Kristie Leigh Karns : A Writer Who Isn't Afraid of Controversy

The next guest blogger at writer4web is Kristie Leigh Karns, who writes just about everything, from humor, to poetry, to novels, to Philosophy and theology. She also specializes in both digital photography, and digital artwork, plenty of which can be found among her items published on Triond.com. Her first novel, Sixteen Days, was published in July 2006. The sequel is already underway.

In the spring of 2006 I was in the process of finishing my first book, a Christian thriller titled, “Sixteen Days”, which has since been published and can now be seen and sold online. While I was in the process of finishing the book and searching the web for a publisher, I found a web-site called, “Blogstream”, which features different ads on each page. I started my own blog, and maintained it for several months, and by late summer 2006, I spotted one of those ads, for a site I had never seen before, called Triond.com. It was a site that paid the content provider a certain amount of money per click. The site was brand new when I came aboard, and I became the 288^th person to join. Since then, thousands of contributors have joined the site and Triond has grown immensely, to the point where its crew usually adds something new at least once per month.

One of the new additions that I really like about Triond is the “spam filter” which helps the author get rid of comments that are abusive and inappropriate in some way. We all get our share of inappropriate comments, especially if our subject matter is a little controversial, which mine sometimes is. But in order to publish online, you have to be prepared to accept the flak that some people dish out. With the spam filter you get to decide just how much flak you are willing to take.

I’m a born-again Christian, and sometimes my subject matter reflects that so there is always the chance of controversy. Much of the time however, I write humor pieces, which are so much fun to write, and people seem to like them a lot. It is true what they say, that writers write, and I have found that the more I write the better it gets with practice. In the past I have published some poetry, which I had hoped would help me get my foot in the publishing door, but it failed to do so. This is why the internet is so convenient a resource for us writers, because it gives us that outlet, enables us to get widely read and get paid.

From my experiences with Triond I can tell you what works best and what doesn’t. The humor category is big, but the controversial stuff gets the most attention, both good and bad. Everyone has an opinion and they all think they are right and you will hear about it. Contributors usually get paid more for articles, rather than photos or artwork, so if you want to make more money, writing articles is the way to do it. Photos and artwork are faster to do however, so if you want massive amounts of content, that’s the way to go.

Triond is located in Israel so if you don’t live there yet want to sign on as one of their contributors, be prepared to open a Pay Pal account if you don’t already have one, since foreign checks can be very expensive to cash. You get paid faster if you have a Pay Pal account anyway. All in all, however, publishing with Triond is fun, easy, and a very smart thing to do. I have enjoyed it and I have hundreds of pages of content to prove it.

Kristie Leigh Karns

Authspot : Kristie Leigh Karns

Quazen : Kristie Leigh Karns

Gomestic : Kristie Leigh Karns

What is an Artist?

This writer4web post is part of a group writing project that Julia Temlyn-Mrs. Write Right, Word Therapist is starting in order to get some feedback for her project called 'The Creative Call' . The first question she poses to writers is : How do you define “artist”?

Julia writes: "I would say that an artist is someone who has a longing to create and be creative, and who works at every opportunity to fulfill the creative processes." She also adds that it is someone "who uses creativity to bring something new and meaningful into the world.”

I like these definitions, although for me, the traits that she mentions could also belong to others who aren't necessarily artists. Mothers, for example, may use creativity to bring something meaningful into the world such as cooking fun looking food that their family will appreciate. Parents may use creativity to plan a meaningful family trip that will open a child's eyes to new people, ideas and places.

My view is that artists create art. A beautiful sunset is new and meaningful, but it isn't art until an artist makes a rendering of it.

I read an interesting article recently called Duality Leads to Greatness that was very interesting. I had never heard of the term being used in that way, but it is an interesting concept. Here is a short quote from the article:

" The inner creativity inside of us isn't always easily expressed. To get the most of their ability many authors experience an altered state. This can be brought on by alcohol, drugs, or slight mental illness. These changing personalities, in effect, can be referred to as duality."

In my opinion, an artist is someone that can give us a unique perspective on something, someone who sees "beyond" the materialistic plane of reality, and can grasp ideas on other levels. Those levels might be structural, spiritual, or conceptual, but they should provide the viewer or reader with unseen aspects of everyday reality. I don't think that this alternative state necessarily needs to be brought on by alcohol or drugs, and I hope that I don't have any 'slight' mental illness. I do believe that an artist needs to go 'over the line' to grasp these original visions, but they must also succeed in coming back with an original viewpoint so that others can relate to or recognize.

Here is an interesting idea. One of the ways that Thesaurus defines an "artist" is as an authority.

Writer4web believes that an artist is someone who has the right and the jurisdiction to help us understand and interpret life in a way that can provide a unique and meaningful insight into the true nature of reality, matter, thoughts or feelings that everyone experiences.

writer4web

Profile of a Writer : Lela Davidson

Please welcome the newest guest blogger in the writer4web community, Lela Davidson, and enjoy her great commentary about her work at HubPages. Lela comes with the highest recommendations and I am very happy to have her here to share some of her life experiences as a writer, and hear her recommendations and insights into the world of content writing.

Hi, my name is Lela Davidson and I’m a writer and Parenting Columnist for HubPages.com, where anyone can sign up and post articles for free. I started writing about five years ago while still working as a CPA. I write short stories, memoir, web content, newspaper articles, and my humor column, After the Bubbly. However, on HubPages I write only on parenting.

I’m a paid writer for HubPages. That means I have agreed to write at least a set number of articles on my topic every month, for which I’m paid a nominal fee. It’s a very low rate so I write very fast to almost bring it up to minimum wage! I answered an ad I found on Deborah Ng’s Freelance Writing site in March and have been writing Hubs (articles) since then.

I also receive income from the Google ads that grace my HubPages. Anyone can join HubPages and generate income from the Google ads, but not everyone receives an upfront payment. There are HubPages writers who I suspect make a pretty decent amount from Adsense, but I don’t know how much. So far, since March, I’ve made about $24 from ads.

When I decided to write for HubPages, I had a couple goals in mind. First, I needed external accountability. Writing for HubPages has worked out for me because I am committed to writing a certain number of articles per month. Even if you are not a paid writer with HubPages, you can still create this accountability, but you’ll be answering to yourself. (If you’re looking for good search engine results and therefore more Google Adsense revenue, you may want to consider picking a single topic and sticking with it.)

I also wanted to increase my readership for my humor column, After the Bubbly, which focuses on family life. The parenting topic was a natural. I’ve had over 12,000 hits in three months on my HubPages and the hits on my personal website have gone up steadily since March, so I’d call this a success as well.

Notice I didn’t mention money? I can’t say it’s not important. Money is always great, but more than anything, the income I make from HubPages has helped me to think of myself as a writer. I suppose there is the opportunity for greater Google Adsense revenue, but I won’t count on it.

I’m very happy writing for HubPages, but as it turns out the best things about writing there weren’t what I’d imagined. Yes, I am more accountable and writing everyday now. Yes, my column has a few new readers. But what’s really fun is getting feedback from readers of my HubPages. It’s especially rewarding when someone has been touched my one of the more sensitive subjects. I have also learned to release some of my perfectionism. You may find spelling and grammatical errors in my Hubs, but I’ve learned to let it go. My goal has become to get good parenting information to people – and lots of it! I have learned about so many things I wouldn’t have if I weren’t writing on the topic.

Lela Davidson

JNV : Content Writing For Triond is Rewarding

Our third writer from the content writer series is JNV, a writer and poet that publishes with Triond. JNV draws most of his inspiration from stories of people he knows and situations he’s faced. He’s travelled and lived all over southern Ontario, from the busy streets of Toronto to the tourist packed city of Niagara Falls and right back down to some country parts “where even strangers are your neighbour”. The ink on this post is from his sweat and his tears, so if a spark of interest has been ignited somewhere within you feel encouraged to read on.

I stumbled upon Triond quite accidentally, actually. Searching for free poetry contests, I happened upon a Triond article about the Poetry.com sham and thought 'why not give Triond a try?' Getting paid for writing on the internet whenever I felt like it sounded like a much better alternative to posting poetry for free at streetmusiq.com, a website which quietly displays much of my work for free with the promise of 'exposure'. Having already self-published a book of poetry and prose, the prospect of finding a name, exposure, and creating friendships sounded like good ideas for goals to have. With Triond I was not disappointed.

1. Blue Moon - poem

2. The Fiddler - poem

3. Wanted Out Here - short story



I have found writing for Triond very rewarding. Financially, perhaps not, but money is here today and then gone tomorrow, at least Triond leaves the ball park figure for you, the Author, to decide on. The friendships formed, emotions felt, and bonds developed through sharing creative work openly with others and responding to articles is recompense enough for obeying the instinct driving us from within to write, payment which is truly priceless.

Am I growing and developing alongside the site? I don't think so. But I am a little more conscious of what will be appreciated by readers, what type of creative work is found appealing. At Authspot (one of Triond's children) poems and short stories are often found interesting, most likely due to the fact that most of the readers are on busy schedules and don't have the time it takes to read lengthy articles or stories. Anything longer than three pages might never be read, except for the fan who is familiar with the author name or true literature lover. Publishing crap and spam gets you known as a knockoff or low quality brand while submitting relevant, interesting, or high quality content turns your nom de plum into a designer label.

Writing for Triond has shown me that- it tells the author through reader-response how important the quality of each article you publish is, for publishing literature below a certain standard lowers the watermark on the gauge which your name is measured by. Triond keeps you sharp creatively, grammatically, and encourages you to keep your spelling up to par. So though I have not developed as a writer, Triond has taught me about what is appealing to the reader.

Writing for the reader instead of yourself is something Triond instills inside you. As a writer, you look forward to publishing more content to receive more responses; perhaps out of a wish to generate more income, perhaps out of vanity. This pull to produce becomes addictive and even when something of substance or worth is lacking in your own writing, the draw to publish may be too strong to resist and you may find yourself creating work that is forced instead of inspired. Over exposure can also become a danger, as well as a lack of honesty for fear of instilling discouragement while critiquing other's work. This is just a reminder that there are hills surrounding every valley.

There is a way Triond, and especially Authspot, could improve. If Authspot members could see a limited author profile of each other i feel it would be a great addition to the site, or maybe even a chatroom where authors could correspond with each other instead of knowing each other solely through their work. There are many names at Authspot that probably mask interesting faces behind with their own stories to tell. All in all, Triond is a great place to be for writers in this information age where commercial publishers do not consider manuscripts from joe public.

JNV

Content Writer : The Hiyip Guy on User Powered Content

Please welcome the Hyip Guy, the second guest blogger from the series on content writers. He has written articles for both Helium and HubPages and has a blog called Arena of Hyip. He has come to share a little of his experience from the world of user powered content in Web 2.0. Please give him a warm community welcome...

A little introduction on myself. My name is Tommy. It's not my real name, but I've been wandering across the cyber space for so long as Tommy, that lately, even I believe that my name is Tommy. I am 27 years old and a health officer by profession. I am a Malaysian (The tiny heavenly beautiful nation that borders Thailand on the North and Singapore at the South). I am an Atheist and most of the time you will find me leaning towards the left in political views. This does not necessarily mean that I am into politics. I am not. There is nothing much to say about me except that I am involved in a romantic relationship with an Angel of a Girl for about three years now. I always find my life revolving around hers.

Now, about my writing. Writing is my passion. I've been writing since forever. However, I am a novice when it comes to writing in English. I am not a native English speaker. In fact, English is my third language after Bahasa Melayu (our National language) and Malayalam (my mother tongue). As such you can expect a lot of grammatical mistakes (not to mention completely incoherent sentences every now and then) in my writings.

I've begun publishing my writing on the internet only recently. I was checking my email one fine day, when I came across an email introducing me to the world of HYIP investments. That was probably the day I started taking internet as more than a vast treasure chest of information.

"…..There are other opportunities here", I remember my self saying this excitedly. "…an opportunity to get rich…." Then, just as instantly, I lost my money. But I didn't let go of my dream. I started a blog, chronicling my journey to riches. Then I started scouring the cyber space, looking for an opportunity to make money.

That is how I was introduced to myLot. It is a discussion forum, where you get paid to comment on others' discussion and to start your own. I was very excited about this forum initially as I got to share my opinion and get paid for it too. However over time, I began to understand the pattern of myLot where members post discussion or comment on posts just for the sake of getting paid. At first, I was very optimistic. I know some people that posted a hundred posts a day and get paid 5 cents for it. And they did it day after day. They get $10 every two or three months. They come back and post more worthless discussion (such as "what is your eye color? Mine is blue"). Having said all this, I would like to say that there are actually people who do make serious attempt to post quality discussion. But with ten new discussions popping out every second, these quality discussions tend to get buried amidst mindless chit chat. I started looking elsewhere.

Somehow, I was introduced to Helium by a friend whom I met in myLot. I fell in love instantly. It's a place where you can write whatever you want at all. You are completely in charge. What I like about Helium the most is that it houses thousands of articles written by Everyday Joes, people like you and me, who are not professional writers. But they produce quality reading material. They provide hours and hours of enjoyable, informative read. If and when your creative juices started flowing, all you have to do is type and click the submit button. Viola! I've written a couple of articles for Helium. Every time I visit the Helium site, I get so deep into the numerous articles there that I sometimes forget to write my own.

The payment is virtually not existent. I've amassed close to 12 cents for one article and about 3 cent for the other. But I am not complaining. I just wrote 2 articles and they are quite new. I do not know exactly how they calculate the payment but I think you get a few cents every time somebody reads your article.

A few weeks back, another friend from myLot introduced me to Hubpages. Unlike Helium which looks and acts in a more formal way, Helium is a community circle of sort. You get to add and organize your fan lists and there is a forum where you can literally chit chat with each other. Hubpages also adopts a different (and shall I say, interesting) method of paying its members. Instead of paying the members directly, Hubpages incorporates affiliate advertising tools :- adsense, amazon and e-bay. So, the members receive payment from the respective affiliates based on the page impression or sales made. So basically the more people read your article, the more impression these advertisements make and the more likely someone clicks on the ad and generate incomes for you.

There are a lot of interesting articles in Hubpages. I had (and am still having) a fun time going through these articles and writing my own too.

I guess Helium and Hubpages (and to a lesser extend, myLot) are part of a statement that we as human beings are collectively evolving culturally. We are no longer satisfied with accepting and digesting news/information/opinions by designated scribes only. We want more. We want to get involved. So, we choose to create our own news/information/opinion. Welcome to the New World Order. Welcome to Web 2.0. Welcome to User Powered Content. After all, it is not for no reason that the Time Magazine voted YOU (we, people) as the Person of The Year, 2006!

Tommy

Content Writer : Meleah Rebeccah on Helium

I would like you all to put your hands together and give a nice warm welcome of applause for Meleah Rebeccah, the first guest blogger at writer4web. Meleah may be familiar to readers for her entertaining writing on her Blogspot, but she is now opening a new site with the same name called Momma Mia, Mea Culpa that I would like to encourage all my readers to go check out. Meleah, the stage is yours...

Hi writer4web readers,

I was first introduced to Helium by my one of my girlfriends, and a professional freelance writer, Leslie Poston. She sent me an invitation to join Helium as a fellow writer. I was quite agreeable since I love to write and have written every day of my life since I was nine years old. Other than my blog, I wasn’t out here on the internet trying to make a name for myself or concentrating too much on writing as a professional, nor was I writing about topics per se. I just had a simple blog where I posted daily about my hectic life.

When I first decided to write for Helium I had no idea what I was doing. I decided to take the time and read the FAQ and visit the forum. (May I suggest all future writers do so.) Even if I didn’t feel comfortable asking a question for fear of looking as clueless as I was, there are so many posts and threads it was easy for me to find answers for anything I was curious about.

After becoming familiar with the rules and proper etiquette, I wrote a few articles mostly about television as practice for writing in a public forum. What I liked about Helium is that, if you are a first timer as I was, you can easily “get published” simply by submitting to another article that has already been published.

Subsequently after writing on Helium I gained enough confidence in my writing ability, that I applied for a job, and was hired by another company, 451 Press, as a freelance writer.

What I do like about Helium is the ease of use and the friendly community of fellow writers. I like that you are asked to read and rate other articles. I like that you must be a member of Helium in order to rate someone else’s article. They also have a system wherein if you want to be read, you need to read what the other people are writing as well. I like Helium because it opened another door for me. I also like Helium because there are so many topics and articles, if I am stuck for ideas, I can go there, read something that has already been published and that usually gets my head out of the clouds and ready to write again.

There are a few things that I don’t like about Helium such as, you cannot add a friend, or add another author as a favorite, or comment, or vote.

As far as payment, well, I can say I have made close to beans on Helium, but that is probably because I only have four or five articles currently posted.

I do enjoy Helium, and I will continue to use their site


.

Meleah Rebeccah

writer4web Special Edition : More Information on Content Publishers

Hi, how is everyone today? I have some great guest bloggers lined up for later on this week but in the meantime I wanted to show you a little more about each of the sites we talked about yesterday. I want to give all of you writers out there a little more of an idea about each site's concept and a little background as to how users regard the site itself.

1. Associated Content by wikipedia

2. HubPages Helps You Publish

3. Helium is for Writers

4. Triond Online Publishing

5. Constant Content vs. Associated Content


I tried to find links that seemed fair and relevant, but if any writers out there have a good profile or comparison article on content publishers feel free to add them in the comments.

I hope that everyone is learning something about this area and is getting an idea if it might be able to offer them a unique way to advance their writing careers. Let me know your thoughts or questions and I will try to get a response to you.

writer4web

writer4web Special Edition : Online Content Publishers

Do you remember the old comedy skit about the guy named about Jay?
"You can call me Jay, or you can call me AJ, or you can call me AJJ, or you can call me Jackie..." Something like that anyway. One of those guys that has a 1000 different nicknames. This next topic is like that. Everyone has a phrase for it, but each person seems to use a different word. Online content publishers, content submission sites, user generated content, content monetization service... Get it? What I would like to blog to you about is the subject of user powered content on internet sites for payment. Whoahh... That is one heck of definition.

There are a lot of different players in this field, and each one employs a slightly different strategy. It won't be possible to cover each one, but I will try to give you an interesting selection of a few different platforms that exist in this genre and will explain a little bit about them. This week, we will also be turning over the writer4web blogspot to a few guest writers to hear a little more about some of their experiences with a few of the different Internet content publishers. I am glad you're here with us for the start of our first "writer4web : Special Edition" so let's get in there and get started!

1. AC Associated Content

2. HubPages

3. Helium

4. Triond

5. Constant Content


Now that you have had a chance to take a quick peak at the different sites that deal with user generated content, I wanted to show you a few articles that may give you a little background into the what, why, and how behind these platforms. Keep in mind that each company has their own philosophy and concept so be sure to notice the concepts and features that are interesting to you as writers.



1. Interview with Luke Beatty - founder of Associated Content AC

2. Interview with Paul Edmondson - founder of Hub Pages

3. Interview with Mark Ranalli - founder and CEO of Helium

4. Interview with Triond CEO

5. Interview with Chris Ross - founder and CEO of Constant Content


So, we have all had a chance to get to know these companies a little better and have gotten a taste of their methods and philosophy. In the next post we are going to get a little bit deeper into the concept of written content and try to gain an understanding of how we as writers can get a solid footing in this powerful new industry.


***** To all of my readers with a user profile at any of these sites -
Please be encouraged to leave comments and appropriate links for everyone to let us know your thoughts and opinions on this issue. See you tomorrow!

writer4web

A Great Blog for Writers

Hello everyone, I hope that you are enjoying your weekend. I would like to write a short post about one of my recent readers and point out her awesome blog for writers. I noticed that she was a regular visitor to writer4web and I went to check out her blog. What a blog! Her name is Julia Temlyn, and she is a writer and an editor, and she has a great blog for writers filled with links for other writing blogs, books, writing groups and tons of other sources for writers. I think that it would be well worth your time to take a look through this blog at the first opportunity.

By the way on the lighter side of things, I have been ceremoniously tagged. I have never been tagged before but I will try and make the most of it. Here goes.

1. Mrs. Write Right, Word Therapist - Julie Writes - Julia Temlyn

2. The Writer’s Well - BGWEWRITER

3. The Writers’ Block

Ok that was fun. Continue having a great weekend.

By the way...

Next week writer4web will be doing a special on several popular content publishers and has asked some users from a few different publishers to share a little of their experience with us so that all of us can start to understand a little more about the world of online content publishing.

Don't forget to stop by this week for a close up of content publishers.

writer4web

Free Writing : A Simple Cure For Bad Ryhmes

Hello readers. First of all, I would like to say thank you for the positive feedback from of you lately. I have gotten Emails, replies at StumbleUpon, messages on MyBlogLog, and even some nice comments on the Blogspot comments section. I have added a new comments area on the right hand side so that all of my readers can check out the recent comments from other readers, so be encouraged to write what you feel under the posts so people can see what you thought of them. Speaking of comments, I saw a comment that I understood very well this week.

I liked it because it was honest. I want to show it to you because I think that this problem is something that writers deal with constantly. Here is the comment from the writer4web post :

"Haiku Poetry: A Place in the 21st Century

meleah rebeccah said...

" My poetry always ends up sounding very cliche, or I end up with some BAD rhymes. I truly admire those who can write beautiful prose... "

Take it from me readers, meleah rebeccah is being modest. Don't be fooled, she writes beautifully - Go ahead, take a peek at Momma Mia, Mea Culpa ...

My approach to this dilemma is something that I learned at an early age. Being a writer myself, I will use a little metaphor for the situation as I see it.

Imagine you are writer for a magazine. Down the hall sits your editor-Sam the Censor, and across from you sits another writer-Faulty Frank, who always has something critical to say about your writing. How can you get anything done when you are always asking yourself if Sam (the knife) Censor will edit it out of your story? How can you sit down and write something good if you are wondering what cynical comments Faulty Frank will make about your writing.

The answer - You can't get anything done.

The solution- Ignore them both completely.

Ignore your make believe editor and disregard your fantasy colleague? Yes please.
That is, if you want to get anything done.

That is my metaphor for the internal messages that flash through a writer's brain during the writing process. You may ask yourself, "hmmm, is that good?" or maybe "what will so and so think of it?" and you can sit there wondering the whole day long! I have long ago stuffed a sock into both of my imaginary colleagues mouthes, just so they don't get in the way of my work. When everything is written, edited, and published then I might ask them for an opinion so to speak. Until then, I silence all the voices.

I try to write continuously, and spend as little time thinking between sentences as I can. I strive to make the process of writing very automatic and attempt to transfer words from my brain straight to the page without using my internal editor. I try to write with the subconscious part of my brain. I try not to let my writing wander, but I will let my writing take me in the direction that it is going, without me asking -" writer4web, where is this going?" I also refuse to step into the trap of asking myself what some critical colleague would think about it. He might say this, she might criticize that-it never stops. I am interested in what people have to say, although I am not willing to hear it while I am in the process of writing it.

What does all this mean???

Shut out all the voices within your head when you compose and just write. Don't stop writing too much to read what you've written unless you lose your train of thought. Let your mind take you freely where it wants you to go. Don't question its motives. The mind understands things that we do not. It knows where it wants you to go even though you may not. Flow with it, and do not stop until you are done. There will be plenty of time to edit when you have finished writing. You can seek out a second opinion after the dust settles. I believe in my subconscious. I try to short circuit my brain, leaving the conscious part hanging by a thread, and rerouting all of the focus to allow my hand to write. Think-write. Think-write. I bypass any other points on the way. No reflections, no 2nd thoughts, no doubts, no worries. Just think-write, think-write, until I can finally just forget about the thinking and just keep writing. Stop thinking and write. I hope you can see it.

This technique is often referred to as free writing. Wikipedia calls this process automatic writing and evens mentions that it is almost like a trance state. I personally haven't gone into a trance, but I have succeeded in shutting out the world and giving the keys to the ranch to my writing hand. This style has many benefits and you will find that many writers have used this style.

I hope that this suggestion will be helpful to meleah rebecca as well as any other writers who occasionally struggle with their words. One thing all writers admire is beautiful writing.

Good luck with your words,

writer4web

Web Content : How to Write a Great Article In 10 Easy Steps

After touching a little on poetry writing in the last post I wanted to blog on a little about writing articles. For those who find their 'writing voice' in the niche of articles, editorials, news items, or reviews, there is an ever increasing demand for high quality web content of this type on the internet. Today I wanted to give you 10 Easy Tips on how to write a good article as well as steer you in the direction of a few extra pointers on the issue. Take note, each tip will also be a link for an additional page on the subject.

1. Find a subject you feel passionate about
It is of the utmost importance that you feel moved by your subject matter so it is vital to choose a topic that you feel strongly about.

2. Use a good clear layout
Use a layout that is simple and has a catchy intro, an informative middle section, and a concluding final ending.

3. Choose proper writing style necessary to convey article
Finding the proper tone and employing the appropriate writing style is critical in captivating readers.

4. Do background research on your subject
Get all of the necessary facts, figures and opinions on your subject matter before you start writing your article.

5. Vigorous writing can be both simple and concise
Use short sentences and reduce your writing down to the bare essentials

6. Stay on the topic
If you find yourself drifting into another topic, stop yourself, retrace your steps, and stay on track.

7. Satisfy your readers
Make sure that you hold the reader's attention. You must fulfill the needs of your readers as well as yourselves.

8. Give your article a proper ending
Don't leave the reader dangling at the end. Sum up your ideas and give them a unique final insight as well.

9. Promote your article
Once you have finished writng your article you need to get it out there so that the readers can find it.

10. Keep your eyes open for your next article
Now that you have one under your belt, be aware of thoughts that give you the feeling-"Hey, I should write an article about that".

That is the wasy I see it readers. Get a plan, develop the concept, go into production, distribute widely, and plan ahead for tomorrow. Now get out there and write something! Good luck :)

writer4web

Haiku Poetry: A Place in the 21st century

One of the first styles I remember writing in as a youth was Haiku. I liked the simple poetry structure and was drawn to the fact that you could get so much impact out of a simple 3 line poem. I used to write Haiku in a series, 4 or 5 poems for one atmosphere or feeling. These kinds of poems are really enjoyable to write and they get the juices flowing for the larger projects. Take a look at 4 nice Haiku poems by Brant David McLaughlin called A Thread of Haiku. He paints us a picture of dancing fireflies by the lake at nightfall in the first 3 poems, then switches the focus back to the poem itself for the fourth poem to create an interesting sequence. I found alot of really nice haiku poems to read at Authspot.com, a site that offers a great opportunity for writers and beginning writers to highlight their work and receive comments from readers.

For those of you interested in delving a little deeper into the background and history of Haiku, take a look at this link that talks about Haiku as being one of the most important forms of traditional Japanese poetry. It appears that there are three related terms : Haiku, Hokku and Haikai. The term Hokku literally means the "starting verse", and this was often the first starting link in a much longer chain of verses known as Haika. For a great link with Haiku poetry writing including an analysis of the poems and background in the styles take a look at HOW-TO HAIKU.

I want to leave you with one thought before I go. I was spending alot of time on search engines awhile back and I started to think (please don't think me crazy) that the sponsored results ads by google, are actually, very similar to Haiku. The rhythmic pulse is different, but the idea remains the same. To create a strong image and feeling in the reader's mind with very few letters and a few very basic structures. Think they are easy? Try writing an ad that short and you will realize that you need to use your head to make people notice it. Good luck with the writing, I will see you soon.

writer4web

Taking Advantage of Your Potential

If you saw my post recently called 'The Medium is the Message'
you will see that I challenged writers to start using some of the other mediums available on the internet. I suggested the idea that writers can promote their words using creative techniques that combine words with other artistic aspects. Remember ???

I just ran across something that I have to show you. This writer uses the same basic formula of >>
simple video techniques + WORDS = 1 very effective clip that has text and can be played on a video. It is a great idea !

This style is also a great way to present poems or short stories as well.

The idea is to use your imagination to come up with something original and unique. What's the word I am looking for? Creativity ! If you want to be a writer, you are gonna need to summon up as much of this stuff as possible.

Ok, let me show you just one more video from Tricky called POEM. This is a professional video, but the concept is very simple and it may give you a few interesting ideas for developing your own videos.

Good Luck Writers. I would be happy to show your original videos that use some of your writing on my Blog if it looks good. Leave your comments if you want to recommend something else good as well.

Before I go, I wanted to talk with you about one more issue that has come up recently quite a lot.

I have been getting questions from writers lately that ask me how to find good publishers, or how to publish their own book. One of the first things that a writer can do, is to publish their own ebook, and find ways to promote it. One popular choice among writers lately is to submit their writing content to sites that function as a publishing service. Take a look at this interesting science fiction novel called 'Alternative : Omega ' with 62 chapters published on a website! This option will allow a writer the opportunity to display their writing in a professional way, as well as providing payments from reader page views.

Don't forget what I always say. If you are a writer, the important thing is that you focus on writing- and write it down.

writer4web

Writing : Learning the Trade

One of the things that is important to me on my writer4web blogspot, is the possibility of sharing articles and stories that I think might interest other writers. One of the reasons for this is that I think we all learn from others. Sometimes the simple lessons learned from experience can help another writer develop their craft. Sometimes you may need find specific information for other authors. If you are interested in writing, there are some different ways to learn how-to-write. The first and foremost thing to remember, is that writers write. In the beginning, your writing may not always have much flow or direction, or you may not have the vocabulary that you wished you had, but if you keep on writing, your work will improve.

It doesn't matter what you write-it may be poems, plays, articles, or songs. If you continue writing and can learn how to improve your writing at the same time, things can only get better. If you want to write essays, you might want to take a look at some of the basics of essay writing.

Maybe you have a creative mind and you would like to try your hand on a piece of fiction. Try to pick up tips from other creative writers and get started on your first story. There are alot of great articles for improving your writing and plenty of helpful tip for writers of any style.

In life there are different kinds of people. Some may say, that it is important to learn all of the basics of something before you attempt it. Although that may be true in some areas, for those interested in becoming writers, I would recommend writing as much as possible. Once it is there in front of you, you can sit back at look at it and reflect on how to improve it. Then you can sit up and make it better!

WRITER4WEB

Words : A Legitimate Form of Power

I read an insightful article this week called JG Ballard and the Fiction of Enclosed Space that discussed JG Ballard, the author of the novel Empire of the Sun, and gave a background into a part of his life spent in confinement. It turns out that he spent time in prison in Shanghai as a young child along with his mother, father and sister. This period of imprisonment affected his personality and the theme of life within confined spaces became one of his major themes as a writer. For me, the idea of a young child being tramatically imprisoned along with his family was very moving, and I decided to see if I could find stories about other writers who had had prison backgrounds. I searched Google for writers + prison and came up with some very interesting matches. The first one I looked at was about a writer named Hu Shigen who is in prison now. Hu Shigen, a political activist and dissident writer from China, was imprisoned on 'counter-revolutionary' charges in 1992 after participating in the planning of 4 June Tiananmen Square memorial demonstrations. I remembered him from the Chinese democratic activities broadcast on TV at the time 15 years ago, and it was hard to think about him sitting in prison, being monitored by other inmates and being denied the chance to talk to anyone. Heavy stuff.

After that, I tried writing + prison and came across a group called PEN, the Prison Writing Program that "believes in the restorative and rehabilitative power of writing, by providing hundreds of inmates across the country with skilled writing teachers and audiences for their work." This program provides a unique oppurtunity for prison inmates to learn to express themselves freely and to encourage the use of the written word as a legitimate form of power. Although the concept of years of imprisonment was hard to imagine, the idea that this group was providing an excellent means of rehabilitation for it's inmates was encouraging.

Although this may be seen as a slightly depressing aspect of the writing world, I had not been exposed to the concept of prisoners as writers before and the thought intrigued me. I found a very interesting Book Review on Prison Writing in 20th Century America that covered many famous writers that wrote in prison, including the author and political activist Malcolm X. It mentioned that prison was a fertile ground for writers and musicians but that it wasn't until 1968 that legislature formally abandoned the concept of "civil death" and began protecting manuscripts written by prisoners.

This is my hope for this particular blogging post. May we as authors not take our freedom to write for granted, but may we learn from our colleagues behind prison bars that words are, indeed, a legitimate form of power.

writer4web

Writing Profession

For those writers out there that are able to harness their passion for writing and focus themselves on an area of writing in which to specialize, there are many opportunities available. Writing as a profession is a very challenging and interesting field, but one that it has strenuous deadlines and requires long hours of work. Writers need to get used to irregular paychecks and should have the ability to work under pressure. If you are still interested in working as a writer, and are not deterred by the drawbacks mentioned here, writing can provide you with the chance to express yourself in a way that many jobs cannot.

It is important for writers to find their niche, and to find the style of writing that best lets them express themselves. If you are a creative writer, maybe you can find your 'voice' through poetry, plays, or stories-but many authors also write articles, historical essays, informational documentation, or biographies.

If you are interested in understanding more about the different areas of professional writing, take a look at this interesting article for writers that clearly explain many types of various writing fields for authors. It is very important that you know which area you want to break into, in order to concentrate on creating work that will be successful.


Many writers may find their creative outlet through publishing their work on the internet. It is possible to take a passion for internet writing and chatting, and turn it into a career that will allow creative personal expression. I ran across the story of one woman's progression from Internet conversations to published writing that sheds some light on this subject.

Once you have determined what you wnat to do, you need to sit down and get to it. One of the most important things a writer must have is abundant samples of work. Make sure that the writing is well organized, double check for grammar or spelling mistakes, and build up your resume with lots of interesting titles. Remember, when you send your work to others you want it to catch their eye, so make it look interesting and appealing.

If you feel that you want to write but don't know what kind of writing you would like to do, experiment with a few different things. Try your hand at writing an article about something you feel stongly about. You might try writing a review of a restaurant, a new Hollywood movie, or a new book that you've read. If you tend to like more creative things-pour out your feelings into a poem or a song. Sit down and turn your thoughts into words. Take some time to put pencil to paper. - That's just an expression, it's ok to use your keyboard and computer! :)


Good luck to you writers!
writer4web

You need to mean what you say, and say something meaningful !

I have been putting in a little bit of overtime surfing the web for different things this week and I have had the opportunity to read or glance at alot of blogs and sites. First of all, I have to tell you; there are a heck of a lot of words out there on cyberspace. I've run into lots of interesting articles this week that I have enjoyed- some satirical and others factual, but I have also seen some things that I couldn't make heads or tails of. There was one blog that I came across that had a humorous fairy tale about one of the biggest 'diggers' of our time from the land of "digg" called Wherefore arte thou Mr. BabyMan?
that I really enjoyed. I happened to StumbleUpon a funny item that showed a typewritten letter that was used as a prop on the 1950's TV show 'Leave it to Beaver'. The blogger managed to zoom in to a closeup of the page and we all had a chance to see what was really written in a note that was supposed to be from the Beaver's principal, Mrs. Rayburn to Beaver's father Ward. What caught my eye was the first paragraph form the letter that somehow reminded me of some of the less successful blogs that I read.
Take a look at this opening -
"This paragraph has absolutely nothing to do with anything.
It is here merely to fill up space. Still, it is words,
rather than repeated letters, since the latter might not
give the proper appearance, namely, that of an actual note."


Doesn't that remind you of a blog that you might have seen?
Merely here to fill up space?
I guess things like that just go with the territory.
It isn't always easy finding interesting things to write about, but as the host of this writer4web blog, I will try not merely fill up space.
Some people are serious about their surfing, and some are just looking to get seen.

Gadget of the future? A Digger Alarm Clock

One of of my new favorite pastimes is submitting new stories and links to Digg. In addition to posting to my writing blog and sending comments and tips to other writers, Digg writer4web submissions provide me with an outlet to express some of my personal opinions and political beliefs. As I search the web for articles that have an impact, I have the chance to share my ideas and feelings with others. I enjoy looking for good editorials on civil liberties, human rights, or politics that can provide me and others with information that I didn't know or had not considered, and I find it satisfying to post good material and share it with my friends and with the Digg Community. Another aspect that I appreciate about Digg is the good natured competition with other 'diggers' to try and submit the good stories before anyone else, and to try and rack up as many 'diggs' as I can. It is exciting to watch the Digger community react strongly to a great article you've submitted, although there are surprises as well when a hot article gets a low rating or a simple editorial lands you a string of digg points and comments. One of the most exhilarating aspects has to be the moment when you start getting diggs at a rapid rate and can watch your article climb up the roster towards that fabled place in the sky-The Digg Homepage.


There have been lots of articles written about the 'Digg Effect', but to put it simply-Front page news gets alot of traffic, and when the ratings start to rise, it happens very quickly. That is PART of the FUN and PART of the PROBLEM. What happens when you aren't online responding to the rapid onslaught of comments from users when your digg starts it's rise? What if you decided to go to the park that day, or clean your house? What happens then? The truth is that you can miss the excitement of a front page digg if you are not sitting at your computer because it all happens very quickly. 2 days ago, after submitting a few interesting diggs to my profile page, I left to do some errands until the evening. That is exactly the same time my digg article started gaining votes and moving up the charts rapidly until I had hit the first page with about 300 votes and it was still rising. By the time I had heard about it from a friend of mine, my article had logged another 150 votes and been on the front page for a few hours already. I finally got home and was able to watch it rise a little as new comments kept it on the 2nd page for a few more hours. The irritating problem was that I had had my first serious front page run and I hadn't been there to enjoy it or to respond to it. Then it hit me. What could you offer a digger who has everything?

HOW ABOUT A DIGGER ALARM CLOCK???


It might fasten onto your hand like a wristwatch, or maybe it could be a cell phone ring tone that plays "NO Diggity, you got to bag it up". Maybe it would look like one of those small windable alarm clocks that you could put into your car and place on the dashboard. Something.
Anything to let you know-"Oops, I have something in the oven, gotta run". I need some help here people!!
How can I have missed writer4web's first major front page digg? I need someone out there to hear my call. "Can you design the gadget of the future? A Digger Alarm is definitely needed here! " The thrill of victory just ain't the same if you aren't there to see it. Diggers, start your engines!

For any other ideas, comments or questions, please feel free to use the comment section>>>>>
That's what it is there for!



Be cool people,
writer4web

The Medium is the Message

The thought came to me yesterday that we as writers may not be utilizing the internet to the best of our advantage because we usual deal in only 1 medium. Words. We like to take a text this way and that and we can whip up something tasty at a moments notice if we put our mind to it, but we have only one type of meal. Sentences usually; short, long, and occasionally abrupt. We can sometimes drag on and on with lots of UN-necessary punctuation but we usually deal in sentences!! We may add a photo in now and again, but for the most part we are strictly writers.
Ok- that is what I think. Now, let's try something. Do you see that videoclip waiting below? Ok, now turn ON your speakers, turn UP the volume and take a trip back to when them crazy saxophone blowing cats would be honking out that sweet jazz into the American night as somebody hunkers down over a beer then shouts suddenly out loud into the darkness of eternity >>>>

Did you feel it? Jack Kerouac swirls inside of your head, lo tech vocals over 1 stills photo and 'BAM' he takes you back. What I am saying writers, is that one thing that we may have been ignoring in this world of mp3, MTV, and ipodism is that the written word spoken and recorded on audio or on video is a very strong medium, and one that can give writing a great push. Now we can download some audio on MySpace, and we can put together a simple video for YouTube, and use our words and sentences in a new way. In this world of highspeed downloads and the constant upgrading that is going on around us, we may need to start using all of our resources wisely. Ok here is another one. This is a short counterculture video some young guy filmed, and for the audio track he (probably without permission) dubs in Allen Ginsberg reading on America. Take a listen...

Can you feel the power of the recorded word? This medium still holds alot of untapped internet potential for writers. Now, maybe you are saying to yourself-'my writing is fine, but my reading sounds like a chicken squacking'. Ok, maybe one of your friends has a great voice that would sound really nice, and you could make a simple home video of something interesting-even a slideshow of interesting, appropriate photos could be great. Use your imaginations-writers have plenty-and take a step into the great beyond. In closing I want to show you this clip. This poet, Judelicious1971 from YouTube had the idea of filming a clip, reciting a favorite poem, and sending it to other poets and friends, and each one was supposed to add on to it to build this collaboration. Take a look at the clip, and if you have an idea-get crazy and add something!

I will catch you all later,
writer4web

BLACK SMOKE ? Turn off your computer !

I know, I know it isn't that easy. There are so many great things to do on the computer, and if you are connected online, it just isn't that simple to "disconnect". This story was given birth to during one of those rare moments when I was "offline" and I found myself with time on my hands. OK - I confess, this moment of bliss wasn't my choice. I had spent my Saturday afternoon sleeping, and I woke up after one of the most restful naps of all-time destined for greatness. After the stars started to shine, I turned on my computer anxious to do some late night work. Nothing specific, but I had lots of things I wanted to write about. I just had to check my Email first.
I had some invitations from users on MySpace that wanted to be my friends, so I hopped on over their to add them as friends after I looked over their homepages. Then I took a quick look to see how my digg articles had done over the weekend. I popped over to reddit for a few short moments after that to take a look at a few comments from my friends. I noticed an interesting item there from YouTube so I stopped by there afterwards, logged on, added it to my my favorites and sent it to a couple of my friends. It was a really hot video so I decided to add it to my del.icio.us bookmarks as well so my other friends can take a look at it too. After all that action I felt like seeing what Technorati said about my stats, and to take a peek at who liked what and where they came from. I am curious like that. I love to write things and collect lots of stuff as well to send around to my friends. It is only natural to share it with my friends, isn't it. Any way, everything was fine, so I decided to amble on over to StumbleUpon to see if there were any recommended pages over there that looked interesting. I had recently received a nice review of my StumbleUpon pages from a new friend called RamblinRose8 and I had written her a nice thank-you back. I noticed that night that she had written me another message, this time a long reply to my letter that really touched my heart. Her letter talked about about all the good souls called "seeders" that are always downloading content for other users even though they may never even meet those people. Not the internet pirates who download stolen content, but the good guys who like to pass around interesting content- articles, photos, videos, audio and other web pages to others that might enjoy them. It isn't that glamorous, but let's face it- it is nice to be nice. It feels good to send something to someone that you think will like it. The problem is that people don't always say thank you, sometimes folks just take the goods and run. Not everybody runs. RamblinRose8 didn't run and that impressed me. She wrote a really warm letter from the heart and to tell you the truth, she touched me with her sincerity. It is nice to meet pleasant people. This occasionally happens to me Online, but it doesn't happen all the time. Anyway, it was nice to read her letter and I enjoyed her reasoning. Then I smelled smoke. Real smoke, not the metaphorical kind. It was coming from behind my computer screen. Oh my, my computer was on fire. Do I have to go offline now? I had so much still to do... The smell of smoke was getting stronger and I decided yes, you need to shut down now. For a moment at least. <> I sat there for 2 minutes as time stopped, still smelling the fumes rising from my computer screen and convincing myself-don't worry, it's only dust. After another 2 minutes I told myself, naaa it's ok, I'll turn on my computer again so I pushed on the power button and watched my Windows opening up. Before I even had a chance to see my desktop one more time, the smell of smoke became even stronger than before. I thought to myself, do I really need to shut down? With black smoke starting to rise heavily from behind the screen, I decided that it might be best to hit power off before the whole thing bursts into flames. So I did it. Do you wish to shutdown? Yes please-quickly please, quickly. I sat there looking at the black monitor for about 5 minutes before I decided to take a look around the room. I looked around the room that I sit in at least 5 hours a day as if seeing it for the first time. I realized that when you are Online, you don't always see the room. Maybe more accurately, you don't see the room at all. Your eyes are always drawn to the computer screen. Ohhh- you say, I wonder who's Online? Anyway, my computer screen was black and I looked around the room, and I was surprised. Nice room. Everything looked pretty organized, and there were things in my room. I hadn't noticed them for the last 2 years or so, but there were definitely some things in my room. I saw my guitar for example. I couldn't even remember the last time I even picked up my guitar let alone write a song, but it was definitely IN THE ROOM. I was totally awake from my afternoon rest and I continued scanning the room until I realized that I was actually bored, and a little restless. My eyes came back to the guitar and I thought about it for a moment. I got up and picked up my guitar and strummed G. No it wasn't in tune but I quickly tuned up and began playing a few chords. It was kinda fun. That's how it started, and it surprised me a little. Had I needed a change - I don't know. Was I enjoying the change - yes, I was enjoying myself...

writer4web ............ Coming soon... Part 2 - 'The Song Emerges'