Writing Consultation | Freelance Writing

University Education

Sarah Lam — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 11:09:33 +0000

This is exactly why I am not going to college / university.

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Word Power

Sarah Lam — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:02:33 +0000

February is here, finally. Time is passing by real fast. I am buried under a pile of work, which is good news but I don’t seem to be able to write frequently on my own blog. Nevertheless, I have found something interesting for you to read.

Enjoy!

*****

You cannot ever underestimate the power of one or two words. As writers we should know how something is said can be the difference between a good story and a great one.

The same can be true when reading compared to writing, as they are two different sides of the coin. When reading, every word in a mystery or a thriller could be a clue, however the same could be in a thesis. If you do not choose the correct word to describe something then your thesis could be shot down.

In high school this could not be more important, as every word in a question could be the difference in your answer. Take the word ‘ARGUE’. You must start by understanding what the question is asking of you when it uses the word argue.

The word ‘ARGUE’ asks you to take a side. Do you or do you not agree with the argument? In a paper you must put forth the different sides to the argument. Look and see how many views there are because there can be many views of one argument. Once you have shown all the view you must take one and argue for it. This will be the view not only you believe in but the one that gives the strongest argument.

When writing your strongest view you must argue against the other views you have previously stated, and why the view you have chosen is the best between them all.

The word ‘COMPARE’ is related to our word ‘argue’ however they are two very different descriptive words. To compare something is to show what the same about the subjects is and what is different about them. With the word ‘COMPARE’ it is a good idea to show what is the same about your subject and staying within the same comparison show the opposite then move to your next comparison.

With ‘COMPARE’ you do not take a side. You do not tell in your paper that what you believe is better or more relevant; you do not give your opinion just the facts of what the differences are between the subjects.
The word ‘ANALYZE’ is a more in depth look at the subject. Here one must look at the underlying material and its source. Question everything! Question where the information came from and its validity. Break each argument or ‘clue’ and look to see how it relates to the whole complete argument.

When writing at a local newspaper the reporters are to answer the three ‘W’s where, when, why. However ones answers that are to be reached by ones analyze could conclude by a how and why answer. Much like a newspaper reporter asking questions ones analyze should answer with how and why.

Remember one must look under or behind the surface of all your source material, for this is where you will find the material to analyze.

Learn more writing tips at http://nationalwriter.org

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Keith_B

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Essential Websites for Photographers

Sarah Lam — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 11:41:57 +0000

Being a freelance photographer is a challenging career. You will need all the resources you can get. The internet is a friend for everyone as you can find anything you want on the internet. However, when you are trying to establish your own photographing portfolio, you will need to know how to set up your own portfolio. Do you want to print them out and keep it in your portfolio album or post them on the internet to reach more audience.

The internet is definitely a companion for everyone. You can post your work on the internet so that more potential clients can view your work.

Therefore, we have special websites for photographers. There are three types of websites to feature your work on the internet.

1. Photo sharing communities
2. Blog based sites
3. Portfolio-based sites

Example of photo sharing communities would be Flickr. Flickr is the easiest-to-use website to feature all your photos. You can sign up for a free account (which allows up to 200 images) or professional account for more features. You will definitely need a professional account to feature all your photos if you have more than 200 photos to upload. Besides, Flickr is an excellent photo sharing site thanks to the ability to set different copyright for your images. If you are looking for other alternatives, SmugMug might be the one for you. Annual fees range from $39.95 to $149.95.

Blog based sites mean having your own blog to feature your work. This is easy to set up. You just need a domain and a hosting plan to get started. By having your own blog, you get to design your own blog to make it ‘stand out’ in the crowd. Remember you are not the only photographer in the world. If you have no budget to buy a domain and hosting plan, you can create a free blog from Blogger or Wordpress. However, since you are trying to establish a professional reputation, it would be best to get your own domain and hosting.

Portfolio-based sites is a good choice if you hate to do the coding (HTML) on your own (perhaps you have no idea how to do all that). Portfolio-based sites such as BIG Folio, LiveBooks and PhotoShelter are there to help you out. They will help you to set up your very own portfolio for less than $1,000 a year. If you like, they can even set up e-commerce so that you can sell your photos online (print sales and image licensing).

With so many choices available, it is time to choose the best idea for your own portfolio.

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Google Wonder Wheel To Assist in Your Research

Sarah Lam — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:01:17 +0000

As a freelance writer, you need to research all the time.

Recently, I have been doing poorly in my research for a client, and as a result, the articles that I have written are in poor quality.

Now that I have got complains from my client, what can I do about it?

Whine? Complain to someone else? Give up? No!

Although my client has been complaining a few times now, there were reasons why I have done so poorly (which I would not discuss here).

At one point, I feel that I would be terminated real soon (mind you, I have worked with this client for a very long time, it isn’t that easy to part with this client).

However, I never give up in ‘bugging’ this client (sorry!). In fact I sent in a lot of emails (until at one point I felt so bad) and stopped after some time, before continuing the ritual (again!).

It is time to work hard for better results.

While Dec/Jan have been very ’slow’ for me, I have been spending more time, reading, learning and thinking.

There is a tool that I have totally forgotten about that is useful in research. I might have talked about this tool last year but somehow, I need to talk about it again.

The tool is Google Wonder Wheel.

How to access Google Wonder Wheel?

Visit Google.com (or Google.co.uk, Google.com.my, etc.)
Type in the phrase/keyword that you want to research.
Click on ‘Show Options’. A left sidebar would appear.
Click on ‘Wonder Wheel’.

Here is an example:

Image 1

Image 2

Image 1 is the first result that you get once you have type in you keyword/phrase.

Image 2 would be the second result, after you have clicked on one of the keyword/phrase available from Image 1.

In this case, Image 2 is the result after I clicked on freelance writing sites (refer Image 1).

Basically, this is an ideal tool for you to explore your keyword/phrase. It helps you to expand your idea so that you get more ideas.

What do you think?

Have you tried it before?

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Telecommuting

Sarah Lam — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 08:39:16 +0000

People have been asking me the same questions.

“What is telecommuting?”

Years ago, I was asking myself the same thing.

Thanks to Google, our best friend, you can truly learn about anything you want.

Do you know the meaning? No?

According to Google (by using the search keyword ‘define:telecommuting‘)

employment at home while communicating with the workplace by phone or fax or modem
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
Telecommuting, e-commuting, e-work, telework, working from home (WFH), or working at home (WAH) is a work arrangement in which employees enjoy flexibility in working location and hours. In other words, the daily commute to a central place of work is replaced by telecommunication links.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommuting
The action of working from home, sometimes for part of a working day or week, using a computer connected to one’s employer’s network or via the Internet.
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/telecommuting
Telecommuter – Telecommuters spend at least part of their workday at home or a telecottage, using computers or other telecommunications equipment. Most telecommuters live on the fringe of large cities and in the suburbs and exurbs, in what is known as the “two-hour telecommuting ring”.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommuter
The practice of using telecommunication technologies to facilitate work at a site away from the traditional office location and environment. teleconference – Interactive, electronic communication among three or more people at two or more sites.
shopfort1.com/t1terms.cfm
working with others via telecommunications technologies (eg, telephones, modems, faxes) without physically travelling to an office.
www.nrdc.org/reference/glossary/t.asp
Telecommuting uses telecommunication technology such as the Internet to work outside of the traditional workplace. An individual may be on a company’s payroll, but perform his or her duties from the home.
eca.com/terminology.html
An arrangement where an employee works either part or all of their workweek from a location other than the standard place of work (office).
hrcouncil.ca/hr-toolkit/HRToolkitGlossary.cfm
telecommuter – A work-at-home computer user who connects to the corporate LAN backbone using remote access technologies.
www.ohsu.edu/edcomm/vcs/glossary/
This may be a subgroup of Human Resource Policy. (To be decided whether it should be a separate keyword.)
ccs.mit.edu/21c/iokey.html
The practice of working from home and communicating with your fellow workers using teleconferencing. Also known as teleworking: linked closely to …
www.martech-intl.com/best2/glossary.htm
Periodic work out of the principal office, one or more days per week, either at home, a client’s site, or in a telework center; the partial or total substitution of information technologies for the commute to work. …
www.jala.com/definitions.php
Working at home for a business. Data and documents are usually transmitted to and from a central office via computer, fax, and telephone.
www.cybercitymommies.com/Glossary.html
Use of a telephone and/or computer system in the home that allows an employee perform job duties and to communicate with the office without actually traveling to and from work.
www.thecallcenterschool.com/tools/glossary.aspx
Working at home but connecting to one s office by way of a computer network. Source: Learning Circuits
www.deploypromis.eu/en/glossary-t.html

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Beware Virus Attack

Sarah Lam — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 09:50:26 +0000

Win32:Fakeinit-H[TRJ] is on the move lately. *TRJ : Trojan

It is transferred through emails (from email addresses such as xxx [at] ups [dot] com). Beware if you receive such emails. These emails have attachment, so make sure you do not open the attachment. Just delete the emails you get. If you have a good anti virus, you will be notified about the infected emails. DELETE all the suspicious emails you get. Only open emails that you trust.

My laptop was infected with this virus (malware) on 14 Jan 2010 and since then I discovered a few more viruses lurking around in my laptop.

Names of the viruses:

1. Fakeinit [TRJ]
2. Bredolab [TRJ]
3. ZBot-MNS

Usually, these viruses hide in C:\Windows\System32 or Temporary Internet Files.

However, you should scan your PC or laptop if you think (or have a hint) that your PC or laptop might be infected with a virus.

Recommended antivirus / antimalware:

1. Avast Anti Virus
2. Malware Bytes Anti Malware

Don’t forget to scan using Windows Defender as well (full scan) – if applicable.

I read that this virus is going to cause a lot of pop ups so beware. If you notice something is not right with your PC or laptop, DO NOT use the same PC or laptop to access internet banking or work.

Change to a clean PC or laptop to change your passwords (for everything that is important to you). Then you can check out TechSupportForum for step-by-step manual to remove the virus. You can even register and post a thread about your problem to get assistance from the virus analysts.

p/s: I am still working on removing the virus(es). Will keep you updated on it.

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Using PayPal as Saving Account

Sarah Lam — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 07:23:31 +0000

PayPal is worldwide trusted. PayPal is useful when you want to shop internationally (online) and receive payment.

I am going to talk about using PayPal as a saving account.

If you are having a personal account, you can treat your account as a saving account especially if you are one of those who can’t save money in a local bank.

Advantages of using PayPal account as a saving account:

The chances of being able to keep your money in PayPal is higher because it would take some time for withdrawal (therefore, you won’t get the rush to withdraw your money)
Even if you do withdraw the money, you will have to wait at least 2 to 3 days to get the money in your hand.
A back up in case of emergency (running out of money from your local bank account, need extra money for other purposes or something else).

Disadvantages of using PayPal account as a saving account:

You won’t be earning interest from the money you keep in your account (not like local savings account).

Who is suitable to use PayPal as a saving account?

People who are dealing with international transactions (buying / selling)
People who have international business (receiving foreign currencies)

* If you do not belong to any of these categories, you are not suitable to use PayPal as a saving account.

** PayPal is NOT really a saving account. It is the way you use it that matters.

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Twitter: March 2008

Sarah Lam — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 06:34:04 +0000

You must be wondering why I posted my past Twitter updates. Just want to reflect on the past tweets.

These are tweets for March 2008.

Busy working.check out www.elawyer.com.my 10:39 PM Mar 26th, 2008 from mobile web
Is going to zoo in taiping 9:30 AM Mar 22nd, 2008 from mobile web
Is feeling good abt everything and also busy.. 11:40 AM Mar 17th, 2008 from mobile web
I m dreaming of a wonderful wedding..everything white.. 12:23 AM Mar 14th, 2008 from mobile web
Enjoying life,be happy,love and be loved..everything wonderful.. 12:09 AM Mar 11th, 2008 from mobile web

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Qualifications to Be a Freelance Writer

Sarah Lam — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 04:14:13 +0000

People are asking me, “what are the qualifications to be a freelance writer?”

I would like to stress here, that there is no specific qualifications to be a freelance writer.

You don’t have to study for a degree in order to be a freelance writer (although it is an advantage).

You can have a degree OR NOT if you want to join the freelancing industry.

As long as you know your stuff and you have the right attitude, you should be fine.

What you need to be a freelance writer?

Knowledge in your industry. Are you becoming a freelance writer / website designer? Know your stuff!
The guts to step out of your current job and step in to your industry (writing / designing)
Know how to spread a word about your business @ services / advertise yourself
Know where to find jobs / gigs (places you can search for work – i.e. Internet, etc.)
Social Media intellect
Motivation and determination
Money to spend while you are not working

So, what are you waiting for? Be a freelancer now or never!

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Twitter: February 2008

Sarah Lam — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 07:48:55 +0000

I signed up for Twitter on 26 February 2008. The reason? I love to experiment with new things.

It is almost 2 years now (yay!).

You can check me out here: http://twitter.com/writingc

*****

February 2008 Twitter updates:

i am busy looking for jobs!!! 1:55 PM Feb 28th, 2008 from web
feeling very sad right now thinking about money and all about money.. 4:22 PM Feb 27th, 2008 from web
back to blogging and writing..feeling very droopy today..hope someone can cheer me up today.. 9:29 AM Feb 27th, 2008 from web
Watching ugly betty and using mobile internet 9:48 PM Feb 26th, 2008 from mobile web
Watching tv while waiting for a very important email 6:44 PM Feb 26th, 2008 from mobile web
right now I am gonna offline and rest for a while before online and keep on blogging 6:16 PM Feb 26th, 2008

from web
blogging and busy blogging and also checking other blogs 11:03 AM Feb 26th, 2008 from web

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