Death Will Knock

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Death Comes For Us All
Death knocks at every door, sooner
or later. It doesn't matter if you're
a CEO, leader, baker or candle-stick
maker. Sometimes in human opinion,
death knocks too early.

It can be reasoned that death is
merciful, even relieves suffering.
Perhaps, death is better for the
terminally ill.

Death has no patience for survivors
or mourners. Death claims and departs.
Death turns a deaf ear to pleas for
more time.


Where there is a thread of life, talk
and tell people how you feel. Often,
death surprises.

Cry for a love one, let it out. It's
all right. Don't be afraid to bring
that emotion to the surface. You'll
feel better.

I speak from experience. I lost my
mother, and my husband nine months
later.

Source: http://hubpages.com/hub/Death-Will-Knock

WikiLeaks Founder's $1.3 Million Book Deal

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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has
a $1.3 million book deal to cover legal
costs relating to his arrest and lawsuits
directed at his whistle blowing web site.

"I don't want to write this book, but I
have to," he told the Sunday Times. "I
have already spent £200,000 for legal
fees and I need to defend myself and to
keep WikiLeaks afloat."

The book will be published in the U.S. by
the Alfred A. Knopf publishing house, part
of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group at
Random House, and British publisher Canongate.

Assange told the British newspaper that he
will receive $800,000 from Knopf and about
$502,000 from Canongate.

WikiLeaks came under financial strain when
Paypal, MasterCard and Visa cut off all
processing of donations to the web site.
According to Assange, the web site has
lost approximately $650,000 since the
funding was stopped. The web site was
receiving approximately $130,000 in
daily donations.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20101227071913writ.nb/topstory.html

The New York Times Link To WikiLeaks

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David E. Sanger, a New York Times
reporter looked through the latest
WikiLeaks information and wrote
stories based on the leaked
material, said in an interview on NPR.

It "was never an easy decision to
publish national security information,"
but "at the end of this process, what
we did was responsible, it was legal
and it was important for a democratic
society."

The Times was the only American news
organization to receive government
documents that were released by WikiLeaks,
the Internet organization that specializes
in exposing government secrets through
leaked information.

WikiLeaks released about 90,000 documents
prepared by U.S. military sources on the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, this summer.

WikiLeaks cut its link with The Times,
offered the State Department cables to
two other American news outlets, CNN and
the Wall Street Journal. Both refused,
decided that its terms - including a demand
for financial compensation under certain
circumstances were unacceptable.

WikiLeaks decided not to work with The
Times on the latest leaks.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20101221113709writ.nb/topstory.html

How To Thread Information Into Poems

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Turn Any Information Into Poems

One topic can be the inspiration
for several poems. Let's look at
history, for example.

I was curious as to the name of
the person responsible for writing
"taxation without representation..."

Research confirmed that James Otis
was given credit for writing the
phrase.

Otis wrote and spoke-out to encourage
the American colonists to become
independent of England.

Here's a free verse poem off the
top of my head.

Stand Tall

James Otis

Massachusetts

Gent

Spoke-out

Seize colonists

Independence

From

Mother England

A second phrase grabbed my attention,
and it was: "If they want to have a
war..."

The words was spoken by captain John
Parker, April 19, 1775.

Parker battled, with a few men, three
companies of British soldiers.

Take a look at my Pantown poem.

We Came

Chilling April night melts into dawn

Men ravaged by time,

Boys not yet at full term

Stood for the battle.

Men ravaged by time

Sprinkled on a Boston road,

Stood for the battle

Strong of heart.

Sprinkled on a Boston road

Boys not yet at full term,

Strong of heart,

Chilling April night melts into dawn.

Select a topic of your choice and
create poems.

Believe In Self

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Believe In You

You must, first, believe in
yourself to succeed at life,
writing. People will, often,
fail to see your vision, goal.
They'll suggest a different
path for you.

If you have no belief in self,
anyone can persuade, turn, you
against what's right or your
goal. You'll believe, trust,
anyone or everyone.

Before long, confusion sets in.
From listening to others, stress
builds-up and sickness over-takes
you.

There's nothing wrong in considering
other opinions, but believe in self.
Do what's best for self. Live your
vision, dream.

Learn to say no, speak-up for self. If
you don't believe in self, who will?

Source: http://hubpages.com/hub/Believe-In-You

Publish Your Own E-Book

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

How To Create An E-Book
People are always on the look-out for
how to do, make, sell or profit. Life's
experiences are stuffed-full of writing
ideas.

Ideas are bought to life through the e-book
process.

E-book is an abbreviation for electronic book,
digital book. A reader is required before an
e-book can be read on your computer.

Benefits to the e-book process are many.

People will pay for informative products. The
low over-head costs, easy distribution through
a download/web site and publishers can't squeeze
in their vision appeals to most.

There's no need to search high and low for a
publisher when you can do the e-book process.

Decide on a subject to explore or write about.
Pick more than one writing idea. Select five.
Sometimes, there's nothing else to say about
a writing idea, or you get bored with it. If
one writing idea isn't working, go to the next
one.

A writing idea should excite your imagination,
and have mass appeal.

The title catches the reader's attention. Snap
his/her eyes back. Titles make statements,
question today's norm or give readers a new look
at a topic.

Some outline. The idea of graphics is kicked around
the mind. Graphics end-up as the e-book's cover.

The cover, graphics, should reflect the contents.
It, too, must please the eyes. A title is inviting.

Consider a Table of Contents, and an Appendix.

How will you spread the word about it? Viral
Marketing is used. Viral Marketing is free.
It saves time and money.

It means that social networks are used to
promote your e-book. Word of mouth spread
via the Internet works well too. Get creative.

Perhaps, a video on YouTube would stir-up the
buzz about your e-book. Start a chat on Facebook
about your e-book. Leave no social network
un-turned.

Tell people too. Let friends and relatives know.
Drop a word, start a conversation, about your
e-book when out.

E-book publishing is made with an Adobe PDF file,
which can be done using a full version of Adobe
Acrobat. Most computers are sold with a free version
of Adobe Reader.

Begin making your e-book by opening a blank document,
or Microsoft Word File. The font size is Roman 12
point, and single spacing is used. Or, you may
prefer Verdana, 11 point.

Sizes for e-books are 5 1/2 by 8 1/2, or 6 X 9 by
8 1/2. Adjust Microsoft Word File to your choice.

Name and book titles are in the header. Page numbers
are centered at the bottom of each page. Major points
are displayed in bold type.

The e-book process can become a business.

Retailers Open Doors On Thanksgiving Day

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Some retailers have different policies
and are opening their doors on Thanksgiving
Day.

Kmart, Sears and Toys'R'Us are a few stores
opening their doors to people looking to start
their Christmas shopping on Thanksgiving Day.

Walmart will price match circulars from
competitors, and will be open on Thanksgiving
Day too.

Here's a list of store openings, but check
your local listings too.

Giant Food: 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Wegmans: 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sears: 7 a.m. to noon

Safeway: 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Kmart: 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Walgreens: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Gap: 9 a. m. to 9 p.m.

Banana Republic: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Michael's: 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Toys 'R' Us: Opens Nation-wide to 10 p.m.

Walmart Supercenter stores will be open 24
hours on Thanksgiving, and most regular
Walmart stores opening 'til midnight
Thanksgiving night.

Ugly Betty Actor Hacks Mother To Death

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An actor wielding an ornate Freemason
sword hacked his mother to death early
yesterday in their Brooklyn apartment
while screaming out Bible passages/Masonic
references, police and witnesses stated.

"Repent! Repent! Repent!" Michael Brea,
shouted at his 55-year-old mother, Yannick,
during his explosion and the killing at their
Prospect Heights apartment, neighbors explained.

The Masonic sword was 3-feet long and was
for ceremonial use, per police sources.

Brea, 31, had roles in "Ugly Betty" and the
movie "Step Up 3D," was heard yelling about
the "architect of the universe," a term used
by Freemasons to refer to a supreme being.

"He kept chanting, 'Repent!'" Greg Clare, who
lives below the Breas. "He kept asking her if
she believed in Jesus Christ, if she believed
in God. She was yelling, 'Help me! Help me!'"

He was taken to Bellevue Hospital for psychiatric
evaluation, but said, "When I looked at my mother,
I saw the devil."

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20101124135937writ.nb/topstory.html

Cure For Writer’s Block

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

You're excited about writing, talked
with friends and family. The writing
itch will, finally, be relieved. You,
even, carved-out some space for writing.

The time has come for you to enter your
writing place. You ease down in front
of the computer.

Thirty minutes later, you haven't written
a word and can't think of anything to
write. Writer's block has crippled your
creative process.

Take a deep breath. Let it out slowly.

Glance out of the window, or around the
room you're in.

What do you see? The back of someone's
head? Perhaps, your eyes landed on a tree,
flower or bird.

A couch, chair, book or clock grabbed your
eyes?

The person, thing, that jumped into view is
what you'll write about.

Let's go through how the cure for writer's
block works.

Give some thought to what you want to write
about. Should your topic be fiction, non-
fiction or poems?

My eyes noticed a how-to writing book. I can
write an article, short story on a missing
page in the book or an essay about writing.

I decided to write a short story on a missing
page from the book.

The chirping bird outside my window could be
written about, a specific species.

The cure for writer's block works when you've
been assigned a project too. Simply, select a
phrase, word or theme from the project to write
about.

The cure for writer's block works, and it's
fun.

Test the cure for writer's block. Let me know
about your results.

The Game To Ignite Writing

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

A Writing Game
Select any word from a corner of your
mind, out of the room you're in, some
word heard during the day or a word
that plucks at your attention.

Take some time to twirl it around your
creative process. Here is where you
determine how the word rolls into a
writing project.

My word from the game to ignite writing
is wine.

You'll need a total of five words. Mix-in
four more words related to the original
word.

My original word is wine. Soothing, wet,
cold and relaxing float to my mind that's
related to wine. Or, they are four words
that work well with wine.

The words can be shuffled in any direction:
fiction, non-fiction or poems.

The following demonstrates how my words can
be used in the game to ignite writing.

"Fannie stopped by last night in the cold rain,
bottle of wine in hand." Fran sat in her
L-shaped kitchen across the table from her
sister, Freda.

"You know how I feel 'bout her," Freda said.

"She and the bag were really wet, limp even."

"How could she be limp?"

"I mean Fannie couldn't relax, kept peeking
through the living room's curtain." Fran sighed.
"Nothing I said soothed her.

"I think she's..."

The above story can ride-out in a short story
or novel.

Take a look at the poem centering around my
words.

In a wet twenty below

Sunny Minnie-

Wobbles down the street

Trying to get back,

Clutching her bottle of cold wine

To sooth her memories of life,

While each pain relaxes numb.

The game to ignite writing will help you
produce fiction, non-fiction or poems.
Put your own spin on it. Let me know how
the game to ignite writing helped you. Or,
it offered no help?

Deficit Panel Proposes Cuts

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

A White House commission proposes
to cut the federal budget deficit
by hundreds of billions a year.
Social Security benefits, middle
class tax breaks and defense spending
are of interest.

The initial plan is to stop various
breaks the middle class are getting
like the deduction for home mortgage
interest.

On Social Security, the plan would
slowly raise the retirement age to 68
around 2050, 69 by 2075. It would combine
various cuts to benefits with an increase
in taxes on wealthier people's incomes.
Also, it's looking to curb federal spending
on health care except what's needed for the
recently passed health care plan. This would
be achieved by introducing further changes,
including reform of medical/malpractice law,
and by slowing the growth of the Medicare p
rogram.

A version of the plan would dramatically lower
individual rates to 9%, 15% and 24%.

"Tough choices" are going to be necessary to
tame a deficit that has soared to more than
$1 trillion a year, President Barack Obama
shared with leaders of his own Democratic
Party.

"Before anybody starts shooting down proposals,
we need to listen, gather up all the facts, and
be straight with the American people," Mr. Obama
stated at a press conference Thursday in Seoul,
where he attended a Group of 20 nation's summit.

The commission staff's goal is to curtail growth
of the federal debt by roughly $3.8 trillion by
2020.

"In the end, the president is going to have to
decide whether to incorporate some of this into
the 2012 budget," David Walker, a former U.S.
comptroller general and an advocate for deficit
reduction. "He's going to have to lead, because
if the president doesn't lead on this, it goes
nowhere fast."

Closer Look At Humana's Medicare Plan Partnered With Walmart

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

A person enrolled in Medicare Part-D
of the Humana Walmart Preferred Rx
Plan, PDP, may save an estimated
average of more than $450 in 2011
on monthly plan premiums, prescription
medication co-payments and cost shares-
according to correspondence from Walmart's
spokes-woman Carol McCormick.

A nation-wide monthly plan premium of
less than $15 a month is the lowest plan
premium in 2011 for a stand-alone Medicare
Part D prescription drug plan offered in
all 50 states, and Washington, D.C., per
McCormick.

No matter where a person lives, the monthly
plan premium is still $14.80 a month.

There's an in-store co-pay on generic
prescriptions that start as low as $2
when plan members use preferred pharmacies
like Walmart, Neighborhood Markets or Sam's
Club pharmacies. Co-pays increase when
prescriptions are filled at non-preferred
pharmacies.

"One of the primary goals of health care
reform is to make health coverage more
affordable - and that's what we're doing
with the introduction of this Medicare Part
D plan," explained William Fleming, PharmD,
vice president of Humana Pharmacy Solutions.
"People are more likely to take the medications
prescribed for them when they can afford those
medications. And adhering to prescription-drug
regimens can enable people to be healthier and
prevent future illness. At Humana, we believe
that this prevention helps people live
healthier lives and achieve lifelong well-
being."

"We know every dollar counts, especially when
you live on a fixed income. We believe no one
should have to choose between buying their
groceries or their medications," shared John
Agwunobi, M.D., president of Walmart's Health
and Wellness division. "Financial health is a
fundamental part of a person's well-being. At
Walmart, the customer is always front and center,
and that is why we are committed to doing
everything we can to ensure seniors have access
to the medications they need at a price they can
afford."

Monday, November 15, people eligible for Medicare
will be able to sign-up for Humana's new Medicare
Part D plan, partnered with Walmart.

Determination: Key Writing Ingredient

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Determination

Determination is the key to any
writing project. It involves
organizing, allotting necessary
writing time and topic knowledge.

It's determination that will
stir-up your creative process
to start a writing project. It
encourages you to organize.

Organize

Organize what you'll need to get
prepared for the writing project.
Pick a writing time, day or night.
Three hours before you begin the day?
Set your alarm clock two hours earlier?
Use the time just for writing. Perhaps,
midnight works better for you? Dusk?

Bring everything you'll need to ignite
your creative process. Don't give yourself
an excuse to leave your writing project.
Need coffee, bring it. Orange juice?

Writing Time

Effective writing requires, at least,
two hours. This means your full attention
must be devoted to writing for no less
than two hours.

If for some reason, your mind drifts- stop.
Stand. Take a deep breath. Let it out slowly
through the mouth. Better? If no, try another
deep breath. Go back to your writing project
when ready.

Topic Knowledge

Topic knowledge demands understanding of the
subject. Topic knowledge, often, means research.
Ask experts.

Do you know someone who have experience with a
topic, lived through it?

A degree or certificate isn't necessary to
qualify one as an expert. A person who works
with a product, used it for years, can qualify
as an expert.

Determination is the key factor to inspire a
look, dig and find in producing writing master-
pieces.

Facebook New Places App: Deals

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

The social media giant made the
mobile "check-in" application
available to major merchants and
thousands of small/mid-size
businesses in the United States.

Facebook Deals purpose is to connect
users of Facebook Places to deals/specials
from: 24 Hour Fitness, Gap and Palms Casino
Resort- to name a few. Deals are only
available through Facebook's iPhone app
or touch.facebook.com. Android users can
now check into Places but not Deals.

The service is an extension of Places,
which lets smart-phone owners with
Facebook accounts share their exact
location and find where friends are.
Now, people will be notified of
discounts/deals at selected merchants
near them.

When a user logs into Facebook, he/she
can look for a list of "nearby places,"
some may or may not have a yellow price
tag or sticky to the right of them- that's
a deal. Open it by clicking. There are four
kinds of deals: individual deals, loyalty
deals, friend deals and charity deals.
There's even a UI that shows "punches"
on a virtual card for loyalty deals, Facebook
states, with discounts for those users who
bring new friends and customers.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20101104061455writ.nb/topstory.html

Black-Out in a Can: Four Loko

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Nine people became sick after
consuming Four Loko, or black-out
in a can, and other alcohol. Several
states asked the FDA to decide whether
caffeinated alcoholic beverages are
safe.

Police were called to a supermarket
parking lot. They found a girl passed
out in the back seat of a car, boy next
to her had a bloody nose. At the private
house the two had just left, three girls
laid on a bed, a barely conscious young
man was being dragged out of the back-yard,
another girl was face-down on the bathroom
floor and three more young people were
spread-out inside a car outside.

The site of the "party people," most of
them students at Central Washington
University in nearby Ellensburg looked
like they had been victims to a date
rape drug.

Police and medical investigators have for
the most part held the heavy consumption
of Four Loko responsible, known as black-out
in a can.

It is "upset...when our products are abused
or consumed illegally by under aged drinkers,"
Phusion Projects LLC of Chicago, which
manufactures Four Loko, said in a statement.

"The real problem is the drinker thinks
they're more alert and less impaired than
they actually are," said David Schardt, senior
nutritionist at the consumer advocacy group.
"They keep drinking to the point of being in
danger of alcohol poisoning. And that can lead
to death."

This week Central Washington University officials
banned brews temporarily on campus.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20101027065002writ.nb/topstory.html

An Important Lesson In Life

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Bullies Live On Every Street But
Special Stands Apart

A lesson to learn in life is that
bullies live in almost every house-hold,
but special stands apart. A special
person stands apart as bullies pack
together.

An error will come face-to-face with
bullies. Yet, they will insist on going
down the same path. They use anyone,
say anything, to shift blame. Or, they
give the impression that their actions
are right.

"I didn't know." Bullies are quick to
claim. "Whatever." The bullies' slogan.

They smile/joke about bullism.

The special person takes responsibility,
atones.

Bullies terrorize without care for who
gets hurts, and have no problem going to
the next level if resistance is shown.

The special person declines to partake,
gives comfort, aid.

Bullies have no regard for right and wrong.
The primary concern for bullies: their egos.

I, too, am a victim of bullism. I managed to
stand-up, apart, with help. Bullies don't
discriminate. They will pick on anyone,
anywhere.

If you are attacked by bullies, let others
know. Bullies feed-off fear. They take
pleasure in isolating.

The important lesson: Keep bullies at a
distance, and stand-up, apart, from them
for a quality life. Make plenty of noise
to bring attention to a bully's behavior.


Source: http://hubpages.com/hub/An-Important-Lesson-In-Life

Justice's Wife Wants An Apology

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Nearly 20 years after sexual harassment
allegations that almost stopped Clarence
Thomas's Supreme Court nomination, the
justice's wife, Virginia Thomas, telephoned
Anita Hill, his principal accuser, to ask
for an apology.

"I certainly thought the call was inappropriate,"
Ms. Hill explained through a spokesman. "I have
no intention of apologizing because I testified
truthfully about my experience and I stand by
that testimony."

Ms. Hill said she originally assumed the call,
which a spokesman said came 7:30 a.m. on a Saturday,
was a prank. She notified campus security, Brandeis
spokesman Charles Radin, which in a routine procedure
alerted the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"Good morning, Anita Hill, it's Ginni Thomas," the
message began. "I just wanted to reach across the
air-waves and the years and ask you to consider
something. I would love you to consider an apology
sometime and some full explanation of why you did
what you did with my husband. So give it some thought
and certainly pray about this and come to understand
why you did what you did. Okay have a good day."

Justice Thomas, nominated by President George H.W. Bush,
denied Ms. Hill's allegations and called the hearing
"a high-tech lynching." He accused committee staffers
of digging up "dirt" to block a black conservative
from succeeding the liberal Justice Thurgood Marshall,
the court's first African-American member.

The transcript was first published by ABC News.

How To Title Fiction

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Perfect Title

Titles are the first to be seen/read
by agents, publishers and your fans.
They should grab the reader's eyes and
attention. Titles should pluck at the
imagination.

Let's look at ways of picking the perfect
title.

1. The title sums-up your work. Read through
it. What group of words best describes your
fiction? Words that best plant an image, lasting
impression, in the minds of readers equals the
perfect title. The title should be exciting,
pose a thinking question, funny or mysterious.
It's never boring.

2. What are the key words? List them. Select the
words that best depict your work, and key words
search engines feed on.

3. Take a break from your work. Come-back in a day
or two. Did you come-up with a perfect title? Time
away, often, will help stir-up new titles.

4. You're refreshed. Read your fiction. What words
are shouting, pick me? Those are the words that will
title your story.

5. What gave you inspiration for the piece? Draw a
title from it.

6. The moral of your fiction is the best title?

7. Put it aside one more time. Come back to edit.
The editing process is over when you feel it's ready,
and the perfect title emerges.

Source: http://hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Title-Fiction

Easy Steps To Writing A Sonnet

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Sonnets originated in the thirteenth
century. It's a formal poem that started
in Italy. Sonnets have fourteen lines with
a certain rhyme and metrical scheme.

A Sonnet starts with a problem, and the end
replies with an answer.

Let's go through the steps to creating Sonnets.

1. Decide on what subject you want to address.
There was a time when Sonnets spoke of philosophy,
but todays's Sonnets reach into any topic.

2. State the issue, problem, in three stanzas of
four lines each.

3. The stanzas use a rhyme scheme with each letter
that stands for a Sonnet line.

4. Last words of all lines show-case the same letter
rhyme with each other.

5. The last section is displayed as a two rhyming
lines of poetry.

Read Sonnets to get a feel for writing them. It's
important to have fun with them.

How To Create A Poem

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Our senses gather tons of information
from the Internet, books, news headlines,
the work-place and moving along any day.
They provide excellent sources to write
poems from.

Let's look at the process.

1. Information runs to us from different
mediums like: books, the Internet and news
headlines. Sift through information to
shape images into poems.

2 A co-worker mentioned his/her daughter's
attraction to collecting critters. The next
step is to write poems.

3. Poems shake-wake-up readers when clear
images are sprinkled throughout them.

--The images must inspire happiness, sadness
or some emotion after reading your poems.

4. Decide on an idea for a poem. If more than
one idea pops-up, make note of them. Select
the idea that ignites your imagination.

--Go back later to work on ideas for poems
not picked.

5. Think of what captured your attention when
you read poems. Tap into it. Form word pictures
into images relating to your theme.

6. Title your work. The main idea is, sometimes,
used as a title. A title is pulled from the first
line, middle or end line.

7. Set your finished work aside. In a day or two,
edit it.

8. The editing is over when you feel a poem is
ready.

Souirce: http://hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Create-A-Poem

"Gun! Gun! Gun!"- Campus Lock-Down

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Colton Joshua Tooley, 19, on Tuesday
morning dressed in a white shirt, a
dark suit coat, a ski mask and an
AK-47.

Tooley's next step was to terrorize
the University of Texas campus for more
than 30 minutes by firing four shots in
air before going into the Perry Castañeda
Library. He stormed up a stairwell,
screamed, and took his own life with his
rifle on the sixth floor.

The campus went on lock-down, classes were
stopped. A search for another shooter started.
Police cleared the way for students to leave
campus.

Pedro Duran, 26-student, was on campus to meet
his sister as shots rang out. People shouted,
"Gun! Gun! Gun!" Duran explained. He shielded
himself behind a tree as shots were fired and
saw people run from the library.

Dan Culpepper, sophomore, in ROTC who is studying
sociology, shared he heard gunshots and headed
toward the sound.

Students were sent a UT Alert text message at 8:17
a.m., told them to stay where they were and to wait
for more information.

Police received multiple descriptions of the second
suspect, but the only armed man was Tooley, a
university spokesman said.

Tooley, sophomore, majored in math with no known
history of trouble. The son of a local veterinarian,
he graduated seventh in a class of 318 at Austin's
Crockett High School in 2009. Tooley's family said
they didn't suspect anything like this could happen.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20100929064604writ.nb/topstory.html

Titanic Truth Hidden

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Louise Patten, writer/granddaughter
of Titanic second officer Charles
Lightoller, announced that the truth
about what happened almost 100 years
ago was hidden.

The fear was of soiling the reputation
of her grandfather, who later became a
war hero.

The Titanic hit an iceberg in 1912 because
of a steering error, and sank as fast as
it did when an official persuaded the
captain to continue sailing, per
Wednesday's report.

The RMS Titanic was the world's biggest
passenger liner as it left Southampton,
England, for New York on its maiden voyage
in 1912- April 10. Lightoller, the most senior
officer survived, covered up the error in
two inquiries on both sides of the Atlantic.
He worried it would bankrupt the liner's owners,
and his colleagues would be jobless.

"Instead of steering Titanic safely round to
the left of the iceberg, once it had been
spotted dead ahead, the steersman, Robert
Hitchins, panicked and turned it the wrong
way," Patten shared with the Daily Telegraph.

"If Titanic had stood still, she would have
survived at least until the rescue ship came
and no one need have died," Patten continued.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20100923085215writ.nb/topstory.html

How To Be A Successful Writer

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

It's a must to, first, believe in
yourself, your talent. The belief
inspires passion, determination.

"I wish I could write like that."
A few have mumbled after looking at
an author's work.

It's a waste of time/energy to
complain/sigh about not being at a
certain writing level.

A successful writer will pluck-out
time to write, and uncover weak areas
to strengthen. Pour passion into your
work, and push doubt to the curb.

Actual writing time should be, at least,
two hours per day. The routine will
expose areas you need to work on.

Your writing lack vivid images, for
example. It means you have to stir-in
strong verbs.

Read authors you admire. Take note of
how they use strong verbs, and develop
clear word pictures.

Use your passion to re-write others'
work. Look at it from a different view-
point. If the first re-write isn't enough,
re-edit. Let your creative flow run free.

Dig from within. Determination will carry
you through.

People/friends will urge you to stop thinking
about writing. They'll point you in the
direction of Burger King for employment.

You must, first, believe in yourself, your
talent.

Source: http://hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Be-A-Success-At-Writing

How To Relax And Write

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Prepare a cup of coffee for yourself.
Take a few minutes to drink it.
Relax before going to your writing
place. Happy thoughts of writing ideas
should be flowing around your mind.
Relax and use the following writing
ideas, or technique.

1. Sing a tune that has played over
in your mind. Is there a note,
sentence, that can be used for an
interesting writing idea?

2. Who is your favorite pet, past or
present? What adventure can you write
about him/her?

3. Think of an incident in your life
to write a mystery about.

4. Go to your favorite beach, resort,
and write about it.

5. Grab a news headline to stir-up fiction
or non-fiction with.

6. Take a shower. Is there anything about
steam, water, to write about?

7. Put together an article on fashion.
What's hot? What's not?

8. Did a strange person pass you? What
gave the impression he/she was strange?

9. A name you always wanted to research,
curious about? Let others know how the
research process is done.

10. Go outside. Stand in the same spot
for 10 minutes without saying a word.
What ideas came to mind? What did your
senses experience?

Move to where you'll begin a writing
project, and create master-pieces.

How Best To Write Fiction

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Before deciding on a writing idea,
look at it from every possible view
and then pick how best to write
fiction.

Fiction is thought-of, imagined or
created stories. Characters are
sprinkled in a setting to solve a
problem. Before deciding on a writing
idea, look at it from every possible
view and then pick how best to write
fiction.

Ask yourself questions. Is there a
specific problem to address? How will it
be aprroached?

Look around the problems, situations,
in your life. Is there a mystery at work
to explore in writing? A haunted house
everyone talks about? Interesting headline?

Every work of fiction starts, has a middle
and ends.

Characters are stirred-in. Let the characters
show and tell the story through their actions,
dialogue.

Long fiction has a major problem and a minor
one. Short fiction handles one problem. Work
with as many problems as you're comfortable
with in long fiction.

Suspense is sifted in. Stack-up suspense,
and let a situation blow-up. A scene is two
paragraphs or pages long.

Any problem introduced must be given a fair,
satisfactory, conclusion.

Source: http://hubpages.com/hub/How-Best-To-Write-Fiction

How To Edit

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Editing is a necessary part of
writing. It's how the editor's
eye is developed, and your
writing becomes publishing ready.

Get comfortable. Bring everything
you'll need to finish a session of
editing. Place your coffee/tea in
its spot. A piece of toast, apple,
chewing gum and any other snack is
positioned in your writing place.
Keep what you'll want near-by, and
have no excuse to stop your editing
session early.

1. Read your article, chapter, poem
or project.

2. Put it down to have a snack.

3. Read it again, out-loud.

4. Check for typos, syntax errors,
grammatical mistakes and incorrect
writing.

5. Make sure strong verbs dominate.

6. Adjectives are used if there's no
other choice.

7. The editing process is complete
when every word has been turned upside
down. Or, when you feel it's time to
show-case it.

Source: http://hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Edit

"The Man Told Everyone To Just Stay Still"- Discovery Channel Building

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

James Jay Lee, of San Diego,
California, is known for protesting
the Discovery Channel's environmental
programming. He stormed the network's
Maryland headquarters carrying a hand-
gun on Wednesday, held three people
hostage for hours.

"These guys have been very sneaky and
deceptive as to their contribution to
the planetary problems. Just look at
their 'new' show about saving the planet,
'Planet Green,' to me, it's just another
show about more PRODUCTS to make MONEY,
not about actual solutions. We can't let
them get away with doing it anymore," The
words are from a web site registered to Lee.
It's believed Lee distributed a manifesto
outside the Discovery building several weeks
ago that called on the network to "broadcast
to the world their commitment to save the
planet." "All programs on Discovery Health
TLC must stop encouraging the birth of any
more parasitic human infants and the false
heroics behind those actions," the list read.

"The man told everyone to just stay still,"
A Manager explained.

Police reports indicate how he paid homeless
people to join his protest and carry signs
outside the building.

A crowd of more than 100 people gathered around
Lee, who referred to money as "just trash" and
began throwing it in the air.

Discovery Communications LLC operates cable and
satellite networks in the U.S. including The
Discovery Channel, TLC and Animal Planet.

Discovery Communications employees and a security
guard were not harmed. The police saw Lee point a
hand-gun at a hostage via security cameras.

He was shot and killed by police, according to
authorities.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20100902101610writ.nb/topstory.html

Morality Laced In Facts

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

The facts play a major role in the
side I'm on, and morality influences
it. Facts can't be pushed aside, because
they make the case. Facts speak for
themselves. The question is: Do you have
enough moral fiber to do what's right?

"Who cares?" Friends said." "What's moral
for him/her isn't for us."

A moral value system is how human beings
treat one another. Moral human beings treat
one another as he/she wish to be treated.
It's easy to go-along with the crowd-friends.
It takes inner strength and morals to stand
for somethng, to rise above the crowd.

It's the difference between losing freedom
and living a good quality life. Freedom is
lost when a person ends up behind bars or in
the legal system. A life of quality is picking
to live, work, in a certain place.

When facts are ignored, morals pushed aside, a
human being is lost. It's very hard to find the
way back. Most times, it's impossible.

Never push-aside morality laced in facts because
a friend or relative disagrees.

Source: http://hubpages.com/hub/Morality-Laced-In-Facts

How To Be The Best Writer

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

The secret to being the best writer
is practice, and often. Writing the
article, post, paragraph, when you
get a chance never happens. A problem,
situation, usually pops-up to stand in
the way.

Get in the rhythm of writing by reaching
your goal in steps. Write one or two pages,
instead of five, for example.

Select a time during the day or evening
just for writing. Surround your writing
place with writing related items. It
should include a computer, typewriter,
books that inspire your creative flow,
pens and any other writing producing
tools required.

Avoid non-writing interruptions such as
exercise equipment or computer games.

Turn-off your cell phone, click-off the
radio/television and begin writing. Writing
time should be when others aren't around
to disturb you. This time is for you to
write, be the best writer possible.

"I've done the above steps, but still don't
have any writing ideas." A few people said.
"Drawing blanks."

Think about the day before, two days earlier
or a month ago. Was there an experience you
witnessed that circles your mind? A news
headline caught your attention?

Let's look at an example.

You were waiting for a train. A middle aged man
rushed passed you. Seconds later, man two sped
through the gathering crowd. The first man
glanced back, saw the second man and moved
faster.

The incident is material for a spy story,
mystery. There's no limit to what path the tale
takes.

The news headline: "Dr. N. Busted" is enough to
spin-off an essay. What would you write about
the headline?

Write down the points you want to say, make, about
the headline. You're on your way to writing, being
the best writer.

Facebook's Location Tool: Places

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

On Wednesday, Facebook started a
location service. Mobile device users,
owners, with Facebook accounts can give
friends their exact location. The service
is free.

The service works with iPhone, iPod, Touch,
Black-Berry, iPad, Torch and Android devices.
The logo is a purple icon situated above a
map image.

Click on "Here Now" to find which friends
are where.

'Places' is a hit with consumers and advertisers.
It's divided with small businesses, Greg Sterling,
independent social networking analyst explained.

"What we see with Facebook is a massive learning
curve. Every time they make a change, consumers
scramble to figure out the privacy settings,"
Rainey Reitman pointed out-spokeswoman for
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse in the US. "Location
data is tied to people's safety, if people know
where you are, they know where you're not. Your
location data is some of the most sensitive data
we have. I expect we'll see from the get go people
who don't understand how to control the privacy
settings," she continued.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20100819072034writ.nb/topstory.html

Lindsay Lohan: Could Be Out of Rehab Early

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Lohan's doctors at UCLA Neuro-
Psychiatric Hospital could free
her of rehab as early as this
week per TMZ's sources.

Doctors are leaning toward the
belief that her psychiatric problems
aren't as bad as first thought, and
she isn't bi-polar according to the
same sources.

Doctors, too, have doubts about the
drug dependency issues. It was reported
that Lohan had problems with Adderall,
which needs more inpatient care.

Doctors think she's a candidate for
out-patient care.

A judge has to approve the early release.

The doctors have to write their final report,
and Lohan's lawyer has to return to court
with it. The lawyer has to request that
Lohan be set-free.

It's believed that if doctors feel it's in
Lohan's best interest than the judge will
agree.

"Eat Pray Love"- Review

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

"Eat Pray Love" is based on Elizabeth
Gilbert's best-selling memoir about a
freelance writer residing in New York
whose marriage is decaying and a quest
for happiness.

Julia Roberts stars as Elizabeth Gilbert.

Elizabeth Gilbert leaves her husband, gets
into a relationship with a younger man and
spends a year praying across India, eating
through Italy and falling in love with Bali.

Gilbert goes to India to pray. She wants to
become independent, free of men.

In Bali she falls in love with a Brazilian man,
Felipe (Javier Bardem).

Gilbert makes a few decisions that are hard to
understand. Perhaps, she doesn't understand them
either.

The men in her life fail to understand the reasons
for Gilbert's unhappiness, and they were unclear to
me as well. She feels bad over the pain caused to
ex-men in her life. It will be an on-going struggle
to find peace for her.

Julia Roberts and cast members give a good performance.

Writing Ideas: Exist In Letters

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

The Letter Writer

Have you written letters, but, for
one reason or another, never mailed
them? Pull the letters out.They have
a wealth of ideas for writing. The
time has come to stop hiding-away
your writing.

Letters are an expression of the
inner self, intended goals, times in
history and ways lives are groomed.

Stories pleading to be told sit buried
in written letters. Non-fiction for the
picking awaits, and poetry is dancing
to be re-written.

Ask friends and relatives if they own
letters of yours.

Select funny situations or not, places
visited and carve new projects, tales.

Expand on one point as you write about
visiting wacky, crazy, cousin Steve. He
really dances when there's no music playing.
A character based on his oddities would
make a good comedy?

He allowed the closed room to be explored.
You were getting comfortable in the old house
until a dead body showed-up. All kinds of
writing ideas flood in as letters are read.

What interesting writing ideas exist in your
letters?

Source:
http://hubpages.com/hub/Writing-Ideas-Exist-In-Letters

American Idol Winner Fantasia: Attempted Suicide

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

The attempt follows news of the 26-year-
old being named in a divorce petition,
because of an 11-month relationship with
a married man. She used sleeping aids and
aspirin.

Paula Cook said that Fantasia's
relationship with her husband, Antwaun,
ended their marriage. She claimed to have
intimate video footage of the two together.

Fantasia denied parts of Cook's allegations,
and said she was not responsible for ending
the marriage.

Photos emerged of Fantasia with Cook.

Fantasia's "heart was broken and is sorry for
any pain she may have caused," Brian Dickens-
spokesman.

The police is treating the incident as an
attempted suicide.

She was found collapsed in her closet, at home,
in North Carolina.

"She was overwhelmed with the lawsuit and the
media attention. Fantasia is stable now. She
will be released from the hospital soon," her
spokes-person assured.

Fantasia was American Idol's third season winner.

Fantasia was a single mother when fame stormed
her on American Idol. She has a daughter, Zion.

TMZ reported that she's in stable condition.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20100811062246writ.nb/topstory.html

Re-Fit Writing

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

It's time to edit your non-fiction,
fiction, poetry, but there are other
things you need, want, to do. You,
too, regret the task of plucking-out
titles, lines or paragraphs. Stop. There's
no need to throw them away. Simply, re-use
your writing.

Re-use sliced away editior-grabbing titles,
prancing lines or page turning paragraphs into
new projects.

Jot them down on three by five index cards,
a computer file or note-book. One line can
spell-over into many different projects.

I wrote a scene about characters in a power
struggle. It was fast paced, and to say one of
the character's knees buckled didn't fit into
the scene. I realized it after going back to
edit.

I made notes on a computer file.

Months later, I was scanning through the file,
and peeled away the start of a new project.

The new project was about human-like beings in
a corporate setting. It wasn't the only idea.

In conclusion, there is always a world, setting,
waiting for reuseable words.

Source: http://www.hubpages.com/hub/Re-Use-Your-Writiing

Facebook Users Listed On Bit Torrent

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

The data of 100 million Facebook
users was emptied on the file
sharing service Bit Torrent.

Ron Bowes, Canadian security researcher,
wanted to help with the testing of login
attacks.

Bowes wanted to help other researchers, and
he put the information on Bit Torrent. It
was downloaded several hundred times, and
made its way to Pirate Bay.

Bowes pulled account names, URLs and contact
details. The names of those users' friends,
even if they were not listed in search engine
results.

"As I thought more about it, and talked to other
people, I realized that this is a scary privacy
issue," per Bowes blog post. "I can find the name
of pretty much every person on Facebook." Facebook
helpfully informs you that "anyone can opt out of
appearing here by changing their Search privacy
settings," but that doesn't help much anymore
considering I already have them all and you will
too, when you download the torrent. Suckers!" His
post continued.

"People who use Facebook own their information and
have the right to share only what they want, with
whom they want, and when they want," Facebook's
statement. "In this case, information that people
have agreed to make public was collected by a single
researcher and already exists in Google, Bing, other
search engines, as well as on Facebook. Similar to
the white pages of the phone book, this is the
information available to enable people to find each
other, which is the reason people join Facebook."

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20100729071824writ.nb/topstory.html

President Obama: Racial Labels Don't Matter

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

President Obama isn't concerned if
people see him as Black or Multi-
Racial, he explained on ABC's
"The View" today.

Barbara Walters wanted to know why
he didn't see himself as Bi-Racial.

Mr. Obama told of after going through
an identity crisis as a teen, it dawned
"if the world saw me as African American,
then that was something I needn't run
away from, that's something that I could
go ahead and embrace."

"I'm less interested in how we label
ourselves, I'm more interested in how we
treat each other. And if we're treating
each other right, then I can be African
American, I can be Multi-Racial, I can be
you name it, what matter is, am I showing
people respect, am I caring for other
people," he explained.

The Shirley Sherrod incident was mentioned.

"There are still inequalities out there.
There's still discrimination out there,"
he said. "But we've made progress."

There was concern, hopelessness, in the
country after his election. His administration
took steps in response to the economic decline,
such as bailing out the auto industry, became
controversial, he admitted.

"We live at a time when a lot of people are
thinking about the next election instead of
the next generation," he went on.

President Obama had criticism for being on the
show.

Lindsay Lohan's Life In Jail

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

"Lindsay was crying when she came in,"
Tiffany Hawes, was set-free as Lohan
entered jail. We started saying, 'God
bless you Lindsay.'

Lohan was allowed to take prescription
drugs, like attention deficit disorder
drug Adderall per TMZ.com.

Lohan's sentence began Tuesday at the
century Regional Detention Center-
Lynwood, California.

Her sentence was 90 days, and 90 days at
a rehab for probation violation. Her actual
stay could be less for good behavior.

New inmates are called fish. Each is given
a fish kit. It has a tube of toothpaste,
tooth brush, 3 packets of cream deodorant,
shampoo, bar of soap and a sandwich.

"Nothing is name brand. They're all generic
and cheap quality," said Michelle, former
inmate who decided not to give her last
name.

Lohan will be housed in her cell alone, and
was placed in the special needs unit. It is
for high-profile inmates such as celebrities,
police officers and public officials who
could be targets for attack by other inmates,
said Steve Whitmore- sheriff's spokesman.

Get High Drugs Online

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Children across the country are
getting high on Internet drugs.
Teens are getting high online,
because of MP3s that send them
into a state of ecstasy.

According to Kansas News 9, it's
called "i-dosing," and an online
dealer supply the digital drugs
through head-phones.

I-dosing is droning noise and
listening to music. The web sites
promise to get you high.

"Kids are going to flock to these
sites just to see what it is about
and it can lead them to other places,"
Mark Woodward- Oklahoma Bureau of
Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs spokesman.

Teens are getting a high off of tracks to
"Gates of Hades," and it's on YouTube,
free. The first hit is free.

It's reported that those who want a constant
high can buy tracks to bring the same effects
as marijuana, cocaine, opium and peyote.

A 40 page guide explains how to get high
on MP3s.

Officials are looking closely at it.

Kansas' Mustang Public School district sent
letters to parents about it. They've banned
iPods at school, News 9 reported.

AT&T Faults iPhone

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

AT&T faults iPhone for slow upload
speeds on 3G wireless gear from
supplier Alcatel Lucent.

AT&T in a statement, Wednesday, said
the software problem in Alcatel Lucent
is restricting data upload speeds from
smartphones.

"AT&T and Alcatel Lucent jointly identified
a software defect- triggered under certain
conditions- that impacted uplink performance
for Laptop Connect and smartphone customers
using 3G HSUPA capable wireless devices in
markets with Alcatel Lucent equipment,"
explained Jenny Bridges, spokes-woman.

"This happens to less than 2 percent of our
wireless customer base," Bridges continued.
"White Alcatel developed the software fix- we
are providing normal 3G uplink and consistent
performance for affected customers with HSUPA
capable devices."

AT&T isn't using Alcatel Lucent gear in all
of its network. The glitch is in certain regions
of the country like: New York, Philadelphia,
Washington D. C., Salt Lake City and Seattle.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20100708060647writ.nb/topstory.html

Turn Any Idea Into Fiction

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Ideas for writing fiction are
everywhere. They come from living
life.

Take a look at your life. What event
or situation stands-out in your mind?
Stir-up the reason it was funny, sad
or shocking. Put a new spin on it.

Sometimes, you’re not sure what direction
to go with a writing idea. Simply, start
writing. Jot down everything you remember
about the idea.

If necessary, turn the writing idea upside
down.

Let’s look at possible writing ideas.

A co-worker has a habit of snooping,
gossiping, about what goes on at the
work-place.

The co-worker, Jane Gossip, arrived earlier
than usual for work, and saw the manager
whispering with another employee.

“I can’t go,” Sarah replied.

Sarah turned to walk-away, gasped as her
eyes found Jane.

“How long you been standin’ dere?” Mr.
Canulowski barked.

“Just a second or so, why?” Jane fibbed.

“Go to work,” he said.

Sarah went to her desk.

Jane tipped around telling stories about
Sarah and Mr. Canulowski.

Before long, Jane spoke of people in the
shadows, and calls where no one said
anything.

The writing idea can be displayed in a short
story, or a longer work of fiction. What would
you write? Write no less than 2,000 words.

A second writing idea surrounds a person
stuffing food in his/her pants at the market.

Will a character alert security?

A story begins with two characters
exchanging words about stealing.
Your opinion?

Idea three is about a teen who runs
over to a character for help.

“Someone is after me, help.”

A character offers to escort the teen
to security.

The character begins following, but
stops. The teen urges the character
to come-on.

Two other teens appear before the
character can get help.

Explore other storylines.

There’s no limit to where writing ideas
are found. Flip an idea upside down
to shake-awake your creative flow.

Writing Prompts: What Are They?

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

A writing prompt is a technique, word(s)
association, to wake-up your creative
process.

Some people keep writing prompts by
their beds to start the day off. They need
the stimulation before they’re seated in
their writing places. It gives them an extra
boost.

How Writing Prompts Work

Writing prompts can be a favorite quote,
remarks heard, something in a journal or
a phrase.

Someone awakened from a night’s rest, for
example, and scanned his/her journal.

A motivating phrase, word, is selected, and
then he/she goes through his/her routine.

The phrase, word, is swirled around the mind,
to form writing ideas, plots or poems.

Actual Writing Prompts

“I wish they would only take me as I am.”
Vincent Van Gogh

“History repeats itself, and that’s one of
the things that’s wrong with history.”
Clarence Darrow

“Ideas are the root of creation.”
Ernest Dimnet

“You must, first, believe in yourself.”
Marcella Glenn

Discussion Of A Writing Prompt: “Ideas
are the root of creation.”

Read it out-loud, several times. What does
it mean to you? What comes to mind after
reading it?

Write anything, everything, that springs
to mind. Will you write a story? Poem? Do
research for a non-fiction piece?

Goal

Write 500 words about the quote, or take
the quote to any length you’re comfortable
with. Twist your idea down a new road. Be
creative.

Use More Than One Quote

Take more than one quote, prompt, to work with.
Look at every quote upside down and inside out.

Critique Later.

Once your piece is done, put it away. Work on
something else, or start a new project.

A break is needed to came-back to a project
refreshed. You’re better able to spot errors.

Let me know your results.

Writing prompts add the necessary spark to your
creative process.

Taking Notes: How?

Have a question? Agree, disagree,
with me? Leave me your opinion.

Taking notes is as individual, different,
as each person. My note taking practices
wouldn’t be the same as yours.

It’s important, still, to write-out enough
of an idea to later understand what it was,
your line of thinking at the time or what
avenue you wanted to stroll down with the
idea.

Memory will not serve well as you’re raking
through it.

Make sure jotted down ideas are clear,
understandable, to you.

You’re at the mall, for example, and pass-by
a fat guy delivering boxes.

He stops, plucks out his cell phone to chat.

“She’s here with pink pants on.” His voice
carried to where you were window
shopping.

Writers are always listening/looking for
writing ideas.

Could that be an idea? Maybe?

Let’s look at how to take notes on the
possible idea.

1. Delivery person spoke about a female
wearing pink pants.

2. Fat delivery person rude, loud.

3. Fat delivery person, at mall, talked
on cell phone instead of working.

4. Delivery person at mall was stalking
a lady in pink pants.

The key is to write information that will
bring your thoughts back to the time an
idea dawned.

Write the date and time if it will help.
What specifically made you take notice of him.
Describe your idea in a paragraph, more or less
words? Brief out-line?

You could prefer to text, record or leave a
message for yourself about a writing idea.

Decide on what method works for you. The goal
is to have fun with it.

Successful Writer: What’s Required?

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

A successful writer is required to have
passion, determination and believe.

Passion

The feeling of ‘I have to write’ should be
your itch, at the top of your “to do” list.

I know your life is busy, probably multi-task
daily. Still, find, at least, two hours per
day to write. During the day or night, pick
a time right for you.

Bring everything you’ll need to your writing
place. Coffee, gum, fruit or anything else
to kick-start your creative flow.

Turn down/off the television, radio or
remove any disturbances.

Wear comfortable clothing, slippers.

Don’t allow anyone, anything, to keep you
from writing, reaching your dream.

It’s required for the successful writer
to practice. Practice hones, sharpens,
your writing skills. Your style, voice,
develops.

You’ll make mistakes through the learning
process. With time, you’ll recognize errors,
and correct them.

Correcting errors is done during the
critiquing process. Finish writing, and put
your work aside.

Give yourself a break from it. How long of
a break you take depends on how large the
project is. The larger the project, the
longer the break. You’ll come back refreshed,
better able to see mistakes.

Determination

This is where your decision to write is clear,
final. You took the step.

You’re no longer thinking, maybe. You’re at,
I will be a writer, am a writer.

“They’re hirin’ at Wal-Mart.” One doubter/
friend said.

There’s nothing wrong with applying for jobs.

Still, find time to write. Don’t forget your
writing goal, dream.

Keep a pen and pad with you at all times. A
writing idea can pop-out without warning.
Scribble down enough of the idea to explore
later.

When an idea dawns, write it down. The successful
writer knows if you don’t write it down, you’ll
forget it.

Believe

It’s required for the successful writer to believe in
him/herself.

“Forget writing.” A friend said. “Too much trouble,
and no reward.”

You, the writer, have to smile at comments like that.
It doesn’t matter that no one believes you have what
it takes. You must have the courage to believe in
yourself, talent.

In conclusion, it’s required for the successful writer
to write in the face of doubters, muster courage
as rejection slips hit and believe you can.

Fantasy: How To Write It?

Have a question? Agree, disagree,
with me? Leave me your opinion.

Writing is exciting, fulfilling,
but should be thought-out.

Answer a few questions before you
begin writing. Make notes as you
answer the questions.

Questions are:

1. What problem will the story address?

Think of stories you’ve read. Recall
what interested you. Your story should
address issues that interest you, and
appeal to others. Start writing.

Begin in the middle of a problem.

2. Where should the setting be?

The library where a character spends
time in the Fantasy Section? He/she
dozed, and was awakened by a giggling
pink-colored creature. The character
sees he/she is no longer in the library.

3. Should the story address a myth,
legend, truth?

People and creatures of different
colors, sizes, appear,- even a few dragons?

4. Are my characters life-like, believable?

Any, all, characters must be believable.
They should have human traits too. No
character is all bad or all good.

5. Where will the story begin? In a closet?
Dragon Land?

“Where am I?” The character jumped to his
feet.

What should be the next line or action?

The best place to begin a story is in the middle.
Readers get a look at how characters handle problems,
see who they love to hate and share in the story’s
experience.

6. What age group will the story be directed at?

Will your story be for children, teens or adults?

Finally, have fun writing.

Sausage, Bacon, and Hot Dogs = Heart Attack Risk

A study by Reuters points-out evidence
that processed meats raises the risk
of heart disease and diabetes.

Researchers base their conclusions on
1,600 studies. One hot dog per day, 1.8
ounces of processed meats- cured, smoked,
salted or preserved with nitrates- increases
the chance of a heart attack by 42 percent.

The risk of diabetes goes up by 19 percent.

They found unprocessed meats, beef, pork, had
no effect on heart disease, diabetes- even if
the meats had the same amounts of saturated
fat and cholesterol.

Processed meats have 4 times the sodium, salt.

"To lower risk of heart attacks and diabetes,
people should consider which types of meats
they are eating," explained Renata Micha,
the Harvard School of Public Health.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20100520084734writ.nb/topstory.html

Former Nazi Guard: Deported

"Anton Geiser must be held to account
for his role in the persecution of
countless men, women and children,"
explained Assistant Attorney General
Lanny Breuer. "The long passage of time
will not diminish our resolve to deny
refuge to such individuals."

An immigration judge ordered deportation
of Anton Geiser, 85, who had been living
in Pennsylvania since emigrating from
Austria after the war, explained the
Justice Department.

He was denied citizenship in 2006 once
he admitted to being an armed SS guard
at three Nazi concentration camps, and
had orders to shoot if anyone that moved
to escape, the Justice Department declared.

"Without Anton Geiser and other members of
the SS Death's Head guard battalions, the
Nazi concentration camp system could not
have accomplished its diabolical objectives,"
Eli Rosenbaum- Justice Department's new
Human Rights.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20100519142217writ.nb/topstory.html

Arizona's Law Could Lead To Civil Rights Violations

Have a question? Agree, disagree,
with me? Leave me your opinion.

Eric Holder- Attorney General- is
contemplating a federal lawsuit
against Arizona's new immigration
law.

"We are considering our options,"
Holder explained. Grounds: the Arizona
law could lead to civil rights violations,
he continued.

The law, as it stands, gives police
permission to question anyone about proof
of legal United States residency if there's
suspicion he/she could be in the country
illegally.

Law-makers altered, amended, it to let the
police inspect a status only if he/she has
been jailed or stopped.

Supporters stick to the idea that there's no
racial profiling, and the law will stop
mounting crime from illegal immigrants.

Critics announce that the law paves a road to
racial profiling.

Tucson and Flagstaff's, in Arizona, city
councils have plans to dispute the immigration
law in a court. The debate goes on.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20100509181323writ.nb/topstory.html

King of Pop's Ex-Lawyer: Dead

Have a question? Agree, disagree,
with me? Leave me your opinion.

The ex-lawyer of King of Pop, Michael
Jackson, was found dead today. Peter
Lopez, 60, married to Catherine Bach,
56-year-old actress, was found in the
couple's California home.

Lopez died of a gun-shot wound to the
head, self-inflicted according to Craig
Harvey, operations chief with the L.A.
County Coroner's Office. Lopez worked
with song-writers, singers and producers
too. He was a founding partner of the law
firm Lopez Lange & Klein. "We are deeply
shocked and saddened by the unexpected loss
of our friend and partner, Peter Lopez,"
the firm expressed.

"I've known Peter for 20 years. I can't
think of a nicer person," said Michael
Jackson's former general manager, Raymone
Bain. Lopez was known as lawyer to the
stars.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20100501181230writ.nb/topstory.html

KFC's Mission: Make The Largest Donation In History

Have a question? Agree, disagree,
with me? Leave me your opinion.

KFC's mission is to donate the largest
amount of money in history- to Susan G.
Komen for the Cure. KFC's Buckets for
the Cure has a pink web site. It displays
survivor stories, and is stuffed with breast
cancer facts.

KFC promised to donate 50 cents from each pink
bucket of their Original Recipe or grilled
chicken to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. KFC's
mission is to make the largest donation in
history per its web site. The campaign runs
until May 5, 2010.

There's skepticism about the company's unclear
message, in light of its new addition. The new
sodium-fat filled Double Down sandwich with 540
calories, 32 grams of fat and 1,380 milligrams
of sodium.

The grilled version spins-out 460 calories, 23
grams of fat and 1,430 milligrams of sodium.

Barbara Brenner, executive director of Breast
Cancer Action, shares her opinion. It's an
organization that calls itself a watch-dog
group that wants to compel changes to end
breast cancer.

She explains to CNN that KFC is slapping a
pink ribbon on products that aren't healthy.

KFC has raised $2 million.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20100429165354writ.nb/topstory.html

Creative Writing Ideas: Where Are They?

Have a question? Agree, disagree,
with me? Leave me your opinion.

Creative writing ideas are all
around you. You, simply, have
to pluck them, and feed your
creative flow.

Creative writing ideas exist in
a news headline, chatting teens
at the train station, mall, or
conversations at the doctor's
office.

A headline in the news. The following
is an example. The Brain Isn't Set-Up
To Multi-Task.

If you can't do more than two activities
at a time, don't become upset, depressed.
A study proposes that the brain isn't
set-up to handle more than two activities...

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20100420184757writ.nb/topstory.html

My idea for a fiction character is to
have him/her able to perform up to 5
tasks at one time.

Friends, family, are amazed. The character
wonders if he/she was switched at birth, and
problems hit him/her the moment he/she
starts asking questions.

You woke-up late, burned the coffee and
tripped over a slipper. You, finally, made
it to the train station in one piece.

Two teens are chatting about school.

A possible idea is use a the teen's red
colored hair as a dress code for a female
character. She wears red colored everything.

Look at the idea of over-hearing a conversation
at the mall. A murder plot was being planned.
Two men stare at you, you quickly depart.

How would you write the tale?

You heard, at the doctor's office, the friendly
doctor is being sued for sexual harassment.

A character is stirred into being based on
that conversation. He/she becomes an advocate
of sorts. Or, how would you create the
character?

There's isn't a shortage of writing ideas.
Listen/look for possible creative writing
ideas as your day unfolds, and make notes.

Re-Cap Search Feature On Twitter

Have a question? Agree, disagree,
with me? Leave me your opinion.

Twitter's search engine is stuffed
full of knowledge about anything,
everything, pertaining to what's
going on now. Let's say a friend
mentioned today that Marcella Glenn
entered school B in a contest. Only,
it was several days ago.

Twitter, as it stands, has no way to
re-cap the link to the elementary school,
or find out anything about the contest.

On Wednesday, Google introduced a re-cap,
replay, search feature that will allow a
search for tweets- in a given time period.

"Tweets and other short form updates create
a history of commentary that can provide
valuable insights into what's happened and
how people have reacted." Dylan Casey,
product manager for Google real-time search,
scribbled in a blog post. "We want to give
you a way to search across this information
and make it useful."

Let's look at how it works. After you do a
Google search, click on the Show Options link.
Recent tweets will show-case pertaining to
your search.

A chart appears at the top of your results.
The chart allows you to search by hour, day,
month. Now, the friend can search for which
school Marcella Glenn entered into the contest,
and use the link:
http://www.care2.com/schoolcontest/4201/989/?refer=24718.01.1271184768.147053.

The service is available back to February 11,
2010, but the archive will soon allow users
to search results back to March 21, 2006. The
first tweet was created March 21, 2006.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20100415093955writ.nb/topstory.html

Microsoft Office 2010 Give-Away

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

It's Microsoft's plan to give-away
the software in hopes of making more
money in the long-run.

"People will be exposed to the Microsoft
Office 2010 experience from the minute
they turn on their computer," Stephen
Elop explained, Microsoft Business
Division President.

Microsoft is predicting 80% of the computers
sold at retail, after the release of Microsoft
Office 2010, will have the starter edition of
Microsoft Office 2010. Microsoft is proposing
to computer makers that they install the basic
version of Microsoft Office 2010 on new machines.

The Office Starter software is the essential
version Excel and Word. There is a fee for the
upgrade of Microsoft Office 2010.

A product key card is available for Microsoft
Office 2010, used to upgrade the basic version
of Excel and Word.

Microsoft Office Starter will take the place
of Microsoft Works.

Computer makers are installing the full version,
which can be unlocked once it's paid for. Microsoft
intends on loading up stores with boxed copies,
key cards and options to buy Microsoft Office 2010.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20100408185036writ.nb/topstory.html

How does pre-writing help your writing?

Have a question? Agree, disagree,
with me? Leave me your opinion.

Some people, for one reason or another,
come-down with writer's block. It means
a person can't come-up with writing ideas.

A writing prompt is used, for example.

A writing prompt is a technique, word(s)
association, to ignite your creative
process. It's for the times you're at a
loss for words.

Writing prompts are quotes, words from
childhood, a statement that keeps
popping up in mind.

Source: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_does_pre-writing_help_your_writing

Story Ending: How To Write It?

Have a question? Agree, disagree,
with me? Leave me your opinion.

Every story has an ending. It's not
necessary to have a happy ending.
However, the ending has to be fair
to the reader and complete the
story.

The ending isn't required to
fix all the character's issues,
but it has to bring the story
to a satisfactory conclusion.

The problems splashed on characters
twist down many paths, and then they
come to an end.

Jot down every problem, issue,
introduced to each character. When
it's time to end a story, refer back
to your notes.

I included problems, issues, in the
character's profile when I wrote my
novel, Grave Street House.

Give some thought to endings as
you're scribbling down problems in
profiles.

Some people write the ending
first.

Think of problems, issues, and
how to resolve them.

Ask yourself questions.

What is the most extreme
solution, and should the
character take the easy
way out? Should the
story end based on how
a character lives? A solution
out of the news, your life,
or something you heard will
work?

List solutions as they
drift to mind.

Write the ending that excites your
imagination. If more than one
ignites your creative flow, write
them out.

Work-on the endings. Select the
ending that best fit.

Sometimes, the story goes in its
own direction. Is the direction
the story's going better than
what you planned?

The ending is the last element
of a story. It's expected, and is
essential.

Colleen LaRose aka Jihad Jane Facing Life Behind Bars

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Colleen LaRose, 46, known as Jihad
Jane also Fatima LaRose was born on
American soil- living in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania- and charged with crimes
pointing to terrorism. The accusations
are plotting to kill Lars Vilks-
Swedish cartoonist, supporting
terrorists, possible identity theft
and making distorted statements.

Vilks' cartoon of the prophet Mohammed
with a dog's body stirred people up-
though he wasn't named as LaRose's mark.

Al-Qaida's response to the drawing was
to put a $100,000 reward on Vilks' head,
and 50% additional compensation if
"slaughtered."

It's reported Fatima LaRose commented on
You-Tube that she was open to helping
suffering Muslim people. She sent e-mails
to co-conspirators proposing to offer
herself as a martyr and to use her
American status to avoid exposure,
according to a Pennsylvania federal
court's indictment.

The indictment asserts that she tried
to recruit others, raise funds on the
Internet and gave false statements to
the FBI. The accusation refers to
LaRose consenting to wed a co-conspirator
who wanted to set-up-shop, live, in
Europe. He is the one who pushed her to
go to Sweden- find a Swedish man- and
silence him, reports said.

If she's found guilty, she's facing
life behind bars. She was given a
court date of May 3, 2010.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20100319160624writ.nb/topstory.html

Additive Linked To Salmonella

Have a question? Agree, disagree,
with me? Leave me your opinion.

A flavor additive- hydrolyzed vegetable
protein, HVP- found in 94 products was
recalled in the United States.

A Nevada company, Basic Food Flavors Inc,
manufactured the bad additive, The Food and
Drug Administration reported. It can unfold
into one of the bigger recalls.

The additive is stirred in with spices to
flavor hundreds of products like: frozen foods,
soups, chips, dips, sauces, salad dressings,
processed foods, and hot dogs. It's not always
listed, because it's part of a blend. The risk
to health is higher for "eat-now" foods such as
potato chips, dips, salad dressings. It's less
dangerous to eat cooked processed food containing
the additive.

There are no cases of illnesses in the United
States from recalled products, authorities
stated.

Companies usually have a system in place for
such matters. Recalls will continue for awhile,
because the tracking system is slow for this
particular additive.

Due to the nature of the offending additive,
time is needed for the systems of companies,
suppliers, clients, to come together for a
chat, action.

Manufacturers buy the additive from various
sources without a follow-up system being in
place, but steps are being taken to remedy
the situation.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20100314072735writ.nb/topstory.html

Interview: Master It

Have a question? Agree, disagree,
with me? Leave me your opinion.

The time has come in life when a job
change is needed, the current employer
down-sized, or you out-grew a job
position. A search high and low turned
up a job interview. Be prepared. Take
time to visit the organization's web
site. Look at the mission statement.

The mission statement explains an
organization's purpose.

The mission statement cited that the
organization is going green, for example.

Refer to it in an answer that you'd like
to share in the experience. Or, pick
another point to stir-up an answer with.
Always, be upbeat.

Your answers should reflect a positive
attitude.

The interview day arrived. Don't focus on
how nervous you are.

Arrive at the interview, at least, forty-
five minutes earlier than your appointment
time. It gives you an opportunity to
freshen-up, and get comfortable in your
new surroundings.

Take a deep breath before the interview,
several. Organize your thoughts, and
avoid using slang words.

The word money isn't uttered from your
lips. Push the following unit of words,
thoughts, out of your mind. Any idea
when I'll get a pay-raise? Although,
maintain eye contact.

Be respectful of those you encounter.

"Good morning." A person rushed by you.

Some would say nothing, but respond
with a greeting. It could be your
interviewer.

Below are possible questions.

Why are you looking for employment?

I'm looking to share my experiences
with a new organization, and learn
new skills.

What do you want to share?

I'm organized, detail oriented, and
communicate well.

A supplier contacted my office about
an order. I was able to pull-up the
necessary information on the computer
system, and explain how payment was
mis-applied. I followed up with the
proper department. What are your
weaknesses?

I have a tendency to arrive for work
before my shift begins. My goal is to
exceed the quota, but after listening
to co-workers slowed the practice. Why
did you leave your last job?

It's not a good idea to remark badly
about your former manager, co-workers.

Tell the truth. It's possible you didn't
like your former manager. There's no
need to share it in the interview.

I reached my potential there, and want
to explore a new career. Be yourself
during the interview.

There is a question that spreads panic,
but stay calm.

The question is:
Why were you fired from your previous
job?

My experiences, qualifications, weren't
appreciated. However, I feel your
organization can benefit from them.
Is there anything you'd like to add,
ask?

I read in your mission statement about
your company going green. I like the
concept, and want to share in it.

A job interview is mastered when you're
prepared, and organized.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20100222155128writ.nb/topstory.html

Have You Experienced Buzz@Google?

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Google's Buzz was sent-forth to
combine with the search engine's
e-mail service.

"I've heard about Buzz, but not
sure what it is." Several people
said.

Google's Buzz is a social media
sharing service. It shares photos,
videos, updates, and links from
Gmail. Buzz works with mobile
browsers too.

Buzz is easy to use, and fast.
Google, overall, protects user
data.

"How do I start Buzz?" You asked.

1. Log into your Gmail account.

2. Below the in-box, the Buzz
folder sits.

3. Click on it.

4. Follow the prompts.

Buzz is capable of connecting,
pulling, feeds from Twitter,
YouTube, Blogger, Flickr, Google
Reader, and Picasa Web.

You can share Blogger, Twitter, and
YouTube through the Buzz stream. Let's
look at how it works.

A friend has accounts at the above
mentioned sites, for example. There's
no need for you to subscribe to them,
visit, or click on links. Simply, log
into Gmail. Allow the Buzz stream to do
the work.

The Buzz tab is under the in-box tab.

There's an auto-follow feature on Buzz.
The goal is for an easy start-up. It
allows frequent e-mail and chat clients,
contacts, to follow you without tapping,
clicking, on anything.

However, clients, contacts, were shown
to the public before they filled out
Buzz profiles.

Some people were irate, others confused.
Still, there are people, for one reason
or another, that just rather not have
the Buzz feature.

It's understandable that people dislike
their information open to the public,
especially when they're out of the "loop".

"We've heard your feedback loud and clear,
and since we launched Google Buzz, we've
been working to address the concerns
you've raised," explained Todd Jackson,
Gmail and Google Buzz product manager.

There is a way to rid yourself of Buzz.

The bottom of Gmail has the words:
"turn off Buzz".

It removes active links, but leaves
your profile open to the public.

Free yourself of Buzz with the below
steps.

1. Find your name, profile.

2. In the public time-line, delete
every Buzz.

3. Remove all the followers too.

The arguments for and against Buzz
continues.

Have you experienced Buzz?

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20100216064605writ.nb/topstory.html

Teen Novel: Tips On Writing It

Have a question? Agree, disagree,
with me? Leave me your opinion.

There is a question that must be
answered by you. The question?
What are teens reading, interested
in?

"I don't know, or know if I can
find out." You looked around the
room.

Ask family members. A reliable
source is friends with teens.

Young Adult readers, as they are
known, like most genres.

The age group starts at twelve,
and ends at eighteen.

During the middle of the
adolescent years, teens explore
adult novels. Still, they read
Young Adult novels that interest
them, or pertain to their problems,
concerns.

Visit the library. Discover the
books, novels, teens, Young
Adults, are interested in.

Check-out several. Get a feel
for the tone, style, of different
books for teens.

Write the publishers about books
that appeal to you. Be sure
to include a self-addressed stamped
envelope. Request writer's guidelines.

Try re-writing the plot, structure,
and change the characters. Create a
new book. Decide on an idea, problem,
to write about.

Bring the same creativity, passion,
as you would to any writing project.

Sprinkle-in slang words if you're
sure they are necessary, needed .

Paragraphs for teen novels are
small. Expand information about
characters. Give details that
bring characters to life, and teens
can picture in their minds.

Provide an interesting setting with
believable characters.

No character is perfect. A
character isn't all bad, or without
faults. There are consequences,
punishment, for mistakes.

Stir-in plenty of conflict, issues.
A character succeeds, but another
problem rolls up.

Avoid graphic details of sex and
violence. Pour in suspense and action.

It's important to enjoy writing about
the topic, and pick a writing idea with
mass appeal.