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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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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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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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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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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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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"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?

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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?

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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

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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

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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

Have a question? Agree, disagree,
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

Have a question? Agree, disagree,
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?

Have a question? Agree, disagree,
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.

Humorous Writing: How Is It Done?

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

Humor requires creativity,
originality. Repeating old
material is boring, and not
humorous.

A suggestion is to turn old
material upside down, sideways,
to expose new material.

Develop new material by
over-stating it.

Select activities, events,
from life to exaggerate
about.

Aries, a pet rabbit, for
example.

Have you noticed how
rabbits like to bang.

The other day, a guest
visited my humble abode.
I offered celery and dip.

Aries banged on the wall.

We talked. Aries banged.

We moved to the dining room.
She followed, leaned against
the wall, and banged.

Finally, it dawned. Aries
wanted some celery.

Often, people make fun of
the negative aspects of life
too.

The key is to create a funny
image in the minds of readers.
Laughter happens when they
relate to it, or see how
funny it is.

As with other types of
writing, become the sponge.

Take notes of situations,
incidents, you see, hear.

You're at a friend's house,
for instance.

The friend heads toward the
kitchen, but stumbles, slides
forward.

You know he/she is going to
be hurt. You close one
eye.

Instead, the friend spins,
side slaps the wall, but
he/she is all right.

You opened the closed eye,
blinked twice, and wondered
how he/she escaped being
mangled.

How would you tell the
story? Put a new twist
on it. Make it your own.

Allow a trusted friend,
family member, to hear,
see, the finished product.

A critique can be helpful.

Haiku: What Is It?

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

Haiku, hi-coo, is poetry from
the Japanese culture.

Let's look at the classic form.
The poem is three lines. Five
syllables sit in line one, seven
syllables in line two, and five
syllables situate themselves in
the last line.

Traditionally, the theme is
centered on nature.

Originally, haiku poems did not
rhyme.

However, today's poet rhyme them,
use any theme, less syllables per
line, and reverse the form.

The focus of this post is on
the classic, traditional, form.

Write a haiku by narrowing
down one thought, mood,
or feeling. Pour-in words that
show clear mental pictures.

What are your thoughts on snow,
for example? Write down anything,
everything, you want to say in
your poems. Select the words
with vivid imagery.

Keep in mind the poem should
be three lines, and seventeen
syllables.

Count the syllables as you
arrange your thoughts for
poems.

I suggest that you make a word
list by syllables.

Let's look closer at haiku poems.

Poem One

Line 1--5 syllables:
snow blankets the ground

Line 2--7 syllables:
layers it in white softness

Line 3--5 syllables:
black, silver, and gray

===================================
Poem Two
Line 1--5 syllables:
a storm manifests

Line 2--7 syllables:
trees bow to the howling wind

Line 3--5 syllables:
it calls to the rain

Stir-up your imagination with
haiku poems. Select descriptive
words.

Writing Ideas Stab At The Imagination: What To Do?

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

There is one action to take when
writing ideas stab at the imagination,
and that is to write about them.

Decide on the best angle to write
the article, poem, essay, or chapter
from. Use the point-of-view that
excites your imagination, and will
appeal to the biggest audience.

It's very important to work with
a writing idea that you like.

If a writing idea for an article
puts you asleep after paragraph
two, how can you write with passion
about it? It must ignite your
imagination, sense of wonder.

An interesting writing idea
starts you to look for the
right angle to present it
from. You probe, look, for
other information relating to
your writing idea.

What to consider as you
work on the next writing
idea.

Settle on a view-point by asking
questions.

What angle will give my article
the most appeal? Perhaps, it
should be begin with a question.
An amusing anecdote is better?

Try different questions before
picking one.

I wrote a poem centering around
a rainy day.

Still, I had to ask questions.

What is there to say about
the rain? It drowns out the sun?
Washes away germs? A time to
play in puddles? You prefer to
write about where rain comes
from?

I plucked information from the
above questions to write a haiku
poem.

Rain taps at window
cleaning the earth of its germs
balancing nature

Your choice is to write an essay.
Still, ask yourself questions.

How will the introduction be
presented? Your research
will give questions, and
solutions.

What is your position, and
what evidence do you have?

What words will best
show-case a chapter?

An excellent place to begin
a chapter is in the middle of
a problem, situation. Will the
idea stabbing at your imagination
help?

Stir-up the idea stabbing at
your imagination with research,
notes, experts, and begin
writing.

There's no limit to the paths
the writing idea stabbing at
your imagination can take,
but the boundaries you set.

Setting

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

The setting is established in
paragraph one. A setting shows
the mood of your story, tells
where it takes place, and locks
in a time period.

Don't just state where your
story takes place, but bring the
setting to life with characters,
dialogue. Use it as a factor of
the story.

If the setting, for example, is a
haunted house, story people will
talk, gossip, about weird happenings
surrounding it. They venture into
the house, noises ring-out during
the nights. The house is not
just the setting, but a component.

Allow characters to expose the setting.
The setting helps move your plot along.

A character makes a date to meet
another person at the house. The
deciding if the meeting should take
place there, changing a mind surfaces,
getting to the haunted house, and
what happens in the house moves
the plot forward.

It's important to develop a setting
that makes your story memorable, and
inspire people to read more of your
work.

Don't be afraid to change your setting
if it isn't working well with your story
people.

In my novel, Grave Street House, scenes,
incidents, happen in and around the
House. Characters talk about the
House at home, on the streets.

Take a look at how I began Grave
Street House.

My goal was to expose my setting,
give enough information of what's
happening, and hook the reader.

When I walked onto my street heads bobbed
and turned, some people cried. They knew
the horror awaiting him. A few drifted to
their places of security. The homeless
intruder wobbled then stumbled on his
way into the House. They reacted with
clear warnings to stay out. Only, he ignored
them. He slowed down, whirled his head toward
me with fear in his eyes.

I motioned with my hand for him to come
back. I rushed closer to the House, forced my
way through the mob of people.

Perspiration beads formed on my forehead. I
strained to take in enough oxygen. I stopped
moving; fear had me in its grip. He continued
to sway up the worn-out steps, made a mockery
of the condemned, haunted, Grave Street House.

What do you think of my opening?

The setting is a very important part of your
story. Re-think, re-write, the setting until
it is an exact fit.

Point-Of-View: Closer Look

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

What's Point Of View?

I'm going to take a closer look
at point of view in fiction.
Point of view is the perspective,
angle, from which a story is told.

The points of view are: the objective
point of view, first person point of
view, third person point of view,
limited omniscient point of view, and
omniscient point of view.

Objective Point Of View

Using the objective point of view, an
author, writer, describes the story
from what he/she can see.

Actions and dialogue from characters are
the indicators of what's happening in a
story.

The author, writer, isn't allowed to
explain what a character is thinking,
feeling.

First Person Point Of View

The author, writer, tells the story
from the viewpoint of a character.
The character shares his/her thoughts,
feelings, and behavior patterns.

This is the "I" viewpoint or voice.

I like to work with this viewpoint.

Personally, I feel it's easier for
beginners to work with.

This viewpoint character can't tell
what other characters are thinking,
doing. He/she can make guesses from
what other characters said or done.

Third Person Point Of View

The author, writer, is uninvolved in
the story. Characters are referred
to as she, he, and they.

The author, writer, conveys what's
going on, and interprets behaviors.

This point of view is used most by
writers.

Some say, this point of view is easier
to work with.

It's used in most genres, except young
adult fiction.

Limited Omniscient Point Of View

The writer, author, is limited to
knowing everything about one
character.

The author, writer, explains how the
character feels, thinks, hears, and
sees.

The author, writer, can't see or
hear what other characters are
thinking and feeling.

Omniscient Point Of View

Everything is seen, known, from the
omniscient point of view.

The author, writer, can disclose the
thoughts or actions of any character.

The author, writer, can explain the
situation from any character's angle,
viewpoint.

Experiment with different viewpoints.
Which viewpoint works better for you?
Is one easier to use?

Writing Ideas: Where To Get Them?

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

Writing ideas are sprinkled around
the doctor's office, seated at the
family's get-together table, paraded
in-out of malls, and splashed
everywhere on the streets of your
state.

Be prepared to capture writing ideas.
Carry a pad, pen, recorder, or text
yourself enough of the idea to later
write about it.

Make a note of the idea as soon as
it appears. Don't wait. Memories fade.
It'll be impossible to retrieve the
original writing idea.

"I've been waiting too long to see
the doctor!" Someone blurted at a
crowded doctor's office.

Writing ideas exist in those words.
Take a look.

The first idea surrounds a lady who
forgot to take her medicine. She hops
up, demands to see a doctor.

The office staff tries to calm her.
The doctor bursts through the door
with a syringe in hand.

Only, the lady...

What twist would you put on the idea.
Or, what notes would you scribble down
to explore later?

At a family dinner, the secret family
cake recipe discussion came to the
surface.

The person who handled it last turned
her/his residence upside down looking
for it, to no avail.

Members of the family argue with each
other, accuse one another.

The writing idea can swirl down several
paths.

Shake-up the writing idea. Look at it
from more than one view-point.

A conversation at the mall is over-heard.

"Grandmother, they're my family too." A
teen argued at the elderly lady.

"This isn't the time to talk about it"
The lady sighed.

"But..."

"Not here." The elderly insisted.

Your writing idea on it?

Perhaps, you'd write an essay on
children raised by maternal
grandmothers. Other ideas?

The only limit to writing ideas is
your imagination. It's best to
twist ideas upside down, and
find as many writing ideas as
possible from the original.

Here is an incident from the
street of my state.

Two young men stood on a
corner whispering between
themselves as people passed.

A female with three-inch gold
earrings paced near the
young men.

The guys looked at each other.
One of them grinned, and
without warning...

What's your thoughts on
the writing idea?

Writing ideas are everywhere.
Capture them for future
writing ideas.

Query: How To Write It?

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

A query letter is one page long,
but detailed enough to provide an
agent, publisher, with all that's
needed to contact you. They are
always looking for new voices, or
the next big project, best seller.

An effective query letter is
important. It's the deciding
factor as to whether an agent,
publisher, will represent,
sell, your work.

The query letter is written in
a business format.

The following explains how to
write an effective query letter.

1. Start with an interesting
writing idea, hook. What was
the deciding factor for you?
Why did you turn the idea into
a novel, article?

Narrow down your answer into
a sentence, and then spin the
answer into a question.

The final question opens your
query letter.

2. The question asked by you is
left open. Send the publisher,
editor, a certain view-point,
angle, to consider.

3. Explain what your story is
about. In no more than two
paragraphs, expose your plot,
problem in the story.

4. Give specific details. Draw
the publisher, agent, in by
tapping on structure, and how
you plan to develop it.

5. Do not disclose the ending.

6. Elaborate on why you're the
best person to write it. Establish
the fact that you've written related
articles, or you're a published
author.

7. Close with asking if he/she would
like to see the completed manuscript.

8. A self-addressed stamp envelope
is included.

Repeat the process to each publisher,
agent, on your list. However, be
certain your work is what a publisher,
agent, want, represent.

Request guidelines and research a
publisher, agent, before you query.

Fiction: How To Start?

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

Fiction is exciting, fun, to write
about. Find an idea that awakens your
imagination, and has wide appeal.

Fiction is invented, imagined,
or created stories. Characters
are placed in a setting to solve a
problem(s). Look at the idea upside
down, right side-up.

The writing idea is looked at from
different view-points to decide
how best to show-case it. In
other words, make sure the writing
idea appeals to a large segment of the
population, and stirs-up your writing
ability.

Answer the following questions.

What problem will be addressed?
Perhaps, an issue from your life.
A story out of the head-lines. A
friend's plight.

A lost recipe in a certain family
member's house disappears? He/she
claims it was there before anyone
arrived.

The possible plot, problem, is which
relative took it, and why?

The plot's options are too many to
discuss. Actually, the only limit to a
plot is your imagination.

Every story has a beginning, middle, and
an ending.

Allow characters to show what is happening.
Take a look.

"I saw whole thin,'" Beverly explained.
"Pyra ran out da house with da knife in her
hand..."

"Wait," Carrie interrupted. "I don't get
it. She ain't have no knife when..."

Populate the story. Who will be the main
character? Antagonist?

The main character is Pyra in my example.

The antagonist is the person stopping your
main character from reaching his/her goals.
Or, the person pursuing the main
character.

In my example, the antagonist is the
guy in braids.

"She tried to kill my sista." The young
guy in braids spat . "Cops betta catch
her befo street justice does."

Make profiles for each character. How they
look, talk, act, relevant experiences, and
anything you feel should be included.

A main character must try, at least, three
times before reaching his/her goal.

My example will swirl Pyra and the guy
in braids together three times. The
encounters will end in fights, possibly
death.

One problem is handled in short fiction.
Longer fiction stirs-in a major problem,
and a minor one. Add as many problems
in long fiction as you can handle.

Mix-in suspense. Give the impression
something is going to happen. Build it
up, and then allow some event to
explode.

The scene, explosion, can last two
paragraphs, or run for pages.

It, too, has a beginning, middle, and
an ending.

If, for some reason, you have a problem
writing, or have writer's block, write
anything that comes to mind. Or,
write about an object on your desk,
outside, pet, or why a color is your
favorite.

Keep writing until you're ready to start
on your writing project.

Usually, a new writing idea is discovered,
or material for your current writing project
dawns.

All problems must be solved at the end,
or given a satisfactory conclusion.

How To Create Writing Ideas

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

Writing ideas surround us. Everywhere
we go writing ideas await.

Pick a writing idea with mass appeal.
I'm referring to ideas that a large
segment of the population would
read, and it must excite your
imagination.

Jot down ideas as you find them.

Every story has a beginning,
middle, and an ending.

Let's look at how writing ideas are
picked.

1. Have you met a person during the
day? This person was over-dressed
for the place you saw him/her at.

He/she jumps to his/her feet, from
time to time, and starts dancing.
There isn't any music playing when
he/she does it.

There are many avenues to take
with the idea.

2. A prank that turned out funny
makes interesting reading.

3. Certain slang words can be the
start of a plot.

A character's use of certain
words ends him/her up in
murder.

4. A news head-line turned upside
down provides excellent writing
ideas.

5. A saying a relative repeats.
"Mark my words, if you go
there only misery will follow."

Pick a setting, place, and
start your plot.

6. An animal does something
funny, odd, or silly.

Spin the writing idea into
an interesting tale.

7. Write a story around an
out-dated piece of clothing.

8. You heard a funny story.
Write about it.

Select the characters for the
story.

Start the problem, issue, of the
story on page one.

Stir-in suspense. Suspense is
indecision, doubt, anxiety. Sprinkle
around suspense if you're working
with a western, romance, mystery,
or any genre. Suspense pulls
the reader into the story. It keeps
the reader wanting to know what
will happen next.

Each page should contain something
exciting. A threat of an approaching
doom, and few descriptive paragraphs.

Hint at the abduction of the main
character, for example. Perhaps,
the main character's belongings are
misplaced, rearranged.

What will happen next?

Let the characters show the story
through actions and dialogue.

Tie-up loose ends.

Set your story aside. The longer
your project, the more time you
need away from it.

After three-fourteen days away
from your project, critique it.

Have you found an interesting
writing idea today?

Easy Steps To Writing An Adventure Story

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

The adventure story takes the
main character, protagonist, to
a new place, different from his/her
own. The place should be dangerous
for the main character to be in.

Read adventure stories. Take them
apart, and re-write them from your
imagination.

Take notes. Did you see a better
writing idea? Jot it down. Make
sure the writing idea is from your
imagination.

Let's look at steps to make writing
an adventure story, novel, easier.
The following steps will fill-in the
story, and bring it to life.

A. What adventure will the main
character have?

1. A person finds an ancient coin,
but it's a door-way to the past.
The right spoken words will
unlock the door.
2. How will the main character
find the words?
3. Will he/she want to?

B. A time period is decided on.

1. The coin, from the above example,
takes the main character from
our current century to the eighteenth
century.

C. Pick the characters for the story.

1. Will a male or female be the main
character?
2. Will friends make the journey?
3. A main character and his/her pet?

D. The reason for the adventure?

1. The main character is always
complaining how boring his/her
life is?
2. A small town kid looking for
an adventure?
3. An adult looking to explore,
has something to prove?

E. Show-case the events.

1. The main character goes to
a library, and accidentally
happens upon the correct
words?
2. A person discovers the secrets
of the coin?

The story is started in the middle
of a problem, issue.

The main character is transported
back in time, for example, opens
the story. He/she grabs his/her pet
before disappearing. Or, a friend
jumps into the hole before it closes.

Gather-up, share, the other ingredients.

The antagonist is a person opposing your
main character. Make his/her presence
known in the opening scene.

He/she wants to steal the object, thing,
that made the main character's trip
possible.

The main character struggles, at least,
three times with the antagonist before
succeeding.

The main character's goals are to get
back home, and stop the antagonist from
returning with him/her.

The antagonist is willing to kill for
the coin.

Self-preservation is the main
character's motivation.

The antagonist wants to slide in and
out of time periods. He/she wants
to change pass mistakes, lives.

The antagonist is motivated by curiosity,
possibly greed. He/she will stop at
nothing to get the coin.

As with any other writing idea, turn
it upside down. Select an idea that
most excites your imagination.

Writing Time: How To Maximize It

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

Writing should last, at least,
two hours everyday. Perhaps, you'd
prefer six days a week. The more
you write, the better you'll become.

You treat writing as a profession, and
your writing time is five days a week?

Writing has to be balanced with your
life-style.

Find a place in the attic, spare room,
basement, or any area designed for
writing.

Every book, sheet of paper, should
pertain to writing.

Make a habit of jotting down
ideas as they bump into you.
Write down sentences about
the idea.

When you return to the idea,
you'll have a reminder of
your original thoughts.

It saves time, and allows
maximum writing time.
You skip the step of
pondering why you made
a note on the writing idea.

Keep your ideas in a file,
folder, box, to easily refer
to them.

A filing system maximizes time.
It stops you from searching in
every corner of your writing place.
Simply, look in your writing idea
file.

A suggestion is to file writing
ideas alphabetically, or categorically.
Or, devise your own filing system.

Work on more than one project
at a time.

Boredom slows you down. Working
on one article can get dull. You'll
tap a tune out on the desk, stare
at your computer screen, or train
a pet to sing.

Instead of wasting time, pick
more than one writing idea to
maximize writing time.

Return to the original writing
idea tomorrow, or the next day.
Time away allows thinking about
it, and refreshes you for the
project.

If an idea for an article, for
example, tires you, avail yourself
to writing pages for a novel. Start
a new article, write a poem, do
research on a topic of interest, or
start scribbling down ideas for
greeting cards.

You have a certain amount of
time for writing. Make the most of
writing time by having various
writing projects.

Maximize writing time by turning-off
the cell phone, telephone, television,
and radio.

However, some people work well with
the radio on. It's a matter of what
inspires your creative flow.

Make the most of your writing time
by getting projects completed. It
means actually writing, and ignoring
distractions.

Character's Name: How To Pick It?

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

There are other factors to consider
when picking a name for a character.
It's not wise to select a name because
it's pretty.

A character's name should be memorable,
impressive.

Origin, race, is stirred-in when choosing
a character's name. Usually, names
correspond to a character's family.
Or, a character's personality,
appearance, could be the focus when
naming him or her.

A tale revolving around an Irish-
American neighborhood, family, means
the characters will have the Irish
names.

Characters who are African-American
will have African-American names.

An aggressive character, for example,
is called, Fister.

He/she tends to use fists to settle
disagreements.

A character with black hair is named
Raven.

The name given to a character reveals
much about him/her, supposedly.

Also, a character from a certain time
period will reflect it. A character
placed in a 18th century setting
would have a name from that time
period.

Still, names shouldn't be so difficult
to pronounce until readers put your
story aside.

Take time in picking names for your
main characters. They are in more
scenes, and you want people to
remember them, your work.

The main characters have a relationship
with readers. Readers see them as
people. They want to hear their tale,
and see how it's solved. Readers look
at how characters react to their names,
sometimes.

How a character feels about his/her
name gives insight into the character.
He/she likes his/her name? He/she is
at odds with his/her heritage, family?

The same name isn't given to more
than one character in a story. It
causes disorder, confusion.

Similar sounding names are avoided
unless it's written in your plot.

It's a good idea to pick a character's
name and stick with it. Now, other
characters in a story can nickname each
other. One nickname per character.
Us the name, nickname, constantly.

Will your character have a nickname,
just a first name, whole name, or referred
to by his/her last name.

A character's name is picked after
you profile him/her.

If a character's name isn't a good fit,
for one reason or another, change it.

Now, names can be plucked from
television, head-lines, magazines,
books, history, and anywhere your
imagination reaches.

It's interesting to add to a name.
The name Raven becomes Ravina,
for instance. Ryan spins into Ry.

However, in my novel, Grave Street
House, the main character's name
is Amanda. It's an ordinary name,
nothing striking about it. Amanda
is undistinguished.

Yet, she manages the courage
to unravel a murderer. This
wasn't easy for her.

The above steps are guide-lines
to naming your fictional characters.

Madonna Building School In Malawi

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

Madonna builds a school for the
underprivileged.

Madonna is building a multi-million
dollar girls' school.

In the village of Chinkhota, Malawi,
outside of the capital of Lilongwe,
the school will hold 500 students.

It's scheduled to be ready in 2 years,
at a cost of $15 million.

The AIDS epidemic left a million children
orphaned there. There are 13 million
impoverished people in Malawi.

The singer has adopted 2 children from Malawi.
Now, she's giving opportunities back to other
underprivileged girls in the region.

"Growing up in a privileged life, I took
education for granted, but coming to Malawi
taught me lots of things. I have learned to
appreciate what life gives," Madonna said.

She plans to build other schools in the
surrounding African districts. Also, she
wants to construct schools in other
countries as well.

Source: http://thecelebritycafe.com/features/35078.html

Scene: How To Write It?

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


A scene has a beginning, middle,

and an ending. It moves the

story along. The scene has

a purpose. A scene flows

smoothly.



A scene is a few paragraphs,

five pages, or twenty pages.

It depends on you.



Any word not doing its job

is deleted. Bloated, meaningless,

words take-up space, and slow

the story-line down.



The scene informs the

reader, shows the conflict

a character is having.



A character's conflict is

between nature, or against

man.



A character fighting a wild-fire

is an example of man against

nature.



Neighbors on different issues

involving politics represents

man against man.



The initial scene introduces

characters, sets a mood,

back-ground information

can be given, suspense

is stirred in, and the

reader meets the view-point

character.



The scene acquaints the

reader with the character.

Don't give too much information

at one time, or discuss many

characters in a scene.



The first scene's focus is to

present the main character.



Perhaps, you'd like readers

to know how the main character

handles problems, the issue

at hand.



Is the character aggressive?

He/she likes his/her fists to

meet mouths, teeth? Or,

he/she starts confusion, and

disappears. Will he/she

repeat him/herself?



Give an idea of his/her faults

in the scene.



Set the mood. Is the day

dark and gloomy? The

character is seeing shadows,

argues easily?



The back-ground information

given should be what's

necessary. Select carefully

the information shared.



Conflict dissolves confusion

into the scene. In other

words, suspense is sprinkled

into the mix through a problem.



Suspense keeps the reader

wanting to know what happens

next.



I suggest that you work

with the first person

view-point, I.



This particular view-point

character isn't in every

scene, and readers find out

information through

that character.

Still, the first person

view-point is easy to

work with.



Now, it's good practice

to read the work of

your favorite authors.

Read works of authors

in general.



Take note of how they

write scenes. How are

the scenes started?

The middle? Ending?



Re-write the scenes

from your imagination.

Are you happy with

the scenes? The

more you practice,

the better you'll

become at writing

scenes.



Did your scenes resemble

the original?



If no, well done.



The scenes should be from

your imagination, thinking.



If yes, try writing from a

different angle. Always

look at ideas upside down

and inside out.



A suggestion is to write

a scene with everything

you want to put in it. Go

back to slice-away

useless words, and words

weighing down the story-

line.



The result is your scene.

Titles: An Alternative

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

"I'm still not sure how to
title my work." You said.

Let's look at an alternative
method of picking a title.

Slowly read through your
work. Write down the
words that are mentioned
frequently.

Make lists. Select the words
that are attention grabbing,
and creative.

Search engines like Google,
Yahoo, and MSN sift through
their databases looking for
pages that satisfy the words
submitted to them.

Key-words make excellent
titles.

Key-words are typed in a
search engine when someone
is looking for something.

"How to figure out what key-
words to use?" You pondered.

Determine what words best
describe your work. Or, what
words will people type in a
search engine. Think of anything,
everything, people would type in
the search engine about your topic.

Prepare a list of key-words that
pertain to your article.

The best words describing your
work is selected as a title. Also,
the words in the title are sprinkled
throughout the piece.

Take a look at the excerpt.

Critique and Write: How?


Read through your story, essay,
article, poem, or draft. Do it once.
Put your work aside.

You need a mental break from
your work. Talk to friends. Start
a new project, treat yourself, or
join a writer's forum.

On day two, read it out-loud. You're
checking for mis-statements, typos,
omissions, syntax errors, grammatical
slip-ups, and weak writing. Is the
correct phrases situated in your
writing? Take notice of run-on
sentences.

Reading out-loud allows you to hear
errors.

Subjects and verbs match?

Have you done this?

It just happen, and I didn't get
a chance to respond.

Correction

It just happened, and I didn't
get a chance to respond.

Use plenty of strong verbs.
Adjectives are used, but not
often.

Was the wrong word typed?

You meant to type here, but
hear was written. Or, pair was
intended, and pear graced your
page.

Glide through the editing process
slowly. Go through your work as
many times as needed.

The bigger the writing project, the
more times it needs critiquing.

Remember, easy to read text
appeals to a wider audience.

Write as if you're talking to an
acquaintance, friend, in non-fiction.
Provide easy to understand wording,
and be direct.

When non-fiction is read, questions
comes to mind. So, look for
possible questions as you critique.
Anticipate questions, and answer
them.

During the critiquing process, answer
questions from the reader's point-of-
view.

Or, answer commonly asked questions
about your work.

What would you ask? Is a point
confusing? Clear-up jumbled
information.

In fiction, grab, hold, the reader's
attention. Often, readers escape
into the story world, because it's
written well. Many times, people
identify with a character, dislike,
a character's best friend, know a
person similar to the villain, and/or
something in the story makes him/her
angry, happy.

The critiquing process is more
challenging than the writing. Still,
it's part of the writer's job.

It's, certainly, my least favorite
task.

Follow these easy, but effective,
steps to critiquing your work.

Source: http://www.printcasting.com/content/critique-and-write-how

What key-words would
you pick?

Possible key-words are:
how to critique, edit, write
better, step by step critique,
critique fast.

What did you come-up with?

Note: There's a tool to help with
checking for key-words. It's called
Google Adwords Keyword Tool:
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal.

Writing: It Picked You

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

Sometimes, in life, a
path picks you. You
want to pursue a different
goal, but find yourself
engulfed in writing.

You read a book. It was
last week.

"How did it get published?"
You pondered. "I could have
written it better."

You have the urge
to re-write it. It
plays over in your
mind.

Writing picked you.

You've read many
greeting cards, and
each one you complained
about.

Your creative ability
is ignited. You, actually,
wrote down greeting
card sentiments. People
compared your writing to
greeting cards purchased.

Everyone raved that your
writing of greetings outweighed
purchased cards.

Writing picked you.

A newspaper article
was poorly written, in
your opinion. It wasn't
one article you read,
but many.

You've read several
daily papers, and they
lacked something.

Writing picked you to
do a better job. Or,
it's your green-flag
to write articles.

You commented on
a second book.

"Why didn't the author
write it from another
view-point?" You
asked.

You find yourself
asking the same
questions.

This is how writing
picked you.

Was English a
favorite subject of
yours? Have you
always had a way
with words? People
have remarked on it,
but you decided
against writing.

Still, for one reason or
another, you're asked
to write the review, business
proposal, and/or greetings for
occasions.

Writing picked you.

However, you don't want
to write full-time. Continue
at your present job. Try
writing when it's convenient,
do-able.

It's a waste of time, energy,
to complain. Simply, start
writing.

"I'm not sure." You looked
at the door.

Some of you have a
head-start. You're
writing already. Take it
to the next level.

Work on a project.
Don't let anyone see
it. Some prefer it that
way. Or, let people
know what you're
doing.

The word-of-mouth
advertising brings
more business than
a paid ad.

Get the opinion of a trusted
friend. Show him or
her.

The point is to find
time to write. It
picked you.

"Still not sure writing
picked me." You
shared.

There is one way to
find out, and that is to
begin writing.

If it's not for you,
move on.

You will know if writing
is a fit. The passion for
writing burns from within,
and constantly calls your
name.

Start writing something
that excites your creativity,
and go from there. Or,
write the first word that
pops into your mind.

Connect the words into
fiction, or non-fiction. Shuffle
the words around, and add
more words. Write a new article
using the new version of words.

When writing picks you,
there's no choice but to
write.