WFU Writing For Us official Blog for Writing

Writing For Us is moving

2008-04-22T12:21:00.002-05:00

I have decided to integrate all of my blogs into one since I haven't had the time to write in all of them. I am moving this blog along with my other blogs to Gaje Master Blogging.

Feel free to roam around this site as you wish but if you would like more information on writing for the internet and writing in general then please subscribe to my rss for Gaje Master Blogging.

At this site you will be able to stay updated with all of my writing information that will help you in your writing success and you will be able to get other information such as blogging tips and free stuff that I find for you.

Gaje Master Blogging is a site that I started to help people with everyday things and to help them on the internet. It is a great site and I am sure that you will enjoy it.

Please visit the site and if you are mainly interested in writing, check out the category under writing on the site and it will give you information to help you out.

Learn to write winning articles

2008-03-06T10:39:00.001-06:00

Guest Post:Donald Whitehead

One of the most effective ways to improve your site's link popularity is by writing articles for publication on other related Web sites and in other related newsletters or Ezines. Writing Articles truly is not rocket science by no means. It is however a skill. One easily acquired.The good thing about promoting and getting leverage in this manner is that IT IS EFFECTIVE, AND YOU WILL IMPROVE YOUR PAGE RANK! There are other factors that, when applied together can help even more in getting a greater page ranking with the search engines. All of which are easy methods that have been used for a long time and to this day in helping to achieve very notable page rankings.

First of all you are not all together lost if you don't have the skills necessary to write your own articles. You have the option of learning to write articles or perhaps you'll choose to hire a writer to write your articles for you. The web is full of Freelance writers, article writers, and ghost writers who for a fee can write articles surrounding your site's theme or subject. So try and write your own articles (practice, practice, practice), look at some sample articles and pay
close attention to how they are written and follow the patterns that they possess.

Making sure that your article has an interesting or very catching title is important to attract a potential visitors attention. The information therein is just as important because it must be credible, and useful or it must have absolute value for the visitor. Useless information has no value and in fact is no good for the visitor. If you have a product site, first find the keywords that are most common to your product as well as the search terms most commonly keyed in and write your articles surrounding these terms and keywords using them often in your written article (keyword Density). Then submit daily to as many related site directories and article ezines, blogs etc. as possible to create backlinks to your site which will eventually increase page rank for your site thereby increasing targeted traffic too!

Good article writing is not designed to sell your products. Stick to the subject of the article. If the subject is about a new fashion, then that is what the article should be about, information about the new fashion, period. Selling information in articles is the best way possible to ensure that no visitors reach your website. The BI-LINE BOX is for your website information. And even then just a simple mention of your name and website and a brief bio is all that is needed.

About the Author:

Donald Whitehead owns Writing Articles Pro Increase Page Rank, Get Unlimited amounts of Quality Targeted Traffic. Learn to write articles, Easily.

Finding your Wisdom

2008-02-18T14:50:00.002-06:00

They say that the easiest thing to write about is about stuff that you already know. This is actually true but at some point you are going to want to expand what you are writing about unless you become an expert ____writer and only write about that one topic. So, where does your wisdom come from? Mine comes from everywhere and everything that I do.

Once you know what you are going to write about, you should focus on writing to the best of your ability. A lot of people think that they can’t write on a topic that has already been written about a million times but this isn’t exactly true. Different people have different aspects on the same subject. Engage your readers in what you want to share or teach them in your write just be sure that it is unique.

A uniquely written article or story will stand out more than one that is talked about over and over. Unique doesn’t mean that it should contradict what every writer has written but instead to overcome what they wrote and make it so that readers will be interested in your point of view also.

Wisdom doesn’t just come with age, it comes with learning and the more you learn, the more you will be able to teach. This being said, you should try to find the best way to teach your readers.

More Great Articles:

Why it's great to start a blog on writing tips

Specialty Writing

Tips to help you on Writing

Increase your page views through blogs

2008-02-18T01:51:00.002-06:00

This is an old trick but still one of my favorite ways of getting more page views to your articles. I write a lot for the web and one particular place that I write for is Associated Content.

Blogs are a popular way of getting more readers interested in what you write by adding links in your blogs to articles that you have written.

For Instance; my blog at Celebrities -N- The News is about celebrities great and small but all the links in the blog direct you back to articles that I have written. I just started this blog and I have already receive a lot of traffic back to my articles.

This can be a huge step for someone who write articles for the web. I haven't even begun to try and get traffic to this blog and it has already pulled in traffic on it's own.

I also have many other blogs that I write in and I often add links to articles that are relevant to what I have written in the blog post so that I can get more readers to my blog and to my articles.

This was just something that I thought I would share with you and if you are interested in how I do it, just visit the link above to the blog.

I promise

2008-02-14T22:37:00.002-06:00

I promise you guys that I am not ignoring you, I have just been working on my other blog at Gaje Master Blogging. I have been trying to get back into my routine of writing and it is going great for me.

How have you all been? I have also been checking out other blogs and sites on writing and I will be posting more stuff about them when I find things that you would be interested in and that will help you in your quest to writing.

I am really excited about some projects that I have going on. Right now, I am working on getting more page views to my articles on Associated Content, any ideas? Send them my way.

Also if you have an interesting site on writing or have an article that you think I might find interesting, yell at me and tell me all about it so that I can have some featured articles on this blog. It will help you by getting you more traffic and help me by giving my readers something more to read about. It's a win win situation.

Tips To Help You In Writing Your Articles

2008-02-08T09:59:00.000-06:00

Articles are in the heart of Internet marketing. They dictate a lot in the success and the drive of traffic into one's site. It has become a key element in making a site work and earns a profit. A website operator and owner must have the good sense to include articles in his or her site that will work for them and earn them the many benefits articles can give to their site.

Articles have been known to be the driving force in driving traffic to a website. Articles are a factor in giving site high rankings in search result pages. The higher a site ranks the bigger slice of the traffic flow pie he gets. With a huge number in traffic flow, there are more profits and more potential for other income generating schemes as well.

But, it is not just about stuffing your site with articles; they have certain requirements as well. These requirements must be met to obtain the maximum benefits an article will provide for your site. A well written article will catch the eyes and interest of your customers and keep them coming back for more. They would also be able to recommend your site to others.

Here are some tips to help you and assist you in making your articles. Below you will read about four things all articles must have to make it successful and helpful in making your site a profit earning and traffic overflowing site.

Keywords and Keyword Phrases.

An article must always be centered on the keywords and keyword phrases. As each website visitor goes to a site, there are those who are just merely browsing but actually looking for a specific something. When this happens, a searcher usually goes to a search engine and types in the keywords they are looking for (e.g. Toyota Camry, Meningitis, Tax Lawyer and Etcetera). It could be anything they want.

The Important thing is that you have an article that has the keywords that are related to your site. For example, if you maintain an auto parts site, you must be able t have articles about cars and their parts. There are many tools in the internet that provides service in helping a webmaster out in determining what keywords and keyword phrases are mostly sought out. You can use this tool to determine what keywords to use and write about.

Keyword Density

Know that you have your keywords and keyword phrases, you must use them fully. An article must have good keyword density for a search engine to feel its presence. Articles should at least have ten to fifteen percent of keyword density in their content for search engines to rank a site high in their search results. Getting a high rank is what articles do best for a site.

Keyword density is the number of times a keyword or keyword phrase is used on an article. The number varies depending on the number of words used in an article. An effective article must have a keyword density that is not too high or too low. With a very high density, the essence of the article is lost and may turn off a reader as well as the search engines. It comes off as overeager. A low number may be ignored by the search engines.

Good Article Content

Like what is stated above, you cannot just riddle an article with keywords. They must also be regarded as good reading materials. Articles must be able to entertain people as well as provide good information and help for their needs. Articles should be written well with correct spelling and good grammar. If you want people to trust you, make your work good and well thought out.

People respond well to figures, facts and statistics. Try to get great information and as many facts as you can. A good and well written article will boost your reputation as an expert in your chosen field or topic. As more people believe in you. They will be able to trust you and your products.

Linking Articles

And another important thing to remember. If you are going to submit articles to ezines and/or contribute your articles to newsletters and other sites, don't ever forget to include a link to your site. A little resource box with a brief description of your site and you should always be placed right after your articles that you have submitted. If people like your articles, they will most likely click on the link directing them to your site.

About the Author:

Matthew Meyer is an internet marketer who manages http://www.thefreeadforum.com where you can post your permanent free advertising to over 50,000 members daily. Click here to visit http://www.thefreeadforum.com

I won the People's Media Award for Best of AC- Text

2008-01-29T17:27:00.000-06:00

I still can not believe that I won. It was like a miracle. The submission that I won was on Oklahoma City Mother Recounts the death of her Son. Please go and check it out. Leave a comment and let me know that you think of my writing.

The article was about the death of my son and what happened the day that he died. I am still trying to pull myself together after all that our family has been through.

If you would like to get started with writing for money, you can check out Writing for The Web and then sign up for Associated Content. This is not a referral link but a link to an article that might help you out. I appreciate comments and ratings on the articles.

I publish a lot of useful articles and if you would like to check them out, just click on the subscribe button on my profile page in AC. This will notify you each time that I have an article. You will be able to see the name of the article in your email so if you like it, take a look and if not, just delete the email. It's that simple.

For winning this award, I received $1000. Not bad for doing what I love. AC gives away prizes each year to the top AC producers on their site and they pay three times a week and give out a performance bonus that helps you to make even more money.

So, go check out the articles and sign up with them to start writing for money. After all, we all know that this is why you came to this blog in the first place.

$1000 in a month

2008-01-22T15:31:00.000-06:00

I took on a challenge to try to get $1,000 by writing for one site to see if I could do it. I have done this once before and want to show that I can do it again. Besides, I need the money right now. Between the kids and school, this is going to be a tough challenge.

I started this challenge on January 1st and plan to complete it on February 15. Okay, this is a little over a month but for good reason. I figure that with all the family stuff that i have going on and school, I deserve to have a couple of extra weeks.

So far the challenge has started off slowly and I need to catch up with my writing. I do plan on taking on more writing work in the future but for now, I will be doing this. I have been using Associated Content and you can read more about this company by going to the category field and clicking on writing for money.

At the end of the challenge, I will be posting up my payment proof so that everyone can see it. $1000 in a month, I think I can do it. Wish me luck.

8 Proofreading Tips and Techniques that work

2008-01-15T13:40:00.000-06:00

I recently came across an article called 8 Proofreading Tips and Techniques, this article was different from your average tips on proofreading article, it was something to inspire a lot of people to get back into the action of writing and making it work for you and your readers.

The tips and techniques included things like; concentration and how important it is to put everything else on hold while you are doing this and how to even do this to begin with, putting your work on paper because you read it differently than what you do when you read it on screen, getting someone else to proofread was a very handy tip and I don't know how many times I have read something and then someone else read it and find more mistakes than what I had, and much more.

This article is one that you don't want to pass up and it will help you to proofread your material for mistakes that are commonly missed.

If you would like to scope out the article and see what else it has to offer and how you can make yourself a better writer by using these, please check out this article here 8 Proofread Tips and Techniques by Daily WRiting Tips

104 Powerful verbs and why you should use them

2008-01-07T23:38:00.000-06:00

I recently listened to a guy speaking about the use of verbs in your writing and how they would actually make your writing come alive and speak to the readers. Verbs are a great way to write an article or anything else. Another thing that you should pay attention to when writing an article is to ask the who, what, when, why, where, and how. These are important part of writing and will help you to outline everything and may even speed up your writing. So, here you go, here are the 104 Verbs that could help you. All you have to do is replace a few words with these to create a more dramatic effect in your writing.

Abolish
Accelerate
Achieve
Act
Adopt
Align
Anticipate
Apply
Assess
Avoid
Boost
Break
Bridge
Build
Burn
Capture
Change
Choose
Clarify
Clobber
Confront
Connect
Conquer
Convert
Create
Decide
Define
Defuse
Deliver
Deploy
Design
Develop
Diagnose
Discover
Drive
Eliminate
Ensure
Establish
Evaluate
Exploit
Explore
Filter
Finalize
Find
Focus
Foresee
Gain
Gather
Generate
Grasp
Identify
Ignite
Implement
Improve
Increase
Innovate
Inspire
Intensify
Lead
Learn
Leverage
Manage
Master
Maximize
Measure
Mobilize
Motivate
Overcome
Penetrate
Persuade
Plan
Position
Prepare
Prevent
Profit
Raise
Reconsider
Reduce
Refresh
Replace
Resist
Respond
Retain
Save
Scan
Shatter
Shave-off
Sidestep
Simplify
Slash
Solve
Stimulate
Stop
Stretch
Succeed
Supplement
Take
Transfer
Transform
Understand
Unleash
Unravel
Use
Win

What is clear and simple writing

2008-01-01T20:24:00.000-06:00

Writing for the web is a little different than writing out in the real world. There is a huge problem with sites that contain a lot of information but can cause information over load. If you don't know what this is please follow me while I explain it to you.

Sometimes websites have a lot of great information in them but can cause you to go blind by the time that you finish reading it or will cause you to scan over the information which could lead to you missing out on valuable information especially if you are a new writer or a writer who is wanting to improve their writing skills.

As a writer, I am always looking for new information and the Internet is the perfect place for me to freshen up on my writing skills. I hate it when I reach a website that is hard to understand or when I try to read an aritcle that makes it to complex for me to read.

Keep it short and simple. I say this often because you have only a few seconds before the reader looses interest in what they are reading. Try to catch their attention as quickly as possible with an opening line and keep their attention in the first paragraph.

Think grade school when writing articles for the web. There is no need for big words that places like Google.com may not pick up on. Writing is such hard work when you try to use $2 words that no one really understands in the first place. Keep this in mind when you write your next article or publish another post on your blog and see how many people will stay to finish it without jumping to the next site.

Lady sentenced in death of my son

2007-12-05T22:35:00.001-06:00

Gaje Florence was only six years old when he was killed after being ran over in my driveway as he played. I remember it as though it was yesterday. Associated Content had asked me to keep the site informed with news articles about the case and trial procedure. I was also asked to write first hand news reports on anything that had to do with the death of my son.

Murguia was sentenced on December 3, 2007 and I would appreciate it if you would take the time to read the news article that was written about the case and her sentencing. Also, be sure to check out the resource box on the left of the article for more articles that were written about the case and the events of the incident. Thank you to all of you who have been there for us throughout this hardship.

Elsia Margiretta Murguia Sentenced in death of six year old, Gaje Jeffrey Florence.

Write on Yuwie and make money

2007-11-29T14:17:00.000-06:00

This is just a little something that I thought you all might be interested in. Recently I was sent a message by a friend of mine telling me about a site called Yuwie. If you love myspace.com, then you are going to love this new site.

Yuwie just recently launched and already people are making money by doing what they would normally do for free. I signed up for Yuwie because I was curious to what they had to offer a writer like myself and so far, I have been very pleased.

On their site, you are able to add a blog, set up your profile, and chat with other members. It is very simular to Myspace but you get paid for what you do.

The pay is based on the revenue that the site makes per month and the number of page views that you receive and your referrals receive. This is what is so great about them.

I have only been an active member for a couple of weeks and already I am doing great with my referrals. This is why I am offering each and one of you a deal for signing up.

Keeping track of my referrals is a pleasure but would be easier if I had help. So, this being said, I am offering you a much easier way of gaining referrals on Yuwie if you sign up under me. The reason that I am doing this is because it is much easier to have my first line of referrals to pass on information than what it would for me to pass on a ton of information myself.

So, here's the deal; anyone who signs up under me will get added to my rotator and I will help to promote their referral link. This does not guarantee referrals but it will surely help you by having your referral link shown throughout the course of this project.

I am also starting a blog to help my downline so that they can go there to read further information that will help them to make more money on the site.

If you do sign up under me, all I ask is that you remain active by blogging, getting friends, etc. This does not mean that you will need to do this on a daily basis, but at least once a week to show me that you are still an active member in this project.

As long as you continue to do this, I will continue to advertise for you to help you gain referrals and I will also show you ways to help you advertise for yourself.

If you are interested in this, sign up using the link below and then leave your referral link in a comment for me to get. Your referral link can be found in the control panel section under your name. Look for a link that says refferals and then click on the link that says referral tools. I do not need the banner but instead, just the link.

If you do this, we will be able to gain referrals and to make money by writing on yuwie. There are a few guidelines and you can find these under the help section in yuwie.

So, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and sign up today.

Writing Tips - Adding Complexity To Your Narrative

2007-11-24T23:15:00.000-06:00

by WILLIAM MEIKLE

Complex narrative structure is used by authors to add interest by complicating the story.

There are several authorial methods of achieving this.

It can occur when the author uses causally unrelated narratives to work together to build thematic unity. This usually involves two or three or more clearly defined narratives each with their own sets of characters. There is often little or no intermingling of characters or narrative events, simply two or three narratives existing alongside each other.

One of the problems this causes authors involves not letting the reader lose track of what's going on. Since there are so many stories happening at once, a lot more reader activity is required to keep track of the various narratives. Therefore time and place are usually clearly defined: events often occur within a very specific time frame in a specific locale to keep the reader focussed. In order to achieve a form of formal closure, there is usually an event at the end of the story that brings all characters to one location or at least affects them all in some way.

Another way an author can use complex narrative structure is in interlayering many flashbacks, or introducing fantasy elements or stories within stories to make the story diverge from a central plot line while maintaining thematic unity . Don Quixote is generally considered the first of the "complex" narrative novels. It is a story within a story within a story within a story again.

Another example is the use of a complex time structure. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte begins in 1801, towards the end of the sequence of events that forms the plot and the story moves back and forward in time as the story unfolds.

By using the complex narrative structure, Bronte was able to show how the past and the present are intermingled, and was able to maintain the common theme of the story while adding interest by adding complication.

So in summary, complex narratives are used by authors to tell stories in interesting ways and may involve one or more of the following:

- flashbacks - dream sequences - repetition - different characters' point of view - multiple plot lines converging at the end - flash forwards - different time frames - pre-figuring of events that have not yet taken place - circular plotting where we are led back to the beginning - backwards story telling, where the denoument is shown first and explained through the plot

The use of these is done with the intent of providing a deeper, more satisfying experience for the reader and all are writer's friends.

Learn to use them, and they'll repay you tenfold.

Fantasy Writing - Six Cliches to Avoid

2007-11-24T23:10:00.000-06:00

by WILLIAM MEIKLE

Fantasy fiction is doing good business at the moment, but there are certain situations that have been overplayed. So much so, that they have become genre clichés, and everybody knows what to expect next. If you're a writer in the fantasy genre, here are 6 clichés you should try to avoid in your stories.

1. Receiving tutoring from the old wise man.

The 'Merlin' gambit, as used in Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Dragonslayer and innumerable King Arthur clones. A stable boy or other similar seemingly low-born type is taken under the wing of the local eccentric. There's usually a beard involved, and a pair of blue eyes piercing from beneath some spectacularly bushy eyebrows. He'll say things like: 'All of nature is one', 'Use the force' and 'You have a great destiny, my boy.' Try not to give him a grey cloak and an elven sword. Maybe you could try having the youth tutoring the old man for a change? Or, more radical, how about having the teacher as an old woman?

2. Learning to fight.

The 'Galahad' gambit. The stable boy gets secret training in weaponry, allowing him to beat a seasoned warrior in his first fight. People say: 'I've never seen the like before' and 'He is the best swordsman I have ever seen'. Now how realistic is that? A radical idea would be to have the stable boy being completely useless at weapons. How is he going to fulfil his destiny then?

3. The parting from everything you ever knew.

The 'Dick Whittington' gambit. The stable-hand, being under a geas to complete a great quest, must say goodbye to hearth and home. People say: 'I must go and fulfil my destiny' and 'I will return when I have avenged my father'. This is usually done with a great deal of schmaltz and emotion. Sometimes it is done violently, the hero being parted from family by the villain of the piece, who he is destined to kill at the end of the story. Either way, it has been done so often that any tears you are expecting to provoke could well be due to laughter. Try to do something different. Why does the hero have to leave his family? What would happen if he took them with him?

4. Being abducted from earth to a different world.

The 'John Carter' gambit. People say: 'How did I get here' and 'You have been delivered to us in our hour of need'. This one was heavily overused in the early and mid-twentieth century by H Rider Haggard and A E Merritt among others. Usually it is no more than a ploy to get a character the writer is comfortable writing about into a fantasy situation where said character could never otherwise exist. Edgar Rice Burroughs liked it so much he even had it happen to Tarzan on occasion. And it still happens, the most obvious modern examples being Thomas Covenant and the various present day characters that Stephen King has recruited into his Dark Tower series. Maybe your hero could be someone from another dimension who gets transported to Earth? Or maybe he stays where he is, but everything changes around him?

5. The multi-race bar room.

The 'Inn at Bree' gambit. It happens a lot in science fiction a-la Star Wars, but it is just as common in the fantasy genre. After a thirsty day on the road, our heroic stable boy and his companions will visit an inn. Inside, there will be representatives of different races from the world created for the story. The innkeeper will always be fat and jolly, there will always be a silent stranger in a dark corner, and someone will sing a silly song giving the writer his chance to show off his invention of other-worldly lyrics. How about having a human trying to get a drink in a dwarf-only bar, or vice-versa? There should be plenty of opportunity to add tension there.

6. Discovering hidden family truths.

The 'Ugly Duckling' gambit. The stable boy gets to the final climactic battle, only to find that his adversary is his father/mother/brother/sister etc. People say: 'It was kept from you to protect you' and 'You cannot kill me, I'm your father'. This has been so overused, it even turns up across genres: witness Luke Skywalker confronting Darth Vader for example. A variation is to have the hero find that he is suddenly a prince, or even king. This says more about the writer's own desires than it does about the plot. Wishful-thinking fantasies do not usually make strong stories. But what would happen if the hero already knew his background, but his adversary didn't?

The next time you read a fantasy story, count how many of the above are still in use. I think you'll be surprised. It's even worse in film and television, where all of them can occur in any one movie, and often do. Just look at Star Wars - it contained most of them, and still made huge amounts of money.

And that's also why the above should be taken with a pinch of salt. Clichés still have their place in popular culture. Just don't take that as an excuse to use them yourself. At least not too often.

How to become a New York Time Bestseller

2007-11-01T15:30:00.000-05:00

One of the biggest dreams that most authors have is to have a shot at becoming a New York Times Bestselling Author. I don't know about you but this has been my dream for a while.I often here people saying that they wish they were able to write a book or how awesome it would be to see their name in big black bold letters.

Well, here's the kicker. John Kremer wrote a book called 1001 Ways to Market Your Books and in it he describes tips that could last a writer a lifetime and even suggestions for marketing books.

Just the thought of becoming a New York Time's Bestselling Author would have most of us screaming with excitement inside of our bodies.

Kremer is an expert marketing and book publishing, his books are his window to the world and may even be your escape to the writing world. He is not only the owner of a publishing company, he has also the editor of the Book Marketing Tips of Week Newsletter.

Could you imagine the possibilities of what might happen if you were to listen to every word that he has to say? In as little as 12 teleseminars, you could be the next New york Times Bestselling Author.

The first step that every writer should know is that they must always take that first step into the big bad world of writing but now, you don't have to do it alone. This step by step program will help you to conquer all thos doubts and to help you establish yourself as a writer.

This is something that I feel a lot of writers will be interested in.

Simple writing

2007-10-25T23:53:00.000-05:00

Simple article are better read and better understood. The more understood you are when someone else reads your article, the more readers you will have.

I hate reading articles that require me to have a dictionary in hand. I like the simplicity of knowing what the writer is talking about without having to guess what a word or phrase means.

Simple is always best when you are writing articles. Think about what you would want to get out of an article when you read it and apply this to what you are writing.

Think Junior High when you are writing. I don't say Elementry because I believe that everyone should play around with words every now and then. Junior High will allow you to write so that everyone can understand it and still allow you to play around with it.

The easier the article is to understand and read, the more people will want to read it and other articles that you write.

If you happen to write articles that have to have big words, write it so that your readers can understand the meaning without looking it up.

Writing for Us social network

2007-10-24T17:46:00.000-05:00

Yup, I did it again. I went and made my own social network because I wanted a way for us to all share in on our writing experience. The cool thing about this is that you can also promote your articles, blog, website, books, ebooks, and anything else that you want to talk about.

There is a cool little widget that I added to my blog on the left hand side and you can get one too. The widget is customizable so you can create different options for you blog if you choose to add the badge on there.

The network is free to join and is for any aspiring newbie or experienced writers who want to join.

So, what are you waiting for, join us in our adventure to spreading the word on writing. Just click on the widget to the left hand side that says writing for us and join us in this adventure.

Construction finished

2007-10-24T15:25:00.001-05:00

So, what do you think. I added a few touch ups to the blog and even added my own network to it. I will explain this in a later post. Go ahead and feel free to roam around. I will be adding more things to make the blog a more friendly user place to be.

I am working on a few projects this month and will continue to upgrade this blog until it meets the needs of writers. I do apologize about the 30 days to writing better articles series. I will be working on this again shortly but I just wanted to give you an update on what is going on. Let me know what you think of the new blogging site construction.

Construction going on

2007-10-24T14:34:00.000-05:00

Excuse me while I play around with this site to make it better. I hope that you like it and you might see a few glitches today so don't worry it will be better in a few hours.

Asking for your help

2007-10-19T12:54:00.000-05:00

I have taken it upon myself to enter into the NANO WRIMO and need your help to raise the money for programs that they sponsor. The goal that was set for myself is $1000 and I have only just begun. I have until Novemeber 30 of this year to come up with the donation amount.

If you choose to donate, you will be sponsoring me on my adventures in writing and helping children to learn to write better. I am on a mission to reach 50,000 words by the end of November and this would really help me to suceed.

IF you are not able to sponsor me, please help by passing on the word with a link to my donation site at http://www.firstgiving.com/rosaflorence . I accept anything even pennies if that is all that you can afford.

Thank you for all of your help and there will also be a widget in the sidebar for people to donate.

*UPDATE:

$50 will be given to a winner on January 1st. The winner will be dicieded as follows; each person who donates $5 will get one entry, if you donate $10, you will get two entries and etc. The winner will be drawn out by a friend of mine and the winner will be announced on my blogs and on Associated Content with information for them to contact me so that I know how to give the winner their prize. The contest will only take affect if I at least reach the $500 mark. For more on this please refer to Sponsoring a Writer.

The Importance of Paragraph Breaks When Writing Web Content Articles

2007-10-19T03:12:00.000-05:00

Recently, I’ve taken some time to review and read a lot of web content sites, blog sites, and article sites, and one thing I’ve noticed quite frequently is that many people don’t seem to know when to break a line for a paragraph in their content. Paragraphs are important for several reasons, and if you want your writing to be the very best, it is important to know when to add a paragraph break and why.

Web content is a bit different than print items in that the reader will be viewer the content on a screen and not on a page or in a book. Many people use reading guides or their fingers or note cards to follow along while they are reading a print item, but this is nearly impossible to do on the computer without leaving unsightly fingerprints on your monitor. That brings me to the first reason why paragraph breaks are important: to make it easier for your readers to read your content without too much eye strain.

Another reason for proper paragraph breaks is to make the writing more attractive at first glance. A page with a long scroll of writing with no breaks is not only NOT attractive, but it is a bit intimidating to read too.

Also, paragraph breaks are important to break up when thoughts flow from one to another, allowing the reader to know when a thought or mood or tone shift has occurred in the writing. This helps break the elements of the writing up into distinct sections with similar content, allowing the reader to more easily focus on the key points of your writing.

So how do you determine where to place a paragraph break?

Good question… Let me try to give you a good answer that pleases both web copy writers and editors as well as hard core grammarians. A paragraph is a group of sentences lumped together by similar meaning, intent or content. When the thought changes or a new idea or concept is introduced, a paragraph break allows for a pause to shift the reader’s mind to the new concept or idea.

Next, for web copy especially, paragraphs should be kept short. When writing for print, longer paragraphs are more acceptable, but for web copy, 3-5 average length sentences is usually a good paragraph and then a paragraph break is needed.

Paragraphs are also used to break up or accentuate something if you are trying to make a point, add impact. For example, if you have one sentence that makes a strong point and you really want to make it stand out, you could make that sentence a paragraph all by itself, with a break before and after, causing the reader to really take notice of that sentence.

For dialogue, there should be a paragraph break before each new speaker. This means that sometimes very short dialogue will be on a line all by itself. This is just proper punctuation for dialogue so that it is easy to see who is saying what. For quotes, short quotes can be included in the same paragraph as other text, but longer quotes, of more than one or two lines, should be in a paragraph by itself. (Please note that this information on quotes is best for web copy. If you write papers or magazine articles and newsprint, you should check out the AP style guide for newsprint, the Chicago Manual of Style, MLA, or APA style guides for how to properly cite quotations for other types of writing.)

Paragraphs are our friends!

When writing your copy for the web, keep these things in mind and be sure to use paragraphs properly. Doing so will make your writing easier to read, more attractive, and help it make better sense to the reader.

Michelle L Devon is a freelancer writer and editor, providing services through her company, Accentuate Services. For more information about writing, hints and tips for writing, or to receive a free quote on writing or editing services, please visit Ms. Devon's website at www.accentuateservices.com

NANO WRIMO: National Novel Writing Month

2007-10-14T14:34:00.000-05:00

November marks the month for the National Novel Writing Month, I believe that every would be writer should take part in this project.

The goal is to reach 50,000 words or 197 pages of writing a novel within a month. You will need to sign up in order to participate in the event. Sign up began on October 1 and will end before November 1, make sure you bookmark the site and return to it for useful tips to help you.

As a writer, I am taking part in this event. The prizes are a cool little icon that you can place on your site and a certificate stating that you achieved this goal.

Why are we doing this? As the site states, so we can laugh in the faces of those who take years to prepare a novel.... When we try hard enough to acheive something like this, our entire writing world opens up and it adds creativity to all of us as writers. We often tend to write and re-write everything and this is a way for you to move past that point. The trick is to not think to hard on it, just write. There will be time for editing when you are done.

Should you participate? Yes, most defiantly. Go to the site and sign up for the great adventure that is coming on November 1.

*Editors Note:

I would like to thank Jerry Drussel AKA Pantser over at Please don't feed the writer for bringing this site to my attention. His site offers great words of wisdom from a writer. There are great things on writing that you can learn from him. Take a moment to look over his site and see what you can learn from him.

1, 2, 3 and write

2007-10-14T00:40:00.000-05:00

I know that I wrote a little bit about this before but I wanted to take the time to write a better post on this. I call this 1, 2, 3, and write because this is pretty much all you need to do. I will explain myself further and try to go into detail on this.

Articles are often written in How-to's or What you need to know, there are also other forms of articles like The top 5 __ that are can help you along the way to writing better articles. How? When writing an article, the title plays a significant part in it and can help you to create an outline for your article.

The 1, 2, 3, and write is played out by picking your topic. You should always have the topic before you start to write. The topic is everything and writing like this will also help you to stay on topic.

Once you have your topic of choice, write down everything that you want to discuss in the article, write it down in a number form like 1, 2, 3. Write as many as you want to discuss in your article as long as they stay on topic.

Once you have these written down, start by going down the list and writing why these are important for the reader to know. If you are writing a How-to article, you can write the directions below them and why this needs to be done. I think that it is important to add the Why's behind it so that the reader will not be asking why as they are reading it and following directions.

Once you have this done, revise it and make it so that it is readable.

Here is a fine example of an article that used the 1,2,3, and write:Topic: Parenting

1. Why parenting is important to children:

children learn through explanation. Children need good role models. Children cannot survive without supplies...etc.

Revised:

Parenting is an important part of children's lives and without it, children could not get the needed skills and attention that they should be getting. Children will often fall into the wrong crowds and they need good role models and parents can be just the role model that they need. Parents can teach children many skills that they will later need in their lives.

*Editors Note: This is a quick example of a revised version.

This will give you an idea of how to write an article using the skills of 1, 2, 3, just write. The skills that you need, you already posses and you will just need to imagine yourself writing them. This will also help you to write much faster articles and more accurate ones. The key to writing articles is to always stay on topic and to focus on what your readers will want to read. There is no better learning skill than the skills that you already have.

Being a self taught writer

2007-10-14T00:25:00.000-05:00

The question often comes with many people who are wanting to become writers; Can you be a telf taught writer? The answer to this is a simple, yes. It is better to take classes and to maybe even get your Masters in Fine Arts but it is not required for you to do this to be a writer. I am a firm believer that anybody can be a writer.

People are not born writers, even though some are born with a wider imagination. People are taught to write in school and throughout their lives. Self taught writers are those who are continuing to learn beyond what is taught in school.

Your tip for tonight is to read and write often. Take note of the tone in the writers voice as your read your next book or article. Imagine what is going on. Write what you think of the book and what might have made it better.

What will you learn from doing this? Everything and anything. It will help you to become a better writer when you can see what the author is saying and to know what you think would have made it better.

Image yourself as the writer and what you would have added to perfect the book. Why is this important to you? If you know why it is important, you will know why you should use this as an example when you are writing.

For instance; I just completed a book on writing and the one thing that I said would have made it better is if the author would have made the book easier to understand without having to read between the lines. I thought about this for a moment, after a long pause, I decided that books should be written so that anyone can understand it. Why would you want to purchase a book that doesn't make any sense, uses a lot of big words that causes you to pull out the dictonary, and has your rereading it so that you can try to comprehend what the author was saying?

Food for thought; put what you learned in your next writing and make it better for you. Your readers are everyday people just like you and me and they are going to want to be able to read the book just like your would want to read it.