Writing Inrochester

Reeling from jet lag, I took a quick moment to compose myself before addressing the sales convention in Cleveland.

I felt the typical jitters you get before meeting a large, boisterous crowd. Usually, I’m able to channel this excess energy and electricity into performance dynamics; bigger gestures, more vocal impressions, and a wider span of eye contact.

But I caught myself being caught up in myself!

Hey, I thought, this isn’t about ME at all; it’s about THEM.

I hope it’s a great experience for them; after all, most have traveled a long way for this and it’s one of the high points of their selling season. When do they get a chance to see all of their associates, at once?

They don’t. This is it!

For just a second, I was truly humbled about my task. I needed to meet all of the energy in that room, and actually exceed it. I had to galvanize their spirit, but something had to buttress me, so I could do it.

Silently, I said a quick prayer, asking for the ability to meet this challenge.

In a second, my nerves calmed, and I felt serene.

The speech went very well, and I learned two lessons:

(1) Do it for them; and

(2) Don’t do it alone!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, “The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable,” published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC’s Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: mailto:gary@customersatisfaction.com gary@customersatisfaction.com.

Warning: If you are easily disgusted by zombies do not read this article. But if you want to know more about these wonderful characters and how to use them in a story, then keep on reading. I promise not to get too graphic in my discussion.

Of all the monsters are in literary and movie history, none are as frightening as the zombie. Think about it. You have the perfect killing machine; all it does is follow its food - you - and try to eat it. That is pretty scary in my book. The following is my take on zombies, based on what I have read in books and seen in movies. This is not reality, but fiction. Unless you think you hear the distinct moaning of a hungry zombie through your closed door one night.

You may be asking yourself, what is a zombie? The dictionary defines them as: a reanimated corpse that hungers for, well, us. They are not indestructible beings, but usually they are in large enough numbers that fighting back is difficult. Zombies come in many shapes, sizes and degrees of decomposition. But they all have one thing in common.

They are hungry.

There are many different literary ideas on how a zombie is created. The most common storyline is they are created by a virus. Since viruses require circulation to move through the body, it is assumed only people who were infected prior to death will actually become a zombie. This theory makes sense, but there is no scientific proof to back it up.

Usually, there is no cure for the infection, so when a person is bitten by a zombie it is pretty much over. There are several stages people go through if infected by a zombie. Remember, every character is different, so the amount of time it would take to “turn” can vary.

The person will first start to feel like they have a cold or the flu. Fever, chills, nausea, and pain in joints are symptoms of infection. As time progresses, numbness of the arms and legs, dementia, and poor muscle coordination can also occur. Eventually, paralysis, slowed heart rate, coma and death will happen. Depending on the person, it can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours for the final stage to take place - total reanimation of dead flesh. At this point, the person is no longer human and should be dispatched quickly.

Once a person has been changed, their higher brain activities shut down. No longer do they recognize family or friends. All they think about now is feeding their insatiable hungry. They think of nothing but finding food. And yes, as I said earlier, that is you. In the beginning, they have all the abilities they had before they died. They can run, jump, and are as strong as before. Zombies do not have super human strengths or talents other than living after their death.

After they have been around for a while, zombies should start to slow down. Rigor mortis, along with decomposition will go to work on their bodies. There is a belief among the zombie writers that the virus which created them will slow this process down. Which is the reason, in most movies, older zombies tend to walk slower and have a harder time keeping up with a running human. In all honesty, your character’s best bet is to keep a lot of distance between the character and approaching zombies whatever the stage they are in. Your character’s very life could depend on it.

Research these horror monsters before you begin writing about them. Watch the zombie master’s movies, read books on the subject so you can write about them effectively. You want your work to be believable and realistic. You want your reader to say he could not put your story down even though he was terrified to keep reading.

Dawn Arkin is an author on Writing.Com/ Writing.Com/
which is a site for Writing.Com/ Fiction Writing. Her portfolio can be found at darkin.Writing.Com/ darkin.Writing.Com/ so stop by and read for a while.

If you are an Internet Article Writer and use informational marketing you may want to learn of a very ironic truth. It is a misnomer to think that a 2000 word article will entice your customer to come to your website, better than taking that larger article and breaking it into five; 300 word articles. You see smaller articles get picked up more than larger articles, plus you would not have 5 instead of one. So if your goal is to get visitors to your website and click thru, you will need to consider this fact.

On the other end of the scale A research article which has lots of examples and is a full on discussion is of value for serious people in that line of endeavor whatever it might be and 2000 words is possible, permissible and often desired. Yes, most people will generally NOT read it, but those who do can derive information. For those doing very serious academic research this might be a good strategy. So there is a potential reasoning for the Big One. But it is not necessarily a wise idea for those who want to attract visitors and buyers to their website. After all once they click thru they can have their choice to read what ever they wish on your website. Some say I am an expert now after writing over 1900 online articles which is quite a flattering statement indeed, yet to be honest about the whole thing, I am just doing what works you see? This article is now finished due to word count. Think on this concept or come think about marketing with me.

“Lance Winslow” - Online WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/ Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance in the Online Think Tank and solve the problems of the World; WorldThinkTank.net www.WorldThinkTank.net/

The 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 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).

and more…

ABRIDGED TIP(S):

*****Outer Cave*****

The Outer Cave of the First Threshold is often a place where the Heroes, having established themselves as Fishes out of Water, begin their Changing. By the time they leave the First Threshold, they will be less Devolved. In Brokeback Mountain (2005), Jack and Ennis begin chopping wood, sawing, collecting water etc.

*****Final Conflict - Reward or Celebration*****

Post the birth of the New Self, a reward is received. Remaining Challenges are conquered. In Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Bonnie and Clyde finally have sex. Bonnie has an orgasm.

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/

The Managing Creativity and Innovation MBA dissertation, DIY creativity Audit, Powerpoint presentation and Good Idea generator software can be found at managing-creativity.com/ managing-creativity.com/

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

Kal Bishop, MBA

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

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.

One Saturday afternoon, I sat in a packed conference room with about 150 other would be writers, listening to a conference instructor tell us the keys to self-editing our manuscripts. The number of people in the room spoke to how important it is to make sure your work is crisp, and as close to publishable as possible. Of course, the numbers also told me how many of us don’t feel completely sure of our editing abilities.

The advice the instructor gave was nothing new, eliminate adverbs, redundancies, and clichés. Use active verbs, vivid metaphors and strong verbs. Then she dropped the one that I stumble on every time, “read your manuscript out loud.”

I have some mental block that prevents me from actually trying this editing method. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that my husband already thinks I’m insane. If he hears me talking to myself in my office, he would have me committed. Then again, maybe it’s my childhood fear of public speaking, even if the audience only consists of two cats and a dog. Whatever the reasons are I cannot bring myself to read aloud – especially not my own words (shudder).

However, I have found an alternative to the embarrassment of hearing myself speak. Years ago, I invested in a speech recognition software (you talk - it types), which didn’t work very well in my opinion. Even after hours of trying to “train” the software, it still didn’t understand what I was saying. Despite its uselessness to me at the time, I kept the software on my computer, taking up precious hard drive space. Subconsciously a part of me must have known that I would need something that could read to me someday.

The morning after the conference, I printed a hard copy of my manuscript, fired up the speech recognition software, and followed along as my manuscript was read to me in the most unemotional way imaginable. Think a Speak And Spell™ that knows all the dirty words.

The software could not interpret what it thought I meant to say. It just spoke every word as written.

If I forgot a comma, or some other needed punctuation, the computer kept reading at the same pace without pause. That helped me discover one long paragraph that turned out to be one long run-on sentence.

The software program also read the words exactly as typed – typos and all. Did my hero whip or wipe the tears from the heroine’s eyes? Typos like this can be funny when you run across them, but they make your manuscript look less than polished.

When you’ve read your manuscript to yourself, have you ever inserted words that weren′t really on the page? You know you have, and you would insert missing words when reading your story aloud too, but the computer won’t.

I did a quick internet search and found the particular speech recognition software I have for less than thirty dollars. Not a huge investment for a product that can help take some of the drudgery out of editing a manuscript, and make your final draft so polished your story will shine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stacy Verdick Case is the owner of

1. Write Clearly

The key to clarity is simplicity. Don’t try to educate your audience.

2. Use Simple Words

Short words are handy to use and are more powerful in effect. Don’t send your readers running for the dictionary every few words.

i.e.- numerous - many

utilize - use

facilitate - ease

3. Use Simple Sentences

Don’t cram as much information as possible into one sentence. It can become confusing to read. Instead, take the subject of each part and break it off into short, punchy sentences.

4. Don′t Use More Words Than Necessary

The first cousin to simplicity is brevity. Writers should use the minimum number of words to express their ideas and information. When proofreading (always proofread), look at each sentence and see how you can shorten it.

5. Eliminate ALL Jargon

When I hear the word slug, I think of the first line in a news story written for broadcast. When you hear it, you probably think of a creepy crawl that leaves a slime trail. Consider the reader’s lack of expertise in your field. That is, after all, why they look to you for guidance.

6. Use Familiar Words and Phrases

Don’t introduce your readers to new words or sayings. It will slow down the flow of information and drive the audience away. The same goes for foreign phrases, which may even seem insulting. Those old cliques and proverbs your Grandfather taught you work well in conversation, not in informative writing. Save it for your grandchildren.

i.e. - C′est La Vie

7. Vary Sentence Type and Length

This helps keep the article interesting and makes taking in the information easier on the reader. It is also good practice for the writer as it forces you to write then re-write and examine different ways of expressing your idea.

8. Make Good Use of Verbs to Denote Action

The best thing to do is to use the most active tense of all your verbs.

i.e. - helps instead of helped

does as opposed to did

Ryan is Journalism student who writes for several websites, including

needlessproductions.com Canadian Indie Music News

gr8webhosting.info todaysavvy.info

A recent debate started me thinking about how some marketing strategies can be right for one Web site, but wrong for another — depending on the site’s purpose and the underlying reasoning behind the action.

If an action doesn’t directly and logically plug into site goals, then there are likely more profitable ways to spend that time and effort.

Publishing third-party articles on a Web site is one of those marketing strategies that can be right for one site, yet wrong for another.

Publishing Guest Articles as a Strategy

Publishing guest articles as one of your Web site marketing strategies can help broaden the amount and quality of content on a site, which in turn can lead to a more solid, stronger reputation. James Edwards of Umbrella-Consultancy explains:

IMO having quality articles on your site will show that you are…someone who embraces the industry and respects the work of others. Most research scientists post links to other respected scientists’ work… I think it can only be good to have quality material by other people in your field posted on your site.

Helping Web Site Visitors

Another situation where adding others’ articles to your site can make strategic sense is when a lot of visitors arrive looking for a solution other than the one you provide on your site. Rather than have them wander off, no closer to an answer to their problem, you can build goodwill and credibility by having articles on the Web site that give them more information.

For example, several types of people arrive at my site through the search engines:

* Some are people researching marketing consulting services.

* Some are students looking to write a paper or finish an assigned project for school.

* Some are looking for marketing software.

* Others are looking to buy printed material (e-books, templates, workbooks, etc.) in order to proceed, step-by-step, on their own.

The only ones that are going to be interested in what I have to sell are those in the last group. Instead of letting the majority of visitors go without a fight, I have articles on the site from handpicked individuals or companies.

Those articles are chosen according to how good the quality is, how well the subject matter fits, and whether I think the information will help site visitors.

Information Sites

If a site (or section of a site) is informational in nature, guest articles can be a viable Web site marketing strategy, for several reasons:

* Repeat, purchase-related visits. A good information library can help potential customers through the decision-making process. If they find the information on your site especially helpful, they will be predisposed to coming back later, when they are ready to purchase.

* Increased Web site revenue. Publishing others’ work can generate more revenue for your own site. For example, when I publish a third-party article, elsewhere on the page I include one or more of the following: AdSense; an advertisement for my own products a newsletter sign-up box or a relevant affiliate link. That way, every path off the page satisfies one of my own goals (direct ad revenue, new newsletter subscriber, or product sales lead).

* Increased targeted traffic. Each new page of quality content has the potential to bring in a happy chunk of incremental traffic from the search engines.

* Future collaborations or other projects. An indirect benefit from publishing others’ articles is contact and future collaboration with authors. For example, after one author received several new sign-ups to her newsletter through an article published on my site, she contacted me about collaborating on an audio product.

Poor Fit With Marketing Strategies

For some business models, including guest articles in a list of Web site marketing strategies does not make sense. For example, it can be counterproductive to include guest articles on Web sites where the primary goal is to sell.

Service Web Sites

If the goal is to generate direct sales and leads for your own services, it doesn’t make sense to dilute the message and call to action with diversions. Karon Thackston explains:

The purpose of my site is to get those in need of copywriting services and SEO copywriting services to contact me in order to do business. People who come to my Marketing Words site are looking for information about copywriting. They are also looking to hire a copywriter.

Therefore, you will find only material written by Karon on her site.

Product Sales Sites

Some sites have a single goal: to sell product. Every page on the site is devoted to product descriptions or copy designed to move a visitor toward a purchase. In these cases, where the predominant call to action is “buy the product,” articles could hurt sales by diverting visitor attention away from the products.

Visit your favorite online retail sites, and you are likely to find product descriptions, reviews, photos and other product-driven content — but little or no guest articles. Their absence on many e-commerce sites is an illustration of the poor fit of such articles as a marketing strategy for those sites.

Understanding how different techniques support, or sabotage, Web site marketing strategies can be critical to a site’s success. Align your strategies with overall goals, and your business is more likely to flourish.

About the Author

Bobette Kyle draws upon 12 years of Marketing/Executive experience, Marketing MBA, and online marketing research in her writing. Bobette is proprietor of the Web Site Marketing Plan Network, websitemarketingplan.com WebSiteMarketingPlan.com, and author of the marketing plan and Web promotion book “How Much For Just the Spider? Strategic Website Marketing For Small Budget Business.” ( HowMuchForSpider.com/TOC.htm )

Copyright 2004 Bobette Kyle. All rights reserved.

Once of the best ways to get massive traffic and free
advertising for your website or product is to use the
following article marketing tips.

#1 - Submit to article directories.

This is one of the best article marketing tips you will
read about.

Once you have written your article, you will need to get
the word out about it.

The easiest way to do this is by submitting your article
to an article directory.

Directories are a must have in this list of article
marketing tips.

They get alot of traffic for your article and create the
much needed back links to your website.

Here are a few of the best directories:

ezinearticles.com
goarticles.com
searchwarp.com

#2 - Submit to newsletter publishers.

This is one of the more powerful article marketing tips
and should be used quite often.

Once you have the article ready to go, simply do a search
for newsletters on your subject.

Use ezinehub.com

Find 25-30 publishers and contact them. Let them know you
have an informative article that his or her readers would
love and you would like to submit for possible publishing.
Newsletter publishers are always on the lookout for new
and fresh articles that is why this is widely used of all
the article marketing tips.

#3 - Compile your articles into an ebook.

Of all the article marketing tips you will see, this is one
that is used for a very good reason.

You can compile your articles into an ebook, then either
give the ebook away for free or turn it into a full on
product and charge a price for it.

If you have 20-30 articles just sitting there on your
computer wasting space, take them and turn them into an
ebook or free report.

Use them as a give away so others can give them out.
By doing this, you can create a huge virus effect and
drive an insane amount of traffic to your website.

These article marketing tips should be put to use each
and every day for the best results.

Please stay tuned for even more article marketing tips
coming your way very soon.

Gary Will Show You Real Ways To Make Money On The
Internet That Work, As Well As The Latest Money Making
Ideas, And Hot New Information Products And Services.
Join now for free at: opportunity-advisor.com opportunity-advisor.com

Article marketing is such a powerful internet marketing exercise, and one of the most important things about it is the linking strategies utilized in article marketing.

So where do these links come from? When you submit an article to a directory you are normally provided with a resource box in which you can write a few personal details, including your website URL, or, if HTML is allowed, an anchor text link to your website or individual web page. Some directories do not provide these resource boxes, but allow you to add a few lines after the article, with the same information.

Links back to a specific web page are more valuable than those leading the reader to your home page since it will be more targeted to the subject of the article than your home page. Although article marketing can be a rich source of highly targeted and motivated visitors, it requires a bit of thought and planning as to where these visitors are sent, and what you do with them when they get there.

At the very least the page they land on must be directly related to the article they found interesting enough to prompt them to find out more by making the click. At best you should either make a sale, or at least persuade them to fill in an opt-in form so that you do not lose touch with them. Visitors are hard enough to get without allowing them to leave your site forever.

The secret of using article marketing to increase your profits is therefore to write well with good literacy, be interesting enough to persuade readers to click on your website link for more information, and once they are on your website, keep them there and make them want to return.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new guide to article marketing success, ‘Your Article Writing and Promotion Guide‘

Download it free here:

Do you fear you might die with your book dream still inside? Don’t fear. You can do it this year. Honest, you can. Keep reading, I′ll tell you why…The truth is few can pin point real reasons they haven’t done it yet. They get hung up with the myth reasons that hinder them from getting their book done. It’s true there are reasons that will stop you cold every time, if you fall for them.

Yet, there are little recognized truths (secrets) which destroy the myths that keep you from realizing your book dream. Here are the top eight secrets to help you write the book you have always wanted to write, now:

Secret #1 Know now is better than later.

Winning writers know how to overcome the giant called procrastination. Have you ever met anyone that said, “I wish I never wrote my book.” I only meet people who say, “I wish I had written my book sooner.” Apply time management skills with this book’s easy writing program and get your book out quickly so that you can start profiting from your knowledge now.

Secret#2 Develop one central thought with a marketing emphasis

Winner selling books focus on one main concept. To write focused compelling copy for your book select a central thought and write each chapter to support that central thought. Include strategic marketing points before and throughout your manuscript. At the end of your project you will have a well written book ready to sell.

Secret#3 Choose a topic you are passionate about

Successful writers select a subject they are passionate about. They realize they can overcome all obstacles with persistence and passion. Choosing a topic you are passionate about will make research and fact gathering a joy because you are constantly finding out new and interesting facts about something you love. Well maybe not a joy for everyone but at least it will make it easier.

Secret#4 Recognize a successful book is part of a journey

Writers who win know writing a book is just a part of an interesting journey. Discover in this book how to write it simply, organized, with passion and lots of profit. Your journey will be enjoyable, stress-free and in less time as half or even one-third.

SUMMARY

The truth is there are no more legitimate reasons to not get started writing your successful book. Implement the above steps and write the best book you’re capable of. Pair up with a book coach and do it now! For now is better than later.

© Earma Brown, 11 year author and business owner
helps small business owners and writers who want to write their best book now! Author of “Write Your Best Book Now”, she mentors other writers and business professionals through her monthly ezine “iScribe” Subscribe now at
mailto:iscribe@writetowin.org iscribe@writetowin.org for FREE mini-course ‘Jumpstart Writing Your Best Book′ or visit writetowin.org WritetoWin.org