From the daily archives: Sunday, January 17, 2010
Here’s the truth; you don’t need to have a degree in journalism just to write articles for newspapers. These articles are very easy to write as long as you follow basic guidelines. These are the following:
1. First thing to do is to find interesting story that you can write about. Depending on the beat assigned to you, you can write about police reports (crimes), about the government and politics, economy, sports, entertainment, and other related news. Choose those stories that you consider most important and that are very interesting to your target audience.
2. Think of an attention-grabbing title. The next thing to do is to write a very catchy title for your articles. You want to make sure that this is very powerful so you can entice more readers to pay attention to your story. It’s important to keep your headlines short so you can help your editors save some precious space.
3. Inverted pyramid technique. Use this technique when writing your newspaper articles. Present the information you have based on their importance. Your lead paragraph must contain everything that your readers will need to understand your stories. This is important as most people do not have the time to read articles until the end. By using this technique, you can be assured that your readers will understand your story by simply reading your first paragraph.
4. Answer all the possible questions of your readers. Read your articles after you have finished writing them. Make sure that they contain all the information that will address all the what, why, where, when, who, and how question of your readers so you will not leave these people puzzled.
Author: Sean R Mize
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Cool mobile gadgets
It turns out that “tips and templates on how to write
resignation letters” is the third most sought-after
information at my Writing Help Central Web site.
So, when I looked into the subject more closely, I was
surprised to find that there is not a lot of guidance
available in guide book form on how to write a proper and
appropriate resignation letter. In fact, a recent visit to
the world’s largest bookstore http://www.amazon.com revealed that
there are no “how to” books available there that deal with
the art of writing resignation letters.
Surprising, but true.
This is interesting, because when you really look into it,
you realize that whether you leave a job gracefully and
appropriately will almost certainly have career and personal
implications, and can be almost as important as writing
a resume/cv or a cover letter.
THE EMOTIONS BEHIND RESIGNATION LETTERS
A resignation letter will be one of the most emotionally-
charged business letters that you will ever write. The
sentiments behind it are invariably volatile because of
what it represents. In fact, studies have found that
leaving a job can be almost as stressful as the breakup of
a marriage.
Nevertheless, it is highly advisable that not too many of
those emotions, especially any negative feelings, get
transferred to the written page. As much as possible, a
resignation letter should be treated as a business letter,
just like any other business letter.
There are a number of reasons why resignation letters have
more emotional implications than most other personal or
business letters. Here are the obvious ones:
- They are highly personal because they normally mark the
severance of both professional and personal relationships,
sometimes of a long-term nature.
- They typically signify the end of a period in a person’s
professional and/or personal life.
- They represent the beginning of a new period or phase in
someone’s personal and professional life, conjuring up
the fears that often arise with an uncertain future.
KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF RESIGNATION LETTERS
Following are a number of primary characteristics that
are unique to resignation letters.
Not Just Job-Related
Mention “resignation letter” and 99 of 100 people will think
exclusively about job-related situations. In reality, there
are a number of areas and circumstances for which
recommendation letters can be required. For example, in
addition to leaving jobs, resignation letters can be
required for such situations as: stepping down from a
committee, opting out of a course at school, leaving a club
or fellowship, and others.
Sensitive and Delicate
When you submit your resignation letter it will have
implications for you, the organization you are leaving,
and the colleagues and friends you are leaving behind. You
must realize that regardless of the real reasons behind your
departure, the message received by many will be that you’re
leaving because the organization and/or people just don’t
measure up any more. This is a natural human reaction for
many people and can’t be entirely avoided. Just be
sensitive to it and don’t say, do, or write anything that
unnecessarily aggravates such feelings of abandonment.
Simple Formality or Big Surprise
A resignation letter can simply be the formalization of a
conversation that already took place with your boss, or an
announcement you made in a meeting. On the other hand, a
resignation letter can be tendered completely unannounced,
as a total surprise. In fact, this is often the case in the
real world. If this latter case applies in your situation,
you will have to be prepared to deal with any one of a
number of possible reactions from the organization and
your colleagues, ranging from total acceptance, to anger,
bargaining, and resentment.
Positive Beats Negative
The way in which you resign from an organization can have
significant implications, both career-wise, and personally.
Regardless of the circumstances and/or atmosphere
surrounding your departure, you will be well-advised to
take whatever measures you can to neutralize any negative
factors that may be in play. The approach and wording used
in the resignation letter can go a long way towards
achieving this aim.
Always A Balancing Act
Writing a letter of resignation can be a bit of a balancing
act. You want to be honest, clear, and firm regarding your
intentions to leave, while at the same time you don’t want
to alienate the employer you are leaving. It would be nice
for that door to remain open, or at least ajar, just in
case you want to enter it in the future. After all, you
never know what may happen down the road. For all you know,
your current employer could end up buying the company you
are moving to. So be careful about limiting your future
options.
Backlash Can Be Swift
Negative impacts from a poorly written or inappropriately
worded resignation letter can be almost immediate. For
example, if you are hoping to get a good recommendation
or reference from the employer you’re leaving, a negative
resignation letter can only hurt your letter of
recommendation/reference. Also, even if you don’t request
a recommendation letter there is nothing to stop future
potential employers from checking back with organizations
you have worked for.
So here’s a word to to the wise. Before you blindly jump
into writing a resignation letter, you might want to spend
some time thinking about it and finding out how to write
one that is proper and appropriate, so that it won’t come
back to haunt you.
To see a fully-formatted “real-life template” of a simple
letter of resignation, check out the following link:
http://instantresignationletterkit.com/sampreslet.html
2005 by Shaun Fawcett
Author: Shaun Fawcett
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Canada duty tariff
The exactness of an organizations technical documentation will definitely be an asset to the company. Since its a trustworthy resource on how to use the product of the company, itll benefit the company and its customers. In fact bad user manuals are frustrating and can alienate customers. However in contrast, good technical documentation has real benefits. Also, clear reference materials can reduce customer errors and make the business processes more reliable.
So, in the present world of complicated gadgets, technical documentations require more than just writing. But sadly, IT departments don’t have the information design skills required for good technical documentation. But you can make your technical documentation clear and to the point by availing technical writing services. Technical writing services can also help you with any large amounts of unstructured information and help you better demonstrate the image of your product and organization. There are countless technical writing services that do have these skills, and they offer these skills to anyone in the organization that needs help with large amounts of unstructured information.
These technical writing services offered by many companies can make an operators manual understandable to the common person. These technical writing services can at the very least identify the audience that the manual is intended for and use the terminology that that audience is familiar with. Technical writing services are useful in cases where there is a need for straightforward, easy to use information.
Technical writing services can develop technical documentations, such as equipment manuals, appendixes, or operating and maintenance instructions, catalogs, parts lists, assembly instructions, sales promotion materials, and project proposals. In fact, many technical documentation-writing services writers work with engineers on technical subject matters and help in preparing written interpretations of engineering and design specifications and other information for the laymen readership.
Technical writing services are useful for companies that need help with organizing, writing or delivering their policies and procedures in easily understandable language. These services are especially sought out by software developers whore scared of losing their customers. Theyre ideal for those companies that dont want to support technical writers but instead prefer to hire the services of technical writers as and when required.
Author: James Marriot
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Canada duty rate
Online writing is a very active pastime – or career – to get involved in. But if you have read the comments made by a lot of potential writers out there, they would have you believe that there is no such thing as paid writing jobs at all. At least, not ones that would help you pay the mortgage each month.
I am here to prove them wrong. I have been a full timer for eighteen months now. The reason I left my job was because I had too many writing jobs not to! I got to the stage where my online writing income was better than my day job income.
So how did I find those jobs? How did I get to the stage where I had enough jobs to warrant being able to leave?
You want to discover my secret, am I right? Well here it is – I persevered. I knew there were good writing jobs out there because I knew people who did them. So I resolved not to give up until I found them as well. I looked on sites like Craigslist, I loaded articles onto Constant Content, I explored all the job sites and looked on all the writing blogs that have regular batches of jobs culled from other sources.
And I kept going.
Now there is the key to real success – to keep going. Real, proper, paid writing jobs DO exist, believe me. The problem with a lot of would-be writers is that they give up long before they ever find them. You cannot expect to trip over the best jobs right from the start. Just as you would do years of training to become a doctor or get to the top of any job, you need to do the same with writing as well. So in short, the jobs are there – but you have to find them.
There are ways to make life easier though. Put links to your favourite job sources on your Bookmarks Toolbar on your computer. This will prompt you to look at them regularly. Make a pact to look for writing jobs every day. Apply for as many as you can and KEEP GOING. If you give up you will never know if the very next job could have been the one to make a difference.
And finally, don’t believe that the only writing jobs around are those which pay $1 per 500 words. You can start with these if you wish, but be ready to move on fast if you do.
Author: Allison Whitehead
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Mobile device news
Horror has long gone hand in hand with fantasy and science fiction. Many classic horror stories are also fantasy or science fiction stories, and fantasy and science fiction stories often have elements of horror in them. Where would Lord of the Rings have been without the Nazghul, undead kings dominated by the power of the rings? Where would Alien have been without the alien? Dracula and Frankenstein are both considered horror fiction, but Dracula is also fantasy and Frankenstein clearly has early science fiction elements. So, what are the differences between horror and general science fiction/fantasy? Here are a few general guidelines to help distinguish the genres.
In general fantasy and science fiction, the main characters have abilities that are a match for the antagonists. In horror, that is often not the case. Frodo had Sting and his elven mail to protect him. In Star Trek the crew members of the Enterprise have their wits, their training and their equipment to deal with their enemies. In a Zombie apocalypse, the main characters typically have little or nothing to protect them except what they find lying around.
In general fantasy and science fiction, the heroes typically have someone that knows what is going on and can explain what they will face. In horror this is seldom the case. Obi Wan Kenobi, Gandalf, Dumbledore or some higher up in Star Fleet command or some member of the ship’s crew can usually give the lead characters at least some idea who they are up against and how to beat them. In horror, if there is someone that actually knows what is going on, they are probably in an asylum or some other inconvenient location, and their warnings may not make sense until after someone has been eaten. In addition, wise old mentors in horror have a disturbing habit of being wrong on very important issues. In a horror story, the protagonists are often responsible for their own survival and victory.
In general fantasy and science fiction most if not all the main characters come through all right in the end. In horror, the winners may well come away scarred for life. That’s assuming any of them actually survive. How many lead characters were dead at the end of Lord of the Rings? How many of the crew that don’t wear red shirts are killed in the average Star Trek episode? Sure there are exceptions to this, but in many cases even if a lead dies, they get brought back through some miracle of science or magic. Don’t count on this in horror. In a good horror story everyone is expendable. Even if there are survivors, they may still not be in good shape at the end. Many of Lovecraft’s protagonists found themselves long term residents of mental institutions by the end of his stories. They were often considered the luckier ones.
In general fantasy and science fiction, the heroes have a chance to stop the villains. In horror this may well not be the case. Fantasy and science fiction give a wide variety of means to combat a hopeless situation or otherwise impossible odds. In horror, if the ultimate evil actually makes an appearance it’s questionable whether it can be stopped at all. Frequently the key is dealing with the frail humans that are its allies before they can bring it all the way into our world. If the heroes mess that up, it’s all over. At the very least, putting an end to the ultimate evil may require the sacrifice of everyone’s lives or sanity or something equally valuable. The world wins, but the heroes lose.
So, if you are interested in adding a bit of horror to your fantasy or science fiction story, look at these guidelines and apply some of the horror end of them to the plot. Adding fantasy or science fiction to a horror story is generally as simple as making the thing that is stalking the protagonists some unearthly horror be it an alien from beyond or a demon from beyond. Give some genre blending a try and you’ll add variety and some suspense to your stories and perhaps make them a bit more exciting.
Copyright Colin Neilson 2009
Author: Colin Neilson
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Netbook, Tablets and Mobile Computing
Can Quick Grammar Guide & Checker solve our grammar writing problems once and for all? English writing is one of the most important forms of communication today, it is necessary to maintain it correct and professional. Let’s take a look and see how recent technological improvements can help us on improving our writing skills.
Quick introduction
What is Quick Grammar Guide & Checker all about? Well, it is one of these innovative solutions that technology keeps bringing in order to make our life easier – in our case it is about fixing our English writing. By simulating the human mind, this technology analyzes your writing by comparing it to a dynamic large database that contains proper variations of your text. Sophisticated language processing solutions usually offer the following: editing and proofreading, checking on spelling and typos, and most importantly – analyzing our grammar writing.
Important benefits
We can easily find several important advantages while using this technology:
* Significantly enhancing the capabilities of our existing text editors.
* Improving our self confidence with our writing.
* Improving the image we want to project through our writing.
Extra research on this solution would probably bring up additional benefits that aren’t mentioned here, as this important webmarketing technique keeps changing, bringing us fresh solutions that help us on improving our English writing and editing skills.
Quick summary
If we summarize the main benefit provided by this powerful Quick Grammar Guide & Checker – it is helping us on identifying possible writing errors before we deliver or publish our writing assignments. Everyone agrees that it cannot completely eliminate our writing problems; however, it can significantly help us on improving our writing skills. Undoubtedly we can expect this exciting technology to further develop itself, for one simple reason: writing is one of the most important tools that help us achieving many of our goals.
Author: Gil Lavitov
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Digital TV, HDTV, Satellite TV
I can’t believe Dear Abby has retired from the advice column business. I thought she was immortal.
She and I came aboard the daily Charlotte Sun 13 years ago. She was the most widely syndicated columnist in the country. I was retired from the Journalist Syndicate of Ohio with its 24 clients and writing editorials for the largest county newspaper to taper off a half-century of writing to deadline.
“Abby” was short for Abigail Van Buren, a pen name owned by her syndicate. Pen names are created to carry on a popular column should the star die or – as now – retire. Her real name is Pauline Phillips.
If you insist on knowing, my syndicate didn’t create a pen name for me. My logo was “World At Large.” Sound somewhat familiar? Good!
I have a soft spot in my heart for Abby. She once complimented me in a letter to a mutual client – the daily Jeffersonian at Cambridge, Ohio:
“While in Columbus, I discovered your jewel of a newspaper. Thank the person who places the Dear Abby column so conspicuously at the top of the page, run in full and with the most current picture.
“Also congratulate Lindsey Williams on his provocative piece on epitaphs. You could give most larger newspapers a few lessons. I appreciate people who earnestly work to put out a really good newspaper. The “Jeff” is one, and I’m proud to be in it.”
The Story Abby Liked
When I was a young journalism student, the first class assignment was to write your own obituary.
It was a humbling experience. At that tender age there was little in my life that seemed newsworthy. For a time thereafter I was afraid I might die before I had earned a decent death notice.
Sharing my concern was a fellow student and good friend Johnny Nakamura. He was a Nisei, or second-generation American of Japanese parents.
As a voluntary extension of our obituary exercise, Johnny and I decided to write our own epitaphs. Our objective was a life statement as brief and apt as possible.
With the ego of youth, I came up with:
He Dared Much, Achieved Much.
Johnny chose an epitaph of just two words in a remarkable, rhymed couplet:
I? Why?
Before long, Johnny and I cast our first votes and went off to World War II. I returned home unharmed from the Navy. Johnny was drafted into a Nisei (all Japanese-Americans) battalion and was killed during the landing at Salerno, Italy.
Over the years, I have often thought of the self-epitaphs we composed in our youth. His was too apt, mine too ambitious.
Since then, I have revised my epitaph so that it, also, consists of only two words:
I Tried.
Though I dared less than I intended — and achieved less than I wanted — I did my best and am satisfied.
To me, the trying is the important part. In trying, I paid God’s rent for my life.
Each person sees his or her role in life differently. Rearing a useful family is primary. Winning fame and fortune is noteworthy. Risking life for the liberty of others is the ultimate contribution.
Whatever our mission, it would be easier to perceive if carved on a rock as a personal memorial to carry with us through eternity.
* * *
It is an ancient custom to summarize the meaning of a person’s life with a few well-chosen words that can be inscribed on stone.
The earliest such epitaph was carved at Memphis, Egypt, six thousand years ago. It memorializes the Pharaoh-God Ptah:
He who gives right to him who loves, and gives wrong to him who hates.
That great thought lives today in many variations and is a principal tenet of civilized behavior.
The epitaph reached the height of literary style during the Renaissance. Much thought went into the writing of odes to deceased family members, friends and celebrities.
So important was a good epitaph that famous writers and poets derived considerable income composing them. One of the outstanding epitaphs of this era was written by Robert Burns for his friend William Muir:
If there’s another world,
he lives in bliss.
If there is none,
he made the best of this.
Epitaphic literature reached its apex in the last century when personally written – or chosen – messages were popular. A particularly thought provoking self-epitaph is carved into a tombstone at Rittman, Ohio (where I lived at the time):
Remember me as
you pass by.
As I am now,
so you must be.
Prepare for death
and follow me.
Then there arose the flippant, insulting epitaph such as this one:
Beneath these stones do lie,
back to back, my wife and I.
When the last trumpet the air fill,
if she gets up, I will just lie still.
Under the onslaught of such trivia, the epitaph disappeared from the American scene. Grave markers became merely a record of name and the dates of birth and death. Gone are the contributions of epitaphs to the individuality of death – a last opportunity of communication between the dead and the living, the sharing of human experience.
I am told by a manufacturer of grave markers, that there is a revived interest in epitaphs.
Tombstones that incorporate messages in photographically etched metal or laminated plastic are growing in popularity. One company offers a marker that plays a taped, spoken message of the deceased when you push a button on the tombstone.
The plastic and electronic marvels of our age may be ushering in a new emphasis on epitaphs. Yet, I fear they will encourage long-winded dissertations that tend to bury fundamentals under an avalanche of words.
As epitaphs become fashionable once more, I urge they be (l) personally composed and (2) limited to the number of words than can be carved on expensive granite in large letters.
The writing of your own epitaph requires thought about the good and useful things you ought to do to justify an inspiring memorial.
To best live so that we may die honored, we should write our own epitaph early in life, making it as glowing and self-laudatory as we dare.
Thus, we would be obligated to spend the rest of our lives trying to live up to it.
* * *
“Dear Abby” continues under the auspices of her daughter Jeanne. She grew up helping her famous mother select letters for comment on the joys and tribulations of everyday folks — giving right to those who love, and wrong to those who hate.
Author: Lindsey Williams
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Cellphone news
If youve read any of my work before, you probably know that I’ve been in publishing since 1987, have been a freelancer since 1993 and ran an editorial staffing agency in New York City from 1996 through 2004.
Some lessons Ive learned from this crazy journey are as follows:
1. Staying abreast of technology is crucial: Back in 1998, I was pushed to get a website for my company because clients and candidates were asking questions like, Can I apply online? Can I download the contract from your site? Can I post a job to your website?
Well, as we didnt even have a website, I would embarrassingly say no. The loud silence, especially from clients, on the other end of the phone line got to be too much.
Going through the process of getting a website taught me the value of staying on top of technology. I learned that while I dont need to be a hard-nosed techie, to stay competitive, I had to know enough to be able to stay competitive. This meant not only getting a site, but learning how to update it myself.
One of the wonderful things about technology is that new tools are constantly being developed for those of us who are NOT tech-savvy, eg, FrontPage software for building websites, autoresponder software, listserv software for building mailing lists, etc.
2. Writing is a skill: Obviously, you mutter. However, many writers dont treat their craft like it. I single out writers because, in my experience, proofreaders, copy editors, indexers, editors, graphic designers, illustrators, etc. all seem to see intrinsic value and take pride in their work.
Many writers take their craft for granted. Maybe its because society views writing as just words on paper. After all, once you know your ABCs, you can write, right? Well, editorial professionals know better than anyone that this is not so.
One thing I advise all professional writers to do to combat this lackadaisical attitude is to treat their writing like a business skill. Just like being a professional coder, artist or web designer when you put yourself out there, market and treat your skill like the highly valued commodity it is.
Let it be reflected in your perfectly prepared marketing materials eg, your website, brochure, postcard, etc. Also, when you speak with potential clients, be sure to use a professional tone. No one is going to believe that you write professionally if you dont talk like it as well.
3. Freelancing full-time is not hard: Its not easy, to be sure. But, building a successful, full-time freelance career is not terribly difficult, if:
a. You have experience within your discipline. Most successful freelancers Ive encountered have worked full-time within their discipline at some point.
b. You are willing to work fulltime and freelance on the side for a period of time. Many freelancers leave their jobs once they got too burned out doing both, or secure a big project that allows them to make the leap.
c. You plan for it. Some freelancers (the most successful ones I might add) are more calculating about their careers.
What I mean by this is that they plan a year or two out knowing that they are going to leave their jobs. So, they save 6 months or a years expenses, pay off credit card bills, buy equipment while working full-time, etc.; then, they make the leap.
The ones I know who followed this path are, not surprisingly, the most successful meaning, they have gone on to hire employees. A few even opened offices and became official businesses because their client load demanded it.
Can you build a freelance business if you dont have these three things? Absolutely! However, it is even more critical that you devise a plan of how youre going to go about it. Having experience and industry contacts makes it easier, but the web makes it easier than ever today to start a freelance business.
4. Marketing is a skill that must be developed: When most freelancers start out, they may have two or three clients who keep them pretty busy. BUT, the day comes when the projects dry up (it always happens) and you have to scrounge for business.
Its at this point that many panic and start looking for a full-time job again. When I was recruiting, I received more than a few panicked calls, eg, I have to find something — quick!
Invariably, I was unable to help them (see Point #5 below). It usually was a moot point though because within a month or so, some project would come along and they would no longer be interested or available for a full-time job.
It was during this time that I got interested in the whole topic of freelancing as a business. Most freelancers focus on their craft and not the business of freelancing. However, as I preach ad nauseam on InkwellEditorial.com, to be successful as a freelancer, you must, must, must learn how to market if you want a full-time, sustainable career as a freelancer.
5. Employers dont like to hire freelancers for full-time jobs: It was my experience when I was recruiting that if you freelanced full-time for a year or more, employers were very hesitant to hire you as a full-time employee. Why?
Because most think that you are only seeking full-time work because you have hit a rough patch financially. Logically, it just makes sense. I mean, who gives up a successful freelance career to go back to the 9-5 grindstone? Most employers figured that as soon as the next big project came along, their new hire would be out the door.
I have seen it happen on many occasions so much so that when I was recruiting, I would screen out those with a significant freelance history because the chances that they would leave was just too great.
I once lost a $6,000 placement fee because the employee quit 10 days before the 90-day guarantee. [Most recruiting firms give employers a 60 or 90-day guarantee that the employee will stay put for at least this amount of time, or they dont have to pay.]
6. You cant change your rates every year: Charge enough that you dont have to change your rate for three years. I know some make take umbrage with this, but Ive found editorial (eg, writing, copy editing, proofreading, indexing, editing, etc.) to be a very static industry. It is not one where you can raise rates yearly.
Some of the companies I freelanced for back in 1993 still pay the same rates today Im not kidding! So, I advise all freelancers who are just starting out to start out charging enough so that they dont have to change their rates for three years.
Its been my experience that after this period, you can increase rates without worrying about losing even one of your clients. Putting forth the argument of, we havent raised rates in three years somehow seems to make it fair for them.
Working on this time schedule, I dont ever remember losing a client. I think its a combination of clients being comfortable with your work and them thinking, after three years, an increase is only fair.
7. You must develop a niche: Ive known a few freelancers who did several things successfully (eg, designed websites and wrote the copy for them), but this was the exception, not the norm.
Most successful freelancers niche it. What I mean is, they develop a niche and stick to it. In my opinion, it is far easier to become successful like this than being a generalist.
Trust me, those sites where you see freelancers touting that they do everything from writing to web design to illustration are not making that much money, or they are farming the work out to other freelancers.
Most clients like to know that they are getting a knowledgeable professional who has a history and body of work within the discipline they are being hired for. If it is a pharmaceutical company, they want a writer who has done this type of writing before.
So, develop a niche and market the hell out of it!
8. Patience is a virtue: Even after all of my years in the industry, Im amazed by how difficult it can be to be patient while I grow my business. I have lists and lists of ideas that I want to implement and there just never seems to be enough time.
This is easily a career where you can work nonstop all the time. An idea for an article pops in your head and instead of jotting down the idea, you find yourself writing the whole article; you go online to do some research, and before you know it you have spent two hours surfing the net on an unrelated matter; you log on to check email, and in an instant, you find yourself redesigning a section of your website; the list is endless.
This is an issue I still struggle with; although, I have gotten better about stopping. So, instead of browsing for 2 hours, it might be 30 minutes before I literally make myself stop and go back to my original task.
The best advice I can give to stop this kind of behavior is to think of your long-range goals and ask yourself if what youre doing this very minute is getting you closer to them. If not, stop and get back on track.
9. Retirement is not planned for: I can count the number of times on one hand that Ive had conversations with freelancers about retirement. Most small business owners (and thats what freelancing is, small business ownership) have an exit strategy, or a day where they envision doing something else.
For some reason, editorial and creative freelancers dont think this way. Well, while you may be able to write or design websites from anywhere at any age, whos to say youre going to want to when youre 70?
In my quest to get freelancers to think of themselves as businesses, one of the things I wish more would do is plan for retirement. This includes looking into 401K plans, buying investment real estate, building a sellable business, etc.
Again, just because you might be capable of churning out material long past retirement age does not mean that you are going to want to. So, plan for the day when you wont have to.
10. Longevity pays: The longer you freelance, the easier it gets. My business mentor said to me once, when you first start out, you are just greasing the pipes. After two or three years, clients will not be quite so hard to come by.
Its just like search engine positioning — the longer your site is on the web, the more frequently it is spidered by search engine bots, the more results it shows up in, the more popular it is, more people find it and voila! you have a popular site.
If you are constantly marketing and networking, eventually, it will seem effortless and referrals will flow in. Thats because you build traction just by being around. Many freelancers dont hang in there long enough to get this type of seamless recognition.
In conclusion, freelancing is a wonderful career — if, like anything other venture you enter, you take it seriously enough to work it like a business.
Author: Yuwanda Black
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Latest trends in mobile phone
The first book in a science-fiction fantasy series that I’m writing right now, entertains by exploring good versus evil, and evil’s relationship to sound.
This series of articles can help you to write a book because I am revealing my writing process, which includes
- Developing a concept
- Writing
- Reviewing the writing – asking myself if it is honest – asking myself if it is well written – asking myself if I am happy with the direction that the book is taking.
- Making changes, as appropriate and
- Reviewing and refining until a manuscript is polished and complete.
In this series, of articles I’ll be quoting from one or more of my books, and then offering writing tips. When you see words in Italics, they are taken from a manuscript. Comments follow the quoted text.
Tip 1: Specifics are important:
“I am weak,” the black stallion said to The Empress. “This energy field drains me. The best that I can do is produce illusions. I cannot…”
“Illusions will be enough, brother,” replied The Empress. Quite.” She paused, then continued, “Best to make them powerful, ones that will not be questioned.”
The first paragraph above is weak because it does not describe the energy field. It is also weak because it tells instead of showing. However, it’s a good start for a project. It’s easy to come back later on and add specifics. Placing too many specifics in the very first draft can be counterproductive for me because it causes me to lose the continuity of the story.
Tip 2: Encourage readers to wonder
The Empress touched her jeweled necklace. A platinum chain holding thirteen gemstones: emerald, ruby, opal, moonstone, cat’s eye, sapphire, diamond, amethyst, ametrine, morganite, obsidian, peridot and petrified wood. As she stroked the slightly jagged pink morganite stone in the necklace, the black unicorn reflected upon his sister’s advice and became aware of an actuary, driving his classic 1961 white Chevrolet Impala, up Long Valley to meet I-80 at Lockwood, NV. He watched through the actuary’s eyes as Vermazen and Duke roared passed him. Duke’s humongous cherry-apple red custom 1995 Harley Davidson and the woman’s gleaming school-bus yellow Hog, both sported front shocks and so much chrome that the actuary squinted to cut the glare. “Evil,” the actuary said under his breath. The black unicorn focused his intent and Vermazen signaled to her brother, Duke–take the side road. Duke followed her, driving along the side of a hill on a little-used road. She pulled over. Duke stopped too, and they both got off their bikes.
Readers wonder about:
- What touching the necklace will accomplish
- Why there are 13 gemstones
- If petrified wood is a gemstone (it is)
- If a black unicorn is evil
- Why the actuary said “evil”
- The intent of the black unicorn
- Why Vermazen pulled off the road
- How a unicorn and a person can be brother and sister
- What will happen next.
Tip 3: Avoid telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
There was no way Vermazen was going in that cave. Here at least they had a chance. Okay it was a one-in-a-thousand chance, but once they went inside. They heard the rattle and saw the coiled snake at the same time. Instinctively, the tattooed biker momentarily forgotten, Vermazen and Duke backed up. The entrance rock slid closed and in the distance they both sensed pure unadulterated evil.
In the above paragraph it turns out that there is no snake and the entrance rock never slid closed. These are both illusions. It is my intent to lead the casual reader astray and to reward the perceptive reader for picking up clues that most readers will miss.
Tip 4: Use a placemarker symbol to indicate when you want to flesh out details.
In this sentence I use the “@@” symbol to indicate that I want to add concrete details to the manuscript. I can rapidly search for this symbol, and it shows up clearly in printed versions.
“This energy field drains me. @@ The best that I can do is produce illusions.”
Tip 5: Develop interesting characters, preferably with a twist
In this series, we meet Jonathan at age 11, but we also get to know Jonathan as a teenager, young adult and mature man. Jonathan is able to transverse several universes.In the next two 101 Tips For Writing Quality Fiction articles I will reveal (a) Tips on how reading other writer’s work helps me to stimulate my imagination and overcome writing hassles and (b) How to use “Sandboxes” to get useful feedback from other authors.
Author: Alan H. Jordan
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Digital Camera Information
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