Writing Inrochester

Are you an Article Marketer? If so, you know that it pays to write hundreds of articles and post them on the web with your URL attached to the bottom.

But did you also know? When you include TWO URLS in the resource box of your article, you’re turning it into watered down orange juice.

Let’s call one of your URLs “OJ” and the other “water.”

You put two in, now your orange juice is only HALF as juicy as it was before. And the power of your brand, “OJ,” is FIFTY PERCENT diluted.

And you may think it’s tasty, but that’s only HALF the vitamins of undiluted orange juice.

(Said in Plain English):

For those who run multiple websites:

How do you choose which URL to place in your article resource box?

As a marketing-minded individual, I choose the URL that’s most appropriate for the audience.

For example, If I’m selling, say, orange juice, and my one site is “Freshpicked.com” but the other is called “dreamingincolor.com”… guess what?

I’m not including that second URL in the resource box… no matter how much I want everyone to notice how many websites I’m running.

I notice that many people include more than one URL in their article resource box, and I advocate strongly against it.

Even if the reader “knows you from around the internet,” you are not attracting people to one website if you give them two options of where to click.

If you give ONE option, and someone clicks, they can explore the potentially many pages of one website, and let the info sink in and then burn your name into your head.

If you give them two, you’ve diluted the power of your brand by FIFTY PERCENT.

Do you think this helps to build a strong case for your brand? I don’t.

People are NOT going to click TWICE.

They’re just not, so don’t give them a distraction with your two-URL-having resource box.

Don’t do it.

Don′t water down your orange juice.

Copyright 2005 Dina Giolitto. All rights reserved.

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Beginner’s Blues: How to Collect Samples, Testimonials, and References as a Freelancer by Brian S. Konradt of BSK Communications and Associates

My samples are self-selling. They gleam behind protective covers in my portfolio and snatch me business. “Wow, I really like this one,” says a new client, studying one of my newsletter samples. “That’s what I want. Can you do something similar for me?”

“I sure can,” I tell the client. “I think we should shoot for four colors, instead of two. And thick texture paper would be better for self-mailing.”

The client agrees. He also agrees to pay me $850 for the 4-page newsletter, half now and the rest when I complete the job.

“Your samples are your most persuasive tools to seal the deal,” advises Mary Anne Shultz, a NY-based freelance writer who specializes in ad copy.

“At least seven out of my ten clients had asked to see some sort of samples before hiring me for the job,” says freelance writer Joan Berk. “Clients want to know what you are capable of doing for them.”

“Even if your new client does not ask to see samples, you must have samples,” says Louie Markowitz, a freelance writer specializing in corporate newsletters. “I show every new client at least one of my samples — a sample that is similar to what they have in mind. This helps me get constructive feedback and insight into what the client wants.”

This is easy for the established freelancer to say, who has collected professional samples over the years and knows that samples sell themselves to clients.

But what about the beginning freelancer who has nothing?

According to freelance writer, Scot Card: “Don′t panic. Many freelancers start at the bottom. It’s where I started. And probably so will you.”

As a beginning freelance writer embarking on a part-time or full-time freelancing career, you’ll need to do a lot of “grunt″ work in your field of specialty. Depending on your approach or what you choose, you’ll be doing assignments and working on projects for little or no money, but the payoff will reward you in the long run.

Writing a brochure for a local non-profit organization or writing a press release for your church’s summer events will come in handy the day you need to show your first client what you’ve been up to. But it doesn′t just begin with freelancing to local non-profit organizations or churches. You can tap into many other outlets to collect samples while improving your experience, skills and knowledge before you begin freelancing part-time or full-time.

Your first step to get started is obvious: Take inventory of everything you have written.

Everyone has done some writing in the past: writing term and thesis papers writing articles for your college newspaper; providing copy for a flier or brochure for an organization; helping your friends write their resumes, or your own. The list goes on.

Of course, a client won’t hire you after he glosses over your high school term paper (with the bright red A at the top) or a short poem you scribbled in a birthday card. But all of your past writings can serve as a benchmark as to where you stand now. You may even possess samples hiding in your closet or lost somewhere in the massive directories of your hard drive, waiting to be reworked and re-edited for a fresh facelift.

Take inventory of all of your writing samples and evaluate them as if you are the client. What grabs your attention? What makes you squint away. Do your samples have anything in common with your specialty? Can you rewrite any of your samples for improvement? If so, redo them and use them to begin your portfolio. If not, listen closely…

Here are some ways, endorsed by established freelancers in the field, that can help you collect samples of your writing, including testimonials and references; but by no means do you have to follow them. Be creative and seek out other alternatives.

Joseph Martenello (technical writer): “I worked as a part-time stringer for my local newspaper for a year. How’d I get the job? I responded to an ad in the newspaper, even though I barely had any writing experience. Next thing I know, I was covering town meetings and local events, boring stuff. I didn’t get paid much — not enough that I could live off — but this lead to a higher paying position writing short features for a while and freelancing for neighboring newspapers for dirt pay…I was able to collect my published articles and put them into a portfolio. Even now, six years later, I’m able to state in my sales letter that I worked as a newspaper reporter. That title has a lot of clout with clients. My clients expect short, tight copy — the type of copy evidenced by my published newspaper clips.”

Judith Corbishley (PR consultant/writer): “I started my so called ‘freelancing′ by catering my writing services to local organizations. You wouldn’t believe the demand for freelance writing in organizations! And the reason why is that many [organizations] will not pay you, at least the non-profit ones won’t. I basically immersed myself in everything I could get my hands on. I wrote press releases, developed brochures, published fliers, you name it. Gradually, my specialty — from having to handle many writing tasks — emerged. I fell in love with PR, and now do it full-time, supporting myself with my writing. And it all started by contacting the director of a local non-profit computer education organization. You can do the same. Check your community newspaper or local bulletin board for volunteer help. Then call up the director or contact person. Ask if they need somebody for writing. Most likely the answer will be yes! You’ll be able to do the writing at home under a flexible deadline. When the time comes to produce your promotional material, you can list the organization as one of your clients. You are under no obligation to state that you’ve worked for free. Leave this information out. Go for it and good luck!”

Brian Konradt (copy writer/DTP publisher): “Years ago I had joined a national writers’ group. I started a newsletter for the organization, out of my own expenses, and charged each member $3 for a copy. I also wrote a press release to publicize the newsletter. My press release was published in three trade magazines. I never made a profit — in fact, I lost money on this endeavor. But I used the newsletter and the published press releases as samples. Members also mailed me testimonials about how much they loved the newsletter and how professional it looked. This was my very first professional sample that I stuck in my portfolio, and possibly, I believe, persuaded my first client to invest in my services. You can do something similar.”

Michelle O’Reilly (copy writer): “Network. Meet people. You got that? My first client came as a result of my being in the right place at the right time with a stack of my bright white business cards tucked away in the fist of my hand. I had attended a marketing seminar that was held by a local business chapter. The seminar had attracted a large gathering of business professionals, entrepreneurs, and other freelancers. There was time afterwards for networking — and that’s what I did. I handed out my business cards to anyone who sounded as if they′d be interested in my writing services. And somebody was interested! A few days later I received a call from a young entrepreneur who was looking for a way to promote a new product. Was I interested in writing a brochure for him? I told him let’s get started, I’m ready, with not even an idea of what I was going to charge him. I only got paid a fraction of the amount I demand now, but it helped me launch my career. Whenever there’s a social gathering in your area, make sure you attend and network. Put your face in front of the crowd. Let everyone know you exist and you have these great skills as a writer. Network. Remember it. It’s a great way to get clients and referrals.”

Andi Lipschein (technical writer): “If you want to get yourself samples, attend a workshop. It’s how I got my first professional sample: a technical manual, critiqued and corrected by the instructor, on how to operate a piece of equipment. My advice is attend as many workshops as you can in your area of specialty. They offer tremendous benefits: you increase your knowledge on the subject, you get trained by a professional, you get hands-on experience, and you walk away with professional, critiqued samples for your portfolio. Many local community colleges and high schools offer writing workshops as part of their Continuing Education series. The information and samples you obtain will last a lifetime.”

Rita Clayborne (PR writer): “I interned my way to success…My experience and skills came from interning for five different public relations firms in New York for two years. I got a lot of hands-on experience — and a lot of headaches, but I learned how to work with deadlines and how to deal with clients. I also got tremendous insight into the field, such as pricing my services competitively, how to tap into my market, and how to make a business succeed. This had a positive impact on the success of my PR business today. You can intern part-time (a couple of days out of the week), or full-time (five days out of the week). I got paid for my work as an intern, but don’t always expect to get paid. Call up some PR firms in your area and speak with the person in charge. Ask if they offer an internship program; if not, ask if they′d be willing to accept you as an intern. You can locate PR firms in the Yellow Pages. Alternatively, you can contact the Cooperative Education department of your local college and ask the director to help you in your search. As an intern, you will collect many professional samples, references and contacts!”

John Palmeri (graphic designer): “When the company I worked for was planning to do a newsletter to celebrate its 30 years of service, I jumped at the opportunity. I was only a stock clerk there, but I was attending college for my bachelor’s degree in Communications Arts, and I had some skills as a layout artist. My boss agreed to let me produce the newsletter, and boy, did I get excited. I didn’t get paid for doing it — although there was a bigger Christmas bonus for me — but it helped me produce my first sample with my name on it. At that time I wasn’t planning to freelance — but that changed down the road when I wanted to make more money doing what I love most: producing newsletters. To this day, I still produce newsletters for the same company I had worked for five years ago. The difference now is I get paid top dollar to produce it, and I’m my own boss.”

NOW WHAT? Once you have samples, you’ll need to prepare a portfolio, plus a brochure or sales letter or web site selling your services. Your promotional material should contain testimonials for hard-hitting power. As a beginner, don’t spend a lot of money advertising your services. The time will eventually come when you’ll turn “pro″ and you’ll spend at least 25% of your earnings on promotion. For now, decide to place a small classified ad in your local newspaper, tack up fliers on the bulletin boards at your local supermarkets and libraries, or advertise your services on free job boards on the Internet. See what types of responses you get. Be persistent in your search for clients. Most of all: Don’t give up! The professional is the amateur who had never quit in the first place.

When you get your first client, let the client do most of the talking. You will find that many clients will not even ask to see your samples — so don’t even bring it up. Many clients will accept you as a writer — on your word alone — and will work with you.

Work hard and good luck!

About The Author

© 2003 B. Konradt

Brian Konradt is webmaster of FreelanceWriting.Com ( freelancewriting.com” target=”_new freelancewriting.com), a web site dedicated to help writers master the business and creative sides of freelance writing. Mr. Konradt was formerly principal of BSK Communications & Associates, a communications/publishing business in New Jersey, which he established in 1992.

FORWARD

The 188 stage Hero’s Journey (Monomyth) is the template upon which the vast majority of successful stories and Hollywood blockbusters are based upon. In fact, ALL of the hundreds of Hollywood movies we have deconstructed (see URL below) are based on this 188 stage template.

Understanding this template is a priority for story or screenwriters. This is the template you must master if you are to succeed in the craft.

[The terminology is most often metaphoric and applies to all successful stories and screenplays, from The Godfather (1972) to Brokeback Mountain (2006) to Annie Hall (1977) to Lord of the Rings (2003) to Drugstore Cowboy (1989) to Thelma and Louise (1991) to Apocaplyse Now (1979)].

THERE IS ONLY ONE STORY

THE 188 STAGE HERO’S JOURNEY:

a) Attempts to tap into unconscious expectations the audience has regarding what a story is and how it should be told.

b) Gives the writer more structural elements than simply three or four acts, plot points, mid point and so on.

c) Gives you a tangible process for building and releasing dissonance (establishing and achieving catharses, of which there are usually four).

d) Tells you what to write. For example, at a certain stage of the story, the focus should be on the Call to Adventure and the micro elements within.

ABRIDGED TIPS, EXCERPTS AND EXAMPLES:

(simply go to heros-journey.info/ heros-journey.info/ for full details)

*****Threshold Guardian*****

As is normal, a Threshold Guardian blocks entry into the First Threshold. In Bonnie and Clyde (1967), the teller says that there is no money; the bank failed three weeks ago. This is a time of the Great Depression.

*****Foreshadow of the Final Conflict****

A Foreshadow of the Final Conflict is not uncommon (the very detailed stage between the Crossing of the Return Threshold and the Mastery of the Old and New Worlds and Self). This is not unlike the stage of the Elixir, where the ultimate goal is made explicit. In Straw Dogs (1971), the boys say that, “…we can take care of our own here, usually do…”

Learn more…

WRITE THAT SCREENPLAY!

The Complete 188 stage Hero’s Journey and other story structure templates can be found at clickok.co.uk/ clickok.co.uk/ or managing-creativity.com/ managing-creativity.com/

You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made, the author’s name is retained and the link to our site URL remains active.

**********************************

Kal Bishop, MBA

Corporations have it easy. They’ve got the necessary resources to make the best sales letter. But small businesses like the one you’re running can’t compete in the same ground and thus, you have to personally make sure that everything goes right with your sales letter. Customers are often unforgiving and with long memories so make sure that you get your sales letter right the first time around.

Step by Step Guide on How to Write a Sales Letter

Step #1 Get the Date Right

Try to determine when’s the earliest date your recipient will get a hold of your sales letter and make sure that you date it accordingly. People like to read about the latest things and anything that’s a week old will usually be considered unimportant. Make sure as well that your recipient will be provided ample time to think about their purchasing decisions.

Step #2 Create a Headline with Strong Impact

After the date line, the next thing to tackle is your headline. This is a one-line summary of the content of your sales letter. More importantly, it tells readers WHY they need to read your sales letter and what they’ll get from it.

Step #3 Personalize It

After the headline, it’s time to address the letter to the intended recipient. It’s always encouraged for businesses to address customers – existing or otherwise – by their given name. Your following introductory paragraph must include additional complimentary details about the recipient if possible.

Step #4 Illustrate a Situation

The next paragraph is where you slowly lead the readers to the main purpose of your sales letter. Illustrate a situation that your readers – or customers – could easily relate to. The situation must be something that you’re assuming your customers still have problems in and something that your products or services are able to solve. If you’re selling a credit card, you might use situations where people are suddenly faced with an unexpected mountain of debt or expenses with no one to turn to.

Step #5 Get Rid of Potential Problems

Of course, your customers might think of several problems and concerns they have with what you’re selling but don’t wait for that to happen. Be the first to talk about them and present a solution for each.

Step #5 Enter: Product or Service

It’s time for your products or services to make a grand entrance by way of a hero. The situation illustrated earlier on or more to the point, the problem described will naturally be solved by the product or service you’re offering. Focus on how much the product or service will be of help to the customer. Place strong emphasis on the benefits and not the futures of your products and services. Effective sales letters always focus not on what a company’s offering but why customers need the company’s offering. Don’t hesitate to assume that your customers need what you’re selling. Take it as a given and a lot of people will immediately follow your line of thought.

Step #6 What are You Waiting for?

When you’re done explaining all about the wonderful benefits of your offer, you proceed by making it seem like it’s a foregone conclusion that they’re going to buy. Act like it’s impossible for you to conceive that a customer would delay buying because the offer’s just too good to be true so why let it slip by?

Step #7 Call Me

And lastly, don’t forget to give your contact details. Persuade them to contact your office even if they’re only marginally sure about buying. Right now, obtaining interest is more than enough!

Dos and Don’ts for Writing a Sales Letter

Write in the language your target market is accustomed to. If your business’ primary target market is made up of businessmen, adopt a businesslike tone. The more statistics and figures you use to support your claim the more they’re inclined to believe in what you’re offering.

Don’t ignore what your competitors are doing right. Originality is always good, but if you notice something that your competitor is doing to make an effective sales letter, know their trade secrets and find a way to incorporate and improve on it with your sales letter.

Do double check that you’ve got the right name and address of your recipient. It would just give you too much hassle if you’ve sent the sales letter to the wrong recipient.

Mario Churchill is a freelance author and has written over 200 articles on various subjects. For more information on

“Unaccustomed as I am to public speaking…” To some people making a speech in public can be one of the most terrifying few moments of their lives. And it may be especially so if they are not well prepared, or if they are lacking in confidence or overly self-conscious or shy.

Public figures, media commentators and celebrities do it all the time with apparent ease. At times they never seem to shut up. But at some point in most people’s lives, though they may not be in the public eye, they will be called upon to say a few words before an audience. So what then? How does the non-professional cope with making a speech at a family celebration, a presentation at the club, a function at work, without making a dog’s dinner of it?

What do you do when you are dropped in it? You do what the professionals do. Follow the guidelines to delivering a good speech, guidelines they have often paid thousands of dollars for in expensive courses. With the right preparation, and acquiring a few skills, delivering that speech you are called on to give at the wedding celebration, birthday party, anniversary, or work retirement, will be a very rewarding and satisfying experience.

Every day we hear the professionals speak in public with apparent ease. Talk show hosts, politicians, TV presenters, heads of large companies and corporations – they seem to have words at will. They make it sound so easy. Well guess what? There is no great mystery to the art of good public speaking. Just a few simple, commonsensical rules to follow, and here they are:

1. Preparation. Prepare your speech well. Spend a little time thinking of what you are going to say and the kind of audience you are going to address. Winston Churchill often said that it only took him 10 minutes to prepare a two-hour speech, but it took him all of two hours to prepare a 10-minute one. And he was one of the finest speakers of the English language.

2. Good Opening and Ending. The first and last sections of your speech are crucial. Give them a little extra thought, maybe even writing out your opening and closing lines and learning them off. A humorous opening will get your audience’s attention right away, eg, “As Henry VIII said to each of his wives in turn, ‘I won’t keep you very long,’” or “A good speech, they say, should be like a mini-skirt, short enough to be interesting, and long enough to cover the essentials.”

3. Body of Speech. Your speech should be structured. Write out the points you want to make in a sequence, one after the other, so that one point leads into the next.

4. Quotes. Pepper your speech with quotes. This will add power to and reinforce what you are saying.

5. Humor. Use appropriate humor/joke/funny story/funny quote to get your audience with you. When you hear them laughing they are paying attention to you and your message.

6. Eye contact. It is very important to maintain eye contact with your audience, panning back and forth across the width of the room so that you appear to be speaking to everyone directly.

7. Notes. Use cue cards with key words and phrases written on them, glancing at them every now and again to remind you of the next point. That way you will be able to maintain the all-important eye contact with your audience. Avoid reading the entire speech from a script.

8. Smile. Be sincere, avoiding over-statement or exaggered flattery if the speech is in praise of someone, and most important of all, smile.

Remember delivering a speech is not a matter of life and death. It’s just a speech. If you make a little slip-up (it happens to the very best), or you’re nervous (take a few deep breaths), that’s OK – no one is going to shoot you. Just be yourself, follow the few tips above, and you will be pleasantly surprised with the result and your audience’s reaction.

Good luck with the speech!

Tom Corr is a professional journalist, newspaper editor and website publisher. He has also published poetry and short stories. Among the websites he owns which you may find useful resources are allgreatquotes.com allgreatquotes.com and lifeisajoke.com lifeisajoke.com

Permission is granted to use this article for free online or in print, but please add a link to or print website addresses.

Creating characters that are believable takes time and discipline. Creating dynamically real individuals and not imposing your own thoughts and impressions upon them is not easy to do, and is often the difference between a novel or screenplay that sits in a closet and one that finds its way around town and into the hands of audiences. Spending your time building your characters before they enter the world of your story makes the process of writing an easier and more enjoyable ride, and creates a finished product that agents, publishers, producers and readers can truly be excited by.

You must first agree to operate from the understanding that the three-dimensionality of your characters is not created magically. Talent equals discipline multiplied by time and you must practice (daily) the art of developing your characters. As a development executive with LA Film Lab Entertainment (a literary development and production company), I have developed a framework to assist you in creating rich and complex characters. The complexity that you desire comes through 1) labeling their desire essences, 2) labeling their fear essences, 3) getting specific about their past, 4) labeling their behavior, 5) raising their stakes, 6) not meddling in their lives, and 7) letting them play. Asking provoking questions in line with these steps, answering them thoroughly, and then repeating the process, provides constant individual growth in your characters that mirrors life. Now let’s take each step in turn:

1. Label the Desire Essences of each of your main characters: The first key to deepening your work is finding the major motivators in the lives of your characters that drive their actions. We all have deep aspirations that drive our choices, our thoughts, our actions and reactions. These needs are what differentiate us from one another and we will refer to them as “Desire Essences.” Some examples of DESIRE ESSENCES are: the desire to be intellectually brilliant; the desire to be socially famous; the desire to hide from the world the desire to belong to a group; the desire to be loved the desire to party; the desire to die.

2. Label the Fear Essences of each of your main characters: What is at the root of each of your characters’ darker sides? For every desire they have they should also exhibit the antithetical fear of failing at that desire. These fears will battle their aspirations for control over their behavior. Labeling and understanding the darker sides of your characters is imperative to creating the dimensional and imperfect characters you are after. Some examples of FEAR ESSENCES are: the fear of being stupid the fear of being ordinary; the fear of being socially exposed the fear of being rejected by a group; the fear of being loathed the fear of being boring; the fear of having to face life.

3. Get specific with your Backstory: Human behavior is made up of a string of moments and reactions to those moments. A character’s current behavior is a battle between fear and desire and their immediate choices are made based on very specific (yet unconscious) experiences from their past – experiences that leave imprints much like DNA. Though your characters should be unconscious of these past experiences that are influencing them, you the writer must create these in your preparation of their backstory be fully aware of them. Here is an example of what won’t benefit you vs. what will when getting specific with backstory:

Bad example of getting specific: Rachel is a pretty girl who thinks she is unattractive. She prefers to live in her books as opposed to being with friends or family. Her father has abused her sexually throughout her youth. She hates attention.

Better example of getting specific: On her graduation day, at a party her Mother is throwing for her, Rachel’s sexually abusive father shows up drunk and congratulates her, hugging her too closely, grabbing her rear end with both hands, and calling her pretty in front of a room full of her friends and family. She runs away humiliated and hides in her room, escaping into one of her fantasy books. That night she moves out to stay with a friend and doesn’t tell her friends where she is going. Two weeks later she finds out through another friend that her father died in a car accident. He had been drunk.

In the better example of getting specific, the reader can have a visceral reaction to the words. This is caused by the detail. The generality of the bad reaction is logical, but lifeless. In the better example it is easy to determine what the essences of our leading lady might be: desire to hide, maybe even desire to die, desire to live in her books, desire to be valued for her intellect instead of her body, fear of loneliness, fear of her appearance, fear of the opposite sex, fear of losing a loved one, fear of being abandoned.

4. Describe their Current Behavior: Take the essences and the specific examples you have now created and determine what kind of behavior your characters might exhibit as a result. Don’t limit yourself with these, but rather excite yourself with the possibilities.

Simple examples from our leading lady - a woman who: hides her body avoids friends from her past; mistrusts anyone who comments favorably on her appearance; desires to control her education and her intellect; avoids alcohol.

5. Raise the stakes: Emotions are extreme. Play in the realm of this extreme when dealing with the fears and ambitions of your characters. These essences are all encompassing; meaning that we spend our lifetimes with them. Don’t cheat your characters by being afraid to raise the stakes as high as you can. Needing to find a precious stone to sell to an art dealer by midnight to raise the financing to save your character’s mother’s house before the bank takes it away from her tomorrow is exciting! Look back at your own life and think of how seriously you take your essences – when your essences are threatened will you fight to extremes to defend them, just as when they are fulfilled, do you enjoy some of your greatest moments in life? Play in the realm of the extreme. Raise the stakes. Your essences are life and death to you – let them be that way to your characters.

6. Don’t meddle: Of course you might be saying to yourself, “How do I not meddle – I’m the writer!” But a truthful story is going to grow from your willingness to let your characters make their own decisions based on how you have defined them (which after these exercises will be in great depth). As their parent, you have to let your children go this is the point at which your story truly begins. DO NOT MEDDLE IN THEIR LIVES. Continually remind yourself – it’s not about you. You just serve the story. Let your characters make their own decisions. If you ever find yourself not knowing what decision they might make – question your homework and rework their essences, behaviors and stakes until their choice becomes obvious.

7. Let your characters play: Once you have developed several characters by labeling their essences, getting specific, defining their behavior, and raising the stakes, you are ready to begin to let them interact. It’s like the first day at a new school ripe with possibility. When properly developed, there is no way to predict how your characters will behave in any given situation, but they are so full of life and their own agendas that they are ready to interact with other characters who have been developed to the same level. If you have done the work to get to this place – this is where your characters will begin to write themselves.

BEFORE AND AFTER – are your characters underdeveloped?

Problem

Example Exploration: Let’s begin with a general concept of a man and a woman who have not been developed. Our genre will be romantic drama. We’ll put these two people in a used book shop for their initial meeting and write from a general perspective.

Rachel entered the bookshop looking around. She needed a book for a dear friend of hers and though she had passed this book shop a million times, she had never been inside. She browsed around for awhile. She pulled a few books off the shelf trying to find a suitable gift. “Is there anything I can help you with?” said a voice from behind her. She turned to see an attractive young man in his twenties. “Are you looking for anything specific?” he asked. “No,” was her reply. “You’re very pretty,” said the man. “Thank you,” she said blushing.

Solution

After putting these two characters through the process of labeling their essences, getting specific and raising the stakes, this is where we stop meddling and we let them play:

Rachel entered the bookshop looking around. She browsed trying to avoid other patrons (desire to hide). She caught her reflection in a mirror; her baggy jeans and sweatshirt hid her features well. A section of classic literature stopped her in her tracks like a magical window (desire to live in a different reality). Gently she pulled a copy of “Leaves of Grass,” from the shelf ( desire to be appreciated for her intellect). “A woman who enjoys Whitman is hard to find,” said a voice from behind her (desire for connection). She must have leapt three feet off the floor (fear of the opposite sex). Jeremy was standing a few feet away. “My Mother and I used to read Whitman together,” he continued. Rachel stood there feeling awkward. “Why do you read?” he asked her. His gaze was powerful (high stakes). “There is little else that I believe in,” she mumbled (desire to connect). Her eyes never left the floor (desire to hide is strong). “Would you like to take a walk over to the pub (need of a drink)?” She raised her head (strong desire for connection vs. fear of the opposite sex and desire to avoid alcohol). “I have to go now (fear wins).” She ran from the bookstore.. Jeremy pulled some cash out of his wallet. “Here,” he laid the money near the cash register and took off out the door after her (need to connect outweighs fear of rejection).

WORKOUT

Follow these steps to create the richer characters you want to be writing.

Find the Essences:

To find the essences of your characters, you have to look to their history and their genetics. Just like real people, your characters’ current behavior is defined by their DNA combined with experiences you create in their past. We all have the basic fears and ambitions of survival, shelter, and food, so when working on these essences focus on the ones that really drive each character. Consider ethnicity, religious beliefs, and major life events. Address sex, drugs, music, parents, siblings, education, appearance and intelligence for sure.

Start by writing out twenty DESIRE ESSENCES that feel right for each main character. Then determine one polar opposite of each DESIRE to create your twenty FEAR ESSENCES. Go back and toss the ones that you now feel less attached to. Repeat and refine the process until you have at least ten of each for each character that really excite you.

Get specific about Backstory:

Get specific about how your character’s essences have come to be. Create definitive moments in your characters’ lives that detail when these fears and desires were initiated. Come up with five supporting examples of moments in their lives when each of these essences was tested and eventually vindicated in the name of the fear or in the name of the desire. Failure vindicates the fear and success vindicates the desire. Write at least one half page of text supporting each -Yes that will give you a total of twenty-five pages of essence work. Do the work.

10 Essences (a desire and a fear for each) x 5 samples for each = 50 descriptions (each a half page)

Label the Current Behavior:

Using their essences and their specific past, come up with ten sample behaviors for each character. Simple example: a character who has a desire to hide and a fear of being publicly humiliated, has a specific past incident of continually having their pants pulled down in public by a sibling. The current behavior - they might always wear a belt, or might always look behind themselves in a very specific attempt to never be humiliated again.

Raise the stakes:

After looking over your newly created examples, it should be easy to determine some issues that might be going on in their lives that would increase or decrease their stress. A decrease in stress generally excites people to take greater chances, while an increase in stress tends to shorten people’s fuses.

List five possible increases or decreases in your characters stress level.

Don’t meddle and let them play:

Now put two of your fully developed characters into the same room. Implement two or three increases in stress to one character and two or three decreases in stress to the other character and let them bounce off of one another. Go into this exercise with no preconceived notions of what might happen. If you have done your homework, they should affect one another.*

*If you need a jumpstart – add an element that one needs from the other and give the other a strong reason for not wanting to provide what that character needs. Could be tangible or emotional.

Corey Blake: For the past seven years, Corey has played a key role in the development of more than two hundred and fifty screenplays and manuscripts. He has won nine festival awards for his work in entertainment and contributed articles to nearly three dozen industry publications including Script Magazine, Writer Magazine (cover article), and the Los Angeles Journal. Corey’s work has been featured in articles in Backstage West, MovieMaker Magazine, Hollywood Scriptwriter Magazine and Dance Magazine. He has been a guest lecturer at the Midwest Literary Festival, Screenwriting Expo 4 at the LA Convention Center, the Virginia State Reading Association Conference, and the Spring into Romance Writing Conference. Corey’s name is attached as the author or co-author to twelve projects for release in 2008 and 2009 including fiction, non-fiction and screenplays. His current consulting clients include best selling author Burke Hedges; leadership coach Bea Fields; natural health doctor Brett Saks, and business owner Robert Renteria. writersoftheroundtable.com writersoftheroundtable.com

“I don’t know if I should put ‘writer’ on my business card,” I murmured.

“Then don’t,” my wife said in her infinite wisdom. “Put ‘author’ on it.”

“But if I put ‘author′ on, none of those big companies with overflowing coffers will want to hire me as a writer,” I said, wondering if George Bush needed a speechwriter or if General Motors wanted someone to write the owner’s manual for next year’s Oldsmobile.

“Fine. Put ‘writer′ on your card then, and all those fancy people you give it to will know you can write for them.”

“But writer looks so small,” I pointed out. “I also want Fortune 500 companies to hire me as a speaker, and nobody important hires a writer to speak. They hire authors.”

“OK, why don′t you put both?” she offered.

“Ho, right. That’ll impress them. A writer who can′t even write his own business card with duplicating his redundancies,” I said. “I might as well shoot myself with my own sword.”

In the end, I put “author”, figuring I would get most writing jobs over the Internet, but when I speak live I would have to hand out cards to lots of people. An author’s autograph would make those people giddy as strawberry Jell-O on the Amtrak Express. Those same people would search nervously for a graceful retreat from the company of a mere writer.

What is it about being an author.? You can author an article or a report or just about anything. And you can be the author of just about anything (including “your own misfortunes”). But you can′t be “an author - period” unless you’ve published a book.

Big warning: writing a book does not count. I have a friend who wrote a book. That makes him a writer, not an author. When he publishes it, only THEN will he be a real author and only THEN will he be entitled to learn the authors’ secret handshake. Don’t try sneaking into the clubhouse on the scant pretext that your wrote a book. Anybody can write a book. Even a writer. You have to publish the book to get through these gates of glory.

But if my friend does publish, and he does become an author, and he does learn the secret hand shake, then he’ll be ready to cross that threshold of pride when a reader he’s never met before tells him, “I just couldn’t put your book down.”

Well, not quite. In fact, his book is about humorous anecdotes from many years in his particular profession. Hmm. That wouldn’t qualify him as an author, even if he publishes. It would put him in that blurry purgatory between “writer” “and″ “author” in the company of so many silver medal winners who almost made it and whose names we almost remember .

Why? Because he doesn’t qualify for that crucial qualifying praise, “I just couldn’t put your book down.” That comment is reserved for novels, “serious” non-fiction like biographies and history, and how-to books on topics that require wads of glue. Other lowly books just don’t count.

But what if a lowly book could attract an ” I just couldn’t put your book down?” Would that make the writer an author, or would the author remain just a writer?

My book is a self-help book. Climb your Stairway to Heaven: the 9 habits of maximum happiness. Self-help books are certainly not considered second-class books by the literary elite. They wouldn’t even let self-help books into fourth class. In other words, mine is not a title any self-respecting New York Times book reviewer would allow to qualify for “I just couldn’t put your book down.”

At least, not in theory. But several people have said exactly that. (Too bad they said it to me and not to the New York Times.)

One lady even apologized for not calling me back one morning because she had stayed up into the wee hours of the morning reading my book. Now that’s the kind of feedback that makes an author smile. What the heck, that kind of feedback would make even a writer smile.

Call me a writer. Call me an author. I couldn’t care less. As long as you tell me “I just couldn’t put your book down,” I’m happy as a pig in … uh … Jell-O.

About The Author

David Leonhardt is the Happy Guy, author …No, make that writer. No, wait. Yes, he′s an author. But he′s also a writer. And a book reviewer. And a speaker. This article is an excerpt from the popular ebook Musings, written by a dozen prominent authors. Pick up your free copy at TheHappyGuy.com/” target=”_new TheHappyGuy.com/ happiness-self-actualization-products.html. Or sign up for your free “Daily Dose of Happiness″ at TheHappyGuycom/daily-happiness-free-ezine.html” target=”_new TheHappyGuy.com/daily-happiness-free-ezine.html

mailto:amabaie@phastnet.com amabaie@phastnet.com

There are varying types of English pronunciation and its articulation lurking in the Educational Institutions of all the non-native speakers of English today. American English and British English vary in pronouncing such words. Both English, as times rolled by produced another multiple branches of pronunciation and articulation.

An obvious example is seen and heard from Japanese who learned the language, a Filipino, Singaporean, Russian, Arabian and many other non-native speaking citizens. Both American and British English vary their pronunciation in the word “either”. Both vary in saying the “ei” of “either.”

Asian countries in particular pronounce the words in a different manner compared to both American and British. The slang manner of producing the sounds of the words of Americans is different from Asian countries. This is because the nasal cavity structure of the Americans are bigger than people of the Asian countries.

It is to be noted that the nasal cavity is one of the factors affecting the sounds the way you pronounce the words. Other factors are the lower and the upper teeth, the lower and upper lips, the tongue and the diaphragm.

To learn English as the second language, these factors affecting the sound produced should also be given emphasis in the discussions or lessons to be discussed in learning English as the second language. This is for the learners to determine some of the problems affecting the acquisition of the language.

Psychologically speaking, the best age for the learner to start learning English as the Second Language is within the age of 6 up to 10 years old. This is because of the fact that their acquisitions on certain things are very great. Thus, we have to feed their minds with proper and correct information about learning English.

It is not solely the responsibility of the teacher for these young learners to learn English. This is due to the fact the when these learners go out of the classroom, most of the time, their acquisition of the language also stops. Therefore a follow up from the parents or guardians are very important to speed up learning English.

Just like any other subject, English also has fields that that are confusing on the part of the learner. Therefore, careful and detailed planning of the lesson to be discussed in front of these kids should be given considerable time so that the acquisition of the language, though it is hard achieve 100%, a favorable number of the learners will acquire the proper and correct pronunciation and articulation of English.

Today, it is necessary to englishsubject.net learn English as the Second Language. For beginners, especially young kids, teach them the basics first. But for advance learners and those who are already on the process of writing a letter, you should have a pattern or a lettercover.com cover letter sample as guide.

SELL YOUR KNOWLEDGE

This is my overriding principle that came from years of hard knocks trying to get people to hire me to speak. I get more speaking engagements than I ever had before when I quit trying to sell them and began selling my knowledge in as many different formats as possible. The idea is that infinitely more people can buy what you know through books, tapes, CDs, Ebooks and videos than could ever hire you to speak. Your name recognition because of your knowledge distribution makes speaking engagements much easier to come by because the people that could hire you have already heard you and your message on your knowledge based products. In the mean time, the money from the product sales keeps your business thriving.

GET SPONSORSHIP

You can get other companies to sponsor your speaking fee so they can be associated with your message when you speak. Stop and think of what kinds of groups would want to be associated with your message. Let’s say you speak to the banking industry. Maybe mortgage, or mutual fund companies would sponsor you. Maybe bank equipment companies would. Think of anyone who would want to have exposure to your target audience then simply make a proposal to their public relations department.

GET DIRECTLY PAID

This is pretty straight forward. You speak to a corporation, association, civic group, or anyone who would hire you and they pay you directly. Most of the time you should try to get a deposit up front of about 50 percent and the balance either before the event, or the day of the event. You will use various methods to get hired. I have had the greatest success in my career getting hired to speak by promoting myself properly on the Internet.

SPEAKERS BUREAUS

A speakers bureau is a for profit organization that locates speakers for paying clients. The speakers bureau normally takes a percentage of your gross fee. The percentage is usually in the 15 to 30 percent range with the average fee being 25 percent. It is very difficult to start with speakers bureaus unless you are a bonafide celebrity and your fees are substantial. You must remember they get paid on straight commission and the higher your fee, the more they make. Also, unless you have a proven track record, a speakers bureau will be afraid to put you in front of one of their clients because if you bomb they could lose many more bookings from the same client. You must also supply the bureau with promotional materials that don′t have your contact information so anyone that sees the material will contact the bureau directly and not you.

PUBLIC SEMINARS

This is another fairly simple idea, but that doesn′t mean it’s simple to do. Basically you promote your seminar to the public and they buy tickets to attend. You could also promote it to corporate management and get them to buy tickets for their employees to attend. I avoided public seminars for years because of the risk and expense involved in printing and mailing brochures. Now I do lots of public seminars because I can promote them at no cost through my website and email magazine.

TELEPHONE SEMINARS

This can be a form of public seminar, or it can be done for private groups. You arrange for a telephone bridge line (very inexpensive), or a conference call (can be VERY expensive). You have participants call in and you deliver the seminar over the telephone. This saves a tremendous amount of money on travel expenses for you and the participants along with all kinds of savings for the participants (travel, time, etc.) For visuals you can have the participants sitting in front of their computer while on the phone. You tell them what web page to visit to see your visuals. I have produced a CD set on this topic. antion.com/teleseminarkit.htm

WEBCASTS

This is similar to telephone seminars except you are using the Internet instead of a telephone to hold the seminar.

TRAINING COMPANIES

In this case a company hires you to deliver their programs to public seminar participants, or to participants all from the same private company. Career Track, SkillPath Seminars and Fred Pryor Seminars are examples of companies who hire seminar leaders. In some cases you can develop programs for the seminar company and get a higher fee for delivering that program and a fee each time it is delivered by another seminar leader. You also get a percentage of all the back of room products you sell. These companies can keep you on the road quite a bit so you better be ready to travel and don’t think each event will be in the Bahamas . . .Your events are more likely to be in places like Toledo, Cleveland and Columbus. These are relatively low paying jobs when compared to the kind of money you can get promoting your own speeches and seminars.

SPEAK FREE TO PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS

Many professionals speak or give free public seminars to help get clients. Attorneys, doctors, dentists, accountants, real estate agents, lawyers, home builders and many other people from a wide variety of professions give seminars to promote their business and to gain clients directly from the seminars. To do this effectively you must not spend the entire seminar promoting yourself. You must give the participants good information with the idea of establishing yourself or your company as the expert. There is certainly nothing wrong with showing people how complicated things are and even though they can do it themselves, it might not be a wise thing to do. For instance, you could be a plumber giving a seminar on how to remodel your bathroom. You tell the participants every little detail of how to do it and also tell them the perils if they do it wrong. No one will complain that you were just giving a sales pitch, but many will think to themselves, “Maybe this is too much to tackle by myself. Maybe I should hire this person to either help me or do it for me.”

SPEAK AS PART OF YOUR JOB

Many companies have their own speakers bureau. Normally the only reason it exists is as a public relations tool to provide a good image of their company to the community. One of the ways you can speak for pay in your company is to volunteer to be in the speakers bureau. As long as you are on company time when you are speaking, you are indirectly getting paid to speak. If they always ask you to speak after hours on your own time, well that’s a different story. You still might want to do it to continue to become a better speaker. Another way to get paid to speak in your job is to join the training staff of your company, or start one if one doesn′t exist. You can simply target a problem the company is having and work up a program to train others in the company on how to solve the problem. Suggest a few sessions to your boss to see how it goes. If you get results, chances are they will want you to do the same program for others in the company.

Copyright © 1998 - 2005 Advanced Public Speaking Institute

Tom Antion provides entertaining speeches and educational seminars. He is the ultimate entrepreneur, having owned many businesses BEFORE graduating college. Tom is the author of the best selling presentation skills book “Wake ‘em Up Business Presentations” and “Click: The Ultimate Guide to Electronic Marketing.” It is important to Tom that his knowledge be not only absorbed, but enjoyed. This is why he delivers his speeches laced with great humor and hysterical jokes. Tom has addressed more than 87 different industries and is thoroughly committed to his clients’ needs. antion.com antion.com

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Public relations professionals are known as being pretty good writers. Both written and spoken communications are two of their most important attributes. One thing that I have noticed recently is their struggle to adapt to the needs of the digital media environment.

Take for example the written content of their websites. Look at the content on some PR sites. You will notice a lot of the content is written in a journalistic style as opposed to being written for a website visitor. Some of the things you may notice. The content gets to the important points at the end of the story. There are long paragraphs and no sub headings. Subtle, intriguing titles take precedence over keyword phrases that would actually tell the reader at a glance what the story is about.

Have you noticed how online newspapers are starting to including an introductory summary of their news article? This summary usually includes a keyword rich overview of what the story is about. This makes it user friendly for the site visitor and for the search engine spider.

The moral of this is that there are big differences between writing directed at news editors and writing directed at website visitors. Newspaper editors are beginning to adapting their online version of their stories towards the needs of website readers. PR writers should do the same. Here are some tips for public relations writers.

• Get educated on the specifics of website content writing.
• Understand your target market – those who will buy your service
• Know the meaning of keywords and their role in content development
• Discover the importance of how your writing relates to search engine visibility
• Find out how your site content directly impacts usability and conversions

Public relations practitioners will benefit by embracing the digital age and the possibilities that it offers them. This does not indicate the need for metamorphosis into a tech geek. Rather it’s simply a matter of a change in outlook and of writing style. Some of these changes are subtle; some require more research and analytics. However there is no going back. The digital age is here to stay. Embrace it!

James Peggie is the marketing manager for Elixir Systems – a search marketing company located in Scottsdale, Arizona. elixirsystems.com elixirsystems.com