From the daily archives: Tuesday, February 9, 2010
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
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Creative writing prompts are short phrases, ideas or techniques you can use to give your creative writing a boost when youre finding it difficult to find inspiration.
There are 3 main stages of a writing project that creative writing prompts can be used for:
1. To start a brand new project. Most of the time creative writing prompts are used as a starting point for a brand new writing project.
This way they can be a very stimulating and exciting tool, because you have no preconceptions about what you want to write. You start with the prompt, jump on board and write, and see where the words take you.
2. To expand an outline for a project. Maybe you already have an outline for a story but are struggling to get words down on the page? Use a prompt to get your creativity off and running.
With your outline for your story in the back of mind, this will subconsciously influence what you write as a result of the prompt anyway. So its likely that some point soon after you start writing, your words and ideas will coincide with those you have already in your outline.
3. To resume an existing project. You can use also use a creative writing prompt to help you resume an old project that you got a little stuck with and put away to continue at a later date.
Again, you could start writing from the prompt, then as thoughts and ideas from your other project will be in your mind anyway, there will be a point where these intertwine with the new parts youre writing.
You can play around with the parameters and experiment too, its up to you.
Thats one of the great benefits of creative writing prompts. You can input as much or as little from other projects into them as you want.
Sometimes youll want to have a break from a major project and write freeform using a writing prompt.
Other times youll get to a difficult point in a larger project and use a prompt specifically to help you move forward with this project.
These are the 3 main stages of a project that creative writing prompts can be used for.
Try some out yourself and discover what an invaluable tool they can be for your creative writing.
Author: Dan Goodwin
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Canada duty
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: Excise Tax
As much as I would like to tell you that this is your novel and you can do anything you want with it, Im sorry, if you are looking to be published, you are really writing for an audience.
To create characters for your fantasy novel you must consider your market and create characters that your readers are able to relate to, and care for. This does not mean that you reveal all there is about your characters in the first few lines, your characters a best revealed a little as the plot unfolds, a little intrigue goes a long way. But your characters should be developed before you put your pen to paper.
The most common mistake aspiring fantasy writers make is to ignore character development, or even more common, fall back on some tired old stereotypes. There is no excuse for this Im afraid. You have all the tools available to you as any writer of any other genre, and then some more you get to make up. It is very important that your characters are complete, and have substance, personality and individual traits, strengths, weaknesses and even fatal flaws.
Stereotyped characters are so predictable, predictable is boring remember your market. Fantasy readers, if they wanted boring they would pick up a biography, or a mathematics text book.
Know that the reader of a fantasy novel is an audience looking for wonderment; they thrive on something new, unusual and different. If your characters are predicable or the character from someone elses novel with a different name, your novel is not going anywhere Im afraid. No amount of action or adventure can make up for characters that are long forgotten, or whose names just didnt matter.
Certainly your novels plots and events may require your characters to have fatal flaws. These flaws are often the elements of your characters that your reader will most easily relate to. Please dont make them perfect. Nobody likes a perfect smarty pants. If your hero is perfect you might be thinking that your reader would enjoy him because they would like to be him, but you give your reader very little chance of relating to him.
Your fantasy novel characters may be human, or beast, they may be magicians or gods, but they should have a history, a past, relationships, or at least a longing for relationship. By this I dont mean that your characters must be looking for love, but a relationship with their environment, their peers, and other characters they will interact with in your story. This relationship may not be comfortable and easy, in fact if your character is fully developed, complete with a personality some of his/hers/its relationships will be strained or even outright volatile. This does not have to be written in as part of your story but certainly even among friends undercurrents and tensions may be hinted at.
To create my characters I make a little diary for them. I dont write this diary into the novel, but this is certainly a great idea to keep your characters IN character as the story unfolds.
My diary begins long before the novel does, it will included little notes about the characters childhood (if they had one) and a whole lot of history. Even when the story is being written the diary continues. In this I include little bits and pieces about the way they feel about the events they encounter and often things that were thought and felt that will not make it to the story being told.
If your characters are not human, which is often the case in a fantasy novel, you will have to learn the art of mianthro perspection, writing from the consciousness of inhuman objects or beasts, or in the least giving them human viewpoints without making them human.
There are many things to consider here, certainly your beasts food source, but also the length of time your beast lives for, and its basic generic make up. Simply describing what your dragon looks like and giving it a completely human mind set does not give you a dragon, but a fairly odd shaped human.
Never dismiss the value of your secondary characters. Secondary characters are excellent tools to bring your character to life in the events of your story. You secondary characters will often play a role in your novels central plot, but these are also idea from which to base your understory from.
Your secondary characters are not extensions of your novels hero and will each have their own little quirks. Which means you will also have to give them the same attention to development as your main character, still you will not write everything you know about them into the novel, but they must have some substance to be of service to you and your novels plot.
Now lets look at your villain. It is most important here to avoid the stereotypes of fantasy novels. Do not invest so much energy defining your world and giving birth to your hero and forget that your villain is as much central to your fantasy novels plan also.
Is the line between right and wrong really so obvious. Is good and evil just black and white? I hope not, there would seem to be little point in fantasy if it could not be rich in color. Put the cookie cutter away, you never know whos cheering for the bad guy.
Author: Barry Sheppard
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Did you know that, generally, it’s easier to sell nonfiction to children’s magazines than it is fiction. There are several reasons for that.
First, magazines print more nonfiction than fiction so they just NEED more articles than stories.
Next, magazines receive WAY more fiction submissions than nonfiction submissions, so the competition for those few fiction spots in magazines is very fierce. But there’s less competition for the nonfiction spots.
Finally, magazines need to print what’s fresh and new to keep up with the times. They do this best through nonfiction articles.
Now, although it’s somewhat easier to sell your nonfiction than your fiction to the children’s magazine markets, here are some reasons so many writers still miss the mark with their nonfiction:
1. Their articles are too broad. This is probably the number ONE reason articles are rejected by children’s magazine editors. The topic is just too broad. Instead of creating a narrow focus for their article – say, the camel’s hump, for example – the writer submits an article that attempts to tell anything and everything about the camel – from where it came from, to what it eats and why it has a hump. Give your articles a narrow focus and you’ll be much more likely to sell them.
2. Their articles don’t provide the editor with anything new that she doesn’t have easy access to herself. True, you CAN simply look up information in an encyclopedia and visit a few online sites to get the content for an article. But unless you put a unique “spin” on the piece, it probably won’t sell. Instead, the editor will turn to another writer who does provide something new or CAN put a unique and fresh spin on a particular topic.
3. Their articles just don’t meet the editor’s needs. Now, I know you’ve heard that before. And you’re probably wondering – How am I supposed to know the editor’s needs? I’m not a mind reader. But, in a way, you DO need to be a mind reader. You need to study several back issues of a particular publication you wish to write for to see what types of topics and articles have already been in the magazine in the last 6 months to a year. Next, study the submissions guidelines (which are usually available at the magazine’s website these days) to see if the publication has themed issues, etc. After you’d done all that, sit back and think about what kinds of things the editor will probably be needing about 6 months from NOW. Then develop a few article ideas around those topics.
When you learn to anticipate an editor’s needs, provide new information that she doesn’t have easy access to herself, and you narrow the focus of your article, you’re much more likely to hit the mark with your nonfiction and make a sale to a children’s magazine.
Author: Suzanne Lieurance
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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So who would like to be a great screenplay writer? More than likely, every single person that has even remotely fathomed the idea of writing a screenplay aspires to greatness. It is simply the common nature of the muse. Of course, wanting to be a screenplay writer and becoming a great screenplay writer are two different things. Screenplay writing can be quite difficult although this difficulty can be diffused through understanding a few simple scriptwriting tips that can aid in boosting a screenwriter’s potential. Not surprisingly, many of these scriptwriting tips derive from the process of reading screenplays.
Read as many good scripts as you can get your hands on. When a script has succeeded on aesthetic and commercial levels, it will provide a treasure trove of information on how to craft a solid narrative. Yes, being a prolific screenplay reader is often overlooked on the journey to becoming a good writer. As such, reading as many solid scripts as you can get your hands on are of paramount importance.
Read a few bad scripts while you are at it. No, reading a bad script is not a waste of time. Often, the flubs, flaws, and errors found in poor scripts can provide an insight into where the script went wrong and how to avoid such mistakes. Few scriptwriting tips mention that there is value in bad scripts. Yet, the truth of the matter is there is a tremendous amount of value in them. You just have to know where to look and this will become apparent as you comprehensive of screenplay devices
Looking over a shooting script while simultaneously watching the film it is based upon on DVD. This is an old trick many screenwriting professionals employ. By reading while watching along with the film allows you to see how the visual elements of the screenplay are translated onto the silver screen. To say this will open doors of perception as to how the movie is crafted from a screenplay would be an understatement. Consider this among the most helpful of scriptwriting tips.
Look at how screenwriting format is presented in the screenplay you are reading. Yes, screenplay format is standardized as any screenplay analysis will tell you. But, how does a particular master screenwriter weave his narrative into the confines of screenwriting format and make it work for him? When you can figure this out, you can apply such principles to your own writing and improve it immensely.
Try to get your hands on as many screenwriting coverage reports as possible. These are not always easy to procure but they are valuable. Such coverage reports give you an insight into how a script reader works and thinks which aids you in developing your own screenplay in a positive manner. Here is an important scriptwriting tip: when you know how readers think, you increase the odds of getting positive coverage from them.
Procure a few quality books on the subject of screenwriting and devour them. Some books are truly stunning and well worth looking into. Pick up a few of the good ones and see for yourself!
Author: Paul V. Warner
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Make PCB Assembly
They will rely entirely on the notes that they have taken while visiting the library. Hence, a proper plan to write an essay should start from the very beginning. Before you start working on the essay, plan it well. It is better to think beforehand and then start working on the same.
First and foremost you should have a strategy to work on the essay. There will be different strategies to approach a particular essay. Choose the one that suits you the most. For some the essay develops as they start writing on the topic. For others the planning and resource gathering is the primary job. Actually a lot depends on your comfort level and how you plan to execute the essay. But in normal course of writing the essay the best approach is to create a framework for your essay. When you have basic format in front of your eyes it becomes easier to recreate the entire essay. During the planning phase it is important to note that you may have to waste quite a few numbers of papers, because you will never have a perfect essay from the very first draft. Arranging your ideas and thoughts in a synchronized fashion will take some time. For a first timer it will be hard work. However, for veteran writers effective research will be the main function.
An important aspect in the process of writing essay is to analyze the question. You need to understand what exactly is required to be understood in the topic. If you are not sure of the subject, get it clarified from your teacher or professor. Follow the instructions and terms of the essay. Generate ideas as you start working on the essay. Any sort of ideas will benefit you. Assemble the ideas in a common repository and use them as and when required. These ideas could be just basic ideas, observations or basic information from your referencing material. All these will be beneficial for you when you approach the last stage of the essay. You can use them as a referencing material when you complete the essay. It will also act as the reference to cross check the ideas incorporated in the essay.
While working on the essay plan do not merge different ideas in one pot. Segregate and use them sequentially. Arrange the information and examples in a structured manner, so that you do not loose out on the main idea of the essay. Use relevant ideas which are in accordance to your crux of the subject. Usually the essay should not be very long. Use precise points and give a few necessary details which will substantiate your views. Effective writing comes from proper planning and execution.
Author: Sarah Brodie
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Benefits of electric pressure cooker
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