Kite's Pagination

Crisis of Focus

2008-08-31T10:42:00.002-04:00

It's been ages since I posted here.

At first, I thought my problem was choosing between working solely as a copywriter/web designer or going back to being an aspiring fiction writer.

They both are enjoyable to a certain extent, but I've learned that it wasn't my direction... it was my focus.

I simply don't give enough of my time to the business of being a copywriter or to the art of crafting a story & characters. My skills at both are "ok" but that level won't me successful in either arena.

So I have come to the point where I not only need to pick a direction but I also need to discover if I can commit myself to completing one of those dreams.

But one thing is certain: I don't need anyone's help. This is my own little struggle and I intend to keep it that way.

2007-09-18T20:19:00.001-04:00

Looking for some super web savvy writer who can make your website informative, interesting, and inexpensive?

Green Light Copy offers the complete package:

Web Design
Copy-writing
Research
Marketing

This is a great deal for small businesses looking to have their first website. For those of you unfamiliar with uploading, hosting, and domain names - Green Light can help you turn a free blog into your website. That means that you can get a space on the Web for only the cost of labor. Once it's up and running, you can learn the simple steps to change content.

Everyone is different, and being adaptive is one of Green Light's hallmarks. Your business becomes THE business. Don't be afraid that you'll be squeezed into some website mold. Solving the problem of your unique needs is what it’s all about.

Give Green Light a try. Green means go.

The Deciding Factor

2007-09-12T08:02:00.000-04:00

Why I chose not to move to Wordpress: Blogger.com is owned by Google.

The most obvious meaning of that answer is that Google has the power and ability to continually promote Blogger.com and add features to it. The second part is that Google supplies Blogger.com with all of its well-maintained servers, which allows for quick responses from the dashboard while working with your blog. Lastly, Google’s philosophy of freedom and community better suit me, i.e. I like being able to tweak all of my html and css code for my blog, and I like the slim navigational bar that comes will all blogs unless you hack the code.

Wordpress is pretty and just as if not a little more functional these days, but I won’t throw my chips in with them.

Wordpress

2007-08-26T00:49:00.001-04:00

After blogging for years at Blogger.com, I am considering Wordpress.

My test blog: www.jillspagination.wordpress.com

Writing Versus Copywriting

2007-07-24T10:56:00.000-04:00

Success at copywriting depends dearly on being understood when writing. Many creative writers who turn to copywriting in order to feed their starving career have a tendency to find that their artistic flurish is quite undesirable.

Look back at the sentence I just wrote; how could be more direct?

First, take out the unnecessary words:
'Creative' -> the noun 'writer' already brings a sense of creativity.
'in order to feed their starving career' -> is too descriptive, better to say 'who temporarily turn to copwriting' and delete the whole phrase.
'have a tendency' -> 'have a habit'
'to find that their artistic flurish is quite undesirable' -> 'of being undesirably artistic'

New sentence: Many writers who temporarily turn to copywriting have a habit of being undesirably artistic.

So a sentence that was once 26 words long has now been shortened to 14. That's almost half the size, yet it still carries the same meaning. Both were great sentences (even if I do say so myself), but one was from a writer, the other was from a copywriter. So Hemingway would make a decent copywriter, whereas Faulkner would be turned away repeatedly.

A great exercise is to sit down with one of your favorite works and just purge. Make it as short as possible and use the active voice. Test yourself by having a friend read both the original and the strip down version. Ask which one was easier to read, which one was more clear, did both of them carry the same message? Once you get the hang of it, try it with your preferred genre and see if it makes a difference in how your voice is projected off the page.

Technorati Post

2007-07-23T18:02:00.001-04:00

Technorati Profile

Breaks, Interruptions, & Distractions

2007-07-20T12:03:00.000-04:00

Time management is the key to all success. How you spend your time on something is a big decision, because you’ll never get that time back. Many don’t realize this until the moment has already passed.

While this concept can be applied to every aspect of life, I’m going to take a moment to apply it to the freelance copy/creative professional life.

Many of the copywriters in the world today started as people who simply loved the art of writing: writers. Whether they were fiction writers or reporters, they appreciated well written work and strived to create it themselves. As they strive in their copywriting careers, it’s quite easy to slip back into old passions. Sometimes it’s useful and sometimes it’s just a waste.

My passion is fiction. When I get an idea, it’s hard to resist the urge to write it out even if I have project in my hands. I need to remember to classify these instances as distractions. One way I’m getting through them is by jotting down the idea briefly and then pushing it away.

A distraction is when something comes up that doesn’t need your attention even though you want to be consumed with it. If you fail in your project due to distractions, then you only have yourself to blame because you made the choice on which was more important to you.

An interruption is something completely different. It NEEDS your attention. Like one of your clients calling for pricing. Interruptions can be personal or technical; they can relate to your current project or not. Interruptions are a part of life. If too many unforeseen interruptions arise while you are trying to finish a project, you need to decide if you can finish the project on time. If you can’t make the deadline then you need to contact your client.

Taking breaks is another easy way to mismanage your time. I’m not saying you shouldn’t have breaks, but having breaks can often be a slippery slope. Remember: take a break when you are REALLY out of energy or ideas. Don’t take ‘pat on the back’ breaks. Just because you did something good doesn’t mean you should stop. Once the project is complete you can then celebrate and get back to all those ideas that were tempting you earlier.

Be strict with yourself and your time. Even an informal schedule can help you manage your time better.
i.e.
- Work at least 2 hours everyday
- No more than 5 minutes spent subduing a distraction
- If interruptions take up 1/10 the time available for the project then I need to call the client
- I shouldn’t need any breaks

Keep your CSS Separate

2007-07-17T09:05:00.000-04:00

You can upload all your CSS code as a separate page (i.e. "style.css"). You can then have a link to this page on every one of your HTML pages (i.e. "link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css" type="text/css"").

CSS is great for creating uniformity in a website. With all your code on this one page, one change to the style is reflected on all of your HTML pages. That can be a tremendous time saver. All you need is to familarize yourself with listing all the CSS code at once.

Example:

h1 {
margin:0;
font:200% times;
text-transform: none;
line-height:1em;
letter-spacing:.01em;
color:#000; }

Remember, when you list all the CSS code on a separate page, you no longer need to use the STYLE tags.

Coffee Cup DHTML Menu

2007-07-13T13:16:00.000-04:00

For all of you who are unfamiliar with the term, please check it out on wikipedia: DHTML

Though I didn't know it, I have been looking for a DHTML drop-down menu for most of my web designing career. With the advances in browser technology, DHTML has become a lifesaver for simple web designers working with few if not none of the high cost website building applications.

However, building a DHTML menu is a whole different story since it incorporates javascript and other concepts I'm not familiar with. Imagine my amazement when I found a DHTML menu generator. This software was free to download from an interesting company called Coffee Cup.

Their motto is that they make great web designers. They offer packages of tools that allow someone with beginner-level knowledge to create exceptional websites that seem well beyond their skill. These tools are available individually and Coffee Cup has a few freebies in order to show off their application-building abilities.

This menu generator most likely has a premium version that can be downloaded for a cost, but the freebie version is just great. It provides you with all the basic tools you need to make a drop-down menu in the color, size, & position that you need to fit your website. Amazing you have as many root, sibling, & sub-links as you need.

Reviewing some of their other tools, I found their applications to be well organized, easy to use, and full of useful features. I'm considering to buy their flash font application, provided that I confirm that they have the particular font I need. I already love the way this application was designed.

Deal Breakers

2007-07-01T18:53:00.000-04:00

Just as many writers dream of the day their novel is not rejected, many copywriters dream of a successful project. This means that the copywriter is not only accepted, but their work is submitted and the client is satisfied.

During that precious time between the agreed upon deal and the completion of the project there is a delicate balance. In this time you're working with your client in order to bring about their idea, and there are lots of things that can get in the way.

Lack of Communication:
Just because you know how to communicate doesn't mean you know when. You might be aware that a particular topic requires calling up the client and asking them more detailed questions. Perhaps you concerned about bugging them too much over all the little details. If you're calling them everyday, they could get the impression that you don't know what you're doing.

From recent experience, I would have to say that anytime something makes your work go slower and the solution is in the hands of the client - call. You may think they are slowing you down, but in fact you're the one not following up when you need to. They can't think of everything, that's why they hired you. If they get annoyed, just do your best to make it easy for them to answer you.

Lack of Finality:
Ok, so you agreed upon a deal over the course of a phone conversation. Now, put it in writing. Just because you're both being really friendly is no excuse not to be professional. This way there is no worries about expectations that could ruin your budding friendship.

Say your friend suddenly decides on a deadline that you don't remember him mentioning earlier. Or what if the project starts going in a different direction than what you had expected? If you had just had it in writing you could have renegoiated the terms... sounds professional doesn't it? Having a deal in writing forces great communication anyways.

Not Meeting Expectations:
Sometimes, you can't help not meeting someone's expectations. Othertimes, there are things you could have done in order not to lead your client down the wrong path. It's true that you should sell your abilities, but no one can see the future.

What if your schedule changes, or some technical problem occurs. It would be better if the client understood that you're not perfect. You can do that by being more conservative with your confidense. Be confident, but don't shrug tasks saying they're a cake-walk... even if they are.

I hope all this wisdom helps someone in the future. I believe I could have used it earlier instead of having to learn it the hardway.

Thanks for reading.

Marketing with Text Messages

2007-06-20T17:52:00.000-04:00

While drivers are beging ticketed for text messaging while driving, companies that use commercial text messages are being exulted for advertising on the cutting edge.

Urban Outfitters is testing their new program now. I wonder what how they can make an impact with such a short message? Now there's an accomplishment for some lucky copywriter.

CSS Play

2007-06-13T08:47:00.000-04:00

As much as I am proud of my web desigining skills, I have to admit that I am not as professional as some would believe.

Unlike other web designers, I try to couple my html/css skills with my marketing knowledge, but also unlike other web designers - my skills are limited. One way around my own limitations is utilizing websites like CSS Play.

Stu Nicholls IS a talented CSS writer who has developed web elements for the common amateur CSS user available on his website: CSS Play. Stu has developed drop-down menus, artistic menus, interesting website layouts and more. All he asks in return is recognition and perhaps a donation to keep his website going.

Without Stu, I would have never been able to develop a fashionable, highly-usable web menu without running into concepts unknown to me like javascript. It keeps people like me from having to split myself up. Instead of having to learn something new, I can just use this leg-up and get back to refining my current marketing skills.

Time is a very important thing in this world and I am not ashamed to say that I use a shortcut that's available to everyone. It doesn't make me an inapt designer; it actually makes me a better one.

What do you think?

Main Characters

2007-05-06T01:18:00.000-04:00

Recently, I have been thinking about the relationship between the author and his or her main character. For me this has always been something very personal. The character has always been very close to me if not a slight representation of me. This makes me wonder if this situation is true for some of the great writers. It makes me wonder if all main characters are just parts of us that we expand and elaborate on in some subconscious attempt to recreate ourselves in an alternate universe.

This idea gets it's origins in the concept that writing is a form of therapy for those of us born with this disease that keeps us up at all hours of the night tap-tapping away on a keyboard. Some have argued that it's not just self-awareness that we gain from writing, but also self-satisfaction in the way that we look back over our writing and find contentment.

That last saying is true for me. Yes, there is a story inside me that just needs to be written out – something for the world, but reading my own work is the greatest joy. Reading the story aids my own inner vision that's been fuzzy. I feel that a fully finished story shows you a clear picture of not only the soul, but also all the strange personal desires a writer might be harboring.

I don't know if this is true for others, but I would love to know.

Overloading Your Super Hero

2007-04-25T20:48:00.000-04:00

There are few Super Heros in the work place. These are people who not only work hard, but also have great creativity, innovation, responsibility, organization, and all those other wonderful traits in a neat little package.

These super people also have a habit of being work-a-holics, because they are perfectionists and need to do everything themselves in order to feel satisfied with the work.

Most companies love these people... you can rest anything in their hands and they'll take care of it one way or another. But overload their shoulders and you'll drive them nuts.

Overloading one of these people will make them work extra hard spreading themselves thin over the projects, but they still won't pass the torch. Once you give them something, they will expect it to always be their responsibility. Stretching them thin causes mistakes or forgetfulness to happen. When it comes time to give the project to someone else these heros feel like they've failed.

Some also get really angry at being taken for granted. They feel like they were forced into a position where they are doomed to fail.

It can easily make someone very depressed.

Sadly, just because I can say all this as if I'm some HR professional - I can't seem to say it at my day-job. Why? Because I am a super person caught up in the vicious cycle and no matter how I understand the end that's approaching me, I can't stand to ask that things be taken away from me.

A few of my supervisors understand my blight, but many of us have our hands tied. I hope things change before the busy season starts.

What's in a Name?

2007-04-03T20:38:00.000-04:00

If I have any readers, they will notice that I've changed the name of my freelance company. So I wanted to talk about the change and company names in general.

I chose to have a company name so that if my business ever took off, I could incorporate other freelancers who wouldn't have to work under my name. Having a company name makes it easier for others to take over the business should I choose to sell it or hand it over to family or co-workers.

There is also the fact that a company name is more catchy than a person name. Green Light Copy will stick in your head while 'Paula Zahn' might be hard to remember and even more difficult to spell correctly.

A company name can also speak of your qualities in one swoop. 'Green Light' is associated with Go, Good to Go, Moving Forward, Accelerate - it says that I am a copywriter with the potential to go places, that I can take you where you want to be, that you will be good to go with what I produce. Green briefly speaks of my 'Greenhorn' status, but vaguely. The color also has personal significance to me.

A company name like this also leads me to a new world of promotion items, icons, etc.

So my opinion is that a company name is worth it, which is why I felt the need to change mine. My original company name was "DaisyWheel Writing Services". Though it had endearing qualities, which I will not extrapolate on, to me it started meaning old fashioned and too cute. I think it made me look a little unprofessional or too novice. Though I am still considered new to the business it doesn't mean I am at all inapt.

If you still don't believe me. Look at them side by side and tell me, which one you would check out first if they were different companies competing for your business.

Green Light Copy

DaisyWheel Writing Services

Thanks for reading.

Answer to the Dilemma

2007-04-01T00:04:00.000-04:00

Recently, I posted about a little dilemma I had about using certain contacts to further my freelance business. See March post: Dilemma

After thinking about it a little more and discussing it with my partner in crime, my husband, I've come to an answer.

If you use your day job contacts to further your freelance moonlighting it will be impossible to keep those contacts from mentioning the freelance project to your co-workers or superiors at the day job. Especially praise since people think there is nothing wrong with giving compliments. You might think it's all the better, but once that day-job finds out that you're moonlighting often with real clients like THEIR clients there will be one sure response... they're going to wonder about your focus.

Your day job is paying you to focus and work hard on the work they give you. Distraction in the form of lucrative freelance projects are going to make them scrutinize your daily progress. They may even address the problem and ask you if you want to pursue this other job on a full-time bases. That is if they don't fire you on the spot for straining customer relationships. Yes, if you do a bad job or don't fulfill the customer's demands these people could complain to your employer.

All of this is too much risk.

The only way one can successfully use day job contacts to further their freelance business is if they keep the two completely separate. Which means that you can't talk to 'Mike' - the guy who always calls your day job. Instead you need to hunt down the marketing manager and sell your abilities to that person - the guy who never calls your day job. You would need to make sure 'Mike' isn't aware so he doesn't slip up and cost you your day job.

Does anyone else have an opinion on this answer? Let me know.

Thanks for reading.

2007-03-30T18:47:00.001-04:00

Client Name:	Robert Bly
Business:	Copywriter & Author
Date of last project:	July 2005
Project:	Reports on Weblogs

Client Name:	Artex Knitting Mills, Inc.
Business:	Manufacturer
Date of last project:	Jan 2006 & On-going
Project:	www.artexknit.com

Client Name:	Starleen Studios
Business:	Artist
Date of last project:	June 2007
Project:	Marketing

Dilemma

2007-03-27T21:33:00.000-04:00

Here's a big question for any of you business people out there...

If you work full-time and have a freelance business on the side that does not compete with you daytime job, can you use your daytime business contacts in order to further your freelance business?

I work for a factory. I make their website, but I still offer my services freelance. I did freelance work before I started working for the factory.

Now I know a bunch of my company's customers personally and I am aware that they want to be on the web but haven't been able to find someone to take care of it.

Do I offer my services?

My biggest fear is that the customer will hold my factory responsible if I fail them as a freelance agent. Of course I have no intention to fail, but sometimes there is no way to meet someone's expectations... especially in this area where my expertise is limited and not a part of my formal training.

Is it bad business to do this or bad business to let such opportunities slip by? I bet I could get fired over something like this if something bad happens. Otherwise I might be able to slide by.

Right now, I fear it's not worth the risk to try this idea.

What do you think?

Beyond Google

2007-03-10T22:45:00.001-05:00

Still hoping to solve my Web-based word processor problems, I came across an article about Google Docs & Spreadsheet. At the end of the article the author listed his references including similar websites, which he had compared to Google. He listed Thinkfree & Zoho. I was instantly taken aback because I had never heard of these websites at all. I had to go check it out.

Thinkfree
http://www.thinkfree.com/

Is very similar to Google Docs & Spreadsheets, but it also includes a presentation application similar to Microsoft Powerpoint. Thinkfree offers 1 GB storage and makes things easier by offering a desktop widget that allows you to drag and drop files, which then immediately open through the website's application.

Thinkfree wasn't my cup of tea because it took a long time to open a document. Granted, they might have more professional tools, but I want something more friendly. Not only did it take too long to open, but it was also slow moving when it came to copy/pasting and editing.

Zoho
http://www.zoho.com/

Has many more features that I deeply appreciate. It has now become my new favorite and I'll tell you why:

First, it has a pretty fast working word processor that has few hiccups and more of the features I need, like a symbol menu that includes smart quotations and hangs around on the screen while you are typing (you don't have to re-open the feature). The word processor talks easily with blogs, email, and easily shares items or flat-out publishes them. The Zoho word processor also has a Microsoft Word plugin that allows you to use Word as the editor for your Zoho docs. That allows you to open, edit, save, and ADD Zoho docs with just your Microsoft Word application and a connection to the Web.

Zoho has sparked my interest not only because of it's wonderful word processor. It also has other great features like a worksheet application, presentation application, wiki service, project planning application, CRM services, planner application, virtual office, and my personal favorite... Creator. The Creator application lets you create forms/database applications that can be embedded into your website.

Zoho has also hooked up with the 'store-anything' storage website www.box.net. If you open a free 1 GB account and store some documents, you'll find that one of the available options on the drop-down box is to 'edit' that document. Click on that and a temporary Zoho editor pops up in a new window. Clicking 'Save' saves the document directly to your box.net account. Zoho has this same deal with Omnidrive. Currently, there is no limit on the amount of storage someone can have using a direct Zoho account, but their FAQ's say it could get limited to 1 GB in the future.

Zoho just offers more for the average versatile user. Heck, I'm writing this post using the Zoho word processor!

If any of you take my tip, I'd love to hear back from you.

Thanks for reading.

Quotation Marks

2007-02-27T21:12:00.000-05:00

Besides tripping over ill-copied indentation when moving MS Word documents over to Google Docs or to a able wiki, my biggest pain is the complete inability to use smart quotation marks. You can only use dumb quotation marks.

No, I'm not being opinionated. Those are actual terms. See below:

Smart Quotes
by Ilene Strizver
One of the most irritating typographic faux pas is the use of straight quotation marks (also called “dumb” quotes) instead of true typographic quotation marks (“smart” or “curly” quotes). How did this dumb-versus-smart muddle begin? Blame the engineers: the standard keyboard layout (which was not created by typographers!) has straight quotes in place of real quotes. As designers, it’s our job to use our “smarts” to work around this all-too-common problem.

Get smart!
What’s the difference between smart and dumb? Smart quotes are usually curved in shape and have different opening and closing versions for use at the beginning and end of quoted material, respectively.Dumb (or straight) quotes are usually simple tapered vertical or angled marks . These are also referred to as “primes,” and should be used in numerical measurements to indicate inches (a double prime) and feet (a single prime).

Source: http://www.fonts.com/AboutFonts/Articles/fyti/Smartquotes.htm

By default, MS Word uses smart quotation marks automatically. Meaning that the quotation marks change when they detect the usage. So any fictional work of mine that contains dialog has those smart quotation marks.

Copy and pasting brings them all over to the google doc page or the wiki, but when it comes to editing that page any new quotation mark will be dumb. It's just dumb!

But as I have been reading up on a way to solve this problem, I noticed gossip whispering about how smart quotation marks might disappear all together since dumb quotations are standard on keyboards and in website language.

I think that's a little scary. I think we need smart quotes. What do you think?

Mobile blogging

2007-02-24T22:55:00.000-05:00

Is mobile blogging really worth it?

Could someone really have that much to say while away from any computer station?

I'm debating that right now as I blog with my husband's Treo. I could have this device but would I feel comfortable using it when I could use any random computer. I guess the only advantage is that I don't have to worry about leaving my login hanging around. On this little machine everything is safe.

What do you think?

What's hot is what's published

2007-02-24T17:03:00.000-05:00

Here's a lesson from the New Fiction bookshelf... Drum-up a news story about the main theme of your book before you submit it to a publisher. Why? Because today's New Fiction seems to be consumed with the topics that bounce around the news room.

I'm sure this fact has been true since the dawn of publishing but as a literary writer I feel caged or used.

Thankfully, not all writers have to put up with this. Fantasy, sci-fi, and mystery writers can escape the trap because their novels are truly meant as an escape. Literary writers not only want to produce a great story, but one that has a message - whether it's social, political, or timeless.

Lately, those messages seem to be politically motivation by various groups with agendas. Some of them might think they have very noble agendas, and they could be right, but I don't like these fictional advertisements.

There was even a story about advertising through fiction. You'll find a link to it on my Google Reader.

Let me know what you think about messages in fiction.

Good Help is Hard to Find

2007-02-19T19:13:00.000-05:00

The search for good help at my office continues as Month 3 begins to come around the corner.

Discussing it with my boss, the owner, I learned how the phrase "fitting-in" really has a meaning when it's about a new employee. I use to think that phrase was just a meaningless string of words that sounded better than "We don't like you".

Someone could actually be a good, intelligent employee and expected to do well, but their personality plays a big role. If some one's personality doesn't jive well with supervisors or mix naturally with co-workers the friction could be enough to let that person go. Also, if that new employee isn't inspired to strive and care about his or her work, then the lack of enthusiasm could make that person look poorly suited.

I was a good employee for my previous office, but I am now a great employee because I feel so much better about the company and people I work for.

So, next time you get that phrase - "You're just not fitting in around here", before you start feeling completely destroyed or angry, just think about how well you were mixing in. Did you feel thrilled about the job? Did you have mis-communications? If it wasn't you then it was them and you shouldn't feel upset about not working there.

Thanks for reading.

What was it like?

2007-02-16T19:07:00.000-05:00

That's the question I keep hearing now that I'm back from my vacation. It really makes me think about the prosperity of being a travel writer.

There are always people looking for information on foreign places. They want to know what it was like, what you did, and what you thought of the place. I could hand it out for free, or I could put together an article and sell it to a travel magazine or website.

Travel writing can be a lucrative business if you have the free time to travel and gain some credibility on your writing. However, I have learned that fewer than half of travel assignments are given to freelance writers. Just like any newspaper, freelance articles require more editing and are less consistent. Since staff writers have more training and knowledge they can be dependable for quality content.

What about my opportunity? I'm going to pitch my story to a few of the local travel magazines, but if none of them bite, then I plan to sell it to the hotel chain itself as content for their website.

My only regret is that I didn't take the time to review all the features and services of the hotel. It truly was a vacation for me, so I only did what I felt like doing at the time.

Thanks for reading.

Vacation Time

2007-02-02T19:23:00.000-05:00

Please note that I will be on vacation from Feb 3rd thru Feb 10th.

I will be vacationing in beautiful Punta Cana - just as 20 degree weather moves into the North East.

What is a good technological investment?

2007-01-30T19:48:00.000-05:00

I was talking to my company's IT support today - an external company that manages our accounting software, and I kept hearing the word "Investment".

What is a good technological investment?

The topic of the conversation was upgrading from a DOS-text version of the software to the new windows-looking version. Besides looking pretty, I didn't really hear any advantageous reasons why we should fork out all this money for the upgrade. Of course you could add more bells and whistles to this version, but did we need more? What was is price on that more?

If something works, should you try to fix it?

But an even bigger question is whether or not this is a good investment. Investment hinge on the future and the future of technology is always changing. It seems to keep turning more complicated in it's construction, but more easy to use in it's application.

However, this upgrade will not make the application any easier... it's the same software... just prettier.

I'm sure that the upgrade is better than the DOS version in certain ways only my husband could understand. (I do plan to ask him about this) However, I don't see a reason to fork out money for something that is not going to make life any easier at work.

Feel free to punch holes in my theory.

Where do newspapers go?

2007-01-29T19:49:00.000-05:00

Where do all the newspapers go when you're done reading them?

My husband has had the Wall Street Journal delivered every day since attending business classes at college, but he only reads one or two a week. They start piling up like dirty clothes in the hallway near the front door. They feel more like strays, unnoticed or unwanted even though they could be more than a bundle of paper. Being environmentally conscious, he's already on a guilt trip for never cancelling the subscription. But if had tried calling it in he would find a brick wall of opposition.

Newspapers are desperate for circulation. Unions of printers are suffering from the downsizes and pay cuts. Soon the industry will be completely replaced by data feeds of electronically written news articles and columns streamed to your smart device. Even Google is trying to come up with a new 'smart paper' that can be opened up and changes when you tell it to update and download new news.

But what if all the paper stops? Everyone will feel better about the trees and all, but this would mean that if you don't have a computer, smart device, TV, or radio - you'll be left out of the news loop.

You might ask... Who wouldn't have one of those things! Well, quite a few people still live below the poverty line. Another segment of the population live in rural areas. Can they afford the revolution if we can't make it accessible to them?

Personally, I will miss the paper. Reading off of a screen can really bug me. I have to read from a screen while I'm writing fiction, articles, or copy - I don't want to stress my eyes more than I need to. I'm the type of person who prints out everything with no margins so I get it as close to one page as possible. Yeah, I'm weird.

Anyways, I'd love to hear what other people think about this technological revolution to a world without paper - at least in the journalism arena.

Thanks for reading.

Review: Google Docs & Spreadsheets (beta)

2007-01-28T14:47:00.000-05:00

Google Docs & Spreadsheets is a new free service offered by the fine people at Google that allows account holders to create and save documents and spreadsheets to their Google account. The application is still in it's beta testing phase, but it's already worth reviewing. I'll mention it's current bugs and drawbacks at the end of this review.

Docs & Spreadsheets allows you to create a document or spreadsheet from scratch that works with both Microsoft office programs.

Documents are easily created with the New Document link. That link opens up a new window (or tab depending on what browser you have) that looks similar to your Microsoft Word application. All the basic tools are available, plus some new ones. The new tools consist of editing html, collaborating with other users, or tracking changes in a document. You can also publish your documents to a simple web page or to your blog.

There is no folder system to accompany these documents. Instead there is the Google original system of Labels. Labels are categories and search words. By creating a specific label and then applying it to certain documents you can group and search through your documents. The beauty of this system is that you can add more than one label to a specific document. The advantage is that you do not need to think so linear but have documents labeled by their type, subject, or state (i.e. Essay, Copywriting, Unfinished).

The Spreadsheet function is less like it's Microsoft counterpart. It does allow you to create spreadsheets with similar basic tools. Even formulas are available. It's a little awkward because you don't have the field above the sheet showing you what's in the cell you have highlighted, instead once you highlight a cell the cell temporarily expands to show you whats in that cell. Again, spreadsheets can also be published, shared, and the history/revisions can be tracked.

The only short-comings I have noticed is the fact that you can only upload one document at a time. Also, when you upload a document with indents and multiple fonts the program has a tendency to loose that information or distort it. Until THAT bug gets worked out, you won't find me using this application exclusively.

Thanks for reading.

DaisyWheel Writing Services

2007-01-28T13:44:00.000-05:00

Why did I bring my freelance service over here to my blog? Three simple reasons.

Money
Time
Focus

Money:

Blogs are free. That means the hosting is free, the domain name is free, and the access is free.

Time:

Blogs are web-based and can be accessed from anywhere at just about any time. In addition to Blogger.com's ease of use, the web service has also employeed a new layout technology that allows me to easily change elements on my blog without typing out html/css code.

With a website, I would need to build it from scratch and use html/css code to change anything from text to elements.

Focus:

Why I started a blog in the first place is because it's centered on writing. My focus should be on writing as well. If I am always messing with html/css code I am not practicing writing. Because it's centered on content, my blog has attracted more readers than my website.

Conclusion:

Blogs can house all the same information at websites except that there is always something new to read in the main body of the page. I think the blog is a more attractive lure for possible clients than a stale website.

New Ideas

2007-01-28T03:10:00.000-05:00

As you've noticed, I have been posting basic information about my freelance writing business. I plan to use my blog as my main base of operations.

I have an urge to change the title of the blog and the subject as well, but I don't know if I will change the web address again.

2007-01-28T03:01:00.000-05:00

I'm a writer and web designer who specializes in affordable solutions. I pride myself on staying on top of new web media and how it's being used to market products and services. Being highly adaptive and creative, I like to think I can suit any business model or client.

My work history is short but intense. Though I am well-suited to industry and science, I've also been a very active student outside of the office. Not only do I have my Associates Degree in English, but I am someone who enjoys learning. Though my hobby might be fiction, you'll constantly find me reading a documentary or non-fiction work. If you need an affordable sponge that can ring-out juicy ideas, you've found one.

Below is a copy of my formal resume for your convenience.

Education

Camden Community College
Degree: Associates of Arts - English

Triton Regional High School
Honors: Spanish Language Honors, Invited to Annual Writing Lab (all 4 years)

Work History - Intensive Experience in Industry & Science

I have worked for industrial manufacturers as well as externally employed offices. I have also worked with different areas of the local natural science community.

I am extremely familiar with marketing a product line and presenting complex scientific concepts to a general audience.

Artex Knitting Mills, Inc
(USA Manufacturer of knitted hats & accessories since 1926)

Job title: Office Manager & Webmaster

Managed billing, shipping, & assisted National Sales Manager
Managed order entry and production orders
Answered phones - performing customer service
Developed and maintained the company website, wiki, & weblog
Worked in producing marketing materials
Handled general office duties such as filing, mail, etc
Managed production for a million-dollar account
Headed all IT projects
Trained all new office personel

For this job I had to create:

Professional web pages
Quality product photos
Marketing materials such as sales letters and displays
Detailed databases & reports for operation and sales departments
Engaging posts for the company's weblog

American Falcon International Inc.
(Export Management Company specializing in representing domestic manufacturers of electrical and construction equipment to distributors in the Middle East.)

Job title: Operations Assistant (additionally performing the duties of Receptionist and Sales Assistant).

Processed all orders from entry to billing & shipping.
Handled all customer service requests
Created exportation documentation & worked with international forwarders
Assisted the branch office overseas, and principles with marketing materials

For this job I had to create:

Customer Service E-mail Responses
Professional Business Letters
Company Memos
Basic reports
Presentations

Academy of Natural Sciences
Volunteered for 3 years in the paleontological department.

Made public presentations on theoretical topics
Explained complex scientific procedures
Worked with the staff to improve presentations

Delaware Geological Survey
Worked in the domestic & industrial well department.

Personal History - Volunteer & Counselor

Not only have I volunteered at the Academy of Science, but I have also had close to a decade of experience in social environments such as community recreational centers and the Girl Scouts of America.

Leading community projects, assisting in community events, and overall community service has sculpted my understanding of people and the environment. This has afforded me a high level of social awareness.

Girl Scouts
For 9 years I participated as a scout & counselor in the Girl Scouts of America.

Participated in many outreach programs focused on younger girls
Organized activities for younger girls
Gained experience in instructing & educating adolescents
Planned and orchestrated community service projects

As a Girl Scout I achieved:

Cadette & Senior Leadership Awards
Cadette & Senior Challenge Awards
Senior Level Counselor
Silver Award

2007-01-28T02:54:00.000-05:00

1. All projects are quoted. Quotes vary because projects vary in their complexity.
2. Quotes are for the work only. I will absorb all other expenses such time spent for meetings, long distance phone calls, gas, stamps within reason. Any unnecessary costs will be at the client's out-of-pocket expense such as courier shipments.
3. Quotes are per project and not hourly unless the project will be processed in-house with the client working "Over The Shoulder". Then the quote will be per hour.
4. All projects are to be authorized by a company purchase order form or a letter of confirmation that includes the contract details. The form or document must be signed.
5. One revision is included with the standard project contract at no extra charge provided that the rough draft is noted and returned with 48 hours left before the due date. If the due date is less than 48 hours away from the time of authorization then there will be no revision unless the deadline is re-negotiated. There are unlimited revisions when processing the project in-house with the client. For multi-page projects with time available, an outline will be created for the client's review and approval at no extra charge.
6. All standard project contracts require that 1/3 the cost of the project be paid upfront as a retainer. The rest of the payment is due upon receipt of the final draft. If contract is by hour then full payment for the hours worked will be made at the end of the day or week.
7. Should the project be cancelled, half of the retainer fee will be returned. The rest is considered a "Termination Fee" for the time spent with the project before it's cancellation. There is no termination fee for hourly contracts. After hourly payments are made they will not be returned if the project is cancelled.

Writers Digest

2007-01-21T02:48:00.000-05:00

Writers Digest has cut their publication in half.

What does this mean for writers?
Is the audience shrinking or is the subject? The magazine can always interview new writers about their quirks but perhaps they have hit a brick wall on articles about writing. Afterall, the best writers steal. Which means the best ideas are just the same ones being recirculated with a slightly different spin. Recirculating those same ideas as how-to articles won't make readers happy.

I think Writers Digest might be facing up to that fact.

What do you think?

More on Webcentric Living

2007-01-20T16:46:00.000-05:00

It's coming to the point where you need very little to get along with technology.

You don't even need a computer of your own to have a "My Documents" full of docs, spreadsheets, web pages, music, pictures and more.

But there's a downside to having your world on the web. Password protected or not, data can be lost, stolen, or corrupted on purpose or by accident.

A great example happened to me a couple months ago when my free pbwiki went down. The providers were having a problem with their servers and it locked me out of my wiki for a day. Luckily, my wiki is just a simple tool. If I lost it altogether I would only be upset but not lost. However, it would be a different story if I uploaded all of my personal items to an online storage facility and THAT was lost.

We have to face the fact that all machines breakdown and we can't depend on them to be running 24/7. How do we combat this if we still want to keep our lives on the web? Backing up to some kind of media is the only option.

Personally, I have many of my 'must not loose' docs and spreadsheets on a 1 Gig flash drive. It's like a little wallet in itself. I keep it with me all the time, and it's compatible with just about every computer.

Taking a side step for a moment... with so many services on the web, I think it would benefit any of the high profile computer companies if they made a tablet PC with very few bells and whistles. It would need just enough to get onto the web - do work there, plus facilitating USB media. Coupled with free wireless Internet access, the same tablet PC would be a staple of life in the 21st century.

Thanks for reading.

Working for Great Guys

2006-12-14T20:37:00.000-05:00

Recently, I realized that working for a great person can be very rewarding even if the job doesn't look that appetizing.

When I came the interview (for my current job) I was a little depressed at the state of things. The office looked like a dungeon, the pay wasn't much more then what I was making then, and the job would consist of a lot of mindless office duties.

However, the manager who was interviewing me was very encouraging. He warned that the owners might be threatening, but they were also very warm, logical besides being in their 70's. All seemed to understand my worth even though I was applying for a simple clerical job.

I was determined to showing my dedication, hardwork, and general skill at mastering anything. And though my personality never impressed my previous employeers, these people could see that I was ripe to grow into a real manager. They ended up basically paying me back for being such a great member of the business by giving me a promotion.

I am now moving out of my clerical duties and into more managerial concerns because they see I can tackle it. Frankly, I think they made the right choice. Not just for me, but for them. If they hired another educated, experienced professional they would have to wait a few months to know if that person was really going to work out. Whereas, they know me well. They can predict my reactions to learning new work, working overtime, openness to critizim, and all my preferences & quirkiness.

It's a classic case of 1 bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush. And it's just good business sense to encourage a good worker to be more and recongize their potential.

It makes me feel that if I can make my worth and ability known to good business professionals, I can look forward to them trusting in me versus trying other freelancers. Or is it wrong to apply such an idea to the service industry?

Take for instance, at my day job we use UPS as our main courier. But we also use FedEx at the request of our customers and DHL is knocking on our door wanting our business. As we have been sending samples overseas working with various suppliers we have been looking for the best international rates. UPS has been coming out on top, but we would have no loyalty to them if FedEx or DHL were able to trump them. All are capable couriers so it doesn't matter as much - what does matter is the all powerful buck.

Feel free to agree or disagree.

Emotions in Online Copy

2006-11-18T17:43:00.000-05:00

While hunting around for some good online copywriting techniques that didn't require me making another person rich, I ran into this interesting article by Karen Thackston.

http://www.selfstartersweeklytips.com/articles/online-copywriting.htm

She advocates putting more emotion into sales copy since a supposed "80% of all buying decisions are emotional".

Her example is a travel company website for which she revised their main page copy. The company specializes in low cost cruises. Karen points out that their original main page gave all the information, but didn't inspire any emotions from the readers. Revising it she added the sensual feelings and experiences of being on a luxurious cruise and highlighted how the website was great for regular cruise goers with instant booking software.

I feel that I don't share her opinion on this. I could be the 'odd man out' which means I will have a harder time selling sales-focused copy, but I feel people want information and not dramatics. When I started reading the new version of the website I found my eyes just glancing over her descriptions of a cruise and zeroing in on the booking features, reviews, and links available. I am a researcher. I like to find the best well-rounded company, with great reviews, that's offers what I want to purchase. A blurb about standing on the deck of a luxury cruise liner is not going to make me choose one website over another. It's going to come down to the facts and the numbers.

I can't assume that everyone shops like me. But I can't believe that other people who are conscious of their finances aren't interested in the best purchase, period... not the best emotional purchase.

Am I never going to be able to sell sales-orientated copy? What do you think?

Time vs. Knowledge

2006-10-30T20:11:00.000-05:00

We are always learning something new, but time is also a valuable commodity. In the world of freelance writing, writers are dependant upon their ability to adapt to each client’s business and particular needs. Clients tend to pick writers who already have experience with their business type.

This prompts the question: how much information should you soak up in an effort to be more marketable?

For example:

By my own desire to have a blog, I have learned HTML and CSS web languages. However, they are not the only languages/methods for creating websites. Tools such as JavaScript and Flash are beyond my understanding.

If I take the time to learn about those web technologies I could make myself more marketable to clients looking for a complete professional web designer, or make myself look more knowledgeable to a web focused magazine. But would my time be spent better by just pushing my current skills out into the public and pouring more time into my current marketing scheme?

Websites are in demand, but I’m just hobbyist who was able to pick up the basics very easily. I don’t believe learning more complicated web tools and languages would benefit my freelance career since I have no classes, certificates, or degrees to back up my knowledge.

What about other subjects? Like the medical arena? Medical writers are in demand, but I have never had any medical experience. Would it be worth it to volunteer at a hospital to soak up the basics of that environment? Maybe I would have to sit and read medical journals or take a course. How much time can I give up and what fruits will come from my labor?

My conclusion:

I believe experience should come naturally. Hunting it down only distracts you from your real goal. Blogging came my way as a method of self-expression self-publishing and web knowledge came with it. If a client of mine wants a more complicated website, then I will learn the tools I need. In the meantime, I will continue to highlight my current abilities with zest.

Thanks for reading.
PS. I plan to keep posting on Mondays in an effort to be more disiplined and aware.

Desperation

2006-10-02T14:58:00.000-04:00

I've noticed that many of the freelance writing jobs posted on craigslist.com are very low paying opportunities.

I don't know who is more desperate... the author or the intended reader.

I am trying to attract new clients but not those who think I can crank out 200 articles a week for only $200.00.

These employers seem to be looking for website content articles. They want their website to start bringing in money by attracting readers. However, they don't seem to care about the quality of the readers - so that means they are looking for "clicks". They want people to stop in to look for something and then click on something else.

Not to mention that some of these employers ARE other copywriters trying to pass off your work as their own. They probably landed a large project that they can't handle... like putting up a fully functional and readable website for retailing items or giving reviews.

Frankly, I am starting to wonder if craigslist is even worth reading anymore.

Out-Sourcing Copy

2006-09-10T15:38:00.000-04:00

My first copywriting experience was creating reports for a copywriter who was writing a non-fiction book on blogging.

In essence, he was using me to collect information from my experience with blogging so he didn't have as much researching to do himself - he could just focus on the book construction.

This has it's advantages:
- It's work, plain and simple - and there may be more assigments.
- This other professional can be a part of your network.
- The prestige of this professional may rub off onto you.

However, I feel there are some important disadvantages to be considered when a budding copywriter takes on this secondary type of assigment.
- You don't have any relationship with the true client.
- You may have limits on what you can keep as a sample in your own portfolio.
- Your work is being passed off as someone elses.

I had a good experience with my first assignment, but it could have gone bad if I was working for someone else who was looking to exploit me.

Now, I have the opportunity to work for another copywriting company as a freelance writer, but there is a lot I don't know about this company. Like why do they need more writers working on this particular assignment when they already claim to have an e-book on a very similar topic?

It is most likely on the up and up, but amateur writers are a desperate bunch of self-concious people who will leap at the chance to be published/recongnized/utilized. They are also starving and will be quick to respond to something that seems to pay well.

Be warned. Investigate before hand. Do as you're asked, but don't jump through suspicious hoops... intelligent requests for information will be answered if there is nothing to hide.

Thanks for reading.

Thanks Guys

2006-09-06T20:05:00.000-04:00

Thank you everyone, for making yourselves known over this change.

Frankly, I didn't think I had readers anymore. I know I can google my blog easily, so I thought it only served as a destination for people looking up information on writing, marketing, and web doo-hickies.

I really appreciate it that you all took the time to say a little something. There's nothing like readers to make a writer conscious of her medium.

Since you all might still be hanging around, I have a question for you...

What is your favorite type of opening scene?

I have a tricky opening for this new novel idea. As much as it bothers me, I feel I have to push forward with this one because I have this very stunning visual of the climax in my mind. When I can see things like that there is always a great story inside me that's gotta come out.

My problem with the opening is that it would make the most sense for it to be a dream sequence, but I know that is sooooo cliche.

But it's the dream and what happens in it that starts the whole chain of events. It's not wholely a dream - it's where the two main characters meet and the one effects the other. After that "dream" the two are linked. Thing is, only one knows about the "linking" until he reveals it to her... so start with the revealing? That sounds like too much... Foreshadow the revealing by having her tell someone about the dream? A little boring I think.

The dream itself is very primal and I think it would do great but I fear someone closing the book when they read that she wakes up...

What I am currently tooling for the beginning is a kind of haunting. She knows something is wrong, that this weird sensation is following her and keeping her awake ALL the time. She's starting to loose it. However, I'm not quite sure how to introduce the other since there is no mentioning of the dream.

I hope you find this problem intriguing. Gotta love this writers-block puzzles where you know what it's supposed to look like on the other side... but how to get there?

Thanks for reading!

The Gig is Up

2006-09-03T21:55:00.000-04:00

Someone finally noticed that I have been miss-using the word "paginate" in my title. I had known about it's true meaning (verb: to number pages). However, eariler on I didn't think that was the only true definition. I thought it also meant small pages thanks to some random webpage.

I had thought about leaving it alone. 'Paginate' was such a rare word. But being a writer, it really doesn't serve me to used a word incorrectly in the title of my blog.

So, I will try to move my blog to http://jillspagination.blogspot.com
And rename my blog accordingly.

Pagination
pag‧i‧na‧tion - [paj-uh-ney-shuhn]
–noun
1.
Bibliography. the number of pages or leaves of a book, manuscript, etc., identified in bibliographical description or cataloging.
2.
the figures by which pages are marked to indicate their sequence.
3.
the act of paginating.
4.
Printing.
a.
Also called computer-assisted makeup. a method of computerized page makeup in which copy and graphic elements are manipulated with the aid of a video display terminal.
b.
composition (def. 17).

Wish me luck.

Being Web-centric

2006-09-02T19:31:00.000-04:00

Microsoft still has the leading software for office applications. However, many defenders of freedom on the web have been trying to come up with low-cost & free services that perform the same functions and work seamlessly with Microsoft.

Imagine, you could pay 100-200 dollars for Microsoft office applications or you could simply use Google Spreadsheets or Writely.com for free. All you need to use these web applications is a computer, a browser, and the internet, which are all common features on work computers, internet cafe computers, and college lab computers. What's even better is that these web applications can store your documents or spreadsheets under your account making them portable to the next computer you use.

Want to take it a step further? Store the other things you have in a free box.net 1GB online storage application.

Another step? Keep a 1GB free yahoo mail account that comes with a calendar and address book.

Need to collaborate? Get a wiki from pbwiki.com for free with unlimited pages protected by login able to be published or turned into a PDF.

I've discussed these things before, but now I feel I have explored them all and found a solution for just about every function I would need from my computer. Wanting to use these web applications like a computer - I made a fake desktop on my pbwiki frontpage with icons for each of the applications I mentioned. I am working with this web-centric desktop exclusively to see if there are any draw backs to using these free services.

I'll keep you informed as I go.

Thanks for reading.

Review - The Writer's Little Helper by James V. Smith Jr.

2006-08-25T19:17:00.000-04:00

There are millions of books on how to write. Sometimes I feel the writing community is in the business of exploiting itself. I don't know if that's a vicious circle or a positive return. However, I do know that every now and then there are a few really good books that just offer how-to's.

I don't like to think that I have something against other published writers discussing the 'writer mind' or 'writer persona' or long drawn out descriptions of great writing atmospheres. But I guess I do get annoyed when I feel I'm not getting what I need.

How wonderful it felt to pick up The Writer's Little Helper. It's full of straight tips with diagrams and examples. Mr. Smith skips all the blah and gets right into the meat. I found a lot of his tips extremely helpful in understanding the mechanics of storytelling. The book reads like a fact-filled textbook, but is arranged in an almost random order so to promote inspiration.

Each tip is only a few pages long and they aren't grouped in chapters. The tips cover all types of subjects from grammar, to plot development, to query letters. It doesn't leave you wanting for another book.

The design of the book is absolutely gorgeous. I love the hard cover, and the timeless techno design. The pages are strong and glossy like a real middleschool textbook. A cute part of the design is the billboards that break up the tips occasionally by going across two pages at once reading a few important words of advice or inspiration.

I can never seem to put this one down. I love flipping though it and trying out the diagrams and forms the author has developed.

My hat goes off to James V. Smith, Jr.

The Climatic Launch Pad

2006-08-24T21:30:00.000-04:00

I have been fumbling with a lot of similar novel ideas as I try to find the combination that will create a great story that I am passionate about.

Though I have had many good ideas, I haven't had a good climax, until now. It's taken me a couple of months to realize that a good story needs to be launch by a good climax. Not just a compelling climax. This needs to be a climax that you just want to write - to share with the world. But in order to write it well and have the world understand that moment you need to write the entire story before it.

In essence you find yourself building that climax brick by brick with every character, dialog, action or circumstance that came before it.

My new novel idea is a combination of the old. The new title is In The Flesh. Although I am having a hard time with the beginning, I am not going to give up on this one. It combines all the features I wanted in my first true novel. And because of this vision I have had of the climax, I am certain I can finish it well.

As soon as I have a relatively coherent beginning, I will post the draft.

Thank you for reading.

Online Marketing

2006-08-21T09:39:00.000-04:00

With projects like wikipedia.com, the internet is becoming the 1-stop source for information on anything. This is having an effect on commercial websites.

Unorganized websites or ones lacking information and details are not doing well because web consumers are the type to investigate, compare, and research their purchases. If your website lacks in product information in comparison to another - even if your price is better, the web consumer will choose your competitor because of three simple reasons.

1. They know what they're getting.
2. They feel confidence in the company they are buying from.
3. They appreciate the information given in order to help them make the purchase.

Personally, I like to buy from companies who show me all the details and give me tips about the products. I feel they are working for me not just trying to sell me something right off the bat.

Wiki Wiki

2006-07-07T20:04:00.000-04:00

Wiki wiki is a Hawaiian word meaning "rapidly".

Wikis are collaboration tools that are either on the internet or on an intranet - an internal network. Wikis primarily share information that can be edited by all users. A great example is the wikipedia. I'm sure you've bumped into wikipedia.com while trying to look up something on the internet. It's a free online encylopedia edited by hundreds of people who all contribute their knowledge which is reviewed for objectivity before posting.

Why wiki when you can blog? Wikis can have multiple pages each dedicated to one subject... like a contacts$ page, project page, review page. While most wikis don't offer a blog layout of multiple posts over time, wikis do log revisions nowadays making it easy to check back on a previous ideas. Commenting is also a popular function. Wikis tend to be more versatile this way whereas a blog seems to be confined to one subject or project and one timeline.

Like blogs, wikis can be private or public. They are also available for free, but on a limited bases.

The best free wiki community I have ever known is www.pbwiki.com.

They offer 10mb free with an unlimited number of pages and file uploads. They offer both new page templates and blank pages. These pages can be altered a bit using basic web languages like html and CSS. If 10mb isn't enough for you, they offer premium packages are reasonable prices.

What I really appreciate about this pbwiki is the ingenious clean design, the amount of freedom, and the tenderness of it's creators. The creators maybe ingenious, but they aren't perfect. For everyone who has a pbwiki there is a forum to discuss the wikis including any and all bugs. These bugs are carefully described and analyzed on one of the pbwiki.com main pages. Many would think that this listing of bugs and gliches would turn me off to using the pbwiki, but on the other hand - I find it refreshing that they are aware of their problems and are constantly working on improving their services.

Recently, pbwiki has gone off line for the very first time (as far as I know). Nothing was lost except access to the wikis. A number of wikis went off line for approx. 12 hours - including mine. Upon going to my wiki web address I found a tender note telling me what had gone wrong. The CTO explained that a part had broken distrupting the ability for us to access our wikis. Below that explanation was a quick update stating - 'a new part has been delivered and it being prepped for installation'. The CTO was tender in saying how much they (pbwiki creators) miss my wiki and dearly appreciate my patience while they work to correct the problem. After my wiki was back online, I got a small notice on my frontpage (which I thought was odd... If I had gone to my wiki for the first time then - I would have never known about the outage, but these guys seemed to want to keep people informed). The notice explained that there was an outage and had a link to all the info about it. The next day I received an e-mail about the whole thing again, but this time there was something new... Because I was one of the people who lost my free little 10mb wiki for 12 hrs, I got and extra 25% mb added to my wiki.

I pray that these pbwiki people never go corporate. You can't get that kind of care - especially for a free service.

I highly recommend pbwiki.com to anyone who wants a portable workdesk like me or who wants to collaborate with friends or co-workers online.

Thanks for reading. I hope you use this great online tool.

Free Online Storage - No it's not a fairy tale

2006-07-07T19:31:00.000-04:00

As I further investigate all the wonders the web has to offer in the way of replacing your personal computer, one question was pretty important: Storage.

The main thing your computer does is store all your files, pictures, music and videos. For those of us who are really media savvy, we probably couldn't live without a huge harddrive. However, not everyone has a need for constant expanding personal storage and could be happy with a couple gigs of storage.

Although I didn't find a couple gigs for free... I did find 1 gig free with sign-up. Getting 4 more will only run you 4.99 a month. The website is www.box.net. I'm already sporting a little website button for them down at the bottom of my side bar. To get 15 gigs it's only 9.99 a month. That is pretty damn impressive considering the competition like www.filesanywhere.com, which comes the closest at 19.95 a month for 10 gigs.

I have to say that I am impressed with this. With so much software constantly going out of date, the web is picking up the slack at a fraction of the cost. Think of what a 1 gig jump flash drive costs and you'll see what I mean.

For 9.99 a month, I could keep all my pics, docs, and mp3s mobile ready for me whenever I need them. I wouldn't need a desktop, laptop, or expensive flash drive. All you need is the internet whether it's through your local library, school computer lab, or work computer.

I know it doesn't sound perfect, but think about the person on the move, the kid who always crashes the computer, or the scary thought of viruses.

This is only one of many computer functions I have found on the web. I hope to collect them all in a gorgeous article to pitch at an editor. I don't see why I can't just spread the news a little bit to you my readers. I feel you deserve the dirt before the artcle is put together.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you take advantage of this information.

Communication, Backups, Backpacks, Collaboration, and Other Web Services

2006-07-05T12:48:00.000-04:00

I'd like to put together a report or article on all
the new ways we can communicate, store data, and
access free web services.

It's just becoming amazing. There are more services,
devices, and junk out there and more is being invented
all the time.

Stay tuned.

Structure

2006-06-27T19:35:00.000-04:00

While trying to flesh out a new novel idea, I have been using a new structure technique gleaned from The Writer's Little Helper by James V. Smith, Jr.

It involves fleshing out key moments in the story before writing it from beginning to end. This method allows you to not only work on the most exciting moments first, but it gives you a map to follow as you begin writing.

I especially find that writing out the climax gives me confidense that the story can hold the imagination of my readers.

Below is a diagram of the structure.

I hope this idea helps other writers who may be reading.

Biggest Catch in the Writing World

2006-05-04T20:46:00.000-04:00

No one will want to publish you if you've never been published.

Does blogging count as publishing? I wish. Blogging is a megaphone - anyone can have one, people don't usually know what to say, and end up just blurting stuff. When one great person has a megaphone what they say could become a great speech of history, but that doesn't mean every other person with a megaphone will be considered a great public speaker.

If you were an editor, who would you chose? The published author or the unpublished one. Do you really want to take a chance on the unpublished one when your money could end up down the tubes?

I sympathize with editors, but what does that leave me with?

I need more people like Bob Bly in the world. He gave me a chance when I wasn't even asking for one. I was in fact offering a favor when he hired me to research and write reports on weblogs.

I'm also a tiny fish in a big ocean. Just check out any freelance writing website that offers job listings and you'll find dozens of bidders all with their own great work histories and experience. It makes me wonder whether or not there is a need for freelance writers when there are already so many out there.

I don't know what my next step is going to be. I self-promote, I apply to writing jobs, I post myself in classifieds, and I try to network locally. I can only continue.

Thanks for reading.

Updated the Website

2006-04-30T11:41:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since my website was actually active let alone updated.

There was a time when I was going to let the freelance writing go, but I now have a new gem to add to my "Sample Work" - the company website I created for my new employer.

I'm very proud of that achievement since I made it from scratch and it is already producing sales for the company.

I hope people viewing my freelance writing website can see all the attention to detail and the experience in my work - what little I have to show. I just need more samples and more clients to list. I could also do with a domain name, which I plan to have shortly. An advertising campaign is not within my budget at the time, but that doesn't mean I won't market myself through avenues that are 100% free.

Many people underestimate the amount of free marketing that's available on the web. Search engines, directories, free service listings are all to be found on the web. With more links to your website the more your website will move up in the search engine listings.

Just by listing my employer's website on Union Made, USA Made, American Made manufacturer directories has produced the most hits on the company website. Only one of those directories had a fee for posting.

Hopefully, a little linking will go along way for my website as well.

The Muse is Back

2006-04-24T21:39:00.000-04:00

I've stumbled upon something. It's raw, but I want to share it. You deserve it.

Lea had been cataloging for hours. The backrooms seemed to go on forever. The ancient museum was doing its millennium cleaning and, being a fresh graduate, she was bound to get the job of finally cataloging all the hastily stored discoveries of the 20th century. It's not that the museum didn't catalog things at all, what museum could get away with that? It's just that there had been so many small scale discoveries. All a 1950's minimum wage clerk could do was number them and add a one word description. Lea was now in the "Israeli" description group numbers 95478-98065.
She was up to her elbows in bones, tools, scripts, and professional notes. Occasionally she did stop to read and examine some things. They had left her alone for hours on end to complete this job by the end of the month. There was little chance of that happening, so Lea felt no remorse in feeding her curiosity along the way. She was actually supposed to be putting all this information into a computer as well, but since no one would install one down there Lea felt a couple ring binders could stand in as a temporary transfer. This means that not once during the day did she come out of the basement for air. Her only company was her mp3 player.
One by one she would bring a large tray to the long workshop table. Sitting on a tall stood she would lean over the tray, notebook to the right, as she examined the contents and jotted it all down. Then she would bring over yet another tray, but today she would find something far more interesting than ancient bones or pot fragments.
It was another tray from the Israeli section. It was dated during the time right before Israel became the state it was now. Inside were old scrolls, pot fragments, and a small book. The contents were not dated, but they looked biblical. So many scrolls and documents had come out of the Middle East that it wasn't a surprise to Lea. The Dead Sea scrolls had been in the news and in books before she was even in college. But this little book stood out. It didn't have the same language as the rest of the scrolls. The scrolls did look older, but they were written in Hebrew - the dominant language in the region since very ancient times. The book's symbols couldn't pass for Aramaic either, a language very close to Hebrew and Arabic.
Intrigued, Lea moved to carefully open the book. Picking the ancient tomb up, Lea learned why it had been stored away. Not only was it mysterious looking, but the book was also locked. A slightly gilded metal piece ran across the covers. There was no key hole - though that would have been very suspiciously advanced. It looked solid and unwilling to reveal its secrets. Lea sighed as she examined it from all angles. One side did seem to slide into a main piece, but there was no sign of a release mechanism.
The more she thought about it, the more Lea knew this had to have been misplaced. The book had to have been from the renaissance or some later time. The ancient Hebrews wrote primarily on scrolls made of papyrus and animal skins. There was no way someone could be so advanced thinking to create a book like this, lock and all. She laid it on the table before returning the tray.
"Hey Lea, you here?" came Jeremy's voice. Lea smiled to herself as she closed the cabinet. Jeremy had been her best buddy at the museum. He was a tall athletic young man who usually forgot to shave. He was always in jeans and work boots. The man loved the outdoors. Usually he reminded Lea of lumber jack who was always out of place in the city. He always had a way of making her smile.
"Yeah, I'm over here putting some stuff away." she said walking out to the work table.
"So how's it going? Slow huh?" he said with a slight smirk as he glanced over the table
"Slow doesn't begin to describe it. If they think I'm going to be done by the end of the month then they shouldn't be holding PhDs."
"No computer?" Jeremy asked as he picked up her notebook.
"Unnecessary, as per Professor Harkin."
"God that sucks, Lea. How do you keep from going mad?"
"I try to enjoy what small interesting treasures I uncover. Like that book there. Does that look familiar to you at all?" Lea asked as Jeremy picked it up gently.
"Looks like renaissance."
"I thought the same, but it was sitting with biblical Israeli items."
"Weird. It's locked?"
"Yup. Weird. What do you think I should do with it?"
"You could put it under Professor Harkin's nose, but something tells me that's not the best thing for you right now."
"Yeah, last thing I need is more face time with him."
Jeremy turned the book over in his hands gently as he tried to clear up the writing on the cover and spine of the book.
"Hey, if you like it. Hold on to it until you discover where it belongs. Maybe you'll come across something and the where and when of the book will dawn on you." he said casually, but with a slight professional tone.
"Do scientists actually carry artifacts around with them?" Lea asked as she took the book.
"Well I have. And I know Professor Harkin has. He claims it’s the only reason he could make the connection on that ancient Indus valley tablet and how it is in fact related to ancient Chinese symbols... he took it to China when he went on holiday. " Jeremy said smiling wide. "If he tries to pin you for doing the same, just bring up the tablet. I would only take care to keep it safe. Get caught damaging it and you'll never work in a museum again. It'll be a big black stain on your record. You'll forever be known as that girl that damaged that ancient book."
"Thanks Jeremy." Lea replied dryly.
"Any time." he said with a big grin before getting back up to the archeology department.

At the end of the day Lea took her notes up stairs to the log room where she entered them into the computer system. The little book was still with her. She had decided to hold onto it, carefully. She had wrapped in her sweater before fitting it snuggly into her messenger bag. Although, Jeremy's words didn't stop her from feeling like a thief when she finally said goodnight to the security guard. A block away from the museum and she felt even worse. Something was telling her that she didn't want to have anything to do with the book. It was that same voice that always tried to warn her when her logic was leading her down the wrong path. Her logic was already countering the voice by telling her that she probably couldn't get back in to the museum. Finally she resolved to not even take the book out of her bag. She would just take back tomorrow, toss it in the renaissance cabinet, and be done with it.

In her apartment, Lea dropped her bag in the living room before making herself dinner. As she ate she continued to scold herself for being so dumb as to bring the little book home. In an attempt to get her mind off of it she picked up her fife. It was meditative for her to sit there and pipe out a few tunes on the simple wooden flute. She began a simple song, but was suddenly interrupted by a loud "click" noise. She stopped briefly to listen for it. It could have easily been the neighbors' loud kids or her old stove. She waited for a couple of moments, but she didn't hear it again. Later on she stopped again, but the noise must have been a one-time noise of no importance. The night continued normally. Lea had no idea that anything was wrong.

The next morning, Lea repacked her bag for the day. As she moved around the folded sweater she couldn't help but feel that same curiosity again. She thought no harm would come from just a peek at the book. It was actually better that she took that peek since she found that the book had opened.
Lea gasped as she saw it. Cradling it she slowly pulled back the front cover. Inside were more of that strange writing and some strangely familiar symbols. But Lea had no mind for it right now. She was scared. What if someone thinks she broke it, what if she can't slip down to the basement without someone investigating her, or what if someone was already following up on this item and she didn't know it? Her mind was just racing. She knew that it was great that the book opened, but she was acting as if she broke it.
She missed her morning coffee as she rushed to the museum. She was hoping to beat everyone in the door so she could get down to the basement without incident. Lea sighed in relief as she lower her bag onto the long work table under the dim light coming from the tiny windows above at ground level. She was shivering slightly as she took the book out of her bag and laid it down on the table. Curiosity was gnawing at her just as much as her nerves. Her gut said to get rid of it but her logic egged her on to flip through it - after all she got it to open when it appeared impossible. Again the curiosity got the better of her and in the most secluded corner; she opened up the book again and began flipping through it.
The strange writing was everywhere. Lea couldn't tell if it was going right to left or vice versa. Just a few symbols looked familiar. There was a cross-like symbol, and a star that looked like the Star of David - a Jewish symbol. Perhaps the book had been opened before and the star had led people to believe it was Israeli, she thought. The book was actually long. It had more pages than what Lea had expected by looking at the outside. In the back there was some kind of key. There was many of the strange symbols lined up with some ancient Israeli letters, she couldn't tell if they were Hebrew, Aramaic, or some pre-Arabic letters. Lea took a breath and sat back for a moment trying to think clearly about the book.
First thing she was wondering was why the book had opened. Did she jostle it around in her bag too hard? Maybe when she dropped it on the living room floor it had popped open. She examined the buckle-like piece that was locked in the main piece. It did seem to have a way of releasing but it wasn't bent or worn. She then peered into the lock itself with what light she had. It was pitch black with nothing coming through the outside shell. It was then that Lea remembered the "click" noise. But the bag was still at that moment, she thought. The room hadn't changed temperature enough for the metal to expand or something of that nature. The only thing that was happening was her playing the fife. Was it the fife? Lea did remember hitting a long drawn out note when the "click" noise occurred. Wow, she said out loud as her mind reeled at the possibility. Oh she had to test this now. All her fear was melting away. She was on to something and she knew it would be worth it. Even Professor Harkin would be impressed if she discovered a tone sensitive lock on this ancient little book.

Personal Interest vs. Public Interest

2006-04-19T20:19:00.000-04:00

It's really passion vs. profession.

Are you writing for you or are you writing for you plus everyone else?

I want to write for me and everyone else, especially everyone else since I want my writing to have weight and meaning. BUT if I'm not passionate about what I am writing then I struggle horribly.

I would rather deal with a subject unknown to me than deal with characters I can't embrace and understand.

Characters are really important to me. I kind of want to have to BE them, even the villians occasionally... because BEING them is how I find their voice and make them come alive on the page.

Looking over my new beginning, I again find myself only writing my passion... good diamond-in-the-rough meets bad diamond-in-the-rough and try to bridge the gap in a sci-fi world. Also, again, I am seeing my inner voice as the perfect main character and I need to get engaged in some variety. I'd like to be able to step away from women altogether, but I don't know if I could handle writing a main male character, do I know men that well?

I think my writing will finally enter my prayers. I just want to stumble upon a great story that takes me far enough out of my norm but not out of my passion and enthusiasim.

Finding A Story

2006-02-14T22:35:00.000-05:00

I have been taking inventory of my possible novel stories as of late.

None have ever been strong enough to carry me through one chapter. People could say I was simply putting them off out of laziness, but there are true problems.

For example, I have had a desire to write a story based in another country, another culture - but it's really beyond me considering how little contact I have had with that society. I would do it and the people wrong with errors produced by foreign eyes.

I have also had the desire to take readers into the very unique souls of very disadvantaged characters - if only to see the struggle and triumph, but I have found myself either writing beyond myself again or making a story so bleak that no one would want to read it. Just because I am intrigued by sorrow, doesn't mean everyone else is.

Drafting a new idea after so many changes taking place in my life has been a trial all on it's own. I have found myself taking the strongest of my old ideas and jotting down a list of sequences. With each one I have tried to go from beginning to climax - there has to be a climax. Luckily, I have had one success that I will be running with from now on. It will soon have a place under my writing section. I will be removing the others unless I honestly pick them back up again.

That's an interesting feature about writing. When you pick up an unfinished work you find yourself coming face to face with an old friend - the lead character. It's as if you were checking up on this person, to see how they are doing in the bowels of your harddrive. I have been sitting there for hours just reading some of my old work. Besides the lovable characters I have been revisiting my voice and how it has changed between works.

I have fully adopted the short powerful sentence. It's evident in my blog. I have found that when you drag the sentence out with elegant twists and turns you find yourself using bad grammar or not making sense. Only a master writer could take sentences so far out into Faulkner territory. I will prefer to stick to Hemingway's style for now.

Thanks for reading.

Combining Dreams

2006-01-29T19:32:00.000-05:00

Still on the subject of my career goals, I have been wondering if I could combine Copywriting and Fiction Writing yet still be taken seriously in both fields.

I have this feeling that once you are and artistic writer (fiction), you can't be an factual analytic writer (Copy/Commercial).

Both are really sturctural art forms.
A story needs to be built properly so the reader can follow it and understand what's happening.
A article or advertisment must be focused properly while expressing all the necessary information so the reader can be persuaded.

Perhaps this situation comes about because fiction writers are portrayed as a wishy-washy flaky bunch that can be depended on for business-like projects. Perhaps if a fiction writer established herself in the published world she would have more credibility when it came to tackling the genre of business. Afterall, it takes a slightly business mind to finish a novel, market it, and get it accepted by the book business.

The thing is that both of these career option s demand time from me. I can't study marketing and spend hours working on a novel. Action needs to be taken though. I can't sit here and wonder for very long. Time is precious.

In either case, I believe this blog of mine will remain similar. I just might tweak it a little more back to the fiction writer side - turning the blog into a general WRITERS blog. At least that's something I will always be... a writer...

Thanks for reading.

What comes first? Catalog or Website?

2006-01-11T22:20:00.001-05:00

Lately, I have been listening to the powers-that-be in my office discussing the costs and benefits of creating a real catalog.

Foremost, I am shocked that they never had a catalog to begin with. Any manufacturer needs a way to inform customers and salesmen about the products that they produce or the services they provide. Overhearing comments it was even more shocking to hear that the younger sales manager had to complain in order to get a price-list.

Understandably, a full color catalog can be expensive to produce, but imagine the costs of sending out samples and flying out to visit customers with samples! These guys travel a lot! I have never truely understood the need for "visiting". I have done business with many companies with which I have had no face-to-face relations. When I was in charge of buying office supplies for my previous office I never met with the suppliers. Instead I worked with their lovely catalog, the nice discount we had in addition to the low prices, and the helpful voices on the phone when I had a difficulty with an order. Their catalog made all the difference. In fact, many other companies came to our front door selling their wares in a very unwanted way with no catalog or business card in-hand.

How's that for annoying?

I can understand it if you want to meet once a year with your best customers, and maybe twice a year with your salesmen, but there seems to be trips every week by car or plane. I just don't understand why all that expense makes a difference when they don't even have a catalog.

Secondly, I am wondering if they are going about the catalog the right way. I have been told that they are hiring a professional to design, take pictures, print, and bind the product. However, if they are planning on having a website too with a catalog made available for the public... then why not make the website first and take all the pages online as pages for the catalog? I was told that it's going to be the other way around because A. they want a professional, and B. things don't look as good from the web to paper.

A. A professional is expense and a budget is overhead. It's understandable to make an impression with your catalog, but when there is doubt that it will turn a profit why take the project to such heights? Why not make a simple catalog with color only for the pictures. That enough should produce a profit so the NEXT catalog design is more affordable.

Again, I stand behind my belief that fancy eye catching design is fine, but you have to at least perform a function. Performing that function (in this case - showcasing the products and prices) is the core and the most important thing. If you have a budget - then just go for the function and stand by your product as a seller all on it's own without flashyness. This company already has it's "Made in USA" and large variety to boost it's sales.

B. It's not true that pictures and designs don't translate well from the internet. I have seen some pretty nice pages come off the internet and this translation also depends on a lot of factors. First off, you need a high quality color printer - preferably digital. Secondly, you need to make the pictures of a certain size on the internet - no thumbnails. And lastly, you just need a good camera to take the shots. It is possible and much more affordable without paying for some designer to put it together.

Heck, I would have done it on my weekends for free for my new bosses.

Those are just my thoughts. Thanks for reading.

Continuing the Dream?

2006-01-11T22:02:00.000-05:00

Recently, I have been thinking about my dream job... what would that be?

I'm pretty sure my dream job would be to write great American novels. However, if that is my dream job then why aren't I writing?

I have been working on my marketing skills, securing a new office job, and pursuing a higher degree in English (Literature), but between all those things I haven't found much time for my dream.

Am I heading in the wrong direction?

I thought it was a great idea to be in the copywriting business. As a copywriter I could write for a living, realistically. The great American novel is a DREAM that may never come true no matter how many novels I produce. At least with copywriting I could be creative in a structural way that could produce a healthy income and allow me to feel accomplished.

The scale tips a little when I think about all the trouble I have had trying to find more copywriting jobs. I have been following the listings on craigslist.com, but many require a 4 yr degree in journalisim or marketing and others have just not responded to my persuasive e-mails. Is the idea of being a copywriter just as much of a dream as being a novelist?

For some reason I have been feeling like time has been has been running out on me. As if I need to pick a direction and stick with it now. I need to get something done now or I may never start anything again. It's the idea of having a family that is weighing on me, I guess.

I'm not that old, but I have always believed in having a family before getting into my 3o's.

I need to decide which one of these writing careers is actually more realistic with current trends in my life and in the world. I love both. I love being both literary and logical with my writing. Writing itself is just a magical mechanical art.

Thanks for reading and contemplating with me.

Carving Out an Existance

2005-12-26T12:36:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted in weeks because not only did I start a new job, but I started one just as the company was hitting their record month for this year.

My regular routine for these weeks was coming home an hour late only to passing out. The holiday season finally gave me some time to pull myself together.

Despite the volumn, I am very happy with my new day job: processing invoices and shipments for major producer of fine winter accessories in the USA. I feel this job will teach me a lot about marketing products - something I never got with the export managment company. Not only will this help me to market my own product - my writing, but it will help me understand other manufacturer's and what they need in order to develop sales.

In a form of experimentation, I have asked the in-office salesmen questions regarding what types of hats they sell, how they inform their customers, and what improvements are they already looking to make.

Apparently, they employ a lot of external salesmen who work on commission. These salesmen are free entities who work in certain regions of the US. It's quite possible that they represent other manufacturers. Just so long as they sell our products it doesn't seem to matter what else they work with. When it comes to a new line of hats or scarves, samples are sent to these salesmen so that they can inform the customers.

As for improvements, they hope to produce a full color page catalog to give to salesmen and common customers. They want to couple this catalog with a website. I hope I can help them with my web content skills.

I think making a real catalog available online and by mail-order would be the biggest boost to their sales. They might not even have to rely on these external salesmen any more once the customer has this information. That means they can use that commission money to enlarge their own in-office sales or order processing department.

This new jobs seems like a new endless source for marketing information and I hope to bring it to you are a carve out my existance here.

Thanks for reading.

Yes, We Have A Winner!

2005-11-24T21:19:00.000-05:00

Yes, I have finally found a new job and start on Monday the 28th! And the crowd goes wild!

This is the same company that I writing about in my previous post on website design. This company makes winter hats, scarves, and facemasks. They were looking for a tough office clerk who can do it all and they found me!

I have a feeling that this place will enjoy my ideas, innovation, and show appreciation for my hard work. Afterall, isn't that what we all want?

I am...
Young
Educated
Intelligent
Creative
and
EAGER

I apply myself to things like mobil 1 - coating, covering, enhancing, lubric.. wait.. maybe just enhancing. The point is that I am someone who is moldable, but comes in with a fresh view.

I don't know why employers don't hire more people like myself.

Many tend to pick someone with the most experience, but that person usually want's to run things their own way. Other employers want someone right out of college, but that person has no sense of the REAL world. There are oodles of people in the middle who have accomplished some degree of education, but have already been thrusted into the real world of full-time work. There are some who actually manage to balance a full-time job and college and a LIFE - all at the same time!

What's really exciting is that this company was looking for an office clerk who could slowly be molded into assisting the office or HR manager, but they also got a new techie assistant.

One of the first things they are going to have me do is flesh out that website idea with the help of their current tech guy, who knows way more than I do about the more complicated topics. This tech guy is a nice guy who has already worked out the catalog pages - something I would have struggled with AND he has done it with this type of database that updates all the webpages. When I saw all that I thought I was stepping on his toes, but then he admitted that he wasn't great on designing websites. It was perfect. Here I am giving them my skill that they would normally be lacking, yet I won't have to tackle technology I'm unfamilar with.

I am so very happy that I get to be creative and provide something innovative to this business. Yes, I know I will have to do daily-grind activities, but I hope this website project lets them know just how useful I am and how willing I am to go the extra distance just so long as it's noticed.

So basically, I'm really excited - if you couldn't tell.

Thanks for hanging in here with me, any readers I might have besides Michael. :)

I hope to be blogging more soon.

A Purposeful Company Website

2005-11-03T10:58:00.000-05:00

Recently, I started working with a company's website html in order to make it more organized and contain a visual catalog.

I met this company through a job application. Even if I am not selected for the job I would like to contribute to their website design.

First, I want to say something about website decoration. This company is a textile factory in the USA (yes, they do exist) and this company has employed a background picture that is a close-up of knitted off-white yarn. Though the color is pale against the black text, it doesn't serve a purpose. In fact, it makes reading the text slightly difficult, and you don't quite know what the background IS until you sit back because it's an extreme close-up.

Decoration shouldn't take away from the functionaity of a company's website. Decoration has to serve a purpose of it's own to either:
A. Make the website pleasing to the eye.
B. Direct the reader's eye to certain features.
C. Compliment the text either symbolically or directly

Having a knitted 'something' on the website is good but not this background. Having a normal picture of knitted material as a text block border would be much better. Borders could also consist of sales products lined-up going down or across the page. These pictures or patterns shouldn't clutter up the messages or the links. Simple pictures could sit adjcent to links to help the reader's eye find what they are looking for. An example would be to have a small picture of a hat next to the link for "Hats" and etc. The pictures could be animated only if the overall design is very simple. Too many pictures and added animation (such as hats dancing from right to left) would be too much of a distraction and visual overload for the reader.

For this company I suggest:
-A static title with company name, address, and small picture or icon.
-A generously spaced sidebar including pictures next to links.
-The sidebar will also be static with the same links to products, ordering information, billing information, FAQs, and contact information (there could even be two static sidebars or navigation bars).
-The sidebar and main text block would be separated by knitted picture border.
-A simple line border would separate the title from the main text block and sidebar.
-The main text block will be what changes when a link is selected so the title and navigation bar will always be available.

Additionally, I would work on making an online-order form or a online purchasing catalog instead of just a purely visual catalog. This way the company could easily pick-up new clients from off the web.

These are the necessary items for good business website. There are so many other things a company can add on as links. There could be a section for customer comments or recommendations, there could be a newsletter area or blog, there could be a current client listing - so new clients know what types of companies this business works with regularly.

So much could be expressed in a well organized website that provides readers with simple, easy to access information.

I hope my own readers will enjoy this article on website production. Again, I am only someone being aware of marketing ideas as an active consumer.

If this article helps someone gain more business than I am thrilled.

Thanks for reading.

Argumentative & Persuasive Writing

2005-10-22T23:10:00.000-04:00

Just about all writing in this world is a combination of styles. However, even though most persuasive and argumentative works include facts or information on the subject discussed they are not considered informative works.

Most people confused argumentative works with persuasive works. A particular work could have both elements but they are different in the end result.

An argumentative work has the purpose of proving a point. Facts, charts, pros and cons can all be used to prove that something is correct, false, better, or worse. The reader walks away with at least a deeper understanding if not a change in mind. An argumentative work is only of use to marketing if the subject is daily necessarily like laundry detergent or toothpaste. You’ll notice that most ads for these products compare purposes or ingredients in order to get the consumer to buy one over the other. It’s granted that the consumer will purchase one of them.

Argumentative proves one thing over another

A persuasive work also provides you with information of the subject, but instead of proving a point this writing is meant to inspire the reader to take some kind of action. Whereas we all buy toothpaste, not everyone uses skin cleanser. That’s why most skin cleanser commercials don’t focus on the competition. Instead they focus on the product and why the consumer should pick this up in order to have healthy skin. Some even go as far as to suggest other types of results. In common commercials not only does a woman have visibly soft, healthy beautiful skin after using the cleanser, but then a hansom man is shown taking an interest in her. This persuades the consumer that soft skin is necessary for attraction, and obviously attraction is necessary for a relationship. This turns what could be considered a luxury item into a necessity.

Persuasive writing changes something from unknown or unnecessary to important or vital.

A combination of the two would be a two-part work. First the subject would be addressed informatively. This is where the argumentative part starts. It will never come at the end because it would take away from the power of the persuasive part. The argumentative will address the two people, products, ideas, methods, etc. Once one is proved over the other the work does not end. The reader is now focused on that point proved but doesn’t know what they are supposed to do about it other than contemplate. No, there is something to be done about this point and you must now persuade the reader to take action on that point.

This is a common style for politics and government. First, the problem is sorted out by argument and then there is a call to take action regarding this problem. A great example is the style politicians use to get elected. First, they present an argument about which one of them is the better candidate. Once one has proved their point they then proceed to tell why they should be elected, what do they plan to do in office, is it worth it for voters to come to the polls at all. In essence, they say, “Not only am I the best, but you should come out and elect me because I’m going to do this stuff for your benefit.”

I hope this information comes of use to you when writing your next proposel.

How to Stand Out

2005-10-21T13:45:00.000-04:00

I recently noticed that Google picked up on my professional website. However, upon searching for "Commercial, Writing, Freelance" and other such keywords, I never saw my website come up. I even clicked down to the 60th page and I didn't see it.

I wonder what creates this particular hierarchy and why wasn't mine listed at all. I'm definitely going to investigate this with Google. It will certainly be and interesting project to report on this blog.

As I traveled past all these Freelance - Writing - or Copywriter websites I began wondering how I am going to stand out among all these others. Ruling out writers in other countries, and those who want to TEACH you how to write, I would still have a couple hundred competitors. I see them on Freelancewriting.com and listed in the creative service section of craigslist.com.

I certainly can't be the cheapest, because I can't afford to dedicate hours of my time for something like a five dollar job. Because I am young I am not really specialized in any one particular field other than general business. I do have tons of experience but hardly any samples.

What to do?

First off, I guess a plus for me would be creating my own website instead of solely soliciting by free online ad. Secondly, I am a highly organized person who has a blog. A blog also shows organization, intelligence, interest, and style. Lastly, I can be highly creative in spreading my website around.

One thing I do have to do is purchase a domain name because it would pay if people could remember how to type out my website.

Another thing that would help is if I created EXAMPLES of work... not true samples of DONE work. If I can show my ability to improve upon common ads or display a detailed report done for practice then people will be able to see possible samples of my work. I could even sell these examples. Perhaps a local organization is looking for a report on cell phone usage in the Delaware Valley Area or something similar. That could be a whole new revenue for me.

So I can still stand out as one of the most ACTIVE writers in the local area.

Energy and results attract work.

Thanks for reading.

Career Flexibility

2005-10-19T07:34:00.000-04:00

How flexible are you when it comes to your career?

I recently came across a job opening for someone to demonstrate magic tricks. The job looks like it could pay really well and be worth the drive to the Philly Airport, but I'm a writer.

I have enjoyed magic as a child and I was a magician's assistant for a little while, but could I switch gears so immediately from office professional/writer to magician?

Frankly, it sounds really exciting. If they tell me I have a 90% chance of getting the pay and hours that I need then I guess I would hand my self-teaching and avid-researching self over to this magic shop.

Of course I could still freelance at home in the evenings and on my days off but only after I have learned ever trick in the store and make a schedule concerning new tricks that come along in the future.

This is just my thinking though. I wonder how often and well people find an opportunity to change gears and take that opportunity. For instance, if this job turns out to be a career for me I will probably start buying magic books so that I learn more and could make suggestions about tricks in order to help the customer. No more writing books for me. This also means that my blog could go stale for a while as I adjust myself to this new career.

I am willing and I think I am an acception to the rule because I am just so flexible and adaptable.

Right now I am thinking that this experience could help me write a literary book about a character who is a magician. Or this job could help me establish a weekend magic act that could also help to make ends meet and pay for my online college courses. I could also mark down magic as another subject I am comfortable writing about on my freelance writing website.

I guess it all depends how flexible you are and how well you can bring a new idea, a new path all together into your life.

I hope the magic shop gives me a chance at making it a career. They are right, it sounds like a lot of fun and I would be great at it.

Thanks for reading. Please let me know if you have ever switched gears so rapidly.

Recruiters

2005-10-06T21:11:00.000-04:00

Recruiters are very mysterious. Plainly they are supposed to be paid for finding the right person for the right job. So why do they call you with UNKNOWN numbers and don't warn you about all the strange paperwork you will be filling out?

Recently, I have saddled up with my first recruiter company. I have to say that I am nervous about all the paper work they had me fill out... including a W-4 and a form waving my eligibility for a permanent position without the recruiter's permission.

That sounds like the recipe for a disaster. One I can't afford right now.

Do these papers mean I will be hired but I will have to turn down a permanent position when it's offered so my recruiter can toss me over to someone else's doorstep and pick up another fee for supplying little'ol professional me? I can't afford that lifestyle. I need a full-time permanent job somewhere; at least until my freelance writing takes off. But whose to say it will? In the meantime I need my bread and butter; I want to have a family and I can barely afford ME.

If these people come to me with another interview I am going to ask them about this temporary status they might want to stick on me. I don't remember signing up with a temp service so I don't want to be treated like I'm in one.

I can't be bothered with running around like that. My life is busy enough as it is.

If any of you have had a similar experience let me hear about it!

Thanks for reading.

Success - Consumer Exercise

2005-10-03T22:47:00.000-04:00

Many people who jump into their own business are focused on the all-important profit that makes their life go round. However, the businesses that are focused on success look beyond their profit.

Success doesn't mean just 'making money'. It really means having a firm customer base, that provides you with a stable income that in turn allows you to expand. Also, "success" is not just an important word for you, the business owner. It is also an important word for your customer. If your customer doesn't have success, then you wont.

How do you create successful customers who don't out grow you, nor leave you for a competitor?

That sounds like a balancing act to me. The best exercise is to examine yourself when you are the consumer. When you have need or are looking for something why not make a little journal about your actions or feelings.

Example Questions:
Why did you first look at this name brand, product, or service specialist?
What attracted your attention?
Why did this other product or service seem unappealing?

Was your first choice the one you bought?
How long did you have to search?
Did you find out anything that made you change your mind?

Now that you bought the product or service, do you think it was a good buy; are you satisfied?
Did you feel you made a bad decision?
Could any of the business have made a better advertisement, information page, or brochure?

You can also ask other people casually and politely about these types of experience and gain some knowledge on word-of-mouth marketing.

Ask yourself:
How did the good experience affect this consumer?
How often do they recommend this product or service?

I hope these ideas help you. They are my favorite exercises when it comes to teaching myself marketing.

Thanks for reading.

Writ about The Whit - News Article

2005-09-22T22:19:00.000-04:00

The keen intellect running Rowan University seems to be waning in recent years as costs to attend this institution skyrocket. The latest decision is purchasing brand new Segways for all security officers patrolling the quaint Glassboro campus. A news story was printed in The Whit, Rowan’s own campus newspaper. In this positively charged article only one negative comment was sited by an art student saying: “If I paid for [the Segway] with my tuition, I think it’s a waste of money,” However, immediately following this sentence was another disjointed quote from the same student: “… but if there is more security on campus I think it’s a good idea.”

Either this student is confused or the editor has made a clear ploy to try and include the initial reaction of most students with a wishy-washy positive thought. Not once did the article say that additional officers would be put on the small force that regularly patrols the campus. Instead, the article mainly focused on any and all tibits of positive information you could find at http://www.segway.com/ (the website address was regularly mentioned).

A Segway, for those unfamiliar, is a new techno scooter-like vehicle. Imagine if you will a man with wheels for feet holding onto a small set of handle bars at the top tall, upright steering column. The man would actually be standing up straight with his feet on small platform between the two large wheels that’s about the size of bathroom scale. It runs on a special balancing, electrical motor and has a top speed of 13 mph. The large motorized wheels need smooth paved surfaces and it is obviously not equipped for the elements of nature. Now stick a price tag of $ 5000.00 on this machine and you have an overpriced toy meant for those who have it all.

What, pray tell, was the reasoning behind this obvious waste?

“According to Tim Michener, the director of Public Safety, the reason for using the Segway is to make officers more approachable.”
“The rider stands a head taller than everyone else,”
“It’s a patrol vehicle that can go outside and just about anywhere”
“I think [Segways] can allowed [officers] to control more and be more efficient”- Jocelyn Stevens (Senior Law and Justice Major)
“Can move smoothly and quietly”
“Runs off of a battery-operated power supply”
“With zero emissions”
“It is fun to ride”
“Uniquely suited to the challenges of campus transportation”
“Allows riders to travel on the more direct pedestrian routes found on most campuses, but up to three times faster”
“I think it’s an excellent tool, it’s very PR-related to speak to people and get into places you can’t get into with cars.”-Officer Rathof
“It puts officers at a more personal level”-Tiffany Sarbello (Senior History Major)

Face it; the Segway is a compact bicycle with a weak motor. This motor is running the student body and extra $ 5,000.00 for each one purchased. Unlike a bicycle these things will breakdown eventually and expensive vehicles always have expensive parts, not to mention the cost of bringing in a specialized mechanic or shipping the Segway out to be fixed. One nameless statistics teacher said “It’s only a few dollars [from] every student”. Gee, I wonder how often that mentality was applied to other wasteful, crazy products or facilities purchased by the university over time. It seems once an institution becomes a university it can extort money from meager students desperate for that single piece of paper all future employers seem to need.

Frankly, it sounds absolutely despicable to me. Ludicrous ideas like this Segway purchase are why I, and many others, can’t afford a good education from schools like Rowan University. Not only is there the tuition to deal with but also there are just too many fees. (Fees? What fees you ask? Why all the OTHER fees that were supposed covered by the tuition once upon a time. An average full time student pays approximately an extra $ 1,000.00 in fees for “services”, “facilities”, and other such nonsense.) Did you know that an in-state resident attending the prestigious Berkley University of California pays approx. $ 3,700.00 for a full-time semester, whereas an in-state resident attending the recently named Rowan University of New Jersey pays approx. $ 16,900.00? The in-state resident cost for Rowan is four thousand more than that of the out-of-state resident cost for Berkley! I do not know whom in our state or federal government is monitoring this, but it is a travesty.

Someone needs to put a stop to this mentality that has universities spending at the student’s expense. Those poor souls that obtain their master’s degree are still paying off their student loans when they start paying for their OWN kid’s education. No wonder there are so many commercials saying, “You can deal with it” as they advertise student loan management – it’s because graduates are overwhelmed by the amount of money due staring them in the face after graduation with interest on the way! The higher education system has become the bloodsucker of America and with employers unwilling to accept applicants without degrees it becomes a horrible catch-22. You can’t make good money (in order to have a family) without a piece of paper that costs tens of thousands.

PS.
To top it all off, in my search for an electronic link to this recently printed news article in The Whit, I stumbled across another article on a representative from Segway LLC giving a Engineerng & Dean’s Advisory Board promoted lecture at Rowan just this past April 2005.

Perpetual Marketing

2005-09-18T21:17:00.000-04:00

Start reading any marketing book and you will find lists of marketing ideas.

-Cold calling
-Direct mailing
-Advertising in print
-Articles in magazines
-Networking

These are all very active aggressive meanings for stirring up some business. However, also being the receptionist for a establish export management company, I have come across quite a few of these attempts. Very few have ever worked. It's not that those mailings, calls, or advertising are ill made or not clear. It's just that business professionals have very little time to sit there and contemplate purchases.

To get your foot in the door with these methods it seems the business you are focused on must be in dire need of what you are offering.

Company gifts
Office supplies
Electrical products

As for selling services it gets even harder.

As a receptionist, I hate people calling and nonchalantly asking for the owner by first name as if this person on the phone was the owner’s cousin or neighbor. Sometimes it's difficult to just get a business name, which ends up being some acrynomial nightmare. By the time the owner is sure he doesn't know this company the caller has already hung-up.

Another pain is when I am addressed directly as if I could make a secret decision for the company. Once the man started out by asking me if I liked cappuccino. A discussion on coffee drinks was EXACTLY what I needed in the middle of my busy workday. But it gets better! If I clear this decision for a hundred printer cartridges I can have this cappuccino machine for free! This calling center called back within the next 60 seconds and then again in 5 minutes. This was just gross, but I maintained a professional attitude until I gave the phone to the operations manager who promptly told the company off.

This is not the way I will be marketing my own services.

When I was told to hunt up some service or rare product for my office I went to the Internet. I looked up websites advertising simply about their detailed products or services. Passive advertising has come a long way with the Internet and search engines.

Today, passive advertising is not just putting up a billboard on one highway only directed to the people who travel in that direction. Your billboard-website can be up for all who search using certain keywords you attribute to your company. You can also "link-up" with other websites of friendly noncompetitive companies. It's no longer "passive" or "networking" - it's more like "perpetual" advertising. It doesn't require you actively initiating the sales, but it does need a little maintenance and thought towards design in order to be affective. With a simple click you can find the cost, the size, and you can keep multiple windows open so you can compare easily.

Imagine yourself reviewing two freelance copywriters. Wouldn't it be easy to check them over if they both had a rates, services, and client page? One might have better prices, but the other has the experience you require. You can even print out these website pages and take them over to another for a second opinion or simply send the website addresses to your partner overseas via e-mail.

I believe more people will find the benefits of perpetual advertising via the Internet. If they are at all worried about loosing out on the crowd that doesn't have Internet access, then there is always the newspaper classifieds.
Thanks for reading.

Valuable

2005-08-23T21:32:00.000-04:00

As I continue to make my way as an English major and Freelance Writer I am forced to repeatedly explain my value to future employers and clients.

However, value can not be expressed in common measurements when it comes to people. I might be valuable to a high-paced office environment since I have been working in one for almost five years now, but this doesn't mean I have the best attitude for that environment. That example is a two-way street. A person may have that degree your company has listed as a requirement for applicants, but no degree will tell you about that person's habits. There is no clean-cut way to tell if a person is right for the job or not. Even an interview can be falsafied by simply nervousness, bad questioning, or intervention by God.

So how does one express herself properly?

Sadly there is no right or wrong way to try and impress your qualities and personality onto the hiring party. Judging an audiance can be just as hard as judging a job applicant. Aside from luck, the only way to gain interest with hiring party is through a third party.

But what about the "Third Party Squeeze"?

Definition: When Person A vouches for Person B to Person C, Person A has put his or her credibility on the line. If Person B is not all that Person A says he or she is for whatever reason, then Person C feels used or deceived by Person A. Person A then looses the great relation ship she or he had with Person C. Not to mention Person B could end up jobless again. Everybody looses.

This is why I do not like third party job networking. In my experience, everyone in this senerio feels like the "pawn" being manipulated by the other two people. Since I refuse this option I am left to blaze a trail for the new breed of job applicant. A type of applicant that will not use his mother's salon friend, nor sacrifice everything for a huge degree that says nothing about his or her work ethics or real ability to work.

My Trail...

-I have added a person section to my resume listing my personal attributes.
-I try often to write an original cover letter for every job opportunity.
-I am very prepared for the interview with notebook, pen, copies of my resume, and a list of possible questions and reviewed answers. Not staged, not fake, but memorized so the nerves don't take away my credibility and fluidness.

It's hard working to get in with huge-faceless corporations that have a yes/no online form to fill out. There isn't much room there for shining through the possible-employee search engines. However, I feel calling regularly shows diligence and commitment. I need to apply this rule tomorrow.

Thanks for reading.

Individual Blog Communities

2005-07-26T19:50:00.000-04:00

As I was creating a report on blogging I stumbled upon the realization of Blog Communities. I'm not talking umbrellas like www.Blogger.com, but more of the private communities that seem to develop around individual blogs.

These communities are a direct result of the commenting function and the fact that any stable blog can pull in regular readers. These regular readers/commentators become regular friends or adversaries. These fluid communities help build the blogs because a blog is centered around it's posting, which is in turn affected by it's comments.

I have a regular commentator, Michael. Being the wonderful solid person that he is brings a "down-to-earth" tone to my sometimes airy posts. His comments help shape my blog, just as Michael's own many commentators shape his blog by adding so much to it and to Michael's blogging experience.

I have found that businesses also enjoy this effect of commenting. When a regular customer comments regularly to a company's blog the voice of that customer shapes the view of that company through the blog. Other readers will see the comments and think: "This is the type of person who buys from this business". With more comments come more facets - a larger more diverse community.

This is why I highly recommend that a business allow active commenting on their company blog. I have yet to find a company that has lost business after starting a good active blog. However, there have been instances when a CEO blog author hasn't been completely straight with his readers/commentators and that is breaking the #1 rule of blogging - Honesty. No one wants to read lies or one-sided information.
Thanks for reading.

Web Copy

2005-07-26T19:14:00.000-04:00

Writing for the web is still a developing art, but there are some certainties.

Web surfers are people on the move and looking for real information. Anticipating what they will be looking for and making it readily available is smart move when building a web site.

I have been employing these techniques with my own business web site. I have worked to make it compact and confident, complete with logical advice. There are few links to answer some of the most basic questions - what experience do I have, what services do I offer, what rates do I have.

Until I have more samples to offer I will continue to have the link to my blog on my business web page. I feel that my posts here could stand in as an example of my writing. Not to mention, the fact that I maintain this blog says something about my stability and creativity.

Thanks for reading.

A Note on Quality Communication

2005-07-20T17:00:00.000-04:00

Despite my long absence from posting, I'm still here and working behind the scenes. Good news is that I believe I have finally found my niche in the world. My passion for writing can finally be channeled and put to good use. In order to stay on top of my game I am re-reading "The Elements of Style" and other such grammar gems.

Being the eccentric person that I am, I even thought about bringing out that old antique typewriter my husband collected years ago. As romantic as the idea is, it's just not practical to whip that thing out, school myself on it, and try to punch out work with it. Maybe if we buy a bigger house someday I will have him bring it out to a nice table for me to play with at my leisure - that’s about all it's good for.

That thought reminds me of how fast everything travels nowadays. Why take a year to make an exquisite novel when there are seminars on how to crank one out in a month? Another example is e-mail.

Do you see some of these lightening fast e-mails people send today? At my daytime job I have gotten one sentence replies to two paragraph messages. People don't even bother to put down a "Sincerely,..." anymore, you're luckily if they remember your name! Its so stripped and coarse, not to mention cryptic. I don't know how many times I have asked for clarification on these badly written sentences. If someone doesn't take the time to write out a proper letter then you know they don't consider you worthy of it. I am always short for time at my office but I hardly ever send an e-mail without "Dear..." at the top and "Best regards,..." at the bottom. If I was too brief in my message body I take more time to clarify should the recipient come back to me confused.

Don't let these e-mailers tell you that they don't have the time. In the rare case that someone doesn't have the time to put down more than 5 words as a response more people should be hired. In my opinion, sacrificing good business communication for speed is not advisable.

Thanks for reading.

New Introduction

2005-06-29T07:44:00.000-04:00

Since I have made some changes to my blog I'm going to give a new introduction to it.

The title remains the same. These posts are still my "paginates". The description in orange letters has changed to reflect my new career.

To the right my www.blogger.com profile is still available but it has been updated.
Underneath it is the Previous Posts - messages that I have posted recently that might not be available at first glance. Especially since I shortened the number of viewing posts to the 5 most recent.
You'll notice that my Archives have changed. Before I had a list of each month so you could click on each and see the posts I had made during that month. To save space I have added a drop-down box that shows the list of months when you click on it.

Below that, my links are still available. All the wonderful literary links my blog is known for are all consolidated under one link that stands next to a new link to my poems. I am adding copywriting links to my list and these include links to my working web site for this new business of mine.

After that I had wanted to keep the list of my literary pursuits, current reading, writer blog network, and credits but I pushed the group down farther to downplay it's significance.

I will still be trying to post often to this blog. Although I have posted about my life and other subjects that are off the topic of writing. I plan on being more strict this time about being a writer that other writers can relate to. Though I am no where near an authority on writing I hope that the questions I may have are the same for other writers and that answers are found not only for my benefit but also for the benefit of my readers.

Thanks for your support.

Thank You For Commenting

2005-06-19T09:57:00.000-04:00

I would like to thank everyone for commenting. I think that makes a new comment record for my blog. However, I really needed the information this time.

Thank you so very much if you came over from Michael's blog. It was really great of him to put a little notice up on his blog about my post. I'd also like to thank my friends Shelly and JP who came in response to my little email.

When I'm done writing this I will post it up on the blog for you all to see.

THANKS!!!

Why do you blog?

2005-06-15T15:30:00.000-04:00

Regular Readers and "Next Blog" Button Addicts:

Why do you blog? What's good about personal blogging? Why do you personalize your blog constantly or why don't you? Have you ditched blogging but then picked it up again? Why?
"Next Blog" Button Addicts - I dare you to explain your addiction! How many times do you comment on strange blogs anyway? Do you meet new friends when you do so?

I'm asking all these questions because I could really use the information for a report AND I would like to quote some of you. Please help a fellow blogger out. Don't you want the world to have the 411 on your particular blogging theory or disease?

My THANKS to all who comment. It's highly appreciated.

About Writing

2005-06-12T16:23:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone,

I hope some of you have checked out my new homepage. I'm revising it everyday. I just can't seem to be happy with the format. I think I am being a perfectionist, but at least it is keeping me busy while it's 93 degrees outside with 100% humidity.

I am going to turn this blog into a type of journal or newsletter for my freelance writing. However, I still want to discuss the art of writing.

Writing is not only an art but also a function of human existence. Scientists have yet to discover just how a human brain learns syntax - the ability to put words in particular orders that make sense when spoken or written. It's just amazing that we use the function every minute of everyday yet we still don't understand it. How many of you can imagine a world without writing whether it be stories, instructions, poetry, or just simple information? It's practically impossible to remove writing from humanity. Humans seem born to read and write.

I really wish to share this awe with people.

If writing were not a part of human existence we would still be back at the dawn of time because time could not be recorded. Everyday would be the same as the day before or the day after because our memory would fail us to a certain extent and time would blend into more time. If not for the changing of the moon or the seasons we would have no concept of time whatsoever.

Once man started recording his existence in writing is when the time of man officially started. Our existence is defined by the function of writing. From then on writing was the most important thing next to survival. Records, dreams, the sharing of knowledge were all key to our success on Earth. It boggles the mind how life would be if we could not write whether or not it was letters or a system of symbols.

This is my passion. This is why I want to immerse myself in writing as a livelihood, as an enjoyment, as a meditation.

Thanks for letting me share it with you today.

Energized

2005-05-31T22:43:00.000-04:00

I would like to thank people for caring so much.

On accident recently I did a google search for my blog and found that it has gotten around. I have found links to it on other sites that I never heard of. Of course I saw links put up by known friends, which made me smile every time. I also found a niffty place called Blog Shares. It's some imaginary stock market set-up for Blogs as if they were companies or commodities.
I didn't even know this existed at all!

Here's mine:
http://blogshares.com/blogs.php?blog=http%3A%2F%2Fjillspaginates.blogspot.com%2F&PHPSESSID=aa825f47d6134aea1c64f70541b3d7a4

Unfortunately, I don't know anything about stocks so I don't know what any of this means. All I know is that Michael knows about this stuff and has been buying shares back in December.
- And you couldn't mention anything, Michael?

Anyways, seeing all this activity gave me some hope and energy. To add to it I went to the bookstore recently and was reading "Chicken Soul for the Writer's Soul". There was a quote in there that caught my eye. I forgot who the writer was but he said something like "When I finally realized how bad of a writer I was I couldn't quit because of how famous I had already become."

It made me realize that it would be nice to be a natural writer who's works will be analysed for decades. However, you don't need to be a natural writer to be great. Not to mention I would hate to learn that one of my novels and putting future 9th graders on the egde of insane boredom.

I'm going to go organize every single writing project I ever started and go put it under my "Currently Writing" list as a reminder to finish each and every one. No matter how small an idea was, if it gave me spark I'm going to list it.

Thanks everyone. It really helps having readers. They are the greatest gift to a writer.

Life bogs down

2005-05-26T21:37:00.000-04:00

Yes, I'm still here.

Life has just been rough as of late. I've also been consumed spiritually. Usually, when that happens I wind up walking around staring off the edge of the world while I ponder deep questions. Sometimes the "edge of the world" is just beyond the television, it only LOOKS like I'm being a couch potato.

And what's wrong with that anyway. Yes, the TV can suck the life out of you and replace that energy with a weird addiction for the sound of commercials, but sitting there and just letting it all relax can be a good needed rest.

Maybe it's just that I have been feeling overwhelmed... at work, at home, at my desk with personal things I want to get done. Personal things like my writing, my spiritual demands, my wish to learn another language, and more classes are coming around the corner just so long as I figure out how to pay for them. Looking over the to-do lists I have been creating makes feel tired before I even start anything.

What are you supposed to do? Life is dwindling for me - or so it feels. I'm married now and I want to have a family before I turn 30. Once I have kids my life is no longer my own. All my personal goals will have to be put on hold until they are teenagers. The Turkish can't go on hold because I want to teach it to them. The spirituality is a requirement for life in my opinion. All that's left is my writing. Will I really have to give it the boot? It's not really doing anything for my right now. Heck, I bearly participate in a writing group.

Just writing this post makes me feel tired as I go over it all. ugh. Maybe I just need to energize myself some how.

Anyways... thanks for reading even if there wasn't anything juicey. I haven't forgotten about the story I posted earlier. I will be continuing it somehow somewhere. In an effort to keep improving myself, I found my old Star Wars Fanfiction novel and have started going back over it and re-writing it. God, I sucked back then! Good story but Woah, did it read bad!

Again, thanks for caring about me.

Carrying It With You

2005-05-07T21:00:00.000-04:00

“Hey Irma, what has two feet, branches, and a pouch?”

“I don’t know, what?”

“I don’t know either but it’s headed this way.”

This is what Angie heard as she started to walk towards an old couple sitting out on their porch. The old lady laughed as she exclaimed “Good Lord” under breath when Angie passed.

Angie was a dirty hunched young person. She carried a hiker’s pack with a large houseplant sprouting from the open top. It provided shade for her bare head in the midday sun. The branches shook and hushed with each step she took on the sidewalk. Her dirty brown hands hugged the thinning straps that curved over her shoulders. A couple shirts were tied around her thin waist with an oversized t-shirt covering her slender frame. Her faded gray jeans had holes in the knees and the bottom backs of the pant legs were wearing away.

People stopped to watch her pass. Some dared to walk up to her though none came closer than ten feet. When she stood in a crowd moving along some urban street many gave her at least two feet. It was possibly the smell that drove them to that distance. Angie could hardly find a place to bath while always on the move. She passed more old couples who made similar remarks before she came to a highway.

Angie had been trapped in some northeastern suburbia for months. All the nice neat perfect houses with cute families out playing in yards or splashing in pools. It made her sick. It made her cry. The children stared at her until their mothers had them turn their heads. Men just stared like anyone else. Not many had ever seen a bum before. Not around here.

She had only gotten a mile along the highway when a cop pulled over. She hated them. She should have hid between the trees on the border, but it was getting harder with those sound barriers. Angie kept walking as the officer got out.

“Miss, Miss! Hold it right there!” he yelled over the roar of the traffic going by. Angie tried to stop though it felt like her pack would squash her if she held still too long. Slowly she turned to face the cut and dry police officer.

“Miss, there is no walking along the highway. It’s dangerous…” he stopped after that as he got a good look at her. Angie looked up at him through scraggily brown strands that stuck together in knots. Her face was dirt, her eyes were blood shot, and she breathed heavily as she stood there shifting her weight from foot to foot.

“Let me take you off this road.” He said.

“No, I’ll walk off if you insist.”

“Miss, you don’t look good. Do you need some help at all?”

“No.”

“How old are you?”

“19”

“Miss, I’m gonna have to insist you ride with me. I can’t honestly let you continue like you are.” They always insisted.

“No officer. No one helps me. I don’t want it. I will keep walking somewhere else.” She said as she made for the trees. The officer jogged up to her.

“Young lady, honestly, I can’t force you into this car. You haven’t done anything to warrant such an action. But if I don’t help you somehow the look of your face is just going to haunt me forever.” He said sincerely as he took his shades off. Angie grinded to a halt and took the strength to turn once more. Most officers left her after she refused them twice. Even more didn’t care so much as to ask her. There was that crooked cop in Tennessee but that’s not a thought to remember. Her legs were giving her pain for standing still. She had to make a choice. She would have to travel around the barrier to walk out. That would be annoying. The officer didn’t seem that annoying. He could be worse if she refused him again.

“Fine. Take me somewhere where I can start walking north.”

“Fair enough.” He said walking up to her. “Let me take that pack off.” His hands were already on it and the lifting of the weight felt like her blood was being removed. Angie lost balance and landed on bony knees. The officer extended a hard smooth hand and helped her back up. Back at the car he placed her and the plant in the back seat. Her pack he put in the trunk.

The officer didn't stop at the next parallel route. Angie gazed around nervously and watched as the police officer drove into the nearby station.

"Just wait here a moment, I'll be right back." he said as he jumped out and ran into the station. Angie got even more anxious. She just wanted another road. She just wanted to continue walking. Her legs were shaking without the constant stress on them. She pulled the plant up on her lap and made herself ready to run when the door opened. Suddenly she saw the officer walking out the door with what looked like a social worker. No,
Angie was not going to put up with it. Not again. She made ready to bolt though she felt she couldn't leave her pack.

Instead of opening up the backseat door the office peered in through his driver side window.
"This is my wife Karen. Would you consider going with her and letting her take care of you? Just for a little?" he asked.

"No. I want my pack. I want another road. Let me out." Angie replied in voice devoid of humanity except for the shuddering.

"You're welcome to keep walking. Wouldn't you care for a meal and a shower before continuing?" the officer insisted. Angie was shuddering more than she knew. She never realized just how close she was to collasping.

She still didn't want to admit defeat. The officer withdrew his head and spoke with his wife a moment. Angie tried hard to analyze her but the more she focused on the woman the more this blackness crept into her vision. Dizziness took her and the last thing she felt was her body slumpping to the side.

Officer Hank Lynch watched with horror as the girl in his crusier suddenly fell over.

"Oh my God Karen, she just blacked out!" he said under his shivering breath as he flung open the door and scooped her out. Karen was already running back inside yelling for an EMT. Karen came back out with two men in overalls with medical gear in hand. They ran up to officer Lynch as he tried to wake up the girl.

"Com'on kid wake up. Can you hear me?" he called to her. The EMTs took her out of his hands and laid her on the nearby grass.

"She's barely breathing and her heart rate is low." one said to Officer Lynch as they administered oxygen. The other called for an ambulence to come over. "She's wasted away to almost nothing." the EMT commented in horror as he scanned her body for injuries.

Hank saw his captain coming out the door as the ambulence pulled up. Hank rushed up to him determined to ask him for leave to follow the ambulence.
"We don't even know her name or if she has family in this state. Someone should go with her." he pleaded. Mrs. Lynch walked up and touched her husband on the shoulder.

"Hank, I can go with her. Marie is here and she can cover my duties." She said as she gave a soft look to Hank's captain.

"Sargent Lynch, I understand your feelings on the subject but perhaps it's better if your wife goes with the girl. The calls are coming in heavy for a Wednesday afternoon." the captain responded. Hank finally agreed and watched as his wife as she took off in her red hatchback behind the ambulence.

That afternoon he had to deal with four speeding tickets and two public disturbances. He was heading over to a domestic conflict now. Upon pulling up to the house he found a six year old girl sitting out on the curb in and dirty t-shirt and skirt. The image of the young woman struck him hard at that instant. He heard the screaming curses coming from inside the house and all he could think about was how perhaps it was a situation like this that drove that girl to walk.

Hank radioed for back-up as he stepped up to the door and knocked.
"This is the police. Open-up." he said after banging on the door hard. He shot a glance back at the girl on the curb before the door openned. A burly man in sweat pants and t-shirt came to the door.

"Uh, officer, I'm sorry about this. We were only yelling at one another. I take it one of our neighbors called ..."

"Sir, is that your little girl there?"

"Uh, yeah. That's our Jessica."

"Sir, Please call her in. A little girl like that should not be sitting on the street curb alone. A number of things could happen to her." Hank's anger was showing a bit. The man noticed it and humbled himself as he called for his daughter to come in to the house.

Hank then walked inside to find that the parents were arguing over how to prepare dinner and it had just gotten out of hand. The wife was disshoveled and lighting a cigerette to calm her nerves. Hank's back-up came through the front door then and escorted the her husband out. Little Jessica then walked over to her mother and gave her a hug. It was a tender moment for everyone except the mother who barely noticed her child. Hank found himself wondering where the hell that young lady's family was.

Angie woke up in a hospital bed. Her hand was hurting from the IV and she felt cold with only the light sheet and thin gown on her naked body. She began to focus on everything in the room and at the door was that same woman she had see with the cop. She was talking to a doctor or nurse. When the woman looked back and saw that Angie was awake she walked over to the side of the bed.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"I'm cold. Why am I here?"

"You blacked-out from lack of food and over-exposure. What's your name dear?" she asked as she pulled up the heavier blanket over Angie's body.

"Angela, but I was called Angie."

"Angie, I'm Karen Lynch. The policeman who found you is my husband Hank Lynch. When you blacked-out he had to go back on duty so I came with you to the hospital. Do you have family around here?"

"No."

"Are they in another city or state?"

"I don't have a family. Where's my stuff?"

"Oh, uh, I imagine it's still at the police station. Is there anything I can get for you?"

"All of it. When can I leave?"

"Angie honey, you're in bad shape. It's like you haven't been eating normal for weeks and your body can't take it. You need time to recover. You can probably leave the hosptial tonight but you can't continue for a while." Mrs. Lynch reasoned. Angie stared at ger blankly but inside she was revolting at the thought of staying still. She hadn't stayed in one place any longer than a day for two years.

"I can't stay here." Angie responded flatly.

"You'll have to stay with us until you get better."
Angie was too tired to argue anymore. With her weakness taking hold of her again she allowed her head to fall back to the pillow.

"Angie dear, if you don't mind me asking, what happened to your family?" Angie didn't respond. She faked sleep until she wasn't faking anymore.

"How is she?" Hank asked quietly as he stepped into the hospital room.

"She's doing fine for now." Karen responded as she stood to hug him.

"Did you get a name?"

"Only 'Angie', she says she has no family. I couldn't get her to say anymore. She seems determined to continue with whatever she was doing."

"Yeah, she was like that on the highway too. Back there she told me she was 19 years old. Hard to tell if that's true with her looking like this." Hank walked to the end of the bed and tried to make out the medical chart.

"Did they say she could leave tonight?"

"They insist since she doesn't have any insurance, no family, no money, and no last name. I told them we would take her."

"What?"

"Hank, she's not a minor. The only thing the state could do is put her in an insitution. The hospital will kick her out onto her feet and she'll walk again. We can't let her do this. She's killing herself." Karen pleaded. Hank was upset about the girl's situation and wanted to see her get help, but taking her into his home was a step he wasn't prepared to take. Thankfully, him and Karen had yet to have kids; the burden would be theirs alone, but where was she going to sleep?

"She can have the couch, it's really comfty. You fall asleep there all the time. The real problem is going to be keeping her in the house. She's going to start that psychotic walking again. At least until we figure out why."

"We? I'm all for helping this girl Karen but she needs professional help."

"I may only be a secretary but any loving soul would be help for her." Karen said as she took her husband's hand.

"Please Hank."

Angie refused to respond to what was happening. Both Hank and Karen were moving her to their home. Angie refused to move, she refused to speak, once they arrived at the house she refused to eat as well. She just didn't want it. She shunned the feeling of 'family' a long time ago. She wasn't about to let her guard down again. If she had to stay here then she would but she would find her own food, she would fix herself up, and when they give up she'll leave. By the end they will be happy to get rid of her.

In the night Angie moved to the floor. She didn't want their comfty couch either. After all the sleep she had had at the hospital, Angie finally found herself awake as the dark world walked on without her. Nights like these she would be still be walking, especially in this warm weather. Though she wouldn't smile she would enjoy these nights. The stillness was soothing. If a wind blew through the trees the hush of the branches was filling. As if it was the only sound in the world. That was the only nice thing about suburbia, how quiet it was at night.

When Angie had walked through cities in the evening and there were still sirens wailing, neon lights buzzing, vagrants like herself roaming their territories. It was more annoying on the urban streets with the late night drinking, fighting, arguments, shootings and what have you. The day light was actually better since every one stuck their blinders on and went to work. In the morning the noises blended together to form one busy hum and you could block it out easier.

Angie found herself thinking about tomorrow. Day light in suburbia. She shuddered from the eyes. When sunlight rises over suburbia all the creepness vanish. Everyone knows about this human creepiness that exists in the perfect little houses and hope to catch a glimpse in the morning. It's all the excitement they get. When they see Angie it's the spectacle they desired and it would have only been juicier had her family lived nextdoor to everyone.

Morning came whether Angie wanted it or not. She was helped up back onto the couch while half asleep. Mrs. Lynch didn't leave in the morning with her husband, instead Angie overheard her on the phone in the nearby room.

"Yes, that's right. Just one personal day. Don't I have some 50 saved up?" Laughed "Yes, don't we all. ... Well I'm going to see about getting her to talk. Maybe if we find some family we can give her to the right hands. ... Thanks Maria. I appreciate it. Bye now."

Mrs. Lynch then came back into the living room and greeted Angie with a sunny "Good Morning".

"I want my stuff." Angie replied. Mrs. Lynch smiled wider. Angie hated to raise her hopes, she wasn't going to talk to this woman. Not like she could solve her problems anyway.

My Writing

2005-04-20T20:19:00.000-04:00

I have a sneaky suspicion that if I could just stick to writing one story I won't do too bad of a job. Why I always ditch a story is because I don't have enough confidence in it or in myself to write it.

My last attempt at a novel was the story set in Istanbul present day. However, even though I am married to a Turk I don't believe I have enough knowledge on the culture to write about characters that exist in it. I'm writing out of my league.

Maybe I will finish that story someday - if I move to Turkey.

To keep myself on a story I decided to analyze why I want to write, what I could write about, and how I could write it.

Why do I want to write a story?

It's not an essay where I am stating fact, pushing my opinion, or trying to cause change. It's not my memoirs, which wouldn't be very long anyway... or would they? A story is fiction. Something that isn't true though it could seem true if written in present day and location. I've gotten over my news phobia... which is: I can't write about people who live in this day and age because everyone is glued to the news and always has their mind on somewhere else in the world, especially if it's being bombed. I've realized that though people do have an ear out for the news it's not consuming their lives like it for me for a short while.

Why write a story? Because I want to write about people! Show people people. People don't meet enough people! I loved meeting characters. I use to have imaginary friends who characters from some movie or book. And I can come up with some great characters that I want the world to meet and share in. Yup, I think that’s it.

What should I write?

I feel I really do need to write what I know. Writing about what you don't know sounds like a job for someone who has already written one book. Maybe the second book I write will be about Turkey but the one I have to write now is about someone like me living in place like mine and is someone I can relate to but maybe not everyone else can. I'm forging a story now and I will post it above.

You know, that is really hard for me because I love writing about places that aren't here. I love to take myself to places and try to meet people I have never met before. I am just going to have to try and tone down that feeling. Maybe I'll make up weird fantastic short stories about these places and people when I have writers' block on the main work.

How to write it?

In a simple but direct way. I like using cute powerful descriptions. They move along at a great pace and make an impact on the reader's inner picture of the character and story.

I think that's about it.

Let me know what you think about the story and my thoughts. I love to read comments from other writers.

Thanks for reading.

About Turkey

2005-04-11T12:46:00.000-04:00

Athought I try to keep my blog to the topics of writing and literature I'm going to sidetrack it over to my recent vacation and the news.

Like I mentioned, I was in Istanbul from Easter Sunday until the 4th of April. Besides the weather being absolutly horrible in a very unusual turn of events, we had a good time with family, shopping, and a little sight seeing.

Of course my husband talked with everyone he could including shop owners and taxi drivers. One taxi driver he found had an anti-american view. Caring about this country of which he is now a citizen he decided to go about punching holes in the young man's view by highlighting his own life.

The driver could not believe that my parents were happy to see me marry this wonderful man who happens to be muslim (though not praciticing) Turk. He could not believe how openly and with common respect my husband is received among his co-workers and the general public. He was further shocked that I happily explore Islam with a natural curiousity and genuine open heart.

This young man thought that Americans were stuck-up,greedy people who only like their own kind and refuse to be open to different ideas and experiences. I'm sure my husband gave him a lot to think about. Luckily, these were just thoughts. This young taxi driver was entitled to his opinion even though we might not think it's accurate. I deeply welcome the fact that the Turkish people are very moderate and don't believe in extreme behavior as a means for any ends.

However, we should all be aware of thoughts like these. Some might say "What does it matter what the people in Turkey think?" but our global community has become more interconnected in the past two or three decades than ever before. All depend on the balancing act between countries that allow everyone to live in harmony. Just look at how the actions in Iraq have sent so many polarities through the world.

I think its every American's duty to show the world that we are as friendly, knowledgeable, open, and cultured as any other nation. I'm glad my husband did his part.

Thanks for reading.

In Turkey

2005-03-30T06:03:00.000-05:00

For more than one reason I wanted to state that I am in Turkey currently. I do not have any pıctures to post yet but I will when I get back.

One of those many reasons is that I do not want to loose any readers I have and I just remembered that I forgot to leave a long term note on my cellphone.

I should be back on Aprıl 5th everyone. Hang tıght until then!

Thanks

Saying Said

2005-03-20T14:54:00.000-05:00

Regarding dialogue in a story…

Some people don’t use the word “said” anymore, especially when there are only two people talking. It makes the quoted lines nice an neat falling one after the other as one person talks and the other responds.

However, when you have a group of people talking you just can’t do that without loosing the reader. So you have to use the word “said” or a similar word with a pronoun or name nearby.

“Said” can be redundant though. So below is a link to a website that boasts 300 ways to say “said”.

http://www.smcm.edu/writingcenter/Resources/rec_writers/rev_cite/saysaid.htm

Word of advice… try using the words you yourself understand or have seen often in books.

Thanks for reading.

Break for Poetry

2005-03-20T14:14:00.000-05:00

For many fiction writers, poetry seems useless and tedious.

You can hardly ever make money with it. You never really know if it's good or bad. You feel that you should rhyme but then it sounds corny. Many end up just feeling frustrated with it.

So what is poetry good for?

Well, when writing poetry the laws of grammar do not bind you. There is only the law of art, which is the process of expression. That's how bad poetry (or bad art) happens... when you don't have something to express or your expression is unclear. Learning to express clearly and profoundly is a great skill for a writer to have. The freedom can also be a releasing break from any fiction project in progress.

I like my style of profound poetry. I string together short expressions under a single topic like "Direction".

Not enough direction is vague.
Too many directions are confusing.
Life always moves in one direction,
Even if we don't know where we're going.

Try poetry the next time you're bored or unable to work on your fictional project. It can be a breath of fresh air all by itself and when you look back over it you may find a great expression you can use in your story.

Thanks for reading.

Trip to Turkey

2005-03-09T21:52:00.000-05:00

Last week I learned that we would be going to Istanbul for a week at the end of the month... right before Easter.

It's great timing. I have really been wanting to write about Turkey, but I have felt that it's been a while since I absorbed the culture. I hope we walk the streets a lot and mingle.

I've already started on this novel idea and I want to post it below.

Untitled As of Yet

Chapter 1

Adile's ears were still ringing slightly in the quiet intensive care ward. The only faint noise audible was the steady beep of her father's heart monitor. It was the only comfort. He had yet to wake, but his steady heart told the doctors that recovery was likely despite the fact that he might loose his right leg. Surgery had stopped the bleeding in his internal organs but the leg could only be patched. The doctors said it would take months of surgery to put the slowly healing tendons back into working order if at all possible. It was then that the crying started. Though it was good news in the eyes of the doctors Adile couldn't take hearing how severely her father was injured. She had always seen him as a strong mountain that sheltered her, but now he was a broken mess laid out on a hospital bed.

Adile’s body was stiff and her shirtsleeve was wet. It had been hours; maybe even a day since her father was admitted to Istanbul’s finest hospital. She had only needed a few stitches in her right arm and was functioning just fine with a little local anesthesia. The nurses constantly prodded her like annoying aunts, “Kiz evin gitir” – Girl, go home. The only comfort at the hotel was the suitcases. Adile looked at the clock. She could use the hotel phone to call her mother since she’d surely be at work this hour. Adile’s father had already called his sister in Izmir the first day they arrived in the city. Adile looked at the clock again thinking some more. Supposedly, her Aunt and Uncle were getting on the bus in a few hours.

The dull white face of the clock had held sway over all of her thoughts. Everything seemed hinged on it. Adile found herself periodically staring at it through out the night when the sight of her sleeping father was too painful. Finally, it was losing her interest as the first rays of the morning were creeping in around the edges of some window blinds. The long night hours were finally ending.

Adile had been keeping time with the heart monitor and suddenly she noticed that her foot no longer dropped on the beep. The monitor was going faster than before. She turned to her father in fear but suddenly realized that he was just waking up.

"Baba? Baba are you awake?" she asked him tenderly as she leaned over.

"Adilejim, are you ok? Are we in the hospital?" he asked with a groan.

"Yes, Baba. Everything's fine, but you're badly hurt. Please don't try to move,” she said as tears came again to her still puffy eyes.

"Please Adilejim, don't cry, I'll be ok. Could you call the nurse and get me some water? My mouth is so dry." Adile immediately ran out to the first nurse.

"He's awake, he's awake. Babam needs some water." she said with urgency to the surrogate aunts at the desk. The oldest one went for the water just as the head detective poked his noise out of the nearby conference room. Adile gave him a hard stare before running back to her father. The man was obsessed with finding the criminals, but she didn’t want him bothering her or her poor father anymore. She had already spent hours with him retelling the same story.

The nurse brought in a small cup and asked Adile’s father to drink it slowly in small sips. She explained the surgery he had undergone and informed him of the detective.

"No, he is not to come in here now. Babam has just woken up. He can wait until Babam has the strength to deal with his questions." Adile spouted in anger.

"Adilejim, it's ok. Please let the detective come in. I am ok and he needs my help. I want to help him now incase I can't later, but don’t you worry." he said softly as he reached out his hand for hers. Adile took it gently in both of her hands.

"Ok Baba, whatever you wish." she said as she rubbed her cheek on her shoulder to wipe away the fresh tears.

A moment later the detective walked in. He was thin but healthy man with a large moustache – a common distinguishing look in Turkey. He spoke in low calm tones to Adile's father in a respectable manner.

"Ősman Bostancı. Bey, thank you for seeing me. I wish you a swift recovery, however I must ask you to recall what happened to you and your daughter yesterday. With your help we may be able to locate the political criminals." he said as he sat down beside Ősman. Adile listened closely as her father went over what happened yesterday. Adile found herself reliving it in her mind. It was too easy to do so.

It had been a beautiful morning. It was only their second day in Istanbul and they were headed towards the historic buildings on the European side of the Bosphorous. They had not taken a cab from the ferry but instead decided to walk around and get a feel of the city. Adile found herself instantly amazed at the age and grandeur of the waterfront area. It was right next to the center of the old city and the nearby mosques loomed at her. Many small shops had attached themselves to the walls of the mosques like barnacles on old seafaring ships, only adding to their endearment.

Her father took Adile to see the nicknamed Blue Mosque. What was ‘blue’ about the Blue Mosque was not the mood though it was spiritually solemn. Nor was it the massive stone bricks that were used to build the massive ancient structure. Not even the carpet was blue; it was the flowers. The tiny painted flowers and floral designs that decked the famous tiled walls of the interior. Before then Adile had only seen statues and paintings of people in religious buildings. This mosque seemed to worship Allah’s creations: the gorgeous wild flowers that grew on every hill around the city. They sprouted from every wall in the dazzling simple beauty of intrigue designs. Adile first found herself staring straight up to the ceiling of the highest center dome. These special Iznik tiles were up there too giving the dome a soft blue tone dotted with red and green.

The dome was tens of floors from the carpeted praying area where she stood. From it extended dozens of cables hanging straight down to hold the simple small electrical lights that were held not far from the floor in a circular construction of iron. They almost seemed like telephone wires going straight up to Allah. This method left the floor open to the millions that flock to the mosque to send up the same required prayers coupled with their own wishes and hopes. The mid-morning prayer was starting and Adile's father stayed with her in the women's section as they prayer together with the imam. Adile found herself unfocused as she looked about the room and took in the ceremony. She had never before prayed in a real mosque. She knew that she was standing out as she bowed a second too late or rose a second too early, but no one said anything at the end. She admired her father when she caught sight of him going through the movements of the prayers. He was fluid and focused like all the rest. He was one with the great sea whereas she was adrift. When they left the mosque Adile had left the hijab on her head out of feeling of belonging with some of the other women who wore them daily.

After the mosque they had approached a busy street to find some early lunch. Luckily there were a few banks so they could draw some money for a nice meal at an outdoor cafe. People were bustling about in a seemingly regular rhythm. Adile recalled that kids were laughing as they ran by with squirt guns. She noticed a shopkeeper trying to shoo a mother cat with two kittens in tow as she begged softly under the café tables. She even recalled a police officer listening to some man complain about how a kid had sprayed his car with mayonnaise from a small packet. Adile’s head was turned when her father shoved her.

“Go that way. Faster!” he said as fear ripped through his voice. Adile tried to look behind at what her father saw as they ran into the street. All she could notice was a few other men running away from far corner of the block. Suddenly a car was coming at her.

“Baba!” she yelled as she stopped in her tracks.

“Hayir, keep moving! Run! Get Dow-“

The blast took the last of his words away. In the deafening noise the street was torn apart sending cars and people flying. Adile was thrown to the side of parked car, her father covering her. Debris had shot out as if fired by a gun. It was such a shock that Adile could only pull her mind together and catch the breath that was knocked out of her. Her and her father sunk to asphalt. Adile kept calling him but she heard nothing at all. She strained to listen but only faint screams in the distance came to her ears. Adile looked out onto the street and only saw figures staggering in the smoke. The fear was shaking her badly as she tried to move her suddenly painful body. She grabbed hold of her lifeless father and screamed as she shook him. She was still shaking him senselessly as people arrived to aid the injured.

Two men came over to help her. Obviously brothers, one helped her up asking if she was OK. She could hardly hear him though he was screaming.

“Babam, Babam! I’m fine. Please, Babam, he needs help. He won’t get up.” Adile had shrieked to them. One was shocked and had mouthed Bismillahir rahmanir raheem- Praise be to Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful.

“My dear woman please be calm. We will get him help right away.” One said before turning to his brother to tell him to seek out the ambulance. Adile didn’t hear him but she watched as the other man started off into the smoke. The taller one stayed with Adile. He bent down to see the severe wounds in her father’s leg and side. He took off his white dress shirt and used it to hold pressure on the wounds over the vital organs. Adile came down and helped.

“Are you sure you’re OK, young lady? Does your arm hurt?” he asked nervously. He tenderly looked at her arm and saw the blood steadily trickling. Adile still didn’t hear him. She was focused on all the blood rushing out of her father.

“Use your hijab for your arm.” He said. He then yelled the direction in her ear seeing that she didn’t hear him. She reached her shaking arms up to take the colorful scarf from her head. It was dirty with dust. The man placed her hands on his shirt at her father’s side as he took the clean inside of the scarf and wrapped it around the open wound tightly.

Just as Adile thought the Red Crescent would never find them in the smoke the brother came running out with two emergency medical personal and a stretcher.

The stark white rooms of the hospital helped to return some of Adile’s sanity as she sat before the detective. She knew now how listless she was with periods of emotional explosion. That’s when the detective asked if her father might have seen something. When she said yes, that he had to have seen something, the detective said he would wait as long as possible to hear what her father could tell him.

“Many have suffered in this tragedy. If your memory serves you correctly then we can convict the man we suspect is behind this bombing. I have taped this entire conversation and will use the information in my pursuit of these criminals. I can rely on you to testify in court when the time comes?” the detective begged slightly of Adile’s father.
“Yes Sir.” Ősman replied. The detective then took his leave of the hospital, but not before ordering an officer to remain at the door.

Thanks for reading.

References and Vocab in Your Story

2005-02-19T13:04:00.000-05:00

I have found that the study of literature is actually the study of your culture. In countless pieces of literature there are references to a culture’s history, diversity, and uniqueness. Without knowledge of a particular event you could miss a crucial piece of information.

For instance, many European works reference ancient Greek mythology. Unless you are familiar with Greek mythology you won’t understand what a character means when he compares the love of his life to Aphrodite. That’s a very simple example; it can get even more complicated depending on the audience the writer had in mind. The smaller the audience the more narrow and obscure the references can be so that only those readers might understand. Imagine you’re writing a silly poem for your family and it reference’s Uncle Joe’s way with women. Unless you’re a member of that family you might not understand that phrase. Is Uncle Joe good with women? Does he get drinks thrown in his face often? And if someone doesn’t get that phrase then there is a hole in the poem.

So writing is a real scholarly pursuit since it forces you to know more about the world.

This also teaches us to be aware of our audience. No one likes to have to look up information while they are in the middle of chapter 8. This doesn’t mean the writer should tailor his entire work to the general public. He needs to look at his story and think about what type of person would be interested in it. Take a Romance for instance; it’s logical that many romance readers have read or heard of some of the great love stories in history whether they are fictional or true. Time needs to also be taken into account; what age is your audience? Could you reference “Gone With The Wind” and they would be familiar with it? Not many in this new generation watch the old classics. There might even be a time when mentioning Princess Leia and Han Solo will draw blanks in the minds of your readers. Don’t try to fit a mold but be considerate when writing.

On that same topic I feel I should mention vocabulary briefly. Some of us are blessed with a terrific vocabulary so that we don’t even a Thesaurus on our desk. However, not everyone knows the meaning of words like noxious – using it in a sentence might not help: The sun can be noxious for us. A more descriptive sentence would be: UV Rays can be noxious for us. Don’t think that using big words makes you a good writer. Some of the best works I have read were entirely made up of everyday speech.

I hope this has been informative. Thanks for reading.

Working on My Articles

2005-02-18T20:57:00.000-05:00

I decided to work on my article writing this evening and I'm a little proud of my first attempt tonight so I thought I would post it. This is actually a topic I feel very strongly about because of the fact that I only need to drive 2 miles to get to my office but I am constantly trying to escape mobs of bad drivers. I have been in 2 accidents and nearly avoided dozens.

Once Is Not Enough

We have all had that experience where another driver bends or breaks the rules of traffic nearly causing an accident. It could be someone passing you on the right side or that person who makes that difficult left turn when the light turns red. With our highways and town roads getting more crowded with each passing year the close calls are getting closer. Does everyone need a refresher course in basic traffic laws? I think so.

When we go to renew our driver license we are never asked to renew our knowledge of traffic laws. We just had to take that pesky Drivers Test once when we were sixteen. What happened to that knowledge? Some worked its way into our automatic driving functions, right? We all automatically turn the blinker on when we turn. We all stop for red lights. We all stop for Stop signs. We all go the speed limit as indicated. How many of you reading just nodded to all four of those? Be honest. What about those other traffic laws like how to approach a highway on-ramp or how to drive through a traffic circle? Do we just wing-it if we don’t remember exactly what to do?

Of course the DMV is already complicated and crowded, but tell me, how many of you out there remember exactly what the Standard Safe Driving Distance is supposed to be between you and the car in front of you at 45 MPH? Give up? It’s the 2 Second rule, which states that once the car in front of you passes an object you should be able to count 2 Mississippi’s before coming up onto the same object. That’s estimated to be 132 feet of distance. This distance gives you enough time and space to react to the car in front of you. However, my experience on NJ Route 42 is that anytime you give proper driving distance another driver sees it as an invitation to jump into the lane.

Imagine a speeding motorist making the mistake of trying to pass you on your practically blind right side just as you decide to change into that very lane. It will then be your and his life on the line as you sideswipe and try to maintain control. Don’t forget the cars coming up behind you, were they keeping good distance? A crash changes you forever. Not only is death and near fatal injury a possibility but just minor injury like a fractured leg can hamper your life for months. Not to mention the cost of damage to your car.

Personally, I’d rather spend the extra hour in the DMV taking that test over again then kiss goodbye the sensation of eating solid foods. How about you?

Learning To Be A Good Reader

2005-02-16T19:35:00.000-05:00

Lately, I have been preparing to go back to college in the fall for my BA in English. So, I took the time to read over the necessary courses as given by Thomas Edison State College and I noticed that many of the required classes have to do with refining my ability to interpret literature. Literature analysis sounds boring to many but any common bookworm would fine it interesting to know that it's those learned in this concept who write the reviews we use when exploring new writers their novels. These analysts are simply good readers who are aware of English prose and all the forms it takes. What if a writer was also a literature analyst?

A metaphor just dawned on me...

Anyone with a creative mind can design a car, but usually it's someone who understands physics and the basic mechanics of a car who can create something that not only looks good but drives like a dream.

A writer can't just be a creative soul spewing forth supposedly great concepts, characters, and intricate plots. Writing has it's own mechanics and formulas. Granted, many of them have been revolutionized in the past century and more have yet to be revised, bended, or broken in the next century but unless you think yourself the new wave in prose you may want to invest time in learning about these formulas and tools. The best way is to study up on being a good reader who appreciates this frame we call Prose, which holds this art we call The Story.

What are those formulas and tools?

Metaphors and similes are only the tip of the iceberg... what about allegories? What about motifs versus themes? What about archetypical and cliche characters? What about a well-timed plot that develops at a regular pace or perhaps increases in speed, pulling the reader in further? Plots can be thin, weak, thick, quick, slow, sporatic, strong, exciting, and smelly. Not to mention that many writers don't even know their own voice - how they feel about what they are writing, how they make the narrator feel about what he is telling - whether those feelings are implied or stated in the story.

Thinking on the titles of these require literature courses, I decided to pick up a book that I came across by chance. I'm only plugging it here because it openned my eyes to how many questions you can ask about a piece of literature. It made me realize that if I can't answer many of those questions about my own work then I could be seriously leaving something to be desired in my story.

The book is 'The Principles of Literature - A Guide for Readers and Writers' byChristina Myers-Shaffer published by Barrons. There are probably many other books on the same subject, but I personally like the way this one is laid out, it is very guide-ish and not a boring lecture.

I hope to post on some of the concepts I read about.

Thanks for reading.

2005-02-02T20:39:00.000-05:00

Nazar Boncuk 'Naazaar Bon-jook' Translation: "Evil Eye Bead" Meaning: Good Blue "God's Eye" that protects you from the "Evil Eye". Normally made from glass these ornaments are hung on everything in Turkey for good luck. Stores go through the process of putting a giant one the size of a plate in the concrete on their front step. Commonly there are kept on keychains, necklaces, and are hung in houses facing the door. This one will be the one for my blog... I hope it's a good size, I'll see in a moment.

When to let a character go

2005-02-02T20:09:00.000-05:00

Does anyone really know when it's time to let go of a character?

I have a character I was working with not so long ago - I even posted a chapter I believe. The story had meaning, which I valued. It was set in the here and now, which was my challenge. However, things are now popping up that I don't know how to deal with.

First off, I did a play on his name. The name just popped into my head that day and from it grew the meaning. His first name was the same as the last name of a composer. So I began a back-story about how his mother is a music lover and instructor who named her son after one of these great composers. Taking a music appreciation class this past fall I realized that this particular composer had only made operas and was known to be a stubborn mean big SOB. His music is revered still but learning these facts about composer made me wonder why anyone would name their son after him.
I tried to find a different composer and I had my whole textbook before me but I couldn't find one that I thought would fill the same space in my mind and in the back-story. So here I am unsure if I even want my character to go by that name, a name that is even tied into the title.

Second, this person is has been severely handicapped for most of his young life. Only now is he gaining some kind of independence. I am just finding it hard to place myself in his shoes. I write, but when I look back on my work I don't believe what I am having him think. First he's clever, then he's throwing a fit, and then he shows wisdom... I guess he could have a bit of both of childishness and intelligence but I feel like I am not balancing them well in this 28 yr old.

I think all I had in me was a few good scenes.

Sometimes I think that’s all I have... visions... no story, no meaning, just an instant look around and inside this character. It doesn't seem to last past a chapter; by that time I also doubt myself.

I am trying to think about how to use this to my advantage. Is it possible to have a story full of luscious scenes but no real body? Only perhaps some strange string to link them all together like beads? Maybe I could call it "Peeks" or something... like peeking in on someone in a split moment. Or maybe "people around corners".

You know, I did read a story like that once. Hawthorne wrote it. It was called "My Kinsmen Major Molieux" (or another similar name). His was an allegory on pre-revolutionary time in the colonies. The plot was very simple. A young country boy was to meet up with his older, richer, kinsmen and be groomed for life. Through out the whole short story the young man is looking for his relative in the city. He keeps bumping into all these people and locations - all symbols and metaphors for the feelings of that time. It does tie up... I won't give it away, but here's a story where it was all about these different moments with other people and places viewed by this one traveler....

A traveler...

I'm getting an idea here...

I'll get back to you all on that one.

Thanks for reading.

Second Blog

2005-01-22T16:30:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone,

Don't mind the below picture. I don't know how to reconfigure my picture post program. I wanted it to get posted to my other blog for use in the background but before I knew it the picture got sent here.

I have always had a second blog but it has been a mish-mash of my spiritual side. If you are spiritually open then I say - Hey com'on down.

Just in case you're wondering... this is The Magician, the second card of the major arcana in the Tarot. The design is from the Mary Hanson-Roberts Deck (my fav). He is the focused producer who knows what he possess, what he can do with it, and why he is doing it.

Thanks for reading.

Day-dreaming a Challenge

2005-01-11T21:59:00.000-05:00

Being the overly eccentric Aquarian (both sun and moon) that I am, I tend to find esoteric stuff fascinating. Besides having a basic grip of the celestrial heavens just to understand the uniqueness of my own personality and that of others, I also am intrigued by the spiritual tool called the Tarot.

Now, I am not going to get into all the where, what, when, and whos of it (though I love a good conversation about it). I want to explain this idea I have been forming out of my own personal use of the cards.

These cards depict scenes, have attributes, symbols, people, and archetypical steps of life illustrated. If you don't read them for advice or personal growth they can be a great writing prompt. You don't even need to know anything about them. Just toss them around, pick one at random, and take the scene as the beginning or cornerstone of a short story. When you're having writer's block this can also help to free it. Just look at that card you chose at random and see if you could incorporate anything about it into the next few sentences.

All those ideas are great but thats just some side notes. Here's my idea.

I want to make a series of stories taking place in a sci-fi futuristic human universe and have the Tarot as the theme. I want to make 4 human colony worlds that hold high the attributes of each of the 4 suits of the minor arcana. I want to make a main character take the fools path through the major arcana where there really is an Empress, an Emperor, a Hermit, and etc. Some of the major cards could be objects he finds... Justice - a weapon, Strength - a beast (like the lion on the card).

The Tarot is already a story if you ever study it. It's the story of life. The major arcana (the cards with individual titles) being the spiritual side of the journy and the minor arcana (numbered suits, aces, and court cards) being the mundane.

I could make a book for each major arcana and title the chapters after minor arcana cards reflected in the chapter! (I just came up with that.)

Whether you believe it has powers or not, the Tarot is a great tool to get the mind thinking. I highly recommend picking one up (Waite Universal is the best if you want to see a popular basic depiction).

As much as this idea gets me excited I have to remember how daunting a task like that could be. It's not easy to create a developing series. Most popular series nowadays are mysteries where there is just another new equally exciting enigma to be solved by the main charcter. That type of main character just hangs up his or her spurs at the end. At the end of this series I am thinking of my main character will be elevated to a different plane of being... I think. I know I will have to have the ending in mind at any rate. I'll have to space out the major cards. It will be a delicate balancing act to keep the books equally as exciting and steadily build momentum.

Not to mention the fact that if the first book doesn't fly I can kiss the rest goodbye!

Have any of you ever thought about creating a series? Have any good ideas on how to space it out? Have you tried using a tool like the Tarot to stir inspiration? I'd love to hear about it.

Thanks for reading.

Future of Fiction

2005-01-11T17:53:00.000-05:00

I wonder if there is a new type of fiction on the horizon of this new Internet connect global community.

Thinking about the fiction of the future I came up with the vision of a IM style story.
imagine if someone wrote out a dialog in IM lingo? Any emotions would only be those that one wants the other to see. It would be up to the reader to piece together the true story behind the IMs. Do these people really love each other? Is one faking it? Is one lying about himself completely?

Do you think this would make interesting fiction? Or do believe it would be too ambiguous to be deciphered so our expectations can be satisfied?

JB1805: Let me know what you think.
PEEP01: Really?
JB1805: Yup :)

JB1805: Thanks for reading.

I'm back!

2004-12-29T20:36:00.000-05:00

Hi All

(At least a hello to Mike!)

I'm back. I should be receiving a notice when my degree is available to pick up, just about everything for the wedding is completely paid off or put together.

I think I have just one more meeting with the reception people, give the dj some cds, and salvage my nails - which have been breaking in the cold weather. I know the manicurist is going to have a heart-attack when she sees what she has to work with.

The holidays have been busy but good. The bridal shower took place right before Christmas. Speaking of such I'd like to share something...

My Fiance's mother was a wonderful woman. Though we hardly had any words in common, she was always extremely sweet with me. Some say it was because my Fiance was her young baby, but he tells me that she could see how deeply honestly I love him. She was always talking to me like I could completely understood and never stopped smiling - keeping in mind that this wonderful woman could be very strongly opinionated! But I was hardly judged by her. Instead I was her Civ-Civ (pronounced Jiv-Jiv), which meant a cute yellow baby chick (I'm blonde).

This woman treated me to luxuries I couldn't imagin. While visiting her in Turkey she was constantly treating us and slipping money into my pockets. She even had bought clothes for me to wear upon arriving!

Sadly she passed away shortly after we were engaged in September 03.

Not only did this woman lavish me with my first string of gorgeous natural pearls (from the Middle Eastern Seas) but I learned from my Fiance's sister that she had left something for me to be given when I marry her son. Again, this woman has given me too much. She left me a gorgeous set of diamond jewelry - the kind you see on stars as they walk down the red carpet. It took my breath away. The only things I could manage to think was "I can't wear these..." and "where would I wear them???".

This was also a very confusing woman. Her life wasn't an easy one. Coming from well-off, she ran away with my Fiance's father. She found away to mend family ties though she lost the one she had with her husband. Her attitude towards her kids was strange to me but I knew she loved them. She was a very beautiful woman who just wanted to try and enjoy life as she grew older living on her own in the same apartment my Fiance grew up in. Her physical heart didn't match the strength of her inner one and we all think that she knew things were getting worse.

When we heard the news we were still reminising about the 3 weeks we had just spent with her in Turkey. I was so greatful to have managed the trip. Being in debt for the rest of the year didn't matter anymore.

I still want to write something about her. I hardly knew her but she moved me. I want to honor her memory somehow. I fear bugging everyone for knowledge though... I fear finding something that would defame her. Maybe I could write a tale with a character inspired by her.

Does anyone else ever feel this? That you just want to write about someone and write to Time saying that this person should be there person of the year? (instead of BUSH :P)

Thanks for reading. I hope you comment.

Almost free

2004-12-07T14:09:00.000-05:00

Hey Everybody,

I'm almost free... I'm taking off tomorrow and Thursday so I can knock off that last book I have to read (The Name of the Rose) and do the test for it and another short test. I also have to meet with my DJ, the Limo service, and a florist or two.

Obviously my holidays are shot so I won't be shopping around. Oddly enough, as the holidays get closer you should see me posting more.

I'm definately looking forward to it :)

Thanks for hanging in there with me!

sniffle

2004-11-24T22:55:00.000-05:00

I miss blogging... *sniffle*

But my todo list is still too big to have time to compose a real post.

look!

1. Read Crime and Punishment - finish test.
2. Read The Name of The Rose - finish test.
3. Read The Stranger - finish test.
4. Finish Madame Bovary test.
5. Pray that I get all tests done and get my degree in less than a month.
6. Put downpayment on reception.
7. Meeting with photographer.
8. Third meeting with Pastor Ralph.
9. Apply for marriage license.
10. Make dozens of bridal registries for shower guests.
11. Look surprised at supposed surprise bridal shower.
12. Prepare for rumors to spread after reception about who didn't show.
13. Pray he doesn't run to Vegas in attempt to regain some past part of his life just days before the wedding.
14. Clean the damn house every weekend....... supposedly.
15. Keep loosing weight so the dress won't feel like a sausage casing.
16. Keep applying cream so my skin is healthy.
17. Keep nails good looking so the manicure woman won't have a heart attack.
18. Pray that a honeymoon is in the making cause it ain't on my list.

I think thats about it.

You single people out there... don't be surprised if you find yourself calling off the wedding thirty thousand times... thats just how they are.

One piece of advice... plan simple and don't let your budget waver more than a thousand dollars. Mine was supposed to be a dinner for 28 then it was 35 then is was 40 and now it's 46. SO NOW it's better have a real reception but I was lucky enough to get the best deal at a very classy place. STILL we only agreed because we could pay for it all without getting in debt. Debt can kill a relationship after a wedding. I already have college debt as it is :P

As soon as I get those books read I will be better off on my posting. I'm desperate to get them read before the end of the semester.

As always, thanks for reading.

Finally Posting

2004-11-16T12:01:00.000-05:00

Well... I think I lost all my readers at this point.

I have a good excuse though. I have less than two months to my
wedding, the holidays are approaching, and murphy's law has made
itself know.

Everything that could go wrong has. Well... not quite everything, but
enough to keep me from some of my important duties like class, my
blog, and reading other bloggies.

Would you believe we got a banquet place and sent out invitations but
the party grew so large we found ourselves qualifying for a nice
reception hall thats wants to give us the same price as the banquet?
*Sigh* I'm desperately hoping it all turns out for the best and I
have the time of my life. One thing is for sure. I am taking off two
days before the wedding so I can just SLEEP and RELAX. I am so
tightly tied up with all of this that I think I may pop.

Anyhoo, this is not just a bunch of excuse but a big apology to my
readers, if any of you are still around. I am very sorry to be so
busy that I can't post. This blog will have my undying attention
after Jan 8th... probably until I have my first born - which will be a
while.

I am so very thankful for your patience if you are still scanning my
blog from time to time. I promise to try and give myself and hour
every two weeks to try and sit down to write a post and read all of
yours.

Thanks again for your patience.

The World We're Writing In

2004-10-21T17:58:00.000-04:00

Stories that focus on finding truth, fighting back, achieving justice, or seeking revenge have been arriving on the New Fiction shelves ever since September 2001. People are looking for something reasurring during the War on Terror. There has been a boom of Nonfiction books on all the organizations, nations, religions, and concepts that were unknown to us before that time. The need for knowledge has become an obession and it leaves no time for recreation.

In my own life, I watch the news more. I listen to public radio so I can hear the BBC News Hour and objective stories on local news. I take the time to observe everything, remember it, and form an opinion. I'm seeking a resolution like everyone else and find it hard to focus on my novels at times or read books that take me to a less stressed place. I have almost a guilty feeling while watching a movie or reading a great book because I feel I'm missing something important or not using my time wisely.

But I need to remember that I am. And all you writers out there who write Sci-Fi, Fanasty, or Romance - don't think you're wasting your talent when you could be writing a report or article on the "important" issues today. In hard times there is a need to be useful but people need the regular fiction to give them a break from the stress of the world. Without that break we could enter a depression.

I wanted to say all this because that's what I'm feeling. I feel maybe I should be focusing on the larger picture and drop my stories for a more useful essay on my nation's lack of exportation. To inform people of something they need to know in order to understand our current national situation. It feels like a higher calling but people far more knowledgable on subject and working for the nation would probably have already blogged about it. I need to let the supposedly lofty purpose go and focus on what I started.

As for the books on the shelves nowadays, there will always be a new trend. Especially, now that books can be so easily published.

As always, thanks for reading.

Opening Line Picture Exercise

2004-10-02T23:28:00.000-04:00

My Opening Line: "Cal was always surrounded by gritty realism and it had been clogging his mind until he found himself starring into a small bundle of forget-me-nots." What's yours?

For the Author or For the Reader?

2004-10-01T21:00:00.000-04:00

Recently, I have come across yet another controversial topic for writers...

Do you write the book for you or for your reader?

For me, it's for the reader. I use to write only for myself. I wanted to take myself out of reality for a little while and writing allowed me to do that. Of course, I was the only one who ever read these stories. They were bad too... little guilty pleasures.

When my stories started to make their way into other peoples' hands then I began to think about those readers. I knew I wanted to write a particular story - one that I enjoyed, but I also wanted other people to be able to enjoy that story with me. Soon their enjoyment in my story was my driving force and still is.

However, I've read that some writers prefer not to keep the reader in mind at all (with the exception of keeping good grammar). These people state that they can only write the book that's "in them". All I can think of when I read about these people is: How did YOU get published? How do these people get published? My hypothesis: they must have natural genius, which is rare. Their advice is to write the book you were meant to write and I think that's not such a great idea.

Not everyone can just pop out a great selling book thats identical to the one they had in their mind. Most people need to "kill their darlings" as one of my teachers put it. Usually, a story blossoms from one image or idea or phrase and as it develops its gets further away from that starting point until the starting point looks out of place - and needs to be removed. This happened with my current novel. I accept the fact that my story has evolved from what I had begun to write. In fact, my main character was going to be a child until someone suggested a new main character. Boom, my story changed a lot and for the better.

I would like more advice on my story. I want to test out things. Experiement with others' intelligent ideas for my story. I'm sure with some imput I could have a great story. If I ever publish it I will be sure to share every secret to concentrating, every key I found to my writer's block, and every weird piece of advice that ever furthered my writing. I won't just say "Write the book thats in you" and leave the beginner to figure it out on their own without any idea of what the first step looks like.

How do you feel about this?

Wrapped up in Wedding Plans

2004-09-28T07:56:00.000-04:00

Here, I have a little story that would make a cute Short Story. In the past few weeks I had to change my wedding date 3 times. Now it's only 3 months away. The cause is an older sibling of my Fiance who decided to move overseas last year.

I hope we have the right date this time because I am working towards getting things engraved, embroidered, and what not. It might be small but it's still taking a lot of my time.

Anyhoo... THATS why I haven't been posting. Now thats things are coming together again I can breath and I will be posting again soon.

Thank you for your patience.