Examples Of Thank You Notes

These examples of thank you notes are for different occasions. You may write a thank you note for a wedding, birthdays, interviews, thank you notes to teachers, funerals, kind gestures, graduations, sympathies, sickness, baby showers, etc. When you write a thank you notice to someone for one of these occasions think about how the person inspired you there and write to them how they made you feel. You may want to also include a thank you poem for your friend.

Here is an example of a thank you note poem if someone did donation work for you.

Ashley when you loaded those flowers in my house

You did so with such fine stride

And yet you smiled most of the time

I ordered you around, you swallowed your pride

Watered the plants as you sang your rhyme.

You worked hard that day

And your efforts bloomed pink orange and yellow

The faces of this green house ride high

When the sun hits those flowers

That you watered for hours.

Occasionally there is a soil

That has a smell like olive oil

Like a familiar ocean beach tide

In the greenhouse where your flowers bloom

And the sprays circle like a monsoon.

Thank you for your hard work

More plants still should grow from it

They'll abide by your walk

Through the greenhouse working overtime

Doing a great job.

Writing thank you letters doesn't have to be complicated. Just let the words come to you while you see the situation. Remember how the person helped you like I did in this poem. I wrote about how Ashley worked hard to help load those flowers in the green house and how when she worked she smiled and was happy. Here is another thank you note sample for a graduation.

You were there for me when I threw my cap

Sang and laughed with me there

When in five second swirling hats filled the air

As the smiles that filled the room

That you helped build when you were there.

Thank you Matt for your cheer

When I went on stage I was ok

You yelled my name and things weren't the same

Thank you for your company

Thank you for your support.

This wasn't the best thank you note but even if you can't think of something up there, the note doesn't have to be brilliant. Write according to what you remember and just write. Its kind of like the saying, 90% of doing the job is just being there and showing up.

What is a Flashback?

A flashback according to Wikipedia is, "the interruption of a narrative by the interpolation chronological sequence of events that occurred previously." It is therefore a form of anachronism.

When we tell a story, it usually follows a natural time sequence - the events are narrated in the order of occurrence. When, in the middle of this sequence, we introduce a scene that occurred before that time we call it a flashback scene.

Introducing a little more theory, a flashback could be "internal" (refers to an earlier time but still within the narrative) or "external" (refers to a time prior to the beginning of the narrative).

Flashbacks usually occur in the narrative in response to a stimulus. For example, one character sees or hears something that brings to mind a past event. Juno looks at an abandoned chair and recalls the afternoon he made love with his best friend; Rose sees the sketch and recalls the night she spent with Jack.

In the first example (the film "Juno"), a visual stimulus (could be auditory, olfactory, sensory, etc.) introduces a quick flashback scene. The narrative then returns to its normal course. This is perhaps the most common form.

In the second example (the film "Titanic"), the story begins in the present, but after Rose's character, now elderly, gets confronted with the testimonies of its past, enters into a long flashback that tells the essential story and thus becomes a natural narrative sequence.

Some writers such as Guillermo Arriaga and James Cameron use so many flashbacks and flash-forwards in their writing that at some point a natural narrative simply ceases to exist. This is termed as anachronistic narrative.

When to avoid the use of flashback?

Some screenwriters are averse to the use of flashbacks, but it's mostly because of the misuse of this technique, rather than a drawback of the resource itself. Such misuse often happens when the flashback is used simply to transmit information needed to solve some aspect of the narrative. In this case, as in any other purely expository scene, the flashback is used as a crutch and reveals the laziness of the author. Flashbacks should not used to plug loopholes in the narrative.

Flashback format

Writing a flashback is no big deal. Apply exactly the same rules as you'd for any other scene. In short, we should only write what can be shown (visually) or heard (auditory) in the film. No use writing thoughts, emotions, hopes or other things that do not have a visual or audible translation. Only actions, gestures, words and expressions which can be narrated using the resources of the cinema should be included.

Don't Communicate With Me - Just Talk to Me

Maybe it was just one of those days. I was hot, tired, and trying to keep my appointments on schedule and I wasn't in the mood for people who couldn't use plain words to get their point across.

On this day, a man leaving a message on my voice mail identified himself, stated the purpose of his call, and then said, "I would appreciate a return call so I can communicate with you." I deleted the message.

Communicate with me? Whatever happened to talk to me? I can't remember ever leaving a message for someone saying that I wanted to communicate with him, although I don't hesitate to use the term, communicate, when it's appropriate. An informal voice mail message is not appropriate.

Judith Martin, (Miss Manners), said, "Let us make a special effort to stop communicating with each other, so we can have some conversation."

People don't stop to consider how their words are affecting the listener. They are more interested in communicating rather than talking. They are more concerned with how they sound than with what they are saying.

My friend had just started taking classes toward her Psychology degree and every other sentence out of her mouth was about this one "interfacing" with that one. I must have heard the word "interface" in all its conjugations, at least twenty times during our conversation. Funny, in all the years we had been friends, I never heard that word from her. It was as though she had learned a new word and she was determined to use it at every opportunity.

Let's not forget the word, paradigm. All during the years that paradigm came tripping off the tongues of everyone, I couldn't force myself to use it. I used every synonym I could think of but I couldn't use that word. It's been a while since it stopped being in vogue and just last week, I found myself using it for the first time in all these years. Maybe it's because I haven't seen it in print or heard it in conversation for such a long time that it found its way into my vernacular.

Now, there's the word iconic. Everyone and everything seems to be iconic these days. I am so sick of that word that it gives me hives to even think about it.

It used to have a special meaning. Whenever I thought about something being iconic, I placed it in the category of it being distinctive, unusual, unique, exceptional. Nowadays, that word is used indiscriminately to describe almost everyone and everything. It has become so common that it has lost its significance. One of the sources that I ran across said that it had been used 18,000 times in news stories, so how unique could those people or things being described be?

And let's not forget the word, icon. Until computers were invented, an icon usually referred to a religious work of art, more often a painting or a sacred object. When computers came along, we were introduced to small symbolic pictures, called icons, which appear on your screen as shortcuts to access a program or data.

Unfortunately, icons are being used in excess these days and many of them are so ridiculous that you can't even tell what they're supposed to mean. Some websites have more icons than words and if you don't understand what they represent, it's sometimes more prudent to beat a hasty retreat rather than waste your time and energy trying to figure them out.

We must be living in the least creative period in the history of the world. It would seem to me that there must be many words that one could substitute for the word, icon, yet studies show that it has been used in conversations and news reports over 30,000 times.

But I don't know of any word that has been used as excessively, for such a long period of time, in just about every area of life as the word, journey. I first encountered it about forty years ago when I was studying metaphysics.

I originally embraced this word to describe all of life, from birth to death, to the afterlife. And it was a lovely word until I started hearing it applied to everything except as a descriptive for people going on a trip, or embarking on an expedition or taking a holiday.

When I go to a gas station to fill the tank I almost expect someone to wish me a safe journey. They usually don't, but just about everyone else uses the word to describe something that has no relevance to travel. I even heard a newscaster use the word and it had nothing to do with a safari or a documentary or anything that involved a few pieces of luggage.

So, I'm thinking that it's time that I take some of these words out of mothballs and let them enjoy their journey into my conversations where I can communicate more effectively by interfacing with as many people as I can. I would also like to communicate with the people who design the computer programs that are being created as a paradigm for our culture. These iconic devices should be programmed to eliminate at least 50% of the icons presently in use. With so many more inventions waiting to hit the market, these outdated icons should be retired from use so that the new ones can start out on their computer journey.

There. I think that covers all the words I had eliminated from my vocabulary and they may even make sense in a convoluted way.

Have a happy journey and don't be afraid to interface with all of society instead of just sitting at your computer, which has now become iconic, and moving your icons around the screen.

Connie H. Deutsch, an internationally known business consultant and personal advisor has a keen understanding of human nature and is a natural problem-solver. She is known throughout the world for helping clients find workable solutions to complex problems.

Connie has hosted her own weekly radio show, been a weekly guest on a morning radio show, done guest spots on radio shows around the country, and appeared as a guest on a cable TV show. She wrote a weekly newspaper Advice Column for sixteen years and has been invited to speak at local colleges and given lectures around the country. She also wrote the scripts for a weekly financial show on cable TV.

How to Write: Use Both Sides of Your Brain in Your Writing

Have you ever experienced a time when you were so involved in something, you lost track of time? Have you ever been in what they call the "zone?" Are there other times you were exceptionally logical and analytical about what you are doing?

This is because you operate on two sides of the brain. Researchers say, you have two sides of your brain. Your left brain is the thinking, reasoning, analytical and critical part. The right brain is the more creative side, visual, interpretive, intuitive- that is the part of your brain you use when you want to create, relax and enjoy the experience.

You use two different parts of the brain when you create and when you evaluate. They interfere with each other. During the creative process, you will write better if you turn off the critical, analytical part of your brain. When you write your first draft, don't worry about how you say things. Write freely, go with the flow and enjoy. Don't worry about punctuation, spelling or grammar. If you want to look up a word or fact, draw a line there or place a star so you'll know to go back.

This method gets the raw gems out and down on the paper. Then you can go back and refine your treasures. Once you are in the left brain, critical mode, you can rewrite and edit what you have written.

In the beginning, you may be discouraged about how many mistakes you make as you learn how to write. I understand those feelings. However, every writer makes mistakes even experienced writers. Some writers get their books published and even after the edits, find mistakes. That is why you edit and rewrite. Before submitting a piece for publication, it's essential to send your work to someone else for critiques and edits.

I write 100% better than when I started but I am careful to rewrite and edit my work. After I let my right brain enjoy the writing process, my left brain has a chance to kick in and correct. Even then I still make mistakes. You will probably find mistakes from time to time in my writing and I appreciate your feedback. When have you ever had a teacher or coach offer to let you correct them? LOL! Learn from me, every good writer is willing to receive correction. That is why they say "Every writer is a good re-writer."

This is the model I encourage you to follow throughout your writing process whether you have been writing for a while or you are learning how to write. First, turn off your left brain and let your right brain, creative side, run free. Enjoy yourself as you write. Second, turn on the left brain and rewrite. You need both sides of your brain to be a good writer. Now that you understand the function of the right and the left brain, use them at different times to produce your best writing.

David Germain Author Of Jesus Needs Help: A Writer's Words

I've had people tell me they are between books, looking for something new to read; a new author, a new genre. There are more writers than ever before: More good writers, more not so good writers. The choices of things to read are enormous. The purpose of interviewing a writer is to give you, the reader, a chance to hear from the writer directly, to hear the writer's own voice.

So here's David Germain, author of Jesus Needs Help. He was born and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan. He studied animation in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He moved to Nova Scotia when a friend offered him some work in animation.

What is your philosophy of writing?

I do believe that creativity flows much smoother when most negative energy is suppressed. Although, a certain amount of negativity is necessary for motivational purposes at times. I've read that Vincent Van Gogh found his biggest inspiration whenever he heard a voice in his head say "You can't paint." Of course, way too much negativity can be overwhelming. That needs to be suppressed or at least ignored.

What's the name and genre of you book?

The title is Jesus Needs Help. I guess the genre of the book would be satire.

Who is the audience for this book?

I do not believe in pandering only to certain demographics of people. In my opinion, demographics and focus groups and anything like those have done way too much damage to the culture. My book is basically for everybody. I'm not saying that I tried to include "something for everyone" in my book, what I am saying is that I simply created something with no thought as to who might find it appealing with the hope that people will see the integrity behind that.

Is this book part of a series? If so is it a sequel or a prequel? Name the other already published books?

I wouldn't call this book a part of a series so much. It's more of another installment of reoccurring characters. Previous comics with these characters can be found on my blog. You can't miss them. They're the posts with the Censor Monkeys in them.

Describe your protagonist, physically and emotionally and describe the challenges the protagonist needs to overcome and the motivation for overcoming them.

Well, not to give too much away. The main hero of this particular book is Jesus Christ. He must deliver his Sermon on the Mount amid the distractions from the ruthless hecklers that are plaguing him at the moment.

Describe your antagonist, physically and emotionally, and talk about motivation.

There are 10 antagonists here. They are the Censor Monkeys. Their collective mission is to eradicate free speech all while pushing their own agendas.

Quote a passage from your book that you love.

One part that many people who've read the book have appreciated is when Jesus says, "These monkeys are driving me nuts. I'm running out of cheeks to turn."

Elaborate on the meaning of the passage.

Anyone who needs me to elaborate on why people like that passage is beyond all hope.

What surprising things did you learn while writing this book?

I've found that too many people who like to think they're intelligent quite often do something that only the most obtuse of idiots tend to do, they think they know exactly what a book is about by simply looking at the cover.

Do you prefer fermented or distilled?

I definitely prefer fermented $1,000,000 cheques. ATM machines don't always accept those distilled $1,000,000 cheques.

Jesus Needs Help ISBN: 9781453882719
Price: $9.15

My books are available for sale at... (Halifax): Veritas, Monster Comic Lounge, Quantum Frontier Games & Comics (Dartmouth): Strange Adventures (Lower Sackville): Veritas (Enfield): Veritas (Regina): Phoenix Comics & Books (Saskatoon): 8th Street Comics & Books, Unreal City (Vancouver): Lucky's Comics (Chicago): Quimby's (Berlin): Grober Unfug. It's also available online at Amazon and Kindle

How to Buy Articles: Four Pitfalls to Avoid

You will inevitably have to buy articles if you want to run a long-term and successful marketing campaign for your online business. However, buying articles is always a gamble. Great content developers do exist, but the internet is home to a staggering number of bad writers. It is critical to your business's success that you avoid these writers whenever possible and only hire proven professionals. Here are four of the worst pitfalls to avoid when you buy articles.

1. Non-native English Speakers

People all over the world learn to speak and write in English, but they don't all do it well. Still, many search engine optimization and web design companies hire content writers from India and other second-world countries - places where a few dollars goes a long way and where writers are willing to work for pennies. These writers' prose is typically littered with grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. Even when the language is technically correct, it tends to lack the idioms and subtle nuances of a piece written by someone who lives in a primarily English-speaking country. Make sure that when you buy articles, they are written by someone from the United States, England, or another English-speaking nation. You will easily tell the difference, and so will your readers.

2. Bargain-Bin Prices and Big Bundle Discounts

As with most goods and services, you get what you pay for when you buy articles. There are content creation sites all over the internet that sell articles for ten dollars or less, but these rock-bottom prices are not going to help your business in the long run. Such cheap content is almost always the work of a non-native English speaker or a "quantity-over-quality" type writer who churns out six to eight pieces of rubbish per hour. Don't look to save much money with bulk or "bundle" deals, either. Truly quality writers put time and effort into each article, so they can't afford to charge less just because you've got a big order. Buy nice, don't buy twice.

3. Keyword Stuffing

If you're buying articles to fill your web pages or to syndicate to directories, chances are you'll need to have them optimized for certain keywords. However, you do not want choppy prose stuffed to the brim with keywords and related terms. Your content needs to sound natural to keep readers engaged and encourage repeat visits. You should therefore be wary of people who sell themselves purely as "SEO" writers but say nothing about content quality, flow, or grammar. An article that gets your webpage to the number one spot on Google but never results in sales or leads is not a good buy.

4. Missed Deadlines

Since most online content writers work from home and without immediate supervision, not getting your articles on time can be a huge problem. Even people who seem professional during initial communication can turn out to be utterly unreliable when deadlines approach. If you want to make sure your writers are going to perform well under time constraints, give them one or two trial articles (for pay) before you assign them to larger, more important projects. If they make or beat your deadline, you can put some trust in them.

Your Screenplay Is A Circle

You are having problems with your screenplay. You know how it begins, but the middle and the end have you at a loss. I can tell you this much. The place that you start should be the place where you finish.

A good script is a perfect circle and allow me to explain how and why.

You story will most like begin with your characters living in their idea world. A perfectly calm existence is shattered and it is a never ending scramble to return to that perfect life.

Sounds crazy?

Remember the Godfather?

The opening scenes?

The family is happy and intact. They are celebrating a wedding. The Godfather and is inner circle are in total control of a world that is going to be attacked from both outside and within. This world is destroyed. The Godfather is shot. Sonny, his oldest son is killed, his enforcer is killed and his youngest son Michael is beaten. From this point on there is a never ending quest by those left standing to put their universe back into its proper order.

The last scene of the film, after all the violence and bloodshed, is Michael in his father's place as Godfather conducting business as his father did when the film began. All is right with the world. The natural order has been restored.

You can look at a saga like Lord of The Rings and the same holds true. Where does that story begin? Home, comfortable and safe. After an endless quest where does it end up. Frodo and Sam back to where they started. Missing a finger here and a lot of bruises there they are back to the perfect world that they had to flee.

Some stories begin with that perfect world already shattered and through flashbacks it is revealed through out the story. The character is forever trying to find away to or back to their idea world. Some characters do not realize that their world was great until they venture outside of their comfort zone and after having all of their illusions shattered to they really appreciate what they had going for them. A great example of this is in the minor UK classic Mona Lisa starring Bob Hoskins.

Your characters do not travel along an arc if the story is going to be great and memorable, they travel along a circle. That circle traveled in the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy has to leave home to realize that there is no place like home.

Send your characters on grand adventures, but always keep the end zone in sight. The place that they are headed looks a great deal like the place that they have just left behind.

I am not suggesting that it should be a steady walk toward the place that they just left. Put obstacles in their way. See if they can jump through an endless series of hoops, but at the end of it all if they have proven themselves worthy let them come home. They do not need a hero's welcome, but they need to return to the world where they feel most welcome. There is a line in one of the greatest of all westerns, Ride the High Country, where the lead say that all he wants at the end of the day is to come home Justified. He wants to go off into the world, do what his code of honor will allow him to do and come back home knowing that he could not have done things any other way.

Life Of A Keynote Speaker

The life of a keynote speaker comprises of daily appointments with clients, reviewing their itinerary for the week, researching for materials to use in their next discussion etc. This is the schedule of a full time keynote speaker while a part time speaker has another day job. The part time speaker only takes in clients and appointments during their spare time. Mostly during weekends, they do their research whenever they can and they are only booked during their free time. Having a day job means that they have a secure financial status in case there are no clients available or in case they are not hired. Below are a number of things a keynote speaker, whether full time or part time, do each day.

1) Checking For Clients - One of a keynote speakers daily routine is to check for new clients. They may have pending messages from their emails, their fax, or their answering machines. After checking all their messages they are to call back the potential clients and ask of they could have a meeting or an appointment if they have any questions they wish to inquire with the keynote speaker and to finalize their booking if they are truly interested. Part time speakers on the other hand check their messages only during their free time so they need to set up an appointment immediately with their potential clients.

2) Researching For New Material - A keynote speaker should always be on the move with new material each time they are hired. This is why they are always doing research and is always looking for new and fresh ideas that they can incorporate unto their discussion so that they can properly relay to their audience the topic and sub topics for them to better absorb and understand. They have a ton of books for their research and would constantly take trips to the library or is always online.

3) Balancing Their Schedule - Keynote speakers who have a day job keeps a very hectic schedule so they have to balance their daily work with their part time speaking. The best way for them to do this is to multitask, they can take in appointments during their day job and meet with potential clients during their break or during the weekend. These kinds of speakers are mostly single men who have all the time in the world. The part time job is really what they desire most but they also have to think of a time when they have zero clients and they need the extra cash.

4) Observing Other Speakers - The best way a keynote speaker can mature their performance is to observe other speakers in the field. How these other speakers do what they do best and how they perform on stage. They need to be on a constant pace of learning and in order to do that they need to observe other speakers during their discussion and discover exactly how they do what they do best.

MLA Format Machine

The MLA format machine is an electronic device that helps students format their sources according to the standards and guidelines of the Modern Language Association (MLA). The format machine works when a student types in the information the site requires for the source. After the student goes on the Internet, types in the information, and clicks enter, the format machine "spits out" the proper citation of any source.

One benefit of the MLA format machine is that it helps students train themselves to properly format sources in MLA style. Students can save time and money by staying in their rooms and running their sources through an Internet page, instead of going to visit a writing center or a writing tutor. The machine saves students a lot of money that can go to other educational expenses instead of hiring a writing tutor who (with the exception of friends, relatives, and university staff) will charge students a significant sum. Next, the machine for MLA format makes referencing citations more convenient and easy. Students no longer have to look in the MLA citation handbook, examine how a citation should be written, and then duplicate it. Now, students only need to type in source information, click a button, and have the Internet page provide the exact citation.

Students no longer have to say, "I am struggling with referencing sources" if a computer now performs the hard work. In addition, the MLA format machine also makes referencing Internet sources easy. It is often a complex thing to cite a website or web page, particularly if there is no creation date to the page or there is other missing information for a proper bibliographic entry. Now, students can allow the Internet machine to dictate how to cite the source. This will save the student time and energy deciding how to classify the web source, and what to do about the missing information. The student can appeal to the format machine as an authoritative source on citations should he or she find themselves in a bind because of a bibliographic entry.

The MLA format machine is designed to correct reference issues of all sorts, including electronic references. However, the format machine has done more than correct reference issues; it has also made research time more productive for students, increased research independence (from professors and other classmates), and increased the accuracy of source information. Doing research will never be the same again.

MLA Format Research Paper Example

An MLA format research paper example is often a good way to show students and professional researchers alike what a good research paper is in the Modern Language Association format (MLA). A good MLA paper example has (1) one-inch margins, (2) double-spaced text, (3) appropriate labeling, and (4) correctly-spaced footnotes.

When a student writes his or her name on the paper, he or she should place their name, professor's name, class, and date at the top right-hand side of the page. The title of the academic paper should be centered and two lines below the date. At the top left-hand side of the paper, the student should place his or her name, followed by the page number. The student can set up an automatically successive pagination on his or her computer so as to not worry about adding this feature to the document. The margins of the paper should be one inch all around the corners of the text itself. Even the spacing of the text relates to MLA format. A good MLA format research paper example has a good number of sources in its source collection; each source is spaced in a very nice distance from the other sources. The parenthetical citations of the paper itself should also be correct. The sources of the paper, as well as the text, should be double-spaced.

One of the benefits of an MLA format research paper example is that students can use it to gauge their own MLA-formatted papers. Often, it is easy to read formatting instructions and still remain confused as to what to format and how to format. A visual example of a properly-formatted paper may help students further grasp the word instructions provided. Another benefit of an MLA research paper example is that students can be encouraged that MLA-formatted papers are possible to write well. Contrary to what many students believe about research formats, it is possible to format research papers properly. Students can say to themselves while holding a paper example in hand, "If this anonymous individual can properly format a the paper using MLA style, so can I!"

For liberal arts and humanities students, the Modern Language Association (MLA) format research paper example is a clear guide to what professors of certain disciplines require as the standard research format. Perhaps someday, students of both liberal arts and humanities disciplines will themselves create an MLA paper example that will serve as the standard for other student research papers.

MLA Format Guidelines

The Modern Language Association (MLA) format guidelines are part of a research paper format that is distinct from the American Psychological Association (APA), Chicago Manual of Style (CMS), Turabian, and other research paper formats. Its format guidelines consist of referencing sources on a Works Cited page, parenthetical citation, how to reference periodicals, library databases, and online sources, and other helpful topics (such as parenthetical citation in-text).

MLA Format Guidelines: The Benefits

A major benefit of having MLA format guidelines is that they provide order and structure for academic research. If guidelines did not exist, no two papers would have similar formatting or source referencing. Thus, it would be difficult to read papers or grade them accordingly (for professors). Having a set of rules by which to govern citation and format prevent student papers from looking chaotic---chaos being something that can easily happen when there are no rules by which to write and research. Another benefit of having format guidelines is that format guidelines provide students with the exact answers of how to do their academic research.

Students do not need to guess regarding what format style is acceptable. Students can relax when they know exactly what their professors expect. Next, having MLA format guidelines makes student research papers easier to grade than papers without guidelines. Professors can grade research papers better when there is less "guesswork" involved in deciphering what format students used and having to study and know all the formats. Lastly, having format guidelines causes students to pay attention to their work. Students get a chance to see how professional researchers, professors, and the like conform to acceptable rules for their publications. This is great for any student who desires to be a professional researcher, professor, or scholar in the future.

MLA format guidelines are very tedious indeed and span a long list of formatting needs. However, they are essential to great research papers of liberal arts and humanities studies. Formats are in some sense a frame, a context to the academic discipline to which students desire membership. Without a proper formatting context, students cannot understand the liberal arts and humanities scholars. And a research paper within a given tradition without a proper contextual frame for it (format) spells nothing short of chaos.

Free MLA Format

Free MLA format refers to a free template you can download online for essays, articles, and research papers. The free format comes as a template that maintains the double spacing needed for the Modern Language Association (MLA) format, as well as a formatted Works Cited/Bibliography at the end.

One benefit of the free MLA format is that students no longer have to purchase a template. Anything that is both formulated and academic is always sold at a high price. Students would have to purchase the template as a CD to be installed on their computers. An academic CD-ROM is costly. In contrast, the free MLA format allows students to simply go to a web page where the free template is offered, click to download, and the file is installed within seconds. The student can use the free template for every paper he or she needs to write. Students can save money by downloading the free MLA template.

Next, the free MLA format saves time. Before the electronic world offered the free MLA format online, students who struggled with MLA citations had to read the MLA Handbook and struggle with spacing and reference issues on their own. This took a lot of time and drained the energy of students who were already exhausted from working on their research papers. Today, students need not waste a lot of time on MLA citations; the free download provides it for them. All students need to do today is copy their paper and paste it onto a template page. Another benefit of the free format is that it can last for a long time. Before the electronic age, CD-ROMs lasted long and were worth the money. Today, template CD-ROMs both last long and free. It seems that getting them for free today is completely worthwhile!

The free MLA format is every MLA student's dream, costs nothing, and is significantly valuable towards a student's academic performance. The format is free to download within seconds and can be used over and over again. In addition, should you lose your template download, you can always return to the site and download another. This format may just happen to be of more worth than some of your course textbooks. Editors can also help with formatting in MLA. A professional MLA editor can help students properly format their research papers, essays, theses, and dissertations. Some charge only a small fee.

MLA Format

MLA format is the research paper structure of the Modern Language Association. The Modern Language Association is the major scholarly organization in the United States. The MLA format was designed for students of art history, English, cultural studies, cinematic studies, comparative literature, history, and other liberal arts and humanities studies. MLA style consists of in-text parenthetical citations followed by Works Cited/Bibliography reference pages to conclude research papers. The MLA style has guidelines on everything from the header to the footer of any given essay, article or research paper. Due to technological advancement, the Modern Language Association has expanded its citation formatting to include website, web page, and blog posts citations.

Benefits of MLA Format

One of the benefits of MLA format is that the format makes it easy for anyone to cite sources in papers or reference sources in other work. MLA shies away from complex citations, which is why the format itself is "the format of the people." You can even format letters in a loose, MLA style. The Modern Language Association format has become more than a format for academics, but also a format for life. Virtually any activity that involves writing can utilize MLA style. Another benefit of the Modern Language Association format is that it prevents students from having to spend minutes at a time checking footnotes to make sure that they are correct. Students of the Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) and Turabian formats, by default, must employ footnotes in their papers; conversely, MLA students do not. Parenthetical citation involves the use of parentheses to bracket off an in-text citation [(Ex: Michaels, 89)], and can remove the need for footnotes/endnotes at the bottom of a page of research text.

Next, MLA format has expanded to incorporate the World Wide Web as a medium of legitimate research. For years, it was said that sites like Wikipedia or Internet reads such as blog posts could not be deemed academic research. Now, the Modern Language Association has made it easy for Internet sources to be as academically valid as printed sources. The virtual world is changing our idea of reality to include the virtual as part of the real.

MLA format is designed to help students of language, literature, and humanities classes structure and design their research papers properly. Having a set standard helps students to know exactly what their professor demands as well as the demands of academic research. It pays to learn this format, for you never know the occasion on which you will have to utilize it.

Can Content Writing Services Really Help Your Business

If you've got a business and an online presence through your website, you may think that the website is really just a way for you to sell your products and services to customers, easily. You might think that the written website content really isn't that important, but that's incorrect. There are several reasons why your website content can make or break your business. To that end, you might want to consider hiring content writing services to put together that content for you, so that it looks professional and polished.

A poorly written, poorly put together website says "unprofessional"

You can have the best product or service in the world, but no one is going to buy it from you if your website is rife with grammatical errors and looks like your first grader put it together. A professional, polished website says you mean business, and that goes for content, too. Content writing services know how to do justice to your website's content, so that you look like you know what you're doing and can attract customers who want to do business with you.

Search engine optimization is necessary -- but be careful

Do you know what "search engine optimization" is? In a nutshell, it just means that search engines can find your website easily - which means that potential customers can, too. However, there's a lot of work that goes into the perfect search engine optimized (SEO) content.

SEO content has to be organic

That content has to be organic to your site, meaning that it can't simply be in there just so search engines will list your site high in the search engine rankings and make it visible to prospective customers.

In other words, the content that's written must fit in with your site and has to be informative. Basically, if human customers won't like to read it, search engine "bots" won't like to read it either. That could get you blacklisted so that not only do your search engine rankings go way down, but you could essentially disappear from listings altogether.

If you're scratching your head about this, you're not alone. That's where these writing services can help. The professional writers who work for content writing services know how to produce search engine optimized copy that looks anything but -- it's fun to read, organic to your site, and informative. It'll tell customers what they need to know, but it won't be stiff and it won't stick out like a sore thumb or scream, "I've been optimized for those little web crawlers!"

When content writing services can give you organic content, you keep the search engines happy and your ranking high; it's easy to find, so customers can find you, too, making your business a success.

10 Things You Should Know About Literature

Literature appeals to our sense of beauty and thus gives us pleasure. Literature reaches the intelligence through the heart or feelings. Its emotional and rational appeal chiefly inspires us. Prose is the language of reason, while poetry is the literature of emotion. Love, hatred, joy, sorrow, fear, pity, anger, jealousy, revenge, charity such are the emotions that poetry stirs in varying degrees. The intense the emotion, the greater the appeal of poetry. The poetry of Shelley, Keats and Tennyson is highly charged with emotion.

In this article we will see what the essence of literature is and what it should be? How literature reflects human emotions, life, complexities, problems and heartedness?

(1) RAW MATERIAL FOR LITERATURE. Human life is the raw material for literature: human joys, pleasures, sorrows, feelings, emotions, expressions, human virtue and vices, human greatness and degradation, human aspirations, courage, hope, disappointment, success, failure, encouragement, appreciation, anger and frustrations are the stuff of which it is made. Literature may thus be regarded as a mirror of life or in the language of literary criticism, an imitation of life, it depicts human beings, their motives, goals, targets, and ambitions, the ups and downs of human life, thoughts and deeds.

(2) THE ESSENTIAL QUALITY. An essential quality of literature is that it appeals to the intellect through emotions. This emotional quality is its distinguishing mark and the reason of its universal appeal.

(3) DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SCIENCE AND LITERATURE. Science and especially the natural science appeals to mind of man through rationality, experimentation, empiricism and intellect but literature stirs his heart. It is because of its emotional appeal that literature is so widely read in highly developed and industrialized countries. Science having a purely intellectual and brainy appeal is focused and studied by only a minority of general public.

(4) VARIETIES IN LITERATURE. There are many varieties of literature, each having its own peculiar characteristics and each possessing its singular and eccentric appeal. Poetry, drama, novel, fiction, short story, long play and biography are the chief sub-divisions of literature, all of which enjoy immense popularity; a taste for these kinds of literature has spread even to the common man.

(5) LITERATURE IS A BLESSING. Literature is one of the greatest blessings of life, because it exists primarily to give us pleasure. It is a source of keen delight to read the lyrical poetry of Shelly, the sensuous poetry of Keats, the narrative poems of Coleridge, Scott and Byron, the Nature poetry of William Wordsworth, the sweet and musical verse of Tennyson and Rossetti and the melancholy poetry of Matthew Arnold. The comedies of Shakespeare with their rich wit and humor are a source of unending joy. The novels of such writers as Jane Austen, Dickens, Hardy, Stevenson, Arnold Bennet and H.G Wells, have given pleasure and lessons of life to innumerable readers. Indeed, the study of literature is one of the richest sources of human pleasure. It provides with and escapes from our personal circumstances and problems. We find ourselves in a new and beautiful world. We move about in the company of such characters as Falstaff, Mr. Pickwick, Mr. Micawber and Colonel Newcome.

(6) MORAL INSTRUCTIONS AND CHARACTER BUILDING. The study of literature is also a source of moral instruction. It depicts good as well as bad characters and presents them in such a way that we feel compelled to follow the example of good characters and avoid the follies and errors of evil ones. Most works of literature show us the working of a moral order in the universe, so that we can derive suitable lessons for our own guidance in life. Milton's Paradise Lost, Dante's The Divine Comedy, the novels of Tolstoy and the tragedies of Shakespeare are full of deep moral significance. The study of such works is bound to uplift and ennoble us. Literature brings us face to face with the eternal problems of life. It compels us to meditate over those problems in order to find a satisfactory solution. Literature has a role in the character building of humans.

Long Live Books - But Are Books Slowly Dying a Painful Death

The end of book? This is misleading and is definitely an open ended question. It is a question of the paper versus the hard drive. Of course the paper book will survive, but it may be in a library. With book sales on the decrease, and many booksellers (Borders) going out of business. We could also ask the question did video killed the radio star. Some people believe it did. While others don't. There were also people that believed that television would not entirely eradicate book reading and that didn't happen. As people learned to believe that television can interpret books. Books can interpret television. The book still survived.

With the digital era, everything is accessible. We are living in a mass media era. People are writing there own novels (blogs) and setting up websites everyday. Everyone has something to say, or an opinion to voice. But is there any original thought out there. Most of the sites that I come across are the same old same old.

Mass media simply rework, reword, or re-link to other peoples thoughts, instead of expressing their own. How many TV ads are original. Its mostly all reworked rubbish. What do these marketing people take us for? Dd they think that we are just robots and won't notice. Most of the time, I just turned off half the time. Because its the same thing that I have seen before. Everything on the web is the same it is linked to this that and just plain old rubbish. Who has an original thought these days? Its becoming a very rare quality to see or read.

Are these people doing it for money or enjoyable? Some do it for enjoyable. But those people are now hard to find. So I am but to the original question. Are novels as we now it are now becoming out of date. They do take up too much space, not like a hard drive. But I still love the touch or essence of a novel. It is tangible. We can all search the internet for answers. No longer is there the dictionary. Now we have Wikipedia. Everything is taking on a different form, and it moving fast. I sometimes struggle to keep up.

Who knows if you keep some of your books, you could show them to your grandkids, and show them what a book was or used to be.

Historical Fiction Writers

Historical fiction writers and ghost writers are richly rewarded, even when the fiction they pen never hits the list of bestsellers. The primary reason for this sense of deep satisfaction could lie in their ability to bring the past to life and add their own creativity to the story. The power to re-create history is what attracts writers to choose this genre. The writing of screenplays with history as their back-drop proves to be lucrative since movies or teleplays they are turned into are big budget projects. It is far from easy to construct sets to depict the yore accurately. The costumes of the characters are expensive too, yet lure authors to work on screenplays based on the eras gone by.

Winning critical acclamation from the readers is important for all writers, and there could be nothing more gratifying than having a novel published that has historical fiction as its theme. Historical fiction writers have the option to write books, articles for the newspaper or magazines, and scripts for television or theatrical plays. There is a plethora of such novels in the market for readers who love to explore the past and enjoy the stories built around it. Authors conduct research on a notable period from the past, making use of both real and fictitious characters to compose their story. Historical fiction writers have to go out of their way to check and re-check all the details mentioned in the story because wrongly-quoted occurrences will immediately set the alarm bells ringing. Loss of creditability is the worst thing that could happen to literary work that took years of hard work to compile. Authors generally refrain from challenging authentic history.

At the same time, artistic license is permitted to historical fiction writers, but they should not deviate too much from established history. Such speculative literature is termed as alternate history. Often authors fabricate events from the point of view of history that was not documented with imaginary characters giving a brand new perspective to the bygone period of time. Another method is to use actual historical figures to deal with events that were not recorded the way they are depicted. Yet another technique is to use a historical event to complement the story, even though the people, events or the situation may have been altered in some way. Feelings, emotions, motivations and aspirations of fabricated characters during factual period of time require both excellent writing skills and a good grip on the knowledge of the time being dealt with.

Historical fiction writers transport the readers into another world; the use of the Stone Age, Biblical times, Middle age, or Victorian ages is quite common. There are several organizations that help to launch new writers, which helps to further the cause of all historical fiction writers, publishers, agents, librarians, and booksellers. The Historical Novel Society and Historical Writers' Association are two of the most noteworthy organization that have made significant improvements in the professional lives of writers of historical fiction.

Drama Writer

A drama writer is allocated the task of creating characters, settings and plots through his ability to pen fiction that can be performed. Drama is a literary composition comprised of action, conflicts, crisis, and a make-believe atmosphere meant to be acted on the stage by players, filmed for motion pictures, or read in a novel. Oftentimes, the drama writers are ghost writers, who writes on their client's behalf.

Sometimes the term "drama" is used to denote plays aired over the radio in a series of dialogues. Novels written in the form of dramas or plays have been around ever since veteran writers took to introducing their works to the world through pulp publishing. They narrated their stories with dialogues as their main tool. A drama writer gives vent to his creativity via a visual and vocal medium or both. A drama based novel has especial appeal for a wide range of readers of every age. Many of the dramas written long ago have found their way into the academic curricula. This is a succinct proof that the genre of dramas always has and will continue to hold sway over others.

It is imperative for a drama writer to write what he knows, and his aptitude for writing will increase based on how much he knows about a subject. Coming in contact with people, learning from their attitudes, studying their idiosyncrasies, mannerisms, and spoken words all help tutor the aspiring writer - naturally. The more he practices, the better mastery he will gain to express himself eloquently and vividly. Owing to the fact that a drama is a balance between delivering dialogues as well as acting the role being played, the task of compiling outstanding work of art becomes next to impossible if the writer does not have a large repertoire of vocabulary at his command. This automatically reflects on the importance of reading. Reading offers immeasurable substance for the drama writer to draw ideas from. The characters are expected to speak like real people and in order to achieve the desired effect it is advisable for the author to begin to listen intently to how the real people hailing from different backgrounds are talking, how they express themselves and prefer to be understood.

Traditionally drama was associated with collaborative processes between performers on the stage and the collective viewers who reacted according to the way the dramatization progressed. They laughed or cried with the characters of the drama. The drama writer had to make allowances for accompanying music and dance that were integral to the show. Today drama screenplays have become immensely popular among the masses. The writer is required to create characters that the audience can relate to. A family can comfortably sit together and watch a drama movie unfold without paying heed to the age of the family members viewing the show together. Hollywood is on constant look-out for fresh ideas for screenplays since movies or television shows based on interesting dramas usually win a huge audience. A drama writer may write along tragic lines, comedy or humor. There is no water tight compartment for the genre of drama. Many other genres have percolated into drama, which has caused some dramas to become a sort of hybrid.

Suspense Writers

Suspense writers and ghost writers are required to be extremely creative as well as cautious while tackling suspense, which is an important genre today. They have to put in extra hours of sincere, hard work to get pages of a suspense novel stacked up ready to be sent for editing. There is no time to fritter away. Although the author is not tap-tapping at the computer keys, he is usually immersed in deep contemplation about "What if" questions or working out the other details of a thriller/suspense novel at hand. The better the writer can "see" the scenes, the plot, the characters, and the tides of the story, finer will be the end results. Voracious readers make excellent storytellers; the habit of reading should become second nature to writers handling suspense. The anticipation of what might occur is what suspense all about.

Suspense writers breathe life into the characters they write, impact the readers. Often such characters are 'loved to be hated' by the readers and this element paints a picture of hatred of the vile antagonist. If the author wants to keep the audience hypnotized, the inner evil of the villain should be the chief focus. Generally all suspense screenplays are instantaneous successes. Film and television serials based on suspenseful screenplays are fun to watch, heightening the anxiety of the audience and increasing their enjoyment. This fact has provoked millions of authors to try their hand at this genre down the years. Suspense writers should be able to use the manifestation of the dark side of human nature to keep the audience engrossed. The villain need not necessarily be a flesh-eating ogre. The felon can be an anti-hero, a victim of cruelty of the beloved one which has resulted in such a behavior.

While establishing the character of the villain, suspense writers must carefully examine the motive that prods the horrid one to behave that way. The creation of the right mood will go a long way in building up an extraordinarily chilling climax. Suspense rests on the likelihood that the antagonist may win. The tussle between the good and evil in the plot may carry several sub-plots to support the main one. Raising the stakes and the creation of one disaster after another is a good technique to make the readers engaged and desiring to find out what will happen next. Urgency is generated as the readers near the zero-hour. The suspense writers commonly use terrorist, kidnappers, assassin, and time constraints to accelerate the tension of the readers to an unbearable level. Alluding slightly to events and foreshadowing them till the climax institutes apprehension in the readers.

Sci Fi Writer

The desire to become a sci fi writer continues to enthrall new generations of writers partially because of the excitement of escaping into an imaginative world. Due to technology progressing at breakneck speed, the narrow dividing line between sci fi and a scientific fact is growing blurred by the day. A writer of science fiction, abbreviated sci fi, will carry out the task at hand based purely on the premise of "What if?" Sci fi writing is a broad genre, which includes writing novels, screenplays, short stories, and for other media. The interesting part of taking up this forte is that what is viewed as sci fi today may become a reality tomorrow. The power to project into the future and create a plot to keep the readers engrossed lies with a sci fi writer of exemplary caliber. The non-supernatural element of this genre deals with futuristic science, space travel, aliens, paranormal capabilities, unlike the light, bubble-gum romance literature.

Although the skies are not buzzing with saucer-shaped UFOs, they can become the theme for a sci fi writer along with technology like closed circuit TV, clones, video phones, flying cars and other far-fetched gizmos. Space flight exists today, but an author conceiving of newer ways of crossing the universe will definitely perk up the curiosity of readers seeking to escape the everyday grind of life through novels dealing with the subject. Man's strong affinity with movies is not unknown, and if a film depicts strange events that are based on presumptions of science, it is likely to keep the viewers interested and engaged.

A top-notch sci-fi writer concentrates on building rational, alternate future world that may or may not be founded on the currently known facts of science. Fans of this genre seem to feed on everything that the author pens because the setting that is generally contrary to known reality kindles an unexplainable exhilaration. The realistic speculation based on knowledge of the past and present world has no clearly defined delineating limits, thus allowing the writer to soar to the highest or sink to the lowest of his envisioned world.

Through the description of bizarre goings-on, a sci fi writer can cleverly weave a plot that is capable of attracting readers of both sexes and of every age group. Science fiction has its antecedents in mythology and has been hailed as one of the most thrilling of literary works. The close semblance of science fiction has lent the innovative sciences a possible direction for things to come. Man's perennial thirst for gaining an advanced vision of his surroundings has been instrumental in making science fiction even more popular than it was in the past. Writing with total abandon, sci fi authors hold an exalted position owing to their ability to use their imagination and foresight to bring tomorrow within the reach of the masses today. The pulp culture of the yesteryear has gone digital, greatly benefiting the community of sci fi writers.

3 Keys to Attracting Attention and Building Trust Using Copywriting

Grab the attention of your prospects by implementing some of my most highly effective strategies ever. If you fail to anchor your masterpiece with each keystone, it will collapse like a building missing its underpinnings. Once you have the foundation each successive step becomes easier and easier.

When I was a tiny tot my mom never wanted me to be afraid to reach for the stars. Although she was not an athletic young woman she wanted me to believe that I could accomplish anything that I wanted to do. My mom had to first learn the basics before she could teach me a headstand for gymnastics class, (Shhh! She asked her mom who could still do a skillful headstand.) Armed with knowledge, she created a perfect triangle base and flipped upside down against the wall into a headstand. It wasn't perfect but together we both worked on forming that basic stance until we got it right.

There are many things that keep us from moving forward and if you are lucky there is someone encouraging you to take that leap of faith. Today I teach the basics of copywriting because you must build a solid foundation to support your proposal as you write your sales copy.

You have asked me to reveal the magic formula for my own success. I don't mean to oversimplify but here are 3 basics that promise to move you in the direction of writing better copy.

Key #1: Understand Your Target Market

Anticipate her objections before she reads a word of your copy. When you understand her priorities you make more sales. She'll think you're reading her mind when you know more about her likes and dislikes.

Key #2: Know the Difference Between a Feature and a Benefit

Don't let your copy become a snooze-fest of self-serving words. Create benefit driven statements that attract attention and build trust.

Key #3: Make Your Offer Irresistible

• Allure her into your copy so she can't get your message out of your head.
• Never ask for the order before you have convinced her.
• Spark her hot buttons by leading her into buying as she's drawn deeper into your copy.

I just want to see you on a trajectory towards creating your marketing plan for the next year. My boot camps are filled with tips you just won't hear anywhere else. That's where you learn how to put it all together while I deconstruct old school copy and turn it into copy that speaks her language.

I've mustered the courage to face my fears and move beyond adversity towards success. I make it my business to teach using formulas, templates, and tips so you can cut years off your learning curve.

Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero founded Red Hot Copy in 1999 an effort to work anywhere, raise her family, and still make a good living. Her background in journalism and acting prepared her for the creative (and competitive) nature of copywriting. From the moment she discovered the genre, Lorrie was drawn to the edgy, conversational language, the winding persuasive arguments, and weaving psychology throughout the copy.

From her past reporter days, she is adamant about deeply researching the current industries, trends and competition. In fact, Lorrie coined the term "TARKET" ("target" plus "market") to explain how to collect research and refine it to speak to a single person in your demographic. In fact her target + market methodology has become part of the 21st Century marketing lingo.

Apostrophes, Hyphenated Words, and Slang - AI Deciphering Software for Human-Computer Interfaces

Over the last few months, I've been busy converting my online articles into eBook formats by subject and topic, putting together collections of essays, articles, thoughts, and observations for the latest Kindle craze and believe me - it's huge. Amazon has been selling millions of these Kindles on almost a daily basis. In fact, every day I see more and more people with Kindle eReaders at Starbucks and around town, reading away - that's good to see. Not just because I am an author of eBooks, but because I think reading is good for America!

Now then, in editing all of these articles I've written into eBooks, I've found something extremely interesting so let me explain. First, due to my old articles being in an old Microsoft Word format all the apostrophes, and quotation marks are incompatible, so they have to be changed. Yes, that's a big deal when an eBook might contain 50-100 articles and could run as much as 50,000 plus words. It takes forever. But, I've learned something that I bet not a lot of people know. You see, I've been able to tell by:

The number of apostrophes used
The number of hyphenated words
The number of slang-words used

The type of writing, tone, energy level, enthusiasm, fervor, passion, and conversational displacement of the articles, mostly because I know my writing better now after this exercise which is only about one-twentieth completed, and I remember my thinking at the time of the writing. Based on the number of apostrophes I can tell if I am having a conversation with my reader in a chit-chat type tone, or if I am giving information matter-of-factly.

There are also give-aways due to the slang used as Microsoft Word underlines the slang often as "misspelled" with a squiggly line under it. Okay so, now you are saying; So What? Well, yes, I am not extremely surprised at all this. But I've noted that if there is one apostrophe used in a word, there is generally another within that same sentence or the next. And articles with lots of apostrophes are "very conversational" and written with a "friendly tone" in mind.

We can use this information to develop software that can pick up such tone, helping AI computer systems, using strict algorithms, decipher the mind of the writer at the time of writing the paragraph or article. This could come in handy for all sorts of things. In fact, we'd be foolish not to use this information to develop smarter computer/human interfaces and AI systems to serve us. Please consider all this.

English Grammar: Using Connectives to Enhance Your Speaking and Writing Skills

Have you ever used connectives when writing or speaking English? I know I have, and I'm certain you have too. Are you aware of the importance connectives have in our speaking and writing? We use connectives when we connect phrases, sentences, clauses, or words; and the more connectives we can incorporate into our use of the English language the more choices we have when conversing or writing.

Connectives are used to show the relationship between the first phrase and the second phrase in a sentence, between the first part and the second part of a sentence, between the first description and the second description in a sentence. In an effort to avoid confusion when we're writing or speaking, we also use connectives to alert the listener or reader that we are about to place emphasis on a topic or about to change the direction the conversation is going.

If you're not familiar with grammatical connectives, here are just a few examples:

• Therefore
• Nevertheless
• Although
• But
• Furthermore
• Maybe

Following are some examples of sentences using the list above in the order presented.

• The kitty was hungry, therefore I fed him.
• I was tired, nevertheless I had to go to work.
• I bought the comfortable shoes, although they cost more than I expected.
• I saw the blue shirt, but I bought the red one.
• Yes, the item has been paid for, furthermore I paid with a credit card.
• It's wasn't raining this morning, maybe it will start this afternoon on the way home.

Now here's something really interesting, and that is, if you remove the connectives you still have valid sentences that still make sense. Here are the same examples in the same order with the connectives removed:

• The kitty was hungry. I fed him.
• I was tired. I had to go to work.
• I bought the comfortable shoes. They cost more than I expected.
• I saw the blue shirt. I bought the red one.
• Yes, the item has been paid for. I paid with a credit card.
• It's wasn't raining this morning. It will start this afternoon on the way home.

Notice the big difference between the two sets of sentences. They are the same sentences but the meaning changes when we add or remove the connectives.

Connectives are great! They help enhance our speaking and writing skills and the more connectives in our repertoire the more options we have as writers and/or public speakers. Think about this next time you write your speech and/or write your next proposal. As a freelance writer I find connectives quite intriguing, I hope you do too.

Improve Content Writing: 5 Secrets To Producing Better Content For Your Business

Do you Want to improve your content writing skills but feel unsure how to go about it? Here are five secrets that will enable you to improve content writing skills and produce better content, whether you are a new writer or have been doing this for years.

1) Education Not Entertainment

Buy some industry publications or visit some writing websites online. If you want to build any new skill it is best to seek out education on the subject. If you have a goal to produce better content, then whenever you feel like entertaining yourself, seek to educate yourself instead.

There are several excellent magazines and websites devoted to helping writers improve upon and expand their skills. These resources are often broad and appeal to freelance writers, fiction writers and non-fiction writers combined. Before you subscribe to a physical publication, because they can be expensive and the information often overlaps, visit their websites and either request a trial subscription or buy an issue or two at the bookstore first.

These websites and newsletters often contain great information as well. Usually they are free, so signing up for them is a great way to access quality writing information. Additionally, there are some wonderful writing websites. Subscribe to their blogs, sign up for their newsletters and glean all the information you can.

2) Practice Makes Perfect

Write, write, write! And as they say: practice, practice, practice. Writing often is the best way to improve your writing skills. Ask any expert and they'll tell you the same. Write! If you are having trouble coming up with a good content idea, just write. It will eventually emerge. You get better by doing. All the knowledge in the world about a subject is worthless without application.

3) Utilize A Mentor

Consider finding a writing mentor. This does not necessarily have to be a person you speak to or even know. Mentors come in all forms. You may simply find someone whom you wish to learn from and then study everything they do. A writing mentor can help point out your weaknesses and show you where you're strong. They can also help you stay motivated to write and to improve.

4) Continuing Education

Don't stop learning about your chosen craft. Take courses when they are available. There are an abundance of courses available online and off. Some of these courses are so-so and some of them are wonderful. Additionally, some of them are free or close to free and some of them cost money. The best advice is to create a plan. Decide how much you can afford to spend on writing classes for the year, find the best classes that fit your writing specialty or interests and schedule them.

Take as many classes as your budget and schedule allow. These classes are not only a great place to improve content writing skills, they're a great place to make connections in the writing world. You may meet your next client or agent in one of these courses. Additionally, you can take courses that are mailed to you. For example, AWAI offers a number of different writing courses, which are mailed to you or downloaded.

5) Study Others

This is so important I wanted to mention it again. Nothing will help you improve content writing better than studying those writers who produce work you admire and respect. This is a common word of advice for writers looking to improve, and it's good advice; however, take care not to take it too far. You can spend your life studying someone else and not doing it yourself. If you're going to study writers you admire and respect, do so while practicing and writing at the same time. Again, NEVER let education take the place of action!

Your goal to improve content writing abilities with the goal of producing a better and more valuable end product is a noble one. Just remember that this will become a lifelong refining process if you enjoy writing. Have faith that your skills are good now and enjoy improving your content writing skills and learning more as you go.

Last Decade of Fine Literature - NextGen Story Telling To Be Multi-Media Plus Immersion

Well it seems that the price of textbooks in college is getting quite a bit of flak, and there are folks in the digital realm who are ready to revolutionize that industry, and seek a little revenge. That's right, digital textbooks fully linked to all sorts of sources, and fully searchable using similar tools to that which are on your Internet Browser Software and fully integrated will soon be here. In fact many universities are already starting to do this.

Of course, it's not just textbooks, digital media is quickly merging with electronic books or e-books. Many of the top authors now have e-books available, and they are selling them faster and making more money on each unit then they would on regular printed books. If you are a tree in the forest, I suppose this is good news for you. Less paper needed means fewer trees to be cut down, and I can hear the environmentalists now; "thanks to e-books we are saving the rain forest."

Indeed I'd like to take the future one step further, I see this as the last decade of fine-literature, NextGen story-telling will be full multi-media + immersion. Folks wish to be entertained, they like playing online video games, they like surfing the net, they love interactive websites, and isn't online social networking with viral videos, pictures, music, blogs, and e-books a multimedia making story merging virtual reality with the real world in the making?

It also seems with this fast-paced digital world that folks are finding their attention span severely limited these days. Eventually no one will want to sit down to read; "Gone with the Wind," as if anyone ever did wish to read such an ass-flatener, the movie is long enough as it is. And surely no one will have the time to write such an epic novel, or even care to, as no one would buy it anyway. No one has the time, or the inclination, the world is changing and society along with it.

When I talk to teachers, especially English teachers they just shake their heads over the amount of hieroglyphic text messaging and slang being used in the essays and papers that their students are turning in. Our rapid pace electronic society is changing the way people think, take in information, and also distribute their own. Very soon people will wish to be entertained at the highest degree possible in a multimedia immersion motif. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.

Origins of 3 Golden Sayings

Many phrases have become so commonplace in the English lingo that we don't think twice about using them or wonder where they originated. But if you really stopped to ponder the words you're using, you might get curious about the words and phrases you're using. Here are the origins of three common phrases, all with one thing in common -- gold.

FOOL'S GOLD

It is suspected that this phrase originated in the 1500s, when a man named Martin Frobisher returned to England after a voyage to find the Northwest Passage. The Northwest Passage was sought by many explorers and traders, hoping to find a sea route through the Arctic Ocean over the northern coast of North America. Frobisher returned from his search with a ship full of what he believed to be gold -- in actuality, the mineral he had collected was iron pyrite. This deceptive substance gives off the shiny appearance of gold, but is inherently of no value. Thus, the phrase "fool's gold" was born to denote anything that appears lucrative and attractive but is ultimately lacking substance and legitimate worth.

Other competing theories exist about this phrase's origin, mostly because it wasn't technically used in print until the 1800s. A 2008 movie featuring stars Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey was named after this phrase.

GOLD DIGGER

This phrase has gained increasing popularity in the 21st century, brought to the spotlight by rapper Kanye West's 2005 song of the same name. Two months after its release the song topped the billboard charts as the #1 single -- so clearly, this was a message that resonated with the general public. Today, the phrase typically refers to a young female who dates older, wealthy men for the purpose of gaining access to their bank accounts.

The phrase started out, however, in reference to gold miners during the various gold rushes in the 1800s. It may have picked up its current connotations in reference to the women who frequented gold-mining towns in hopes of securing the prospectors' impending fortunes.

ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GOLD

This phrase is similar to the fool's gold idea because it refers to things that give off the appearance of value but lack actual worth. Several early authors used this phrase in their literature, but Shakespeare is thought to be the one who brought it the most attention when he used it in his 1596 play The Merchant of Venice. What's interesting is that gold, in its raw form, does not glitter as much as other minerals, such as the aforementioned iron pyrite. Several plays on this phrase have been made in modern popular culture, in everything from Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" lyrics to poetry in J.R.R. Tolkien's famed novel The Lord of the Rings.

Ghostwriting and Editing: Drop That Client

To a ghostwriter or book editor, a client is as valuable as gold. So why even think about dropping one? Because once in a blue moon, you'll get stuck with a client from you know where. Instead of suffering through a fruitless collaboration, it's best - for both of you - if you drop that client, ASAP.

The non-paying client. This should be a no-brainer, right? But for writers who are eternal optimists, hope can blind us and keep us writing long after we should have moved on to another project. Too often we buy into clients' excuses:

"I'll pay you next month when I get my bonus."
"I've got some inheritance money coming in. Once I get it, I'll write you a check."
"I can't pay you right now, but when this book becomes a best seller..."

Run away! Don't accept such premises. There is no money, so don't waste your time. Politely explain why you must decline, and search for another project.

The client who changes his mind - a lot. To the point where you've made zero progress. First they want one thing. A week later, they change their mind and ask you to take a completely different direction. Five more days pass, and they present a revised outline that has nothing in common with the original project parameters.

At this point, it's clear they haven't thought things through. Since they have no idea what they want, and it may take weeks or months or longer before they figure it out, you need to politely leave the picture. Let the client know that once they've finalized their plans, you'll be happy to work with them. It's possible you'll never hear from them again - and that's perfectly ok.

The client who doesn't appreciate what you do. Most clients are thrilled by what you can do for them. They are pleased that you make them sound so good in writing. But now and then, a client comes along who does not appreciate what goes into improving a manuscript. They'll point to a passage and complain that, "All you did was tweak a couple of lines here, delete a few there, and replace some of the words. I think you charge too much for what you do." Never mind that thanks to your targeted edits, their manuscript now reads a hundred times better than before!

Perhaps they genuinely don't like your revisions. First, give them the benefit of the doubt. Work with them to determine what they really want. If it becomes clear, however, that they don't value your service or they're trying to browbeat you into dropping your rates, you'll need to part ways. They don't appreciate your work now, so you can be sure they won't down the road, either. Your collaboration, should you decide to keep it going, will be a rocky one every step of the way.

The client with the incomprehensible manuscript. Even your magic can't repair this so-called novel. There is nothing connecting the chapters. You can't fix the plot because the plot is missing. A character who dominates Chapter 2 never makes an appearance again. Events transpire with no seeming purpose or association. The author contradicts himself everywhere. What's a book editor to do?

You can do one of two things: either do your best to improve the manuscript and add a measure of coherency, or explain that they don't have a novel. They have a collection of short stories with no central theme or unifying force - if that. Maybe all they have is an incoherent stream of disjointed thoughts.