Freelance Writing

How does a freelance writer work? A freelance writer work independently, either in a home office or in a rented space but most freelance writer write articles or columns on their own and actively seek out new markets in which to place them.

Hear It First or Read It?

I can still recall the first audio book I listened to. We were traveling between Vancouver, BC and Edmonton Alberta, on a snowy November night. We had just been to a very special family gathering - Grandpa Wilson's 100th birthday celebration - and were on our way home. I was driving, the kids were sleeping in the back of the van, and my spouse rode shotgun.
We'd found a tape version of "The African Queen", and had it plugged into the tape player. We drove through darkness, snow and ice on the roads, but our minds were far away, in the wilds of Africa, going down the Ulanga river with Rose and Charlie. What an adventure!
Charlie has found Rose and her dead missionary brother in a burned out village. He takes her on board, and Rose tries to convince him to sink the German gunboat, the Louisa in retaliation for the havoc the Germans have wrought on the natives and her brother.
The 'Queen' is on her last legs, held together with love and curses from her gin-soaked captain. Rose dumps his alcohol supply overboard, much to his despair. Finally he agrees to help her, and they proceed downriver through white water rapids, guerillas shooting at them, and much more. Through all this, they find each other, and these two unlikely people fall in love.
Blood sucking leaches, mosquitoes, and dangerous animals torment the couples efforts. The African Queen comes to a complete stop, stuck dead in mucky swamp water and high weeds covering any sight of land or water ways. They are lost in the weeds and can't see anything. Disheartened and beaten, they accept their doomed fate as they hold each other in exhaustion waiting to die.When it begins to rain and the river rises, the African Queen becomes unstuck and floats down the river only a few hundred feet from high water and the mouth of the Ulanga River. The Ulanga River is pouring into the ocean and they see the Louisa Gunship for the first time as it makes patrol routine. The two lovers are now alive again! With new hope and determination they are convinced they can now sink the Louisa...
Since then, I've seen the wonderful movie with Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart and read the book. But I still recall first of all listening to that story as we drove through the night.
So - read it first, hear it first, or watch it? The choice is yours, but remember... the storyteller has been part of our culture for a long time. The spoken work has such power, and the mind can provide the pictures!

Word Manglers, Apply Here

What exactly do you call those noises your car makes after you shut off the engine and start to walk away?

Toyotahhs?
Carcophony?
Nash Rumblers?

Any of the above new terms for those annoying sounds is known as a neologism. Who would have thought such a serious sounding word as "neologism" could be so fun? And now you can win a prize for coming up with your own neologisms!

How To Start Writing

Sitting there where an empty white "paper" in front of you? How do you start! Read on if you want to write an article, or perhaps a chapter in a book.

First thing to remember: A white paper does not pose a threat, but it's an opportunity, a world of free choices.

What is the Nature of Art?

The question I get asked the most is "Where do you get your ideas to start painting"?

The answer is really rather vague, because it's more of a feeling than an idea in the beginning.

I mean sure, I can mix up some colors and knock out a scene painting in about an hour if requested, but is that really answering the question? Is that really Art?

Teaching Is Learning

Can you really fully explain anything that you think you do well?

How much are you subconsciously doing and not realizing?

Do you actually know why you are doing a process or is it something that you have just always done?

It Has Been Said That Passive Writing Is to Be Avoided.

Which is better: "Your letter of demand was received by me," or, "I got your letter of demand"?

If you think one phrase is better than the other, why do you think so?

Answer: The second phrase is better than the first because it is more clear and direct. It also is shorter and communicates actively.

The first phrase is an example of the passive voice. Frequent use of the passive voice leads to a very dull, passive writing style.

Passive writing has been said to be something to avoid.

SEO Article Writing Tips

SEO composition is a completely distinct chore from satisfied writing, clause writing, tale composition and word composition. When I first started my inborn gift for writing material and putting thoughts into words, I was yet reading Mills and Boons, and it was during this moment that my romance storybooks were confiscated by my classroom instructor because I was reading in course. Writing is a really private matter, I discovered. Some folk have the gift for writing imaginative Article. Some folk have the gift for writing ads. Some publish superior factual material. Well, I slip into the factual material class. The boring-writing-technical-mumbo-jumbo writing material. How I equip into this class, I wear’t recognize.

Google Adsense

You’ve probably heard a lot about Google AdSense (which is actually more accurately known as Google AdSense V1), but you may not know just what it is. Well, for one thing, it’s a one of the HOTTEST NEW WAYS TO MAKE MONEY ONLINE without having to do a whole lot. If you’ve read Robert Kiyosaki’s book, “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” you know that passive income is the best kind of income to have.

Marriage Proposal

Sometimes one wonder how he would make a proposal to a lady,i believe it all depends on the circumstances and individuals, i pust down some steps to make this memorable day in a mans life a reality!

Love Note

Sweetheart,
Just as a poet needs inspiration to write a masterpiece
I need you...

The Dream Lives!

America All of us , from the wealthiest and most powerful of men, to the weakest and hungriest of children, share one precious possession: the name American. RFK, NY,12-14-67

Wholeness

Dearest
I have lived for a long time responsible for no one, answering to no one and committed to no one except myself.

Book Publishing 101: Know Your Options

You have written a book—now what? What is the best way to get your book published? There are many routes to publication, and it is important that you choose the one that is best for your book. Let’s take a look at what is usually meant by "traditional," "self," and "subsidy" publishing.

Take Advantage Of Writer’s Conferences

I struggled for many years as a writer, getting rejection after rejection – it got so bad that I hated walking out to the mailbox. It seemed like all the proverbial cards were stacked up against me.

By chance, I found out about a nearby writer’s conference, and on a whim I filled out the registration form, drove over for the day, and put some hard-earned money down on the table out front. I didn’t expect much, but I thought that I’d at least see what it was all about. The experience literally changed my life.

Classifying Your Characters

I've talked to writers who have any number of ways to create characters: some cut photos out of magazine articles for inspiration, others write several paragraphs of their character’s background to get to know each individual intimately, and there are even authors who can't put a single word on paper without doing a full biographical sketch on everyone in their story.

So what is the best method? Who knows - it varies with every individual writer. The important thing to remember is that in the end, you have crafted a believable story that will captivate the reader and pull them into the middle of the world that you have created. To achieve a better relationship with your characters, decide their role in the story: Are they Walk-On Characters, Bit-Part Players, Supporting Characters, or the stars of the show… the Main Characters?

Which comes first -- plot or character?

I saw the car racing along the road, closely pursued by the old pickup truck. I knew the pickup was in pursuit because I saw the driver and passenger in the car constantly looking back at the pickup, while swerving side-to-side on the dusty narrow road. In fact, the car nearly went off into the small ditch a few times.

Meanwhile, the driver of the pickup, a mad grin plastered on his face, was enjoying himself. He seemed to toy with the car, pressing close to the bumper, then intentionally backing off. But what I simply could not see, now matter how hard I tried was ...

Maximize Your Chances For Publication

I hate getting rejection letters when I’m submitting a book to an agent or publisher - I don’t think that there’s a worse feeling in the world. If you’re a writer, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

When I’m not wearing my writer’s hat, I work as an editor at Atriad Press; that means that - as painful as it is - I have to send out those rejections. With each one I know what kind of disappointment I’m putting in the envelope. The thing is, though, that a lot of the people that get rejected would make it much further in the process if they’d do one simple thing: follow the rules!

Okay, so everybody's a writer, right?

Everybody able to use a keyboard and type letters into words is a writer, of some sort. Really. I'm not being clever, and there's no punch line to this. I simply mean exactly what I've said there: Everybody able to use a keyboard and type letters into words is a writer, of some sort.

But HERE'S the trick of it all: