Writing Today

I don’t read many books that claim membership of a genre. In my humble opinion, a work of fiction should aspire to create its own world, describe it, communicate it and then live in it. I want a book’s characters to inhabit the events that are portrayed, events that are clearly influenced by the character’s presence, but which are also usually bigger than any individual’s contribution. Wars don’t exist unless people fight them. Crimes are not committed without criminals. Love stories are made by lovers and ghosts don’t exist. For instance, in my own book, Mission, there are four wars, but it’s not a war novel. There are at least three love stories, but it’s not a romance. There are several deaths, one of which is a murder, but it’s not a crime novel or a thriller. And then there’s a character who comes back from the dead to haunt an old man, but it’s not a ghost story or a fantasy. In short, it’s Mission, a novel set in Kenya. So I approached Ken Scott’s crime thriller, A Million Would Be Nice, as a reader unused to the genre’s codes and forms. Unlike general or literary fiction, I recognise that learning what happens in A Million Would Be Nice is one of the main reasons for reading the book. My review, therefore, cannot reveal too much of the plot. Suffice it to say that there has been a bank robbery. It was an inside job and the scenario for its execution is carefully concocted and inventively created. The perpetrator gets away with it and scarpers with the loot to live it up in Spain. On an apparently separate thread, we meet Donavan Smith, a quite incredibly vile piece of humanity from Newcastle, of which I hope he is not representative. He’s a successful young thing, a kind of nouveau riche moron, who apparently defines his identity by surrounding himself with requisite items of designer consumption, clearly knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing. He has everything, does our Donavan, but he is never satisfied. He wants more. There isn’t a lot to endear us to Donavan Smith. He’s a misogynist, and occasionally indulges in some quite bizarre behaviour in the bedroom. He justifies everything with quotes from the Bible, a source of justification that was beaten into him by an abusing mother. He lets nothing get in his way. He has his ideas, knows how to achieve them and then ruthlessly destroys anything that might resist. In some ways, he is quite creative. But one of his conquests becomes an accomplice, because she has inside information about that money that went missing in the bank raid. He needs her and together they visit people all over the prestigious bits of Europe, Paris, Cannes, London, the Costas, Newcastle, to pursue and realise their dream. And believe me, this Donavan is nothing if not resourceful and he certainly has a knack when it comes to making things happen. The story moves at a fast pace. Different characters are drawn into the thread and many are inevitably cast aside by Donavan Smith, our single-minded, calculating anti-hero. And that is as much as I will relate. A Million Would be Nice claims to be a crime thriller, and a crime thriller is exactly what it is, fast paced, and packed with greed, obsession and ruthlessness. Ken Scott’s own background as an employee of a major British bank provided him with much of the detail surrounding the original robbery. Since the back cover of the book shows him, like the robber in the book, living it up in Spain, I can only hope that this is as far as the similarity goes. A Million Would be Nice will appeal to readers of thrillers and crime fiction. It has all the elements you would expect and, in the relationship between Donavan and his mother, perhaps something extra as well. Full details at .ken-scott.co.uk Philip Spires Author of Mission, an African novel set in Kenya .philipspires.co.uk

Whether celebrated privately or more publicly with friends and family, anniversaries are very special occasions. Wedding anniversaries are commemorated, celebrated and enjoyed as few other important events are! Personalized stationery can really enhance the event. Anniversary celebrations enhance special occasions Because a wedding anniversary is an occasion that celebrates a very sacred commitment and close bond between two people, it is specifically planned with that thought in mind. It is usually celebrated on the day the original wedding took place or at a time when it is suitable and convenient for all the guests to attend. The married years that are earmarked and celebrated are the 1st, 7th, 10th, 25th and 50th years. Couples send out special wedding anniversary invitations, and whenever possible, you should try to invite those who were present at the original wedding ceremony. The occasion is a very emotional as well as spiritual affair as it helps the couple to remember their original commitments and vows. It also helps to maintain a level of honor and respect for each other no matter how trying the times may be.

If magazine publishing worked like any other business, writers would fix their rates, and magazines would run around trying to hire the best writer in the lowest possible cost. Sadly, that’s not the case. In this bizarre business, writers trying to compete with each other not only have to prove their worth once, but again and again, and each time they want an assignment. You’ve got clips. You’ve written the perfect query. You’ll even deliver the best assignment. But then again, you’ll have to ask for more money and negotiate your way into getting what you deserve. If you’re a writer whose only source of income is writing, then you have to negotiate. It’s the whole lifeblood of your business. Don’t get paid less simply because you didn’t ask. Don’t worry. You’re not going to sound greedy. You work hard, and you deserve to be paid for it. When a magazine puts “pays $50-$700” in their guidelines, what can you do to be the writer that is paid in the higher range? If you’re a beginner, you probably won’t even think of getting into the high-paying slot. You’d think those places were reserved for the regular and the more experienced writers, right? Wrong! Admitted, regular writers are preferred, and their pay rates will usually be much higher than yours. But you don’t fall into that lower category because you’re a beginner; you fall into it because you fail to negotiate. If you’ve got a sparkling query, an article proposal that the editor simply loves, and good writing skills that leave the editor craving for more, she’s not going to bail out on you simply because you asked for more money. In fact, she’ll be glad to arrange it for you. Not having a dozen clips on your resume does not entitle you to less pay. In fact, if you act like a professional, and give the editor what she wants, money won’t even be an issue. Spot the Loopholes Whenever you find a magazine that has a variable pay rate, be sure there’s room for negotiation. Why else would they have such a broad category? A very well known magazine mentions in their guidelines that they pay their writers anywhere from $50-$1000 based on experience and length of article. What I also noticed was that they’ve specified the length of pieces in their columns and departments. So, reading between the lines, I’m thinking

How to tell if someone is lying? Carefully. All methods of lie-detecting, including polygraph machines, are regularly fooled or used improperly, resulting in mistakes. There are a few good ways described here, but try to confirm the truth by other means as well, such as confession or investigation of the facts. You should compare behavior in the person under suspicion to their “base” behavior, if possible. In other words, if they always have shifty eyes, then this trait can’t be considered as an indication of lying. On the other hand, if they are normally very calm under pressure, but start shifting in their chair after certain questions, that may indicate lying. Because all techniques fail at times, you should use several indications before assuming the person has lied. How To Tell If Someone Is Lying By Testing Responses One way to test for lying, is to measure a persons desire to avoid a subject, which will sometimes indicate dishonesty or guilt. If you think the person is lying, change the subject quickly. A lying person will often go along easily, and may even visibly relax. An innocent person is more likely to be slightly confused by the change and want to finish their thoughts. Another lie detecting technique is to suggest something that would make a guilty person feel uncomfortable and watch for a response. Suppose your wife Jane says she was at her mother’s house, and you think she is lying. Rather than saying, “I’m calling your mother to verify this,” you could use a subtle approach. You might say, “That reminds me, I’m going to stop by your mother’s house today to fix that door for her.” If your wife was lying, the idea of you seeing her mother should make her nervous. She may give you reasons why you shouldn’t go there. Of course, if your relationship has reached the point where you feel the necessity to resort to these techniques, a simple lie may not be the worst of your problems. Still, sometimes you need to know, so here are a few more ways to tell if someone is lying. They are using your words. Using your exact words to respond can be an indication of lying. You say, for example, “Did you leave this here?” and they respond, “No, I did not leave this here.” They use un-contracted words. A lack of contractions is more common when lying. For example, instead of saying “I didn’t sleep with her,” a man might say,” I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” Again, compare to base behavior, though, as some people may not use contractions often anyhow. Over-compensation. Often when people lie, they try too hard to be natural, and they give more detail than is necessary. Forced smiles. A real smile involves more muscles, while a forced smile will use just the muscles around the mouth. The lie here may only be about their feelings, of course. Let them talk. The more a person talks, the more likely you are to catch them in a lie (if they are being dishonest), especially when you learn the indications to watch for. These are just a few of the ways how to tell if someone is lying. Steve Gillman has been hunting down obscure knowledge and useful secrets for years. Learn more lie detecing tricks and get a free gift at: The Secret Information Site (.TheSecretInformationSite.com)

You want to write a book. Here are some tips to make it happen as quickly as possible: Don’t be boring. Your book needs to accomplish a particular goal in your readers. For example, they might be looking to laugh, learn a new skill or perhaps solve a money problem. Give that to them in a way that makes them wanna read more. Write daily if possible. Many aspiring writers begin to write a novel with great enthusiasm but then stop for a protracted period of time. Eventually they lose their rhythm. This is one reason why so many writers take months, years even to finish their first draft. An author who doesn’t write consistently normally finds that the gaps between writing gets longer and longer. As a consequence, he may stop writing permanently. Therefore, it is prudent to write each day in order to reduce this possibility. That being said, some authors have a different way of doing things so writing daily isn’t a hard and fast rule. Whichever technique you use to motivate yourself to write is what you should continue using. Create an outline This is especially necessary for novice authors. It is best to know what what will be take place on the next page before you actually get there. An outline lets you do that. How do create an outline? You do this by spending a few minutes asking yourself a series of questions and answering them. For instance, where are the characters located? - how are the characters feeling? - what clothes do they have on? and so on. Coming up with an outline this way is more effective than wrestling with a series of statements. Keep writing Continue going forward until your book is finished. Then you can look at changing what needs to be changed. Premature editing and rewriting is often used as an excuse by writers for not writing under the guise that they are actually doing real work. When you write without interruption, the end result is usually superior to the stop and go approach of excessive editing. Designate a time for writing Whether you decide to write for at least 30 minutes or 3 hours, the crucial thing is that you’re not disturbed nor do you cut short your writing time. You’ll find that because of this discipline, the quality of your writing gets better. Do research at the end of writing If and when you reach a point in the book where you need to do some research - just make a note of where that point is and continue writing. Doing research can be an enjoyable activity, but some authors get obsessed about it to the point where they stop writing for a protracted time. It is better to wait until the end of your writing, research the areas that needs attention and then include that information there. Set a quota of words to write daily The top authors write several thousand words daily. They have done it many times so it is second nature to them. If you’re just starting out, start with a quota of say 150 words or less. As times go on and you build confidence, you’ll be writing more as ideas flow. Sticking to these tips will help your writing go smoothly. David Cassell reveals which online degrees are highly sought by employers and the best ways to pay the tuition. Get this information at his website .SelectCoures.com

Headline: You Have A Loving Adopted Family, Be Grateful And Don’t Ask Questions!!! New York, New York: January,2008, Comedian, Danielle Broussard, writes in Joy Behar’s new book that after two years of declining health and no answers from doctors, she resorted to what would prove to be more painful than accepting the hand she’d been dealt; she decided to find her birthmother. Danielle’s search ended in denial. Her mother denied ever giving up a child. No one tells you that story. The shame of having a child out of wedlock is still with her. Adoptees are told that their history doesn’t matter. You have a loving adopted family; be grateful and don’t ask questions. But what happens when you get sick? Is it right to give adoptees no knowledge of their medical history? In the 60s they placed children with adoptive parents with similar backgrounds. This was done with the intent of easily blending. The goal being adoptees “passing” as “your own.” Today adoption has gone global to poorer nations, thus making the goal of blending all but impossible. In a world that struggles to prove itself politically correct and accepting of all races, why is the American media more obsessed when celebrities like Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt produce their own genetically perfect child than when they adopt a brown one? Adopting poor foreign children is considered saintly. Why would you burden yourself with other people’s discarded children when you can have your own? When Jolie goes to an orphanage we admire her big heart to acknowledge the unwanted, but when she gets pregnant, America applauds her finally doing it the right way. We can’t wait for new pictures of the homegrown white baby. The “real” one. We collectively wonder if she loves the biological child more. What does this do to the psyche of the adopted child? What happens when the child realizes that in order to be adopted, he/she first had to be abandoned? The orphan’s fantasy of the mother loving you so much she wanted a better life for you, eventually grows thin. It is natural to want answers. Despite severed roots and massive upheaval we expect abandoned children to adjust to our lives. Ours is better. It’s a privilege to even be offered it. Orphans must immediately assimilate, yet you can’t adopt a kitten younger than nine weeks because it will not survive the trauma of being taken from it’s mother. Severe Challenges Facing Adoptees: 1.What are the long term effects of being separated from your mother at birth? 2. Why do we expect children to overcome this kind of wholesale rejection? . 3. With the dawn of the information age, it will be harder for birthparents to maintain anonymity. What will be the implications of this? 4. What has become of the legacy of all the American adoptees before abortion? 5. What happens to those whose very existance was cloaked in shame, secrets and lies as they age and have children of their own? Danielle was a semi-finalist on “Last Comic Standing” and Joy was one of the judges. They hit it off and low and behold Danielle was asked by Joy to write a chapter in her book “When You Need A Lift.” Danielle also appears with her husband, after every episode of the new and exciting hit series on HBO, “Tell Me You Love Me.” You can see her on .daniellebroussard.com and also on .HBO.com. Danielle continues to entertain the troops through Armed Forces Entertainment. Her tours have included both Europe and the Caribbean, including Honduras, Ecuador, Guantanamo Bay, and The Bahamas. You can find more information at .armedforcesentertainment.com. She’s been a stand-up comic for over l0 years. Is a regular at The Comic Strip Live and The Comedy Cellar in New York City, and also has appeared on Late Night With Conan O’Brien. She has recently provided comedy commentary for various television shows on VH1.

Strategize, strategize and strategize. This is the key to success and stable continuity. We would teach you how to write essay so that you do not fall out of place when given to handle one. The foremost thing is to plan the entire flow. This step is very important and provides a full fledged plan of procedure. It marks the information flow path and decides the breakdown of the essay so that it establishes enough cohesion among the modules and final amalgamation of the conclusion. Sources need to be researched well so that it creates an impression of in-depth research for the topic and referenced too to avoid plagiarism. Searching for sources acts as key in writing a good essay. Breaking the essay into modules and further into sub modules would depict the art of professionalism. The merge and sort process of handling an essay would further enhance the feature of comprehensively exploring the topic to get a clear picture of pros and cons of the essay. Providing a rich content in the body section is essential for the success of the essay and also puts stress on the beauty of writing and proper usage of words. Sentence construction is quite vital for efficiently handling the essay. Linking the various modules and sub modules is very important, things are often logical and such approach is quite seen in practice where linking is the last differentiator between essays. The flow must be well tracked and is responsible for making a great essay. Providing charts and diagrams with explanations included into the essay act as support for running text and is a fine tool for greater understanding of analysis. The reader gets to feel that the writer has good grip on the topic and knows how to promote it. Case studies as examples can be provided so that the reader gets to feel the proper context of usage of the essay and its real implication to the changing variables in the atmosphere it functions. It clearly mentions how a particular strategy has worked out for a being or enterprise so that their process can be considered for further process improvement. Writing style is very important in the entire process and marks its quality. The following are the points which must be taken care for writing an essay: 1. It must always accompany an abstract, which speaks in short about the entire essay 2. Introduction is very important, it marks the beginning of the essay 3. Statement and word count must be mentioned, 4. Contents page is very crucial to any essay and marks the modular breakdown and definitely the flow of the essay, 5. Body of the essay 6. References list which includes the list of sources consulted and used in the essay 7. Appendix, it may include diagrams, charts and other relevant illustrations which need to be referenced well. The key to successfully writing of an essay demands the above discussed points and adherence to them can result in great essays that can fetch academic excellence and achieve success in the concerned field. Gabriel Rise is an expert writer at essay writing and a writing counseling department expert at how to write an essay. The assistance of their writers is an invaluable input in your future professional growth.EssayCapital.com is dedicated to providing a essay topics writing service that is both top-quality and affordable.

By Doug Krieger THE WEST’S INTRUSION INTO THE LAND OF THE PATRIARCHS

Interested in publishing African American and Black Culture Articles via RSS news feeds? AskBlax.com is an African American news and informaton website. We extend an invitation to experts from the African American community to come share advice, wisdom and life experiences with other African Americans by publishing articles online. As the only free web site featuring articles exclusively from the African-American public, a goal of AskBlax.com is to provide a place where every African American can publish written works. AskBlax believes every African American has something positive to contribute and this positivity is best shared through writing. Ask Blax RSS Channels What is RSS? RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication.” It’s a format for distributing and gathering up to date content from sources across the Web, like news headlines, summaries, articles and blogs. RSS news readers collect, update, and display your favorite news feeds like the articles you read at Ask Blax. You can load Ask Blax RSS Channels into your third-party RSS news reader software to keep abreast of new articles posted to the site. How Do I Use RSS? If you use a web-based news reader such as the one Yahoo! offers, you can just right click the Ask Blax RSS channel you want, copy the link, then paste it into the configuration screen for the RSS news reader. If you use a desktop news reader system such as Outlook, consult the news reader’s documentation for installation specifics. Ask Blax news feeds are XML 1.0/RSS 2.0 compliant. WWW.AskBlax.com is a small, Black-owned web portal founded for the purpose of providing a resource to African American writers. Comments about this article are welcomed and can be posted at .askblax.com.

The reason I bring this question up is because I was at a funeral over the weekend, my 5th funeral I have been to in a year, but that besides the point. Anyways there was this women there that had a fairly large tattoo on her lower arm, two fairly big tattoos on either side of her neck and one pretty big on her chest by her collar bone. For some unknown reason I felt that maybe she should have covered them up. I don’t really know why I felt this way because I am a tattoo lover and I don’t have a problem with them. But I feel and please understand this is my opinion so don’t write me hate comments. That when you are at a funeral or wedding or some other important function that your tattoo should be covered up is possible. Am I right to feel this way. I mean I know I have the right to feel any way I want, but I want to know if anyone else out there in the tattoo community feels this way too. Is there really a time and a place that you should show off your tattoos? Or should people just get over the fact that you have them and mind their own business? So please don’t be shy and express to me how you feel about this subject. I would love to know if I’m the only one that feels this way. Your tattoo Friend Ashley