Unique Web Jobs For Writers

Are you looking for writing jobs? Consider focusing on the Web. As businesses and publications continue to move online, there are plenty of jobs available for writers who know the Web.

Use your creativity in your job hunt: remember that the Web is unknown territory to most businesses. The more you know about how the Web works, the more you'll be able to charge for your services.

Let's look at five unique jobs for Web writers.

1. Article Marketing for Money: High Profits

Get familiar with article marketing. Once you know how this works, you can develop an entire business just on writing articles, and developing article marketing campaigns.

For most businesses, article marketing is a new promotional tool. Once you explain how cost-effective it is when compared to other forms of marketing however, you'll easily get clients.

2. Social Media Marketing: Business Blogging

Over the past couple of years, blogging has become mainstream, and businesses already know what a blog can do for them. However, they're not as aware of other social media marketing options. If you're experienced on social media sites like Facebook and know how to blog, you can sell these marketing services to businesses.

3. Daily Ezines for Businesses

Although many businesses collect contact information, most don't use it. If you can show potential clients the return on investment (ROI) of a daily ezine, they'll hire you in a heartbeat.

4. Affiliate Manager for Products

Few businesses with affiliate programs manage their affiliates efficiently. They may provide a few creative tools -- banners and advertisements -- but that's all.

As an affiliate manager, you have two main areas of responsibility: providing tools affiliates can use (articles, autoresponder sequences, advertising), and inspiring and motivating the affiliates.

5. Writing Mini Web Sites

If you can write small Web sites of five to ten pages, you can both sell them, and can create them to order.

Many writers are shy of creating sites. No one is asking you to be a Web designer however. Get a simple (free) HTML template, write the pages, buy a domain name and get the site online. From go to whoa, this should take you no longer than three hours. Profit? Around $100 a page, at a minimum.

Want to make money as a Web writer? Discover how easy it is with Angela Booth's "Sell Your Writing Online NOW" Training Program at http://sellwritingnow.com/Home/training.html

The program is fun and profitable too. There's a full year of lessons and assignments:"Sell Your Writing Online NOW" helps you to earn while you learn, even as a brand new writer.

For free weekly writing information, subscribe to Angela's Fab Freelance Writing Ezine at http://www.freelancewritingezine.com/ and receive "Write And Sell Your Writing: The Power-Write Report" immediately.

10 Ways to Earn Even More Money From Writing

One thing that every writer wants to know is how to earn more money from writing. This is because being a writer can be a fickle business sometimes and so you need to have as many sources of income as possible.

You also need to use your time wisely to be able to write as much as you can and be as productive as you can. You need to use the phrase "Don't Get It Right, Get It Written" as often as possible to get you off the starting blocks and writing as much as you can, instead of trying edit your work and be as perfect as possible as you go along. It's so much easier to just start writing and don't stop till you've finished and THEN go back and edit your work later. Remember that writing and editing and two different jobs and should never be done together.

But what you really want to know is how to earn more money from writing. And below are 10 easy ways for you increase your writing income.

1. Write more. I know it sounds obvious that writers should be writing but you'd be surprised at how many people call themselves writers yet they hardly ever write. To improve your writing, get a book of an author you like (or a writer whose style you admire) and copy their work. Just sit and copy out their writing word-for-word. This will give you a really good understanding of their writing style and how you can incorporate it into your own writing.

2. Read more. Successful writers are avid readers as well as being prolific writers. Reading improves you knowledge, exposes you to different writing styles, and can also help you to come up with great ideas for your own writing.

3. Find more freelance markets. If you want to make more money you need to sell more writing. So spend a bit of time every week surfing online and browsing through magazines looking for new writing markets. You can also sign up for regular writers ezines that contain current writing markets. Always be on the look out for new writing opportunities.

4. Submit more queries. Once you've found new markets you then need to make sure that you do actually get your writing published. So make a definite decision to send out at least 5 queries or short stories to different writing markets every week. And then make sure you do it, even if you have to get up early or stay up late.

5. Try different writing projects. Instead of sticking to the same kind of things you write, try branching out into something new. For instance, if you mostly write articles for women's magazines, trying writing jokes, verse, puzzles or children's stories and find new places to submit them.

6. Write and publish eBooks. EBooks are a great way to earn a passive income. You can write an eBook in as little as 24 hours and publish it online in only a few minutes. And because there's no cost involved in selling eBooks you can write as many as you want for as long as you want.

7. Write and publish books. There's nothing more wonderful for a writer than to feel the first copy of your book in your own hands. It's so easy now to publish your own books that there's nothing to stop you from becoming a prolific author and publish several books a year.

8. Learn new writing. There may be areas of writing that you don't feel proficient in. Maybe you've never really tried writing fiction, or, like me, you want to learn copywriting or SEO writing. Choose a area of writing that you've never tried before but would like to learn, and then learn to do it.

9. Invest in your writing. Don't be afraid to spend money to further your writing career. Splash out on some really fancy notebooks and expensive pens or treat yourself to a new computer. Or how about taking a seminar or a writing course or maybe there's a book about writing that you've been thinking about buying. Just open your wallet and buy whatever it takes to help you write more and earn more.

10. Write more. Now you probably notice that this is the same advice in step number one. But it is so important that it needs mentioning more than once. To be a great writer you need to be great at writing and the more you write, the more natural writing will be for you and so the better a writer you'll become. As you write more and more your words will flow onto the paper (or computer monitor) more easily and so your writing will sound more natural. Never stop writing.

The bottom line is that writers write. They always write. When a writer is not writing, they are thinking about writing. And when they're not writing nor thinking about writing, they are reading about writing. So if you want to be a writer, be the very best you can and start writing now.

Want to learn more about becoming a writer? Just go to http://www.newonlinecourse.net, scroll to the bottom of the page and download the FREE eBook, "How to Make Even MORE Money as a Writer" that outlines the different and most profitable ways to earn money working at home as a writer

And if you want to keep up to date with the lastest writing news, competitions, free resources, articles and more go to Writeaholics.net and sign up for the free monthly newsletter and receive the free eBook "Become a Freelance Writing Success" as soon as you subscribe. While you're at the site, make sure you look around and download all the free writers' eBooks, software and other resources to help really kick-start your writing career

Top 10 Tips to Writing Great Candle Lighting Ceremony Poems

10. Get inspired.

Think about an anecdote or personal trait that makes this person special to you and write it down.

Example: For a bar mitzvah boy's grandfather who passed away very recently, the notes one could write about him are as follows:

He was Irish, Catholic, not Jewish. He was so proud of the man that David is becoming. He lived in Florida and he made David feel safe in Florida by telling him that his home was really David's Florida home, so David was never homesick in Florida. He was a baker, he used to make bread on the kitchen table without a bowl, he made a lake in the middle of the flour. There needs to be something about David remembering him making bread with the lake on the table. The candle will be lit by Grandpa's brother Uncle Frank and Aunt Marianne. This is the first family get together without him.

With a little work you can turn it into this:

My grandfather who I love so dear

Passed away recently, but I know he is near

His was my second home in Florida, of this I know

He told me how proud he was as he watched me grow

Grandpa was a baker and bread he would always make

With flour on the table, in the center he made a lake

This candle is to honor him, that has been my plan

Please come up to light it with me, Uncle Frank & Aunt Marianne

9. Make poems that are 4-8 lines.

Too few will be hard to convey your message and too many might bore your audience.

8. Try to keep each poem the same length.

You don't want Grandma to be upset that she got 4 lines when Uncle Bill got 8.

7. If you are having trouble finding a word to rhyme with another word, you can either pick a different word (like choosing "great" instead of "good" or "sweet" instead of "nice") or try going to http://www.rhymezone.com/

It is a great rhyming dictionary on-line that comes in handy for those tough to rhyme words.

6. Try to make the first line rhyme with the second line and the third line should rhyme with the fourth line.

It's an AABBCCDD pattern that makes it simpler to read and find a rhyming word.

5. If you know who you want to call up to light the candle, find a word that rhymes with their name

With you guys as family I am never alone... (and end the line with) Come on up Uncle Bill and Aunt Joan.

4. An easy method to use is to find a last line that rhymes with the number you are on.

For example:

Grandma's cooking always tastes like heaven,

So come on up to light candle number eleven.

3. There are a few catch phrases that you can use for any poem such as:

...I love you ...

Come light candle number two.

And...

"To my aunt and uncle whom I truly adore,

Please come up to light candle number four."

Here is an example of how you turn the notes you jot down into a poem. For Grandma & PopPop: Michael is their first and only grandchild, he has slept there every Friday the first 2 years of his life, and still sleeps over at times. They took him skiing for the first time when he was 4, they take him to movies, play cards, you name it, they do it for him!

Turn that into:

There are two special people here who I just love and adore

They introduced me to skiing when I was a boy of four

I have learned so much from both of them about being a good friend

Whether it's at the movies or playing cards, there's laughter without end

When I was little I stayed with them almost every Friday night

Grandma & PopPop it's number twelve, I'd love your help to light

2. If there is someone on the list that your family knows, but you don't know so well, be sure to speak to your family and get some insight into who they are and why they are special.

Example:

For a very dear friend of Mom and Dad's - JoAnn. Steven's mom has known JoAnn since they were 6 and of course JoAnn knows Steven since his birth. She helped the family a great deal when Mom and Dad were going through a divorce. She helped move them from Staten Island to NJ, she stayed there for 2 weeks to help them settle in. Always there for Mom, serious or fun...she is a lot of fun to be around.

Turn that into:

This next candle is for a family friend who's always there in a fix

She's known me since my birth and known Mom since they were six

From Staten Island to New Jersey, she helped us with our move

Two weeks she kept us company, till we got into a groove

Always fun to be around, that's why I'm such a fan

Please come up for candle eleven, mom's dear friend JoAnn

1. When in doubt, go to a professional who will write the poems for you and allow you to concentrate on all the other things you have to do when becoming a bar or bat mitzvah. Visit me at www.thepoemlady.com or email heymannyc@yahoo.com. I'll write candle lighting poems for you based on the information you provide. I also help pick out the songs and make the whole thing effort free. The poems are sweet and funny. You can even print them out and roll them up in a scroll and hand them to the candle-lighters as they come up so they can take their personalized poem home with them.

Most important, just remember to have fun and enjoy your special day

jill - the poem lady
http://www.thepoemlady.com

What Do You Do When You Are a Writer and Witness History

What do you do when you are a writer and observe a historical event unfold and you know the truth? Should you write the truth and burst the lies of the present period so that those in future periods can know the reality of the era, or should you promote the lie in hopes that somehow this might change the world?

It has always been my contention that political correctness is other than reality and thus, is a dangerous marker from which to judge and make decisions. Once we forgo the reality of human nature and the primate politics of humankind, we deny ourselves decisions that will be free from the laws of unintended consequence.

As a retired Franchisor Founder, I've made a little bit of history in my esoteric Industry sub-sector niche and as I've both participated and observed history over the last four decades. Now as a writer in early retirement I write about present and know that my record will live on.

It pains me to know that others who have mastered the power of the pen are so ethically challenged and confused, and purport falsehoods of our time while covering the truth with their wordsmith ways. Today, we have a new President of the United States, and we are to celebrate how diversity has overcome glass ceilings and barriers.

What a great day for America indeed, yes, but only in name. You see, there is a reality behind this election of the first Black President, a story that is known, but goes untold. Is it fair to history and to truth to sugar coat now? If we do, as others have in the past, are we any better than they, have we learned nothing?

Is all history a lie, just like the present? If we sweep truth under our carpet and modify the textbooks of the next generation to suit - where is the integrity in that? If we really want to do something great in our time, there is no need to pretend or fake it. We can make a difference without fakery, propped up propaganda, and pretending in the present period.

Is our whole civilization and society going to live a lie to themselves - is this what America has become? We are better than this. There is nothing wrong with having an African American President, that indeed is commendable, proof if you will of our strength and vision, but allowing so in a manner that is far beyond the span of rules we have set for ourselves is a disgrace.

We are to blame, we have traded our promise for a myth, and into the gates of hypocrisy we do march.

Lance Winslow - Lance Winslow's Bio. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/.

Writer's Block - The Curse Of Perfectionism And How To Overcome It In Your Creative Writing

As a creative writer, you know all about writers block. Sat at the blank page or screen, trying to come up with the right paragraph, the right sentence, even the right WORD.

And it feels about as easy as juggling custard. Blindfold. With both hands tied behind your back.

One of the biggest causes of writers block is perfectionism not being happy with your creative writing until every sentence, every word, ever syllable is utterly perfect.

Theres a fine line between wanting to write the best work you can write and getting dragged down in a never ending quest for perfectionism.

Here then is how perfectionism takes hold and causes writers block, and how you can overcome it:

How perfectionism causes Writers Block:

You cant write a sentence without there being one word not quite right in it. Rather than change the word, or leave it to come back to and change later, you discard the whole sentence.

You write a page of 20 sentences, then dismiss and delete each and every one because a certain word wasnt quite the perfect choice, in your opinion.

This is the smallest scale example of this kind of habit and behaviour. It only gets worse when you junk whole paragraphs, pages or chapters just because a few parts werent perfect.

This then leads to the attitude of If I cant write a complete sentence well, whats the point of me even trying. Hence, exasperation, writers block, no new writing and an anguished time for you the writer.

How to beat it:

A tiny shift in perspective is actually all thats needed. Say you write your page of 20 sentences. Each has a word thats not quite right, in your view. Rather than say This is a page full of imperfect and therefore unusable sentences you could look it at this way:

This is a page thats 90% brilliant. Theres some great writing here, I just need to change the odd word here and there.

It sounds almost too simple but sometimes the best techniques are. Try it, leave the page, come back to it a day or week later with fresh eyes and make any extra tweaks and changes then if you feel theyre necessary.

Your approach now becomes: I can right a near perfect page without much effort. It flows easily and I write freely this way. I can then come back and make any fine adjustments later. I might not even need to.

The curse of perfectionism is a major cause of writers block if you let it be.

Try this small change in your approach from today and notice the difference it makes to your creative writing.

Want to find more ways to become a better creative writer and unlock your creative writing potential? Get your FREE 5 part creative writing ecourse at http://www.YouAreACreativeWriter.Com.

Creativity Coach and keen creative writer Dan Goodwin helps people who are frustrated they're not using their creative talents as well as they could be. See more at his website: http://www.CoachCreative.com

A Children's Writer's Guide to Critiquing Manuscripts

If you've just joined or started a critique group for writers but no one seems to know what to do next, maybe this guide and checklist will help. If you aren't in a critique group, you can still use it to critique your own writing.

CRITIQUING MANUSCRIPTS (For Critique Groups)

Begin with some basic procedural guidelines for critiquing:

1) Start with something positive - Point out at least one thing that worked really well in the manuscript.

2) Be specific in your comments and suggestions - For example, saying "I liked your story" is flattering to the writer, but doesn't really mean much. Saying something like, "I felt the dialogue sounded exactly like something two teenagers would say and advanced the plot well" is more specific.

3) Use the checklist (below) - This will help you be more specific in your comments and suggestions. And, if you use the checklist to critique your own writing it will help you recognize weak points in your story before you share your work with anyone.

CHECKLIST FOR CRITIQUING MANUSCRIPTS

I. Character

__ Are my characters well-rounded? Do the major characters have both positive and negative traits?

__ Is my main character someone readers can care about? Does he/she want something important?

__ Have I revealed character through action?

__ Does my main character take action? Or is she too passive?

__ Is each character's voice distinctly his/her own?

__ Have I avoided stereotypes and stock characters?

__ Does my main character solve his/her own problem? Is he or she different in some way from how he or she was at the beginning of the story? (this doesn't always have to happen, but usually it means your story has some depth to it)

II. Point of View

__ Have I stayed with my POV character throughout the story?

__ Would the story be stronger if I switched from third person to first person or vice versa? Would the story be better told from a different character's point of view?

III. Plot

__ What is the basic conflict of my story?

Beginning

__ Do I introduce my characters and the conflict right away? Or do I take too much time revving up? Could I chop off the first paragraph and start with the second?

Middle

__ Have I put complications in the middle that get worse and worse and build to a climax?

__ Does my character have to work to reach his/her goal?

End

__ Does my main character solve his/her own problem?

__ Does the ending grow logically out of the rest of the story?

__ Is my ending satisfying without being predictable?

IV. Language

Description

__ Are my details specific, not generalized?

__ Have I bogged down the action with tedious passages of description? (One way to check this is to see how many "ing" words are used; very many usually means there is too much description)

__ Would that description work better if I wove it gradually into the story rather than presenting it as a block?

__ Have I described with more than one sense (i.e. sight, sound, touch, taste, smell)?

Action

__ Have I used strong and specific verbs and nouns?

__ Have I successfully avoided passive voice?

__ Can I cut out redundancies? Small talk? Clutter? Meaningless qualifiers such as "just" and "very"? Passages that bog down the action? Have I used too many different dialogue tags that attract attention?

Mechanics

__ Are there awkward or confusing sentences or scenes that need to be cleaned up?

__ When I read my story out loud, does the rhythm sound right? Is it choppy? Too wordy? Monotonous?

__ Are my transitions smooth?

__ Have I avoided clichs?

__ Does each sentence sparkle with my own voice? Is that voice strong and credible?

V. Purpose

__ 1. Does each character and action in the story have a definite purpose?

With these specific points to look for when critiquing a children's story, it should be much easier for you and your fellow writers to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of each and every manuscript.

For more helpful tips for writers, visit http://www.workingwriterscoach.com and sign up for the mailing list. When you do, you'll receive a free ebook for writers, plus every weekday morning you'll get The Morning Nudge, a few words to motivate and inspire you to get a little writing done.

Visit the National Writing for Children Center at http://www.writingforchildrencenter.com and find out how you can learn to write for kids. Suzanne Lieurance is a fulltime freelance writer, children's author, and founder and director of the National Writing for Children Center.

Your Writer's Web Site - Use it to Get Writing Jobs

Do you realize that you can write your way to riches online? As the saying goes, content is king online, and you can use your own content to profit. In this article you'll discover how to get writing jobs via your writer's Web site.

1. It's All About Content: Help Buyers Find You

Let's start by looking at how the Web works. People search for information and products online. They search using specific words and phrases. For any site's page to come up in the search query results, it must include the words the searcher typed into a search engine.

Therefore, think about your writer's Web site and the keywords (search terms) you need to include for buyers of your writing to find you.

Would you include the words "writing jobs" on your site's pages? You probably wouldn't, because you wouldn't attract buyers.

Would you include the words "content writer" or "medical writer" on your site's pages? Chances are that if that describes what you do, you would, because it would help buyers to find you.

2. Building Your Name: Add Material to Your Portfolio to Show What You Can Do

New writers tend to think of their Web site as a brochure, rather than as an ever-expanding hub of their writing activities.

The words on your site are vitally important: they have two functions. The first is to get buyers (traffic) to your site.

The second is to enhance buyers' credibility and trust, so that they hire you when they're looking for a writer.

Here's a big tip: have FUN on your Web site. The more your personality and enthusiasm show through on your site, the more likely it is that buyers will bookmark your site, and will hire you next time they need a writer. Buyers are looking for YOU.

Believe it or not, it's hard to find competent, reliable writers. Finding such a writer (you) is gold to buyers. You can turn one-time buyers into steady clients, bringing you thousands of dollars of income every year.

So add content to your site -- as much as you can. Add pages, and add your portfolio too. Your portfolio is social proof that others have hired you.

3. Create a Marketing Plan for an Ever-Increasing Income

Your site's traffic is the barometer of the health of your writing career. No matter how small your traffic is initially, it will grow. You'll start with five visitors a day, then 50, and then 500. Once your site's traffic hits 500 visitors, I promise you that you'll have more buyers of your writing than you can handle.

So create a marketing plan to increase traffic to your site, and do one marketing task a day. It will pay off beyond your dreams.

Want to make a great income from your writing? Angela Booth's "Sell Your Writing Online NOW" Training Program at http://sellwritingnow.com/Home/training.html gives you all the skills you need to make great money writing for the Web. A subscriber recently said: "Your training has inspired me - I'm on Lesson 14, and I'm making enough money to quit my day job"

For free weekly writing information sent to your Inbox, subscribe to Angela's Fab Freelance Writing Ezine at http://www.freelancewritingezine.com/ and receive "Write And Sell Your Writing: The Power-Write Report" immediately

Write Better English!

Grammar Punctuation Help Software automatically proofreads our writing for basic grammar, punctuation and spelling errors. English writing is a skill that only improves through practice, and it seems like these fresh technological solutions are able to assist us on improving our writing skills. Professional writing is about proper grammar, punctuation, spelling and style. Learn how you can easily acquire these professional writing skills.

Introduction

Grammar Punctuation Help Software is a tool that helps us with one of the most tedious writing tasks - that is proofreading our writing for any problems and errors. Just as you write your text, it is instantly being analyzed by a dynamic, self-learning mechanism that constantly collects and maintains a growing 'correct grammar dictionary' made of millions of text variations. Grammar writing programs enable us to: grammar check, misspelling and typos correction, and suggesting proper punctuation.

Important advantages

Let's summarize the main benefits and advantages:

* Helping us to avoid embarrassing grammar mistakes.

* Analyzing our sentence structure for correct punctuation, thus transforming our writing more comprehendible.

* Enriching our English vocabulary.

Extra research on this solution would probably bring up additional benefits that were not mentioned in this review, as this unique system is constantly moving forward, bringing us new ideas and additional solutions that help us on improving our Writing performance.

Conclusion

Grammar Punctuation Help Software assists us on catching common writing errors as we proofread our writing assignments. Correct grammar and proofreading is matter of practice, this technology won't teach us correct grammar directly, but indirectly. In the next few years we can expect this solution to further develop itself, simply because writing is one of the most important tools that help us achieving many of our goals.

Watch how an advanced English Grammar Check Software analyzes text and learn more about innovative technologies that can help you transform your English writing correct, professional and creative.

Tips for Scholarship Essay Writing

Scholarships that require essays offer you the opportunity to stand out from the pack and make an impact on the reader. If an essay is ever optional, always, always include it! By choosing to ignore a request for an essay, it shows the application-committee or reviewer you really did not want to put the work in. You are writing this essay for money; it's worth the time and effort you put into it. (It is unwise to write one essay and copy/paste it for all the scholarships you are applying for.)The essay section of a scholarship is your only chance to distinguish yourself from the rest of the applicants. You may be just as qualified, or perhaps even less qualified, than others, so this is your time to shine and let them know why YOU deserve this scholarships.What will distinguish yours from all the others? Perhaps you deserve this scholarship, but other students probably do too. What makes you different from the masses? Put some time into thinking about what you're going to write and always have someone else read it. A second opinion, third, or even fourth will likely bring you plenty of valuable feedback. Ask your teachers, coaches, managers at work, your friends. The more feedback you can get, the better off you are.The purpose of the essay, for the reviewers, is to learn about you. Your words reveal something about your personality and plans for the future, and a chance to get an in-depth look at the topic at hand. Clear writing ability and creativity do not go unnoticed in your essays. Before you begin writing
Create an outline of your paper. Regardless of the order in which you write each section, you should know prior to writing what topic or main points you should cover in each part of your paper. Basic outlines have an introduction, body, and conclusion. Intro
Typically it is a good idea to use some sort of "attention getting" aspect; make the reader want to continue reading. Do not begin every sentence with "I" or "my". Although this essay may be about you, it sounds redundant. Add some variety and spice by changing your language and sentence structure. For example: I am a senior in high school and I am going to college XYW after I graduate. I have participated in many great activities during the last four years. I think I deserve this scholarship because ..." The repetition within those sentences is boring and will not engage the reader.Body
The body of the essay should support the main topic of the essay; make sure to give examples and explain why you are qualified. Avoid repeating yourself using the same language. Personal and specific examples create a story that may draw in the reader and create a memorable impression. Using generalities is not convincing; they may be applied to most people and do not create a unique impression of you.Conclusion
To conclude your essay, restate your main point, although do not use the same language word for word. Using a future-tense may be appropriate. If you choose to use a quote or a poem in your essay, choose wisely and be selective; it may be perceived as clich or unoriginal, or even inapplicable.

For free scholarship information, check out http://www.squarehatmoney.com/scholarships

7 Mistakes in Article Writing

The most important thing to remember about article marketing is building trust between you and your potential customers. Your primary concern is to establish yourself as an expert in your niche so every word, sentence and paragraph of your articles should subtly communicate this to your readers through quality writing.

Unfortunately, too many authors think it's all right to bang out article after article hoping that quantity will override quality. The opposite is true. If you cannot avoid the following 7 mistakes in your article writing, you will sabotage your own efforts at article marketing.

Article Writing Mistake #1: Poor title

This is your headline and it needs to catch your reader's attention as well as potential publishers. Try to work in keywords but don't overdo it. Of all places, don't misspell or have a grammatical error here as it only makes you look as if you don't care. If that's true, why should readers care to read any more of the article. Make sure the title accurately reflects what the article is about.

Article Writing Mistake #2: Badly written summary

Most article directories allow for a summary of your article but this is not the place to stuff your keywords or repeat a keyword phrase ten times. You would be surprised how many authors think this will help when all it does is get their article immediately rejected. Create a summary that expands upon the title and draws in the reader with a little more information and a possible tease that makes them think, "Yes, I need to read more about this." One to three sentences is all it takes. I tend to write my entire article first before coming back to the summary to make sure it's the best it can be.

Article Writing Mistake #3: Failure to edit

The following was the opening of an article submitted to my site:

"Instantly, let's start at the very starting out, what's the first thing you have to do before starting a..."

The author obviously wants to stress the importance of what is to come but failing to correct this rhetorical abuse through editing defeats the purpose entirely. Remember: First drafts never make good reading. Editing is what makes good writing.

Article Writing Mistake #4: If you hire a ghost writer, check their work

I see way too many articles where a ghost writer is hired and English is not their native language. There's nothing wrong with hiring someone to write articles for you but if you don't review and approve the results, then I have no sympathy for you. Turning over the entire process of writing and submitting articles on your behalf is a sure way to make your company look stupid.

Article Writing Mistake #5: Use the preview button

Article directories don't have any time to format your articles for you. If you can't take the time to properly format your article into paragraphs with spacing, don't count on getting your articles published very much. After pasting your article into the submission form, use the preview button to see if its properly formatted. If not, go back and make the corrections.

Article Writing Mistake #6: Writing in the passive voice

What separates great writing from the rest is writing in the active voice.

Passive: The boy was bitten by the dog.

Active: The dog bit the boy.

Eliminate words such as was, were, been, have, has, and had. Replace them with an active verb or direct voice. Your articles will stand out head and shoulders above the rest if you edit with this in mind.

Article Writing Mistake #7: Failure to deliver

Perhaps the most common, this mistake is surely the deadliest of all. Each part of a submitted article is designed to pull the reader further along a path of information that eventually leads to your website. The title grabs, the summary teases and the article body delivers. But if it doesn't, what makes you think the reader will click for more information? They won't if you fail to deliver on what was promised.

If you ignore the advice given in this article, I can guarantee mediocre results from your article marketing efforts. Will you take this article to heart and eliminate these mistakes from your article submissions? If so, you can be sure that your article marketing will achieve maximum results.

Charles Gregory is a freelance writer and owner of Ezine Article Exchange where submitting quality articles means free website advertising for you.

Professional Writing Techniques

A professional writer writes about anything he considers worth addressable. Through his writing he inspires his readers, with his skillful approach he convince his readers about the point he wants them to understand and act. A good writing style is a pre-requisite for many jobs also. There are some great and simple techniques, which can help you to leverage your potential as a professional writer. Some of these techniques are described below.

Start Writing about a Subject you clearly knows

If you a beginner, you must start writing a subject you are very familiar. Since you already know about your subject, you will get an easy flow of writing. Try to present your subject in a very simple yet professional way. Do some research on the subject to confirm whether your points are correct or not.

Use Microsoft Word as your Editor

Microsoft Word is a very good companion of any professional writer. With its neat interface and ample help menu, writing is a great experience. Its built in feature such as spell check, grammatical error pointing etc. are very helpful in delivering an excellent article. While spelling errors are shown with a red underline, the grammatical errors are pointed out by underlining the wrong sentence with a green line.

Cultivate Your Own Writing Style

Every professional writer has his own writing style, which is a result of many years of experience. From the beginning of your writing career itself you must make a conscious effort in developing your own writing style. This writing style makes your writing unique and identifiable.

Be Your Own Critique

Read your articles with an eye of a critic. Try to find out if there is any scope for improvement. Rewriting your own articles help you to grow professionally.

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What is Writer's Block?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Procrastination is the single dominant behavior of the blocked artist.

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

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

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

To your Word Flow!

References:

1. http://www.thefreedictionary.com

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

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

Increase Your Traffic by Writing Articles

If you want to increase you website traffic quickly there is only a few ways to it. One of the ways is by Writing good quality articles that people would want to read.

It is not easy to increase your website traffic without cutting corners and this is something you should never do. There are a few things that can increase you traffic that are legal as long as you have the time and skill to be able to write interesting articles.

So you've built your wonderful new website and submitted it to the search engines and directories. In your eyes you are so proud of all your hard work that Google and all the search engines will just fall over themselves to add you to the top page.

So you wait...and you wait...and nothing happens. It takes a very long time for a newly developed website to get any form of listing in search engines and directories and even longer to get any meaningful listing. So, what's the solution to speeding up the process?

The best way you can increase traffic to your website for a short period of time is to write and submit newsletter articles. The beauty of this method is that anyone can do it all you need is a good idea, the ability to write accurately and some spare time. I'm not talking here about working for a magazine or website but the wonderful world of free articles. If you are short on cash and can't afford to promote your business then this technique is especially suited to you.

There are many websites that require constant content on a daily basis and most Newsletter editors are always looking for well written content. This is more so if their newsletter or blog is updated daily or weekly. As you can imagine it would be very difficult to maintain that level of content and prohibitively expensive and so they turn to free articles to ensure their website is relevant and interesting to their visitors.

As with most things on the internet if a gap appears it's very quickly filled and so we have the wonderful world of free articles. The deal is that in exchange for allowing the authors content to be published for free, the author of the article is allowed to place a link or advert at the bottom of the article without any charge.

Just imagine that for a minute, if your article is interesting enough and good enough it could be included in hundreds of websites in a matter of days and what does that mean, one way in-links. This of course is great for your pr ranking and will no doubt increase your traffic for as long as the article is placed high on the publishers website pages. The thing to remember is that you are not giving the article away just given away the rights to use the article on other peoples websites...you still own the article.

These links or adverts are usually placed just below the article and are called "resource boxes". The resource box is your chance to sell yourself or your website or both. It usually contains information about the author and a link to his website.

It's important that you take some time over the content of the resource box because if it is well written then more people will be tempted to click through to your main website and let's face that's the main reason you're given this information away in the first place. Don't add a affiliate link or straight link to another persons site as most publishers are wise to this and would not add your article.

Once you have written your article you now need to find the write publishers and newsletters that will take your work of art. This can be a long and boring job but it is a very important one. I would suggest you find at least 20-30 newsletters of a decent size and don't give up until you have done so.

The main reason why taking a little time over this part of the process is simple: It does not take much longer to submit your article to 500 sites that only main difference is the amount of traffic you will receive.

It's hard to say how much this type of approach will increase your traffic because it's very dependent on how well your article is written and how well you market it. In the best case scenario your article could be accepted at several larger ezines that have 150,000+ subscribers each and could result in 1000+ visitors to your website.

On the other hand you could end up with nobody publishing your article and not single hit. My personal opinion and experience is that a reasonably well thought out and written article usually produces around 500+ unique visitors per article.

There is another way you can get help with the tiresome job of finding publishers and newsletters and that is to pay one of the many companies out there to submit your article for you. I have used several of these companies and the quality and cost of their work can vary enormously. Some of these companies charge per submission ad some charge a flat monthly fee. The most important thing is that you are getting your article to enough quality publishers.

Brian is the editor of Bee Ltd a domain acquisition and development company that has many years experience in the domain name and internet market. You will find many useful articles and advice on all manner of subjects associated with domains names at our site: Bee.eu.

Writing From the Road

There is a rather large contingency of traveling writers, article authors, and novelists that travel in motor coaches and write. I know, for seven years I myself traveled the country by motor coach and I often met them. Some were travel writers, others wrote magazine articles, and some were well known authors. This always fascinated me, and perhaps gave me the confidence to become a writer myself.

My motor coach "The Blitz Mobile" mobile command center has a trailer set up and the trailer section contains my personal library. Did anyone ever tell you how heavy books are? In this library I have all sorts of information and thus, I have all the references I need to write on the road, something I would recommend for any serious traveling writer. Other writers I have met have their own smaller reference library, they take with them. Many traveling writers have invited me into their motor homes and they'll have a small row of reference books. Books such as Travel Guides, Atlas, Dictionary, Almanacs, Thesaurus and other mini-Encyclopedia type books. In fact you can always tell a traveling writer by what is in their motor home.

And I also recommend having reliable Internet Access as well, this is why I set up a separate power source in the trailer and use the WiFi from the Internet Satellite Antenna from the Motor Coach part. If you are considering writing from the road you might wish to check out the MotoSat Mobile Systems available, they are not cheap, but they work very well.Some writers use the new 3G wireless access card for their laptop. Some older writers just wait until the find an Internet Cafe. Still others only stay at WiFi enabled RV Parks and there are more and more of them these days.

The great thing about being a writer is that you can write from virtually anywhere and with mobile technology what it is today, you can have instant access to the real world when you want it. When you don't turn it off and enjoy the inspiration from the scenic views or destination spots. Why not take your writing on the road, enjoy life, dump the stress and allow your creative juices to flow, your mind to roam and ride like the wind!

Lance Winslow is a public speaker and gives professional interviews to various news agencies and Internet Companies Lance Winslow. Lance Winslow is also available by appointment; http://www.pbs.org/livelyhood/honeywebought/bossresources.html#lance ; PBS Special with Lance Winslow.

Writing Chapters And Scenes

You don't even need chapters anymore in some novels, but then you might simply have a lot of chapters.

Normally a Chapter in a Novel is three to five scenes. What then makes the difference between a chapter and its scenes? And why is this important in planning a novel?

In planning your novel or screen play, first you want to create every possible scene or event. Visualize putting each scene or event on a paper card, whether you actually do this or not.

The above exercise, even if you are not a writer, can show you if you can produce an exciting story out of your imagination and life experience. Take an evening and just writing on small cards a series of story-events and see what you come up with. You might be surprised at your creativity!

A scene-event is a dramatization, usually with characters, that happens in one place. It has one action, its reaction, reflection and developmental choice.

Keep this formula in mind and use it over and over again. The formula applies to both characters and plot developments.

The action may be from one of the characters or an outside event like a bank robbery. Thus developments happen both to and in characters but also in the time-line called a plot.

A plot is a time-line of character development and resolution combined with a time-line of action and event development and resolution. Keep this is mind as another primary writing structure for both the novel and the screen play.

The developed writer knows and uses over and over the writing craft structures that work in dramatizing story.

Know your fundamentals. You are the writer using craft tools to tell story. Your readers and viewers experience your story vicariously as real to them because you have used writing craft tools successfully in telling story.

Know your writing craft!

It's a short and simple message, but true.

Story development and resolution is a time-line of scenes, one right after another. Each scene causes another scene to happen, usually sequentially. As a writer you are little different from a scientist. A scientist investigates cause and effect over and over again in his and her research area. You as a writer get to construct cause and effect sequences over and over again in creating dramatically your story.

Thus use scene development and chapter development to keep the story development happening in the most involving ways possible.

Do we need chapters if we have scenes? Do we need acts in plays if we have scenes?

A chapter is a collection of interrelated scenes around a common theme or sub-theme. A story theme is a life issue and life insight dramatized. All great story has a life theme that is dramatized. Story-goals and story-themes are elements of the dramatization of the main story-theme that the story is all about.

Love triumphs over hate, or does it?

In the movie about the theme: pay it forward, the boy who invents and practices this is killed in the end at school, almost accidentally in a knife attack by two other boys. The theme is a great one of good doing more good in the world despite evil that would destroy the good in life.

However, the writer of the novel and the movie is unclear how to write story to theme and so fails the story potential despite a new and strong theme.

In a nutshell, the boy who does acts of kindness in paying it forward gets killed for no reason. Why his attackers hate him enough to kill him is never developed, nor is a character behavior of the good boy dramatized in such a way as to cause murderous hate in another boy.

Killing the boy at the end makes no sense. It gives the wrong feeling to the viewer and reader. It makes one feel the message is 'do good while you can for bad will eventually or quickly overcome you.' I don't really think this is the story message that the writer wanted to convey. If so it is interesting but contradictory to reality and to the story theme of pay it forward, which is to do good deeds to those in need because good deeds have been done to you by others.

Our point here is that you need to be aware of good story-craft in writing up your stories.

Events as scenes are singular. Chapters are families of scenes and so are multiples which cluster around sub-themes of your main theme and story.

In the full The Writer's Interface, a 92,000 words document, you will find a lot more craft tools and ideas that go with scene and chapter development.

While scenes, one after another, give the stepping stones development of your total story, chapters give the cluster development of sub-themes dramatized and leading to main theme development in theme resolution.

Do the good guys win out over the bad guys, the main story archetype? Well, mostly the answer has to be yes because of reader and viewer psychology. Resolution to the tension of good versus evil, with good winning out over evil, is thought of in the human mind as positive and healing.

Thus again in the Pay It Forward novel and movie the hero boy getting stabbed to death as a resolution to the story does not make sense internally or externally in life. Are we supposed to think that in thousands of grade and high schools in the country there are killer boys with knives out to kill at least one other student before they fully grow up? Absurd, but here done and ridiculous. Thus again we say this writer has no good knowledge of story and theme and how it all works to produce and really important novel.

You don't have to be as unconscious or stupid, do you?

Learn your craft then. This is what we also are devoted to. We give a few important ideas here. We give around 2000 writing craft ideas in The Writer's Interface as a service to serious writers who want to do an effective job in writing their novels and screen plays.

Comments To Make

What are your views on writer imagination versus writer craft knowledge in creating novels, plays and stories? What now stands in your way as a writer from producing good work that will sell to lots of readers and viewers?

Strephon Kaplan-Williams is a well-published writer with over 350,000 of his books in circulation in eight languages. He is also a professional dreamwork psychologist and now specializing in writer creativity and writing craft tools. His The Writer's Interface is the first comprehensive collection of writing craft tools ever published that is sure to gain wide acceptance among writers and in the field of writing software. He uses the WriteItNow software as his primary writing organizer for his novel, now with 100,000 words and undergoing a major revision. To learn more about how chapters and scenes go to make up an exciting novel you can visit him at

thewritersinterface.com

The Writer's Interface - Web Store

creativewritingandwriters.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Writing Monologues - Be So Emotional

WHAT IS A MONOLOGUE?

• A monologue expresses the thoughts of one person.
• A monologue should have a beginning, middle and end.
• A monologue should always reveal something - be it a story, a secret, an answer to a question, or an emotional outpouring.

PART THREE of this series on Writing Monologues will focus on emotion.

It is essential that there is an emotional journey in your monologue. Just as there needs to be a journey in the story from beginning to end, there needs to be an emotional journey: a change, a development, a transfer from one emotional state to another. There's nothing worse than a monologue that picks a single emotional state and stays there for the whole piece! Variety is the key.

What does that mean?

Think of your monologue as a roller coaster. There are ups and downs, peaks and valleys. That's what makes the roller coaster exciting, the changes in the journey from beginning to end. The mistake that a lot of writers make is to think that intense equals interesting. That if there are a lot of exclamation marks, an audience will be engaged. Nothing could be farther than the truth. Audiences do not like to be yelled at. Certainly you can shock an audience, you can have intense moments. But the longer that intensity goes, the more your audience will retreat. The more they will think about their dry-cleaning or work. Yelling pushes an audience out of the world of the play, something you definitely do not want.

Also, we as human beings never feel one single emotion at a time. We are happy/sad. Embarrassed/mad. The more variety in the emotion of the monologue, the more three dimensional the character, the more connection with your audience. That's how you grab and audience and keep them: connect through emotion, don't direct through emotion.

Use this exercise to practice changing emotion within a monologue.

EXERCISE

Write a monologue in which a character watches a parade. Re-write to explore the following emotional journeys:

• The character starts MAD and ends HAPPY.
• The character starts SAD and ends PROUD.
• The character starts FEARFUL and ends JOYFUL.
• The character starts JEALOUS and ends with COMPASSION.

Every writer wants to write a monologue that bring down the house. That show stopping moment, that brings the audience to the edge of their seats. How is that accomplished? It's just as easy to go the other way, to write a monologue that completely slows the pace with selfish, indulgent, 'I remember when' writing.

The answer can often be found in the character's 'need to speak.' Why does the character need to speak? What is happening that propels the character speak - why now? Why not yesterday or tomorrow? How do they go for that need? What happens to the character emotionally if they succeed? What happens to the character emotionally if they fail?

The more you determine the need to speak, the more urgent the moment. And urgency will draw an audience in every time.

EXERCISE

• Take your Parade monologue.
• Determine on the best 'need to speak' scenario for your character.
• Determine the emotional quality that best represents this 'need' for the beginning of the monologue.
• Decide if the character succeeds or fails in achieving their 'need' at the end of the monologue.
• Determine the emotional quality that best represents their success or failure.
• Re-write the monologue to show all of the above.

Make every monologue you write an emotional, urgent, need to speak moment.

The next article in this series on Writing Monologues will explore Language Struture. All characters should speak in a specific language that illuminates their personality. This is especially important in monologues, where we focus on a character for more than a couple of lines.

Lindsay Price is the resident playwright for Theatrefolk, an independent publisher of playscripts for schools and student performers.

http://www.theatrefolk.com

The Time to Become a Successful Writer is Now

90% of people are wasteful, and the 3 things they waste the most are time, money and self-esteem. And the 2 thieves that steal these 3 things from us are indecision and procrastination.

It's a fact that more time is lost through indecision than making wrong decisions. And procrastination completely strips us of self-esteem by making us feel that we're not good enough or smart enough.
So don't let indecision and procrastination hold you back nay longer from becoming the great writer that you really are.

You just need to feel more confident about yourself if you want to move up to greatness.

And it's not going to happen if you just waste your time and money reading self help books and books about writing. You need to act.

And don't aim low. Aim for the top. Use all the knowledge you've gained from reading books and taking courses and become the professional writer you have always dreamed of being.

Believe in yourself and the rest will be easy.

And don't settle for less than you want. All writers dream of success but perhaps don't strive hard enough to attain it because they think (somewhere subconsciously) that the success they crave is realistically out of their reach.

Well that's a losing attitude and if you think that way then you've already lost. So don't quite the day job.

Just remember that being a successful writer isn't easy. It's a challenge. Doing nothing is easy. But nothing will happen until you make it happen.

And the time to act is now.

Learn more about how to become a successful writer at Writeaholics.net. You can also read more about becoming a great writer at Writeaholics.net/greatwriter.html

Writing the Rainbow

If you were to disregard all of the file folders, books and scribbled Post-It notes, one of the first things you'd notice about my office is my fondness for The Wizard of Oz. Along the walls and bookshelves are postcards of Dorothy and The Wicked Witch, a stuffed Scarecrow and a Cowardly Lion hand puppet. There's also an 18-inch rainbow on my desk. It's really a candleholder, a simple black ornamental bridge with small glass votives of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. To me it is a symbol of hope and inspiration, a reminder of how color became my muse.

The road to rainbows

Like many writers, there was a time when my words did not flow, flow, flow onto the paper, a time when I would have welcomed a pair of ruby slippers just so I could click myself three times out of the Writers Block Woods and into the Creative Light. Then one day I walked into a metaphysical shop and found my muse. There along one large, sunny window were over 100 square glass bottles, each containing two different-colored layers of liquid. They mesmerized me with their gem-like brilliance.

This was my introduction to Aura-Soma, an holistic therapy which uses the healing energies of colors, plants and crystals. Instinctively, I reached for "Gabriel", the blue-over-violet bottle. By applying the oily contents to my throat and temple, my communication abilities would be greatly improved, it was explained. What's this--a writer's miracle in a bottle? Intrigued, I brought "Gabriel" home and after only a few applications, I found myself enjoying what I can only describe as a creative high.

An ancient method

Now that I have spent many years researching the benefits of color, I'm not surprised "Gabriel" worked so well. "Color is a powerful tool," author Lori Reid wrote in ther book, Color Book: Use the healing powers of color to transform your life. "It acts on our bodies, minds, and emotions, triggering deep and subtle responses on a subconscious level."

Within each of us are spinning wheels of energy called chakras which correspond to a specific color of the spectrum, as well as an emotional issue. Red (root chakra, located at the base of the spine) is used for energy, grounding and passion. Orange (sacral chakra, located two inches below the navel) promotes joy and sexuality. Yellow (solar plexus chakra, located below the breastbone) helps counteract depression and stimulates mental activity. Green (heart chakra, located at the center of the chest) represents compassion and healing. Blue (throat chakra, located at the throat) deals with peace, communication and artistic expression. Indigo (brow chakra, located at the third eye area, between the brows) activates intuition. Violet (crown chakra, located at the crown of the head) represents spirituality and inspiration.

Since ancient times, color has been used in physical, mental and emotional healing. It is said that Hippocrates applied his medicine in rooms painted in soothing colors and used different colored salves and ointments as treatment. In ancient Egypt, China and India, individuals were dipped in colored pigment or bathed in light that was filtered through colored-glass windows. Today color is introduced by using crystals and visualization, wearing a particular color clothing to absorb color physically, applying colored lights or oils to the skin, eating colored foods and drinking colored water. One can also receive different color vibrations through music.

Color your world

How would you describe green to your readers? Before you write, visualize your setting and try to see, feel and smell the green. Say you are writing a short story about a young girl living in an old country cottage in Ireland. Is the color of the grass and trees an emerald or Kelly green? Does the grass feel dry or wet? How do you convey the smell of the countryside? Is green an earthy, clean smell? Is it sweet and slightly minty or antiseptic-smelling like pine?

"Becoming aware of the effects of color means that we can make use of its positive benefits to lift our spirits, to unlock our creative imagination, to enhance our environment and to improve our image, our well-being, and our lives," says Reid.

Did you know that if you write on a yellow note pad with blue ink, you can enhance both your communication and creative skills? Think about what you wish to communicate to your readers. Is it anger? Joy or pain?

Once you understand the excessive and deficient qualities associated with each color, you can write stories with more interesting, more believable characters. In her book, Color and Crystals: A Journey Through The Chakras, author Joy Gardner provides an excellent example of someone who has too much red energy:

"This wealthy perfectionist is the owner of a California restaurant chain. He rules his employees like a commanding general. He is nervous and chronically constipated. He owns three cars, which give him little satisfaction. He sleeps with many women, but it's an empty experience."

Gardner describes the rainbow colors and their related excessive energies as Red--greedy, egotistic, domineering, sexually indiscriminate; Orange--emotionally explosive, aggressive, manipulative, over-indulgent; Yellow--judgmental, workaholic, perfectionist, overly intellectual; Green--demanding, possessive, moody, melodramatic; Blue--arrogant, self-righteous, dogmatic, addictive; Indigo--egomaniac, proud, religiously dogmatic, authoritarian and Violet--psychotic, depressed, destructive.

An outstanding example of a red personality is the aptly named Scarlett O'Hara, the fiery heroine from "Gone With The Wind". Talk about attention-getters! Scarlett was stubborn and temperamental, a woman who demanded everything the world had to offer. Nothing could stop her from achieving her goals, not death and destruction nor the scorn and wagging tongues of the local citizens. If she had to steal her sister's beau, murder a Yankee or toil in the fields, well, so be it. She would not be defeated.

In the end, Scarlett had amassed great wealth and had rebuilt her beloved Tara, but she had suffered great losses as well. Her daughter was dead and her husband, Rhett Butler, clearly didn't give a damn and was heading out the door. But we just know that Scarlett got Rhett in the end. Why? Because she never, ever quit. She knew what she wanted and she would fight the devil himself to ensure that she got it. Scarlett O'Hara was the ultimate survivor. Surely, if she had had a personal mantra, it would have been: "It's all about me!"

A writer's meditation

Sit or lie in a comfortable position. Close your eyes and imagine yourself sitting on a beautiful white sandy beach. The sun is directly overhead and its rays are brilliant and warm as they flow from the top of your head and throughout your body.

Let your toes feel the cool, Caribbean blue waters. See yourself staring out to sea, mesmerized by the dancing rhythm of the waves. Watch the seagulls fly above you, then see them dive into the sparkling water. You feel at peace here. After awhile, you notice a huge wave coming toward you but you are not afraid. The water comes close to your hand and when the wave is gone, you see it has left you a wondrous gift.

Glowing like jewels on the sand are seven different colors of seaglass. You pick up the red seaglass first and hold it in the palm of your hand. Stare into the seaglass and imagine you are becoming smaller and smaller until you are surrounded by the red seaglass. Feel the warmth and energy of the color red. Red is the first color of the rainbow. It is the color of passion and enthusiasm and survival. Red helps you obtain your material needs.

Now pick up the orange-colored seaglass. Orange is the second color of the rainbow. Look into the seaglass and become the color orange. Orange is a joyful color. With orange, you feel happy about your decision to become a writer and you will not allow anyone or anything to dampen your enthusiasm.

Now pick up the yellow-colored seaglass and feel the power of yellow surround you. Yellow is the third color of the rainbow. Yellow gives you better confidence in your writing abilities, no matter how many rejection slips or criticisms you receive.

Place the green-colored seaglass into your hand. Green is the fourth color of the rainbow. It is the color of harmony and balance and peace. When you are hurrying to meet deadlines for books and articles, visualize the color green and your balance will be restored.

Pick up the blue-colored seaglass and become the color blue. Blue is the fifth color of the rainbow and offers you creativity and communication. Blue helps you perceive the truth and to conquer writer's block.

Now pick up the indigo-colored seaglass. This is the sixth color of the rainbow. Indigo is the color of intuition, your inner voice that tells you to "go for it". You need to trust your intuition if you are to realize your potential and become a successful writer.

Now there is only one seaglass left to explore, the violet-colored one. Violet is the seventh color of the rainbow. It is the color of faith. No matter how difficult your life may get, faith never lets you give up on yourself. In your journey as a writer, remember the color violet and your abilities and opportunities will improve.

Now slowly open your eyes and when you are ready, take your favorite colored pen or pencil in hand and write a page in your personal color journal, knowing that the power of the seven colors of the rainbow has made you into a better and more creative writer.

Are you ready to do some rainbow writing? Try these exercises now:

1. Write about a red place, object or character. OR write a cover letter to an agent, describing why he/she should take you on as a client. What are your accomplishments? Why are you certain your book or article will sell?

2. Write about an orange place, object or character. OR write about the first time you knew you really wanted to become a writer. Then write how you felt when you received your first criticism or rejection letter. Were you angry? Sad? Suicidal? How did you resolve the situation?

3. Write about a yellow place, object or character. OR write a movie synopsis of your life. Is it a poignant drama, comedy or psychological thriller? Which actor portrays you? Would you give your life story a General, PG-13 or R rating?

4. Write about a green place, object or character. OR write a poem about a time when you really loved something or someone. How did you express your love? Was it returned or rejected?

5. Write about a blue place, object or character. OR interview yourself as if you are already a successful writer. What suggestions would you give to a beginning writer? How have you managed to keep your name at the top of the bestseller lists? How do you avoid writer's block? Do you network with other writers?

6. Write about an indigo place, object or character. OR write a dialogue in which a small child is describing your present surroundings to an older blind person.

7. Write about a violet place, object or character. OR in first person, create a Cinderella-like fairytale where your greatest desire is to attend the most famous writers conference in the country. What are your adversities? How do you eventually get to the conference? Describe the general layout of the conference. Whom do you meet there? What questions do you ask your favorite author? What lessons do you learn? (Begin your story with "Once upon a time I was...")

Creating a personal color journal

Once I was angry with a person whom I felt had treated me unfairly. Since I was already "seeing red", I instinctively reached for a red pen and began to write passionately, wildly, about the injustice of it all. Had I been trying to "chill", I would have grabbed my "cool blue" pen instead. But in this situation I needed to express my anger--to really feel the emotional power of it--and that is why I chose to "be" red for that journaling session.

As you might expect from someone with an Oz collection, one of my major philosophies in life is to have fun, so I suggest the more colorful you can make your journal, the better. Choose either a large spiral notebook in your favorite color or seven different notebooks to reflect each hue of the rainbow and its corresponding emotion. If you are feeling depressed on the day of your journal entry, you need to add more red, so you will write this entry in red because red is the antidote to blue.

To get you started, here are nine colorful journaling prompts:

1. On the top of each page, write and complete this sentence: "The color I feel today is _______________________ because..."

2. Describe how you generally feel about the color red (or orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo or violet) and why.

3. Using the color red, complete this affirmation: "Today I have..."

4. Using the color orange, complete this affirmation: "Today I feel..."

5. Using the color yellow, complete this affirmation: "Today I can..."

6. Using the color green, complete this affirmation: "Today I love..."

7. Using the color blue, complete this affirmation: "Today I speak..."

8. Using the color indigo, complete this affirmation: "Today I see..."

9. Using the color violet, complete this affirmation: "Today I know..."

Dive write in, the aura's fine

Red. Orange. Yellow. Green. Blue. Indigo. Violet. These seven colors are powerful tools for writers. So if you've lost your muse somewhere along the yellow brick road and don't have a pair of ruby slippers to find it, look to the rainbow and you'll discover that writing is an even greater adventure when it's not all black and white.

Eleyne Austen Sharp has been a professional writer since 1980. She is a certified color therapist, certified spiritual aromatherapist and creator of Rainbow Writing, an innovative journaling and creative writing technique. Eleyne is the founder of Aura House (http://www.aurahouse.com), a professional color therapy and training center. Email her at rainbowwriter@aurahouse.com

3 Writing Tips For Greater Productivity and Profits

If you're interested in a few quick writing tips to make you a more productive, efficient and therefore, more profitable writer, this article is for you. Any one idea can make a difference. Combine them all and you'll write more this month than any previous month. And chances are you'll earn a whole lot more money as a result.

Here are 3 quick writing tips to help you get more from your efforts:

1. Write every day. This one may seem obvious. And if you're already a daily writer, you're probably thinking "Well duh... tell me something I don't already know." If that's the case, you've already tapped into the magic of daily writing. But if you only write when a purple moon shines, or when the spirit moves you, you're missing out big time.

Regular writing makes it easier, just as doing anything repetitively increases your skill and effectiveness. The more you write, the less likely you are to experience writer's block.

Set your daily quota of words or pages and... just do it, as Nike says. Make it a habit to write, even when you don't feel like it. Doing so makes it part of your routine. Soon writing will be something you just do automatically, like brushing your teeth.

2. Read often. Reading makes you a better writer. And the more you read, the better your writing tends to be. Read a variety of materials, rather than sticking only to your favorites. If you only read magazines, adds books of various kinds to your reading stack. If you tend to favor nonfiction materials, read a John Grisham novel.

Mix it up and you'll maximize the writing value you get from reading. The more you read, the more it helps you craft your ideas into paragraphs. You'll be able to spot good writing and you'll want to emulate it wherever possible.

3. Use a timer. The task of writing tends to expand to fill whatever time is allotted. If you give yourself all day to write one segment, how long do you think it will take you? That's correct: all day. But challenge yourself to get it done in the next ten minutes and set your timer to sound at that time. If you've never used a timer before, you'll be blown away by its effectiveness... and shocked at both the quality and quantity of your writing.

Anyone can write a book and make a lot of money. Most people dream of it at some point in their lives... but few follow through to live the dream. If you want to learn how to write your book in just days... and profit for years - you can! Visit my web site for more free tips, techniques, tactics and helpful resources, visit TODAY: http://www.WordsIntoMoney.com

Simple College Essay Ideas

While it comes to writing college essay then there are many components & issues that one absolutely wants to know how one can master. No matter whether you locate yourself writing about proper method to store the plants in order that they will grow adequately and writing about why unlawful drugs must be legalized, as there are right & wrong ways to set-up & write college essay.

College Essay Papers: College essay is the opinion style format and these are type of college essays, which need individual to have opinion on a few issues & provide causes to help your opinion. These kinds of college essays generally have no right and wrong answer, however are generally graded on completeness of opinion all through the paper, and how clearly student conveyed their message.

Persuasive Essay Papers: Conversely, completely different kind of college paper is persuasive essay. These types of papers are destined to have solid structure with thesis statement at beginning of a paper, and whole rest of college essay is intended to support & back up thesis.

Six main constituents of persuasive college paper comprise of introduction, thesis statement, first, second, & third supporting paragraphs, & finally conclusion of this paper. For these kinds of college papers student have to master the writing concise & clear thesis statement, and forming supporting claims, which have substance & proof.

When written, all the college essays have got 3 main parts: introduction, body, and conclusion. Kind of college essay, which is being written can determine what information goes in all section, but trick & success in writing down great college essay generally lies in giving right kind of info, but as well in being brief and to point. There is not any room for "down" in college paper, and student must be careful to write down with easy words that they & their audience may easily know.

Getting Help with the College Essays: Almost all college students want to take 2 basic writing classes no matter what university or college they attend. Normally these classes may teach every student how one can form & write college essays, also these 2 courses essentially lay foundations for the other kinds of educational writing that one can experience and be needed to do all through one's college vocation. If you are in trouble, when beginning college essay, which you are not very sure about, then there are some places where one will absolutely get aid.

First, the colleges and the universities are always equipped with the tutor centers where all the students can get help in writing college essays & papers. These instructor centers must be able to aid student's form the introductions & thesis statements to make it clearer, and help them with he essays generally if they require help. Other sources for getting the help with this college papers comprise of brothers & sisters that might have gone through the university before them, and private tutors, which can be found all through college campuses.

Find tons of articles like this and more all on Tom's student blog

Article Writing - Hot Skills For the Web

Want to make money writing for the Web? Learn how to write articles - writing articles is a hot skill which is in high demand. Web articles are very different from print articles, and are easier to write.

To get started, think about your own searching and reading habits on the Web. What makes a Web page appealing? Consider: lots of white space, sub-headings, bullet points, and images.

Aim to make your articles appealing, right from the start, by writing in short paragraphs, using clear language, and making points quickly, rather than waffling.

Here are three tips which will help your article writing.

1. What's an Article's Purpose?

Before planning an article, or a series of articles, you must know their purpose.

If you've been hired to write articles, you'll often just be given a set of keywords. If so, your purpose is to write, using the keywords effectively.

If you're writing articles for your own Web properties, your purpose might be: to get traffic from the search engines, to make a sale of your own product or an affiliate product, or to educate or entertain your site's visitors.

I often write articles in sets of five, or ten or more, over a couple of days, so I create a folder for the articles, with a file of notes, containing a list of keywords, the articles' purpose, and article titles. Making notes ensures that I can pick up writing where I left off, even if several days go by.

2. Beyond Keywords: Article Titles and Descriptions

While keywords are important to ensure that your articles are found on the Web, your article titles and their descriptions are equally important. When people are searching, the results pages -- the Web pages which are returned after a Web query -- contain lists of Web page titles, and descriptions.

When writing titles and descriptions, include the primary keyword you're targeting.

3. What's the Takeaway?

Every article you write should contain a takeaway: a clear benefit for your reader. When you think in terms of articles' purpose, and their takeaways, you'll write articles which are read, and which get a response.

Enjoy writing articles. It's a hot skill when you want to make money on the Web.

Discover how to make money online today with Angela Booth's Sell Your Writing Online NOW at http://sellwritingnow.com/Home/training.html You'll learn how to write and sell articles, blogs, ebooks and Web sites for profit, and you'll get complete training in how the Web works, so you can take advantage of the unlimited opportunities.

For free weekly writing information sent to your Inbox, subscribe to Angela's Fab Freelance Writing Ezine at http://www.freelancewritingezine.com/ and receive "Write And Sell Your Writing: The Power-Write Report" immediately.

Top 10 Tips to Writing Great Candle Lighting Ceremony Poems

10. Get inspired.

Think about an anecdote or personal trait that makes this person special to you and write it down.

Example: For a bar mitzvah boy's grandfather who passed away very recently, the notes one could write about him are as follows:

He was Irish, Catholic, not Jewish. He was so proud of the man that David is becoming. He lived in Florida and he made David feel safe in Florida by telling him that his home was really David's Florida home, so David was never homesick in Florida. He was a baker, he used to make bread on the kitchen table without a bowl, he made a lake in the middle of the flour. There needs to be something about David remembering him making bread with the lake on the table. The candle will be lit by Grandpa's brother Uncle Frank and Aunt Marianne. This is the first family get together without him.

With a little work you can turn it into this:

My grandfather who I love so dear

Passed away recently, but I know he is near

His was my second home in Florida, of this I know

He told me how proud he was as he watched me grow

Grandpa was a baker and bread he would always make

With flour on the table, in the center he made a lake

This candle is to honor him, that has been my plan

Please come up to light it with me, Uncle Frank & Aunt Marianne

9. Make poems that are 4-8 lines.

Too few will be hard to convey your message and too many might bore your audience.

8. Try to keep each poem the same length.

You don't want Grandma to be upset that she got 4 lines when Uncle Bill got 8.

7. If you are having trouble finding a word to rhyme with another word, you can either pick a different word (like choosing "great" instead of "good" or "sweet" instead of "nice") or try going to http://www.rhymezone.com/

It is a great rhyming dictionary on-line that comes in handy for those tough to rhyme words.

6. Try to make the first line rhyme with the second line and the third line should rhyme with the fourth line.

It's an AABBCCDD pattern that makes it simpler to read and find a rhyming word.

5. If you know who you want to call up to light the candle, find a word that rhymes with their name

With you guys as family I am never alone... (and end the line with) Come on up Uncle Bill and Aunt Joan.

4. An easy method to use is to find a last line that rhymes with the number you are on.

For example:

Grandma's cooking always tastes like heaven,

So come on up to light candle number eleven.

3. There are a few catch phrases that you can use for any poem such as:

...I love you ...

Come light candle number two.

And...

"To my aunt and uncle whom I truly adore,

Please come up to light candle number four."

Here is an example of how you turn the notes you jot down into a poem. For Grandma & PopPop: Michael is their first and only grandchild, he has slept there every Friday the first 2 years of his life, and still sleeps over at times. They took him skiing for the first time when he was 4, they take him to movies, play cards, you name it, they do it for him!

Turn that into:

There are two special people here who I just love and adore

They introduced me to skiing when I was a boy of four

I have learned so much from both of them about being a good friend

Whether it's at the movies or playing cards, there's laughter without end

When I was little I stayed with them almost every Friday night

Grandma & PopPop it's number twelve, I'd love your help to light

2. If there is someone on the list that your family knows, but you don't know so well, be sure to speak to your family and get some insight into who they are and why they are special.

Example:

For a very dear friend of Mom and Dad's - JoAnn. Steven's mom has known JoAnn since they were 6 and of course JoAnn knows Steven since his birth. She helped the family a great deal when Mom and Dad were going through a divorce. She helped move them from Staten Island to NJ, she stayed there for 2 weeks to help them settle in. Always there for Mom, serious or fun...she is a lot of fun to be around.

Turn that into:

This next candle is for a family friend who's always there in a fix

She's known me since my birth and known Mom since they were six

From Staten Island to New Jersey, she helped us with our move

Two weeks she kept us company, till we got into a groove

Always fun to be around, that's why I'm such a fan

Please come up for candle eleven, mom's dear friend JoAnn

1. When in doubt, go to a professional who will write the poems for you and allow you to concentrate on all the other things you have to do when becoming a bar or bat mitzvah. Visit me at www.thepoemlady.com or email heymannyc@yahoo.com. I'll write candle lighting poems for you based on the information you provide. I also help pick out the songs and make the whole thing effort free. The poems are sweet and funny. You can even print them out and roll them up in a scroll and hand them to the candle-lighters as they come up so they can take their personalized poem home with them.

Most important, just remember to have fun and enjoy your special day

jill - the poem lady
http://www.thepoemlady.com

Article Writing - Hot Skills For the Web

Want to make money writing for the Web? Learn how to write articles - writing articles is a hot skill which is in high demand. Web articles are very different from print articles, and are easier to write.

To get started, think about your own searching and reading habits on the Web. What makes a Web page appealing? Consider: lots of white space, sub-headings, bullet points, and images.

Aim to make your articles appealing, right from the start, by writing in short paragraphs, using clear language, and making points quickly, rather than waffling.

Here are three tips which will help your article writing.

1. What's an Article's Purpose?

Before planning an article, or a series of articles, you must know their purpose.

If you've been hired to write articles, you'll often just be given a set of keywords. If so, your purpose is to write, using the keywords effectively.

If you're writing articles for your own Web properties, your purpose might be: to get traffic from the search engines, to make a sale of your own product or an affiliate product, or to educate or entertain your site's visitors.

I often write articles in sets of five, or ten or more, over a couple of days, so I create a folder for the articles, with a file of notes, containing a list of keywords, the articles' purpose, and article titles. Making notes ensures that I can pick up writing where I left off, even if several days go by.

2. Beyond Keywords: Article Titles and Descriptions

While keywords are important to ensure that your articles are found on the Web, your article titles and their descriptions are equally important. When people are searching, the results pages -- the Web pages which are returned after a Web query -- contain lists of Web page titles, and descriptions.

When writing titles and descriptions, include the primary keyword you're targeting.

3. What's the Takeaway?

Every article you write should contain a takeaway: a clear benefit for your reader. When you think in terms of articles' purpose, and their takeaways, you'll write articles which are read, and which get a response.

Enjoy writing articles. It's a hot skill when you want to make money on the Web.

Discover how to make money online today with Angela Booth's Sell Your Writing Online NOW at http://sellwritingnow.com/Home/training.html You'll learn how to write and sell articles, blogs, ebooks and Web sites for profit, and you'll get complete training in how the Web works, so you can take advantage of the unlimited opportunities.

For free weekly writing information sent to your Inbox, subscribe to Angela's Fab Freelance Writing Ezine at http://www.freelancewritingezine.com/ and receive "Write And Sell Your Writing: The Power-Write Report" immediately.