Five Steps to Gaining Good Writing Skills -Guest Article

Five Steps to Gaining Good Writing Skills
The best way to start honing good writing skills is by learning to write good essays.
At its most basic, there are five steps to writing a good essay. These good writing techniques are skills that anyone can learn.
The first step is to choose a subject in which you have an avid interest. The point isn't so much that you can talk knowledgeably about it (because good research is part of good writing skills) but that you want to learn about it and your enthusiasm will show through. Let's assume, for instance, that you love working from home, so you decide to write an essay about telework.
The next step is to hone the good writing skills that let you narrow down the subject and come up with a specific topic statement. Telework is a very broad subject. You could talk about how to set up your own home office, how to convince your current boss to let you do your job from home, how to convert your dream into a work from home entrepreneurship, how to resolve impediments like invasive neighbours, computer security, meeting with clients and so forth.
Let's assume you've decided to talk about how you convinced your boss to let you work from home. Your topic statement might be "I saved my company $xxx last year by working from my home office."
Good writing skills involve clear but catchy topic statements that will entice the reader to read to the end of your essay. The next step is to answer the question why five or more times in the body of the essay. Tell the readers, for instance, why you wanted to work from home, why your boss finally okayed it, why it saved the company money, why you succeeded at working from home, why the nosy neighbors and your tiny tots didn't interfere and why you're more productive now.
The two most important good writing skills are the ability to begin your essay well, and to conclude it well. Your essay conclusion should summarize your key points and refer back to the topic statement. In this essay on telework, for example, you might conclude by saying, "My telework saves me the stress and expense of a lengthy commute. My employer is delighted with my increased productivity. Everyone wins with my telework."
If all else really fails then you could resort to hiring a Ghost Writer. But, before you do you should check out a few samples of their previous work and best of all get a recommendation from others.
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Peter Morgan has been in Internet Marketing in the UK for the last 7 years. He has developed a FREE online Article Writing, Publishing & Marketing system that enables internet 'Newcomers' as well as 'Experts', the ability to earn a recurring income from writing articles. GO TO: http://www.jvmembers.com

Giveaway of the Day

Hey,
I have a new item. Giveaway of the day. Yes, I am participating with them to spread the word about programs you can get for FREE. Check out the link to the right. Each day there will be a new program you can try completely free. No strings attached.

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In other news....
I have been writing a lot lately and neglecting my blog. I'm in the revision stage with my chapter book. Once I complete the grammar edits and slight revisions I will be working closely with an illustrator to get exactly what I want for the cover and the six or seven illustrations needed to complete the book. I also need a photograph for the back cover so I have a lot of work to do in the next couple of months. I had no idea there were so many decisions to make. Yikes.
It is a lot of fun and a ton of work to get the book from my mind to the shelves of a bookstore.

Ebook coming out soon as well. I will try to update this blog in the next few days with some organization tips for revising and editing. Look for those!

Ta ta for now.

Is Self Publishing the Way to Go?

Should you self publish your book? Should you consider places like Lulu.com? Why? Why not?

Let's look at some of the advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages-- (to some people)

• No middle man, agent, laywer etc to cut into profits. Willing to publish just about anything --including those WITHOUT writing talent.
• saves having to continue to apply to publishing houses
• Can get your work out on bookshelves
• Can make and sell copies for friends/family/co-workers/church/fundraisers

Disadvantages:

• No laywer to help you out in a jam
• submission process
• most first time writers don't make any money 'till the 3rd- 5th book
• lengthy and confusing contracts
• everything costs extra

I am sure there are many more things to consider. For right now I wanted to get a few ideas on the page. I have a friend who asked me about self publishing and it got my wheels turning. I'll think on it....do some research and then write some more.

In the meantime....more snow, more cold and the phone lines are acting up. My DSL has been 60% reliable for the past 3 days. Hope this improves.

How to Spot a Poor Writer *Guest Article*

How to Spot a Poor Writer
Copyright © 2007 Julie Ann Amos

You have a project to be written and you’re looking for a freelance writer. How do you know if the person you’re considering is a good writer or a poor writer? Besides the obvious things like poor spelling and poor grammar, there are other telltale characteristics of poor writing that you should learn to spot.

THE BASICS

The number one way to spot poor writing is by looking for the basics that we all (hopefully) learned in school. Poor spelling is an indicator of poor writing, as are poor grammar and poor punctuation. Even more worrisome, though, is that a writer whose work is riddled with spelling and grammatical errors is lacking in basic attention to detail.

Think about it for a moment – if a writer isn’t thorough enough to run a simple spell-check and grammar-check on their material, what else do they ignore or not give their full attention?

Another way to spot a poor writer is to evaluate other aspects of their work that impact the quality of the material.

READABILITY – there are software programs that evaluate this characteristic, but often it’s just as easy to gauge it by reading for yourself. Look for well organized material that flows smoothly and follows a logical progression of information.

ADAPTABILITY – a poor writer often has difficulty adapting to different writing styles or requirements. Look at writing samples with an eye toward seeing how well the writer adapts to different styles and topics.

APPROPRIATE STYLE – a poor writer will also have difficulty adopting a style that’s appropriate for the subject at hand. Pay attention to how the writer matches style with topic and note any incongruence or awkward pairings.

ORIGINALITY – a poor writer may lack originality in their work. This may show up as material that’s boring to read, or that just seems to sound like everything else you’ve read on a particular topic. There’s no hook or attention-grabber that catches your interest and invites you to read on.

COMMAND OF THE LANGUAGE – a poor writer will typically struggle with their command of the English language. This shows up as improper sentence structure or difficulty with proper verb conjugations, and is often seen in writers for whom English is not their primary language.

FIND A GREAT WRITER

One of the surest ways to hire a poor writer is to go with the lowest bidder for your project. It’s as true of writing as it is of other things – you get what you pay for.

We’re not suggesting you need to spend an exorbitant amount of money to get excellent writing. However, a great writer is rarely the least expensive writer, so don’t be scared off if the bids on your project cover a wide range of dollar amounts. And take into account exactly what you get for your money, including things like rewrites, edits, progress updates, formatting, etc.

A writer’s feedback and references are of the utmost importance. Look for someone who has client feedback that’s genuine rather than just a simple “good work, thanks” or something similar. A great writer will have a long list of testimonials that will give you a sense of their work quality and their reliability. Reliability is especially important because you don’t have the time to chase down a writer who has missed a deadline or neglected to send a scheduled progress report.

SO WHERE DO YOU GO TO FIND A GREAT WRITER?

The internet is filled with freelance writers and freelance writing marketplaces so stick with reputable sources. Look carefully at the fees associated with marketplace sites, too, because these extra charges can quickly add to the overall cost of your project.

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Julie-Ann Amos is an international professional freelance writer/author and consultant. She runs a resource for those in need of freelance/ghost writers worldwide. For more information on her writing services visit http://www.exquisitewriting.com

Build Your Self Esteem by Tim Maher

Build your Self Esteem, a starter guide to self improvement

So how do you stay calm, composed and maintain self esteem in a tough environment? Here are some tips you may like to consider as a starter guide to self improvement.

Imagine yourself as a Dart Board. Everything and everyone else around you may become Dart Pins, at one point or another. These dart pins will destroy your self esteem and pull you down in ways you won't even remember. Don't let them destroy you, or get the best of you. So which dart pins should you avoid?

Dart Pin #1 : Negative Work Environment. Beware of "dog eat dog" theory where everyone else is fighting just to get ahead. This is where non-appreciative people usually thrive. No one will appreciate your contributions even if you miss lunch and dinner, and stay up late. Most of the time you get to work too much without getting help from people concerned. Stay out of this, it will ruin your self esteem. Competition is at stake anywhere. Be healthy enough to compete, but in a healthy environment that is.

Dart Pin #2: Other People's Behavior. Bulldozers, brown nosers, gossipmongers, whiners, backstabbers, snipers, people walking wounded, controllers, naggers, complainers, exploders, patronizers, all these kinds of people will pose bad vibes for your self esteem, as well as to your self improvement scheme.

Dart Pin #3: Changing Environment. You can't be a green bug on a brown field. Changes challenge our paradigms. It tests our flexibility, adaptability and alters the way we think. Changes will make life difficult for a while, it may cause stress but it will help us find ways to improve ourselves. Change will be there forever, we must be susceptible to it.

Dart Pin #4: Past Experience. It's okay to cry and say "ouch!" when we experience pain. But don't let pain transform itself into fear. It might grab you by the tail and swing you around. Treat each failure and mistake as a lesson.

Dart Pin #5: Negative World View. Look at what you're looking at. Don't wrap yourself up with all the negativities of the world. In building self esteem, we must learn how to make the best out of the worst situations.

Dart Pin #6: Determination Theory. The way you are and your behavioral traits is said to be a mixed end product of your inherited traits (genetics), your upbringing (psychic), and your environmental surroundings such as your spouse, the company, the economy or your circle of friends. You have your own identity. If your father is a failure, it doesn't mean you have to be a failure too. Learn from other people's experience, so you'll never have to encounter the same mistakes.

Sometimes, you may want to wonder if some people are born leaders or positive thinkers. NO. Being positive, and staying positive is a choice. Building self esteem and drawing lines for self improvement is a choice, not a rule or a talent. God wouldn't come down from heaven and tell you – "George, you may now have the permission to build self esteem and improve your self."

In life, its hard to stay tough specially when things and people around you keep pulling you down. When we get to the battle field, we should choose the right luggage to bring and armors to use, and pick those that are bullet proof. Life's options give us arrays of more options. Along the battle, we will get hit and bruised. And wearing a bullet proof armor ideally means ‘self change'. The kind of change which comes from within. Voluntarily. Armor or Self Change changes 3 things: our attitude, our behavior and our way of thinking.

Building self esteem will eventually lead to self improvement if we start to become responsible for who we are, what we have and what we do. Its like a flame that should gradually spread like a brush fire from inside and out. When we develop self esteem, we take control of our mission, values and discipline. Self esteem brings about self improvement, true assessment, and determination. So how do you start putting up the building blocks of self esteem? Be positive. Be contented and happy. Be appreciative. Never miss an opportunity to compliment. A positive way of living will help you build self esteem, your starter guide to self improvement.

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Tim Maher is an Irish native living in England for many years. He is interested in personal development in all its facets and has read many books on this topic. It is an interest that is fed by listening to audio seminars when possible. His website can be found at http://www.magillaudiobooks.com

OUCH...I fell down AGAIN

Can you say KLUTZ? I think they have a picture of me next to the word in the dictionary. YEP. I fell again. On the ice/snow. Now the whole ankle/ligaments and all are involved. No cast can fix this. Going to the doc tomorrow.

Not a happy camper. Walking is a nightmare. Or should I say hobbling as I cry?

Oh ouchies.

I'm revising. Yes.

Getting a book ready for publication. A book you say?

Yep. It has been sitting on my shelf for far too long.

It needs to see the light of day.

It is a chapter book for 4th-5th graders. It is being mailed out to an editor tomorrow.

I can hardly believe it myself!!!! The book is tentatively called "My Sister Has AIDS" and is a fictionalized account of my twin sisters experience. The age is changed and I have taken MANY liberties with the story for dramatic purpose and to make it kid friendly but the characters are based on the relationship between us two twins and the choices she made that ended up causing her to become HIV positive and ultimately causing her eventual death.

I wrote the book while in college for a class. Everyone said get it published. It sat on a shelf. Then my sister got worse. I showed her the book and asked her permission to publish it. She agreed. She died in 96.

I began writing other things and left the book on the shelf. Well, it is no longer gathering dust!!!

Now that the ball is rolling I am hard at work on the next in what will be a series.

Next I need to find an illustrator. Then, I will be working with someone on layout, and of course the editing, creating my cover...and so many other decisions. Deadlines are being created. For ME!

Oh, I wanna see my book on shelves. I made a promise to my sister about this book before she died. It is gonna happen. *holds breath and pinches self*

More details soon.

Oh, we still have tons of snow here.

Snow Across The Plains

Did someone order snow? Well we got some here!
Between last night and today we have 6 inches of fluffy white snow on the ground.

Beneath that we have a layer of melted off snow and about 2 inches of ice that never got a chance to melt. We had to clear off the front porch twice today just so we could open the door.

Now, it is snowing harder than it has all day. We could be snowed in by morning. Yikes.

So, what else is new?

• I'm hard at work on an e-book. Nearly done!
• I cleaned up all the files on my computer -- took me over a week.
• I organized all my email accounts and folders as well
• I had a lovely visit with my father
• My ankle is broken-- a nasty fall on the ice. Yuck
  
• I've submitted a book of poems for publication

Keep warm. Keep writing. See ya soon.
I promise to visit blogs again as soon as humanly possible.

My father is visiting from Hawaii

My father sails a 40 foot sloop called the Cirrus. His page all about his travels is here.

He has raced in the Pacific Cup several times.

Managing My Diabetes Through the Holidays

I admit it, when I learned I had diabetes I had to change my eating habits. I like my carbs, a lot. I'm a gravy and mashed potatoes girl. I also love my breads and biscuits. Changing has been a challenge. However, over the last several months, due to doctors orders I have faithfully followed a diabetic diet. (with two exceptions....Thanksgiving and Christmas)
Now I am not saying I went hog wild. I didn't have a bunch of gooey pies or anything like that. I merely allowed myself to eat the normal fixins.

At my doctors appointment around 10 days ago I still managed to weigh in 22 pounds lighter. Wooo Hooo. Discipline goes a long way. I want to cheat. I just tell myself that the candy and sugars could seriously hurt me. (as in death)
Works miracles. Suddenly the urge to put said candies etc in ones mouth lessens. Amazing eh?

It also helps to join a supportive Diabetes group. I have several diabetes informational links and groups listed to the right. Check them out. I added Diabetes Files today. Take a peek.

Welcome to the New Year

I watched a Harpo and Chico Marx Marathon last night to ring in the new year. I'm not one to make resolutions but I did make one this year. It has nothing to do with diet or any of the usual stuff. I need to do things to keep my concentration from getting any worse.
I have started playing word games and puzzles to help with my concentration and short term memory problems.

It took me 65 minutes to get through a Mahjong puzzle the first time. Yikes!!! The second time through it only took 48 minutes. I hope it improves each time. Real arcade has great games. I don't care for the rock 'em sock 'em type, but I do like the word puzzles and mind games. They give away free trials and about every six weeks they give away full games. Try them out.

I'm taking a break from short stories and my novel until all the holidays are over and my family visits are done. Too many breaks make concentration difficult.
My father arrives on the 9th. We had a bit of snow yesterday.... I hope he is ready for cold weather. (he is coming from Hawaii)