

Create a credit card account somewhere first. Pick any company you are comfortable with and doesn't cost a great deal. After that is all set, put your novel on your web site, create its own page, and use the ariel font. Use size 10 for the main text. Your title and chapter headings can be larger.

Write an intro page for your novel and create a separate page for it. Here is where you'll put any illustrations you may have. So people will have an example of your writing, copy and paste the first chapter of your novel and put it here, too. Also on this page will be the link to your credit card payment company.

The next step is to set up your credit card account to connect with the novel page after your customers have paid for it and then they can simply print out the novel or copy and paste it to their Word or Works program that is already on their computers.

This is a simple and yet effective way to self publish and it does not cost you anything, either. Out in left field, I know, but hey. Anything to survive, huh?

About The Author

Anna Kathryn Bir is a published author of many sci fi short stories. One of them was a Star Trek story. You can find her sci fi novels on her web site http://e-sac.com email address is info@e-sac.com

Be Concise

2005-05-10T13:19:00.002-07:00

Concision. (Sounds like I made up another word.) It's the idea of being concise in our ongoing communication with others, both written and oral.

Many take forever to say so little. These are the same people who spend a lot of time in meetings. Some who may have little to say use lots of words to say what could be said in a few words. It is boring. It wastes time. It reduces productivity. Theirs and yours.

I do not suggest that all of our communications ought to be reduced to one or two words. There ought to be time in the workplace for idle chat. It leads to relationship building and a better quality of life. However, it is sometimes more productive to simply say "blah" rather than "blah, blah, blah".

As a practical matter, it is becoming more and more important to be concise as we drown in this era of information overload. We get more information impressions in one day than our great-grandparents 100 years ago got in a lifetime. Think about it. 100 years ago, you may have looked a seed catalog, a shared newspaper, and an occasional book, if you owned one. Today, we have information coming at us from all directions.

The average working businessperson receives, on average, 150 new communications each day via telephone, voicemail, mail, fax, and email. When email became available a few years ago, it was supposed to take the place of a lot of other communications, including first class mail. The truth is, all other forms of communication have held their volume (or even increased) and we now have email to deal with on top of it all.

Want to be more concise in your communications and save time? Here are two suggestions.

Think before you communicate. Before you make that call or meet with someone, think out what you how hope to accomplish. A lot of extended, unnecessary communication is in search of a purpose of the communication in the first place. When you know what you are trying to accomplish, when you achieve, it is over and you can move on.
Practice. When you write an email to someone, look it over before you send it. See if you can say what you need to say in fewer words. I use this technique in a communications class I teach for MBA students. I ask them to write a five-page paper. They submit it, I return it, and ask they re-write the paper in four pages, but cover all the essential points from the five page paper. They later re-write the same paper as a three, two, and one page paper. Each must contain all that was covered in the original five-page work. It's a tough assignment but with practice, they get better at saying more with fewer words. You can too. If you write something, re-write it several times, each time making it shorter than the previous attempt. The more you practice, the better you'll get.

About The Author

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
60 Huntington St., P.O. Box 2126
Shelton, CT 06484
(800) 969-3773 (203) 929-9902 Fax: (203) 929-8151
Email: ctsem@msn.com.
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com
Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Tips For Better Writing

2005-05-10T13:19:00.001-07:00

It is certainly true that we don't get a second chance to make a first impression. As the impression we make on the Internet is almost always with the written word, is it unfortunate that there is so much poor writing bouncing around in cyberspace. The following tips are intended to help you make a better first impression.

Speaking of first impressions, I don't want to present myself as "the Final Authority". Dave Barry readers know that would be "Mr. Language Person". I'm just a guy who's been writing marketing and training materials for a couple of decades and I've picked up a few things. If they are of value to you, I'm glad I could help.

Know your audience. Who are you trying to reach and what is the best approach to accomplish your goal? Should you be informal, strictly business or something else?
Plan what you want to say before you type the first word. Make a few notes. You will stay on message better and present a more readable piece.
No matter how extensive your vocabulary, resist the impulse to dazzle your readers. You may impress some but you'll lose many more. Common, everyday words work just fine - that's how they became common.
Avoid jargon whenever possible. Yes, almost every undertaking has its own language, just write at the level most appropriate for the vast majority of your readers. If in doubt, see 3. above.
Syntax (sentence structure) matters. When I hear something like, "Me 'n' John went to..." it's like fingernails down the chalkboard! People who speak that way probably write the same way, I figure. If your word processor has a grammar checker, use it - the spell checker won't help in this kind of situation.
The other person always comes first, so it is "John and I went to...". The trick for determining whether to use I or me is to drop the other person and say it. I doubt you'd say "Me went to...". Right?
Short sentences are more powerful than long ones. They are easier to read and hold the reader better. It might just be two words: Janet smiled. Depending on what preceded it, those two little words could be very powerful indeed. Think how important this sentence can be: I do.
If you're writing ads and you'd like them to stand out, avoid using the same approach "everyone else" is using. Look at how many ads use some variation of "Make $16 Million Before Lunch!!!!!!!!!" and then do something else for yours. Nobody really buys that stuff anyway, do they? Use your imagination.
Some words simply cannot be modified, so don't. Among these,for example, are unique and pregnant. Nothing can be "very unique" because unique means something of which there is only one. And a woman is either pregnant or she isn't. She cannot be "somewhat pregnant".
Punctuation is critically important. If you don't think so, study the following sentence. It can be punctuated to create opposite meanings: Woman without her man is nothing.
I think the most grossly overused punctuation mark is the exclamation point! There is a school of semi-thought that seems to have concluded that a thing is more important, or exciting, or urgent if multiple exclamation points are used, as in: Buy NOW!!!!!! Actually, it just means the writer doesn't know much about punctuation.
Use comparative suffixes (-er, -ier, -est) rather than "more". The weather is getting cooler, not "more cool". She is happier, not "more happy".

Enjoy your writing, it can be a real adventure!

Don't Rely on your Spellchecker - or - The Importance of Good Proof Reading

2005-05-10T13:19:00.000-07:00

Weather posting a page to your Website, writing a letter to a customer, or submitting an article for publication, it is extremely important to demonstrate how professional you are. Not only does a series of spelling and grammatical errors show a discourtesy to your readers, it makes you look amateurish. Potential customers will lose any trust they may have had in your business. Only a week or so ago, I read a classified ad asking me to visit their "sight" - needless to say I did not bother. If someone does not take care over their advertising, how reliable is the rest of their business?

Perhaps you are not very good at spelling - or typing - and your articles and letters are riddled with mistakes (probably when you were working for an employer you had a secretary to type your male) so, what are you going to do?

The first thing, but NOT the only thing, is to use your spellchecker. This is fine to get rid of the typos and obvious spelling mistakes, but does not correct any instances of you typing in the wrong word e.g. there (denoting a place) or their (belonging to them).

So, read your work back after you have written it. Many people find that actually reading out loud is a great way of spotting errors. If it is an important item, print it off and read it a little while after you have typed it. Ideally, get someone else to reed it and mark off any errors. When I was involved in publishing, it was always a strict rule, even with the most experienced writers, to get someone else to check their work. It is surprising how often one is unable to spot one's own mistakes.

So to summarise, use your spellchecker, re-read the item yourself, print out and proof read and ideally get someone else to do the proof reading.

One last point, make allowances for the fact that some articles are written in "British" English, as opposed to "American" English. So if you see colour spelled color, or centre spelled center, the author has not misspelled the word, he is just likely to be American (or at least has the American version of English on his spellchecker.)

And finally, there are three deliberate mistakes in this article where I have intentionally used the wrong word (at least I HOPE there are only three!!) in order to demonstrate the point I am making. The first three readers to email me detailing the errors will each be given a FREE ad in my newsletter and in the classified sevtion of my Web Site. murtagh@bigfoot.com?subject=TAD

Keyword Search

2005-05-10T13:18:00.000-07:00

A friend and I were talking the other day about writing. He liked to write, but even so his biggest problem was finding things to write about. My friend was astounded at the volume of writing that I do - at least one article and something as many as six, per day. Where do I get all of the ideas from?

I, in turn, was astonished myself. Why on earth would anyone have any trouble finding things to write about? In fact, my main problem has been I have so much to write about that I often find myself locked in a silent battle over which subject should be put on paper first.

People find it even more amazing when I tell them I try very hard to only write about positive events and provide helpful articles. Only rarely will you find any of my writings containing criticism, complaints or, worst of all, whining. Occasionally I will write an article which recommends against purchasing a product, seeing a movie, reading a book or visiting a web site, but these are the exception.

The world is a huge, amazing, wondrous place. Things are going on around us all of the time. There is so much good to see and do all over the planet, so very many wonderful things going on all over the place, that it's easy to find something to communicate about if only you open your eyes and look.

One of my passions is the internet. I've written over 1,000 articles about all aspects of this massive communication medium. Much of this is taken from my 23 years of experience in the computer field, and the rest is from research, reading and, most of all, questions from other people.

Although much of my writing is about the internet, I also find time to communicate about many other subjects as well. These include relationships (marriage and romance), raising children, building a career, handling office politics, current events, hobbies and history. I have yet to find a subject which I don't have something useful to contribute to other people.

How do I find so much to write about? Let me tell you some of the ways: Many of my article ideas some from real life - For example, I have a long and happy marriage, so I like to write articles which help people with their relationships. I've also worked hard most of my life, as have most people, building a career, which is another area where I enjoy passing along tips to help others.

Question and answer sites - Sites like askme.com and askjeeves.com are perfect places to visit once in a while looking for ideas for articles. I visit and just scan the questions (and there are thousands of them), looking for anything which looks interesting. When I find something, I write an article.

Newsgroups - There are over 70,000 newsgroups. Most of these are worthless, but several thousand of them contain useful information and varied conversations. Lurk in any active newsgroup for a while and you should find something worthwhile to write about.

Yahoo and DMOZ - Visit any big directory site and you will find thousands of subjects to explore.

Egroups and Topica - There are thousands of email discussion lists available at these two sites. Sign up for a few and get articles ideas from them.

There are many other places to look for article ideas all over the internet. I tend to avoid looking at things like ezines, ebooks and web sites for article ideas. Why? Because when I look for article ideas I am not looking for answers.

What I tend to look for is questions. What kind of questions are people asking? Is there a question which begs some further analysis and a little more explanation than a simple sentence? It does not matter if someone else has already answered, as my primary purpose is not to provide raw information. My primary purpose is to help people understand. You can find out raw information from any number of books or encyclopedias, but finding out how to clean up the clutter in your bedroom, well, that takes something different. That requires the experience and knowledge passed from someone who has had to go through the experience of cleaning many times, so many times that it has become easy.

Interestingly, I've found that television is not as worthwhile as one would expect for article ideas. Excluding a few reviews, I've found television to be a vast wasteland, void of anything but the most trivial or violent concepts in our society. The exceptions are, of course, channels such as Nova, History channel and Discovery.

So the next time you are trying to figure out something to write about for your own ezine, web site or ebook, just check out a newsgroup, elist or directory on a subject which you find interesting. Sooner or later, you will get an idea and you can start writing.

About The Author

Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And Secrets. This website includes over 1,000 free articles to improve your internet profits, enjoyment and knowledge.

Web Site Address: http://www.internet-tips.net

Weekly newsletter: http://www.internet-tips.net/joinlist.htm

Claudia Arevalo-Lowe is the webmistress of Internet Tips And Secrets and Surviving Asthma. Visit her site at http://survivingasthma.com

Tips On Writing A Killer Sales Letter

2005-05-10T13:16:00.000-07:00

Writing a sales letter doesn’t have to be that difficult all you need is the right writing style and some tips to knock out a killer sales letter

Benefits The first thing you need to do is focus on the benefits the reader will find useful. Tell the reader what’s in it for him. Promise them increased sales, better skin, better results in writing a resume or whatever it is that you’re selling. Tell them how your product can help them. Don’t beat around the bush and get right to the point. Stick to benefits, facts and features. Whatever you do don’t be vague it will turn them off.

Give additional benefits. Show additional value other than main benefit. Give product/service features. Support benefit promises with product/service facts. Show how your company will help him. Don’t start sounding arrogant and brag.

Writing Style: An emphasis should be placed on “you” and not “I”. Use words like you and your, so that the reader feels you are writing for him. Write clearly. Make sure your reader doesn’t have to think about what you’re saying. Your main points must be understood immediately. Make yourself believable. Make sure your claims or representations appear to be realistic and believable. Don’t promise a 200% increase in sales because most people won’t believe it even if it’s true! You must be able to back up your claims. Use repetition; repeat benefits throughout letter. Present the same ideas and benefits in different ways.

Ask for action. Ask the reader to place an order, return the sales envelope or the sales card or phone for more information. Give reasons to act now. For example: Make your offer time sensitive a limited supply, two-week sale, and special purchase. Most sales letters fail to do this.

Understand that people are emotionally motivated. They want to:

Make more money
Save money
Do a good job
Experience love
Have a satisfying home life
Get something for free
Look good

Use simple graphics to get the reader’s attention:

Bullets
Dashes
Check boxes
Numbers
Asterisks

Some Things To Remember When Writing Your Sales Letter:

Put yourself in the reader’s place. Note your reactions while reading the letter. Have your friends and associates give you their honest opinions. Don’t tell them you wrote it! For some reason they think it’s bad manners to criticize their friends. Look at their reactions if they roll their eyes then you need to rewrite your sales letter. If they ask you, “Where can I find this?” You got yourself a winner! Listen to any and all comments. Re-write any parts that turn others off.

Be logical when you state your argument. Don’t try to fool them with outrageous claims that border on the fantastic. Your readers are too smart to fall for such trash.

When you begin writing your sales letter try to accentuate important statements using:

Underlines
Exclamation points
All capital letters (Careful here don’t over do it)
Highlight with a second color (Yellow)

The very last thing that should appear on your sales letter is the P.S. Remind your customers of the time deadline and the limited supply of bonuses. Urge them to pick up the phone and call or order immediately. Your P.S. is often read first by customers. So entice them to read the letter by mentioning the free bonuses and the limited time offer. Remember to put a P.S. (post script) on all sales letters.

Sample P.S.

P.S. At $29.95 the Super Car Wax is an incredible bargain reserved for past customers only. Act now, and get a bonus super car glass cleaner yours free! While new customers are forced to pay $39.95 for this one of a kind car wax you get it at significant savings! Act Now by calling 800-123-4567

About The Author

Copyright © 2001 Andres Munoz Andres publishes the "MyBiz E-zine" newsletter featuring articles about Promotion, Internet Marketing and Home Business advice and tips. The MyBiz reader will receive an article rich e-zine with few ads. To subscribe visit http://www.mybusiness-resource.com and download your 4 free e-books.

An inside look at proofreading

2005-04-30T01:59:00.000-07:00

This is the ideal topic for us all to think about. We do it everyday, especially those of us that use the Internet the majority of the time. Web pages, business letters, articles, news releases, documentation and most certainly, advertisements.

I have at times found myself proofreading our local newspaper..and suspect their proofreader isn't necessarily paying attention to his or her work. I have found scores of web sites with the same problem. Terrible spelling and common grammatical errors are high on the list. Of course, some of us do not pay attention to these little details, but entrepreneurs look for imperfections in a web page.

Do we all know how to proofread? Not necessarily. Looking for misspelled words is scarcely enough to polish your workmanship and neither is applying capital letters where needed.

I am touching the surface with the most common proofreading DO's. You might think a little differently the next time you do the job.

1] Always proofread when you are at your daily peak. In other words, do not try it, if you are sleepy or distracted.You will definitely miss a number of errors. Proofreading requires concentration.

2] Read the selection through and then read it aloud. Read it to a friend and have them read it to you. Read it backwards..that's what I said. You'll be amazed at the errors in spelling you will encounter.

3] Use your computer's spell checker,but do not rely on it.Often, there are times the checker will find errors but the word meaning is different, such as "there" and "their". Use a dictionary to be sure of the correct meaning of a word. 4] The thesaurus is helpful,but again the range of words are limited,a book offers a broader list. Your choice of words does make a difference when others read what you have to offer, so go ahead and be choosy.

5] Be sure all beginning letters of a sentence are capitalized.Names of importance, within the sentence are a must to remember.

6] Look for sentence fragments, run ons and match subjects with verbs.

7] Check those simple small words, such as: of, it, in, is,for, be, and I.[I, should be a capital, regardless of where it is.]

Other important points in addition to the ones above are included below. These are not to be excluded and you may think this is a lot of unnecessary work, but isn't your piece important. You wouldn't be writing it, if it wasn't.

1] Do you have enough ideas incorporated into your selection?

2] Be sure you are not wandering away from the thesis.

3] Are you proving your point and is it interesting?

4] Is the content in order and does it flow smoothly?

5] Answer the following questions when you are proofreading.
A. Who?
B. What?
C. Where?
D. When?
E. Why?
If one of these are missing, then you need to go back and revise.

All of the above tips for proofreading are of the upmost importance even on a web page of your web site. The following tips are also helpful in the finishing touches of your site.

1] Start your inspection by checking to make sure all links work.

2] Look at the text and see if it is readable. If you can't see it,others cannot read it. The background may not be suitable.

3] Verify that all your information is up to date.

4] Is all the information in a sensible order, and delete or add information.

5] Use the scroll bar on the side to view one line at a time, either from the bottom or top. I find this very useful when reading, etc.

Proofreading has a nature of time consumption and if you do not have the time, find someone that does. It will boost your sales and your site will have a look of a professional.

I am not a professional and never claim to be, but I will proofread the following types of content, sent by email if you want a little help. I am not charging a enormous fee for the service. I have an Associate Degree in Accounting, and extensive courses in English, Business Communications, Ethics, and Public Speaking.