Archive for April, 2009

Business Writing Tips For Professionals

Monday, April 13th, 2009

Effective business writing skills can help you win that million dollar contract, earn a promotion, resolve a dispute, or generate a significant increase in new business leads. Poor business writing, on the other hand, can never be undone; it can cause you to lose business to your competition and even cost you your job. Here are 11 easy ways you can improve your business writing skills:

1. Before you write a word of copy, make sure you know who your target audience is and what specific result you’d like to achieve. If it’s an important business communication, take five minutes to visualize yourself in the shoes of the recipient and imagine what this person’s world is like.

What does their typical day look like? What are their unique needs, goals, and challenges? What problem is keeping them up at night? The more thought and research you invest in understanding your target audience and how you can help them, the more powerful and effective your business writing communications will become.

2. Avoid using your company acronyms and buzzwords. While they might seem cute and clever to you, it’s very annoying to a busy executive who has a pile of documents and proposals to read. Avoid using academic language like ‘ergo,’ ‘henceforth,’ or ‘so to speak,’ and as a general rule of thumb avoid use of technical jargon. Simplify big words: write use instead of utilize, send out instead of disseminate, fair instead of equitable, etc.

3. Use a strong, active voice instead of the impersonal, passive voice. “The meeting agenda could be discussed further” is passive. “Let’s discuss the meeting agenda” is active. Express confidence and decisiveness in your business communications. Instead of writing, “I intend to write a report on sales performance measures,” which comes across as weak and indecisive, write: “I’m currently writing a report on sales performance measures for completion on or before end of the second quarter.”

4. Write in a conversational tone instead of alienating your readers by being too formal and bureaucratic &ndash unless you’re writing to a bureaucrat or someone who prefers formality. Know your audience!

Even if you are writing a marketing communications piece that will be read by several thousand potential readers, make your writing as inviting and personal as possible. You can accomplish this feat by writing to one specific person who you can visualize as an ideal customer. Pretend you are sitting down with this person in a bar and having a casual conversation. Write your piece with this one person in mind and you will positively engage thousands of readers who will feel that you are writing directly to them!

5. Replace hyperbole with solid facts and reputable testimonials. Phrases like, “We’re #1,” “We’re the leader in our field,” or “We provide the best service,” aren’t going to get you anywhere. Instead, use a fact such as stating that the President of a leading association ranked your company with the highest quality score out of 500 certified companies.

6. Convert product features into benefits. Mentioning that you provide automated billing or an automatic domain name renewal service does not engage your customer emotionally. Here’s an example of benefit oriented copy: “Our automatic domain name renewal service will provide you with the added security and comfort of knowing that your domain names will never be hijacked by your competitors while freeing up your administrative time to focus on growing your business.”

7. Don’t rely on editing all your important business documents from your computer desktop. Print out your document and read it out loud. If you encounter any awkwardness in speech it means you need to re-write your piece to make it more conversational and flow better.

By reading your document out loud, you will also be able to spot typos and errors that your computer spelling and grammar check program might not have detected. As an example, you might have written ‘echo friendly’ when you really meant ‘eco friendly.’

8. In writing a business letter or business proposal, it is vitally important to write from your customer’s perspective and what will interest them. Start off by writing about how great your customer’s company is and what specific attributes you like about the company instead of bragging about how great your company is. Too much use of “I,” “me,” or “our company” is a sure sign of ego getting in the way of business. Make sure to generously use “You” and “Your” in your business copy if you want to make more sales.

9. Business writing is very different from writing poetry or literature. Don’t meander or get carried away with flowery language. Write the most important point you want to make in the first sentence. If you are writing a sales letter, you can significantly increase sales by simply including a powerful P.S. at the end of the letter that summarizes the main point in a fresh way, creates a sense of urgency, or adds further credibility. Here’s a powerful example: “P.S. I’ve been invited to speak at your association’s annual conference this coming Friday and hope to see you there.”

10. Be clear, concise, and to the point. Don’t assume readers will know what to do. Guide them by including a specific call to action: “click on the link to get your special report” or “call me to set up a no-cost 15 minute consultation.”

11. Use word pictures to get your point across. Can you imagine the thrill and excitement of driving a rocket-fast, cobalt blue Porsche 911 Turbo as it whisks you to your desired destination? A well-written article or report can be like that Porsche and generate a ton of new business in half the time with more fun! After all, what’s more exciting, cold-calling prospects or having them call you? (If writing is a challenge, consider hiring a professional).

Buying Articles For The Web

Sunday, April 12th, 2009

Offering free content on yours or others business Web site is a crucial part of Internet marketing. In fact, that’s how Internet marketing got started, which is why everyone wants and expects something for nothing on the World Wide Web. They’ve always been getting it.

The public has come to expect Internet information to be free, and those most-often searched keywords are what will take consumers to your Web site. Once you’ve determined the most visited keywords in your industry, you’ll want to write or find articles that incorporate them.

If you’re not a good writer, or you don’t have the time it takes to write articles, you can use the articles of others. You can offer local writers or industry experts to contribute articles in return for their bio which gives their own site and business credibility, branding and traffic. Or you can buy articles from people you don’t know. One way of doing this is through an article membership site. Here you’ll find articles on just about any subject, with new ones added all the time.

There are many sites that offer articles and memberships to help your Internet marketing. The catch, however, is that each invariably limits its membership ranks so that the Internet marketing articles don’t get published too often. You may have to do some searching, or some waiting, to get a membership in the Internet marketing article membership site of your choice.

Once you are a member and you find the articles you want to publish your Internet marketing work is not done, however, You have to do some rewriting, making it not only fresh and unique to your site, but also giving it a little tweak so it talks directly about your industry, and, if possible, about your products or services.

You may find an article or articles that particular fit your Web site and your business but the keywords you need aren’t found that densely in the article. So you’ll need to do that. That’s fairly easy to do, and far easier than sitting down and writing your own article.

Never take an article from an article membership site and publish it verbatim. This is destructive to your Internet marketing concept. You want to make it yours &ndash your voice, your personality and your products. You might even find a lengthy article that you could use as a tease, publishing the first part and then offering the conclusion next week. You might also publish a newsletter &ndash a great Internet marketing tool. You start the article in the newsletter and refer readers to your site for the conclusion.

Whatever you do, make it yours. Your Internet marketing will succeed as a result.

Carving Out A Home Writing Retreat

Sunday, April 12th, 2009

The phone rings. The laundry pleads to be stuffed, cycled, dried and folded. Chaos reigns in the kitchen, e-mails queue for attention. Our lives are at once mundane and undeniably seductive at the same time. When we sit down to write at home, suddenly everything that marks our existence as tedious becomes compelling. Writing at home can seem tantamount to training for the Olympics past age nineteen.

Yet carving out time to write at home is possible. You can even design a home writing retreat. This weekend, I have staved off all other obligations and have Friday and Saturday free. I look forward to delving into my novel revision with hours of uninterrupted time. How to make sure I don’t veer into work mode. I’ve developed a strategy for an at home writing retreat. Here are the ways that you, too, can carve out space for uninterrupted writing bliss.

Look ahead a month or two in your calendar. Find a day or two that are free and X them out for your retreat. When people suggest a get together on those days, say no. They’re full with something more important. It is vital to guard these days.

The week before, act as if you are going out of town. Take care of all the work and home obligations that need your attention. Think about what needs to be taken care of when you are flying the coop &ndash pet and plant care, clothes for the trip, etc. Make sure your work is done by the day before so you can take the time guilt-free.

Devise a plan. Consider your ideal writing retreat. First, think about what you are retreating from. Make a list of the roles you play in life: mother, spouse, employee, and writer. Give yourself permission to take time off from those roles to focus on one role. This weekend, I will set aside business owner, writer and teacher to be novelist for two days.

Have a focus for your time. You may wish to work on one creative project or several, but know beforehand what this time is devoted to. This will help when you enter the writing zone to get down to work right away.

Enroll allies. Alerting your people to your plans will make it easier to keep your boundaries. If your retreat means simply that you are stowed away in your bedroom or office while the rest of the family goes about their day, make sure they know that your do not disturb sign means just that. Better yet, help plan an outing for them so they can have their own adventure while you write. Who do you need to let in on your plan so they don’t inadvertently try to thwart your efforts?

Get your vittles lined up. Plan for your nibbling needs. Make sure to have healthy snacks on hand. Prepare meals in advance or plan to order out so you can eat well but not get distracted by food preparation.

Be more than a walking head. Have a plan for being embodied. You may plan walks into your retreat, simple yoga or your regular workout.

Commit to tune out. You may want to unplug the phone, commit to leave your e-mail program off for the day and silence your cell phone. What other things do you need to set aside to be on retreat?

Give yourself a break with evening recreation. You’ll want a break by evening. What activities will nurture your writer? You could rent a film about a writer or artist to inspire you. You could have a juicy book waiting to read.

Consider other activities that support your writing. If you went to a retreat center devoted to writers, what would you want to see? Inspiring books about the writing life or writing craft, favorite quotes, photos of writers who are role models may all be part of your writing retreat. Background music that encourages your creativity might help.

Being on retreat doesn’t mean being holed up at home. If working in a cafe or at the library supports your writing, plan for excursions out of the house. . Watch out for the errand monkey, who will try to yank you around town on a bunch of his missions!

Give yourself permission to step out of your norm. Take this time to focus and be in full creative mode. A retreat of even a few hours can be a huge boon to progress on your writing. Have fun and make it work for you.

Business Writing Tips For Professionals

Sunday, April 12th, 2009

Effective business writing skills can help you win that million dollar contract, earn a promotion, resolve a dispute, or generate a significant increase in new business leads. Poor business writing, on the other hand, can never be undone; it can cause you to lose business to your competition and even cost you your job. Here are 11 easy ways you can improve your business writing skills:

1. Before you write a word of copy, make sure you know who your target audience is and what specific result you’d like to achieve. If it’s an important business communication, take five minutes to visualize yourself in the shoes of the recipient and imagine what this person’s world is like.

What does their typical day look like? What are their unique needs, goals, and challenges? What problem is keeping them up at night? The more thought and research you invest in understanding your target audience and how you can help them, the more powerful and effective your business writing communications will become.

2. Avoid using your company acronyms and buzzwords. While they might seem cute and clever to you, it’s very annoying to a busy executive who has a pile of documents and proposals to read. Avoid using academic language like ‘ergo,’ ‘henceforth,’ or ‘so to speak,’ and as a general rule of thumb avoid use of technical jargon. Simplify big words: write use instead of utilize, send out instead of disseminate, fair instead of equitable, etc.

3. Use a strong, active voice instead of the impersonal, passive voice. “The meeting agenda could be discussed further” is passive. “Let’s discuss the meeting agenda” is active. Express confidence and decisiveness in your business communications. Instead of writing, “I intend to write a report on sales performance measures,” which comes across as weak and indecisive, write: “I’m currently writing a report on sales performance measures for completion on or before end of the second quarter.”

4. Write in a conversational tone instead of alienating your readers by being too formal and bureaucratic &ndash unless you’re writing to a bureaucrat or someone who prefers formality. Know your audience!

Even if you are writing a marketing communications piece that will be read by several thousand potential readers, make your writing as inviting and personal as possible. You can accomplish this feat by writing to one specific person who you can visualize as an ideal customer. Pretend you are sitting down with this person in a bar and having a casual conversation. Write your piece with this one person in mind and you will positively engage thousands of readers who will feel that you are writing directly to them!

5. Replace hyperbole with solid facts and reputable testimonials. Phrases like, “We’re #1,” “We’re the leader in our field,” or “We provide the best service,” aren’t going to get you anywhere. Instead, use a fact such as stating that the President of a leading association ranked your company with the highest quality score out of 500 certified companies.

6. Convert product features into benefits. Mentioning that you provide automated billing or an automatic domain name renewal service does not engage your customer emotionally. Here’s an example of benefit oriented copy: “Our automatic domain name renewal service will provide you with the added security and comfort of knowing that your domain names will never be hijacked by your competitors while freeing up your administrative time to focus on growing your business.”

7. Don’t rely on editing all your important business documents from your computer desktop. Print out your document and read it out loud. If you encounter any awkwardness in speech it means you need to re-write your piece to make it more conversational and flow better.

By reading your document out loud, you will also be able to spot typos and errors that your computer spelling and grammar check program might not have detected. As an example, you might have written ‘echo friendly’ when you really meant ‘eco friendly.’

8. In writing a business letter or business proposal, it is vitally important to write from your customer’s perspective and what will interest them. Start off by writing about how great your customer’s company is and what specific attributes you like about the company instead of bragging about how great your company is. Too much use of “I,” “me,” or “our company” is a sure sign of ego getting in the way of business. Make sure to generously use “You” and “Your” in your business copy if you want to make more sales.

9. Business writing is very different from writing poetry or literature. Don’t meander or get carried away with flowery language. Write the most important point you want to make in the first sentence. If you are writing a sales letter, you can significantly increase sales by simply including a powerful P.S. at the end of the letter that summarizes the main point in a fresh way, creates a sense of urgency, or adds further credibility. Here’s a powerful example: “P.S. I’ve been invited to speak at your association’s annual conference this coming Friday and hope to see you there.”

10. Be clear, concise, and to the point. Don’t assume readers will know what to do. Guide them by including a specific call to action: “click on the link to get your special report” or “call me to set up a no-cost 15 minute consultation.”

11. Use word pictures to get your point across. Can you imagine the thrill and excitement of driving a rocket-fast, cobalt blue Porsche 911 Turbo as it whisks you to your desired destination? A well-written article or report can be like that Porsche and generate a ton of new business in half the time with more fun! After all, what’s more exciting, cold-calling prospects or having them call you? (If writing is a challenge, consider hiring a professional).

Build Your Creative Dam To Complete Projects

Saturday, April 11th, 2009

Artists and writers are fed by a constant stream of curiosity. Our imaginations flow freely with ideas and connections, which allows for a rich river of creativity that can infuse our lives with joy. But what happens when this flood of ideas overwhelms us, turning our creative output into a trickle? It’s time to build a creative dam.

A creative dam guides our inspiration into meaningful flow. It eases our efforts, helps us avoid struggle and allows us to be the creators we dream of being.

I’ve been helping writers and artists build structures to guide the flow of their creativity for years, and have a few tips to help you build your own creative dam.

Commit to it. Choose the one project that has the most meaning for you right now. Choose among all of your great ideas the one thing that will give you the most satisfaction when you complete it. Then commit to finishing it.

Structure it. Many successful creatives advocate a regular place or time for writing. This kind of structure can be a great dam for your writing or art making. With structure, you develop a ritual and bypass the need to constantly get re-invigorated. This dam could be as simple as using the same notebook for a project, sipping the same kind of tea, or sitting under the same tree. It may be a consistent writing time and place. Find a structure that works for you.

Choose one. If you’re like me, you tend to bounce around between projects. This can be a workable style, if, and only if, you finish the projects. If you discover that you have several projects in various states of completion, then you need to funnel your energy into one thing at a time. I know, I can see you squirming. But try it. Stick with something until you complete it. See what rewards you reap when you follow through.

Face your fears. You may notice that as you step into the stream of completion, all the fears that lurk around the banks of your writing whisper to you from the current. They are no longer hiding behind the rush of all your great ideas. You can’t avoid them any longer. Get out a piece of paper or your notebook. Do a free write about your fears of writing. Let yourself write for 15 minutes. Then take a deep breath and go back to your writing. You may discover that when you give space for your fears, they dissolve in the powerful flow of your creativity. Do this as many times as you need. When we avoid them, they lurk under the surface and covertly sabotage us.

Be accountable. I have a job helping people stay accountable because we need this kind of support. We know that when we tell people we’ll do something, we are more likely to follow through on it. I wrote Create Your Writer’s Life, my novel and weekly essays because I have accountability. Get writing buddies, join a writing group, hire a coach, whatever way you get support, it works.

Let yourself enjoy it. Life is challenging enough without giving ourselves grief over something that should be enjoyable. Relax into your creative expression. Jettison heaviness and despair. Your creative expression is meant to enrich your life, not be a dead weight anchor slowing you down.

Build your creative dam and ease your creative overflow into satisfying and completed writing projects. If after a month you find yourself still avoiding the writing, you may benefit from coaching.

Build Your Creative Dam To Complete Projects

Friday, April 10th, 2009

Artists and writers are fed by a constant stream of curiosity. Our imaginations flow freely with ideas and connections, which allows for a rich river of creativity that can infuse our lives with joy. But what happens when this flood of ideas overwhelms us, turning our creative output into a trickle? It’s time to build a creative dam.

A creative dam guides our inspiration into meaningful flow. It eases our efforts, helps us avoid struggle and allows us to be the creators we dream of being.

I’ve been helping writers and artists build structures to guide the flow of their creativity for years, and have a few tips to help you build your own creative dam.

Commit to it. Choose the one project that has the most meaning for you right now. Choose among all of your great ideas the one thing that will give you the most satisfaction when you complete it. Then commit to finishing it.

Structure it. Many successful creatives advocate a regular place or time for writing. This kind of structure can be a great dam for your writing or art making. With structure, you develop a ritual and bypass the need to constantly get re-invigorated. This dam could be as simple as using the same notebook for a project, sipping the same kind of tea, or sitting under the same tree. It may be a consistent writing time and place. Find a structure that works for you.

Choose one. If you’re like me, you tend to bounce around between projects. This can be a workable style, if, and only if, you finish the projects. If you discover that you have several projects in various states of completion, then you need to funnel your energy into one thing at a time. I know, I can see you squirming. But try it. Stick with something until you complete it. See what rewards you reap when you follow through.

Face your fears. You may notice that as you step into the stream of completion, all the fears that lurk around the banks of your writing whisper to you from the current. They are no longer hiding behind the rush of all your great ideas. You can’t avoid them any longer. Get out a piece of paper or your notebook. Do a free write about your fears of writing. Let yourself write for 15 minutes. Then take a deep breath and go back to your writing. You may discover that when you give space for your fears, they dissolve in the powerful flow of your creativity. Do this as many times as you need. When we avoid them, they lurk under the surface and covertly sabotage us.

Be accountable. I have a job helping people stay accountable because we need this kind of support. We know that when we tell people we’ll do something, we are more likely to follow through on it. I wrote Create Your Writer’s Life, my novel and weekly essays because I have accountability. Get writing buddies, join a writing group, hire a coach, whatever way you get support, it works.

Let yourself enjoy it. Life is challenging enough without giving ourselves grief over something that should be enjoyable. Relax into your creative expression. Jettison heaviness and despair. Your creative expression is meant to enrich your life, not be a dead weight anchor slowing you down.

Build your creative dam and ease your creative overflow into satisfying and completed writing projects. If after a month you find yourself still avoiding the writing, you may benefit from coaching.

Breathe Life Into Your Writing

Thursday, April 9th, 2009

Have you ever read a passage and felt the breath of life, then was too speechless to describe it? That’s writing at its best. The method for creating such a moment comes from the use of emotions. Emotions are one of the single most important, touching, impressive and non-intrusive writing tools. It is often not recognized as a concrete tool, but as a feeling, a stirring, a capturing that catches the reader up in the fictive state.

My aim is to take the mystery out of it. Break it down and make it easy for you. I want to shorten the learning curve for conquering this bestseller-kind-of writing. When you set your scene do not describe it separate from the protagonist’s thoughts, feeling, observations, analysis. If we know how the protagonist feels about the description, the situation, we’ll experience it also. Feelings make us remember a character, a story, a plot long after the last page is closed. Good emotional impact resonates because you have felt what the character felt. On the other hand, description apart from your character’s feelings and observations are impersonal and cold, no matter how detailed and colorful they are. In other words, find smooth ways to integrate your character’s feelings into the description. Here are three examples:

THE MAYOR’S WIFE by Martha Tucker&ndashIndigo is in the hospital after she finds out her husband is dead. “Life, death, acceptance, rejection, ability to feel it and inability to bear it. She turned her face to the cool white wall and her body curled into a fetal position. She pleaded with God to return her to the state of unconsciousness. Devastation only comes to those who are conscious.

Something twisted her heart like a wringer. She turned back to the doctor to face what he had to say, not sure that this moment wasn’t still a dream. When he answered, her throat hurled a howl.

“Aaaaaaaa!”

The scream took her mind to a place that didn’t hurt so much as she felt the sting of a nurse’s needle.

This is the description could have been written separate from her EMOTIONS. Just a straight description of her in the hospital room. Indigo lay in the cool white bed. Everything around her was white. She turned to the doctor and stared, waiting for him to answer. He spoke in a deep voice and told her that her husband didn’t make it. She screamed loud.

THE END JUSTIFIES THE MEANS by T.H. Moore. In reaction to a ruckus his mother and father are having: Jalen balled his body in his arms and tightened his blanket, hoping she would just stop talking. What is she doing? Jalen sprang up and glared at the closed door…A blood-curdling scream jerked him out of bed like he’d been stung by a bee. His feet barely touched the carpet as he tore down the stairs. He froze at the sight.

Moore could have just described the dark room, the warm blanket and the yelling voice that stole in under the door.

THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Here is how the master did it, and it has lasted well over 50 years&ndash“Now it was a cool night, with that mysterious excitement in it which comes at the two changes of the year. The quiet lights in the houses were humming out into the darkness and there was a stir and bustle among the stars. Out of the corner of his eye Gatsby saw that the blocks of the sidewalk really formed a ladder and mounted to a secret place above the trees&ndashhe could climb to it, if he climbed it alone, and once there, he could suck the pap of life, gulp down the uncomparable milk of wonder.

His heart beat faster and faster as Daisy’s white face came up to his own. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable vision to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God. So he waited, listening for a moment longer to the tuning fork that had been stuck upon a star. Then he kissed her. At his lips’ touch she blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete.”

Scott Fitzgerald interpreted his setting, the feelings of his young manhood, of the night, the life of it, the forever endearing kiss.

Now, it’s your turn to describe your favorite scene and lace it with emotions. If you’re going to be a bestseller-kind-of author, then you need to practice writing with emotions.

The End

You are welcome to publish this article in its entirety, electronically, or in print free of charge, as long as you include my full signature file for ezines and my website address in hyperlink for other sites.

bestsellercirclezinester.com,

.urbanclassicbooks.com

Thank you.

Martha “Marti” Tucker

Breathe Life Into Your Writing

Thursday, April 9th, 2009

Have you ever read a passage and felt the breath of life, then was too speechless to describe it? That’s writing at its best. The method for creating such a moment comes from the use of emotions. Emotions are one of the single most important, touching, impressive and non-intrusive writing tools. It is often not recognized as a concrete tool, but as a feeling, a stirring, a capturing that catches the reader up in the fictive state.

My aim is to take the mystery out of it. Break it down and make it easy for you. I want to shorten the learning curve for conquering this bestseller-kind-of writing. When you set your scene do not describe it separate from the protagonist’s thoughts, feeling, observations, analysis. If we know how the protagonist feels about the description, the situation, we’ll experience it also. Feelings make us remember a character, a story, a plot long after the last page is closed. Good emotional impact resonates because you have felt what the character felt. On the other hand, description apart from your character’s feelings and observations are impersonal and cold, no matter how detailed and colorful they are. In other words, find smooth ways to integrate your character’s feelings into the description. Here are three examples:

THE MAYOR’S WIFE by Martha Tucker&ndashIndigo is in the hospital after she finds out her husband is dead. “Life, death, acceptance, rejection, ability to feel it and inability to bear it. She turned her face to the cool white wall and her body curled into a fetal position. She pleaded with God to return her to the state of unconsciousness. Devastation only comes to those who are conscious.

Something twisted her heart like a wringer. She turned back to the doctor to face what he had to say, not sure that this moment wasn’t still a dream. When he answered, her throat hurled a howl.

“Aaaaaaaa!”

The scream took her mind to a place that didn’t hurt so much as she felt the sting of a nurse’s needle.

This is the description could have been written separate from her EMOTIONS. Just a straight description of her in the hospital room. Indigo lay in the cool white bed. Everything around her was white. She turned to the doctor and stared, waiting for him to answer. He spoke in a deep voice and told her that her husband didn’t make it. She screamed loud.

THE END JUSTIFIES THE MEANS by T.H. Moore. In reaction to a ruckus his mother and father are having: Jalen balled his body in his arms and tightened his blanket, hoping she would just stop talking. What is she doing? Jalen sprang up and glared at the closed door…A blood-curdling scream jerked him out of bed like he’d been stung by a bee. His feet barely touched the carpet as he tore down the stairs. He froze at the sight.

Moore could have just described the dark room, the warm blanket and the yelling voice that stole in under the door.

THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Here is how the master did it, and it has lasted well over 50 years&ndash“Now it was a cool night, with that mysterious excitement in it which comes at the two changes of the year. The quiet lights in the houses were humming out into the darkness and there was a stir and bustle among the stars. Out of the corner of his eye Gatsby saw that the blocks of the sidewalk really formed a ladder and mounted to a secret place above the trees&ndashhe could climb to it, if he climbed it alone, and once there, he could suck the pap of life, gulp down the uncomparable milk of wonder.

His heart beat faster and faster as Daisy’s white face came up to his own. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable vision to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God. So he waited, listening for a moment longer to the tuning fork that had been stuck upon a star. Then he kissed her. At his lips’ touch she blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete.”

Scott Fitzgerald interpreted his setting, the feelings of his young manhood, of the night, the life of it, the forever endearing kiss.

Now, it’s your turn to describe your favorite scene and lace it with emotions. If you’re going to be a bestseller-kind-of author, then you need to practice writing with emotions.

The End

You are welcome to publish this article in its entirety, electronically, or in print free of charge, as long as you include my full signature file for ezines and my website address in hyperlink for other sites.

bestsellercirclezinester.com,

.urbanclassicbooks.com

Thank you.

Martha “Marti” Tucker

Book Review Of Stuart Nachbar’s Book About Education And Politics

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

Stuart Nachbar has created a curious novel in The Sex Ed Chronicles. Using a backdrop of 1980 New Jersey, we are introduced to the murky world of school politics. He has selected the contentious subject of compulsory Sex Education, however the subject could equally have been Religion or Evolution. All are subjects that have strong backers and equally strong detractors.

Schools and School Boards may not be the media favorites that the House or Senate may be. But make no mistake, the issues are as hotly contested, and the tactics used by the protagonists just as dirty as the big league politicians, maybe even dirtier, because of the lack of media attention.

The main character is rookie journalist Greg Mandell, just out of college, and working for not much money as a reporter for The Ocean Republic, a small New Jersey newspaper. The author uses Greg in an interesting way, he is by no means the hero, he is the conduit through which the story flows. The style of writing is innovative, the story unfolds in small nibbles each one prefixed with a title and tagline, much in the fashion of newspaper stories.

The action takes place between January and June in 1980. The New Jersey School Board decide to explore whether or not to include Sex Ed as part of its regular curriculum. Some schools have already adopted the subject and some have not. To resolve the issue a series of public forums are planned so that the matter can be decided. There is a quiet certainty that although there will be a few grumbles the majority will be in favor of teaching Sex Ed.

Rookie Greg Mandell is given the task of covering the Sex Ed story, an assignment that he really does not want to do. He quickly discovers that few wish to talk openly about the subject.

What looks at first sight to be a boring and mundane assignment quickly erupts into a firestorm of controversy when a supposed parent-backed group called PAST get involved. Led by the bombastic and bigoted rich widow Carolyn Lattimore, PAST are firmly committed to abolishing Sex Ed in schools, and to achieve their goal set out to establish their members on the various school boards.

Caught in the middle of the fray is a young history teacher, Andi Gilardi, who becomes the centerpiece of PAST’s diatribe after she permits some students to post a Sex Ed test in the school newspaper.

Greg finds himself torn between openly supporting Ms. Gilardi and jeopardizing his job, or supporting PAST who are large advertisers with the newspaper.

The Sex Ed Chronicles is a very thought-provoking work, the author has done a very fine job of writing about the political process, and the fashion in which political skirmishes take place. Like a chess game, mating your opponent’s King is easy once you have picked off the Pawns!

Great read, and if I was an English teacher this would be a book that would I would love to evolve a class around. The potential for gaining real world understanding from within the pages of this novel are huge.

Book Review Of No Matter What

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

No Matter What

Jordana Ryan

Amira Press (2007)

ISBN 9781934475041

Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (5/07)

““No Matter What” is a very deep book. The characters have to deal with overcoming some very painful situations and emotions. This is the type of novel that you will want to read with your friends so that you can talk about it. It leads to a great deal of introspection and really makes you think about what it would be like to have faced everything that Cassandra has at such a young age. It is very hard to judge someone who has gone through so much. Enjoy this novel.”

Since age ten, Cassandra has had a difficult life. Leaving a candle burning in her home, her house burnt down and her parents died. Carrying the weight of blame and guilt at not having been the one to have died has affected all of Cassandra’s relationships. During her early teens she began dating Brenden. At seventeen, she discovers that she is pregnant. She doesn’t want to ruin Brenden’s future or be a further burden on those who have taken her in, so she runs away. Trying to raise her daughter as a single parent is really rough. Cassandra finds herself engaging in risky, promiscuous behavior as an escape, yet she finds that it just makes her life worse.

Four years after running away, Cassandra returns home to face the consequences of her decisions. She wants her daughter to have a good life and to know her father. Brenden and Cassandra have to struggle to get past the anger that he feels from her leaving him and not letting him know about his daughter. Cassandra has to deal with not feeling worthy of a man like Brenden. Other relationships also need healing.

“No Matter What” is a book about healing old wounds. Cassandra and Brenden both have to deal with serious consequences of actions that they have taken as a result of their grief from their past. Brenden’s own mother abandoned him at age five. When Cassandra left him, he did everything he could to avoid being in a committed relationship. He hurt a lot of women with his actions. He too must heal now.

“No Matter What” is a very deep book. The characters have to deal with overcoming some very painful situations and emotions. This is the type of novel that you will want to read with your friends so that you can talk about it. It leads to a great deal of introspection and really makes you think about what it would be like to have faced everything that Cassandra has at such a young age. It is very hard to judge someone who has gone through so much. Enjoy this novel.

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