Writers On The Move

July Blogging Prompts

The 4th holiday may have come and gone, but there's still a lot to blog about during the month of July.

Here are some topics to write about in July.

Summer Fun: It's summertime. Share with your audience unique ways to have some summer fun, that reflect your specialty or relate to your business.

Summer Productivity: On the other end of the spectrum, share productivity tips to will help your audience get more done (expand their audience, build their expertise, or do more networking in the summer months) when they really just want to chill out or get out and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Plus:

July Holidays: July is National Anti-Boredom Month! July 13 is Barbershop Music Appreciation Day, Embrace Your Geekness Day, and Fool's Paradise Day. Plus, July 26 All or Nothing Day (go for the extremes), July 27 is Take Your Pants for a Walk Day (promote exercise), and July 30 is the International Day of Friendship (show support - promote the website, blog, or business of your friends).

July Food Holidays: There are lots of food holidays in July. It's National Grilling Month, National Hot Dog Month, National Ice Cream Month, National Culinary Arts Month, and more. Sundae Sunday on the third Sunday. Also, July 13 National French Fries Day, July 21 is National Junk Food Day, and July 31 is Cotton Candy Day and Jump for Jelly Beans Day.

Bonus: Fiction writers, in June your characters headed to the beach. This month, invite them to a barbecue. Have a main character, love interest or supporting character host a barbecue for their fictional family, friends and/or coworkers.

What is the host making? Who is coming? Which guest is bringing what side dishes and desserts? How does what they prepare reflect their interests and personality? For example, one character buys something at the store and transfers it to his or her own cookware, while another spends hours perfecting a scrumptious dessert.

There's lots of fun to be had when you put characters in a social situation and see what comes out of their dynamic. This kind of exercise can lead to all sorts of awesome material.

Double Bonus: Extra gold stars to anyone who hosts a barbecue for inspiration

***

Debra Eckerling is the author of Purple Pencil Adventures: Writing Prompts for Kids of All Ages. She's a writer, editor and project manager/goal coach, as well as founder of Guided Goals and Write On Online, a live and online writers’ support group. She is an editor at Social Media Examiner. Debra is also a speaker/moderator on the subjects of writing, networking, goal-setting and social media.

So Why Shouldn't Authors Profit from Advertising When It Benefits Their Audience!

Memories, Marketing and Sponsorships and Sales

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning
books fir writers, The Frugal Book Promoter and The Frugal Editor,
both in their second editions

About a year ago I was answering questions for an online interview to promote the Southern Utah Book Expo I would soon be presenting at. Because I am from Utah, my high school newspaper and yearbook became a topic of discussion and mentioned that getting sponsorship ads for those things was as vital to their being as the photos, writing, and layout of those parts of high school life we all value.

Authors do the same kind thing with their Web sites. Carefully vetted ads can add value to their contents. I am a sometime actor and occasionally I notice how carefully a director places a picture on a wall or a can of Coke on the table in the shot he's taking. That's placement advertising and we—as consumers of both the Coke and the ad itself—hardly notice. It's subliminal. It's natural to see them there. And besides, this country lauds capitalism and monetary independence. In fact, many metaphorically wave the flags of commerce in our politics (though some suddenly become shy about doing so for their own books! But more on that later!)

Just as I'm thinking about that, I ran across a related article in the business section of the LA Times. Of course! It's about product placement in videos and how it's growing. And how it's making some smart video companies and producers some really big dollars. Why am I not surprised? Here's why. The Love Boat, the TV series from several decades ago, was one giant product placement sitcom! This kind of marketing is not new—nor is it unacceptable. And I’m used to sponsorships (a soft word for advertisements) appearing in the front- and backmatter of fine literary journals.

Now, back to the idea of authors using the same techniques to upping the value of their content and for fattening their pocketbooks. I hope I’ve convinced you that if it’s OK for everyone else, it’s OK for those who write books.

For any author to sell product placement or advertising and make large quantities of money requires an audience (we authors call it a platform). But it can be done on a small scale—perhaps out of the goodness of your heart or perhaps in trade with other authors who are out there making videos and otherwise promoting and building their platforms like crazy.

The video entrepreneurs in that article remind others that audience is "more important than any brand deal." They say that if they love a product, it feels good to do something with it commercially. But it’s even more than “love.” The bigger question is, “Does this product benefit (elucidate) the work itself?” Another is, “Is the product something that might benefit the author’s intended audience?”

If you’ve decided something like this is worth exploring, here are a few guidelines for you to consider:

Don't interrupt the story (the arc or thread) with an "unrelated product message." I'd extend that and say at its best it should never feel like an interruption at all.
A product or its logo might work best if it doesn't appear until half way through the video. If you should decide to use an actual ad, put it at the end of the video or book because if a person has hung in long enough to see that final frame--read that final page—they probably will be more receptive to a product than if it's flashed up front where it might discourage a person from watching at all.
Try a title card. Entrepreneurs McLaughlin and Link Neal use product placement well into their cat video and then a brand name "title card" at the end. I'm thinking even the title card could add something more than just an ad. Perhaps it could look like a cross-stitched "Kitty Snoozing" sign hanging from a doorknob. It could be designed with Friskies colors, a logo, and little kitty-food-can tassels hanging from the corners. The question now is, what would the title card on your video look like—beyond just your bookcover image and a Web site address. In The Frugal Book Promoter, a couple of my ads offer a discount on products that writers can use by means of promo codes.

So what are the guidelines for success—whether it is a paid-for project, a bartered one, or the goodness of your heart?

Passion
Appropriateness
Perceived Benefit
A Promotion Partner so you can share both real expenses and the time it takes to promote it.

On that latter point, one of my subscribers, Reno Lovison, once made a slide-show video for me without even asking. He sent it to me as a gift with suggestions of how I might promote it. It was an interesting turn around because his own promotional materials and video business were the product placements within the ad he made for me. Talk about partnerships! His Web site is http://authorsbroadcast.com/ and if you look at the books on his Web site, you'll also see the cover of one of my retail books for which he made a more traditional sales video several years ago (and which I still use in multiple spots on my Web site).

If you'd like to read more check the LA Times story by Madeline O'Leary, Tuesday, July 29, Business Section (B3).

-----

Carolyn Howard-Johnson brings her experience as a publicist, journalist, marketer, and retailer to the advice she gives in her HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers and the many classes she taught for nearly a decade as instructor for UCLA Extension’s world-renown Writers’ Program. All her books for writers are multi award winners including the first edition of The Frugal Book Promoter published in 2003. Her The Frugal Editor, now in its second edition, won awards from USA Book News, Readers’ Views Literary Award, the marketing award from Next Generation Indie Books and others including the coveted Irwin award.

Howard-Johnson is the recipient of the California Legislature’s Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment Award, and her community’s Character and Ethics award for her work promoting tolerance with her writing. She was also named to Pasadena Weekly’s list of “Fourteen San Gabriel Valley women who make life happen” and was given her community’s Diamond Award for Achievement in the Arts.

Multiple Points of View: Good or Bad?

POV (Point of View), is an topic that could fill whole blogs. My question today is this: What do you think of multiple POVs in a novel? I'm not talking about head-hopping (seeing into multiple characters' heads in the same scene, jumping from one to the other as convenient). I'm talking about telling one chapter or scene from one character's POV and then using a different character's POV for the next chapter/scene.

In my YA fantasy novel, Far-Knowing, I divide each chapter into 2-4 clearly marked sections which alternate between two characters' POVs (with a third making a few appearances). The two main POV characters are two young apprentice mages, both young women, but with different backgrounds, skills, aims, and opinions about the world. And they don't particularly like each other. I loved writing the story from both points of view because it showed how the world is more gray than black and white, and that two people can interpret the same event completely differently.

I've read quite a few books told from multiple points of view, including one of my favorite YA fantasy trilogies, Hilari Bell's Farsala, and a little one you may have heard of: Game of Thrones.

It's interesting to me, however, how divisive the style is. Look at a couple of reviews of Far-Knowing:

"I normally don’t like stories that switch a lot from one point of view to another, and back again. There have been rare cases where I did end up liking them, in spite of multiple POVs --- but this book is the first time I remember finishing a book and thinking that the multiple points-of-view not only failed to detract from the story, but also made the story better. From the perspective of someone like me who is biased against that practice, this is quite a testament to Melinda Brasher’s skill as a writer. It’s terrific."

-from a 5-star Amazon review

Vs.

"But for me this book had a major problem, and this was the manner in which it jumped from one character's point of view to another character's point of view. Many times, just as I was getting into the story, the point of view changed, and I had to reestablish the context. Some readers don't mind this kind of style, so I think many readers will enjoy this book more than I did."

-from an otherwise positive 3-star Amazon review

And these:

"The characters were well developed and you really got to see into Kalli and Ista's minds. I do however think that the POV switches came too frequently. I would've preferred the format to be different, but it wasn't too distracting."

-from a 3.5-star review

"I absolutely loved the changing perspective of different points of view of individual characters. Things aren’t exactly as they seem to be. Very true."

-from a 5-star Amazon review

Out of curiosity, I just looked at reviews of Game of Thrones that mention point of view (8 POV characters, by the way), and most say that it adds so much depth, that we really get to know all the POV characters, that it brings the story to life, that it shows how even the bad guys can justify their actions and aren't all bad. Several mention that they thought it would be confusing or unnecessary with so many POVs, but that it worked. Several say it WAS confusing at bits but it was worth it. A few have warnings that the multiple POVs may put off readers looking for a simple tidy read.

So, what do you think? Have you ever written anything in this style? Do you have any examples of books you love (or don't love) told like this? When you read one, do you find yourself hurrying through one or more POVs to get to your favorite character? I'd love to hear in the comments.

And to see for yourself what you think of the POVs in Far-Knowing, Farsala (Fall of a Kingdom), or Game of Thrones, click the links below.

Far-Knowing, by Melinda Brasher
Fall of a Kingdom (Farsala #1) by Hilari Bell
Game of Thrones by Geroge R.R. Martin

Melinda Brasher loves casual hiking, taking photos of nature, playing in the shallow little river that runs through her Czech town, and hanging out at home writing. Her short fantasy story, "Chaos Rises" is now FREE on Amazon (and everywhere else). Her microfiction (38 words) recently won honorable mention in On the Premises' Mini Contest #25. Read "Dusk" for free here. Or visit her online at www.melindabrasher.com

Creating Images – Simple and Quick

Creating images on your own is easier than you might think.

Normally, for any of my image needs I would go to BigStock.com and choose the image I wanted.

The problem?

This could take quite a bit of time. For most topics there are lots and lots of images to go over. But, hey, the saying goes, "a picture is worth a thousand words," so spending the time to find the 'right' one was necessary.

While this is a good strategy, again, it takes time.

Suppose you just wrote an excellent blog post and want an 'on target' image to go with it. If you're like me, you'd have to search through the images you already bought. Or, you'd have to go into your image resource site to find and buy the image you want.

You could also check out MS Office ClipArt, which has some pretty good images. But, if you're looking for something 'on target' and you just can't find, you settle.

This goes with the blog posting territory.

Well, at one point, I wrote an article and just couldn't find an image that 'hit home.' And, I didn't want to waste too much time finding one, so I decided to throw something together myself. And, I did it with Microsoft Office 2010. It took around five minutes.

My article was on video marketing, Using Video for Marketing, and I wanted an image that would quickly reflect the topic.

So, this is what I did:

1. Opened a Word doc and typed "Play Video."
2. Used Text Effects in Home: Font.
3. Highlighted the text and chose an orange color from Home: Paragraph: Shading - there's actually I reason I chose that color, but that's another post. :)
4. I highlighted, copied, and pasted the pre-image into MS Paint, cropped it, and saved it as a jpg.
5. I inserted that jpg into the Word doc I had open.
6. I click on the jpg and went into Picture Tools Format.
7. I choose Picture Effects - Preset #11.
8. Then, I highlighted the image and chose the orange 'shading' again.
9. For this step I couldn't simply highlight and copy/paste into Paint because of the special effects, so I clicked on Print Screen (Prt Sc). Be careful when you use Prt Sc, because any thing on on your screen or in the image will appear.
10. I copied the newly revised image into Paint, cropped it, and saved it as a jpg.

That's it. I had a quick and easy 'on target' image for my post.

It may be simple, but it's on target. And, if I want, I can upload that image to image sites and sell it.

You can also, use an image you already have (one you bought) and tweak it. Just remember you can't sell that revised image, or claim it as your own design.

Here's one I simply tweaked:

I had the SUCCESS image and just added the text "GUEST BLOGGING" to it, using MS Word 2010. Then used the same process as above to create a new jpg.

I used this image for a post on guest blogging.

To Use Wrap Text (to input text on an image):
1. Insert the image into a Word Doc
2. Click on the image to bring up the Picture Tools feature
3. Type the text you want to appear in the image. You can type it below the image.
3. Go to Wrap Text in the Picture Tools dashboard
4. Click on Behind Text.
5. Position the text in the image.
6. Copy the new image using a screen capture tool and save to your Picture files.

Again, quick and easy.

Moving on Up

Since then, I’ve graduated to Logo Creator. It’s just as simple and quick, but it offers lots and lots more options and features.

Below is an example of the difference with this tool:

The image is much more sophisticated, attractive, and engaging. Yet, it's still simple and quick to create. This is the type of graphic you want in your blog post.

And, the image at the top of this post was created with Logo Creator.

You really should check it out! I'm an affiliate for them and that's my link just above. If you're going to try them out, please use my link. It'd sure be appreciate!

Karen Cioffi is a ghostwriter, content writer, and inbound marketing instructor with WOW! Women on Writing.

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MORE ON MARKETING

4 Major Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Blog Posts

Pay Attention to Advertorials

Strategies to Get Book Reviews

Setting: It's Not Just Background

Winter Landscape, Photo by Linda Wilson

Creating a setting for your story is easy, right? According to Taylor, a member of the Men with Pens team, in his article, "Special Fiction Writing Week: Creating a Setting," creating a setting is easier than creating a character. I agree. But, giving your setting authenticity and weaving it into the action through insights of your POV character requires special consideration.

The setting helps make your character come alive. Mere description won't achieve this. According to the article, "Author's Craft--Narrative Elements: Setting," on the Universal Design for Learning website, "Setting is not just factual information, but an essential part of a story's mood and emotional input. Careful portrayal of setting can convey meaning through interaction with the characters and the plot."

What is the mood of your story? Romantic? Mysterious? Humorous? Your opening needs to establish what type of story it is and stick with the mood throughout the book. Your reader will then be prepared to laugh, cry, seek adventure, etc., and will be emotionally engaged to continue reading. In her book, Writing for Children & Teenagers, Lee Wyndam writes "All story effects must be preplanned for that overall effect you want. Nothing can be left to chance, not even the weather."

Three Types of Setting

A Real Setting: The setting is in a place that can be found on a map, with the buildings, streets, stores, etc. intact. The time is close to the present. The best part is that nothing has to be made up. The tricky part is that you must be accurate. Taylor suggests picking a place you know well, especially if you've actually lived there awhile.
A Setting Created from the Real World: The setting is made up but fashioned from the real world. A Bed & Breakfast is the setting for one of my stories, a place down the street from where I lived for five years. My first visit there actually gave me the idea for my book. After moving away I stayed there during a visit while working on my book in order to experience it. Yet despite the area's familiarity, I still researched the kinds of trees, plants, wildlife, weather, etc., to make the setting as accurate as possible.
A Fantasy Setting: The creation of a make-believe world is not simply imagining how it looks and feels. It also needs to have a history. The danger with this type of setting is to be careful not to get lost in this new world you've created, but to stick to your plot and how your characters relate to their world.

Creating a Setting that Works
Utmost is creating a setting so vivid that your readers feel immersed in it. At the beginning of each chapter, provide brief information of the time and place to help ground your reader; use descriptive language, invoke the senses and any other sensations you can think of.

In the following excerpt from The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier, Cormier reveals a great deal about his character Jerry's present situation with Jerry's observations of his surroundings:

Out at the bus stop, Jerry leaned against a telephone pole, body weary, echoing the assault of the football practices. For three days his body had absorbed punishment. But he was still on the roster, luckily. Idly, he watched the people in the Common across the street. He saw them every day. They were not part of the scenery like the Civil War Cannon and the World War Monuments, the flagpole. Hippies. Flower Children. Street People. Drifters. Drop-Outs.. . . [He] . . . sometimes envied their old clothes, their sloppiness, the way they didn't seem to give a damn about anything. Trinity was one of the last schools to retain a dress code--shirt and tie. He watched a cloud of smoke swirl around a girl in a floppy hat. Grass? He didn't know. A lot of things he didn't know.

In one paragraph, the reader learns that Jerry:

Goes to high school and is a football player.
Is sore from three days of practice, implying that football season just started, a subtle way to place the story in early fall.
Feels like a marginal player on the team, feeling lucky that he's still made the roster.
Recognizes traits in the people he observes in the Common, contrasts them with people the war memorials there represent, but is impressed that these people don't have to follow a dress code like he does. But, he recognizes that he has a lot to learn.

Self-Check
While creating your setting ask yourself these questions:

Where is it? At the bus stop near a park.
When is it? After school.
What is the weather like? Probably a warm day in the fall.
What are the social conditions? Jerry wishes he could be as carefree as the "hippies" he observes lounging in the Common, but he has to wear a uniform to school. He's never smoked pot before.
What is the landscape or environment like? His bus most likely picks him up from the center of town.
What special details make the setting vivid? The names hippies, flower children, street people drifters, all conjure up a picture of what these people look like. The park holds war memorials, which show a well organized and thoughtful town. Pot smoking contrasts with Jerry, who seems straight-laced in his school uniform, and how different the street people are from the people who fought in the wars.

More Tips on Creating Setting

Wherever you go, take "setting notes." Note unusual details, how each of your senses is affected, and "record textures and small 'markers.'" (Jan Fields, my first writing instructor during a short story course at the Institute of Children's Literature, W. Redding, Connecticut.)
Setting can include geographical location, historical era, social conditions, weather, immediate surroundings and time of day. Often an overall setting is established in the beginning of a novel and then within it, scenes occur in different specific places (at the inn itself, at Abi's new friend's house). (Taylor from the Men with Pens article mentions J.R.R. Tolkien's and Ursula LeGuin's novels, such as A Wizard of Earthsea, as masters of "making up whole new worlds.")
At https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fictional_towns_and_villages there is a terrific list of fictional towns, villages and cities, separated by categories such as comics, films, television, etc.
In a Children's Writer article by Veda Boyd Jones, Christopher Paul Curtis's Newbery Medal Award winner, Bud, Not Buddy, is mentioned because Jones uses this book as an example: "What makes a setting work is its full development." Jones also discusses the importance of the fictional name of a place, and points out author Vicki Grove's novel, The Starplace. "The place Grove created, Quiver, Oklahoma, is not real. The name, meant to be literal and ironic, is also a function of setting. Quiver is an Indian word and a description of some of the fear-ruled people in the town."
A helpful article, "The Fundamental Elements of Setting," can be found at http://www.writersdigest.com/tip-of-the-day/discover-the-basic-elements-of-setting-in-a-story, by Courtney Carpenter.

Setting can not only be a subtle way to bring out your character's personality and motives, it can also be challenging and fun to create. The part I enjoy the most is immersing myself in places I love even after I've left, and learning things about them that I didn't know while living or visiting there. Your love of "place" will shine through, too, and can be an effective way to make your character come alive.

Sources: http://menwithpens.ca/fiction-writing-creating-a-setting; http://udleditions.cast.org/craft_elm_setting.html. Please note that the self-check idea came from this UDL article.

Linda Wilson, a former elementary teacher and ICL graduate, has published over 40 articles for adults and children and six short stories for children. Recently she completed Joyce Sweeney's online fiction and picture book courses. She is currently working on several projects for children. Follow Linda on Facebook.

Preserving the Old in a Digital World

Reblogged from Monday, May 27, 2013

The sophistication of our technological world has caught me between a rock and a hard place.

Who doesn't love the ease of the digital world? Building a freelance writing career is a click away. The ease of networking with other writers provides a myriad of information, mentoring, and visibility. Contacting publishers and editors is instant with email. Blogs, social sites, and online courses abound. Uploading your manuscript is almost as easy as 1-2-3 and all over the world people are reading your book with the convenience of their e-reader.

While these advancements are certainly a plus, it makes me wonder what could be lost. Will the printed book be a thing of the past? Will there be a generation who will never experience taking in the earthy smell of a library, perusing its shelves, and soaking in the solitude? Will sharing ideas and critiques over coffee be replaced with online meetings?

Sounds unlikely but the more we rely on the digital world, the less we give attention to some tried and true old-fashioned ways.

Photo credit: Kamil Porembiński / Foter / CC BY-SA

Maryanne Wolf, developmental psychologist and cognitive scientist of Tufts University states: "There is physicality in reading, maybe even more than we want to think about as we lurch into digital reading—as we move forward perhaps with too little reflection. I would like to preserve the absolute best of older forms, but know when to use the new."

It's possible we could be losing more than just the memory of the good old days.

When it comes to pen and paper, studies have shown there is more to it than we think. According to the WallStreet Journal, "Virginia Berninger, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Washington, says handwriting differs from typing because it requires executing sequential strokes to form a letter, whereas keyboarding involves selecting a whole letter by touching a key. She says pictures of the brain have illustrated that sequential finger movements activated massive regions involved in thinking, language and working memory—the system for temporarily storing and managing information."

Photo credit: kpwerker / Foter / CC BY-SA

So, how do we preserve the old in a digital world?

Print it. For several years I had a personal blog. I took the time to print and compile the pages. I wanted a history for my children and grandchildren to read someday. Computers crash. Journals, letters, and books are forever.

Write longhand. Try writing your manuscript longhand and see if you feel a difference. Write a letter now and then. Finding a box of old, hand-written letters tucked away in an attic is a treasure! I recently read a letter from my grandmother written 40 years ago. I found myself studying her handwriting and remembering her in ways a computer font would not do.

Go to the library. There is something special about a library. It offers an aesthetic experience and a respite from the busy world. If you have children or grandchildren, by all means take them! But don't you forget to go there, too.

The new way we read, write, and communicate is fascinating. But we must wisely find ways to preserve our heritage. It's helped make us who we are today and we cannot lose it.

~~~

Kathleen Moulton is a freelance writer. You can find her passion to bring encouragement and hope to people of all ages at When It Hurts -http://kathleenmoulton.com/

Understanding The Connection Between Writing And Research

Guest post by Lesley Vos

To many people, the term “research” seems intimidating, scientific, time-consuming and all together a big, pointless headache. However, research is an essential part of the writing process.

What is research?

Research is the systematic investigation of a particular topic. It involves the study of various materials and sources. The ultimate purpose of research is to unearth facts, reach new conclusions, and revise preconceived notions.

Being a writer or a blogger, you need to understand the connection between research and writing process itself, as it's impossible to create any outstanding and really awesome writings without facts behind them.

Let’s take the definition of research and break it down into three important parts.

1. Systematic investigation

When writers engage in research, there must be some method to the madness. The process must be systematic, organized, and logical.

This is especially important when it comes to citation. All research must be properly cited. This helps prevent accusations of plagiarism. It also lends a much needed element of credibility. Without proper organization throughout the research process, citations will be difficult to come by.

2. Materials and sources study

The research process involves the use of various materials and sources. These sources could be:

•    Professional journals
•    Magazines
•    Newspapers
•    Books
•    Websites
•    TV
•    Radio
•    Podcasts

One of the most important aspects of research is credibility. It should be noted that not all sources are created equally. Writers won’t be able to establish credibility if the source isn’t reliable. Peer reviewed professional journals, for example, are more reliable than a personal blog.

This portion of the research definition is probably the one that provokes the most phobic reaction. Writers dread the prospect of pouring over dusty books in a dark, dank portion of the library hoping to unearth a nugget of valuable information.

Fortunately, not all research requires such methods—or even printed materials. Research comes in various forms. For example, it might include personal observations. Sitting on a park bench, “people watching,” might provide the information you need.

The research a fiction writer embarks on might simply be market research. What do fans in this genre want to read?

3. Taking facts, reaching new conclusions, revising preconceived notions

Research does not simply involve gathering information. It also involves analysis and interpretation. The information must be constructed into meaning. Facts alone won’t make a logical argument.

For example, it is a fact that each Major League Baseball team plays 162 games in roughly 180 days. But if the writer doesn’t interpret those facts into relevant supporting date, it means nothing.

Does the writer want to express the idea that each team will need a variety of pitchers to survive such a grueling schedule? Does the writer want to point out that the baseball team owners stand to earn a lot of money off ticket sales?

To be effective, research must involve analysis.

Why is research important?

In the world of academic writing, research is often conducted for the sole purpose of learning to do research. Students must show they understand the process and are evaluated on their effectiveness.

Many writers assume the art of research ends once the tassel has been moved to the other side of the mortarboard. However, they couldn’t be more wrong!

Personal experience lends quite a bit of validity to an author’s writing. However, nothing can replace quality research—regardless of the writing style.

There are many reasons why research is important; here are just a few.

Credibility

Unless you have a whole bunch of alphabet soup behind your name referencing all the degrees and professional distinctions you’ve earned, you’re going to need the help of people who have earned those recognitions.

If your ideas align with those of industry leaders, your points suddenly seem valid. Without credibility lent from other people, your argument will fall flat.

Education

Reading is one of the greatest ways to learn new information. It has a significant impact on not only your writing, but on life overall. Reading is often encouraged as a way to improve writing. But when you incorporate research into the act of reading, it becomes even more significant.

Research helps the writer better understand the topic at hand. The writer probably already has a general understanding of one aspect of the issue; research helps the writer understand all sides of the argument. Research unearths the contributing factors that the writer would otherwise be ignorant of.
Once the writer has become more educated about the topic, he or she is able to speak as an authority. The writer’s voice will be more informed and influential.

Publication Expectations

In order to get your writing published in credible, noteworthy publications, you’ll need to conduct research and cite your sources. This is an industry standard that must be adhered to.

Many professions rely on published works. Doctors strive to get published in medical journals. Bloggers hope their ideas can get shared on more noteworthy sites. It doesn’t matter the type of writing or the final source of publication, the process is quite significant.

Plagiarism Prevention

It is possible to set out on a writing project with opinions and ideas that seem groundbreaking. You might think your ideas are totally unique and will cause quite a stir among the readers.

However, it is possible that your idea really isn’t all that new. Perhaps someone else has already thought of it—and had it published. If you take credit for that person’s ideas—even if it was unintentional—it’s considered plagiarism.

Research will reveal all pertinent information about a particular topic. It will help prevent the writer from claiming someone else’s work as their own.

It doesn’t matter the topic or type of writing; research is an essential part of the writing process. Researching data and interpreting the findings should be a standard for all writing projects.

***

Lesley Vos is a blogger. She creates content on the topic of writing, education, student life, and digital marketing. Lesley contributes to many authoritative websites and writes her e-book now. More works of hers are available on Google+.

REFERENCES:

establish credibility - https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/02/
analysis and interpretation - http://managementhelp.org/businessresearch/analysis.htm

Image Copyright 2013 Karen Cioffi

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MORE ON WRITING AND MARKETING

Think Like a Publisher
How Much Emphasis Should We Use?
Goal Setting – It’s Not About Ideas, It’s About Making Ideas Happen

Creating Variety in Sentence Structure

Monotony is a writer's enemy. One great way to provide variety for your reader is through some techniques that can change up sentence structure.

1. End with a punch. Sometimes we have a great sentence, but we begin with what could be a powerful ending. Switch it around and see if you add a surprise that your reader will appreciate.

2. Use an occasional short sentence for emphasis. Too many short sentences, just like too many long sentences can turn your readers off, but using a short sentence every once in a while can draw your reader's attention.

3. Use parallels. Often we work to make sure that our word choices vary, but sometimes using parallel ideas can create a more powerful sentence.

Other ideas:

1. Invert sentences. Consistently following the norm: subject, verb, then object structure can become boring for readers. Inverting doesn't always sound natural, so be sure to read it out loud, but when it works it creates exactly what may keep your reader interested.

2. Vary sentences. Long and short, simple and compound. Mix it up for your reader.

3. Watch what you begin with. Often habits form and sentences begin to sound repetitive. Also look at the beginnings of paragraphs for the same monotony.

Mixing things up and spending time reworking your sentences is all part of the editing process that can make your work stand out.

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D. Jean Quarles is a writer of Women's Fiction and a co-author of a Young Adult Science Fiction Series. Her latest book, House of Glass, Book 2 of The Exodus Series was written with coauthor, Austine Etcheverry.

D. Jean loves to tell stories of personal growth – where success has nothing to do with money or fame, but of living life to the fullest. She is also the author of the novels: Rocky's Mountains, Fire in the Hole, and Perception. The Mermaid, an award winning short story was published in the anthology, Tales from a Sweltering City.

She is a wife, mother, grandmother and business coach. In her free time . . . ha! ha! ha! Anyway, you can find more about D. Jean Quarles, her writing and her books at her website at www.djeanquarles.com

You can also follower her at www.djeanquarles.blogspot.com or on Facebook.

26 Reasons a Writer Should Blog - Part 3

Is it possible that writing a blog can improve your health?

By the time you have read all 26 reasons why writers need to blog, you will know the answer to this question is another

Yes!

According to the experts, blogging can help you

emotionally,

mentally, and

physically.

Let's take a closer look at that statement as we move on to our next four letters in the series.

8. H is for Healthy Habits

Regular journaling is good for your health. Many psychologists and other health professionals tell how journaling helps you process traumatic and stressful events. It is a means of dealing with emotions and thoughts without having to work through another person.

Blogging works the same way. After all, that’s what blogging is—a Web log. It requires a commitment of time, devotion, and discipline, all healthy habits to develop in this crazy lifestyle many of us seem to follow today.

Blogging keep your mind working, and many believe when we write about emotional topics, it increases the effectiveness of our immune systems*. A well-working immune system will keep you physically healthier.

We can also write about health topics. These would make an excellent theme for a month of posts. Following a month’s dieting habits might encourage us to be more disciplined ourselves as well as encourage others to follow our examples.

* Pennebaker, J.W. (1997). Writing about emotional experiences as a therapeutic process.
[Electronic version]. Psychological Science, 8 (3), pp. 162-166.

9. I is for Inspiration

We need to be inspired so we can create a post that will benefit others. As we write, we need to give thought to those who will read our words. Will this encourage them? Will they be inspired to read more on the topic? Will what we write improve their day?

There are many ways to find inspiration for your next blog post or series, however, one that really makes sense is to look at your blog comments. Remember to ask relevant questions at the end of each post and then see what your readers come up with. If you don’t get enough helpful comments, try going to another blog that is following a similar theme. Read their questions, and then use them as a kicking-off point for your next blog or series. (Don’t copy their answers though!)

A blog post should not attempt to cover a subject. After all, how could I possibly have told everything there is to know about the Serengeti National Park in one post? People have written books on that topic alone. All I wanted to achieve for that post is an article to titillate the senses of my readers. Maybe they will want to read more. Maybe they’ll get a book out of the library or spend their morning on Google. Or maybe one person somewhere in the world will be inspired to add the Serengeti to their bucket list! If you want to cover a topic, then you definitely need to turn it into a series of posts.

10. J is for Journal

Your blog could become a personal journal. Until recently, I thought this was the most common purpose for a blog. But doing the A-Z challenge I became impressed with the creativity people show in choosing themes they can follow for a month, one alphabet letter at a time.

A Travelblog can cover a journey. One writer was traveling across the States with her husband. She wrote a daily blog on a new place she’d seen, following the letters of the alphabet. What if there wasn’t a suitable town for that letter? She would come up with a creative title. e.g. H is for Horse Statue in City Centre. (My own suggestion as we have one in Port Elizabeth where I live.) Even as I write this, my brother and sister-in-law are preparing for an overland trip to East Africa which will take them four months. They have built a blog for the family and their friends to follow their adventures.

Blog a life’s journal. This could be public, or you may choose to make it a Family and Friends Only blog, where people join by invitation only. This could be done chronologically, but if you’re anywhere near my age that could take an awfully long time to write! If I were to do this, I would probably go for an A to Z theme, and choose places or events or people to write about for each letter.

Imagine the surprise I had one day when I learned my 30-year-old son believed he was born in the city where his brother had been born. He had gone through his life believing that was his birthplace. His true place of birth only came out by accident!
Ask yourself, how much do your children know about your life? Do they know your place of birth? Were there unusual circumstances to your birth? In today’s global society more than ever before, families are fragmented, and a Life’s Blog could be a great way to bridge the gap between the generations.

11. K is for Kindle or other e-books

Blog a Book: Nina Amir has written a book and has a website devoted to this topic. Once a year during November, at the same time as NaNoWriMo, she encourages other writers to join her in a commitment to write a complete book on their blog. I did this one year, but I didn’t prepare adequately in advance. I plan to do this again, but next time I will spend some time before kick-off choosing 26 (perhaps) chapter headings on the proposed theme.

Each day I will write one chapter of the book and post it on my blog. At the end of the month, provided I have kept to schedule, I will have the draft copy of an e-book.
The technique to convert the writing into an e-book, or even a pdf book, is straightforward. Numerous books are available to help. Just Google the topic. I did a course with Val Waldeck a couple of years ago, and I felt a real sense of achievement when the book opened beautifully on my Kindle.
I have considered turning Out of Africa into an e-book, but I will have to do it in pdf format as I have used many pictures in this theme. Something to consider for future ideas.

Collect books and information on blogging. Go to Amazon and you will be amazed at the e-Books available on the topic. There is just no reason for us to remain in the cyber-darkness, wishing we could build a blog.

Get yourself a Kindle today! If you don't have a Kindle or other e-reader, go to Amazon and download a Kindle app for free. There is one available for your PC, your laptop, most smart-phones and your tablet.

Early in the days of Kindle a friend suggested to me that, although neither of us could afford to buy Kindles especially as we both live in South Africa, we should nevertheless download the app to our computers and start to collect books that came up on special or even free. I followed her advice, and when I eventually received and registered my Kindle, it immediately had all the books I had collected during the preceding year.

Have you learned anything new today? Or is there something you would like me to cover in this series? Can you think of ways you can use your blog material in other ways? Share your ideas in a comment below.

The Value of Finishing Your Writing Projects

by Suzanne Lieurance, the Working Writer's Coach

If you’re struggling to become a published writer, there’s probably one thing separating you from your goal – a finished manuscript.

I was reading through the current edition of the Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market the other day when I came across an interview with Laura Resau, the award-winning author of seven YA (Young Adult) and middle grade books. When asked what has been the biggest key to her success, Resau said, “A lot of it has to do with actually finishing stuff. I know many extremely talented writers who, for whatever reason, don’t take that step of fully realizing their creative vision.” She went on to explain that often perfectionism, self-doubt, and external criticism hold these writers back.

The Real Reason Writers Don’t Finish Things

While I agree that perfectionism, self-doubt, and external criticism are often contributing factors to the abandonment of a particular writing project, I think there is one more important factor – writing to the finish line is just plain hard work. It usually involves sitting at a computer, or with a pad of paper, for hours, days, weeks, or even months. Many times it involves several false starts. It may also take several writing sessions before the work on any particular project starts to flow. Many writers just aren’t willing to suffer through this part of the process. If the writing doesn’t flow from the start, they move on to something else. But they usually don’t finish that project either (for the same reasons as before) and end up with a mound of unfinished manuscripts. What’s worse, these writers never improve their writing skills very much.

The Value of Finishing What You Start

If you’re one of those writers who very rarely finish a project, you need to get out of this habit. Besides publication, here some additional benefits to finishing what you start:

1. You’ll learn the complete process of writing the type of piece you’re working on.

Anyone can start writing a novel. It takes knowledge and skill to finish writing one. The same goes for a magazine article or any other type of writing.

2. You’ll have something you can polish to perfection so it will be ready for publication.

Without a complete first draft, you can’t move forward to the next stage of writing, which is the revision process.

3. You’ll feel a deep sense of completion and satisfaction you’ll never feel with an unfinished manuscript.

This feeling of completion also builds confidence. When you’ve finished a particular piece of writing – a novel or a magazine article, for example – you will now know you can write this type of thing from start to finish. You did it once, so you can do it again.

Okay...so what does all this mean?

It seems pretty obvious.

Don't just START writing something, FINISH writing it!

Try it!

Suzanne Lieurance is an author, freelance writer, certified professional life coach and writing coach, speaker and workshop presenter. She has written over two dozen published books and hundreds of articles for newspapers, magazines, and other publications. Subscribe to her free newsletter for writers at www.morningnudge.com.