Writing Articles & News
Write For Yourself First
It would be very selfless or noble of me to tell you that I have created my web site only to help you and the rest of humanity. The reason for me spending so much time and energy into my writing and this site is selfish. And I must remind myself of that from time to time, especially when I move into a down period and I am asking myself "why."
How To Write Effective Ezine Ads... And Then Some
When writing an ezine ad, there is a big mistake that most people make when writing an ad. That is, they try to sell something in those ads, and there is a good reason why you don't want to do that.
11 Speaking Tips to Gain Comfort in any Presentation!
(Speech and Presentation Coach & President of Speaking Success, Inc.) A conversation, a sales meeting, a board meeting, an interview, a courtroom case... all are special situations which require you to communicate clearly, drive the action and create the result you want. You can learn skills to engineer the outcome, make the most of your opportunities, gain respect, and advance your career. Here are eleven tips to practice that will help you feel powerful and authentic, and ...
Develop a Kick Ass Plot!
What is a plot? The dictionary definition of the word ‘plot’ relating to a story is: “The plan or main story of a literary work” [Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary] So the plot then, is the planned storyline. Some writers fly by the seat of their pants, not knowing where they are going or how they will get there, whereas, other writers would never dream of writing a story or a novel without some initial planning. If you were about to take a journey to a ...
6 Ways to Toot Your Own Writing Horn
You know you've got writing talent. Others enjoy your work and you've even sold a few things. You'd like to turn that writing talent into full-time freelancing but you don't enough clients yet. You need to toot your own horn!
The Interpreter
Interpreters are in great demand in the current global climate. With people from all over the world participating in business meetings, conferences and events, overcoming the language barrier naturally becomes the key to ensuring all attendees contribute and benefit from such occasions. The interpreter is an integral cog in the wheel of cross cultural communication. Knowing how to hire and work with an interpreter is a must for international business personnel.
Screenwriting, Screenplays, Screenwriters – Good Ideas for Stories
The principle for writing good screenplays begins with good idea generation and then the use of structure to extrapolate that idea into a coherent story.
Sloppy Speech Habits Can Affect the Job Interview
You may look good on paper but do you sound as good as your resume looks? Careless speech habits can keep you from getting that plum job.
Getting Started as a Travel Writer: Basic Tips on What you Need and Don't Need to Begin your Journey
What does it take to effectively start your path toward becoming a freelance travel writer? What skills, experience, tools, education, and temperament are best suited for success as a travel writer?
Planning Time To Write
In his book, "Achieving Financial Independence as a Freelance Writer," Ray Dreyfack, a full-time freelancer for 30 years, suggests that writers "ease" into full-time writing while maintaining their day jobs. If you're following this advice, either by choice or by necessity, you know that it's not always easy. Obligations to jobs and families tend to take priority over writing. It's easy to lose focus of your writing goals when you have so many distractions in your life.
The Truth About Negative Commands (Don't Read This!)
Everyday when I read promotional emails and advertisements, or listen to television commercials and dialogue in shows and movies, or hear people around me in everyday life use commands such as the following examples, I feel dismayed for them.
Why It Pays To Listen Even When You Think They're Nuts
My first published work became a bestseller as soon as it hit the bookshelves back in 1995 and it has been topping the lists ever since. Lucky you, some might say.
Essay writing Argumentative and Persuasive Essays
Essays that are plagiarized frustrate teachers College life: attending classes, taking tests, and writing essays. The dark side to education is cheating. What’s wrong with cheating from a university’s point of view? They get paid, what do they care what students do with their educations? If they care about students getting real educations, then copying essays and cheating on tests prevents students from really getting educated. Even if they don’t really care about the students, ...
Writing With Power: 5 Snappy Rules For Success
Almost everyone could profit from enhancing their writing skills. From writing more crisp meta-tags – which search engine bots find quite sexy – to turbo-charging your blog readership by writing with punch, a skilled pen can propel any online effort in the right direction. But who has the time, money or know-how to tackle this daunting task, right? On the contrary, I have just the free and powerful writing clinic for you. We have named it “Writing With Power.” And did I mention it’s ...
Author Spotlight: David Conlin McLeod
David Conlin McLeod will soon release his fourth book, the prequel to the Dragon's Tear Chronicle that began with Dancing With The Moon. David has also published Two Past Twilight and The Audition. I'm a reviewer and fan of David's books, Two Past Twilight, http://www.myshelf.com/horror/04/twopasttwilight.htm, Dancing With The Moon,
To Think for Oneself
Let us examine the three purposes of writing: to inform, entertain, and enlighten. To me, the second one is bottom of the list, though it is instrumental in the achievement of the two others. Every great teacher knows this intimately and readily laces his teachings with relevant and interesting stories, and humor.
Screenwriting, Screenplays, Screenwriters Writing a Screenplay Using Structure
Effective screenwriting relies on the good understanding and use of structure. Inexperienced screenwriters may believe that structure inhibits creativity, but experienced writers know that following a template helps them to problem identify, generate ideas, select good ideas and develop them to reach that all important words-on-paper first draft – structure is not a hindrance but an enhancer of creative output. If doubts about structure still exist, then they are soon ...
Successful Documentation Projects – Part 3 of 3 – 'Writing'
So you understand your user documentation project and you’ve specced it out. Now you’re ready to write. Here’s some tips to help you on your way. This article isn’t about the actual writing itself; it’s about the things which go along with the writing. (For information on writing online help, see ...
How To Write Better Solo Ads
Extreme Research: 10 Snappy Rules For Success
So you want to learn to research well, and not waste any time. Let's do it. Here are a few NECESSARY preliminary points.
Looking For Good Copywriter Books?
If you are looking for copywriter books, you’ll want to devote some time to reading. In fact, if you plan to look online for your copy writer resources, you might as well just devote your life to reading! There are so many books that are available for you to purchase. Sure, there are standard things that each book will probably include. And, like the vast amount of diets out there, copywriter books are just as versatile and, unfortunately, misleading.
Why I Write
I started writing as a way of keeping safe memories of a particularly adventurous 3 years of my life when I became totally addicted to the world of online chat rooms and met a number of 'gentlemen' for real that I met in fantasyland online.
You Can't Always Believe What You See On Your Computer Screen
You may not remember this, but in the early days of the personal computer, many industry insiders were predicting a paperless society.
A Mode of Transportation
Great writing transports one vicariously to realms that the reader would not otherwise experience.
Screenwriting, Screenplays, Screenwriters – Incremental Productivity
When attempting to understand Creativity and Innovation, it pays to import the vast range of research and knowledge that has been accumulated in these fields – most of it is to be found in the field of Business and Management.
Thinking About It
Many writers spend more time thinking about writing than they do in actual writing. This, of course, is truer of the freelancer than the salaried writer although it can deter any writer from the actual job of writing.
Best Writing Advice I Ever Got
I’ve been in the communications business a long time…over 25 years. During that period I’ve gathered writing suggestions from all over, and put much of it in my new book “Words That Stick.”
Listen, Listen, Listen
How do you learn anything about the other person's business if you do not spend most of your time listening to what they have to say?
A Writer's Gifts
Most writers have a gift for some, or even several, aspects of the craft, but no one is a natural at the whole process.
A Beginner's Guide to Writing a Novel
No one is born a novel writer. But do you believe that we all have the capability to be writers? Impossible as it may seem but the answer is yes! If we have the passion for it and if we strive to make it happen, novelwriting can be as easy as writing ABC. Writing is actually not a very complicated thing. It is just like drawing, painting, and even cooking. It is an art! Your imagination is all that it takes to get it started. What makes it hard is not writing itself but how people make it ...