Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Examples of Writing Strategies

Writing Strategies - If you are interested in becoming a prolific (very good) writer and are just getting started, this article will give you some examples of writing strategies that will take you from being an average writer to a very good writer in very little time.

Regardless of what topic you are writing about, it is important that you have designed a writing process that is specific enough to allow you to progress rapidly through the writing process but general enough to allow you to explore your creative process.

Below are four different examples of writing strategies that you can employ at different times during your writing to achieve phenomenal results -

Rapid Writing - This strategy is used best in the idea development phase. The purpose is to get as many of your ideas onto paper for the purpose of organizing those ideas. You should set a stop watch for this phase of your writing and write everything that you can about the subject without performing any self editing. Allowing yourself to rapidly throw out ideas without self editing will allow you to determine what point of view you want to take in your writing. Remember, you can always edit out the bad ideas later so this key to this phase is speed and quantity.

Mind Mapping - Mind mapping is another writing strategy that allows you to get your ideas onto paper. The advantage to mind mapping over rapid writing is that you can begin to draw correlations between different topics. Mind mapping can have similar results to rapid writing, with the added benefit that you will not have to do as much editing and changing on the back-end when you are done with your work.

Collaborative Writing - This works best if you have a group of people whom you are writing with. A pair of writers can work amazingly well. One person will create the outline and may even create a first draft of the actual topic. The second person can come in afterwards and simply ask question that will prompt the writer to clarify a point or take the writing in a completely different place.

Putting Yourself in the Mind of the Reader - This is a fun exercise to see what your reader is going to want to get out of what you are writing. You can create a pre-defined imaginary person or you can actually use yourself as the case study. Ask questions that you think that this person will ask and then work to start answering those questions in the writing. Great writers understand the question that is being asked and the underlying question under the question that is being asked.

Begin to utilize these examples of writing strategies and you will be well on your way to having more success and fun in your writing adventures.

Friday, July 27, 2012

How to Write Articles With Oomph

How to Write Articles - In this article, we will learn how to write articles that get read, or as I look to call it - Articles with Oomph.

You know when you pick up a great piece of fiction right before you go to sleep. You are really tired and your eyes want to close when you start but the book is calling to you pick to it up and, even though you want to fall asleep and your body and mind is telling you that the day is over, you are forced to continue reading.

If you just get through this one section, then you will be satisfied, but wait, you finish that section and now there are cliffhangers for the next section.

A well constructed article can do the same thing and can keep you engaged for longer than you expected. When the article takes you to a different place, where you can get lost in the prose, you know you did a great job.

Well, you are probably not going to be the next Stephen King but the tips below will give you the best chance of creating articles that have a little bit of kick to them -

Write in small paragraphs - We are going to start with the easy one here. The mind and the eye have a lot of challenges reading large paragraphs unless the text is absolutely amazing. Let's assume that your text is not going to be absolutely amazing, so give the reader a chance to get through it by breaking up the paragraphs a little bit to make it easier not he reader.

Let the reader know what you are going to deliver, over deliver, and surprise them - The reader is reading your article because they want to get something out of the article. Give them what they are looking for, give them a little more and give them a little surprise as well. A story or a funny related anecdote will do the trick and satisfy the surprise element. You can also break up different sections and thoughts. In other words, keep them guessing, but just a little bit.

Keep practicing and you will get a feel for what works - There is no magic formula that will allow you to be successful. Keep practicing your craft and what will happen is that you will pick up things that you can implement that will have you getting better and getting better rapidly. You will pick up subconscious clues that work and, all of sudden your boring work will turn into great work.

Writing articles with oomph is fun and the journey can be extremely liberating.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

HubPages Review

HubPages is a community of people who have a passion of writing. It is a place where knowledge seekers meet in order to interact and enlighten. This is a place to ask questions and find their solutions. It is a great experience for those people who not only love sharing things with a big audience but also making money out of it.

HubPages does not require only those people who are experts on writing and have prior experience. It is open to almost anyone with good language skills and any kind of interest. If you have knowledge about beauty tips and skin care, you can share it on HubPages. If you have information on technology, you can still share it. It is a great place for those people who have particular kind of interest and expertise in a field and can actually write about it. All you need is a bit of research and some writing skills. Most people who open an account on HubPage have no idea what they will write about. All you need is an idea. In addition, the idea can take you far enough and transform into a whole article.

HubPages gives the users a great experience or learning. Through this website, you can learn how to improve your writing and be more organized. It also gives you a skill of making things more interesting that attract more audience and readers. HubPages not only teaches you article writing but also about search engine optimization, selection of the best keywords and how to bring more traffic to your page. In more general terms, it teaches you how to improve your internet article writing skills.

HubPages promotes a very friendly atmosphere for all writers and readers. Everyone is friendly and you can find people from different countries from all over the world. Almost 50 million people visit HubPages on a monthly basis and there is a high chance you get into communication with a person from an entirely different background. There are also forums on HubPages, which promote interaction and friendly conversations. Forums also promote further learning and also allow helping others. Comments are also allowed on every article also called 'hub', which is a motivating factor for every writer. Comment boxes are there so that efforts of article writers are appreciated.

HubPages is also a great platform for those who enjoy earning from a work that they are passionate about. Although HubPages does not bring you loads of cash, but it gives you sufficient amount of money if you work hard with dedication. All you need to have is patience and as your work starts to be recognized you can easily get advertisement placements which will help in building up your revenue.

The question whether you should join HubPages or not depends on whether you enjoy article writing or not. It requires a bit of research, which has a learning opportunity on every step. You can easily visit the Learning Center of HubPages in order to learn more about publishing your content, which will make it easier for you to enter the community of 'Hubbers'.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Write Articles for a Living - Is It Really a Possibility?

Are looking for a career shift or a new way to make money? Are you considering writing articles for a living? There are thousands of people who make a full time income with their writing, but 99% of the people who fail will not have the success that they are looking for unless they are willing to work extremely hard and smart.

Below are just a few hurdles that will get in your way -

1. The competition is tremendous for articles where you can be compensated very well. That means that you have to be better than a lot of people.

2. To make good money, you cannot just be a writer but you have to be very good at marketing yourself and marketing your writing.

3. No matter how low you can go on your prices, there will always be somebody who can go a lot lower than you are willing to go.

4. You will have to wait quite a while before you can make any decent money.

OK, if I have not scared you off yet, then we can start discussing how you can write articles for a living and get compensated at a rate of where you can live.

Here are some considerations if you want to write articles for a living -

1. Are you finances in order? - If you are going to start an article writing business, then you have to expect that you will not make money to support yourself for at least 90 days (probably longer). Are you in a position to support yourself during that period without having a lot of income coming in? This means that you should have a cushion of cash of at least 90 days if you are not going to be looking for an alternate income.

2. What if you are unemployed or do not have the cash? - I would suggest that you find a way to supplement your income in the meantime. That may mean finding employment and writing during your off hours. The thing is that if people do not have the basic financial structures in place to survive, they will have a lot of problems thriving in their business. As a result, your first priority should be to get your bills paid, even if that means that you are going to have to push your business back for a few months for a year.

3. Work on your business every day and whenever you can - There is no magic formula for success. You have to be better than the competition and the best way to differentiate yourself from the competition in the beginning is to be good at what you do. This means that you should be taking actions every day to get better, even if you don't want to. Find opportunities to work on your business during your free time. You will find that it will become very rewarding when you get good at what you are doing and you will find that you will soon be compensated for the work that you are doing.

Again, there is no magic formula that I, or anybody else, can give you to start being successful at writing articles for a living. However, if you are willing to put in the effort to develop your skills and to build your relationships, you may have a huge opportunity to have the success that you desire.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Blogger Review

Blog writing is a preoccupation of many internet writers today. Whether it is associated with a website, or it is about some personal blog, this activity can engage your customers into your activity or niche. People share interesting materials on their blogs that compel with the audience and they are engaged in communication. It is the common way, which many people are using for promoting their goods and services. This is a common internet marketing practice today. Blog writing and article writing are not so different, and for a good blog, you will need both of them.

You can find plenty of blogging websites on the web. Amongst many of those sites, the name of Blogger.com is famous, especially because it is a Google service. This blogging site has been offering the opportunity to make a blog of your own, without spending a dime, and to communicate with people by sharing whatever you feel like sharing. Once you add some nice features and a clean interface, the rest of your work is mainly composed of writing good SEO articles for your web page.

Building blogging community

Blogger has a number of features to offer that allow you to create a community around your website. The site-wide commenting features allow the visitors to post their opinions, as well as feedback on what you have posted. You can freely edit these posts, and you can delete them too if you want. That is not all, as with Blogger, you can control the access of your blog for a certain group of users. You can also easily invite the guest bloggers to write on your blog about their interests. The free service allows the bloggers to join the large community of Blogger too, by making their profile public and by finding people having the same interests.

Site designing with blogger

With blogger, you can have complete control over the design of your website. You can select any template available for redesigning your website, using certain graphics and codes. With this feature, you can blend in your blog with any existing website, and you can make your blog brand invisible. You can even customize the look of the template that you have chosen.

Easy blog posting

The interface for posting content is extremely simple. The procedure of posting is quick too. You can easily upload pictures with your blog posts. Other than this, you can also use your mobile phone to send images and posts to your blog. It is a great facility to have access to your managing panel of the blog, and this is another reason why Blogger is so popular.

How to get started?

The process of starting a blog is quite easy. All you have to do is to sign-up for www.Blogger.com, and then to follow the step-by-step procedure. You can get into Blogger simply, with your Google account. After you have signed up, the next thing you need to do is to name your site and choose a domain for it. Then, you are required to select the template and your blog is officially ready to be posted online.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Find Words Of Motivation In The World Around You

There are a great many words of motivation available from some great authors and speakers that tell you how to achieve the life you have always wanted. However I believe there are things you can do right now to improve your situation without radically changing your habits.

There are always positive influences close to you where you are: you only have to be aware of them. Cherish all your relationships and you will find that virtually all your family and friends love you but show it in different ways. You just have to understand how they show it. Be like a prospector sifting gold from water and find the love and motivation that exists in what the people around you say or do. There are plenty of words of motivation to be found.

Really what it needs is for you to change the way you see the world around you and to decide to enjoy what you have. Then you can use that foundation to push for the life of your dreams.

Perhaps the most important thing to understand is what you can change and what you cannot. You may have heard of the serenity prayer but it is still worth repeating here as it is so true: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference."

Every day the media pump out negative stories that are frankly of no use to us whatsoever. Most of what we see or hear in the news we have absolutely no influence over, so why bother with it?

The truth is we are here to make the best of our own lives, then help those close to you and influence your immediate local community. In my opinion it is worth staying away from politics until you have to make a decision to vote. The vast majority of talk in political circles is of no use to us, is generally corrosive and negative and will not provide any words of motivation we need.

Sadly, as a result of the pervasive effect of the media, many people today seem to live life as if they are starring in some television drama. The media have to show material we would find entertaining and so include stress and confrontation not really found in real life. You are in control of your life and influence just how much drama you have in it.

I would even suggest avoiding most if not all newspapers and television to lessen the negativity it brings into your life. Take it from me, you will survive: actually, you will thrive.

But there are ways to find positive influences too. Find reasons to laugh. I am not suggesting you laugh at other people' s pain but rather find the fun in the ridiculous situations we get into day to day. Laughing at silly scenarios will often disperse any friction and reduce the stress better than any words of motivation. If things get tough then you could consider sitting down and watching a comedy film such as one of the Carry On movies or Naked Gun. The world will certainly seem a better place.

Sometimes things will get tough and you cannot do anything about it. On such occasions you just need to understand that nothing is permanent and that the sun rises on a new day every morning.

I also find inspiration in the beauty of the world around me. Get out into nature and you will find your worries fade into obscurity and you will get a balanced perspective on life. On one occasion I was sat on the summit of a mountain in the English Lake District and was struck by the fact I was above all man's silly concerns and sat in the bright sunshine. But you can also choose to enjoy the spectacular clouds and rainbows the rain brings. Sometimes even the feel of rain on your face can be delightful.

We can all be childlike in our appreciation of the beauty around us and the peace that will bring to us.

In Britain over the last twelve months we have had many reasons to see the positive in our lives. In 2011 we had the spectacular wedding of Catherine Middleton and Prince William and then this year the Queen celebrated her Diamond Jubilee. Following that were the incredible successes of the London Olympic and Paralympic Games. Some people complain about the expense of such events but in reality they provide countless words of motivation, inspiration and strength for those who are prepared to receive them.

Enjoy all the sources of positive energy that are freely available to us in life. Open yourself to the pageantry, the beauty, the timelessness and the love in so many things around us and you will find your life opening up like a flower. Happiness and the foundation of greater success will become that much more available to you.

"Seek the highest Good, and as you find it, as you practice it and realise it, you will taste the deepest, sweetest joy."

- James Allen

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Getting in the Right Frame of Mind to Write

The biggest challenge that a lot of writers have is writer's block. This article will discuss the best ways to get in the right frame of mind to write. Being set up and feeling good when you write will make a huge difference for your personal wellbeing and for the quality of the work that you produce.

I write first thing in the morning and, sometimes I am able to jump out of bed and get right at my work with vigor and passion. Sometimes I wake up and feel like I don't want to do anything. I have anxiety and worry and that dictates the work that I do. I can work myself through this place and some specific strategies below is what I do -

Do some breathing exercises for three minutes - I just focus on my breath for about three minutes. Doing this gets me back to a stable place and allows me to focus on the work that I am doing -

Prepare the night before - If you make your plan of what you are going to write the night before, your subconscious mind can go to work on doing some of the planning for you when you sleep. The additional advantage is that you can get up the next day and just let your fingers start working. It becomes a lot more natural if you do a little planning the night before. I suggest that you do this at least an hour before you go to sleep. You don't want your mind working on overdrive just before you go to sleep.

Practice getting a good night sleep - What does this have to do with your writing? Almost everything. No matter how good you are or how great the skills are that you possess, your body and mind need to repair themselves every single day. Get a good night sleep and make sure you get enough rest so that you can perform at your highest level the next day.

Do a practice run first thing in the morning - Pretend that you are going to throw out the first piece of content that you write. That way there is no pressure on you to do a good job. This is similar to stretching first thing in the morning when you wake up. If you write in this relaxed manner, you will probably find out that you produce great work. If you find out that the work that you produce is not so great, then you can just move on and throw that piece of work away.

Read a lot - Reading sparks creativity and gives you a lot of ideas that you can write about. It allows you to keep the mind fresh and full of great topics. The other advantage of reading a lot is that you will be able to learn from the techniques of those who write before you and borrow some of their practices.

Keep practicing and keep working and you will have amazing success in your writing adventures. Getting in the right frame of mind is half the battle.

Friday, July 6, 2012

Tips for Freelance Writers

Each and every writer who wants to journey in the field of freelancing must have a personal guideline to follow in order to become one of the best among the rest. Being a freelancer must never be taken easily. Rather, it is a profession that must be loved and be done passionately. In this way, a writer will be able to excel while becoming successful. In order for each and every writer to know how to become efficient in this line of work, here are the most important tips that must be considered.

Settle the Workplace

It is very important for every freelancer to set up his or her own workplace at home. Although the work can be done within their home, this line of work should be given importance just like any other profession. A freelance writer will surely be inspired with a suitable workplace provided.

Finish the Difficult Task and Save the Best for Last

There will always be a time when clients will assign a lot of tasks. There might be some that are easy to research and write while some may require ample of time to be done. In this kind of situation, an efficient freelancer would always focus on the difficult ones first. In this manner, the day will get easier as tasks are being done one at a time.

Write with Reliability

The downfall of any writer is his or her reliability. One must always keep in mind that the information must always be factual and accurate. There is no room for errors in freelancing. It is a must to remember that future clients will always determine a freelancer basing from his or her credibility and previous performance. Meeting the deadlines is also a must here. A writer must always inform his or her client ahead of time if there will be circumstances that will make him or her not able to meet the deadline.

Establish a Firm Profession

Most clients might think that freelancers are just writing for extra income. An efficient freelancer must make his or her client know that he or she is taking the job seriously. Every freelancer must be able to insist and be firm with regards to payment. In this manner, the clients will see that a writer values his or her work more than any other source of income.

With all of these tips in mind, everyone will be able to become an efficient writer sooner or later. Whether it is a new or expert freelancer, it is still a must to establish these tips as guidelines for an effective freelancing.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Top No-No's When It Comes To Writing Articles

When you are writing articles, it is important to make sure that you pay special attention to the quality of content and to impress and impact through your persuasive words, you must avoid the oh-so-horrible writing errors. Simply put, your credibility and reputation can rest on the quality of writing you produce.

If you do expect to be taken seriously, you must make sure that your writing is free of common errors or mistakes that can alter the meaning of your communication through words. Most of the mistakes made when writing articles can be avoided by simply proofreading the article before submission. Here are some of the top no-no's for writers:

1. Grammar and spelling

These are probably the most common mistakes that people make when writing articles. While these mistakes usually occur in articles written by people who have learnt English as a second language, it is also a result of carelessness when writing for the native English speakers. Poor grammar and spelling draws readers away from the actual content of the writing. There are many online grammar and spelling checking tools that are readily available and they can help you to avoid making common and avoidable mistakes.

2. Plagiarism

Many writers make the unforgivable mistake of copy pasting other people's content and passing it off as their own. This unethical practice has been widespread with many people taking credit for other's work. This practice will make you lose credibility very fast especially in this day and age when there are online tools that can check for plagiarism. If for any reason you need to use someone else's content, make sure that you cite it as a reference.

3. Lengthy articles

Another common mistake people make is writing lengthy articles. Unless you are writing a novel, do not try to write too much in one article. Readers are looking for specific information and they do not want to read many pages to get a simple point you are making. Readers lose interest in long articles and will usually just skim the content or skip it all together.

4. Incorrect information

If you are unsure about any factual information or data, you should not write it down. Using incorrect data is unprofessional and it reflects poorly on the writer. You lose credibility and the readers can feel that they cannot trust anything else you have to say. Check your facts before writing them down, and if you are not sure about anything, do not write it. Apart from looking incompetent, you can also open yourself up to legal problems.

5. Writing style

Many people make the mistake of using the wrong writing style when writing articles. It is important to make sure that you use the relevant style for your target audience. When you determine who you are writing to, you can use a style that will make your article more interesting and easy to read, in accordance to the type of readers you are trying to inform or educate through your content.