Short Stories

Backgammon Masters Applies for Guinness Gamer World Record in Farthest Backgammon Dice Toss.

2008-04-17T11:09:00.000-07:00

In the world of online backgammon there is a lot of excitement as the latest news that has hit is that a Backgammon Master's online game operator is applying for a place in the Guinnes book of record. This hails as a good advert for the online backgammon arena in general and hopefully the success will bring out the prowess the game has to offer.
Whatever game of chance you enjoy, whether it be a game of poker or blackjack to see two dice rolling out from a helicopter is going to get the adrenalin kicking in quite high.
There will be a great tournament held to host this great event where two players will be playing on a huge playing field once the dice roll out of the helicopter and from this moment on backgammon online will never be the same. Many famous persons of note will be present and also the Guinness book of world records will be there to record this event where tickets will also be available for avid poker players, backgammon followers and just laypersons to enjoy and watch this unusual feat. The proceeds from the sale of the tickets will also be going to charity which means many good people will benefit through this mentally challenging sport.

Essay writing services.

2008-04-16T10:06:00.000-07:00

With exams coming up and the big stress build up, getting a good thesis in is one of your most important ativities before ending the year and now at the click of a mouse and in the comfort of your own home you can now get assistance and all the necessary hints and tips whether you are writing a Thesis Proposal or any other type of written paper. These are a great help before exam time so you can then have the perfect format to hand your own ones in at the time.
We also give a good deal of Help on a Research Paper that you need to work on suchg as helping you focus and organize what exactly you need to do to prepare it. Organization is half the battle won and our expertise on Cheap Term Papers is second to none. By the time you are sitting your exams you will have had a good grounding in getting the best papaers written as you will have a core understanding of the structure and calibre needed from our examples for the best end results.

Nursing Schools.

2008-04-13T08:56:00.000-07:00

Now at the click of a mouse and in the comfort of your own home you can get great information on a user friendly site about cna courses that are running. There are also other benefits you can pick up by perusing through this site such as the latest and most up to date listings of cna schools that can offer you a high level of tuition in your chosen vocation.
You will also be able to browse through the in depth articles on what cna training entails as well as much usefulinformation regarding the job description of nursing assistant. There are alos many other articles on other medical assistant training careers you may wish to take a look at.

Sonography Schools.

2008-04-11T10:51:00.000-07:00

Now at the click of a mouse and in the comfort of your own home you can log online and peruse at your leisure through an easy to navigate site and pick up all the latest sonography tech hints and tips to enhance and further your career aspirations.
You will not only find a comprehensive listing of sonography schools that offer courses and tuitions in your chosen field but you will also be able to review and in depth analysis of this career choice so you can make a well informed decision and be armed with the necessary knowledge to forge ahead with confidence in becoming a sonography technician. There is other medical assistant training courses information on the site you can browse through too if you are interested.

Male enhancement products review.

2008-04-08T13:52:00.000-07:00

Now at the click of a mouse and in the comfort of your own home you can log online and peruse through a user friendly site and learn much about male health by medical experts willing to share their advice on how to use penis extender products in a safe way.

There are many articles relating to male health that will be very useful to assist you in maintaining a healthy insight as well as a healthy body. There are reviews for various penis extender products that can be used instead of invasive surgery as well as other penis enlargement products and information to take away any myths and misconceptions you may have in this arena.

Xray Technician School

2008-04-06T10:57:00.000-07:00

If you are looking to become an x ray technician and want to find more information in this field then now at the click of a mouse and in the comfort of your own home you can log online and browse through an online medical assistant training portal to view a user friendly site that has much to offer by way of the latest information you may need.
There are listings for x-ray technican training schools and colleges as well as useful hints, tips and in depth articles covering all aspects of becoming a successful xray technican. There are also other medical assistant training career sections that are covered by this informative site too that can assist you into making a wise decision regarding your inpending career move.

Pharmacy Technician Training.

2008-04-05T10:20:00.000-07:00

Looking to go into a good medical career but want to find out more about the right medical career training for you? Now in the comfort of your own home and at the click of a mouse you can log online and browse through the online training portal that can give you much up to date information on mediacl career training from pharmacy technician to dental assisstant.
You will find such information listed that it will really assist you in making the right career choice for you and you will find listings of schools, career descriptions and even the going ratefor the pharmacy technician salar y that you can recieve once working.
The site is user friendly and hosts a mine of knowledge that cannot be found anywhere else on the Net for such a specialized area of training. You can also peruse at your leisure through countless feature articles for a medical tech as well as other areas in the Field before making your final decision.

Live TV

2008-04-05T05:32:00.000-07:00

Why not join the live tv revolution that is taking the Internet by storm and host your very own show in front an avidly growing live audience. Now at the click of a mouse and in the comfort of your own home you can log online and take part in this wonderful project where with just a webcam and internet connection you can get hooked up and beam your live broadcast to viewers all over the World.
There are so many benefits waiting for you like rating systems and moderators that can help you keep your live show squeaky clean. There are ways you can now interact with your audience that were not possible for the amateur producers and you can even take your show on the road and do live shows while you are outside too. There are endless possibilities here and it is the right time to get on the bandwagon.

Donate a boat.

2008-04-03T13:02:00.000-07:00

If you have a spare boat that you no longer wish to keep and are wondering "Where can I Donate my Boat to Charity?" you have come to the right place as now with the click of a mouse you can log online in the comfort of your own home and make arrangements for your boat to be picked up free of charge. You not only get to help so many people in need but you also save on your annual tax returns as by giving away your asset to charity means you don't have to pay anything for it.
Boat Donation s have brought a smile to so many people and also brings medicines to places where they are most needed.
The organizations that helps to Donate Boats has backed numerous projects such as refuge centres for teenagers and anti drugs campaigns along with creating animation movies for children and getting uplifting books to prisoners that need help with rehabilitiation. So many wonderful things have happened through this great idea and the generosity and kindness of hundreds of people like you. Not only can you donate boats but you can also donate other items of value like cars. You are only a click away from making someone smile.

Cash in your hand fast.

2008-03-11T03:40:00.000-07:00

Now with the advent of the Cash Advance your short term, money worries are well and truly over. We all know how baffled and confused we can get once those heavy bills come flying in one after the other and we are feeling rather swamped and snowed under. We sometimes just don't know where to turn to. Now at the click of a mouse and in the comfort of your own home all your worries can well and truly be over as you can apply online for payday loans with just a short application. There is no complicated form filling or long queues to stand in waiting to see a financial advisor. All you need is to be an adult over the age of eighteen, hold a valid bank account and earn over 1,000 usd a day and you can apply for upto 1,500 usd in one single stretch.
There is no need for a credit check so if you are thinking about your low credit rating you don't have to as the loan is secured on your next payday. You will have the best service rendered from customer care and your privacy is respected at all times once you are dealing with the company in a safe and secure online environment. You have absolutely nothing to lose but much to gain including peace of mind and also because it is only a very short term loan you don't have to worry about getting more into debt.

Short articles.

2008-03-10T11:47:00.001-07:00

Many short articles that are around 100 to 200 words on average can make you anything from five dollars upwards in places where peopelpublish ezine type articles. I have seen several of these article inclusion places online and people view your articles and if they like it, they purchase it from you to re use it somewhere else which is very good publicity for you as a writer as well as bringing in the extra moola for you.
I haven't yet gone into this area due to lack of time but checking out places like Helium may be a good place to start. You can just google it online and see what it may have to offer you, or vice versa what you might have to offer Helium and its members. I am going to check it out properly when I get more time, probably once I am in the states and I have less running around to do and I am more relaxed over there.

Short term loans.

2008-03-10T11:28:00.000-07:00

Sometimes in our lives we may be awamped with heavy bills and then everything seems to get on top of us and we are confused and baffled as to where we can get the help we need to get ourselves on our feet again. Well now with the advent of the Cash Advance we can get the assistance we really need by logging online in the comfort of our own homes and getting an application through for a no fax cash advance in minutes.
You don't have to worry about standing in long queues to wait to be seen by a financial advisor, nor do you have to fill out complicated forms that will take ages to be seen to. You only need to be an adult over the age of eighteen, have a valid bank account and also take home over 1,000 usd a month. There is no credit check made also so you don't have to worry about your credit rating as the loan is secured on your next payday. This hort term payday loan is better at helping get you out of tight situations than getting you into long term debt with other types of laons which would work out far more expensive in the long run.
You can even become an affiliate of this payday loan portal and make money by introducing this great gateway to financial freedom to others that may need the help to get on their feet. There is also a blog on the site which has so much information and hints and tips on how you can do better money management and get out of debt in the future.

No more debts.

2008-03-10T10:47:00.000-07:00

There are so many families and individuals drowning in debt and as life gets more expensive and the bills start piling in things can sometimes spiral out of control and we may not know where to go for the help and advice we need to bring down our debts and eliminate them from our lives for good.
Now with the click of a mouse and in the comfort of your own home you can log on to an online debt consultation portal that will assist you and give you the perfect directives in order to get your life back into control. There are many hints and tips and loads of imperative advice that will not only help you get back on your feet but will also assist you in reducing and eliminating your debts so that your life is running more stress free.
You can receive a free debt consultation and talk to one of the lovely customer care team members and also peruse through the section that lists who can benefit from all this debt consolidation process. For all your debt consolidation online needs you don't have to worry about standing for hours on long queues to see a financial advisor or have to fill out complicated forms that take ages to get read ans answered as online all things are done quickly and efficiently.

More choice for writers.

2008-03-10T10:42:00.000-07:00

Now with the advent of the Internet there are so many more ways for the little writer to earn money working from home. In olden times one would have to write books and novels or for newspapers and periodicals to earn a crust but now with so much advertising done online and so much more busines being conductedthrough the web, little people like me can earn part of the crust by writing for different companies and advertising their products through blogs, ezines and on forums. This is a great way to supplement the family income and I have at least managed to pay a bill or two through this advertising revenue.
I am hopign to be able to earn a few hundred bucks a month through writing so that I can eventuallyt buy my own home and pay it off within five years of buying it so I don't have a mortgage for very long. I do hope others reading these articles will gain some inspiration and put fingers to keyboards and start tapping away for extra money. Some professional bloggers and writers earn thousands of dollars a month. I am more busy with investments where is where I earn most of my pie from but I hope in the future I can earn more through writing too.

Deals on wheels.

2008-03-10T10:06:00.000-07:00

Are you looking to get the pimped out ride of your dreams but not quite sure where to get the right finance to purchae it? Or do you have an already exisiting set of wheels you want to get a better fiancial deal on the current loan you have on it? Well now in the comfort of your own home and at the click of a mouse you can peruse through a wonderful online car finance portal that will assist you in getting the right finance for the car of your dreams.
There are car loans for new and used cars and much information and advice as to how to go about getting the right finance that best suits your needs. There are sections for each type of loan including refinance for your existing automobile and there is also a very informative auto loan blog that will give you many hints, tips and advice as to assist you in making a well informed decision. There are fubn articles too which will open your eyes to the automobile World at Large.
Why not indulge is stories like the History of Rolls Royce or the current state of the U.S automobile Industry which all in all make excellent tea time reading material for any motor enthusiast. You will not find a boring moment browsing through this gateway to your auto dreams. You can get good advice and a great quote so you have nothing to lose by checking up on this auto loan site.

Online mortgage portal.

2008-03-10T09:48:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for that dream house or even taking out a remortgage on your existing laon then you may seem quite confused and baffled as to where to look for the right mortgage. Now at the click of a mouse and in the comfort of your own home you can log online and see the one stop mortgage portal that will assist you in all your mortgage needs.
The site is extremely user friendly for both online Novice and Professional alike and you can peruse through each section at your leisure and take in all the wonderful and useful information on mortgages laid out for your benefit. All this useful information will also help you in making a well informed decision that will affect your mortgage requirements.
There are sections all about new homes, refinance and the different types of loans as well as a mortgage blog that will give you so many hints and tips that will open your eyes to the Mortgage World at Large. On the blog you will see many questions and queries answered in an entertaining style that will make an otherwise tedious subject quite varied and exciting, along with looking for that perfect home of course. So why not get a mortgage quote today as you have nothing to lose but perhaps big savings in the long term to gain.

Writing Ezines.

2008-03-10T09:44:00.000-07:00

Writing ezine articles are another way to indirectly earn revenue and gain calibre for your writing skills. Ezines can be submitted to various publishers online and you can write about any subject you think your readers will find informative like say how to make money online or better parenting skills. The list is endless and many people now are resorting to this type of indirect advertising that usually links back to either the business they want to advertise or the blgo they wish to advertise which could be what they want to get people to read up on.
I am thinking seriously of going down this route once I have a little time on my hand as your reputation grows if you write good articles and well written quotes for various subjects, especially if it is subject matter that is really hot on the agenda like Global Warming for example. So you can see there are many ways now in which you can earn money and reputation points for your writing online.

Credit cards online.

2008-03-10T09:17:00.000-07:00

Are you wanting to improve your credit rating and/or get more access to credit but at a better rate? Now at the click of a mouse and in the comfort of your own home you can log online to a great user friendly online credit card portal that is the gateway to credit knowledge that will really open your eyes.
There are lots of informative articles and points to direct you to the right credit that best suits your needs. If you want to get the best quote for credit cards you can get one very fast without having to wait in long queues to see a financial advisor or spend hours and hours scouring the Internet to compare each company one by one.
Whether you are an online novice or professional you will find the site so easy to navigate that persusing through the various pages will be a breeze and also an enjoyable experience for the time you have to spend. All you have to do is research the kind of cards you want, compare them and then apply for the one you like, the process is just so simple.
There is even a credit card blog that will open your eyes to the world of Credit and will help you to make a well informed choice plus it will entertain you with hints and tips and amusing articles you can browse through at your leisure. It is the gateway to getting you the best credit and also a guide to helping you to manage your money in a better and much wiser way.

Get cash fast.

2008-03-10T08:44:00.000-07:00

When you are stressed and have much strain due to financial constraints life can get on top of you and you can get really confused as to where to turn to for help when you really need it. Now at the click of a mouse and in the comfort of your own home you are able to log online to get exactly the right help you need with no hidden costs or fine print.
All you have to do is apply online in a simple application without having to wait in long queues to see a financial advisor or fill out lengthy application forms as long as your arm. Now faxless payday loans are the answer to your prayers and you can get your cash in the bank within twenty four hours of applying for your cash advance. All you need to do is be eighteen years of age, have a valid bank account and take home 1,000 or more usd a month, then you can apply for upto 1,500 usd in one go.
You don't even have to worry about a credit check as the loan is guaranteed on your next payday so if you have a poor credit rating this will have no bearing on the application process what so ever. So you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by getting yourself a payday loan to help you in your hour of need in a safe and secure online environment. The customer care is great and your privacy will also be respected at all times.

Blogging..

2008-03-10T08:38:00.000-07:00

Blogging is another way to express your feelings or give out some useful information to your audience. I enjoy switching from one blog to another, depending on my mood and what experience I have had that day. I have a variety of blogs, ranging from business orientated blogs to hobbies and passions blogs like a blog I have about my passion for China, or my earhthlings blog which has a sociao-political aspect with an entertainment twist attached to it.
You can also montetize your blogs and earn some pocket money from them or if you really get high up in the rankings you can earn a lot more as people will pay you a lot of money for advertising and writing articles.
I earn some money from articles but know I could earn more if I had more time to devote to it. I have so many different business related themes that I don't have enough hours in the day to do everything I want, it's a little impossible. It is something you can try and experiement with as you see fit.

Easy paydayloan.

2008-03-10T08:27:00.000-07:00

Nowadays many families and individuals are having a hard time paying those heavy bills, especially when they all come in one go. We have all been there and sometimes we feel so helpless and overwhelmed that we don't know where to turn to. Thankfully now with the advent of the Cash Advance you can log online and at the click of a mouse and in the comfort of your own home you can quickly and efficiently apply for a payday loan. You don't have to wait in long sueues to see a financial advisor when you apply for payday loans, nor do you have to fill out long and complicated forms. All that is usually required is that you are an adult over the age of eighteen, have a valid bank account and also take home 1,000 usd or more a month. You also don't have to worry about credit checks even if you have a low credit rating because the loan is guaranteed on your next payday.
Once your loan is approved you can receive upto 1,500 usd in any one application and the funds can be in your bank within twenty four hours of your application so you can sort out those incoming bills. These short term loans are the best way to solve those short term bill pile ups or those unexpected expenses that may come up on some special occasion like the Holidays for example. The user friendly site and the good customer care is great and your privay is respected at all times. You can be guaranteed of an excellent service and a secure and safe online environment to get the cash you need when you need it most.

Online insurance portal.

2008-03-10T08:13:00.000-07:00

Have you the need to get a better rate of car insurance and want to save money but just don't quite know how to go about it? Now at the click of a mouse and in the comfort of your own home you can log online and find a great insurance portal to cover all of your insurance needs. You have a varied choice of insurance types to choose from ranging from car insurance to home insurance. Other types include life and health insurance too.
Why not peruse through the user friendly site at your leisure and see how much you can save on your current insurance by getting a no obligation insurance quote through a simple online application? The quick quote centre is there to provide this invaluable information at your fingertips and does all the hard work for you. No more lining up in long queues to see a financial advisor and also no taking hours and days to get the best priced insurance to suit your needs.
You can look also for business insurance as well as personal insurance so there are many areas which you can find out about all on one site at your convenience. Each section has it's special knowledge base so you can get in depth information on each insurance type so this can assist you in making that well informed decision when choosing the insurance you want. Also if you have time why not visit the insurance blog on the site as there is a mine of useful information and lots of hints and tips about the Insurance Industry at Large.

Paid to post forums.

2008-03-10T08:08:00.000-07:00

Another way to earn money from your writing skills is to join the numerous paid to post forums that give you a few cents per spost for replyiong to other people's posts as well as starting your own threads. I am amyself a member of a few and when I have some spare time I write in the forums and at the time I get to their minimum cashout..
I request a cashout and get paid. It is quiote noce to get the odd bit of extra cash here and there and as some of the forums also are business related I also make more contacts for my other business ventures so I kill two birds in one stone. I don't just waste my time writing posts in the hope of getting some more people in my business programs but I also earn some cash while doing it. I think this is great also for newbies on the Net wanting to start to earn some cash from scratch.

Fashion schools in New York.

2008-03-07T14:44:00.000-08:00

If you are looking for fashion schools in new york but are a little baffled as to where to look have no fear as at the click of a mouse and in the comfort of your own home you can now peruse online and at your leisure to locate the school to bring alive your dreams.
You will find a mine of useful and entertaining information on the site as well as a whole list of fashion designers that you can read through to enhance your knowledge of the Fashion Industry. There are articles on the Fashion World ranging from business and marketing to designing and fashion journalism, all differnet aspects yet interconnected to a fashion theme.
So now it is not so difficult to find a fashion school in new york and not only that, you can also find schools in other locations around the States as well as Canada if you so prefer. As the site is so user friendly and very bright with wonderful design features, searching for new york fashion schools will not only be fun and entertaining but can also be a breeze for the tired mind that needs to concentrate on the studies in hand. You can browse through all the different listings on the various fashion related stories and this will open your eyes to the World of Fashion and bring about your chance to make that well informed choice in your next career move.

Poker odds.

2008-02-18T14:08:00.000-08:00

When you want to improve your odds at winning a poker game then you should aquire the texas holdem tips online through the poker odds calculator that you can download through the free trial that is currently running online. You can increase your playing prowess with these extremely useful online poker tips and hints thus helping you increase your chances of gaining a winning hand.
If you study well the texas holdem strategy you will be able to gain a better understanding of the game and when you play online you can see the difference it makes using this useful online poker playing tool. It can be used to suit your playing style and it can give you the edge over other players just using conventional methods of play.

Accepting criticism.

2008-02-18T10:44:00.000-08:00

When embarking on this road we have to be ready to accept criticism and sometimes failure. Failure in the context of writing something pretty bad that needs improving. This way we can become better and better and our resolve will get stronger and stronger. All of us have our ups and sowns and more often than not, writers get theie fair share as well.
You have to be like a piece of iron beaten and beaten hard to become like steel, shining bright and brilliant. I hope one day I can look like that.
So don't give up when your feel that what you have written is pretty crap and not quite the work of Tolstoy, keep at it, keep evolving, keep progressing and as with everything..never give up.

Online Backgammon.

2008-02-16T12:16:00.000-08:00

If you love to play backgammon why not play in the comfort of your own home whenever you feel like it. Now with the click of a mouse you can log online and play backgammon online, downloading the game in several languages!
There is a starter's guide on how to improve your skills and increase your backgammon playing prowess and also you have the chance to enter live online backgammon tournaments where you can play for great cahs prizes against opponents from all over the world! You can earn extra cash too by becoming an affiliate and recommending your friends to play on the site in a safe and secure environment. Once you peruse through the getting started guide you will find playing backgammon a breeze and with twenty four seven support you will not feel alone if you need any assistance.

Taking exercise daily.

2008-02-16T10:25:00.000-08:00

For all writers who write a large amount daily I believe that exercise is imperative for all who have to sit for ours every day at the keyboard. The brain needs oxygen and getting it to the brain fast is through drinking plenty of fresh water and getting up and about every day to do some form of exercise. I recommend highly two types of exercise.
One is Qi Gong/Tai Ji practice shich helps to slow down the heart rate and also brings loads of oxygen to the brain and my other favourite is brisk power walking which helps also to strengthen the old ticker.
We will go into the virtues of these two great forms of exercise as we go along and when I am in the mood lol. If I have to write any more online casino reviews today my head is going to explode like a watermelon on a hot midsummer's afternoon!

Online Slot machines.

2008-02-16T10:12:00.000-08:00

If you like playing on slot machines well now you can play in the comfort of your own home and at the click of a mouse at online slot sites that are safe and secure for online gaming buffs.
You will get the latest hints and tips and news on slots and on all the offers available for you to benefit from.
There are sections you can peruse through at your leisure on how to play, how to become an affiliate to earn more cash and how to receive the online support you need as and when you may require it. You can download the online slots easily from this user friendly site and start playing at your leisure.

There are also lists of the top casinos that are currently offering the top bonuses too, which can really help you in making a well informed choice about playing on an online gaming site.

Keeping your mind fresh.

2008-02-16T10:07:00.000-08:00

Like I said earlier, writing at long stretches can be quite taxing on the mind and it is equally important to take care of oneself as it is to take care of one's written work.
I have to write thousands of words every day, almost seven days a week without a break. I have found a remedy though that helps me to be more productive and enjoy what I dfo more. I take regular short breaks dusring the day, either to take a walk, do some exercise, sit and chat with family or do another task that needs doing of a manual nature. This way I can ensure that my writing is always fresh and I can perform and do the work in hand that is needed for the day. In the past I used to work long non stop stretches that were not only damaging to my eyes, but also lowered my work performance and morale. This led me to be very chaotic and unorganized in my work, thus making me lose focus and getting only half of the work done.

Online casino.

2008-02-16T09:25:00.000-08:00

If you enjoy playing at casino s then you will like what is on offer with a modern twist. How about if you are not in the mood to travel but would like to play at online casinos in the comfort of your own home? Well now with the click of a mouse you can play on a casino gambling site that offers its customers great bonus incentives as well as many other perks such as downloading the games in different languages. This online casino guide lists many reputable online casinos for you to choose from at your leisure, they are also rated so you can have a well informed choice of sites.
There is also a get started guide and ongoing customer support whenever you may require it. On top of that if you have friends who like a flutter then if you recommend them to this online casino you will be rewarded with cash for your efforts in spreading the word. So you can only be a winner. There are just so many more advantages on offer than real casino sites and the graphics are great too.

Brain food.

2008-02-16T09:13:00.000-08:00

Good brain food to help with the flow of those writing juices is a well known herb called Ginkgo Biloba.
Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba; '銀杏' in Chinese) is a tree native to Asian countries and in Chinese Medicine has been used for thousands of years to sharpen the brain and now they are even using it to help cure patients with neurological and memory loss deseases. It is a great help to the Nervous System and is now widely available in both Eastern Medicine and Health food stores.
It was thought for a long time that Ginkgo was extinct in the wild but they have now found it growing in the Zheijiang province in Eastern China.
There are many culinary functions to the Ginkgo, from the seeds and nuts used in Chinese food to the powders produced to put into energy drinks. It is great against free radicals and so is also used as an anti oxidant to help prevent other deseases.

Online casino.

2008-02-16T08:59:00.000-08:00

If you like to visit an online casino then it is good to look for a safe and secure site that has many benefits for the player. There is such a site that has great bonus offers among other perks such as a great customer care service and good instructions for the casino online Newbie.
You can download the games in several languages too and the you will get in the comfort of your own home the same amount of glitz and glamour you would find in a real vegas casino.
There is a special section just for promotions that the site runs and the graphics are truly unbeatable making your online gaming experience a breeze. To top it up, if you invite your buddies along to join and play then you get rewarded in cahs for it, which means you will always be a winner.

Writing for fun or for profit.

2008-02-16T08:55:00.000-08:00

If you wish to embark on a writing career then you HAVE to love writing. It's quite a brain drain and hard work, all depending on hour many hours you spend a day at it and what kind of resources you are using. If you have to come up with a lot of your own ideas, then it can really be taxing on the that Grey Matter so you have to be prepared and give your brain the super food it deserves. In the next few days we will take a look at brain fule which will help accelerate your brain cells working at a good level to help you to produce better quality work, faster so that when you do decide to become a writing machine you will be well and truly prepared to press that Go button.

Online casino.

2008-02-16T02:32:00.000-08:00

If you like playing at a casino why not try a new way of playing with a twist? Now in the comfort of your own home and at the click of a mouse you can play and have fun at an online casino which gives you so many benefits. You will cash in on big bonuses, you can download the games in many different languages and there is also a start up guide to help you really gain the odds and get bigger chances of winning.
This site gives you access to a variety of online casino games that you can peruse through at your leisure and you will get great customer support as and when you might need it. There is a special promotions section for you to browse through and bonuses to get immediately as you sign up!

To be disciplined.

2008-02-16T02:24:00.000-08:00

Although writing requires a free flow approach, being disciplined is the corner stone for success. More often than not we can find ourselves in a bit of a quandary and get confused. I for one found that I had a lot of ideas but getting down to implement them was a bit of a tough one. What I personally have found very useful is jotting things down as they come to my head and making a 'to do' list in the mornings before I commence my daily work. Working from home can make us a little unorganized so being tough on ourselves a little bit does help.
For example this morning I have made a list starting with going through each blog one by one. Then on my list is checking emails etc. So when I go through jobs one by one,if I finish in time and there is a little time left over I will utilize that for any promting I may need to do, or learning something new like the forex article I was sent last night in my email.
So getting down to the crunch means being disciplined. Once you can acheive that, half the job is done.

$ 8 Complete Prescription Eyeglasses+ Case

2008-02-15T06:34:00.000-08:00

Now you can log online and in the comfort of your own home peruse through a site that can send you a great pair of eyeglasses at an unbeatable price. The company can do this because it sends the product direct from the Manufacturer to the Customer, thus avoiding the huge costs that otherwise would be incurred if using expensive advertising and middlemen.
The greatest special offer comes in the form of Zenni Optical $8 Rx Glasses which come complete with their case for a mere eight bucks, that is unbeatable value for money. You will see so much variety that comes with this Great Discovery: Zenni Optica l, which can send you eyeglasses, from bifocals to progressive lens glasses any where worldwide with fast delivery services.
Perusing on this user friendly and easy to navigate site will convince you that the Best Thing Found: Zenni Optical is the greatest online one stop shop for purchasing those much needed eyeglasses and at the fraction of the price you would pay for such quality produced items.

The Writer Within.

2008-02-14T01:58:00.000-08:00

There is no such thing as 'I cannot write'.
I believe that there is a writer within all of us and it is tapping deep within ourselves that we can find this well of activity grow and flourish. There is a way to cultivate this raw talent from scratch, of course you will have to LIKE writing to bring it out. Some do possess a natural talent flow, others have to work harder at expressing themselves, but as long as you have language and cognition, you can become a prolific writer covering just about anything and everything out there and within that there is to write about.
So we will explore how to get the writer out from within and also how to make some extra bucks through it on the way.

For Beginners: 10 Ways To Prepare To Get Published

2007-11-03T17:41:00.000-07:00

Like any field, excellent writing requires study, practice and mentorship. Very few successful authors ever published their first draft of their first work. Nearly all had to expend considerable effort to improve their craft. Here are some ways to prepare for that moment of publication. These tips also help keep you on your toes after publication for better and better writing results as your career develops.

1) Read, read, read in your field. You can never read too much when you’re trying to excel as a writer. Reading in your field helps you develop a discerning eye. You need this discerning eye for when you step back and look at your own work.

2) Cultivate role models. Know who the top-selling authors are in your field. Find out more about them. How did they get to where they are? Do searches in the Internet (available in most libraries-ask your librarian how to use a search engine) for information about particular authors whose careers you admire. Let your role models inspire rather than daunt you. There is no competition, only inspiration, potential teachers and opportunities for cooperation. That author you envy this year may be writing a blurb for your first novel next year.

3) Research your markets. If you want to publish in periodicals, whether literary fiction, journalistic writing, or anything else, realize publication standards serve a purpose other than to frustrate new authors.

4) Take classes. Many cities offer writing classes through community colleges or local writing groups. Online writing classes are popping up everywhere. If possible, choose a writing teacher who has published in a field you’d like to enter. Even better, find someone you already consider a mentor. Not every published author has what it takes to offer beginning writers what they need, but many do.

5) Join or start a writer’s group in your area. We teach best what we most need to learn. There is no better way to improve your own writing than to help others with theirs.

6) Find a writing buddy with whom to check in on a regular basis. The two of you can be each others’ inspiration, accountability market, guidepost and reality check. Having structure and someone to check in with may help you look forward to your otherwise lonely writing sessions.

7) Play with changing voices. Copy other writers you admire. How does that feel? Pretend you suddenly got an injection of creativity serum or I.Q. booster, then write like mad for ten minutes. What happens to the quality of your words? Is this a possible new direction for you? As creative and intelligent beings, we have so much more within us than we could ever dream.

8) Accept the reality of rewriting. Unlike other professions who get to rest on their milestones, for writers, a completed manuscript often represents a beginning. The best writing comes after lots of rewriting, even for seasoned authors. You needn’t throw any of it away, but not every sentence belongs in every work. Save the scraps, but don’t get attached to where they go, or the integrity of your project will suffer.

9) Get clear on what you want out of getting published. Many writers move forward without knowing where they want to wind up. As a teacher once told me, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” The answer to what you want out of getting published will help you determine the best route to take. And in publishing, those routes are many and varied. You can use our Twenty Questions as a self-help guide.

10) If what you want is to get published in the least amount of time, considering hiring a ghostwriter. An extremely common but rarely discussed practice, many successful authors talk to ghostwriters, who put their skills to work on an author’s behalf. Although some such ghostwriters get a cover credit, many do not, hence the “ghost” terminology. If you have more money than time or inclination to toil, ghostwriting may be the option for you

Dale Mazurek
http://dalesblogs.blogspot.com/
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http://www.MyBerryTree.com/bt53423/free

12 Low Cost or No-Cost Techniques to Snag Lucrative Freelance Writing Assignments ASAP

2007-10-05T20:14:00.000-07:00

No matter where you live, landing lucrative writing assignments doesn’t need to be difficult. The secret to a profitable freelance writing career is to start small and build it from there. Another secret… you must remember to promote your business on a REGULAR basis. Don’t shoot off a few ads or letters, then wait three months before launch another campaign. Promote your business DAILY.

So here’s your first technique: Approach your local newspaper editor. Ask if they need a freelancer to cover city council, school board, and/or county board meetings. If they do, you’re on your way earning a living as a writer because you’re about to earn tons of clips. You’ll also start making valuable business contacts. More on that later….

Armed with your local clips, you can start approaching bigger freelance markets. Markets like small and mid-sized magazines that are hungry for new articles. Start querying them and wait for their response. (Technique 2)

While you’re waiting to hear from your magazine queries, chat with few of the mayors, city council people, school board members, etc. that you’ve met at your meetings. Most of them are business people. Ask if they need a freelancer to update their brochures, write ads or direct mail letters, or if they need a writer-for-hire for a project they have brewing. You’d be surprised how many business people will take you up on your offer after they’ve witnessed your diligence and accuracy while covering their meetings. (Technique 3)

Now target local businesses and contact them. Offer to write their marketing materials. (Technique 4)

To start attracting more commercial clients, run a small ad in your local paper. As your expertise increases, place more ads in surrounding papers. (Technique 5)

Join your local Chamber of Commerce. You’ll meet even more business owners who may need a freelance writer and you’ll make invaluable contacts. (Technique 6)

Send out a direct mail piece advertising your writing services. If you’re not comfortable writing direct mail, you can put together a newsletter. Target the businesses you’d like to work with and make sure you contact them on a regular basis. (Technique 7)

Another technique to keep the money rolling in as a freelance writer is to keep lots of irons in the fire. Along with the magazine queries and copywriting, always have a book in the works and send publishers proposals for it.

Another idea: I know one local freelancer who has cultivated a devoted clientele who has her write all their correspondence… including Christmas letters. Your projects are limited only by your imagination. (Technique 8)

Make goals each day. Decide how many queries you’ll send out. Decide how many sales letters you’ll mail. How many words are you going to write in your book? How many new contacts are you going to make this week? Make your goals… then follow through with them. (Technique 9)

Ask and you may receive. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want. If you’re a stringer for your local newspaper, ask the editor if it’s possible for them to run a small ad promoting your business at a discount (after all you’re a staff writer.) If you write for local businesses, ask them to recommend your writing services to their friends. (Technique 10)

Never tell anyone your phone number. GIVE it to them. Print a bunch of business cards and whenever anyone asks for your phone number, give them your card instead. (Technique 11)

Network. Make friends in the freelance writing. Give each other leads and help each other become the best writers you can be. (Technique 12)

Carry your latest project with you. If you’ve written a book, bring it wherever you go. If you just finished a big copywriting project, have it nearby. Got an article in the latest issue of a magazine or newspaper? Better bring it with you…. Nothing sparks a conversation faster than “What ‘cha been up to lately?” Then, next thing you know, you’ve got a prospective customer. (Technique 13)

I know, I know… I promised twelve strategies to start making money ASAP as a freelance writer. But I got on a roll and thirteen (I’ve heard) is an unlucky number so here’s one more strategy.

Read. Read everything you can get your hands on. If you write novels, read novels. If you write direct mail, read EVERY piece of direct mail that lands on your doorstep. If you write ads, read ads. Read what your competition is writing. Read what your friends are writing. Make note of what “works” for you and what doesn’t. Then write something better.

Read e-mags that will help you make your writing as sharp as possible. Perfect your craft, become the best writer you can be, promote your business, and you’ll have more work than you can handle.

So there you have it. Fourteen fantastic strategies to land lucrative writing assignments and make a great living as a freelance writer. The possibilities are endless. Find out what works for you, then run with it. You just may find yourself earning a very nice income.

Dale
http://dalesblogs.blogspot.com/
http://unityblog1.blogspot.com/
http://unityberrytree.blogspot.com/
http://www.MyBerryTree.com/bt53423

10 Article Writing Quirks

2007-09-25T00:38:00.000-07:00

Much has been touted about the effectiveness of article writing in the promotion of their business. While everyone raves about its benefits I’ll look into a few quirks.

Too much junk- You can’t even imagine the amount of rehash material that is being passed off as something in which the reader can find valuable. Some writers rush to put out their work putting quantity over quality. It pays to be original when you are into article writing. Well, I have slack up sometimes on this one.

Takes Time- Due to the multitude of writers entering this field, it will probably take six months to a year for others to become familiar with you and your writing style. Once this is accomplished you can expect some fans.

High Readership, Low Conversion- There has been times when I have published an article that got good readership but fail to convert into respectable sales or subscribers. The resource box is key I found out if you want to improve your conversions.
If you don’t have a quality article the chances of someone reading your resource box is low and their cursor won’t make it to your website link. When you do get them to view your resource box, your message has to highlight its benefits to get that valued click thru.

Loss of Valuable Links- While article writing has been important in boosting my page rank, this has not always been the case as I thought. Doing some research on some of my articles through the search engines, I realized that not every webmaster provides a live link in my resource box. Failing to do so is sure to cost some valuable back links.

You could be a victim- Of what? Copyism. I have seen articles where the writer “lifted” a few paragraphs here and there, did a little editing and presto a new article is born. I guess there is no escaping this as it also happens offline.

Lack of Editing- It might take you just a few minutes to whip up that latest article but those few minutes might affect the quality of your work. Proof reading and editing can sometimes be painstaking not to mention the submission process especially if done by hand.

Woeful Spelings- Got that one? Proper spelling is important as too many mistakes can affect your credibility. You might get away with one but definitely not four.

Grammar- This is in the same vein as spelling. If your grammar sounds like that of a toddler, then don’t expect readers to be impressed. You don’t need to have the writing skills of a poet, but with a little practice and research you can vastly improve.

Sales copy – You know these well. Some authors write articles that belongs in the classifieds. In their articles they blatantly advertise their services with the hope of readers visiting their website. A benefit laden article will always produce the best results.

Too much links- Nothing peeves me than to get an article to run in my newsletter but when I read it through it is littered. These links can confuse the reader and also reduces the potential of your resource box.
These are a few quirks I found to be associated with the writing and promotion of articles. And I did say ten items but I will just throw in an extra. What is it? Go ahead and proceed with your article writing. While there are some negatives it does work. Why would I be writing this one if it didn’t?

Dale
http://dalesblogs.blogspot.com/
http://unityblog1.blogspot.com/
http://unityberrytree.blogspot.com/
http://www.MyBerryTree.com/bt53423

7 Writing Muse Kickers to Fill Up That Blank Page

2007-09-16T22:07:00.000-07:00

Nothing is more daunting for any writer than having to stare at a blank sheet of paper.

When we stare at a blank sheet of paper, we often think, "What am I going to write?" A few minutes later, it becomes, "Oh my goodness, I can't think of anything to write!" And several minutes later, it turns into something like, "Write, dangnabit! Write! Write! WRITE!"

Some writers call this writer's block. But I call it the "Writing-Muse-Needs-A-Kick" syndrome.

And that's exactly what we're going to do with your writing muse gone truant. We're going to kick her back into gear so you can fill up that blank page.

Here are 7 writing muse kickers for you to try right now:

1. First Line: Begin a story with "There was once a chance I didn't take..."

2. Cliche Starter: Weave a story or poem around the cliche, "keep your powder dry."

3. Power of Metaphor: What does "a string of laughter" make you think of?

4. Proverb Mix: "Beauty breaks the camel's back."

5. Story Words: Use the words "pianist, pencil, high-rise building, running shoes" in a story.

6. What If? Story: What if you're going to write a story about betrayal, with a young man as the main character and a locket as the key object? Set your story on a ranch.

7. Quick Prompt: Write about what you'd say to an uninvited guest.

Dale
http://dalesblogs.blogspot.com/
http://unityblog1.blogspot.com/
http://unityberrytree.blogspot.com/
http://www.MyBerryTree.com/bt53423

7 Ways In Which You Can Overcome Excuses for Not Marketing Your Website by Writing Articles

2007-09-11T19:09:00.000-07:00

Wannabe writers, are full of excuses as to why they aren’t writing yet. Many of these excuses can be changed to proactive statements with a mere switch in attitude and perspective.

How many times have you read an article, and said to yourself, “I could have written this.” Well, why don’t you?

It took me a long time to discover that my passion in life was writing. Even though, as a teenager, I filled a whole blank book with poetry, which I wrote while trying to recover from the “first love’s” broken heart type of feelings.

It wasn’t until I made it a habit to start writing in my journal every morning, that I found out just how easy it was to get the writing juices flowing. Below is a list of some common excuses writer wannabe’s make for not writing. You will find suggestions along with each excuse on how to counteract those excuses and move forward to success.

1. EXCUSE #1 I don’t know where to start, or what to write about.

---Just get up each morning a few minutes earlier than the rest of the household, and start writing in a journal. Write about anything and everything that pops into your mind. Try to write at least 3 or 4 pages. Devote at least 10 minutes each morning to this ritual.

Do it with a pen and notebook, rather than the computer. There is a physical connection between the brain and your fingers on the paper.

Keep your statements positive. Try to eliminate words like, “I need to” or “I should” or “I have to” replacing them with more affirming phrases. Using “I am” and “I can” changes your whole focus. I find just replacing the three phrases above makes the writing process much more positve and results oriented.

You will be amazed at the material that you can pull from this journal that can be used in your daily projects.

2. EXCUSE #2 I don’t have any experience or formal schooling in writing.

----With the internet, and all the writing books available today, it is easy to teach yourself what it takes to write successfully. Just jump in and get your feet wet, give it a try.

Have someone you trust read over your writing, and then give you their opinion. But don’t stop with one person’s point of view.

Some of the best feedback I have received, has come from people wanting to use my “free to reprint” articles. I remember one lady email me saying, “I really enjoyed reading the passionate article you wrote on this subject.” Up to that point, I had never looked at my writing as passionate.

3. EXCUSE #3 I don’t have enough confidence in my writing abilities, I can’t measure up to what is already out there.

----Following the same advice as above, as you jump in and do it, your confidence will grow. Publish some free content articles, to promote a website, and discover just what people like and don’t like. With feedback comes confidence. It is hard not be be confident in your writing abilities when you get showered with requests to use your articles in others ezine’s and on their websites. :o)

4. EXCUSE #4 Writing will take too much time away from my family and other responsibilities.

----On the contrary. Writing can actually benefit and help you with your other responsibilities. By establishing a morning routine of writing in your journal, you will get to know yourself better, and grow both in professional and personal development. These positive changes to you will affect everyone you come into contact during the rest of your day. This includes members of your family.

5. EXCUSE #5 I am not very creative.

----Everyone has creativity in them. Some people have a harder time tapping into it than others. By creating a time and space for writing in your life, you are giving yourself permission to tap into your own creative subconscious resources and intelligence. You may be surprised and amazed at your own creative results.

6. EXCUSE #6 What I know has already been written.

----Did you know, you could give 5 writers an assignment on the same subject and each one of them will come back with an article with a very unique and different focus. It is because we all look at things from different perspectives. Our perspectives are developed by our own individual life experiences and the lessons we have learned. You can take what is out there and put your own unique slant on it.

7. EXCUSE #7 I am scared, not sure I can handle criticism and rejection.

----As mentioned already, by just doing it, jumping in and giving it a try, you will gain confidence and grow. Rejection is just someone’s opinion. Get another opinion, and then another.

Some of the best books published in history were rejected dozen’s of times before some one took a chance on them and would eventually hit the New York Times bestseller’s list.

So there you have it. Stop making excuses and jump in the water and get wet. It will be more fun, rewarding and maybe even profitable for you once you actually take some daily action steps. Who knows, you might even make a big splash upon entrance to the pool of what's floating around. . :o)

As you begin getting your work out there, ideas will come to you so quickly it may be overwhelming at times. Just remember to write down your ideas, keeping notes on topic ideas, titles, and themes to research. The list will be endless.

Use these intuitive thoughts to spark your thought process when you actually sit down with pen to paper. You will find many stories, experiences, and lessons learned that can easily be incororated into a promotional article. “So start writing now, may the force of your creativity be with you!”

Dale
http://dalesblogs.blogspot.com/
http://unityblog1.blogspot.com/
http://unityberrytree.blogspot.com/
http://www.MyBerryTree.com/bt53423

6 Tips For Your Writing Journey

2007-09-02T13:59:00.000-07:00

So, you'd like to be a writer? Congrats! Writing not only is a great way to express yourself, but can provide an income. Keep in mind not all writers make a fortune, some still cant quit their day job. Below are some tips to start your writing journey.

1. Start Writing

Okay, so this tip is obvious. For some, it's a question of what to write about, for others how to write. Write how and what you want. What kind of books do you like to read? Fiction, Mystery, science fiction, how to books? How about articles, reports, maybe you're interested in journalism. Whatever the case may be, to get your creative juices flowing, start writing! Don't worry about how it sounds, grammar or other mistakes, you can go back to fix these.

2. Join online and offline groups/message boards and chats

If you already know what you want to write about, consider joining writer groups at your local library, or online groups, along with message boards and chats. It's a great way to network with other writers and published authors. It's also a good place to share your work and receive feedback. Many places online are free to join, some require a membership which usually consist of a user name, e-mail address and password for your user name. Some request more information such as a name, address and sometimes phone number.

3. The Library

You've probably heard about some books that writers refer to, this could be writer markets, e-book publishing, self publishing and generally how to improve your writing. Bu what do you do when you can't afford to buy these books from your local bookstore or online? A trip to your library is the key. Many libraries carry writer resource books, which if you have a library card, are free. If you're living out of the area, the library may require a fee for membership. The book you're looking for may not always be at your local library, however libraries borrow from other libraries in and out of state. The method of receiving outside books is called Inter-Library Loan. Later on, if you find the book to be a great resource, you may be able to purchase a used copy online.

4. Researching

The Internet is also another good resource for information. Keep in mind that not every resource you find online is going to be an honest good resource. It will take time to sort out which websites are useful. Most information is free, so you can sit back and research in the comfort of your home. If you don't have a computer with Internet access, check your local library and see if you can use one of theirs.

5. Workshops

Workshops taught by experts is a great way to learn from the professionals, but only if you can afford it! Make sure the topic of the workshop is based around your interest. For instance, if you love fiction..it wouldn't be a good idea to go to a workshop based only on non-fiction. It's a good idea to register early to ensure a spot at the event. Bring a new legal pad, plus a few writing tools to take notes.

6. Contents

After writing a while, you may want to enter contents. Some require an entry fee. I suggest staying away from the entry fee contents until you've entered some other free ones. That way you can get a feel for how contests work. Spend some time writing and re-writing your entries. If you've written your entry in 5 or so minutes, th judges will notice it immediately. You wouldn't want a reputation for sloppy work.

There you are, 6 tips to get you started on your journey to writing. Good Luck!

Thanks Dale
http://dalesblogs.blogspot.com/
http://unityblog1.blogspot.com/
http://unityberrytree.blogspot.com/
http://www.MyBerryTree.com/bt53423

5 Benefits of Keeping a Personal Journal

2007-08-21T22:44:00.000-07:00

Everyone who has kept a personal journal knows that writing is a therapeutic process that helps integrate seemingly unconnected life events. Some believe the process works because the physical act of writing (using your hand-eye coordination) occupies your left brain, leaving your right brain free to access emotions, intuit connections, and create new insights.

How else can journaling help?

1. Journaling reduces stress by getting “monkey mind” thoughts out of your head. Mind chatter is a powerful stressor, stressor is a powerful health-buster, and journaling the chatter is a proven chatter-buster.

2. Writing about problems gives your right brain food for creative problem-solving. It’s amazing what happens when the creative part of your nature starts working on a problem—you’ll soon find solutions bubbling up from your subconscious.

3. Keeping a daily diary is one of the best techniques for discovering patterns, particularly those that are self-defeating. For example, a diary kept over the course of several months will clearly show any reoccurring difficulties like overeating, stress eating, poor (but similar) choices in relationships.

4. Want to better know yourself? Journal. Writing can help clarify your thoughts, your emotions, and your reactions to certain people or situations. In addition, as you read back through past journals, you’ll have ample evidence of the things that make you happy and those that are distressful.

5. Journaling can help clarify events, problems, or options. When you’re beset with a mind full of fuzzy, disconnected thoughts flitting here and there, writing about the event or issue will help bring focus and clarity. It will also help you decide on which action to take, or option to choose.

Thanks Dale
http://dalesblogs.blogspot.com/
http://unityblog1.blogspot.com/
http://unityberrytree.blogspot.com/
http://junk-email.blogspot.com/

3 Ways to Find Your Niche as a Freelance Writer

2007-08-16T04:07:00.000-07:00

To make a six-figure income as a freelance writer, to need to be an expert. You need your name to jump to people's lips when a particular job or challenge comes up.

"Direct mail for software? You should get in touch with Bob. That's what he does." Insert your own name and specialty where appropriate.

You can't get that kind of awareness or referral if you're someone who just writes about anything in any medium. Nobody is going to believe that you are a trusted expert in absolutely everything.

So how do you determine a viable 'niche'? You have three choices...

1. Niche by industry...

That is to say, work within a particular industry. For years I worked with pharmaceutical clients. All my clients were drug companies. I wrote direct mail, brochures, sales aids, video scripts. I wrote anything, so long as it was about pharmaceuticals. That was my niche. And my clients knew that I was knowledgeable in that area. So they came to me.

2. Niche by medium...

In this scenario, you make a particular medium your specialty. After my years with the pharmaceutical industry, I decided to specialize as a direct mail copywriter. And for that period, about 15 years, I ONLY write direct mail and associated media...like inserts, fliers, postcards etc. I was a direct response specialist. And I wrote for all kinds of different industries - financial, cable TV, magazine publishers and more.

My specialty, my niche, was as a direct response copywriter. Other writers have built their careers around writing annual reports, radio scripts, white papers etc.

3. 'Double-Niche'

When you double-niche you are making a specialty of serving a single industry through a single medium. For instance, writing direct response for the financial industry. And ONLY writing direct response for the financial industry.

In conclusion...

As I said at the beginning, you can't be an expert at everything...not within every industry, not with every medium. So you need to take some steps to find your niche.

How do you choose? First, know yourself. Know what you are good at. Know what you like.

Also, be smart. Create your niche where the money is. Find your niche where there is a strong market.

Dale
http://dalesblogs.blogspot.com/
http://unityblog1.blogspot.com/
http://unityberrytree.blogspot.com/

I Have to Write an Article but I Can't Get Started by Joann Snell

2007-07-20T14:37:00.000-07:00

I have to write an article but I don't know where to begin. What topic should I use for today? This blank page is driving me crazy! Nothing is rolling out onto the computer screen! What's happening to me? Oh, no! It can't be! It's ... Writers Block!! Have you ever had this happen to you? Let's see what can be causing this evil writers block. Then maybe it can be over come.

Well, this is what I have come up with. The top four reasons for writers block are Editing instead of Composing, Perfectionism, Concentration or lack there of, and Procrastinating. Do any of these phrases fit your profile for not being able to write? Let's go through them one by one so we can cut to the chase. That deadline is getting awfully close. We need to get busy and write that article.

The first road block is composing instead of editing. No, that's not quite right. Let me fix that last sentence. It should read: The first road block to overcome is composing the first draft instead of editing it. Yes, that is much better. Now let's continue writing. Hold it; I need to correct the spelling of this word. Alright let's continue.

Next we have perfectionism. Now let me see, I need a really good first line. How can I start my articles first line to grab the reader's attention? I can't start to write until I figure out what that first line is going to say. Wow, this could take hours! I'll never make my deadline!

Lack of total concentration is another culprit that keeps Writers Block going. What was that? The kids are screaming, the phone is ringing, and I have to take care of ageing parents! How can anyone think about writing with all this going on? I see, it is hard to concentrate with daily life situations happening.

Finally, the last culprit of writers block is procrastination. We've all done it. We tell ourselves we have plenty of time to write later. I have to do this first. Or you just hate to write to begin with. These are all valid reasons to procrastinate. Or are they?

There it is, some of the evil causes of Writers Block. Now that we know what is causing our dilemma we can be better prepared to deal with it. How? You ask. Just sit down and write what ever is on your mind. Go on a babbling spree and see what you end up with. Don't worry whether it sounds great or has punctuation or grammar mistakes. You can fix those later. Imagine yourself in a good vacation spot so you can think better. That should help clear your mind of distracting messages. Lastly, just do what you gotta do...Write!

About the Author
Joann Snell is a freelance Graphic Designer. She specializes in print, corporate id, branding, and other marketing tools for small-medium sized businesses. Article by Joann Snell ©2007, July 18 Jo's Graphic Designs http://www.josgraphicdesigns.com

Thanks Dale
http://dalesblogs.blogspot.com/
http://unityblog1.blogspot.com/

These Hot Tips Will Get Your Article Read by Carl Hoffman

2007-07-13T12:37:00.000-07:00

There are many people who dread having to write papers or articles. Many just feel like it seems to be too much work and it all just goes to waste when no one reads them. To some people, reading articles seems like work to, especially if the article is boring and very bland. Well, articles are supposed to be read, that's their purpose to impart your message and information. If it is not read then it is a waste of time and effort.

But all the same, articles have to be written to be read. It's just a matter of making them good. Making a good article doesn't have to be strenuous and straining. There are just some points needed to be reminded of, and some guides to follow. Once you get the hang of it, writing articles could be fun, as well as profitable for you and your site.

Of course, writing articles must be about something you know about, that's why if you own a site, you probably is knowledgeable about that certain topic and theme. When you write about it, you won't have a hard time because you already know what it is and what it's about. It'sjust a matter of making your articles creative and interesting.

To make sure that your articles get read and enjoyed, here are six red hot tips to get your articles read. These tips will make your articles readable and interesting.

1) Use short paragraphs. When the paragraph are very long, the words get jumbled in the mind of the reader just looking at it It can get quite confusing and too much of a hard work to read. The reader will just quickly disregard the paragraph and move on to much easier reading articles that are good to look at as well as read. Paragraphs can be a single sentence, sometimes even a single word!

2) Make use of numbers or bullets. As each point is stressed out, numbers and bullets can quickly make the point easy to remember and digest. As each point, tip, guide or method is started with a bullet or point, readers will know that this is where the tips start and getting stressed. Format you bullets and numbers with indentations so that your article won't look like a single block of square paragraphs. Add a little bit of flair and pizzazz to your articles shape.

3) Use Sub-headings to sub-divide your paragraphs in the page. Doing this will break each point into sections but still would be incorporated into one whole article. It would also be easy for the reader to move on from one point to another; the transition would be smooth and easy. You will never lose your readers attention as well as the point and direction to where the article is pointing.

4) Provide a good attention-grabbing title or header. If your title can entice a person's curiosity you're already halfway in getting a person to read your article. Use statements and questions that utilize keywords that people are looking for. Provide titles or headers that describe your articles content but should also be short and concise.

Use titles like, "Tips On Making Her Want You More, or "How to make her swoon." .You could also use titles that can command people, for example, "Make her yours in six easy Ways." These types of titles reach out to a person's emotions and makes them interested.

5) Keep them interested from the start to the finish. From your opening paragraph, use real life situations that can be adopted by the reader. Use good descriptions and metaphors to drive in your point, just don't over do it. Driving your examples with graphic metaphors and similes would make it easy for them to imagine what you are talking about. Making the experience pleasurable and enjoyable for them.

6) Utilize figures when necessary and not just ordinary and insipid statements. Using specific facts and figures can heighten your article because it makes it authoritative. But do not make it too formal, it should be light and easy in them and flow. Like a friendly teac her having a little chat with an eager student

Carl Hoffman has over 20 years of sales and marketing experience and an expert cook. He has many online ventures and author of many articles on cooking, health, sales and marketing. Visit him at http://www.hoffys.kitchen.com http://www.cehoffman.com

Thanks Dale
http://dalesblogs.blogspot.com/
http://unityblog1.blogspot.com/

How To Write A Short Story (Part 4)

2007-06-13T15:21:00.000-07:00

Writing short stories can be very valuable to building your writing career. Short stories are also a very quick way to put your feelings on paper. Starting to write short stories can be a tough endeavor but the more you write the better you will get. I’m almost half way into my 10 part series on how to write a short story. This will be the fourth edition on how to write stories.

Time To Pick A Point of View

You have to determine who is going to tell the story and how much information is available for the narrator to reveal in the story. There are three points of view that we will review. They are written from the perspective of first, second, or third person. The narrator may be involved subjectively or he can report the action objectively.

1. First Person

This style is usually the best choice for beginning writers because it is the easiest to write. The story is told in the “I” point of view. The narrator is either the main character or the secondary character telling the story around the protagonist.

2. Second Person

This puts the readers in the actual scene. This way they are able to confront possibilities directly. It’s important to put your characters in an understandable environment so that details that your readers need are not left out. The second person point of view is usually told directly by you.

3. Third Person

This is where the narrator knows everything about all the characters. The narrator may take sides in the conflict. Or it can be set in a position that you want your reader to challenge. The third person story is told in the “he,” “she,” or “it”.

For beginning reader’s first person is the best way to start your writing. However if you chose to write in one of the other point of views make sure you stick to it. Don’t mix your views. It takes a seasoned writer to be able to mix points of views and even then lots of writers have trouble with it.

This is the end of my fourth article on how to write a short story. I make these tips available because I think there is an author in everyone. Just because you write doesn’t mean you have to get paid for it. You should first and foremost write because you love it and everything will eventually fall into place.

Dale Mazurek

Dale is a professional on line writer whose writing is getting picked up and read more and more everyday. You can look at his writing blog here. http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ Two more of his very popular blogs can be found at http://relationshiptidbits.blogspot.com/ or http://fishingtutor.blogspot.com/

How To Write In The Children’s Market (Part 3)

2007-06-06T07:57:00.001-07:00

This is going to be my third article of many to come. The article series is the how to when it comes to writing in the children’s market. It is going to be a considerably long series so keep checking back for new updates.

Children hate it when they can’t check out the book they want because it’s going to be too hard for them to read. That as why as writers we write what’s called easy readers. There for kids that are in the in between stage of reading. There still developing their skills but they want to read. So we have to get them reading a good story through easy readers and then we will have them reading for life.

Easy readers are books that are a step up from picture books. Even though adults are still the primary buyers of easy readers the books themselves are intended for children in kindergarten to grade 3. An easy reader usually runs about 64 pages long and is formatted very differently. The story is usually divided into sections that are meant to resemble chapters.

There are some pictures in easy readers but they don’t mean as much as they did in picture books. Plots are kept simple by focusing on one main character and only one event. It is important to know that the characters must be children and children will always solve all conflicts. Kids at this age don’t mind reading cross gender stories.

You have to use humor, suspense or action to keep the children interested and keep the stories moving. You have to remember that these kids are just starting school so there is a whole new world opening up to them. There are so many topics to write about at this point. All you have to do is open your eyes and you can write about what you see.

Dialogue is used very freely when it comes to easy readers. Dialogue is a very important way to keep the story moving. It also helps to keep a lot of whit space on the page thus making it easier for the children to get through a page. You have to still use proper sentence structure but you have to keep them simple. There are no specified vocabulary lists because children are learning how to sound out words at this age. However you don’t want to make things too difficult.

To sum it up while developing an idea for your story make sure you keep the plot simple and limit your main characters to no more than 2. Once you are done your manuscript should be 20 to 25 double spaced pages.

Dale Mazurek

Dale works hard to help new people to the world of making money on line. You can go to his blog at http://dalesblogs.blogspot.com/ or check out the best program on line to get started with http://InsiderBlueprint.com/?id=1347 and http://mymoneydragon.com/member.php?id=8180

How To Write In The Children’s Market (Part 4)

2007-05-30T20:37:00.000-07:00

This is going to be my fourth article of many to come. The article series is the how to when it comes to writing in the children’s market. It is going to be a considerably long series so keep checking back for new updates.

Chapter Books

First through fourth graders are reading on their own now but there still not quite ready for the longer traditional novels. The children are starting to make their own decisions now and they are usually buying their own books because they receive allowance now.

At this age kids absolutely want to read about other kids that are just like them. The characters need to be their age or a little older. At this age males and females want to read about strong characters of the same sex. In both cases these books should contain none or almost no adults at all. At all times the protagonist should be a child and all conflicts should be resolved by kids.

Chapter books have many short chapters but unlike easy readers they don’t rely very heavily on illustrations. The chapter book needs to stand alone on its story only and not rely on pictures. In the case of chapter books almost all illustrations are done with simple black and white shadings.

Text appears more deeply on the page than in the easy reader but lots of dialogue still helps to keep the story moving. The chapter books are usually faster paced and include complicated plots. The character list in a chapter book is usually small. The readers are at the age that they can handle more complicated issues. At this age kids love collecting so this explains the popularity of series books. However the readers of chapter books still like the predictability in these books.

When it comes to writing chapter books you can go ahead and use different kinds of sentence structures which can allow for more difficult vocabulary being used. This will make the story flow more like the natural language that it should sound like.

Dale Mazurek

Dale is presently trying to get his first novel published. He has been writing professionally on line for a couple years now. You can check out 3 of his very popular blogs at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ or http://relationshiptidbits.blogspot.com/ and http://fishingtutor.blogspot.com/

How To Write A Short Story (Part 3)

2007-05-26T19:39:00.000-07:00

Writing short stories can be very valuable to building your writing career. Short stories are also a very quick way to put your feelings on paper. Starting to write short stories can be a tough endeavor but the more you write the better you will get. In the next couple of weeks I will be submitting a 10 part series on how to write your short story. This will be the third edition on how to write short stories.

You Have To Build Your Character

It is important to make your character bigger then real life. The key to this is knowing more about the character then you will ever need or use in your story. Below I will make a list of character traits that you should think about for your character.

Name, age, job, ethnicity, appearance, residence, something hated, secrets, strong memories, any illnesses, nervous gestures, sleep patterns, favorite colors, friends, favorite foods, drinking patterns, phobias, faults, pets, religion, hobbies, marital status, kids, temperament.

It’s really only important that you build all these traits for your character. The reader doesn’t have to know all of them but they will help you when you are making your character believable for your reader. There is however four important areas that your reader needs to know.

Appearance- Your reader does have to be able to visualize what your character looks like.
Actions- You have to describe actions so that your reader can understand what kind of person your character is.
Speech- Your character has to be always talking. This will develop him quicker as a character instead of just announcing important facts.
Thoughts- You have to show your characters memories, fears, hopes or whatever feelings you would like. This will bring your character into the readers mind.

This is just a brief outline into building an identity for your character that the reader can identify with and also believe in. This is the end of my third article on how to write a short story. I make these tips available because I think there is an author in everyone. Just because you write doesn’t mean you have to get paid for it. You should first and foremost write because you love it and everything will eventually fall into place.

Dale Mazurek

Dale is a professional on line writer. You can find his writing tips at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ two of his other very popular blogs can be found at http://relationshiptidbits.blogspot.com/ and http://fishingtutor.blogspot.com/

How To Write In The Children’s Market (Part 2)

2007-05-22T20:58:00.000-07:00

This is going to be my second article of many that I will be writing on how to break into the children’s writing market. This is going to be a considerably long series so keep checking back for updated posts.

Writing for kids can be one of the greatest ways to break into the writing field. You have such a wide range of readers from toddler to young adults. All you have to do is figure out what you want to write about and you’re on your way.

Chances are good that when you think of children’s books, picture books pop right into your mind. For the most part picture books are usually directed to kids from toddler to grade 4. One thing you have to keep in mind is that the book has to be appealing to the adults as well because they are the ones shelling out the money for them.

Picture books can range from a variety of different topics. You can have fiction, non fiction; they can be about animals, or about different people interacting with different stuff.

There is a basic format for picture books. Traditionally there 32 pages long. That includes every page from front to back. Because of the pictures your story usually has to be told in 14 pages of print. Another thing to remember is that you usually only has around 1000 words to use to write your story. So you have to get a good story in a small amount of space.

Picture books can be tough to write. So many people think that picture books are the way to go but soon find out that that’s not the case. You have to make sure that every word, picture and page has the most amount of detail that counts. You have no room for unnecessary content.

Just because you’re intended audience is youths doesn’t mean every word in your book has to be 4 letters long. Remember its going to be the parents for the most part that are reading the books to their youngsters. Also there is a misconception that all picture books must be rhyming. This is in no way true. As long as you develop a great story rhyming is nice but doesn’t really matter.

Chances are if you think about it then it has been written about already. That’s okay for you to go ahead but you have to find a fresh new way to present the idea. You have to make the publishers want to use it.

Don’t worry if you can’t draw. The editors want to first see if your book can stand on its own with out the pictures. If at that time they decide they like it they will hire an illustrator to help with the pictures. You have to remember that when you are writing a picture book it’s not only about the words. The colors and scenes have to be vibrant. They have to stand on their own.

Before you attempt to write your first picture book make sure you go to your local library or book store and read several different books by several different authors. No one wants you to plagiarize but by studying different styles you can than begin to develop your own style.

Dale Mazurek

Dale is in the process of getting his first novel published and has been writing professionally on line for two years now. You can check out his ever growing blogs at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ or http://relationshiptidbits.blogspot.com/ or http://fishingtutor.blogspot.com/

How To Write In The Children’s Market (Part 1)

2007-05-14T18:18:00.000-07:00

In the next couple of months I will be writing a number of articles about how you can break into the children’s market of writing. This will be a considerably long series so I suggest you keep checking back for the newest post.

Writing children’s literature is a great way to break into the writing market. There is an opening for a wide range of topics because the readers range from toddler to young adult. It’s up to you to figure out what best suits your writing and your ideas. You just have to figure out what you want to write about.

Magazines

Magazines can be the perfect place to break in with your short stories. When you write in magazines it’s the perfect way to build your writing credentials and it also helps to establish you as a professional writer. You don’t just have to publish short stories either. You can publish poetry, verse, puzzles, fiction or non fiction. Books can take for ever to hit the market but with magazine articles you can have your work published in months if not weeks sometimes.

Magazines are a perfect place to get specialty pieces published. As we all know most magazines limit their focuses on specific content.

Magazines aren’t only limited in their content. The intended audiences of most periodicals are limited to particular age levels and genders. Babybugs intended audience is toddlers while the Keynoter is aimed at high school students. Boys Life is geared to boys and Hopscotch is a magazine for girls.

Some magazines devote entire issues to a focused topic or theme. It’s in your best interest to read a magazine that you intend to publish to. Make sure your familiar with the magazine and what kind of content it will accept. Make sure you understand the publisher’s contents. You also want to make sure you know when the magazine publishes. This way you can plan ahead with your stories.

Many writers have gotten their start by writing in magazines. Writing for children can definitely be the easiest genre to follow if you want to follow your dreams.

Dale Mazurek

Dale is in the process of getting his first novel published. He is also a professional on line writer. You can check out 3 of his very popular blogs at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ or http://relationshiptidbits.blogspot.com/ and http://affiliatemarketingfornewbies.blogspot.com/

Writing Angles

2007-05-09T19:44:00.000-07:00

As a novice writer I firstly write for the love of writing. First of all for me writing does not mean paying the bills. I do make a few dollars here and there and with tips and tales like the ones below my writing is always getting better and better.

1. Organization

If you are having a hard time finding the best way to organize the plans for your ideas then this is what you can try. Get a number of index cards and write down each main topic. Now decide what’s best for your readers and arrange the cards in an order that makes the most sense.

2. Wordiness

The great American writer Thomas Wolfe was famous not only for the quality of his prose but also for its quantity. He had a very hard time cutting excess words from his drafts. “Although I am able to criticize wordiness and over abundance in others,” Wolfe wrote to his editor Maxwell Perkins about his novel Look Homeward, Angel, “I am not able practically to criticize it in myself. The business of selection and revision is simply hell for me-my efforts to cut out 50 000 words may sometimes result in adding 75 000.” The first draft of Look Homeward, Angel came in at over 1000 pages. Wolfe and Perkins did a nice job editing, however, the edition I have is around 750 pages.

3. More Purposes

A specific piece of writing can have more than one purpose, and often does. A fable, for example, amuses its readers as it teaches a lesson.

4. Ghost Words

Ghost words are words that never existed until someone mistook an error for a word. For example, dord (meaning density) began life as an error made in transcribing a card that read: “D or d, meaning a capital D or a small d-for ‘density.’ “The word appeared in the 1934 edition of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, but it was eliminated from future editions.

5. Adjective Phrase

An adjective phrase is a prepositional phrase that functions as an adjective in a sentence. For example: The caption on the cartoon made them laugh. The adjective phrase “on the cartoon” describes the noun “caption.”

Looking around in any magazine, book or writing website you can find hundreds and hundreds of articles and tid bits like these. In the future I will be publishing many more articles of this sort. If you choose to use any of this advice then great. If not then at least enjoy reading.

Dale Mazurek

Dale is an expert on line writer. You can check out his on line affiliate program at http://stcajo.netsalaries.com or you can check out two of his very popular blogs at http://relationshiptidbits.blogspot.com/ and http://funtidbits.blogspot.com/

Writing Tid Bits

2007-05-01T19:35:00.000-07:00

As novice writers we are always looking for little things to help our writing. In this article I am going to stray away from the serious side of the business and provide a number of tidbits that have to do with writing. Some are humorous, some are not. Some are useful and some are not. I hope you find them interesting.

1. Dewey Decimal

When using the Dewey Decimal System make sure you copy down the call number exactly as it appears in the card catalogue. Failing to do this will make it tough to find your book. It might even make it impossible.

2. Longest Sentence

What is the longest sentence in the world? In 1957 George Andrezeyevski wrote a book called Gates Of Paradise with no punctuation so technically this could be one long sentence. But Sylvester Hassel had a 3153 word sentence in the book History of the Church of God.

3. What is Writing

Writing is as much process as product. As a result, people often write to discover what they want to say. The process of writing can be an act of discovery, start out knowing where you’re going and get there just fine.

4. Study, Study, Study

It’s so important to study everything you read. Study opening paragraphs in newspaper and magazine articles. You might be surprised to discover that topic sentences such as statements of purpose often appear in the middle and end of paragraphs as well as in the beginning.

5. Speeches

Okay now you have to write a speech so this will help a little. When you write a speech, use punctuation not only to indicate the usual sentence breaks, but also to allow you to pause for emphasis when necessary.

There are hundreds of little points out there to help would be writers or even veteran writers. From time to time I will put out an article like this one and hopefully someone can take some of these tid bits and use them in their writing.

Dale Mazurek

Dale is a professional on line writer. He is also in the process of getting his first novel published. You can check out some of his very popular blogs at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ or http://relationshiptidbits.blogspot.com/ and his newest http://funtidbits.blogspot.com/

Writing Watches

2007-04-29T19:56:00.000-07:00

Below is an article of rambling writing tips and interesting little tid bits. I could probably write an article a week directed at these. Some will help would be writers and some wont but one thing for sure is that most of them are interesting.

1. Footnote

A footnote is a complete bibliographical citation indicated by a number in the text. Endnotes follow the same format but are listed on a page at the end of the paper. Today’s great computer programs make them easy to prepare.

2. Paragraphs

Paragraphs in newspapers are most often one or two sentences long. Paragraphs in essays are far longer. Newspapers writers assume your not going to read the article all the way through. They keep their paragraphs punchy to keep you interested. Essay writers assume you’re in for the long haul. They have the luxury of writing more discursive passages.

3. English Is Different

All English isn’t the same. British English, used not only in Great Britain but also in India, the West Indies, and parts of Africa, uses some words and phrases differently from American English. For example, here are some common British words and the American equivalents: Lorry(truck), lift(elevator), bonnet(car hood), chips(French fries), crisps(snack chips), flat(apartment), barrister or solicitor(attorney or lawyer), nappy(diaper), mate(buddy), sweets(candy).

4. Expert Fields

Warning: The writer’s education and academic degrees must match the field in which he or she is claiming expertise. Having a medical degree in brain surgery, for example, doesn’t give someone the credentials to write about rocket science-or any other subject outside his or her field.

5. Friends Don’t Read Drafts

Thinking of asking a friend or a lover to read your drafts to help you edit them? It’s a great idea from your stand point, but your reader may not be as enthusiastic. British Prime Minister and writer Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) had a standard reply unmatched for diplomatic ambiguity for people who sent him unsolicited manuscripts to read: “Many thanks; I shall lose no time in reading it.”

I hope you find some of these facts interesting and some of the tips useful. Keep watching for more articles with more and more tips and facts.

Dale Mazurek

Dale is a professional online writer and he is also in the process of getting his first novel published. You can have a look at three more of his very popular blogs at http://relationshiptidbits.blogspot.com/ or http://fishingtutor.blogspot.com/ and http://affiliatemarketingfornewbies.blogspot.com/

Writing What Nots

2007-04-29T19:11:00.000-07:00

As novice writers we are always looking for that one big break that would help to jump start our careers. Sometimes we take things way to seriously and forget that writing at first is not about paying the bills. I love writing but let me tell you if I had to rely on it to pay the bills I would be living on the street. In this article I am going to point out some small tid bits about writing so sit back and enjoy.

1. The Paragraph

The paragraph first made its debut in the 1866 book Composition and Rhetoric, by Alexander Bain, a professor of rhetoric at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. Bain defined a paragraph as a “collection of sentences with unity of purpose.” Later, the paragraph came to be seen as a small-scale composition, a view we still hold today, due to the clear beginning, middle, and end that both share.

2. Plot

Plot is the arrangement of events in a story. Plots include the exposition, rising action, climax, and denouement (resolution).

3. Bake A Cake

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that writing is a neat process. It’s rather messy, like baking a cake. As you add each “ingredient,” You stir the whole thing around a lot to blend it altogether. If your paper looks sloppy, then you’re probably on the right track.

4. Some Formats

Paragraphs in essays, novels, short stories, and so on are normally indented 5 spaces. This is set automatically on your tab key. Business letters, in contrast, are often typed in “block format,” without indented paragraphs. Instead, you separate the paragraphs with a double space. When deciding whether or not to indent paragraphs in business documents, follow the style conventions used in your business or company.

5. Too Much

There’s such a thing as too much elaboration. You’re under no obligation to include everything you found. Don’t beat the topic to death.

If you look around you will find hundreds and hundreds of little tid bits like the ones here. In the future I will be writing more articles with more of these little helpers. If you choose to use any of them, that is entirely up to you but they are fun to read and discover where a lot of them come from.

Dale Mazurek
Dale is a professional on line writer. He is also in the process of getting his first novel published. You can check out some of his very popular blogs at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ or http://relationshiptidbits.blogspot.com/ and his newest http://funtidbits.blogspot.com/

The Hardy Boys

2007-04-22T19:29:00.000-07:00

Even young teens could see that Frank and Joe Hardy, sons of a famous detective, stumbled onto way too many crazy plots. How many secret coves, smuggling operations, and hidden treasures can one town have? And what self respecting villain would be repeatedly thwarted by a couple of kids? Still, that’s the world created, ostensibly, by Franklin W. Dixon. In reality, the series was the brain child of Edward Stratemeyer, who put together a team of anonymous scribes to churn out books based on his outlines, then printed them under the by-line of the made-up Dixon. Thus it’s been since 1927, though after 1959 the first 38 adventures were revised and reissued with changes said to “incorporate the most up-to-date methods used by police and private investigators.” In truth, the books were shortened and rewritten to, among other things, remove their most racial stereotyping. More changes came after Simon & Schuster bought the line in 1979. Attempts were made to appeal to older readers (with the Hardy Boys Casefile Series) and to younger ones (with the Frank and Joe Hardy-The Clues Brothers line). But these were to the two-fisted originals what Tiny Toons and Muppet Babies are to authentic Looney Tunes and classic Muppets.

Thank You

2007-04-16T18:26:00.000-07:00

Hello to everyone who has taken a look at my blog or those of you who will be looking at it for the first time. When I first started this blog I never dreamed it would become so popular. I am getting more and more hits everyday and the nice thing is I am starting to get some comments as well. Without all you great readers my blog would have been a flop a long time ago. In the future I will be adding more info that I think everyone can use. I will also be adding more of my short stories for your reading enjoyment or non enjoyment. So in closing I would just like to say thank you one more time. I would also like to ask all of you a favour. If you like my blog then tell your friends and family about it and if you don’t like it then tell me so I can improve it with your suggestions.

Dale Mazurek

How To Write A Short Story (Part 2)

2007-04-12T19:59:00.000-07:00

Writing short stories can be very valuable to your writing career. Short stories are also a very quick way to put your feelings on paper. Starting to write short stories can be a tough project but the more you write the better you will get. In the next couple of weeks I will be submitting a 10 part series on how to write short stories. This will be the second edition on how to write short stories.

First Paragraph Has To Be The Catchy One

Everyone today is reading but there reading fast. We live in such a high paced environment that people who do read need to be caught in the first paragraph or else there gone to the next story. The first paragraph has to be unusual. What happens has to be unexpected and full of conflict and action right from the beginning. It is a short story and the beginning is always close to the end so there is no room for being lazy when it comes to short stories.

The Rest Of The Paragraph

You have to figure out where your character fits in with the conflict and you have to introduce the protagonist and give a hint into how he is going to make things difficult.

Put It Together

Now the two parts have to be put together. It is important that you at least understand a bit about fiction before making the two come together. It’s not so different from preparing your favorite meal. It makes a big difference in the meal if you put the wrong ingredients as compared to the right ones. Your story is no different than this. As long as you put the right amount of rules in the right place then your first paragraph will be a great paragraph.

This is the end of my second article on how to write a short story. I make these tips available because I think there is an author in everyone. Just because you write doesn’t mean you have to get paid for it. You should first and foremost write because you love it and everything will eventually fall into place.

Dale Mazurek

Dale is in the process of getting his first novel published. You can read some of his short stories at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ You can also check in on a couple of his interactive blogs at http://relationshiptidbits.blogspot.com/ and http://fishingtutor.blogspot.com/

How To Write A Short Story (Part 1)

2007-04-06T08:21:00.000-07:00

Writing short stories can be very valuable to your writing career. Short stories are also very quick ways to put on paper what you’re feeling about something. Starting to write short stories can be a tough project but the more you write the better you will get at it. In the next couple of weeks I will be submitting a 10 part series on how to write your short stories. This will be the first edition on writing short stories.

Getting Started
1. Write your list without stopping. Figure out your plots, tones and characters. Develop these things from things you know. Use things that make you smile and things that make you angry or sad. Now a story is starting to develop around your ideas.
2. Think about times in your life that were stressful or happy. Pick a few of them and write a paragraph on each one.
3. Choose a word that is going to be the main word of your story. Write it in the middle of the page and then start writing around it. Write any other words that come to mind and just keep writing. When you are sure your done you can circle all the words that you think link together and that you are going to use in your story.
4. Keep everything that you write. It doesn’t matter how messy or organized it is just make sure you keep it so you can look back and possibly use some of the material in future writings.
5. It doesn’t matter how you feel. You have to sit down and write every day. It can be for ten minutes or 4 hours. That doesn’t matter as long as you are writing something every day.
6. Don’t be scared to use other people’s stories. I don’t mean plagiarizing but I mean listening. Just listen to what people are saying. The stories people have can be very interesting and can be great topics for your short stories.
7. Read every day. I don’t care how much or what but you should be reading every day. This will give you insight into what other people are writing about plus it will show you different styles of writing. You cannot be successful at writing if you don’t read.
This is the end of my first article on how to write a short story. I make these tips available because I think there is an author in everyone. Just because you write doesn’t mean you have to get paid for it. You should first and foremost write because you love it and everything will eventually fall into place.
Dale Mazurek

Dale is in the process of getting his first novel published. You can read some of his short stories and more writing tips at his writing blog at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ You can also check in on a couple of his interactive blogs at http://relationshiptidbits.blogspot.com/ and http://fishingtutor.blogspot.com/

PREMATURE CELEBRATION

2007-04-04T20:37:00.000-07:00

Jake was excited when he got home. He had been with Continental Drilling for 15 years now. He had been on the same rig for 12 out of those 15 years. He had been drilling for 9 years. Now the time had come for him to move up the ladder to the highest position on the rig. His rig manager was let go and informally he had been told that the job was as good as his. Jake went home that evening and told his wife and family. They all knew that this was something he has been looking forward to for many years and now supposedly it has come.
That night was a fun filled night of drinking and celebrating. The party went on into the wee hours of the morning. Jake did have to work so for the most part he was pretty good through the night. He knew he would be tired at work the next morning but that would be a lot easier to deal with than being hung over. The last of the guests left at around three thirty in the morning. That didn’t matter because there was no way Jake was going to be able to sleep any way. He was very excited. He knew the next couple of days would be weird. There would be relief rig managers getting stuff tidied up and sorted before Jake would be able to settle into his new job. He knew that formally the job had not been offered to him but he was also pretty sure he knew how this chain of command thing went and it looked pretty good that he would be at the top of this chain.
Jake arrived at the rig the next morning to carry on with his drilling job until the announcement of his job was made. He was pretty happy that he didn’t get hammered the night before. Being tired was hard enough.
It was a busy day on the rig so Jake had actually forgot about what was going on for a while and that was probably the best thing because what would happen next would entirely turn jakes life around along with his family, friends and a lot of coworkers.
It was around nine in the morning and so far things had been pretty crazy on the rig. Things were freezing up and it seemed like just nothing was going right. Jake was in the dog house doing his books when he watched a new facing walk in. The man was huge. He looked to be about 50. He was about 6ft6 and looked like he weighed about 350 pounds and he was wearing continental coveralls. The fellow introduced himself as Tyler hatch the new rig manager. At that moment Jake felt something pop in his head. This was his job and this big goof just walked into the dog house and pretty much slapped Jake in the face by telling him what he just did.
There was no hesitation and there was no stopping him now. He knew how hard he worked to get to where he was and he wasn’t going to have it taken away now. On top of that it was going to be total embarrassment once his family and friends start to find out about this. The first thing Jake saw was a 36 inch pipe wrench and before he could even think about it the rig manager was lying dead on the floor in the dog house with the blood already running under the floor. It didn’t even seem to fizz on him. Jake was now on a mission and he wasn’t going to stop until either he was dead or the mission was complete.
Next place Jake went was to his truck. From behind the seat he pulled out the case that was holding his Ruger 270. Calmly, trying to not attract attention Jake made his way back to the dog house, out on to the floor and started climbing the ladder to the monkey boards where he would take his last stand. Once up there Jake had a look around and it was quite obvious that no one had a clue yet as to what was going on. It was frightening how Jake took the gun out of the case. It was like he was making popcorn or something. He did it without even thinking about what he was about to do or what the ramifications would be. The clip on the gun held 7 shots so he filled that up and put the rest of the box on the ledge next to him. In total he had enough shells to inflict a lot of damage to the personnel left on location.
The first person he noticed was the consultant walking around in his shack. Jake lifted the gun and put the cross hairs on the main man from the oil company. This was actually a strategic move. By taking this man out it left no one around a phone which in turn gave Jake more time to get done what he felt needed to be done. He pulled the trigger and immediately saw the consultant fall to the floor. Through the sights Jake could see the lifeless body lying on the floor. Jake was quite convinced that the shot was a kill shot. Jake looked around and it was immediately obvious that everyone on location heard the shot and figured out what was going on.
People were running and trying to hide. Everyone was trying to get out of the line of fire. Jake seen a couple rough necks run in to the engine room. He quickly noticed the two, one hundred pound bottles of propane beside the motor house. The next shot landed dead center in the middle of one of the bottles instantly killing the two roughnecks that were inside the motor house. Jake was pretty high on himself. He had 4 people dead and only had to use two shots.
The next couple of hours were pretty slow. No one was showing their face. The couple bits of movement that Jake thought he saw were quickly discounted as nothing. Jake knew that this thing would be coming to an end now. He was no dummy. He knew he would not be leaving this board alive.
Jake kept watching the road and now he finally saw what he had been looking for in the last couple of hours. Jake saw flashers approaching. He wasted no time in lifting the gun and shooting the driver of the first cruiser that was coming down the road. Now he had another death added to his score but now he had gone big time. He killed a cop and there was going to be absolutely zero sympathy for him now but he wasn’t looking for sympathy because if he was then he would have taken the non promotion like a kid and cowered home with it.
At his last count he saw at least 100 cops all with guns pointed at him. The end was very near and he knew it but he didn’t care anymore. He knew it was time for one more kick at the kitty. He was going to try and get off one more shot but then he knew it would be over. He put his sights on one of the police cars and pulled the trigger. For a split second he heard his shot hit the cop car but he knew he didn’t hit any one else and then the gunfire began. All hundred cops started shooting and most of the bullets were coming through the wind boards with about 50 percent landing in his body. Jake was dyeing quickly. The bullets that were still hitting him were just a technicality. After about the third one that hit him he knew he was dead.
Jake only had only one thought before he died. At least the fact that he never got the promotion that he thought he would get wouldn’t even come into play. He would go out as one of the biggest stories of the year and nobody would ever wrong him again

How To Write An Internet Press Release (Part 2)

2007-03-26T20:18:00.000-07:00

Press releases are a great way to let the entire internet world know about something big that just happened or something big that is about to happen. Maybe your organization has just won a major award for something. Or maybe you are about to launch a new product. Press releases get indexed by the search engines and help you to achieve your number one goal and that is to drive traffic to your site or sites. Personally I use press releases just before I am about to start a new article series. Many of my series are 10 to 20 articles long.

The Body

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE should always be your header. You need a headline. It should be in bold writing, it should be short but powerful. Never send a press release without a dateline. Now you have the body. It only needs to be a couple of paragraphs to be effective. First paragraph should answer who, what, where, when and why. The second should give a few more details. Your boilerplate should remain the same on all your press releases. It gives a brief description about who you are and what you do. Finally you should put your contact info in. This should include name address, phone number, email and website.

Keywords

Remember that its not only humans but machines reading your press release as well so your going to want to make it compatible to both. Keywords are the key. Make sure there relevant to your press release and remember no more than 5 percent of your writing should be key words. Also make sure you know how to place your keywords into header tags.

Now You Want To Promote

The most effective way to promote your press releases is through on line press release services. There are many out there. Go ahead and search “press release submission”. Another way is that you can send them to your editors by email or just create links off of your site to them.

For me press releases have become a great source of traffic. Especially when I am about to start a new article series. Anyone who has read my prior series usually watch for the next one to come out and with the right keywords anyone looking for something in particular might come along my release thus adding another potential client.

Thanks Dale Mazurek

Dale is an expert author with EzineArticles with more than 60 articles published. http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dale_Mazurek You can also check out two of his up and coming interactive blogs at http://fishingtutor.blogspot.com/ and http://relationshiptidbits.blogspot.com/

This is the second article of two on how and why you should issue press releases. It is just another very helpful tool that can be used to promote your business greatly if used properly

How To Write An Internet Press Release (Part 1)

2007-03-24T18:26:00.000-07:00

Press release are a great way to let the entire internet world about something big that just happened or something big that is about to happen. Maybe your organization has just won a major award for something. Or maybe you are about to launch a new product. Press releases get indexed by the search engines and help you to achieve your number one goal and that is to drive traffic to your site or sites. Personally I use press releases just before I am about to start another large article series. Many of my series are 10 to twenty articles long.

Why Should You Write Them

Writing press releases can be very beneficial to your business in so many ways. Many editors will look at your press release. If they feel it is going to get people interested then they will publish it into their ezines. By doing that you are ensuring yourself free traffic. It is also another link to your website and most of us know what that means. The more positive links you have to your site the more times the search engines are going to pick it up thus moving it higher in the rankings. Finally I would like to think you are running an honest no scam business. By issuing press releases you can keep your business fresh. Your loyal customers will see the growth and remain loyal while knew customers will realize that this is possibly something they should be looking at.

How Should I Write Them.

Well practise does make perfect. The more you write the better you will get at it. The most important thing you have to remember is that a press release is not meant to be an advertisement. If you want to put it out that way chances are it will get rejected and even if it does get released publishers won’t be interested because they are looking for content that will provide value for their readers. You’re not writing a book. You want to keep your releases to one page and two at a maximum. Don’t wreck your credibility with the publishers and readers. Just be honest. You can use some hype but don’t lie or embellish. You also want to be straight forward and to the point. A press release isn’t the place to pretty up your story. Write it in a way that everyone can understand. You have to remember your going to have everyone from teenage dropouts to doctors reading your press release. I don’t care what you are selling you need to make your press release go out to everyone. If it is directed towards a certain audience it’s going to look too much like an advertisement.

For me press releases have become a great source of traffic. Especially when I am about to start a new article series. Anyone who has read my prior series usually watch for the next one to come out and with the right keywords anyone looking for something in particular might come along my release thus possibly adding another customer.

Dale Mazurek

Dale is quickly becoming known for his articles and straightforward business sense. He is an expert article submitter http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dale_Mazurek
He has also started two interactive blogs that are getting lots of new traffic. http://relationshiptidbits.blogspot.com/ and http://fishingtutor.blogspot.com/

This is the first article of two on how and why you should issue press releases. It is just another very helpful tool that can be used to promote your business greatly if used properly.

MOTHER KNOWS BEST

2007-03-20T21:01:00.000-07:00

Jackie is a mother of three, a wife, a house wife and a manager of a convenience store so technically she is also a cook, chauffer, dog walker and probably about 100 other occupations that could be listed here. She has always been the kind of person to never complain. She is always the lady who would do anything to help some one out but never accept help herself. All around Jackie is probably one of the sweetest most loving people in the world.
All of the things listed above are all things that Jackie loves to do but there is one thing in the whole world that she loves more than anything. That is her writing. She has only ever written one thing in her life and that one thing is a very detailed diary of her life for the last 20 years. The day her oldest boy was born was the day she started writing. After that first day she has never missed a day of writing. Some of the entries are long and some are quite short but never the less they are all very detailed.
As you can very well imagine 20 years worth of diary entries turns out to be a lot of paper. There are only a few people in the world that knows about her diary. One being her husband, two being her kids and thirdly her best friend. Out side that tiny little circle absolutely no one knows about these papers. Now Jackie has never considered her self a writer nor has she ever had the ambition to even think about writing anything other than her diary. One thing you do have to remember is that these entries are very detailed. She can go back to any entry in the diary and remember exactly what she did that day and because it’s so detailed whenever she reads these old entries it feels like she’s right back on that day. Another thing is that these pages are full of happy thoughts, sad thoughts, trials, tribulations and just about every emotion that can be experienced.
Well one day Loretta, Jackie’s best friend was over visiting. They were having a few drinks and reading some of the entries in the diaries. They were laughing, crying and then laughing again. Through out the night Loretta asked Jackie if she would ever consider writing a book about her life. Jackie just laughed at the idea. In no way did she ever think she had a life that was interesting enough to write a book about. That was pretty much the end of the story. It wasn’t brought up again.
About 6 months later Jackie was again having one of her normally busy days when her cell phone rang. The voice on the other end introduced himself as a member of a huge publishing company out of New York. He then explained to her that her friend Loretta had submitted some work to him on Jackie’s behalf about six months prior. He explained to Jackie that he had some interest in possibly making a book out of it and invited her and her husband to New York all expenses paid to discuss a possible book deal. Jackie hung up the phone ten minutes later with an appointment to see this gentleman in a week.
A week later Jackie and her husband landed in New York and were quickly met and picked up in a limousine and taken to the publishing agency. Once inside all the formalities took about 15 minutes and then a man named Blake got down to business and started talking book deal. Jackie couldn’t believe the numbers that were coming out of this guy’s mouth. Potentially at the end of the day Jackie and her husband could walk out of the agency with a check for half a million dollars and if the book went as well as the publisher thought it would then Jackie would make at least three million more dollars in royalties.
Jackie and her husband couldn’t believe what was happening. After all these years of struggling they would be able to not have to worry about anything ever again. So about 4 hours later Jackie and her husband walked out of the agency with check in hand and a signed contract to let the publishing company go ahead and use her diary to write a book. All this time. 20 years she never realized she was writing her family’s future but she was ecstatic that it turned out that way. The day turned out to be better than perfect. However there still was one thing she needed to do and that was get back to the hotel and put today’s entry into her diary.

Great New Program I Joined

2007-03-19T19:33:00.000-07:00

Hello to all

Well for my loyal readers and all my new readers something excited has happened to me today. As most of you know I love writing. It is my passion but lets be realistic at the end of the day its nice to see some dollars signs along with your hard work. Well I found another tool to ad to my arsenal. It is called blogvertise.
How it works is simply put you gegister your blog with http://www.blogvertize.com/ You then have to wait for an approval process but once approved you will start getting assignments that they pay for. The pay starts at 4 bucks and gets way higher than that. I have emailed blogvertize to see if I can list more than one blog and hopefully I will get an answer soon. So for now I am sitting on pins and needles waiting to see if i get approved or not so remember if this is something you think you can do just go to http://www.blogvertize.com/ and sign up.

Urban Legend Number 1

2007-03-17T16:57:00.000-07:00

Aliens Among Us

Only a few months after the recovery of alien bodies and the debris from their space craft at Roswell in 1947, President Harry S. Truman created MJ-12, a top secret organization to collect intelligence on UFOs.

In 1954 President Dwight D. Eisenhower expanded the mandate of MJ-12 by founding the clandenstine Jason Society, a hand picked group of scholars charged with evaluating dataabout UFOs and contact with alien life forms. Members of the secret society have included Allen Dulles, director of the cia; Dr.Zbigniew Brzezinski, president of the Trilateral Commision from 1973 to 1976;and Dr. Henry Kissinger, the mastermind of Americas foreign policy.

MJ-12 funded by profits from the drug trade (MJ-12 members insist the drug trade is simply a tool to eliminate the weaker members of society). The power of MJ-12 has grown to the extent that it manipulates the CIA and the FBI; early in its history it monitored individuals through the mail and telephone, and today it uses the latest computer technology to accokpish the same task.

Through a project code-named SIGMA,MJ-12 first made contact with aliens. MJ-12s PLATO project established diplomatic relations with several alien civilizations and even secured formal treaties with them. Special operatives known as Men in Black are responsible for the security of all aliens and alien space craft currently on earth.

Write Your Novel Step By Step (Part 20)

2007-03-17T05:39:00.000-07:00

Well here we go. This is going to be the twentieth and final excerpt in my series on how to write a novel. Go ahead and copy these lessons or save them however you want. I will leave them on line until I am finished with my eBook and then pretty much exactly what you are reading right now will cost. I wanted to offer my advice for free at first because I want people to feel the same passion for writing that I do and feel the tingling inside your body after you finish your first novel.

96. Do This Properly

You have to go out and get a Fed Ex package and get ready to send your book out. Make sure you’re not sloppy about doing this. Take the time to make sure everything is sealed up properly. Make sure it is all squared up. This package is going to be the first impression that a would be agent is going to see and if done sloppily things could go wrong for you right off the bat.

97. Give Your Novel Away

Okay whether you believe it or not the next step was the hardest one for me. I had to give my book away to someone I didn’t know. Remember this was my first book. It almost felt like I was giving one of my kids away. But you have to trust Fed Ex. After all this is what they do. Make sure you keep your receipt. Now you may as well forget about your novel because it is very, very rare that you ever hear anything sooner than 2 months.

98. Kind Of Fun

You have worked hard to get your novel written and submitted so now you can have some fun with it. It’s time to relax and let your hair down. Go ahead and have a drink or something and think about the future of your book. Imagine that it gets picked up for a movie. Start thinking about which famous actor is going to play the lead. Think about who is going to play the other parts. Just remember this is all in fun but in life you have to allow yourself to dream.

99. Just Forget About It

Remember you have to wait at least two months and in several cases you will wait longer for a response if one even comes. Do not even think about doing anything before two months. If after a couple of months you haven’t heard anything then by all means you can send a short letter to the agent. I do mean short. Make sure it is just an inquiry letter and not something that is going to look like your pleading your case.

100. This Sucks But Its Normal

Rejection does suck but you have to turn it into positives. At least you know your work is getting looked at. Follow through on the suggestions that most agents will send with rejection slips. Don’t forget that most of the famous authors out there were rejected numerous times before their works were published. If you take it personally then I can guarantee that your writing career is over so instead of pouting while you are waiting go ahead and start your next novel. You will be surprised how much easier the next one will be to write.

Well now it is time for this series to come to an end. I hope everyone has enjoyed it and even more I hope you have started using it. Please keep watching for more writing tips from me. I will be doing a couple of more long series but I will also be doing a lot of shorter How To Write lessons on several different topics. So now I will sign off and let you get you novel going. Remember you write for yourself first and everybody else second.

Dale Mazurek

Dale is presently in the process of getting his first novel published. He has also started dabbling in short stories. You can find some of these on his blog at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ and lastly he deals a little in the affiliate marketing gig which can be checked out at http://affiliatemarketingfornewbies.blogspot.com/

In writing my novel I learnt a lot of things the hard way so I just wanted to put this series out there for would be writers to help them on their path to writing their own book.

2007-03-16T11:19:00.000-07:00

Hello to everyone

2007-03-14T20:23:00.000-07:00

First I would just like to say thanks to everyone who has taken the time to drop by and have a look at my blog. The series on how to write a novel is quickly coming to an end so I suggest you guys use it however you want because shortly after its done on my blog I plan on formatting it and making an e book out of it. However for now it is still free to my readers so enjoy. Some of the things that are coming up in my blog are more short stories. I have no shortage of them in fact I am at about 1000 written with plans for another 1000. I will also be giving tips on anything from writing poetry to writing an effective resume, business letter, short story, thesis, book report and many other writing topics. So there will be a great mixture of learning going on inside my blog.
Another exciting thing that is happening is the launching of my two newest blogs. I am fine tuning them right now and hope to have them open to the public by the weekend. One is about fishing for the everyday guy and the other is about relationships. I am very excited about both of them. I also wouldn’t mind if you took a look at the site that I promote. It does make me a lot of money on the internet. Some people consider it the best training tool available for working on line. I will leave that link at the bottom of the page.
So for now I will once more say thank you and hope you keep enjoying coming to my blog. I would also ask that you tell your friends and family about my writings because I hope I could have many interesting things for different people.
Remember every second you don’t use is a second you can never have back no matter how hard you work.
Here is the link to my ProfitLance site http://stcajo.profitlan.hop.clickbank.net
And here is the site to my very popular affiliate marketing blog. http://affiliatemarketingfornewbies.blogspot.com/
Thanks Dale Mazurek

LAST CIRCUS

2007-03-14T20:21:00.000-07:00

John was on his way to his most favorite thing in the world. He was on his way to the circus side show. Some people might ask how a circus side show could be a full grown mans favorite place to visit. What most people didn’t know was that this side show was no ordinary side show, and for some reason you knew it wasn’t ordinary then chances are you wouldn’t be around to talk about it. Even john had no clue as to why he was still around. He guessed it was because he could keep his mouth shut and the people at the show knew it.
Today was like any other day. John was excited as he walked around the back of the circus tent. There was a long line up of people waiting to see the side show as there usually was. John knew that once inside there was two ways to go. Most would go to the right but for those very few that took the other route; this would be the last time they would ever wait in any lineup again anytime anywhere.
Once inside John knew which way he wanted to go. He took a left through door marked maintenance and almost immediately found himself sliding down a very long dark tunnel. He knew he was getting close to the bottom because the screams were getting louder. Now these were the sounds he looked forward to all year long. Finally he hit bottom and the zombies started coming at him until they realized who it was that just came through the chute. Almost immediately they turned back forgetting he was even there. Then they continued on with the events happening right in front of john.
Gathered around a circle shaped cage were about 30 zombies. The undead that kept this freaky side show running. Hollywood was right on with their renditions of what zombies should look like. In the middle of the cage there was3 adults screaming. They had body parts missing; they were bleeding profusely, while begging for their lives. The zombies were taking turns entering the cage to get pieces of these humans. They would then leave to eat while the next one entered. This vicious cycle would carry on until there was no food left. Then they would have to wait for the next person to come sliding down the chute.
John had been coming down here for over ten years now. He didn’t know what kept him coming but for him it was some kind of crazy turn on.
A few seconds later another unsuspecting victim came sliding down the chute. Almost immediately everything changed for john. He had never felt the experience he was feeling right now. For the first time in ten years he didn’t want this girl to be eaten. He had seen many pretty ladies come down this chute but none that have ever given him the feelings that he was experiencing right now. The girl looked directly into his eyes as she was being pulled away to be thrown in the cage.
John knew there was nothing he could do. The entire time this girl was being ripped apart she never said a word. She never whimpered in pain but instead just stared at John until there was no longer any life left in her body. This did something to him. Something that made him rethink his last ten years.
He knew there was nothing he could do at the moment, however at that moment he decided that once he got out of there he would finally some way put a stop to this insanity. Immediately he knew he was in trouble. What he hadn’t known all these years was that these zombies could read his mind. They all started coming towards him. John tried getting away but only through his instincts to live. He knew it was a waste of time. He quickly realized that not now or ever would he see the light of day again.
The pain was excruciating as the zombies started taking turns at ripping his body parts off of him. He had absolutely no idea why but his very final thought as a living human being was at how this year’s circus side show was a let down.

Dale Mazurek

Write Your Novel Step By Step (Part 15)

2007-03-10T19:55:00.000-08:00

This is going to be the fifteenth excerpt on writing your novel. I am going to try and put these editions out as quickly as I can but that is only when time allows. I love writing and that is what I am doing all the time. Am I a good writer? I don’t know. What I do know is that I am getting to be a better writer with every word I put on paper and you too can become a good writer. To write your novel just follow these steps that I am laying out and at the end you will have something that at least you are proud of.

71. Read And Cut Some More

Clichés are terrible. First of all there not original. Secondly they sound tacky and there really is no room in your story for them. They may sound all cutesy at first but trust me your readers won’t get to read them because the story will never get past the publisher. So make it easy on yourself and get rid of them. Once in a while there is a time to use them but not too often.

72. ( /?)&! Too Many Is No Good

Now you are going to go through your story and get rid of all the unnecessary, annoying exclamation marks and such. Because in truth if you write well then your readers will know that your characters are yelling without having 6 exclamation marks at the end of a sentence. That may be alright if you are writing in your diary or a letter to a friend but believe me when I say it just doesn’t work in your book.

73. Use Proper Language

There may be a few people who enjoy reading vulgar, or sexual language but most people detest it in their readings. This kind of language has a place in certain books and magazines but not in most. Fancy words that no one understands are not great things to use either. Your reader wants to understand what’s being said. Remember the story has to flow. It has to be real life and not many people use these words unless in specialty stories that most of the general public are not going to read any ways.

74. While You’re Cutting

You may as well get rid of the useless phrases that you put in your story just to fill pages. If a book is 20 pages shorter when you are done that’s okay because we all know the old saying that quality is better than quantity. Just keep reading your story and you will for sure pick out the things that just don’t belong.

75. Read It Again

This time you are going to read your entire book into a tape recorder. Read it the way its suppose to sound. Make sure the emphasis is where it is suppose to be. Then you are going to listen to your tape and see what it sounds like. If the words don’t flow naturally then this is the time to fix them.

I know a lot of this seems like it’s going nowhere but trust me I write this from experience. Writing a book is no easy task. I wish someone would have helped me out like this when I first started writing. I will tell you one thing. Now this relates to me and it could to you but you have to want it to. No matter how hard the writing got I never disliked it. I still love writing and maybe this is a pipe dream but I hope to be able to retire and live totally off the money I earn from writing. Okay this is the end of lesson 15. I hope you are enjoying it so far. I also hope you are taking advantage of the opportunity to print this out because if all goes well I will make this into an e book so take advantage of it free.

Dale Mazurek

Dale is presently in the process of getting his first novel published. He has also started dabbling in short stories. You can find some of these on his blog at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ and lastly he deals a little in the affiliate marketing gig which can be checked out at http://affiliatemarketingfornewbies.blogspot.com/

In writing my novel I learnt a lot of things the hard way so I just wanted to put this series out there for would be writers to help them on their path to writing their own book.

Write Your Novel Step By Step (Part 14)

2007-03-10T18:16:00.000-08:00

This is going to be the fourteenth excerpt on writing your novel. I am going to try and put these editions out as quickly as I can but that is only when time allows. I love writing and that is what I am doing all the time. Am I a good writer? I don’t know. What I do know is that I am getting to be a better writer with every word I put on paper and you too can become a good writer. To write your novel just follow these steps that I am laying out and at the end you will have something that at least you are proud of.

66. Reading Your Work

Now everybody is going to go back and read their entire book from cover to cover. Don’t get your eraser and pencil out yet because it’s not quite time for that yet. I want you to start reading your book out loud. You’re going to find stuff in there that you don’t like but that’s okay. Don’t fret it. Just make a mental note and keep reading. Very important. Don’t start crossing stuff out yet or adding stuff because the most important part you are trying to determine is how the book is going to flow.

67. Cutting Your Story

Ok now the time has come. You are going to go through your story paragraph by paragraph. I will guarantee there is going to be stuff you want to cut and stuff you want to add so now is the time. Go ahead and start editing. Get rid of the good for nothing phrases that you put in there as fillers and add the content that you forgot or came up with later.

68. Read Again

You already read your book out loud once and now you’re going to do it again but this time you’re going to do it one page at a time. You will stop at the end of each page. You will read that one page as many times as you need to so that you can get rid of poor sentence structure or maybe you are going to add something. Don’t go on to the next page until you are happy with the last one. I am warning you that this can get redundant and even boring but you have to keep excited because this is all parts in writing a book.

69. Excessive Stuff

Now you want to have a look at your work and cut all the unnecessary stuff. Too many metaphors or similes. The similes will kill you. However it is important that you don’t cut stuff you’re going to regret. So once again I stress that you take your time and make sure everything sounds good.

70. Cutting Tips

Here’s a little trick when you are cutting stuff from your story. It is almost a guarantee that you have put too much meat into your paragraphs so this is what you are going to do. You are going to go ahead and cut either one adjective or adverb out of each paragraph in your story. Remember this isn’t a hard fast rule. You might have a paragraph that you can’t afford to cut but I am willing to bet that most paragraphs will be able to be cut.

I know a lot of this seems like it’s going nowhere but trust me I write this from experience. Writing a book is no easy task. I wish someone would have helped me out like this when I first started writing. I will tell you one thing. Now this relates to me and it could to you but you have to want it to. No matter how hard the writing got I never disliked it. I still love writing and maybe this is a pipe dream but I hope to be able to retire and live totally off the money I earn from writing. Okay this is the end of lesson 14. I hope you are enjoying it so far. I also hope you are taking advantage of the opportunity to print this out because if all goes well I will make this into an e book so take advantage of it free.

Dale Mazurek

Dale is presently in the process of getting his first novel published. He has also started dabbling in short stories. You can find some of these on his blog at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ and lastly he deals a little in the affiliate marketing gig which can be checked out at http://affiliatemarketingfornewbies.blogspot.com/

In writing my novel I learnt a lot of things the hard way so I just wanted to put this series out there for would be writers to help them on their path to writing their own book.

Hello To Everyone

2007-03-10T17:12:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody. I am just writing to say thank you to everyone who has come on and read my series on writing a novel and my short stories. I am sorry I havent posted mre personally but I am making that commitment to all of you right now. I hope everyone is enjoying what they are reading. The novel series is about three quarters done and the short stories will go on forever. I am working on a whole lot more of writing tips that I will start posting once the novel series is done. Remember you have to love writing to continue writing. presently I work full time in the oil patch but all my off time is spent enhancing my income on the internet. I have to say that things are looking pretty nice right now. I am supplementing my income nicely. If anyone is interested in some of the other things I do on line then email me at stcajo2009@yahoo.ca Personally I hate autoresponders so you wont be getting one when you email me so please be patient and I will definately get back to you.

Thanks Dale Mazurek

Write Your Novel Step By Step (Part 13)

2007-03-10T15:27:00.000-08:00

This is going to be the thirteenth excerpt on writing your novel. I am going to try and put these editions out as quickly as I can but that is only when time allows. I love writing and that is what I am doing all the time. Am I a good writer? I don’t know. What I do know is that I am getting to be a better writer with every word I put on paper and you too can become a good writer. To write your novel just follow these steps that I am laying out and at the end you will have something that at least you are proud of.

61. Time To Read

Okay is this thing you have written a novel. You may have about 300 pages done but does it look like something somebody would want to read. Are all the pieces there and by that I mean three main pieces. The beginning, the middle and the end. So now that you have read it does it look like you have asked the question and then answered it? If you think you have done this then it’s time to move on to the next step.

62. Vital Importance

There is no better way to turn off a reader, publisher or editor then having to read a book that is full of spelling errors. Many a book has been lost for this exact reason. First of all it makes you look very sloppy as an author, it makes you look like you don’t care and it puts you on the lowest class of a writer. Long time ago when there were no computers this was a daunting task but now with spell checker this process has become very easy so you even look lazier if your submission comes in full of spelling errors.

63. Ink And Paper

Now you have to make sure you have a bundle of paper and a couple cartridges of ink. The time has finally come to print out your first nook. Of course this is the first printing. The unedited version but when those papers are rattling off your printer tray it still gives you a huge sense of accomplishment. Let me tell you the first time I printed my book I was like a kid in a candy store waiting for each page to come through so I could pile them nice and neat.

64. Did I Write A Book

What you want to do is find a nice safe place for your newly printed book. You want to put it there and forget you ever wrote it. That’s right I want you to leave it alone for a few weeks. I don’t want you to look at it, feel it, read it or even think about it. It is of the greatest importance that you try and clear your mind and forget that you even wrote the darn thing.

65. This Is Tough

You have now been away for a while and now it’s time to come back and start editing. Let me tell you this is probably the most frequent time that would be authors give up on their books. Editing your book is as tough as it gets. This really distinguishes the fact of do you really like writing or is it your utmost passion. I read my book 15 times cover to cover before I finally said to myself that this can’t get any better.

I know a lot of this seems like it’s going nowhere but trust me I write this from experience. Writing a book is no easy task. I wish someone would have helped me out like this when I first started writing. I will tell you one thing. Now this relates to me and it could to you but you have to want it to. No matter how hard the writing got I never disliked it. I still love writing and maybe this is a pipe dream but I hope to be able to retire and live totally off the money I earn from writing. Okay this is the end of lesson 13. I hope you are enjoying it so far. I also hope you are taking advantage of the opportunity to print this out because if all goes well I will make this into an e book so take advantage of it free.

Dale Mazurek

Dale is presently in the process of getting his first novel published. He has also started dabbling in short stories. You can find some of these on his blog at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ and lastly he deals a little in the affiliate marketing gig which can be checked out at http://affiliatemarketingfornewbies.blogspot.com/

In writing my novel I learnt a lot of things the hard way so I just wanted to put this series out there for would be writers to help them on their path to writing their own book.

Write Your Novel Step By Step (Part 12)

2007-03-07T19:44:00.000-08:00

Okay fellow writers. I am about to enter the 12th excerpt into my step by step novel writing process. We have just passed the halfway point of this series and I hope it is beneficial to each and every one of you who read it. I am presently trying to get my first novel published and am working on my second one. I use each and every one of these topics to help me get through. Remember though you have to maintain passion for the art of writing or you’re just wasting your time. I can give you all the pointers you want but if you don’t have the drive and desire then they are no good to you. Okay time to move on.

56. Hold Your Reader

There are three major points that combined work together to hold your reader. The first one is be specific. Anything you do in your novel it’s important not to be vague. This isn’t a short story where you can get away with that. When decisions are made throughout your story be definite about them. There are no maybes. Maybes only get you in trouble because it gets the readers confused. And finally any information you give has to be concrete. You want the foundation and everything above it to be solid. Any weak points and that’s where your book comes tumbling down.

57. Your Book Doesn’t Get All Your Time

I don’t care how you want to do it but once in a while you need to take time away from your writing. What I personally do is take 2 full days away every week and once a month I make one of those two dayers into a three dayers. What you are going to find when you come back to continue your novel is that your mind is story fresh. That’s going to go a long way in the success of your novel.

58. Can You Make Your Reader Cry

Sympathy sells. All over the world everyday in every language possible stories are being written and sold with sympathy as the main angle. If you can get your readers to buy into the emotions of your characters then you have them reading to the end of the book and looking for your next one. I say sympathy but it can be any emotion provided it is done right. Sympathy is an easier one but fear and anger are also two big ones.

59. Feelings

Hers another great tip. You can not and I stress can not tell your readers how to feel. You have to make them feel how you want them to feel. If you want them to be scared then write something scary enough. Even though it may seem just like words on paper. When I read “Needful Things” by Stephen King he had me turning lights on and looking up every time I heard even the smallest noise. So are those just words? I don’t think so that is a brilliant author bringing a story to life and scaring the pants off of me.

60. The Meat

So by now you should have anywhere from 80000 to 120000 words written. There tat wasn’t so bad now was it? Now comes the hardest part of writing. At least it is in my opinion. Now you get to start rewriting and editing your novel. One things for sure you better not be tired and you better have a clear head going into this stage of writing your book.

I know a lot of this seems like its going no where but trust me I write this from experience. Writing a book is no easy task. I wish someone would have helped me out like this when I first started writing. I will tell you one thing. Now this relates to me and it could to you but you have to want it to. No matter how hard the writing got I never disliked it. I still love writing and maybe this is a pipe dream but I hope to be able to retire and live totally off the money I earn from writing. Okay this is the end of lesson 11. I hope you are enjoying it so far. I also hope you are taking advantage of the opportunity to print this out because if all goes well I will make this into an e book so take advantage of it free.

Dale Mazurek

Dale is presently in the process of getting his first novel published. He has also started dabbling in short stories. You can find some of these on his blog at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ and lastly he deals a little in the affiliate marketing gig which can be checked out at http://affiliatemarketingfornewbies.blogspot.com/

In writing my novel I learnt a lot of things the hard way so I just wanted to put this series out there for would be writers to help them on their path to writing their own book.

Write Your Novel Step By Step (Part 11)

2007-03-06T10:25:00.000-08:00

This is going to be the eleventh excerpt on writing your novel. I am going to try and put these editions out as quickly as I can but that is only when time allows. I love writing and that is what I am doing all the time. Am I a good writer? I don’t know. What I do know is that I am getting to be a better writer with every word I put on paper and you too can become a good writer. To write your novel just follow these steps that I am laying out and at the end you will have something that at least you are proud of.

51. Think The Ridiculous

Now this is going to seem like one of the stupidest things I say. But believe me it helps to write books and it helps to make them believable. How was your childhood? If it was bad I truly hope you turned out alright but guess what that bad childhood will help you write great books. Books are a great form of escape from reality. Now if your child hood haunts you then you can use your writing to escape from the bad memories and establish tons of new ones. Now this is going to be a lot tougher for those of you who had a great childhood but the same can still be accomplished. You’re just going to have to be more imaginative. Imagine what it would be like to live with an alcoholic mother, really live the part and then try writing and see what happens. I bet you will be surprised.

52. Working Together

You have heard about bringing your characters to life but now you have to make them interact with the other characters and it has to be real. You’re not going to have any scenes if you just have a bunch of characters walking around and not doing anything. You have to make them communicate. How you do this is by thinking about how you communicate. How you communicate with family, friends, co workers, pets and even enemies. Of course there’s always going to be different twists added but trust me this will work.

53. What A Reader Wants

You have to always be thinking of ways to create tension. The reader always wants more. You ask how do I do this? By asking questions. Why did? Who did? Was it?
The reader will keep reading to find the answers. Don’t worry if you put too many in at first. We will edit later and get rid of the ones that sound tacky.

54. You Have To Learn To Describe

Practice describing. How do you do that? With research. When you want to describe what a rose smells like you have to make sure the reader will smell it. This is how you research. Go to the library or use the internet and read true life books like gardening or flowering. These authors have truly mastered the skills of making their reader make their senses work just from the words on the page. Without description you may as well have stick men for characters.

55. Wording

I can’t even begin to explain how important the uses of words are. Making sure you use the right words at the right time but yet making sure you don’t use too many. Using verbs are the heart to your story. Without the proper amount of verbs you are going to flop. If a sentence looks weird read it out loud and see what it sounds like. You will know immediately if you have the wording all wrong.

I know a lot of this seems like its going no where but trust me I write this from experience. Writing a book is no easy task. I wish someone would have helped me out like this when I first started writing. I will tell you one thing. Now this relates to me and it could to you but you have to want it to. No matter how hard the writing got I never disliked it. I still love writing and maybe this is a pipe dream but I hope to be able to retire and live totally off the money I earn from writing. Okay this is the end of lesson 11. I hope you are enjoying it so far. I also hope you are taking advantage of the opportunity to print this out because if all goes well I will make this into an e book so take advantage of it free.

Dale Mazurek

Dale is presently in the process of getting his first novel published. He has also started dabbling in short stories. You can find some of these on his blog at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ and lastly he deals a little in the affiliate marketing gig which can be checked out at http://affiliatemarketingfornewbies.blogspot.com/

In writing my novel I learnt a lot of things the hard way so I just wanted to put this series out there for would be writers to help them on their path to writing their own book.

Write Your Novel Step By Step (Part 10)

2007-03-06T09:08:00.000-08:00

This is going to be the tenth excerpt on writing your novel. I am going to try and put these editions out as quickly as I can but that is only when time allows. I love writing and that is what I am doing all the time. Am I a good writer? I don’t know. What I do know is that I am getting to be a better writer with every word I put on paper and you too can become a good writer. To write your novel just follow these steps that I am laying out and at the end you will have something that at least you are proud of.

46. You Will Get Tired

There is going to be days that you are exhausted. I love writing and it is my passion but some days you do wonder why you are putting yourself through the mental exhaustion. Not only do you have to develop the story but you also have to live the characters. So if your main character is a murdering trapeze artist then that’s what you become in your mind. Writing is extremely harder than my day job but my passion is stronger for writing. Just like anything else you have quitting days but I get up the next day and again I am excited.

47. Numbers Don’t Matter

I am going to warn you right now not to try and figure out how much money you’re going to make on your book. First of all if you’re doing it for the money then you better quit right now because you are not going to make a red cent. The first rule is right for passion and everything else will fall into place. Too many people read how to get their book published before they even have the first paragraph on paper. And to be totally honest with you there is a good chance your book never gets to market but that brings us back to writing for passion. I love writing and firstly that’s the only reason I do it.

48. Don’t Let No One Stand In Your Way

I never listened to anybodies negative comments. And if you do your book will never get done. Persistence is the secret. In fact negative comments make me work harder. They give me the drive to succeed. Most of the time the negative people are just jealous because they don’t have what you have, the drive and persistence.

49. Do Something Else

You have to do something to get yourself away from your writing. Not only will this rest your mind but it will open up a whole new pot of ideas. My get away is fishing. There is an old saying. “A bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work.” That is so true. I go fishing and my mind leaves everything else in my office. When I get back to work I am usually ten times productive and everything is clearer.

50. You’re Number One

I want you to always remember that. Writers are a dyeing breed so it’s up to you to make sure they don’t go extinct. I always want you to think that you are the best. No one is going to tell you that so take it upon yourself to believe it. You are a writer, an artist. What you do with your words is incredible. I don’t care if no one ever reads your work it’s still the same at the end of the day.

I know a lot of this seems like its going no where but trust me I write this from experience. Writing a book is no easy task. I wish someone would have helped me out like this when I first started writing. I will tell you one thing. Now this relates to me and it could to you but you have to want it to. No matter how hard the writing got I never disliked it. I still love writing and maybe this is a pipe dream but I hope to be able to retire and live totally off the money I earn from writing. Okay this is the end of lesson 10. I hope you are enjoying it so far. I also hope you are taking advantage of the opportunity to print this out because if all goes well I will make this into an e book so take advantage of it free.

Dale Mazurek

Dale is presently in the process of getting his first novel published. He has also started dabbling in short stories. You can find some of these on his blog at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ and lastly he deals a little in the affiliate marketing gig which can be checked out at http://affiliatemarketingfornewbies.blogspot.com/

In writing my novel I learnt a lot of things the hard way so I just wanted to put this series out there for would be writers to help them on their path to writing their own book.

Write Your Novel Step By Step (Part 9)

2007-03-05T17:01:00.001-08:00

This is going to be the ninth excerpt on writing your novel. I am going to try and put these editions out as quickly as I can but that is only when time allows. I love writing and that is what I am doing all the time. Am I a good writer? I don’t know. What I do know is that I am getting to be a better writer with every word I put on paper and you too can become a good writer. To write your novel just follow these steps that I am laying out and at the end you will have something that at least you are proud of.

41. Thought Writing

Of course you can’t sit at your desk 14 hours of the day to write your book. Especially since this is your first novel and you probably have a day job or you have to take care of kids or something like that. This is what I do when I can’t sit down and write. I think write. I think about my book all the time. Some may think this is boring but it’s actually quite exciting when you come up with some good lines and ideas. What think writing does is make fewer drafts possible. You mark my words the more think writing you do when you can’t sit down the less editing you will have to do.

42. Grow Your Character

You need your character to become real life. You ask how do I do that? First of all you have to give action to your character. Even though a book is words in order to make it successful you have to make your readers see things through your words. And secondly the more you make them see the more you’re going to make them believe. If you can your readers believing in your characters then you’re going to have them believe they are right in the middle of the story.

43. Story Kidnapping

What does this mean? It means you want to get your readers attention in the very first ten seconds of your story and you never want to let him go. You want to keep him for the entirety of your book. You don’t want them to go back to their family or friends and the only way you will allow them to leave is by finishing your book. You better make your novel interesting or your kidnapping career will be very short.

44. Rejection Is Cool

Don’t sweat a rejection because if you do any amount of writing you damn well better get used to rejection. Rejection doesn’t necessarily mean your work is bad. It could get rejected for any number of reasons. Maybe it doesn’t meet guidelines; maybe the publisher isn’t accepting anything new right now. The best thing is getting a rejection with comments. Firstly that means someone pretty important and high up read your book and you can use the comments to fix anything that may need to be fixed.

45. Garbage

If you’re going to add things to your story then make sure they belong. Everything should have a place. I can’t stand it when I read gibberish that was only put in for one reason and that reason was to make the story longer. Trust me your reader would rather read a shorter book then have to read garbage and there only going to put up with so much garbage.

I know a lot of this seems like its going no where but trust me I write this from experience. Writing a book is no easy task. I wish someone would have helped me out like this when I first started writing. I will tell you one thing. Now this relates to me and it could to you but you have to want it to. No matter how hard the writing got I never disliked it. I still love writing and maybe this is a pipe dream but I hope to be able to retire and live totally off the money I earn from writing. Okay this is the end of lesson 9. I hope you are enjoying it so far. I also hope you are taking advantage of the opportunity to print this out because if all goes well I will make this into an e book so take advantage of it free.

Dale Mazurek

Dale is presently in the process of getting his first novel published. He has also started dabbling in short stories. You can find some of these on his blog at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ and lastly he deals a little in the affiliate marketing gig which can be checked out at http://affiliatemarketingfornewbies.blogspot.com/

In writing my novel I learnt a lot of things the hard way so I just wanted to put this series out there for would be writers to help them on their path to writing their own book.

Write Your Novel Step By Step (Part 8)

2007-03-05T12:43:00.000-08:00

This is going to be the eighth excerpt on writing your novel. I am going to try and put these editions out as quickly as I can but that is only when time allows. I love writing and that is what I am doing all the time. Am I a good writer? I don’t know. What I do know is that I am getting to be a better writer with every word I put on paper and you too can become a good writer. To write your novel just follow these steps that I am laying out and at the end you will have something that at least you are proud of.

36. A Hint For Interest

What you want to do to get your readers to turn to the next page is do something exciting on every page. When I say do something that can also be a description of an exciting place, character or event. It doesn’t have to be a fight scene or murder scene every page because that will get redundant and work against you. It’s not always going to be possible to make it happen every page but trust me you don’t want to go more than three pages. This can be something as brilliant as describing how beautiful the moon looks on a dark starry night.

37. Don’t Be Long Winded

Just because you have a computer now which authors of past didn’t doesn’t mean you have to write a 600 page book. Keep things simple. Rather than having a whole pile of elements in your story have less, better described ones. All the means you have is going to tease you into writing more and more pages. Personally I think about 200 pages is plenty. That keeps your reader interested. Plus if you absolutely have more to write then save it for your next book. Maybe you can even write a sequel.

38. Don’t Over Describe

You want to make sure that your characters are true to real life. You can very easily put them over the edge by putting too much description into them. Your reader wants to think of your character as someone they know. Maybe it’s their next door neighbor or some one like that. They won’t relate well if this character is some kind of mole that lives in the middle of the earth. That’s okay if your story is about a mole from the middle of the earth but you will have more success with more realism.

39. Start Your Own Trend

You might have an author that you just adore. You might want to write like him and that’s okay. What’s not okay is copying him. I don’t mean plagiarism but rather writing about all the same things he writes about. Your audience doesn’t want to see Joe Shmo writing about the same things as Dean Koontz. So go ahead and have your favorites but remember to be successful you have to develop your own style.

40. Build A Pyramid

You have to start at the bottom and work your way up one rock at a time. Don’t jump all over the place. Take your time and make those rocks fit nicely into place. Don’t leave any hanging out because not only are you wrecking the look of your structure but you’re also stressing the integrity of the pyramid. By doing things like that you take the chance of the entire structure coming tumbling down. Are you willing to take that chance?

I know a lot of this seems like its going no where but trust me I write this from experience. Writing a book is no easy task. I wish someone would have helped me out like this when I first started writing. I will tell you one thing. Now this relates to me and it could to you but you have to want it to. No matter how hard the writing got I never disliked it. I still love writing and maybe this is a pipe dream but I hope to be able to retire and live totally off the money I earn from writing. Okay this is the end of lesson 8. I hope you are enjoying it so far. I also hope you are taking advantage of the opportunity to print this out because if all goes well I will make this into an e book so take advantage of it free.

Dale Mazurek

Dale is presently in the process of getting his first novel published. He has also started dabbling in short stories. You can find some of these on his blog at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ and lastly he deals a little in the affiliate marketing gig which can be checked out at http://affiliatemarketingfornewbies.blogspot.com/

In writing my novel I learnt a lot of things the hard way so I just wanted to put this series out there for would be writers to help them on their path to writing their own book.

JAKES MAFIA

2007-03-05T11:25:00.000-08:00

This was the fifth year in a row now and business was better then ever. Jake started his black market business at camp five years ago. When he started it involved mostly chocolate bars and other candy products but over the five years the business has grown tremendously. Jake now stocks anything from the original candy bars to now being able to get cam corders, computers and even items as big as 52 inch televisions. Jake had a partner at camp. His name is Brian. He also had several partners outside of camp. He never knew their names and never wanted to. Two months at camp, Jake and Brian could make enough cash to get through the entire year until next years camp. That how ever didn’t stop them from working their business in the off season it’s just that this was their primary selling season. What Jake and Brian didn’t know was that things were going to go bad this year. There were going to very bad.
The boys were well in to their first out of nine selling weeks. Sales were great. Hell it even looked like it would be a record year. What you have to remember was that Jake was selling to some of these kids for five years now. The kids came to camp prepared to spend money. Hell even some parents gave their kids money to get them items. Of course they would never admit it but Jake knew what was happening. And honestly he didn’t care where the items were going as long as the cash was going in his pocket.
On the seventh day Jake noticed a dramatic down fall in sales. He decided to not sweat it and see what happened the next day. Well the next day was worse so he knew that he had to investigate to see what was going on. So now he and Brian were on a mission. It took no time at all to find the problem. Another camper had moved in on their territory. Jake was furious. The guy selling was a friend of Jakes. Well an ex friend now. When Jake went to approach him two of the other campers stepped in front of him. Gary the new kid on the block wouldn’t even acknowledge that Brian and Jake were there. He just kept on selling as if nothing was going on. At that moment Jake decided that walking away would be the best thing for now but he also knew that in no way was he done.
That night Jake lay in bed wondering how he was going to deal with the situation at hand. He figured if he could get to talk to Gary one on one that he could make things right. Jake was a little worried because all his product was bought on credit and the guys he bought it from weren’t very nice guys. They trusted Jake because he always made good but he knew they wouldn’t hesitate to deal with a situation that may go bad. Sleep was very limited that night. However when Jake woke up in the morning he felt like it would be a good day. Little did he know that today would be the day that the snowball started rolling down the hill.
Jake got up and had a shower before he made his way over to where Gary was working. He decided to get it over and done with instead of procrastinating. Once he got to Garys venue once again the same two guys stepped out in front of him. Jake was very nice about the situation. Inside he was boiling over but he knew that at this point anger wasn’t the solution. Jake asked that he be allowed to talk to Gary for a few minutes. One of the big dudes went over and said something before coming back and letting Jake through. Jake was excited. He was sure he was about to get this thing resolved.
It didn’t take long for Jake to realize that this conversation was going to get nothing resolved. Jake was nice about things at first. He reminded Gary that this had been his gig for five years. He reminded him that friends don’t screw other friends over. Jake even offered Gary a share of the business next year but this year he had obligations to fulfill and with the new business this was going to be very tough to do. There was no hesitation, no sympathy, absolutely no caring from Gary. He reminded Jake that it was a free world. He told Jake that he didn’t care about his problems and there was no way he was going to quit what was now filling his pockets with more cash then he had ever known.
Jake snapped. He tried to get at Gary but was very surprised at the quickness of the two guys that were there to guard Gary. The guys hauled Jake out of the area. The entire time Jake was making promises of retribution. He promised Gary that this wasn’t over and that by the end of the week there once again would be only one guy selling here. The two brutes warned Jake not to come back to the area unless he was coming to do business.
Jake now walked away. He was defeated for now but he knew he wasn’t going to take this laying down. He did however wonder what the business had come to that his competition was actually using body guards. For Jake it turned out to be a long day. His business had dropped about 80 percent. On top of all that he had to make a product payment. This week was fine because he had a great week but what would happen if he couldn’t get his sales the following week. He didn’t want to think what would happen. He was never in that position before but he knew that his suppliers weren’t nice guys.
The next week rolled around and Jakes business was even worse now. He had no where enough cash to pay his supplier. He decided to be honest and ask for an extension and see what happened. Jake was quite surprised. His meeting went well. The guys he owed money to reminded him that they were a team and that they would help him out in any way possible. Jake was impressed. Maybe things were looking up. He slept the best he did in a week. Come morning however everything would change. All of his endeavors would be hoisted to a new level.
The following morning Jake was awakened by first the sounds of screams and secondly a commotion building out side his cabin. He quickly got out of bed to see what was going on. What Jake saw next was enough to drive him over the edge. This was something that only happened in the movies. There on the side of his cabin were Garys two body guards. It was quite obvious they were dead. There eyes were missing, there hearts were lying at their feet and they were nailed to the wall. Jake knew immediately what happened. He didn’t want to believe it but there was no denying it. His suppliers had decided to help him but in a million years Jake never thought it would come to this. All around him people were crying, throwing up and screaming. Then all at once Jake noticed something funny going on. He saw everybody moving away from him. He didn’t want to think it but he could see how they would. Everybody thought that this was Jakes handy work. After all everybody did hear him threatening Gary.
Minutes later the cops arrived. Jake was sure things would get straightened out now. He was totally wrong because at the end of the day it was Jake that was hauled away in hand cuffs and charged with two counts of murder. It seemed like there was nothing he could say that would make the police think any different.
3 weeks later Jake had his trial. The evidence against him was so over whelming that even he would have convicted him self. Obviously the jury was thinking the same thing because they only needed an hour to come back with a guilty verdict. Jake was sentenced to 50 years for both murders with no chance of parole. After all was said and done Jake guessed that it was his suppliers that set him up so when the guards told him that Gary was there to visit him it was a little surprising.
The conversation went quite well. Jake tried to convince Gary that he was innocent. Gary wouldn’t have any of that but he also knew that their conversation was being monitored. Their talk lasted another 10 minutes before Gary told Jake that he had to leave. He told Jake that his business was thriving. Then Gary did something he knew he wasn’t suppose to do but he also knew that he didn’t need to ever come back to this place. Gary bent over and asked Jake if he liked his handy work he had left on the wall of the cabin. Gary was immediately escorted out. Jake just sat there with the wind knocked out of his sails. He would have never thought it if he didn’t hear it for himself.

Dale Mazurek

IT’S A BIRD, IT’S A PLANE, IT’S A DEVIL

2007-03-05T11:24:00.000-08:00

When Jakes little sister came running in the house he immediately knew it was going to be trouble. He could see the evil in the kitty. But he also knew there was no sense arguing with his mom and dad because they had already told Courtney that she could have it. From experience he knew that his sister was a spoiled brat and anything she wanted she got. So Jake decided he would keep an eye on this cat and the first sign of anything bad he would take care of the problem himself.
The days went on and even though nothing seemed to be happening Jake still grew more and more suspicious of the cat. He didn’t know what it was but there was no doubt in his mind that someone in the family was going to find out. The weird thing was that the cat looked at Jake as if it knew what he was thinking.
A few more weeks had gone by when Jake had almost let his guard down the first event finally happened. First of all this cat was growing a lot bigger than it should have but that didn’t seem to matter to anyone. Jake was walking past the barn when out of the corner of his eye he spotted something moving on the fence. When Jake looked up it was the weirdest thing. It was as if the cat had been waiting for him because to Jake it looked like it smirked before jumping on the back of one of the laying hens and killing it almost immediately. Jake was terrified and frozen which in turn gave the cat time to get back to the house before Jake could. When Jake got back to the house he tried to tell his mom and dad what he saw but of course Courtney got all cranky and denied everything on behalf of her cat. Jake took his dad out and showed him and he couldn’t believe it when he blamed the dead hen on either Jakes dog or coyotes.
Jake was furious and decided that he was going to take care of this problem him self and he was going to do it tonight. So later on in the evening Courtney was playing with her dolls, mom and dad were watching television and Jake knew the cat was still out side so he decided it was time to make it disappear. Jake knew it would be sleeping on the deck so that’s where he headed and sure enough there was the cat. Jake walked up slowly behind it and just when he was about to grab the little sucker it turned around baring fangs that not even a cat should have. Jake stumbled back. He was terrified. He knew this was no normal cat. He just had to figure a way to get rid of it or get someone to believe him. Either way there was going to be nothing easy about either task.
Through out the next couple of weeks a lot of things were happening that Jake knew was a result of the cat. More chickens were found dead, dogs, calves and even pigs were found dead. However it wasn’t just happening on Jakes farm but on the neighboring farms as well. Jake had tried to use the gun on the cat a few times but it seemed that it was always one step ahead of Jake. Jake was at the point where he didn’t care any more. He knew that the cat slept in Courtney’s room and tonight he and the cat would have a show down. He knew his little sister would be there but right now that was irrelevant.
The rest of the day seemed to drag on forever. Jake just wanted to get this over with. He knew he was going to be the bad person after this was finally over and done with. He couldn’t figure out why everyone else was so blind to this. Hell the cat was as big as a bobcat and why no one found this strange was beyond him. Every time he tried to talk to some one about it they would look at him strange. It was as if he was the only one seeing this. Why was he always around when the cat carried out its evil doings? Why was he the only one to ever see the things that were happening? Oh well it didn’t matter anymore because one way or another it would all be over with tonight.
Finally the time came. It was about 2 in the morning. Jake had been lying on his bed holding the gun he had planned on using on the cat. He checked the clip probably about 20 times just to make sure it was loaded. Each time it was the same thing. All the shells were in the gun. Now that Jake was convinced everyone would be sleeping it was time for him to get done what he new he needed to do weeks ago.
So his plan was to walk in find the cat, aim the gun and let the shot go. There would be no hesitation. He couldn’t allow something or someone to get in his way. He would worry about the consequences after because at the end of the day he knew he was doing the right thing. All his plans would change as soon as he walked in the door of his sister’s bedroom. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. There on the bed, the walls, the floors and everywhere he could see there was blood. So much blood. In front of him the cat was walking on the obviously dead body of his sister. Now he was enraged. Jake picked up the gun and just started shooting. He didn’t even see the cat walk past him. All he could do was shoot the gun. He kept pulling the trigger until there were no bullets left. Right after the last shot was fired he seen a bright light, felt something hit his head very hard and he fell to the floor.
A little while later Jake woke up. He was lying on a gurney and he was handcuffed to the rails. He didn’t know what was going on but whatever it was he knew it couldn’t be good. About a minute after he woke up someone realized that he was up and all of a sudden he was being swarmed by his parents and a number of police officers. They were all asking him the same question. They were asking him why he would kill Courtney. The only two words he could muster was “the cat.” Then Jake noticed something. His mom was holding the cat but now it was small again. There was no doubt that it was the same cat only now it really looked like a kitten. How could this happen? What the hell was going on? The officer asked Jake why he would want to shoot his sister. The question confused Jake for a moment and then he realized something.
Jake went back to all the incidents and reminded himself that he was the only one there. Could he have been the one that did this? The officer told him that his sister died from being shot 3 times. Once in the head and twice in the chest. Then he realized it. He couldn’t believe it but the facts were all pointing at him. He couldn’t believe he had done all these terrible things. What else could it be? As he was being loaded into the ambulance he tried talking to his parents but that seemed to now be a relationship broken forever. How could he blame them after all it looked like he had just killed their daughter?
Just as the doors to the ambulance were being closed the last thing Jake saw was Courtney’s cat in his mothers arm. What he saw last was the answer to his fears even though he new it wouldn’t help his case. There was no doubt in jakes mind that the cat smirked and blinked at him just before the doors closed on his freedom forever.

Dale Mazurek

Write Your Novel Step By Step (Part 7)

2007-03-05T10:12:00.000-08:00

This is going to be the seventh excerpt on writing your novel. I am going to try and put these editions out as quickly as I can but that is only when time allows. I love writing and that is what I am doing all the time. Am I a good writer? I don’t know. What I do know is that I am getting to be a better writer with every word I put on paper and you too can become a good writer. To write your novel just follow these steps that I am laying out and at the end you will have something that at least you are proud of.

31. Don’t Confuse Your Reader

Make your decisions early and stick with them. If you don’t your firstly going to confuse your reader and secondly your going to lose your reader. Changing point of views half way through the story could and probably would be a disaster. This way to the reader gets early clarification of how the story is going to run and gets no surprises later on.

32. Don’t Be Scared To Write

This is huge. You have to learn to write all the time. For most of you writing your novel isn’t your full time career so you have to take advantage of any spare time you get. Make sure you always have your notepad with you. During lunch you can write. If you’re waiting for a meeting to start go ahead and write. Just anytime you have a spare moment go ahead and write. 15 minutes here and there might not seem like much but you would be surprised at how many pages it results in.

33. What’s Next

You have to keep the readers wanting more. So one of the biggest parts of your fiction novel is suspense. The readers always want more so keep your book suspenseful and keep the suspense exciting. Always be leading up to something. You have to get rid of the boring parts because I don’t know about you but as soon as a book gets boring I lose interest and probably never pick it up again. Maybe it gets good again later but once I'm gone I'm gone.

34. Silent Communication

Don’t forget to use body language in your novel. This can be a great way to describe characters. Let’s say you have a love scene. Well there really is no better way to describe a love scene other than body language. Oh sure you have to decide where the best place to use it is. How you do that is take your time to think out the scenes and decide if they could be made better with the use of body language.

35. Two Forms Of Writing

When I wrote my novel everything was done with pen and paper first. This is what I would suggest for you as well. Ya sure it may seem like it takes longer but I promise you when you are writing everything flows a whole lot smoother with pen and paper. You just write. You don’t worry about neatness or spell checking. Once your finished writing then by all means go ahead and start putting your work on the computer. Once again you can have a look at the small stuff like obvious spelling mistakes but just go ahead and type. This way you have already been through your story twice before you even start editing.

I know a lot of this seems like its going no where but trust me I write this from experience. Writing a book is no easy task. I wish someone would have helped me out like this when I first started writing. I will tell you one thing. Now this relates to me and it could to you but you have to want it to. No matter how hard the writing got I never disliked it. I still love writing and maybe this is a pipe dream but I hope to be able to retire and live totally off the money I earn from writing. Okay this is the end of lesson 7. I hope you are enjoying it so far. I also hope you are taking advantage of the opportunity to print this out because if all goes well I will make this into an e book so take advantage of it free.

Dale Mazurek

Dale is presently in the process of getting his first novel published. He has also started dabbling in short stories. You can find some of these on his blog at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ and lastly he deals a little in the affiliate marketing gig which can be checked out at http://affiliatemarketingfornewbies.blogspot.com/

In writing my novel I learnt a lot of things the hard way so I just wanted to put this series out there for would be writers to help them on their path to writing their own book.

Write Your Novel Step By Step (Part 6)

2007-03-05T07:32:00.000-08:00

This is going to be the sixth excerpt on writing your novel. I am going to try and put these editions out as quickly as I can but that is only when time allows. I love writing and that is what I am doing all the time. Am I a good writer? I don’t know. What I do know is that I am getting to be a better writer with every word I put on paper and you too can become a good writer. To write your novel just follow these steps that I am laying out and at the end you will have something that at least you are proud of.

26. Writing Goals

This is a very important decision in writing your novel. You have to set a goal for your self. How much are you going to write everyday? I don’t care if your goal is one page or fifteen but let’s make sure we make it realistic. Some days you may only write half a page and other days you may write ten or fifteen. When I am working on my novel my goal is about 5 pages a day. Again this isn’t set in stone. It’s not like you are going to go to writer’s hell if you don’t write enough but it is nice to get on a schedule and try and stay there the best you can.

27. Get Things Straight

Okay even though your novel is fiction you’re going to quickly turn readers off if your facts are wrong. Like don’t say a little town called Great Falls in New York when we all know clearly that Great Falls is in Montana. It’s so easy these days to keep your facts straight with a little bit of research. There are so many options available to you and for the most part they are free. Firstly you have the internet where you can find just about anything you need but for the more conservative person you can probably find anything you need at the public library. I can’t stress how important it is for you to keep your reader reading by getting things straight.

28. Make Sure Your Reader Is In The Story

So so important that your reader knows who is talking in the story. Dialogue will help keep your story moving forward and strong. If the reader feels like he is in the middle of the action he is going to want to be there the entire time. Don’t talk too much about what is going to happen in the future but instead let it happen and your reader will fall right into it.

29. Use Yourself

Here's a little character trick. Who do you know better than anyone else in the world? Of course the answer to that question is you. So why not make yourself the main character in your book. Use one of the pages in your scribbler to describe yourself. Get very detailed. Write down your hair color, eye color, your weight, favorite television shows and everything you can think of. Make sure you write down all your good and bad habits as well.

30. You Can Do It

I just want you to know that there is no doubt in my mind that you can write your novel. I also want you to stop thinking that you can’t write it either. The only person that is going to stop you is yourself. Oh sure some people may write quicker or slower and some people may write a little better or worse but we will get into editing later. All you have to do to make sure you complete this project is to make a commitment to yourself. So go look in a mirror and promise yourself that no matter how long it takes you are going to finish your book.

I know a lot of this seems like its going no where but trust me I write this from experience. Writing a book is no easy task. I wish someone would have helped me out like this when I first started writing. I will tell you one thing. Now this relates to me and it could to you but you have to want it to. No matter how hard the writing got I never disliked it. I still love writing and maybe this is a pipe dream but I hope to be able to retire and live totally off the money I earn from writing. Okay this is the end of lesson 6. I hope you are enjoying it so far. I also hope you are taking advantage of the opportunity to print this out because if all goes well I will make this into an e book so take advantage of it free.

Dale Mazurek

Dale is presently in the process of getting his first novel published. He has also started dabbling in short stories. You can find some of these on his blog at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ and lastly he deals a little in the affiliate marketing gig which can be checked out at http://affiliatemarketingfornewbies.blogspot.com/

In writing my novel I learnt a lot of things the hard way so I just wanted to put this series out there for would be writers to help them on their path to writing their own book.

Write Your Novel Step By Step (Part 5)

2007-03-04T12:52:00.000-08:00

This is going to be the fifth excerpt on writing your novel. I am going to try and put these editions out as quickly as I can but that is only when time allows. I love writing and that is what I am doing all the time. Am I a good writer? I don’t know. What I do know is that I am getting to be a better writer with every word I put on paper and you too can become a good writer. To write your novel just follow these steps that I am laying out and at the end you will have something that at least you are proud of.

21. Rough, Rough Draft

Get one blank page out of your character scribbler and write your entire story on it. I want you to write the first paragraph, the last one and then the entire body of your story in between. Obviously as an author this may sound dumb but it gives you a very brief outline of what you’re writing about and it’s kind of cool to look back at it later and see how the two actually compare.

22. Know Where Your Going

Do not and I mean Do Not start writing yet. First you have to make sure you are absolutely clear about your characters. You need to know their roles and know who they are and you absolutely have to make sure it is written down in your scribbler. Trust me when I say you can’t just start a story and let the characters write it for you. Only a select few writers can get away with this. I know, I tried and failed miserably.

23. Decorate Your Writing Room

Okay now all those pages in the scribbler that you filled. I want you to take them all out and hang them on the walls. I don’t care where you’re writing this is an absolute must. You can’t just put them in a drawer. You need to be able to refer to them at a glance.

24. Get Serious

Now I want you to sit down, rack your brain and write your first paragraph. I want you to take your time with this. I want the paragraph written just as it is going to stay in the story. Eventually you are going to edit a lot of parts in your story but I never want this first paragraph edited. Your entire novel is going to hang on this. So I don’t care if it takes you all day and night to write that first paragraph.

25. Your Map

Now you have a map of where you want to be. Your characters are built. The commitment is made. You have a strong starting paragraph. You have outlined the story. You have built direction for yourself. All of your tools are ready for quick use. Now all you have to do is write your novel.

I know a lot of this seems like its going no where but trust me I write this from experience. Writing a book is no easy task. I wish someone would have helped me out like this when I first started writing. I will tell you one thing. Now this relates to me and it could to you but you have to want it to. No matter how hard the writing got I never disliked it. I still love writing and maybe this is a pipe dream but I hope to be able to retire and live totally off the money I earn from writing. Okay this is the end of lesson 5. I hope you are enjoying it so far. I also hope you are taking advantage of the opportunity to print this out because if all goes well I will make this into an e book so take advantage of it free.

Dale Mazurek

Dale is presently in the process of getting his first novel published. He has also started dabbling in short stories. You can find some of these on his blog at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ And lastly he deals a little in the affiliate marketing gig which can be checked out at http://affiliatemarketingfornewbies.blogspot.com/ or http://stcajo.netsalaries.com

In writing my novel I learnt a lot of things the hard way so I just wanted to put this series out there for would be writers to help them on their path to writing their own book.

GREED

2007-03-03T16:10:00.000-08:00

Jake was devastated at his grandmothers funeral. He and granny were always very close. She did live a good life. Granny was 93 when she died and the only cause of death was heart failure due to old age. The other thing Jake knew was that granny was loaded and she had promised him a very generous gift at her death. So when he was asked to attend the reading of her will he was obviously excited as any one of us would have been. Jake was very careful not to show his enthusiasm. Whether people liked it or not Jake truly did love his granny and he truly wished she were still alive. Never the less she wasn’t still alive so why shouldn’t he be excited about the promise that his granny made to him.
At the reading there were a number of relatives present. They were all getting small things like furniture, arts, crafts and some even got some small amounts of money. Finally the lawyer got to Jake and it was everything he could do to hide his enthusiasm. About two minutes later the joyous enthusiasm turned into a very quiet lonely anger. The lawyer read out that granny left the most important gift to her grandson Jake. This was her treasured bible. He told her that granny was quite adamant that this book was her most prized possession. The bible was about 80 years old and Jake knew that granny had probably read it from cover to cover a number of times. However Jake knew that he wouldn’t be following in grannies footsteps. He knew he would never read the bible. Jake left the lawyers office with a smile on his face but extreme anger in his heart. When he got home he threw the bible in the bottom of his closet and that’s where it sat forgotten about until about 3 months later.
Jake got home from school to find that a water line had busted in the house and pretty much formed a river running right through his bedroom using his closet as a dam. When he opened the closet a ton of water came flooding out along with all kinds of ruined possessions of his. Along with those possessions was the bible that his grandmother had given to him upon her death. At first glance he didn’t think anything of the bible. He started picking through his stuff to see if there was anything salvageable. When he got to the bible he was about to throw it in the garbage when something caught his eye. There was a piece of paper sticking out of the middle of the water logged pages. Jake pulled the paper out and was surprised to see that it was completely legible. The water had not ruined it like it did everything else. The pages in the bible were all turned to mush. Jake realized that the paper was a letter from his granny. He sat on the bed to read it.

Dear Jake:
Hi there sweetie. Well if you’re reading this letter then obviously I have died. First of all I would like to say thank you for always being there for me. You didn’t wait until I was sick to visit me like an obligation or something. I promised you a special reward at my death and this letter will explain to you how to retrieve it. There are a number of clues throughout the bible. You have to put the clues together and after that you will be able to retrieve your reward. Jake I want you to know that this book was my most prized possession. I promise that once you get all the clues it will be very easy to figure out the riddle and then you can collect your reward. Jake the reward is what’s left of my estate which is a total of 3 million dollars. I would in no way be happier knowing that you got the money and that you are enjoying it. However Jake there is one catch to this and that is you have to claim the money in 60 days or it will be forever lost to you. In the event you do not claim the funds I have set it up so that the funds are evenly distributed among the homeless in our country. So Jake the final words you will see from me are I hope you enjoy, thank you and I love you.
Signed: Granny

Jake opened up the bible and saw that there was barely a legible word left in the book. It wouldn’t have mattered if there was because granny had been dead for over three months now and the dead line was sixty days.
Jake just started laughing. He remembered how pissed off he was. Now in retrospect he realized exactly how greedy he was. He also realized that the biggest rewards could come in the most unusual packages. He couldn’t stop laughing as he walked out of his bedroom tossing the ruined bible into the garbage can on his way out

Dale Mazurek

Dale is aspiring to make a living totally on line. His passion is writing. You can find some of his stories at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ He also blogs about online fundamentals and you can find that at http://affiliatemarketingfornewbies.blogspot.com/
And lastly have a look at his program. http://stcajo.netsalaries.com

Write Your Novel Step By Step (Part 4)

2007-03-03T12:13:00.000-08:00

This is going to be the third excerpt on writing your novel. I am going to try and put these editions out as quickly as I can but that is only when time allows. I love writing and that is what I am doing all the time. Am I a good writer? I don’t know. What I do know is that I am getting to be a better writer with every word I put on paper and you too can become a good writer. To write your novel just follow these steps that I am laying out and at the end you will have something that at least you are proud of.

16. Believability

It doesn’t matter if your character is evil or good. What does matter is that your reader believes he is real. When I write I make believe I am the character, I talk out loud and I take my time to imagine what he is doing next. Your characters actions will define his purpose. Your story is going to be a lot harder to believe if you have way too many characters. Some authors can pull it off but not a lot. So you are better off having a few characters of which you can make your audience focus on.

17. Your Best Friend.

A writer’s biggest challenge is developing a protagonist that is consistent through out the entire story. You have to remember this is your main character. Basically your story lives or dies off the actions of your protagonist. If your reader doesn’t care about the protagonist then he isn’t even going to make it from cover to cover.

18. Character Development

You have to figure out who you need for characters. You have to figure out what these characters are going to mean to one another. In some stories the characters love one another and in others they hate each other. You have to ask yourself what your readers want. Sometimes you have difficult choices to make. For example a character that you and your readers are in love with might have to be killed off to make the story take that next leap. Don’t get stuck on your decisions because if you do then that is where your story will end. Sometimes you have to be hard but that’s part of the business. I would recommend trying a few different things with your character. However don’t go with your heart. In this case you have to go with what you know is going to work. It’s your chance to play devils advocate so take the chance and run with it.

19. “Why”

As you get further into your novel you’re going to have quite a character built. You’re going to have the pages on your scribbler just filled with different points to your character. By now you should even know your characters shoe size and what color underwear they like to wear. Always ask the question why of your character. Secondly what’s even more important than that is answering it in your scribbler.

20. Be You

So many new writers like to try and make themselves sound like some one else. My favorite writer is Stephen King and I enjoy writing the same genre as he does but I can guarantee the two of us don’t sound anything alike. When I write I talk it out. What I am trying to say is I write out loud. Some of your work is going to get very ugly and awkward but you can deal with that later. So make sure you develop your own style and your own voice.

Okay this is the end of my fourth lesson on my step by step series on how to write a novel. Remember not everyone is going to write the perfect novel but at the end of the day if you keep following these steps I guarantee no matter what you will have something that you are proud of.

Dale Mazurek

Dale is presently in the process of getting his first novel published. He has also started dabbling in short stories. You can find some of these on his blog at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ And lastly he deals a little in the affiliate marketing gig which can be checked out at http://www.7dayebook.com/?hop=stcajo orhttp://stcajo.profitlan.hop.clickbank.net You can also contact him at stcajo2011@yahoo for any info on his writing or products.

In writing my novel I learnt a lot of things the hard way so I just wanted to put this series out there for would be writers to help them on their path to writing their own book.

2007-03-02T17:08:00.001-08:00

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2007-03-02T17:07:00.001-08:00

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Write Your Novel Step By Step (Part 3)

2007-03-02T09:22:00.000-08:00

This is going to be the third excerpt on writing your novel. I am going to try and put these editions out as quickly as I can but that is only when time allows. I love writing and that is what I am doing all the time. Am I a good writer? I don’t know. What I do know is that I am getting to be a better writer with every word I put on paper and you too can become a good writer. To write your novel just follow these steps that I am laying out and at the end you will have something that at least you are proud of.

11. What You Know To Start

When you first start your book it’s important to write about things that you are familiar with. Places that you have lived at, worked at or just visited. Things that you know a little bit about. Maybe you work in the oil path so you want your story to be on a rig. Lastly maybe you know some interesting people that you could use some of their traits to build an exciting character.

12. Characters First

Since your characters are harder to develop you should work on them first. Remember your readers are going to want characters that come to life. Another thing is that your character can’t really change half way through the story. Look at your character kind of like a snowball. He starts off small and eventually becomes big. The plot could change in your story half way through but not your character.

13. Know Your Characters

When you’re done with this exercise you will know your characters intimately. Choose a couple of females, a couple of males and some kids and start building your characters. I use a loose leaf book and use one page per character. You want to build your characters traits. What do they look like? Are they fat, skinny, tall, short, what color are their hair and eyes? Maybe they are bald. Do they have hobbies? What do they like to eat? Are they normal or do they have a sick or sadistic side to them? It doesn’t matter if these are main characters or small part characters. By giving them a life of their own it will help your readers relate to them.

14. Formula

You are going to want to build yourself some sort of formula for a story. Let’s say your writing about a fictional serial killer. You’re going to want to decide how many people he will kill. Will these people be female or male? Will he kill during the day or night? What happens if you run into problems with your story? For me when I was writing my serial killer novel and I ran into a road block I just killed someone else. By that time I was usually past my road block.

15. Plot And Characters

Now that you have your characters built you can start building your plot around them. You already know what you want to write about but you have to make sure that your characters and plot don’t go in the opposite direction. The characters and plot have to move to the ultimate finish together.

Okay this is the end of my second lesson on my step by step series on how to write a novel. Remember not everyone is going to write the perfect novel but at the end of the day if you keep following these steps I guarantee no matter what you will have something that you are proud of.

Dale Mazurek

Dale is presently in the process of getting his first novel published. He has also started dabbling in short stories. You can find some of these on his blog at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ And lastly he deals a little in the affiliate marketing gig which can be checked out at http://www.7dayebook.com/?hop=stcajo orhttp://stcajo.profitlan.hop.clickbank.net You can also contact him at stcajo2011@yahoo for any info on his writing or products.

In writing my novel I learnt a lot of things the hard way so I just wanted to put this series out there for would be writers to help them on their path to writing their own book.

2007-03-02T06:34:00.000-08:00

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2007-03-01T21:32:00.001-08:00

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Find It If You Can

2007-03-01T12:44:00.000-08:00

It was a typical Saturday night in Bradonville. A town of about 5000 people but 60 percent of them being senior citizens, 25 percent adults and the rest being children under 18. So what was there to do on a Saturday night for two underage teenagers? Well one option is to go find a bush party somewhere but Jake and Dallas didn’t feel like partying so they would go with option B for the night. That option was to drive around and try to not get into too much trouble even though they planned on pushing the limits. The boys actually had a plan and the more they talked about it the more they laughed.
The boys were in Jakes 89 Dodge Ram. Even though old the truck was perfectly kept and maintained. The night was still young and Jake and Dallas were just driving around looking at stuff. Women or other teenage girls were what they were mostly looking at. You have to understand in a small town like this pretty much every body knows everybody else. It was definitely a quiet night in Bradonville.
At around ten o’clock their first opportunity came up to have some fun. They pulled up behind a police car at one of the two sets of lights in town. The boys decided to have some fun with this. When the light turned green the boys followed the cop car. They stayed a safe distance behind and didn’t do anything illegal. The boys could tell that the cop was getting frustrated. He started taking some pretty tricky routes but some how the boys managed to keep up to the cop. Finally the cop turned on his flashers signaling for the boys to stop. They did and waited for the cop to walk over to the truck. Of course he questioned them on their tactics. The boys said they were just trying to have some Saturday night fun. The cop was actually pretty nice. He explained that what they were doing wasn’t illegal but rather annoying. He asked the boys to stop. They didn’t want to push their luck so they agreed.
About two hours later the boys came across their second opportunity to raise a little hell with out getting into trouble. They were driving around and heard through the grapevine that there was a stop check by the Homesteader Hotel. They stopped at the 7-11 and bought some glasses and orange juice and out it on the seat between them. So now the boys headed towards the check stop but before reaching it they took a little detour. The boys went down a side road and stopped at the rail way tracks, got out of the truck for a minute and then got back in and headed towards the check stop. As the boys were driving through an officer waved them in to be checked. He shone the light in and saw the juice and glasses but it was also pretty obvious that the boys hadn’t been drinking. The cop did ask them why they stopped at the tracks because you could see them from the check stop. They only replied that they had to go to the washroom. So he told them to move on.
The first thing the boys did was to drive back to the tracks. They got out of the truck again for a few seconds and then headed down the hiway. It wasn’t even 2 minutes when they saw flashers behind them. They were being pulled over. This was actually what they had expected to happen. So Jake and Dallas pulled over and waited. It was actually pretty exciting because it wasn’t just one cop but rather two cop cars were pulling them over. Of course all the questions came up especially the one asking them what they needed the orange juice and glasses for. All they told the cops was that it was for drinking. Well the next two hours was spent sitting in the ditch while the cops went through the truck with a fine tooth comb and of course they didn’t find anything. The guys did notice that the cops were annoyed but they just thought it was hilarious. The cops told them they were free to go but they also warned them to be careful.
The rest of the night wasn’t without its events either. By the time Jake and Dallas went home for the night they had been pulled over a total of seven times and got no tickets. They did however annoy a lot of cops and were even accused of wasting tax payer’s money by playing their little games. The next weekend they decided not to press their luck and went back to going out to the bush parties. However they would always remember that Saturday night as one of the best Saturdays ever.

Dale Mazurek

Dale is presently in the process of getting his first novel published. He has also started dabbling in short stories. You can find some of these on his blog at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ And lastly he deals a little in the affiliate marketing gig which can be checked out at http://www.7dayebook.com/?hop=stcajo orhttp://stcajo.profitlan.hop.clickbank.net You can also contact him at stcajo2011@yahoo for any info on his writing or products.

Write Your Novel Step By Step (Part 2)

2007-03-01T12:42:00.000-08:00

This is going to be the second excerpt on writing your novel. I am going to try and put these editions out as quickly as I can but that is only when time allows. I love writing and that is what I am doing all the time. Am I a good writer? I don’t know. What I do know is that I am getting to be a better writer with every word I put on paper and you too can become a good writer. To write your novel just follow these steps that I am laying out and at the end you will have something that at least you are proud of.

6. Map Your Story

Take one of your favorite novels and analyze it. Tear it apart piece by piece. See what the author did to achieve his success. Make notes and make blue prints. If you have an office then pin them up in there if you don’t then pin them up where ever you’re going to be writing your novel. You can then go back and use this author’s ways as a stepping stone.

7. Think Small

Way too many first time writers think they are going to write the end of the world novel. Your story can be small and focused and it will be just as successful. Make sure what ever you are writing about has meaning to you. If you relate that on paper then the people that are reading it will get the same meaning out of it.

8. Be Original

Even though your blue print might be from another author try some things your self. Remember this blue print is just a guide. It can be easily swayed from or changed. Keep trying different things until you find the thing that works for you. You might be surprised at what you come up with.

9. It Doesn’t Matter If It Belongs, Write It

Just write. If it doesn’t look like it belongs there then so what. Pin that up in your office to. You obviously had a reason for writing it and it may fit somewhere else in your book. And on the off chance it never makes it in to your story than so what maybe it will make it in to the next one. What I am saying is don’t throw stuff away.

10. You Don’t Have To Know To Love

While we are still on the subject of picking a topic for your book I want you to be able to differentiate over something. To write a book you don’t have to be an expert. You have to love what you are writing about. The expertise comes in the form of research. Remember passion will get your words out better than knowing. You’re writing a novel not a technical book. You may be in enthralled with WW1 but know nothing about it. That’s great because you will do some research, learn and write a pasionate novel.
Okay this is the end of my second lesson on my step by step series on how to write a novel. Remember not everyone is going to write the perfect novel but at the end of the day if you keep following these steps I guarantee no matter what you will have something that you are proud of.

Dale Mazurek

Dale is presently in the process of getting his first novel published. He has also started dabbling in short stories. You can find some of these on his blog at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ And lastly he deals a little in the affiliate marketing gig which can be checked out at http://www.7dayebook.com/?hop=stcajo orhttp://stcajo.profitlan.hop.clickbank.net You can also contact him at stcajo2011@yahoo for any info on his writing or products.

In writing my novel I learnt a lot of things the hard way so I just wanted to put this series out there for would be writers to help them on their path to writing their own book.

Write Your Novel Step By Step (Part 1)

2007-02-28T12:29:00.000-08:00

In the following weeks I will be giving each and everyone of you a step by step series on how to write your novel. I am going to break it up into a number of series with each series having about 5 steps in each one. This is entirely free to you. I could easily make it into an e-book but I won’t for a couple of reasons. Firstly my passion is writing. There is nothing more I like to do than write. Secondly in return I just ask that you have a look at my websites that will be listed at the bottom. Feel free to direct your friends and family to have a look at this as well. I am not promising you are going to write the all American novel but you have to love writing before you can make money at it. It took me a long time to make any money at my writing and I still don’t make enough to pay the bills but there is nothing I would rather be doing. Well enough with that and let’s get down to business.

1. Commitment

Firstly and most importantly in your endeavor to write your first novel it is all so important to make a commitment. This isn’t to your friends or family but rather to you. So what I want you to do is look in the mirror and tell yourself that no matter how rough this gets you are going to carry on and get this finished. Without this commitment you may as well stop reading and forget you ever found this. So the commitment I want you to make is that you are going to write. You’re writing your first novel and that makes you a writer and writers write so that gets you through step one.

2. Set A Schedule

This is probably where most writers fail. They procrastinate, get a good start, get bored and forget they even started. All writers have different schedules, but the one thing they do have in common is that they have a schedule. I personally don’t have a schedule written in stone because of the work I do on my other job. You can never plan your day. However this is what I do. I commit to getting up an hour early every morning and that is for writing. Before bed I commit to an hour of writing. So all I can commit to in a day is 2 hours. That time is only dedicated to my writing and you would be surprised at how much I get done if I can only utilize those two hours. But a lot of times my other job allows me time for writing and without a word of a lie some days I get 14 hours of writing time in. So be realistic in setting your schedule and understand that sometimes you may have to sway from it but also remember a lot of writers fail because they set their schedule and then they don’t follow through with it.

3. Decisions Decisions

Ok now the time has come for you to decide what you are going to write about. Now is the time to stop procrastinating and get to work. Of course you’re not going to know every detail and concept that you want to put into your book but at least you’re going to get the wheels rolling. The time has come to quit talking about writing a book. Now the time has come to plan it and write it.

4. What Are You Going To Write About?

Now you have to decide what you are going to write about. I suggest a topic that really gets you going. My utmost favorite author in the world is Stephen King. When I pick up one of his books I just can’t put the thing down. So of course you have probably figured out what my books are based on. Maybe you like science fiction or a good murder mystery. It doesn’t matter what you write about but it makes it easier if you can put passion into the story.

5. Don’t Be A Bore

I don’t care what you write about. Hell it could even be needle point but you have to make sure you are not boring to your reader. The only real hard fast rule is that your stories have to be interesting. You can have all the drama and excitement that you want but if you don’t make it interesting it’s going to flop.

Okay this is the end of my first lesson on my step by step series on how to write a novel. Remember not everyone is going to write the perfect novel but at the end of the day if you keep following these steps I guarantee no matter what you will have something that you are proud of.

Dale Mazurek

Dale is presently in the process of getting his first novel published. He has also started dabbling in short stories. You can find some of these on his blog at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ And lastly he deals a little in the affiliate marketing gig which can be checked out at http://www.7dayebook.com/?hop=stcajo orhttp://stcajo.profitlan.hop.clickbank.net You can also contact him at stcajo2011@yahoo for any info on his writing or products.

In writing my novel I learnt a lot of things the hard way so I just wanted to put this series out there for would be writers to help them on their path to writing their own book.

Don’t Let The Past Come Back To Haunt You

2007-02-27T12:15:00.000-08:00

Jake was walking around his new house. It wasn’t actually a new house and it really wasn’t that new to him. This was the house that he grew up in for the first twenty years of his life before he moved out on his own. It was now twenty years later and about a month earlier his parents were killed in a horrible car accident that involved a drunk driver running into their car killing them instantly. Of course the drunk walked away with out barely a scratch but that’s a story for another time. So now Jake had acquired his parent’s house through their will.
So Jake was walking around the house wondering what he was going to do with it. He and his wife already had a house of their own about 300 kilometers away where their jobs were so moving into it really wasn’t an option they could even think about. Jake knew he had two options. One was to rent the place out and the second was to sell. One thing he knew for sure was that no matter which option he chose the house needed to be fixed up a little. He needed to modernize it a bit. The contractor that Jake wanted to hire was suppose to be over any second to go through with Jake what he wanted to do then the contractor could give him an estimate and they could get started. The sooner the work got done then that was when Jake could go ahead and start making some money off the property.
4 hours later Jake and the contractor had finished their walk through and the estimate came in at around 20000dollars. This was a number that Jake definitely thought to be fair considering the amount of work he wanted done. There were rooms that some walls were going to be torn out of, lots of paint and tiles were going to go in and of course the job required a lot of labor. The contractor agreed to get a start on the job the following morning. Jake told him that he would be around town for about three days so he would come by and see how things were going before he left town.
The following morning Jake was startled by his cell phone ringing. He was already uptown and wasn’t expecting any calls. When he answered the phone he knew there was a problem. It was the contractor and you could hear the terror in his voice as he was telling Jake that he should get to the house immediately. When Jake asked him what the problem was he refused to talk about it on the phone. Jake jumped in his jeep and hurried over to the house.
Once there he was barely in the door when his contractor grabbed him by the arm and started dragging him upstairs just like a kid would when trying to show his parents something that they would consider disturbing or scary. Jake had no clue as to what was going on but he was pretty sure it was dam important. Jake walked into the room and the contractor pointed at something that almost made Jake faint.
There in one of the walls that had been started to be ripped apart was a skeleton. The reason Jake almost fainted was because he knew exactly whose skeleton it was and he had forgot about it after all these years but now it was all coming back like it was yesterday. Jake had been 17 years old when he put the body inside the wall. Jake had a relationship with a girl 14 years old and her father found out. So one day the father came over looking for jakes parents. He was bound and determined to have Jake charged with rape. Well Jakes parents weren’t home and he was bound and determined to not be charged with rape. The man was yelling at Jake and throwing all kinds of insults at him when Jake felt himself just snap. He grabbed the first thing he could find which just happened to be a cowboy boot and he beat the man to death. It was only after he had done what he did that he realized it. Jake was so determined to not be charged with rape that he didn’t even think of murder.
Jake had no idea what he was going to do but he knew he didn’t want to go to jail. He came up with a very quick plan which turned out to be fool proof until now some 23 years later. Jake dragged the body upstairs to the spare room that he was working on for his dad. He wrapped the body in about 30 layers of poly, stuck it in the wall and put dry wall over it.
For the next six months everybody was looking for this man. Jake had been questioned 3 times but he stuck to his story each time. Then after about six months everything seemed to quiet down and no one was searching any more. After about two years Jake had blocked the whole thing out of his mind until this very moment when everything was brought back to the surface.
The contractor was absolutely freaked out but he put the fear in Jake when he told him he had to report this. Jake knew he had to be calm but he also knew that there was no way this was going to get reported. Jake looked around and saw the same boot that he used in the first murder laying beside the skeleton in the wall. He reached down and picked it up. His contractor started freaking out because he figured Jake shouldn’t be touching anything. He barely got his second sentence out when Jake leveled him with the same boot he used for murder 23 years ago.
Jake spent the next two days fixing up the wall with the skeleton and now with the new body behind it. This little turn of events also helped him make his decision on renting or selling. He wanted nothing to do with the place so as he was driving away he called a realtor in town and asker her to handle the sale. He asked her to just give him a call and they could do all the signing by fax. This time when Jake drove away he was pretty sure he would never be back.

Dale Mazurek

Dale is aspiring to make a living totally on line. His passion is writing. You can find some of his stories at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ He also blogs about online fundamentals and you can find that at http://affiliatemarketingfornewbies.blogspot.com/
And lastly have a look at his program. http://stcajo.netsalaries.com
You can also email me at stcajo2009@yahoo.ca

DEAD BEAT PARENTS

2007-02-27T12:10:00.000-08:00

Jake was sick of forever looking for food in his house. It’s not like there was no money. But it was also not the opposite meaning that his parents weren’t rich either. He decided that it was time to approach his parents about actually being better parents. It kind of sucked that tonight he was eating toast with peanut butter and jam and good old mommy and daddy just came home with new runners last night. Two pairs of running shoes cost them 400 dollars. Jake was no whiz but after all it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that they could have bought a lot cheaper shoes and then come home with some groceries. It wasn’t just groceries either. His clothes were all from value village while his dad had bought 13 new pairs of jeans in the last three weeks. He never bought a pair of jeans that was worth less than 50 dollars. Jake had seen enough and it was time to speak up and he decided he would do it as soon as they got home from work tonight.
At around five thirty his parents both walked in. “Can we talk?” Jake asked both of his parents.
“Sure son. What’s on your mind?” His dad answered.
Jake was hesitant but he knew that if he didn’t get this out now he probably never would. “You guys have to promise not to get all pissed at me when I bring this up.” Neither one of his parents said a word so he continued. “You know for supper tonight I had toast with peanut butter and jam on it.”
“Your point.” Jakes dad replied.
“Well it would be cool if maybe we could get some groceries in the house.” Jake knew the wrath of his parents were about to be imploded on him but he said what needed to be said.
“You have got to be kidding me. Your mom and I work our asses off and this is the thanks that we get. You ungrateful little puke. You should be happy you got that for supper. Do you realize how many kids there are out there that go without.” Jakes dad was fuming now while his mom just sat there not saying anything which usually wasn’t a good thing but Jake promised himself he wasn’t going to back down.
“What do you mean I have to be kidding? Where did you guys go for supper tonight?”
“That’s none of your business.” Jake could see the anger in his moms face when she answered him.
“What do you mean its none of my business? Do you guys realize I haven’t had a new article of clothing other than socks and underwear in probably five years? It’s been at least two years since I had a meal cooked by one of you guys. I never get to go out for supper with you. My school fees aren’t paid but yet you guys can have everything. I just want to know why we can’t have a little more groceries around here?” Jake could feel the anger building inside him. He didn’t like what he was feeling. It was scaring him but he decided that he had to do what he had to do.
Now it was time for his mom to lose her temper. “You are the sorriest thing for a kid that I have ever met. Do you have any clue how hard we work to get the things that we do. How much we spend on our stuff is none of your business and it never will be. You should be happy you have the clothes that you do have. And further more you don’t look like you’re starving. When you can pay your own way you can buy your own clothe and then maybe you can come out for supper with us but I doubt it. As for your school fees why don’t you get a job and pay for them. It’s not us going to school.”
Jake had heard enough and he was furious. He wasn’t going to talk anymore. The time had come. It was time to take action. First thing he did was walk over to the door and grab a baseball bat. He walked over to his dad and swung so hard that he was dead before he hit the floor. So of course his mother started screaming. Jake didn’t want to hear her voice any more. He saw her 200 dollar shoes sitting by the door so he grabbed one and shoved it down her throat until she couldn’t breathe. It was about two minutes total and both problems in his life were eliminated.
Jake just sat on the couch while he waited for the police to show up. He wasn’t going to try and explain anything. He wasn’t going to try and plead insanity. He was just glad that he was going to go to a place where he would get fed proper food, where newer clothes and there would be someone to watch over him all the time.

Dale is aspiring to make a living totally on line. His passion is writing. You can find some of his stories at http://stcajo-readshortstories.blogspot.com/ He also blogs about online fundamentals and you can find that at http://affiliatemarketingfornewbies.blogspot.com/
And lastly have a look at his program. http://stcajo.netsalaries.com
You can also email me at stcajo2009@yahoo.ca

DANNY IS DEAD

2007-02-25T11:50:00.000-08:00

Jake was out of his mind. It has been 3 months since his brother was killed in a car crash than involved a drunk driver in the other vehicle. Danny was not only Jakes brother but he was also his best friend. The two were less than a year apart in age with Danny being older. Jake looked up to Danny and always went to him for approval or to share secrets whether they were good or bad. Jake just couldn’t accept the fact that he could never see or talk to his brother again. He decided there was something he could do about it. Jake decided to stop being only Jake and decided he would be both himself and his dead brother. After all who knew Danny better than Jake?
So for everyone around Jake the next few weeks would turn out to be very freaky and very scary for some that were closely involved. It all started when Jake showed up in his brothers classes at school. He imitated Danny perfectly. Even though everyone around him knew this was some screwed up shit no one wanted to say anything fearing there would be retribution. After all if someone was capable of this lunacy then who knew what else he could do. However behind the scenes there was some action being taken to try and get Jake the help he needed.
One day as Jakes mom was walking past her son’s room she heard him having a conversation with somebody. To her this was odd because she knew no one had come home with Jake and she was pretty sure no one came after that. She listened in and was shocked at what she heard. Her son was having a conversation with him acting as both people in the conversation. She was so shocked that she couldn’t even remember what the conversation was about. Instead of interrupting her son she decided that she would wait and tell her husband about it. Her husband told her to just leave it alone. He was sure it was just Jakes way of dealing with the death of his brother.
A couple more weeks went by and things sure didn’t get any better in fact they got considerably worse. Jake as Danny was trying to go out with his dead brother’s girl friend. He was kicked out of school. The explanation his parents were getting was that they had to get this straightened out because Jake was starting to scare the hell out of people. In fact to most people it looked like Jake was slowly disappearing and Danny was taking over. So finally his parents decided to seek professional help. As the days went on some days were majority Jake others were mostly Danny and yet others were equally both. The help wasn’t working. Jakes parents were getting no sleep because they were worried about the mental state of their son.
Jakes father had an idea. You have to remember jakes dad was a carpenter so he had no experience in the human mind or how it worked but what he did have was a very strong love for his son. He decided that he and his wife would take Jake and they would go and visit Danny’s grave. Their hopes were that this would be very direct and hopefully Jake would snap out of his trance and maybe just maybe life could start getting back to normal. But little did they know was that this tactic would back fire so bad that it would forever change their lives.
The day came to go to Danny’s grave. Jakes parents were very nervous. They new there was a chance that things could go wrong today but in no way were they ever prepared for how things would spiral out of control. It took only a matter of seconds after Jake reading the grave for things to turn for the worst.
Almost immediately Jake was gone from his brain and it was 100 percent Danny. He started yelling. He was asking them what kind of cruel joke this was. He was yelling for Jake. He wanted to see Jake but of course there was no one else around. Jake took off running. No one knew it yet but he was about to start a bout of mass destruction on anything or anybody that got in his way. He had only one mission and that was to find his brother. Anybody that got in his way that day didn’t know how lucky they were because Jake at this point didn’t care. He was willing to kill anybody if he had to. He had one mission and that was to find out who was in that grave. He had a clue that it was his brother but fir the life of him he couldn’t figure out why his parents would bury his brother and then put his name on the tomb stone.
Later that night armed with the tools he figured he would need he headed towards the graveyard. Even for him being in the state of mind he was in it was still scary entering a grave yard in the middle of the night. Jake firstly did whatever it took to destroy the tombstone with the name Danny on it. By the time he finished with the sledge hammer the grave marker was unrecognizable. Now it was time to see who was in this grave and see what kind of cruel joke this was.
It took Jake about 2 hours to get all the dirt off the top of the cement tomb. Now he had to figure out how he would get inside that. Well all he had was a sledge hammer so he figured it would have to do. Well now it was three hours later and he was using the same sledge hammer to get into the coffin. Now the locks were broken and it was time for Jake to come face to face with who ever was in the coffin.
You have to remember that at this point Jake was convinced that he was his older dead brother so when he saw the body in the coffin it looked like he was looking at himself. At first glance it was shock and then Jake went crazy. He started knocking over headstones, ripping out flowers and wrecking pretty much anything that was in his way. After about 10 minutes of this something weird happened. Jake started coming back and pushing Danny out of his mind.
We of course would think that this would be a good thing but as it turned out it was a very bad situation. The next day jakes parents came out to the graveyard where their son was buried because they got an early morning call that there was a problem with the grave. Once there the police detective explained sympathetically that their son’s grave had been seriously vandalized. He explained to them that they were pretty sure that the culprit was Jake. Now the big news came. The officer broke the news to them that Jake was found in the grave dead laying with his older brother. He was pretty sure that Jakes death was a result of suicide but he couldn’t confirm that until the boy was sent for an autopsy. The last thing he showed them was a letter that had on it only 3 words NO MORE CONFUSION.

Dale Mazurek
Dale does various opportunities on line including affiliate marketing, blogging and writing short stories. Interested in any of these then have a look.
http://affiliatemarketingfornewbies.blogspot.com/
http://stcajo.netsalaries.com

CREDIT, CREDIT EVERYWHERE

2007-02-25T11:47:00.000-08:00

Jake was in his kitchen with his credit cards out on the table. He had them split up into different piles with different names. Jake had been pulling this scam for a couple of years now and in all honesty he was quite sure that he had made a serious profit but now it was time to make all of these aliases disappear. It felt like he was starting to get greedy so his decision was to make all the made up names disappear for a few years and make sure there was no heat on him.
This all started about three years ago. It actually all happened by mistake. Jake was filling out a credit card application. While doing it he was thinking about his best friend for some reason and on the application he put his first name and his buddy’s last name with out even realizing it. About 6 weeks later a credit card came in the mail. When Jake opened it up he was surprised to see the name on the card. Jake was quick to call the card company and let them know what had happened. They were quick to ask him to send it back and they thanked him for his honesty.
Later that afternoon Jake was lying on the couch thinking about the credit card. He was also thinking about he was always struggling to make ends meet. Then like a light bulb in his head he had what he thought to be a brilliant idea. Jake immediately went downtown and rented a mailbox anonymously. He then headed to the library to use the internet to apply for a credit card under someone else’s name. He used the library computer so nothing could be traced back to his computer. After that all he could do was wait.
About five and a half weeks later he went to the rented mailbox and finally there was a piece of mail inside. Jake quickly opened it and inside was a credit card with a limit of 10000 dollars that couldn’t be traced back to him. The name on the front of the card was Brian Sonpe. Jake didn’t even know if there was really someone out there with that name but one thing he knew was that he was excited to go out and start spending and to make sure the card was going to work. Once uptown he was able to find out very quickly that he would have no problem with the card. Jake headed back to the library.
When he left the library this time he had applied for ten credit cards under ten different names. He then went out and continued spending on his new credit card. About 5 weeks later his card limit was met so he wanted some new credit cards. Within a week of running out of money on his card he had replies to all 10 of the applications that he had sent. Out of 10 he had 3 rejections and 7 new cards valued at 85000 dollars. Holy shit Jake was excited now.
Well the years went on and this seemed so easy. Jake was living the good life. He had probably wrecked a lot of people’s credit scores but he didn’t care. However lately he had started to have some weird feelings. So he decided that it was time to destroy his aliases, destroy all the cards, get back to his normal life and go on with his life with his normal name. He had lived a good life and was able to put money away so that he figured he could lay low for a couple of years and then he could start over again.
It was about three months later. Jake very rarely thought about his illegal doings. When he did think about it he thought about how he figured he was scott free but little did he know there was a lot of bad men closing in and catching up to him very quickly.
It was a Saturday afternoon when it all started. Jake was driving around down town in his charger when all of a sudden out of no where some guy in a black jacket walked out in front of his car, held a gun up. In a split second all of jakes credit card dealings came back to him in a split second. He had to make a quick decision and that was whether he should stop or keep driving , run this guy down and get the hell out of here because there was no doubt in his mind that they were on to him. The only thing confusing was the gun. He wasn’t sure how credit card companies dealt with delinquency but he felt like if he didn’t hurry up and get out of here he was going to find out really quick. So the decision was made and Jake hit the accelerator watched the gun man pull off one shot that just barely missed Jakes head. The body flew over the car and landed very hard on the pavement behind him. Jake couldn’t tell if he killed the guy. He could see him lying on the road and he could see that the guy wasn’t moving but he knew he want sticking around to find out.
The rest happened very fast. Jake looked up and there were 3 Cadillac escalades blocking the road. Jake had no choice but to stop because he knew he wouldn’t be able to muscle his way through this barricade. When he did stop he was quickly met by several men holding guns. They hurried him out of his car and into one of the escalades. Jake had no idea where he was been taken but he knew that wherever it was there was no way it could be good.
Finally they stopped at what looked like an old gas station. The gun men escorted him into the back door where there were a couple of other guys waiting. Jake was pushed into a chair and then he heard the explanation.
The man was a short balding guy. He looked like he was about 50 years old and he definitely didn’t look like he belonged in this crowd. Jake, however was about to find out that looks can very easily be deceiving. The man explained to Jake that he was representing the credit card companies and they weren’t very happy about losing about 2 million dollars. He was also told that he had 15 minutes to come up with the money. Jake and his captor both knew that pay back wasn’t an option so Jake was about to find out what option B was.
An hour later Jake found himself on a plane. He didn’t know where he was been taken but he was about to find out. The bald man was on the plane with them. After a couple of minutes the guy began explaining to Jake what was going to happen. First he threw him a bottle of water and advised him to drink as much as he could. He explained that they wouldn’t be killing Jake but rather they would be dropping him off in the dessert outside of Iraq. He explained to Jake that there would be no civilization for 500 miles any way he went. He would only have the parachute. He would have no clothes, no water and no food. Then the man continued to explain to him that by some streak of luck he was to make it to refuge somewhere that his face was posted all over the country for the rape and murders of ten little girls all under the age of ten.
Jake wasn’t a dummy. He knew he was done for. These guys had put a lot of thought into this. He knew there was no sense arguing or pleading. Finally about 15 hours later Jake was ordered to undress, put on the parachute and then he was quickly pushed out of the plane and just like that it was all over.
Once on the ground Jake had no idea what was going to happen but what he was sure of was that he was walking dead. He decided to take the parachute with him if not for anything else but to cover him up and keep a little of his dignity before he dies. Jake headed in the direction that the sun was setting. In his mind all he could think about was how his greed got him here. Only for a brief second he wished for a second chance but decided to suck it up and keep walking until his punishment over took him.

Dale Mazurek

Dale does various opportunities on line including affiliate marketing, blogging and writing short stories. Interested in any of these then have a look.
http://affiliatemarketingfornewbies.blogspot.com/
http://stcajo.netsalaries.com