Book Review For "Tales of Beedle the Bard"

Discover Harry Potter's wizarding world's unique fairy tales in "The Tales of Beedle the Bard." Filled with wizarding fables that invoke "Grimm's Fairy Tales," these five short stories carry messages of hope, morality, and virtue. Rowling expands Harry Potter's universe by sharing these magical fairy tales in a writing style that's easy to read and appeals not only to children, but adults as well.

The most compelling story is that of the three brothers. They encounter death as they cross a bridge. Death gives them each a gift - the elder wand, a stone that brings back the dead, and the cloak of invisibility. It is this story which is referenced in book seven of the Harry Potter series and it gives Voldemort's driving desire to possess these objects perspective, as Voldemort was trying to find a way to cheat death.

The other stories are just as interesting. In "The Wizard and the Hopping Pot," a self-serving wizard refuses to share the hopping pot with the townsfolk. His refusal to help others leads the hopping pot to drive him crazy until he does. In Dumbledore's footnotes, Rowling cleverly ties in legends of our own history and talks about how the wizarding community and humans came to have separate societies.

"The Fountain of Fair Fortune" rebuilds trust between muggles and the magical. Three witches and a knight go on a quest and discover what they were looking for was more in their hearts than in their magic.

"The Warlock's Hairy Heart," tells what happens when a magician gives up his humanity by removing his heart. Its probably the most gory of the fairy tales - but its also one that captures the essence of the Grimm stories.

"Babbity Rabbitty and her Crackling Stump," is one of the first stories in Harry Potter's universe that deals with Animagi - those wizards and witches who can change into animals. In it, an arrogant king wants to be the only one who can do magic in the kingdom. A sly charlatan who can't do magic, fools the king into becoming the Grand Sorcerer. When the king puts the charlatan on the spot, he turns to Babbitty, an old witch, to help him fool the king.

All the stories have folksy, fairytale appeal. They read like we would expect a fairytale to. The use of magic in the story makes little difference to the moral of the story being told.

The book complements Rowling's Harry Potter series well. The writing is easy to understand. The stories are well paced. Rowling makes her characters appealing with little emotional touches reminiscent of the Harry Potter series. Overall, "The Tales of Beedle the Bard," is a book all will enjoy.

"The Tales of Beedle The Bard"
Written by: JK Rowling
Scholastic, Inc.
ISBN: 978-0-545-12828-5
$12.99
5 Stars

StephB is an author who can be found at http://sgcardin.tripod.com.

In her spare time she likes to read many books and a variety of different genres. StephB is an author at http://www.Writing.Com/ which is a site for Creative Writing.

Become a Truly Successful Writer

The secret of successful writing is this: you must be able to hold the unwavering attention of the reader, listener or viewer, for the duration of your work. As soon as you have lost their attention, your writing has failed.

So how do you do that? Well, it is necessary to identify exactly what it is within the audience that causes their attention to be held.

The mind is constructed to react and respond in particular ways to specific inputs. We are all literally hard wired, in our brain-mind complex, to have our attention rivetingly held by certain types of stories. These may be true or fictional. Each age, culture and strata of society has slight variations on the basic structure, but essentially, each style follows the same principles, because they are a biological imperative in the human race.

The first secret of story telling is to realise that our mind has particular structures that are identical in each and every one of us.

These structures cause us to respond in emotional ways to particular inputs such as excitement at our own success, sadness at a death, anger at being frustrated in our desires, a lump in the throat watching someone being rescued, tears of joy at the homecoming of a long lost, and loved, family member, the thrill of surviving a dangerous situation, and so on.

Your emotions are the driving forces of your life. Story telling is the means of causing the subconscious mind of your audience to produce specific emotions. It is also the way to bring specific parts of your personalities to the surface.

It is this emotional reaction which causes people to pay full attention to what you are expressing, whatever the format of your writing - novels, plays, scripts, speeches etc. The more you can cause people to remain attentive, which means the more you master the art of eliciting of emotions, the more successful you will be.

It is this single skill that separates the ordinary person from the leader and trendsetter. You need to develop the ability, and have the knowledge, to speak directly to the subconscious mind of those you wish to communicate with.

Screen and story writing can be taught in a very short space of time, once you have the method laid out for you

If you wish to explore this topic further please check out: http://sites.google.com/site/wuzzlemarketing/Home/updates/screenstorywriting

Must We Say Goodbye To The Prologue?

Have you heard the news? The Prologue is out, kaput, persona non grata!

I sat in the writers workshop when we first heard the news. Some were quick to declare that our dear friend had out stayed his welcome and it was about time we shut the door on a chapter wannabe. But as I looked around the room, I saw many a talented writer take their latest project in hand as they ran their fingers over the familiar first words that set the scene for that new novel. With a wistful look in their eyes, perhaps even a bit of shame at having employed such an antiquated method, they carefully slid the pages back into their folders.

I know I did.

It almost felt like I was saying goodbye to an old and loyal friend. One that had always been there for me through thick and thin, one that I could trust to sit by the fire on cold nights and reminisce about the old days over a cup of cocoa.

Did I owe any allegiance to such a thing as The Prologue? Should I stand up and make a case for his continued support through all the hard times?

I looked down at my newest novel on the table, just off the press. With a smile, I knew I could not stick a whole book inside a folder.

It took a bit of courage, but I opened the cover and fondly looked at the first few pages. There he was, my dear companion The Prologue, gladly giving my readers the information they needed to understand my characters.

It might have been my imagination, but he didnt seem a bit ashamed to be there, either.
I actually sat for a moment and asked myself what defined the term for art. Surely a blank page just waiting for words was equal to a canvas prepared to display the expressive colors of the Artist. Does a painter toss aside a brush or a color he might want to use because his work might not fit in with the rest of kids on the playground?

I gave one last glance around the room at all the wonderful, talented writers I was fortunate enough to be with that day. I secretly hoped that each one would take their canvas and lay down their words in a fashion true to their heart.

I knew I would.

I bravely removed the pages of my new work from the folder in which they were hidden, and prepared myself to do whatever I felt was right for me.

Kimberly Adkins
--Author, The Medallion of Solaus
http://www.kimberlyadkins.com

Action Plan For Success

Article Writing Revealed - How to Write Informative Articles, From Beginning to End

The first step in article writing is to create a knock-them-out title for your article. This title serves a very important purpose - to get web surfers to actually click on your article and begin reading it. So your title is actually the most important part of your article, although most people spend very little time on it.

The next thing to write for your article is your introduction. I typically keep this to one paragraph, with 3 to 5 sentences introducing the topic at hand. I will briefly talk about the reader's problems and how I'm going to go about solving it in the article, either through a series of steps or a set of tips that they can put into action.

For the body of your article, you will need a few main points that you can talk about. Five to seven main points is good. Putting them into point form will also make your article extremely readable, and also easy to write.

An important point to take note of is to keep your paragraphs and sentences short. The longer your paragraphs and sentences seem, the less people will read your entire article through. So keep them short for easy readability.

When your body is done, it's time to come to the conclusion of your article. This will also be made of one paragraph most of the time. You can simply summarize what you covered in your body and emphasize and sort of tie them in together so that your reader gets a clear picture of what to do to solve his problem.

Fabian Tan is a well-known Internet Marketing expert and the author of the popular 45-page Report:

"Murder Your Job: How To Build Cash Sucking Autopilot Businesses In 30 Days Or Less!"

Head over to http://www.MurderYourJob.com to get your FREE copy now!

Also, quickly download his FREE "Explosive Traffic System" report that shows you how to generate 10,000+ targeted visitors per month at no cost! => http://www.ExplosiveTrafficSystem.com

Religious Freedom

How to Write Them Fast and Easy

Writing an internet article is a necessity especially if you are involved with Internet Marketing. Article writing for the Web serves a variety of purposes. Here are seven top tips to why writing internet articles is so important to build your internet business.

1. Internet articles provide content for your website.
2. Internet articles help in your search engine optimization.
3. Internet articles help to market your website or blog.
4. Internet articles can be distributed to reprint directories with your name and web information on them.
5. Internet articles can be the basis for an ebook but putting at least 10 or more articles together.
6. Internet articles can become an autoresponder ecourse.
7. Internet articles can be submitted to your weekly ezine to build readership for your business.

As you can see, writing internet articles for the web is very useful, and you can certainly learn to write an effective Internet based article very quickly. The first step is to decide what you want to write about. The choices are limitless. To start generating some ideas, think about why you are writing the article. Are you writing an article for your site? If so, keep your target market in mind. What keywords do they want to know about?

One way to focus your article is to write a personal story that contains good keywords and also deals with a business issue. These topics could include how you started your business, why you started the one you are in, or even some of the challenges you have faced as a business owner.

Conduct keyword research to see what your target market is searching for and focus your article to their interest while using your personal experiences. How you write your content is important, as the search engines will look for keywords to index this information. When someone searches for a specific term that you include in your content, the page on your site that features that information could come up in the search results.

For example, let's say you want to share the experience of starting a small business. You might find that people are using keywords such as "small business, entrepreneur, how to start a business" and so on. As you write articles, include these keywords and phrases. Say something such as "When I started my small business, I immediately became an entrepreneur. Entering the realm of entrepreneurship meant I had to plan in order to know how to start a business that would succeed." Can you see the use of the keywords in that first sentence?

Instead of struggling to find an article topic you have to research, just think of the lessons you have learned in pursuing business success and you can have a string of articles to write in a short period of time. Be sure you add a lesson or insight of value for others and you will have an article worth reading. Write an article a week to start then write an article a day. You will soon see that writing internet articles is not difficult and actually a fun way to build your internet business.

Consuelo Meux, Ph.D., is the Founder and President of the National Association of Christian Women in Business (nacwib.com). NACWIB equips women in business and leadership to gain the audacity of confidence while moving their business to new heights. Get instant access to two free business building reports when you subscribe to the ezine at http://www.cwibnews.com

Eliminating Negative Media From

The "ART" of Article Writing: A Template

As I approach my 200th online article, Im amazed at the number of article writers on the net. Many of them have written hundreds, if not thousands, of articles. I try to vary my subject matter and have covered about sixty different topics. Although my background is in advertising and marketing, I am well-read and interested in science, history, politics, and travel. Yet Ive written about social issues, hobbies, and many humorous pieces. Im also a published author with three books to my credit, two of which are still available on Amazon. So I thought it was about time to offer a public service to those who would like to write articles to promote their websites or just like to write but dont know where to start.

Therefore, without taking up precious online space and self-congratulation, let me introduce my solution to article writing. I call it the ART or an article readers/writers template. You see, it works equally well for both the writer and reader. All you have to do is fill in the blanks. Ive even given you a few examples in the parenthesis. Lets begin with the title. The how-to ones always work well, as you know.

TITLE: The _______ (3, 5, 10) ______ (top, best, secrets) on How to _______ (lose, gain, make) ______ (weight, money, friends).

SUB-TITLE: ________(amazing, terrific, fabulous) ways that you can be _________ (better, more accomplished, successful) at _________ (anything, everything, something) you have always wanted to do.

MAIN BODY: Havent you always thought about __________(gaining, losing, making) a __________ (rewarding, exciting, wonderful ) life for yourself? Wouldnt you like to __________ (look, feel, enjoy) more out of life? Well I think I can show you the way. I have studied many people like yourself and ___________(understand, relate to, empathize) what you must be going through. So Ive ___________ (devised, concocted, created) these ______(3, 5, 10) __________ (methods, solutions, answers) that will aid you in your _______ (journey, quest for knowledge, search). The first way to becoming _________ (thinner, wealthier, successful) is to know ________ (how, what, where) to look. It starts with a __________ (basic, simple, bare-bones) understanding of the problem you are _________ (facing, dealing with, confronting.)

The second step is to _________(embrace, accept, welcome) the issue by _________( looking in the mirror, looking at the checkbook, getting on the scale) and admitting that there is a problem. Once you do that, you can ___________ ( move forward, take a step backward, sidestep) the real root of your __________ (deficiency, failure, lack of control). The third _________ (way, secret, answer) is to __________ (quickly, slowly, methodically) dissect the heart of the problem and begin to ___________(recognize, unravel, appreciate) the actual basis for what is ___________ (hindering, blocking, separating) you from moving in a positive direction. It could be ___________ (timing, social forces, money) and that is something you must _________ (deal with, face, accept).

ART followers: By now, you have gotten the point. Its a formula that can work with any issue. People love to be told how to cure what ails them. All you have to do is be vague enough that it doesnt really affect them adversely and that they eventually feel like they have gained some useful information that will put them on the right track.

Now I know that this is akin to magicians giving away their trade secrets and that I may get flack from my fellow article writers, but as Penn and Teller say when they reveal their magicians secrets, get over it, theres enough room for everyone. Therefore good luck in your first attempt at article writing and remember that practice makes perfect. Did I mention that Ive been writing for over twenty years and have two degrees? Heck, thats probably not important anyway. So have a go at it. Ill check back in two decades to monitor your progress.

Jeffrey Hauser was a sales consultant for the Bell System Yellow Pages for nearly 25 years. He graduated from Pratt Institute with a BFA in Advertising and has a Master's Degree in teaching. He had his own advertising agency in Scottsdale, Arizona and ran a consulting and design firm, ABC Advertising. He has authored 6 books and a novel, "Pursuit of the Phoenix." His latest book is, "Inside the Yellow Pages" which can be seen at his website, http://www.poweradbook.com Currently, he is the Marketing Director for thenurseschoice.com, a Health Information and Doctor Referral site.

Finding Something You Don

How to Make Money Writing Poetry

If you are passionate about poetry you can make money writing poetry. All over the world there are poetry lovers just like you who will become your fan and buy every work of art you release.

A loyal customer base of crazed fans does not happen over night . You must first know how to get exposure, deliver samples of your work, and gain appreciation for your work. This involves a very specific marketing process which I am going to outline in this article to help you make money writing poetry.

What I am going to teach you is nothing new. However, it is a critical process that artists often miss because they are coming from an artistic angle rather than from a business prospective.

When it all comes down to it, you are running a business...A business selling your poetry. And that's how you must pursue it if you want to make money writing poetry.

Here are the steps you must take.

1. Set up a lead generation page. This is simply a one-page website where you offer a free sample of your work and invite people to join your mailing list in order to get more free samples of your work. In essence, this lead generation page is how you will build your fan base.

2. Communicate with your fans via an auto responder. An auto responder is simply a mailing list that sends out a sequence of pre-written emails once a person opts in to your mailing list from your lead generation page. This is how you can expose your work and build credibility with your fan base on autopilot.

3. Sell your poetry in digital format. There is free software and online utilities you can use to publish your poetry in digital format. You can take a collection of poems and digitize them into ebook, video, or audio format and allow your fan base to pay you via Paypal and download the product immediately after wards. Paypal has a feature that allows you to create such a payment button for your website.

4. Continue to build your fan base, communicate, and sell your work. Over time, you can build a large fan base that will poor thousands of dollars in your Paypal account, at the click of a mouse, every time notify your mailing list of crazed fans about the release of your new poetry ebook, or mp3 audio, or online video.

Michelle L. Green offers a free home study course that will teach you exactly how to build your one-page website so you can make money writing poetry. To claim your free copy, visit http://www.6chapterwebmaster.com

Stopped Losing Your Car Keys

I Am a Slave to Writing

I have a confession to make - I am a slave.

I have been slaving away this summer to complete a first novel and neglecting my body by not feeding and exercising it right. I have become a slave to writing; my back aches and muscles ache. I sit at my computer for more hours than it is accustomed, slaving over a word, a paragraph, sentence structure, plot, character, theme, scene. I am a slave, a lonely writer sitting at the computer with the intention of one thing - completing a 70,000 word manuscript.
Shouldn't I be doing something else; something I enjoy?

Well, I am doing what I enjoy - writing. No one ever told me in journalism class what it takes to write a novel. Journalism and creative writing are two separate cats in a sack - fighting and clawing at one another. The creative think tanks in novel writing chide me to "show," not "tell," when writing fiction. As a journalist it was my duty to tell. Now I've got to show? If I wanted to "show," wouldn't I be producing films or movies? I get it, however. People want to see action, suspense, horror, death, romance, magic, mystery. Readers want to feel, see, hear and touch your characters as your words spill across a stupid piece of paper. The readers want to ride along with you every mile of the road to the climax. You bring them there by pacing the novel so your reader is set up to be thrilled or chilled.

This has been part of my scheme, however, since as far back as I can remember. It was one person's dream, mine alone. My goals were set four to five decades ago when someone told me I was a good writer. I decided back in those renaissance years to write. My plan after I retired would be writing fiction. Well, here I am. I'm not getting any younger and I have become a slave to writing fiction. I never knew there were so many ingredients to writing a good novel. I am still learning as I age.

I know this can't be right. I don't own my body any longer. That was never my intention.
While some retirees stress over what they would like to be doing at this stage in their life, I am writing a silly novel. You've got to wonder what I am thinking.

I actually know what I should and shouldn't be doing, but I do it not.

Healthy aging is the process of taking charge of your wellbeing as you age. Healthy aging is one of the few things in life that's actually in our control.

Although most people don't start talking about healthy aging until they hit mid-life, true healthy aging begins when we're young. It continues until we can continue no more in this physical body on earth. But we can control healthy aging in the development and maintenance of optimal physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing.

Enjoying healthy aging depends on two things: what you do (your actions) and what you think (your attitudes and your beliefs).

Along the way, however, I have learned to have an open mind. If you think in terms of possibility not in terms of impossibility and willing to accept new concepts and new ways of seeing the world; you are aging healthy.

An open mind gives us access to healthy aging tools you wouldn't consider if your mind was closed. It also uses those brain cells more.

If by letting go of the past, thinking what might have been, should have been, or could have been; you are aging healthy.

There's just what was, what is, and what will be. No judgment.
Regrets, resentments, and grief are major barriers to healthy aging. They create stress on our body's cells.

Be grateful for what you have. Gratitude is one of the most positive vibrations you can have.
Healthy aging is all about healthy energy. When you can fill yourself with healthy energy, exude healthy energy, and vibrate at a high energetic level, you slow the aging process and optimize your well being.

Live like you have plenty of time. Forget the "live as if each day was your last" advice. Yes, you want to cherish each day, but don't expect your days to be finite. Plan, dream, and grow, and expect to do so indefinitely. Your expectation can create your reality.

Healthy aging is in my/our control. Your actions and your thoughts will determine the level of health and wellbeing you get to enjoy. Choose the best actions and the best attitudes and beliefs, and you'll enjoy healthy aging.

Slaves are chattel property. Their bodies are owned by someone else. They are not empowered to make decisions about their bodies and they are powerless to decide upon, or protest, its use and misuse. If someone determines for you what happens to your body without your consent or participation, you are a slave.

If you do not own your body, you are a slave.

I learned this lesson the hard way last weekend when my wife had to help me out of the recliner due to an achy, breaky back.

I'm taking my body back, but I am still going to write. Praise God.

John W. Cargile, Msc. D, D.D.

Developing Wealth Building Habit

Writing A Music Business Plan For Your Business Growth

For those interested in the music business, few things are as exciting or as challenging as opening their own music business. There are many facets to the music business, from acting as agent to the hot new music group to running a successful outlet selling new and used musical instruments.

==The Music Industry==

The music industry offers some unique challenges and some great opportunities, and the savvy businessperson can take advantage of those challenges and opportunities to create a thriving business even in the most difficult of climates.

Before opening the doors of your great music store, or taking the new band to the top, however, it will be necessary to create a solid business plan in order to attract financing, partners and investors.

No businessperson will invest in a new music business without a thorough understanding of that businesss prospects for success. A business plan is a way to communicate the goals of the business and to quantify its financial needs and prospects.

== What Should You Include In Your Business plan ==

Many new business owners are unsure how to write a business plan, or what that business plan should include. Every business plan will be different, and the business plan for a new music business may look quite different from that of a new accounting business.

That having been said, however, there are certain elements that all business plans have in common, and certain things that they all must include.

Some of the required elements of every business plan include:

What the business does. Any potential investors will of course want to have a thorough understanding of the purpose of the business, and, most importantly, how it plans to make a profit.

The mission statement of the business, a mission statement is most commonly a simple one page document which details the purpose of the business and the business philosophy of its owners and management.

Information on the experience and qualifications of the management team, this is one of the most important parts of any business plan, and it is particularly important for those opening a business in the music industry.

The management team is a key to the success of any business, and it is important that the team be able to guide the business to profitability.

== The Challenges Facing The Music Industry In General==

A discussion of the challenges facing the music industry in general and the business in particular; it is important that the business plan include a discussion of the ever changing nature of the music industry, both the challenges created and the opportunities provided.

It is important to detail how the nature of the music industry will affect the prospects of the company as well.

Starting a music business is not easy, and it will require perseverance, hard work and of course long hours and substantial capital investment. The rewards of a successful music business are great, however, and well worth the risk and the time invested.

Shaunta Pleasant is a professional web writer and editor on business plan topics. Visit my site to learn more about writing a business plan a http://www.business-plan-made-easy.com

30 Days To Creating Super Habits

How to Become a Writer and Have Your Writing Published on the Internet

Writing articles and blog posts for the internet is similar to writing for offline publications, but you will find that online writing is published faster and easier. I had wanted to write for many years, but was discouraged at the slow process and rejection of magazines and publishers in general. Once I discovered online writing, I was able to become the writer I had always wanted to be, and get my message out to others.

Article writing and blogging are the easiest ways to get started. These two areas will give you vast exposure to readers from around the world, and help you get your message out. During the first few months you will spend time finding your voice, so that you can decide what it is that you want to share with other people.

It is also refreshing to find that there are no traditional editors telling you what you can write and rejecting your writing for a myriad of reasons. The 1.4 billion internet users are your audience, and it is them that you are reaching out to with your online writing.

You can also turn your writing into short reports and eBooks, both of which can be sold on the internet. Choose a niche that is in high demand and you will be able to start making sales right away. A book published by a traditional publisher could take as long as a year or more to get published.

So get started with your online writing and submit articles to directories. Begin a blog on your niche topic and you will be on your way to a life as a writer on the internet.

And now I invite you to join me for free weekly teleseminars by visiting http://www.EbookWritingandMarketingSecrets.com to learn how to write articles, blog, become involved in social networking and learn the technology needed to build a profitable online business.

Connie Ragen Green has been online since 2005 and teaches people how to build their own online business in record time, offering free teleseminars weekly, as well as online courses in a workshop environment.

30 Days To Creating Super Habits

Freelance Writers - How to Sell $25-$35 Per Article Writing Services to Clients

Article marketing works. There's no doubt about it. And, to make money online as a freelance writer, it is one of the easiest services to sell to clients. Many freelance writers either overlook this easy way of making money online, or don't know how to market it effectively.

This article explains why article marketing works, and how to make money online as a freelance writer selling the service to clients.

Make Money Online: Why Article Marketing Works

In order to convince someone to buy something, you have to first convince them that it works. In marketing, this is known as pointing out the benefits to the buyer. In succinct terms, the benefit of article marketing is twofold: (i) it generates long-term traffic; and (ii) it increases on- and off-line sales.

How Article Marketing Works to Generate Long-term Traffic

Article marketing generates long-term traffic because when buyers conduct research online, they're searching first for information. If they run across an article you wrote for a client site, for example, that answers all of their questions, how likely do you think they'll be to make a purchase?

If you're an optimist, you said, "Very likely." If you're pessimist, you said, "Not very likely." For the pessimist, I counter with, what if you found a repository of articles on a site. While one article may not do the trick, 3, 5 or 10 might.

And, this is one benefit freelance writers can point out to potential clients - ie, fill your site with informative content -- and clients will be more likely to buy from you.

FYI, information never goes out of style. It is the number one thing consumers search for online. Hence, informative articles on a site - written in the right way (eg, written with search engine optimization (SEO) techniques in mind) - can drive traffic to a site for years.

An article written 1, 3, 5 or 10 years ago can still drive traffic - if it was written with SEO in mind. And, the more traffic a site has, the more sales it makes.

SEO Copywriting: Why Article Writing is the Perfect Job for Freelance Writers

More and more businesses are putting larger parts of their budgets into online advertising. And, article marketing campaigns are a big part of this.

When you lay out to clients how and why they need informative content on their sites - and you show them why you're the perfect person to provide it, it becomes a no-brainer for them to hire you to write that content.

Freelance Writing Rates for Articles: Charge $25-$50 and Make $30K to $50K/Year

You can charge $25, $35 or $50 or more for simple articles of only 350-500 words. Write five or six of these a day, and you can easily replace a job where you make $30,000-$50,000/year.

Making money online as a freelance writer is easier than it used to be - especially if you're an SEO copywriter.

About the Author: Yuwanda Black is a freelance SEO copywriter and the author of How to Make $250+/Day Writing Simple, 500-Word Articles. Ms. Black says, "You can make money online as a freelance article writer. I do it everyday -- charging $35-$100+ per article" Learn more about how to start a successful career as an SEO copywriter, or explore other freelance writing jobs

Creating A Habit

Technical Writing - What's a Copyright and How Long Does it Last in Technical Documentation?

There'll be many times when as a technical writer you'll be using text and images created by others. In order not to violate anybody's intellectual property rights, you need to know the different types of copyrights that exist (at least in the United States).

The standard copyright is expressed either with the word "Copyright" or the universal copyright symbol "" (letter "c" inside a circle). Best information on U.S. copyrights is available at U.S. Copyright Office (at copyright-dot-gov).

The interesting thing about a copyright is that an original intellectual property, like this very article for example, has copyright protection the minute it is created. However, if there were a law suit, those technical documents officially registered with the U.S. Copyright Office has a better chance of winning the case. Copyright registry is voluntary but is the only sure-fire way of claiming ownership of an intellectual product.

In general, copyright of a technical document created after January 1, 1978, lasts as long as its author is alive, plus 70 years after his or her death. For example, if someone registers a user manual with the U.S. Copyright Office on January 1, 2009 and then dies in 2010, the work would still be copyrighted until 2080.

Once you copyright-register your technical document, you do not need to renew the registration again.

One thing you should know as a technical writer: all text and images created and owned by the U.S. government have no copyrights for the U.S. citizens. They are in "public domain." Why? Because if you're a U.S. citizen, you have already paid for it through your taxes. But still you have to be careful not to use public domain work in a libelous manner.

NOTE 1: If you're a technical writer working for a company, the copyright of the work you are creating almost always belongs to the company and not to you as an individual writer.

NOTE 2: All the information quoted in this article was correct when the article was written in December 2008 but it may have changed by the time you're reading this. Please consult copyright-dot-gov and your attorney before making a decision on all copyright matters.

If you are interested to read more about what technical writing is all about and how it can help you earn a steady living, visit http://www.learntechnicalwriting.com You might be pleasantly surprised with what you'll find out. Join the thousands who are already helped and inspired by this information provided by a Fortune 500 Senior Technical Writer. Visit today and claim your free report "How Much Do Technical Writers Make?"

Developing Wealth Building Habit

What is Writer's Block?

An inability to write, or writer's block, is "writer's block - an inability to write; 'he had writer's block; the words wouldn't come.'"1 Put otherwise, "writer's block - A usually temporary psychological inability to begin or continue work on a piece of writing."2

In contrast, "Flow" is a general state described in Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. He defines flow as "the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience is so enjoyable ... that people will do it ... for the sheer sake of doing it." There is tremendous power for any creative, especially writers, in learning how to manage their writing process and access word flow.

There are certain prerequisites for creative expression, including writing, that have nothing to do with creative blocks. It is essential that you have a place prepared to express yourself. It is ideal if this space is dedicated to your creativity, so that the tools you need, and projects in progress, can occupy the space. It has never worked for me, or any other creative I have known, to attempt to write or paint regularly without a dedicated creative space.

Another creative prerequisite is the proper tools for creativity. As a writer, or screenwriter, you require some combination of pens/pencils, paper, typewriter, computer, software and other implements. Also, you may require books and magazines for inspiration as well as technical guidance. Not knowing how to stretch a canvas or properly format a screenplay are not creative blocks. They are ignorance of essential creative technical skills.

Every artist must gain training, whether self-taught, through coursework, workshops, lectures, classes, books and media, or otherwise. A final prerequisite for creative work is time. You must schedule creative expression, including time for inspiration development, the way you would any essential activity.

So, if you have a place to create, you have the tools and training required to do so, and you have the time, and you still are not creating... then you likely have a creative block.

Procrastination is the single dominant behavior of the blocked artist.

Whatever the block, procrastination is the expression. Procrastination may take the form of obsessive e-mail checking, cleaning, endless research, wasted hours in Social Networking, and many other endeavors. Some creatives overeat, drink or party excessively, take class after class, or occupy themselves with other busy work, all to successfully avoid creating.

Recognizing the problem is a huge part of the issue. If you have what you need to create, and aren't creating, there are a number of tools available to assist you in breaking through writer's block or any other creative block.

If your writer's block is serious, and you are committed to doing WEIT ("What ever it takes," ~Tony Robbins) to break through, you can get professional coaching through a trained, certified professional. You can also find a number of fantastic products, audio, book and otherwise, online.

To your Word Flow!

References:

1. http://www.thefreedictionary.com

2. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright 2000 by the Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

H. Raven Rose is based in Los Angeles, CA. She loves words, color, art, listening to music and eating imported gourmet dark chocolate (although not necessarily all at the same time). Her combined loves, training and education are in Writing, Art, Self-Development, Transpersonal Psychology, and Spirituality. She is primarily a Screenwriter, Writer, Coach and Speaker and teaches workshops and develops books and products for writers through her company Word Flow. As a certified Covey Coach, a CTI Coach, and certified Creative Journal Expressive Arts facilitator, she coaches writers in breaking through their blocks so they can access Word Flow. "Get your Flow On!" Definitely check out http://www.wordflow.org today.

Starting With Simple Things

What to Leave Out of Your Article

So many article writing tips tell you WHAT to write. Problem is, very few of them, mine included, don't tell you what NOT to write. Believe it or not, what you DON'T put into your article can be just as important as what you DO put into your article In other words, including things that aren't necessary, or just confuse the reader, will end up turning your reader away mid stream. And that's the last thing you want. So, in this article, we're going to dive into the subject of what TO leave out of your article.

Best way to really explain this is with examples. Let's say you're writing an article on a procedure for building a birdhouse. In the procedure, you discuss what materials are needed and how to put them together properly. Now, maybe this might sound a little off the wall, but if part of the procedure involved picking out a certain kind of wood, you might explain why this particular wood is best but there would be no reason to go into where this wood is most commonly found and what other things are usually made from it. Those facts, while some might find interesting, are just not important to what the article is trying to accomplish...showing your reader how to build a birdhouse.

Here's another example. You're writing an article on how to write a pop song. You go into the process of how to construct a lyric, tune, chords, and so on. Maybe you give examples of other pop songs written in the same manner, citing certain groups and their hits. However, that's as far as you'd go in citing examples. You wouldn't then go off in the direction of talking about a particular group and all the great hits they had, where they last played and who's in the group. This information is not only not necessary to teaching people how to write songs, but it so greatly goes off in another direction that you end up writing a second article.

Okay, I know these examples might seem a little extreme to you. I hope they do. That means that you have a decent idea of how to stick to the subject. But trust me, some topics are harder to focus on and it's a lot easier to go off into tangents. Therefore, it's important that when you write an article, you ask yourself this question. "Is it necessary that I include this info in my article?" If the answer is no, don't include it. That will keep your articles concise, to the point, and ultimately, read by your readers.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Want to write articles that get people's attention and can earn you up to $200 per article written? Then check out my Complete Article Writing And Marketing Guide that you can find at http://www.honestincomeprogram.com/tcawamg.html - This is my own book that I wrote from over 30 years of writing experience.

Getting Up Earlier

An Analysis of the Birth-Mark by Nathaniel Hawthorne

As in all of Hawthorne's writings when one finishes reading his stories you come up with more questions than answers. No other writer makes you question like Hawthorne. The philosophical question of what is true perfection and can it be achieved through physical means or is it a state of the spirit is the heart of Nathaniel Hawthorne's story The Birth-Mark.

Aylmer, the main character of the story is a brilliant scientist/alchemist. He posses a belief in "man's ultimate control over nature", and thinks there is nothing man can't master or achieve. His obsession with his wife's small imperfect birth mark, which resembles a hand, begins shortly after they become married. Aylmer is fixated with his wife Georgiana's perfection; he believes that in order for him to experience perfect love, he must have a perfect woman to love. His obsession gradually becomes Georgiana's obsession at which point she becomes so distraught that she tells Aylmer "Remove this dreadful hand, or take my wretched life". Aylmer sits down and tells his wife that there may be risk involved but he is confident that he shall remove the mark and his beautiful bride will be perfect in every way. He sets up comfortable surroundings for his wife described as "beautiful apartments, not unfit to be the secluded abode of a lovely woman". After the alchemist attempts and fails numerous methods for removing the mark from his wife he develops a "perfect elixir" that will without a doubt cure her and make her completely perfect. He administers this elixir and to his great delight sees the cursed hand start to fade and disappear; only to have his wife tell him "Aylmer-dearest Aylmer-I am dying!"

Georgiana achieved perfection in Aylmer's eyes in her dying moments; so did he Aylmer achieve what he set out to accomplish? I believe he did. Aylmer was a man who loved his work; he loved science more than he could ever love any human being. He was a man riddled with his inadequacies and imperfections, and as a result of his low view of himself, he demanded perfection in his wife. This is exhibited when Georgiana is reading out of his ledger which is described as a "sad confession, and continual exemplification, of the short-comings of the composite man". Aylmer was a self serving individual whose only goal is to make his wife perfect for his own sake or perhaps for science's sake. All these things being true; I do believe he loved Georgiana, and in his own bizarre way he wanted her to be perfect for her sake, because he believed that she deserved no less. In his quest for her perfection (which is impossible in the purely material sense) he destroyed her.

Aylmer's wife Georgiana was at first a happy woman; married to someone she believed to be a great man, until one day her husband tells her that the mark upon her cheek might be removed. This of course is the beginning of her as well as her husband's obsession with removing her one imperfection. The first thing that stuck out in my mind about Georgiana was her undying love, loyalty and desire to please her husband. This was very much a mark of the time. The fact that she would rather die than meet his disapproval I found significant. She seemed to me, to be the ultimate exemplification of love and unselfishness, to an insane level, which is exhibited in the line "You have aimed loftily! - You have done nobly! Do not repent, that, with so high and pure a feeling, you have rejected the best earth could offer." Georgiana does not feel ill towards her husband because she believes his feelings to be those of pure love.

The Birthmark touches on similar themes as Marry Shelly's Frankenstein in the idea that humans can possess a supernatural power to undo and make perfect what is imperfect. Aylmer does not believe in God or the natural laws he created, which is obvious by his belief in man's ultimate control over nature. God created man as a part of nature and we are not above nature but integrated with it. Just as today we are fighting the ethical issues of an increased understanding of science versus what we know to be natural law. Hawthorne's story The Birth Mark is just as relevant today as it was when written in 1843 if not more so. Today we are struggling with issues such as cloning, stem cell research and other aspects of science that seem in contradiction with God's and nature's laws. If confronted with the modern day issues we now face Hawthorne's opinions would probably be the same as he has set forth in this short story; that when man tries to accomplish what he was not intended to accomplish disaster will be the ultimate result. The hand was not only a birthmark but an integral part of Georgiana's soul, and removing this mark in the quest for perfection was her demise.

Hawthorne is telling us that humanity is imperfect, there is no perfection in the physical sense, and the only way to achieve perfection is through the spirit in death. The Christian parallel is clear here; none of us are perfect and the only way to become perfect is to become one with God, in death, which results in our going to heaven. This goes back to what makes us who we are; we are not pure flesh and blood, our psyches and our true selves go so much further beyond that.

Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story The Birth Mark touches on philosophical and ethical issues valid in his time, as well as ours. His work makes us think about what is perfection and is it desirable in the physical state. In the end we discover that if we overstep our bounds and try to make perfect that which is imperfect, death will be the final result, for only in death through God, can we achieve perfection.

by John Schlismann

John Schlismann has an interest in American Literature.

To read the Birthmark goto:
http://www.online-literature.com/hawthorne/125/

Spending 15 Minutes Each Day

6 Golden Rules For Fiction Writers

As an aspiring writer of novels you probably come across obstacles in your writing course on a daily basis. That is to be expected. Writing a novel is quite a long process and you are bound to have days when you have writer's block, lack of motivation, and are just feeling generally unproductive. Here are some fiction writing tips and golden rules for writers to get you back on track.

1. Write about subjects that are interesting to you. You may have a grand idea for a novel that you think will make you a millionaire, and in fact that may be the case. However, if it is a subject you have no interest in you are going to have a hard time staying motivated to complete an entire manuscript. If you're writing on a subject which is near and dear to your heart or at least something you are very interested in, you'll find the process of writing much easier. You'll also find you won't have to do as much research.

2. Don't let your mother look over your shoulder. A lot of writers subconsciously censor themselves because they begin to think about all the other people who might read their book should they get published. So instead of freely writing, they end up writing very stilted descriptions with the thought in mind of who is going to be reading it later. You must write without worrying about who will read your book.

3. Join a writer's group. This is important so that you can get constructive criticism that is objective. You may be showing your manuscript to your friends and family, but most of the time they are not going to give you very good criticism. Why? They don't want to hurt your feelings. But you need to hear what people actually think of your writing so that you will have a better chance of selling your work later. It's great to show your unfinished novel to your friends, but in your writers group you will get the best critiques.

4. Develop a thick skin. You must allow people to give you their honest opinion of your work. This is how you can improve. You also need to remember that you will probably get a lot of rejections for your work, and you will need to not take it personally. Learn from these rejections and improve your writing. Editors may sometimes include notes for you and these will be great fiction writing tips that you can apply.

5. Always read. Never stop reading books on writing, books in your genre, as well as a wide variety of other subjects. Become as well read as you possibly can.

6. Take classes. You may think that you already know all there is to know and that a class would only bore you, but you will find golden nuggets of crucial and invaluable information and fiction writing tips in each and every class, sometimes from your instructor and sometimes from other members of the class.

For more fiction writing tips and a step-by-step guide to write your novel, all you have to do is click here!

Learn how you can get your first novel started and finished easily with this step by step guide

30 Days To Creating Super Habits

Story Endings - Ten to Avoid

A logical, satisfying ending is always required in a short story, but how do you ensure that yours is fresh and new? One of the ways is to avoid the obvious. Here are some common endings seen by editors: use them at your peril.

And then I woke up.

The 'Dallas' gambit. This approach is nothing more than a cop-out for people with no imagination. Stories should reach a logical conclusion that satisfies the reader and resolves any conflicts. This method does neither.

And then I died.

The 'Weird Tales' gambit. This one turned up regularly in horror tales during the early part of last century, until it was overplayed by HP Lovecraft, among others. A diary which ends in a string of nonsense words as a crawling terror from beyond comes for the author was fine the first time out, but most editors have seen it too many times.

And I found out I'd been dead all along.

The 'Sixth Sense' gambit. This is an old one, which is why people who were well read in the genre spotted the twist very early in M Night Shyamalan's film. An overused variation is to have someone breaking out of a coffin after a supposedly premature burial. Don't do it; the editor will see it coming from a mile away.

And they called them Adam and Eve.

The 'Bible' gambit or, as Michael Moorcock puts it, Shaggy God stories. If you start with a nuclear holocaust or human colonists on a new planet, make sure you don't use this ending or the story will be bounced back to you straight away. The other trap to avoid is having a computer become a god. That avenue was new in the '40s, but these days an editor will laugh himself out of his chair.

And then I saw the fangs, just before he bit me

The 'singles bar pick-up' gambit. With this worn-out ending, a person visits a bar and is seduced by a pale, interesting stranger who turns out to be a vampire, a ghost, a werewolf or an alien. There are several variations seen nowadays, such as same-gender meetings and graphic sex scenes before the revelation, but the stories are all the same and editors know it.

And then I caught up with the '@!* who'd done me wrong and shot the @'!** out of them.

The 'Death Wish' gambit is the beloved technique of Michael Winner fanatics and gun-nuts. It makes for a very dull story unless you can bring style, energy and a unique vision to it, in which case you'd probably be better off trying to sell it as a film treatment. There's a long tradition of revenge movies, but in the written word they all come across as being very similar. A variant on this handling is the Charles Atlas gambit, where the weedy nerd becomes a kung-fu expert to wreak revenge on his tormentors. Don't be tempted to use this angle. Editors will know what's coming.

And the next day I read in the paper that he'd died.

The 'I talked to a ghost' gambit. This practice turned up frequently in Victorian literature. It's usually no more than an anecdote turned into a story. Variations include talking to someone who is later discovered to be the victim of a plane crash, an automobile wreck or a major catastrophe. Editors see a slew of these after a natural disaster, but whatever caused the person's death, the stories are all the same.

And it was a man in a mask all along.

The 'Scooby-Doo' gambit. Pretend spooks are a clich. The whole story builds up a sense of supernatural menace, only to reveal a human agency behind it all. It won't usually get past an editor but if it does, readers will feel disappointed and let down.

And it was my evil twin; we were separated at birth.

The 'doppelganger' gambit. Stephen King got away with this in The Dark Half and Dean Koontz pulled off a variation by making both twins evil in Shivers, but unless you have their style and wit, you shouldn't attempt it. Another variation, beloved of the romantics among us, is to have the protagonist find out they're really the son, daughter or sibling of a rich family. This mode is really just wishful thinking on behalf of the writer. You shouldn't be sharing your daydreams with editors.

I'm really a dog/cat/demon/alien.

The 'non-human storyteller' gambit is tried and tested. That's the problem. If you don't leave any clues to the fact, the reader will feel the ending is a cop-out. If you do leave clues, the reader and your editor will spot the ending coming unless you're very good at disguising the fact.

Remember, people have been writing stories for a very long time. If you've read a similar ending in a story or seen it in a film, you can bet the editor will be aware of it, too. There are only so many original endings to go around; make sure yours is one of them.

William Meikle is a Scottish writer, now living in Canada, with seven novels published in the States and three more coming in 2007/8, all in the independent fantasy and horror press. His short work and articles have appeared in the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Greece, Saudi Arabia and India. He also has three shorts produced from his scripts, and several supernatural scripts currently on option, including four shorts, and a supernatural thriller feature.

William Meikle
http://www.williammeikle.com

Spending 15 Minutes Each Day

Ways to Get Freelance Writing Jobs

These days, it's important to find ways to earn additional income. And asking yourself "How do I become a freelance writer?" is your ticket to exactly that. Of course, I assume that you do have an interest in writing; otherwise, this might not be fitting for you.

If you have a flair for writing, then finding freelance writing jobs is going to be easy. All you have to do is follow these steps and you're well on your way to writing yourself a good paycheck.

1) Surf the net for online "wanted" signs.

So how do I become a freelance writer? Well, try the net. A lot of people are actually looking for online writers at the moment. All you have to do is type "freelance writers" or "bloggers wanted" and you're all set.

I know this might sound too easy and so must be impossible, but that's not entirely true. To be honest, that's exactly how I first started my writing gig.

2) Don't be afraid to contribute.

If you want to know how to become a freelance writer for a magazine, you have to submit your articles to them yourself.

Many magazines accept contributions that are useful and valuable, so make sure your work is in line with what that magazine stands for and send your article!

3) Prepare sample works.

Whether online or in real life, you have to prepare sample works for your potential employers. This is one way they can gauge if you're fit for the job or not.

Sometimes though, they'll ask you to create a new article out of a topic they chose. When this happens, make sure you do your research. Never plagiarize and stick to what you know.

Trying to deal with the question "How do I become a freelance writer?" is an exciting journey. You're going to have to put yourself out there, trust in your instincts and in your own writing skills. Never be afraid to use creativity and imagination, too!

Want to earn a 5-figure monthly income through freelance writing jobs? Go to http://www.20daypersuasion.com/5figurewriter.htm and discover how to earn massive amounts of money by becoming a freelance writer.

Finding Something You Don

Finding Freelance Writing Jobs

Finding freelance writing jobs can be quite a challenging task. With more people seeking "work at home opportunities," as well more and more individuals looking to earn extra income, the undertaking of finding freelance work can be next to impossible if you simply use the traditional methods of job hunting.

Traditional methods are described as searching your local newspaper and area classifieds, general online searches of free classified advertisements and bidding for jobs on freelance job sites.

The problem with traditional methods are:

1. Most local newspaper and classified listings are not work from home jobs.
2. A search of the free classified listings are filled with paid membership sites where you have to join and pay a fee to gain access to the available jobs, jobs which pay very low rates, and many jobs that are no pay at all.
3. Many of the freelance bidding sites charge a monthly fee to sign up and although the job listings are plentiful, the winning bidders are normally the people who are willing to work for peanuts or those who have a high rating.

For the inexperienced writer or even those wishing to switch from working in-house to at-home, there are techniques that you can use to find freelance jobs online. This is nothing more than changing the way you perform your searches.

A New Way of Searching

When most people perform searches, they type general keywords into the browser. For example, "jobs," or "freelance work." While these searches will bring up results for job opportunities, most of the searches will be irrelevant to what you are looking for. Even narrowing down your search to "writing jobs," "content writer," "freelance writer," these searches will yield more relevant searches, but it will still be a significant amount of non-relevant information that you don't really don't need.

The keyword or keyword phrases that you use can make all the difference in the world for your searches. Here are a few keyword phrases that you can use when you perform your next job search online:

Looking for writer/writers
Paid writing jobs
Write for us, me, our company
Writer wanted, needed
Freelance writer/writers wanted, needed
Freelance writing jobs, gigs
Freelance writing opportunity
Freelance writing opportunities
Blogger/bloggers needed, wanted
Blog for us
Looking for writers, a writer
Journalist needed, wanted

These searches will still produce a large number of results, so you can narrow down your search even further within your niche, i.e. technical writers wanted, internet marketing bloggers needed, etc.

By changing just a few words, you will find that you open the door to an entire set of new freelance job opportunities. This can work with other jobs as well; you simply change the keywords.

If you have hit a roadblock with your online freelance job searching efforts, take a moment to visit http://www.fingers4hire.wordpress.com where you can review the job postings without being annoyed with sign-ups and registrations, etc

Kimberly Best, a transcriptionist with over 20 years of experience in medical, legal, and general transcription. Currently doing freelance transcription specializing in seminars, videos, Mastermind groups, and interviews. Having worked with several internet marketers, business coaches, and consultants, Kimberly can adapt her writing style to express your thoughts through her writing

Backup Plans Feel Good

Best Types of Writing Worksheet

Teachers and parents basically are the primary users of worksheets. It is an effective tool in helping children learn how to write.

There are many types of writing worksheets. There is the cursive writing worksheets and the kindergarten worksheets. The latter is more on letter writing and number writing. This is typically given to kids of aged four to seven to first teach them how to write. Through these worksheets, they learn muscle control in their fingers and wrist by repeatedly following the strokes of writing each letter.

These writing worksheets have traceable patterns of the different strokes of writing letters. By tracing these patterns, kids slowly learn how a letter is structured.

When you are a parent, and you want to teach your kids ahead of time just before he would go to school, you can use the free online worksheets. There are lots of them available. You can let your kids learn online. Through this, your kids will be ready for school.

These online materials are readily downloadable and can be printed for use. And the good thing about this is that you can produce as many copies as you want, until your kid learns and perfect the craft of writing.

There are also teachers who use these kinds of techniques to teach in a more animated manner. The idea is to keep children interested because without their attention, it is difficult to make them absorb what you are trying to teach.

There are many types of worksheets you can use as a teaching aid. First is coloring pages. This is good in teaching kids the different colors and their names, and the proper way to color. With First Crafts, kids learn how to make simple crafts and enjoy the fruits of their hard work.

There are also worksheets that teach how to read. It includes the basic sounds each letter produce. Kids try to read the words displayed before them. In the First Alphabet worksheet, kids learn how to write the alphabet. And in the First Animals worksheet, kids try to recognize the animals in the picture and learn the names of these animals.

There are many more worksheets available. They vary in complexity of the activity depending on the age and grade level of a child.

Other activities for kindergarten include jigsaw puzzles. There are also worksheets that teach children about some biblical characters, and how to help a community. These activities are not limited to individual work. There are also worksheets that require a group effort to finish the task. This way, children learn to work in a team. This is a very effective group activity in helping them realize the importance of cooperation and teamwork.

At a young age, kids are first taught to write letters in print only. When kids reach the age of eight to ten, they are taught how to write in cursive. They may find this quite difficult and boring at first. But one fun way to teach them this is to use worksheets also.

The basic cursive worksheets that you can use are Rockin' Round Letters, Climb'n' Slide Letters, Loopy Letters, Lumpy Letters, and Mix 'n' Match.

Worksheets are now being used in most schools as they are proven effective in fostering a children's learning process. There were studies that show children responding better to worksheets compared to other boring and strict methods of teaching.

For more information on cursive writing worksheets and kindergarten writing worksheets, please visit our website.

Habits To Prevent Losing Things

Necessary Ingredients That Must Be Part of Your Novel

The words "publish" and "novel" have so much meaning to so many people. To write a novel is a lifelong dream for millions. To publish a book with one's name on it...it runs chills down the spine just thinking about it.

But this phrase - publish novel - also has a great deal of mystery, fallacy, controversy and even danger attached to it. Bluntly put, if you don't know enough about publishing a novel, your book dream could be washed away, like a torrent of rain over watercolors.

I always say, and live by: "Become empowered by knowledge and you will enable yourself to succeed."

Here is Part 1 of the "Publish Novel" series.

Let's look at what goes into creating a great novel...one that others will read in its entirety and also rave about it to others (viral marketing) for years to come:

1 - Great Writing

There is no getting around this one. You have to take an honest look at yourself, without personal bias, and decide whether you are an exceptional writer who can carry through with the immense endeavor of writing a book. This may require that you delve into your book idea and actually make an attempt at writing it.

Take note as to how it goes. Do you find yourself at the end of your "novel" after ten or twenty pages? Do you feel confused? Is it enjoyable or painstaking? Ask yourself these and other relevant questions with the understanding that your project can take two years or longer to write. In other words, would it be confusion or clarity? Effort or ease? Torture or delight?

If delightful, decide whether your novel writing experience is more important than the quality level of your book. Realize that novel writing can be a most therapeutic undertaking for the right kind of person or a living nightmare for others. If you get great pleasure from it then figure whether you can actually produce your novel at a publishable level of quality all on your own.

One great solution for the novel writing enthusiast is to higher a bona fide book writer to collaborate with. The old saying, "Two heads are better than one," is never more applicable than with collaborative book writing. I can't tell you how invaluable it is to be able to bounce ideas back and forth with someone who understands the makings of a great novel.

If you learn that novel writing is not your cup of tea, but you have a vivid imagination or good ideas, don't be discouraged. Less than one percent of the population is actually capable of writing a great novel on their own. The fact is, you are still in a great position - with your imagination intact - to have your novel in hand before you know it!

You can hire a professional book writer to write your book for you. What ever the terms of the contract between you (the author) and he or she (the writer) are, you will essential either have a ghostwriter for hire or book writer in a collaborative effort (known as a collaborator or collaborative writer). That's an entirely different subject that needs address at another place and time.

If you feel confident that you can get the job done, then by all means, git 'er done! But you have to realize that writing your novel is only one in many vital steps. Leave just one of these ingredients out, or poorly unaddressed, and your dream will fail.

I will continue with this "Publish Novel" series over the coming weeks and prepare you intellectually with everything you need to know for creating a great publishable novel.

Robert S. Nahas is a professional book writer and president of WriterServices.net. He has written numerous published books of his own and for others, and helps aspiring writers and authors achieve their dreams of getting their books written, published and selling well. You can get more information on how to find good book writers for hire, how to get published, find a good agent, find funding... and more at http://www.TheSavvyAuthor.com You can find more information on R. S. Nahas at http://www.writerservices.net/index.php?sid=ez08

Copyright 2008 by Robert S. Nahas - All rights reserved.

Stopped Losing Your Car Keys

A Review of How to Write Successful Feature Articles

It is often said that one skill that will never go out of style is that of writing. As long as you can write, you'll find an industry that will give you what you want, but you'll find that cracking into that industry might be harder than you think. If you are interested in making a living as a writer, you'll find that you need to know a lot more than when to capitalize and when to put commas in!

Writing to make a living is a lot different from writing to please yourself, and if you want to move forward in this industry, you'll find that there are a few things that you need to keep in mind. The first thing that you should remember is that making a living as a writer involves knowing how to make it in the industry, and you'll find that by taking a look at the How to Write Successful Feature Articles course that you will find yourself well on the road to succeeding at this.

When you are taking a look at the How to Write Successful Feature Articles program, you'll find that you will be given over to a new world of writing. If you have ever taken a writing course before, you are already familiar with pieces of advice that say things like keep the plot going, or be clear when you are trying to get your point across.

The truth of the matter is that even with that good advice under your belt, you'll still have a tough time getting published. When it comes right down to it, you'll find that editors and magazines have their own standards, which are not always readily apparent just from looking over what they are saying in the first place. You'll find that when you are looking to move forward that you need to be aware of this, and you need to figure out what you are looking forward too.

Keep in mind that you do need to stop and think about where you are going when it comes to the basics as well. Have you forgotten how to write and speak properly? If you have, this will disqualify you as much as anything else, and you'll find that in the long run, you should think about what you need to do to make sure that you can get the options that you need. You'll also learn about things like how to get your audience's attention, not just through good prose but through good formatting, and you'll find that there are plenty of tips that you need to know to get ahead in the field of writing that you choose.

Don't get left behind when it comes to your writing. Take a look at the How to Write Successful Feature Articles program and you'll find that there are secrets that can get you accepted as long as you have the drive. You already know you have the drive, so take the time to think about what else you need!

Let Article Marketing Review Kings Brian Garvin and Jeff West teach you more about Internet Marketing Review Kings. Feel free to use this article but please leave all links and author bio intact.

Developing Wealth Building Habit

Be a Successful Freelance Writer

These days, anybody can be a writer. With the amount of freelance writing jobs available over the Internet, you don't even have to set a foot out of your house to earn some extra cash. And if you're hardworking and skillful enough, you'll probably earn more than many day job workers.

Freelance writing jobs are not as daunting as they used to be. Offers can range from anything and everything under the sun. In fact, there are plenty of people looking out for writers right this very moment.

And if you hang around long enough, you'll learn how to avoid basic mistakes and spot golden opportunities. Here are some helpful tips to succeed in freelance writing.

Surf the Net and Be Observant.

You can start making money by typing freelance writing jobs on your favorite search engine. As impossible as it is to believe, that's how easy it is. Of course, most of the links will then lead you through blogs, forums and Web sites.

As mentioned earlier, topics to write about can range from anything and everything. It could be something as common as travel, or something as technical as manipulating graphics.

Stick to What You Know.

Aside from their obvious popularity, blog articles are also easier to write. They're less formal and use a more easygoing tone.

For a beginner, it's the best place to start your career as a freelance writer. If you're fond of cooking, you can look for a blog that focuses on that subject. If you're into marketing, there are hundreds of blogs out there which deal with your interest.

Accept Payments.

Payment transactions are usually done online. You'll need to set up an account at a credible online money transferring company or payment processor in order to receive your money.

Personally, all I earn from my freelance writing jobs are wired through Paypal. It's easily one of the most popular and credible companies out there. If your country is not included in Paypal's list, another good alternative would be 2Checkout.

Freelance writing jobs may seem easy-and they are-but they also require proper working habits. You might think that it's okay to slack off since you don't exactly have a superior watching over you like a hawk; however, how you work can determine where your next paycheck comes from.

If your employer decides that he or she likes your writing style as well as your work habits, you'll be the first person he or she will call up the next time a project pops out.

Want to earn a 5-figure monthly income through freelance writing jobs? Go to http://www.20daypersuasion.com/5figurewriter.htm and discover how to earn massive amounts of money by becoming a freelance writer

Starting With Simple Things

How to Accept Rejection Letters

We've all suffered rejection and disappointment. Perhaps that job you coveted or someone you loved who might have even led you on before dropping you. It hurts. But you move on. And it does get better. It does, trust me.

Being a published writer involves accepting rejection. Think of rejection as an integral part of a road to success. If you have never been rejected then you haven't really tried, have you? There are several ways that you can gain a good perspective on your rejection letters and even make them work to your advantage.

Adopt a Healthy Perspective

One way is to adopt a realistic, objective and healthy viewpoint on your story's rejection:

View selling manuscripts as a "cold call" business: When you view it this way, you will treat it that way. Until you establish a relationship with your market, selling becomes a numbers game. The more you send, the more likely you are to get a hit. It's all in the statistics.

View rejections as an opportunity. Rejections can provide you with the opportunity to learn and re-evaluate, usually of appropriate market and publisher subjectivity rather than writing quality.

View rejections as the beginning of a relationship. Not all rejections are final; in fact most aren't. Most rejections by a publisher or magazine editor stem from story redundancy, lack of space or editorial requirements. Many rejection letters will reflect this (e.g., "Thanks, but this isn't a match for us...do try us again." They mean it. It means they liked your writing but the story wasn't right-they may have run something too similar to it already or it didn't fit with the other pieces or theme or whatever.)

View rejections as part of your success journey. Rejection is a given in the writing business, where a story may be considered "before its time", untried, or a risk and therefore harder to place. This is often why a book that was rejected so many times becomes a great hit once it is published. The very quality that made it hard for a publisher to accept made it a success with the readership-its refreshing yet topical originality.

View rejections as your first step to success. Take heart in the fact that you reached this stage in your writing career. Getting that first rejection in the mail is a great affirmation that you have taken that first significant step to becoming a serious writer.

Acceptance begins with rejection.

Make Rejection Work for You

You can maintain a more objective view on your rejections by keeping an objective view on your submissions. This can be accomplished by submitting a lot and submitting often. Treat your submissions-and rejections-like a business. The best way to do this is to submit lots of stories and to keep submitting them. The critical part of this process is to always have a contingency ready for each story submitted. Once a story is returned you have a place to send it already.

Karen Mason publishes The Passionate Writer for people seeking guidance on getting their own books published. Our coaching and training programs are designed specifically for writers who are serious about becoming "published authors"

http://www.thepassionatewriter.com/

Get more tips to help you promote your career as an author and re-discover the "magic" of writing!

Developing Wealth Building Habit

Writing Using What is Around Us - Finding Inspiration

Go on a scavenger hunt through a favorite book. Look for outstanding adjectives, sentences that grabbed your attention and for physical descriptions that were especially good. See what the structure of the story was and what kept you reading the chapters through to the end. Look for the events that inspired you as you read.

This information is excellent to gather so you can begin to use it as a guide to help you improve your own writing skill. See if you can take an idea and write a story using the new approach. Your characters may seem more real to you and the content more appealing to your reader when you enhance your story lines with inspirational events.

Adding richness to your overall story is so important to keep your reader interested in following the story to the end. I enjoy stories that are inspirational and most other people do also. They are all around us in the stories of the friends, family and people we meet at the grocery store, mall and in other actives in our lives.

It is like a treasure hunt when you find things in your favorite books and are aware enough to notice the treasures in the people you meet. They can be used in whole or in part as you develop your characters and begin to see your story unfold, perhaps in a new way.

You feel less pressure to produce a story if you can start with an idea and allow it to help you jump start the current story line you are working with at the moment. Allow your reader to go on a scavenger hunt and find the treasure in what you have written. It can make learning how to improve your writing more fun and you also get to discover the treasures you have in yourself as you share with the others around you.

And now I invite you to join me for a series of writing exercises to help you discover your areas of interest in writing as well as increasing your creativity. You may access these exercises by visiting http://www.freecreativewritingstrategies.com.

You also may enjoy visiting my blog at http://www.creativewritingmadeeasy.com

30 Days To Creating Super Habits

Controversy Sells

If you're struggling to get attention or capture interest with your articles, your problem might just be that your articles are too boring. Are you shocked to hear that? Well, don't be. The truth is, if your articles are not producing for you, they just might not be capturing the imagination of the public. A way to really capture attention is to inject some controversy into your article.

You see, most articles these days are just the same-old stuff that is rehashed from before. That makes it so boring. Experienced readers will be able to tell that the information is just recycled information with different wording. You'll want to be original and actually present some new information. If your article is a little controversial and goes against the grain, so to speak, even better. You will get more attention and more traffic.

Now, being controversial doesn't mean being offensive. There is a difference. You can be outspoken but you shouldn't outright offend people with your opinions. Do it with a little tact, but don't diminish the impact of your article's viewpoint.

The best way to be controversial is to write an article that is heavily in favor of one point of view. Chances are, you feel very strongly about an issue. If you write about it, your feelings are likely to pour out into the article. This will make the article a potentially controversial one and it will generate a lot of attention and hence drive more traffic to your website.

That's the end goal, to get more traffic. Don't be controversial just for the sake of it.

Fabian Tan is a well-known Internet Marketing expert and the author of the popular 59-page Report:

"Murder Your Job: How To Build Cash Sucking Autopilot Businesses In 30 Days Or Less!"

Head over to http://www.MurderYourJob.com to get your FREE copy now!

Also, quickly download his FREE "Explosive Traffic System" report that shows you how to generate 10,000+ unique visitors per month at no cost! => http://www.ExplosiveTrafficSystem.com

30 Days To Creating Super Habits

How to Become a Writer and Have Your Writing Published on the Internet

Writing articles and blog posts for the internet is similar to writing for offline publications, but you will find that online writing is published faster and easier. I had wanted to write for many years, but was discouraged at the slow process and rejection of magazines and publishers in general. Once I discovered online writing, I was able to become the writer I had always wanted to be, and get my message out to others.

Article writing and blogging are the easiest ways to get started. These two areas will give you vast exposure to readers from around the world, and help you get your message out. During the first few months you will spend time finding your voice, so that you can decide what it is that you want to share with other people.

It is also refreshing to find that there are no traditional editors telling you what you can write and rejecting your writing for a myriad of reasons. The 1.4 billion internet users are your audience, and it is them that you are reaching out to with your online writing.

You can also turn your writing into short reports and eBooks, both of which can be sold on the internet. Choose a niche that is in high demand and you will be able to start making sales right away. A book published by a traditional publisher could take as long as a year or more to get published.

So get started with your online writing and submit articles to directories. Begin a blog on your niche topic and you will be on your way to a life as a writer on the internet.

And now I invite you to join me for free weekly teleseminars by visiting http://www.EbookWritingandMarketingSecrets.com to learn how to write articles, blog, become involved in social networking and learn the technology needed to build a profitable online business.

Connie Ragen Green has been online since 2005 and teaches people how to build their own online business in record time, offering free teleseminars weekly, as well as online courses in a workshop environment.

Spending 15 Minutes Each Day

Attributes of Great Online Writers

The 12 Attributes of Great Online Writers

Expert online writers can help your website to climb to the top of Google. So when you're looking for top results, here are 12 key attributes you should look for - and expect nothing less.

1. They save you time. Effective writing is labour-intensive and can constrict your schedule. Hiring an online writer allows you to focus on all your other priorities.

2. They meet every deadline. In fact they thrive on meeting deadlines, so they always produce work on time.

3. They solve a problem. Good writers don't promote a technique that boosts PageRank (feature), they promote more traffic (benefit). They don't list facts; they solve problems.

4. They are great researchers. Writing requires fact gathering such as online research, interviews, anecdotes and statistics. Good writers are experts in obtaining background information.

5. They think of the overall user experience. Information architecture, coding, metadata and design. Your online writer knows what helps users to find and read content.

6. They live and breathe SEO - and that's what delivers high rankings. They know about keyword density, article PR, link-bait - all wrapped up in cracking content.

7. They are social media savvy. Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. To take full advantage of Web 2.0, your web writer should know about all the main social sites. In fact, they should be members.

8. They're passionate about content strategy. Most content is crap. But content is the web - it deserves time and attention. That's where content strategy comes in. Your writer should take up the torch for content strategy - most will want to make content matter.

9. They love Google. Google is the most popular search engine - by a wide margin. So web writers will be infatuated with Google. In fact, it's probably their default homepage.

10. They give your customers reasons to believe. Great writers prove your product will perform - and they remove risk. The result? Your customers' confidence confidence goes through the roof.

11. They ask for the sale. If you have something to sell (or an email list to opt in to), you have to ask. Explicitly. Online writers know how important this is. Otherwise no one gets paid.

12. They write with reading in mind, using plain English. They use lists and bullets. They edit - a lot. They choose short words, short sentences, short paragraphs. They respect your readers' time, which means your readers will be back for more.

Need an expert online writer? Visit http://www.brightcopy.gg or email tineke@brightcopy.gg.
Tineke is a successful copywriter who has written for Vodafone, Waitrose, Natwest, Vets4Pets, Southport Tourism and many more.

Structuring Your 24 Hour Day

Easy Writing For Children

It's easy to pick up a children's book at your local bookstore or library and think, "I could have written this." After all, there are few words and the words and thoughts are simple. How hard could it be?

It's much harder than you think. Whether you're writing a picture book for toddlers or a novel for the young adult market, you have to have some knowledge and training in the profession of children's writing to succeed.

Like any profession, children's writers have worked at perfecting their craft. They have taken classes, attended workshops and joined critique groups. Then, they submitted their books to editors who worked with them even more. Being a children's writer is not for the thin-skinned.

If you're interested in writing for children, there are several steps you can take to help you achieve your dream.

Take a class: If you've never taken a writing class, this would be a good time to sign up. It will teach you how to organize your thoughts and how to perfect your grammar. Taking a class that focuses on writing for children would be even better. You can find these classes or workshops at your local library, community college or you might try looking online.

Join a writer's organization: Writers organizations hold local workshops, meetings, sponsor critique groups and classes. Look around your community. You might be surprised at how many writers you find.

Join a critique group: Sure, you think your writing is great. But have you shown it to anyone else? Before you submit it for publication have another writer read it and tell you what s/he thinks.

These steps can get you on the road to a successful career in children's writing.

For more tips on writing for children, visit Phyllis' blog at http://www.phyllisquigg.blogspot.com

Habits To Prevent Losing Things