Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Your Writers Voice is Inside You

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You literally must pour yourself into your writing. That isn't as much a cliche as you may have thought.

Why do you write?

I write to change my world by revising it and giving it a happy ending. I think most write fiction to create new realities and new ways of expressing ourselves. It gives us the power to fix anything we don't like in the real world. We write to escape, and to escape we must enter the world of fiction fully.

Who do you become when you write?

First, you become vulnerable. You must become the characters, all of them -- even the bad guys. For the characters to be compelling I believe they must contain some real part of the writer's personality. You have all the voices inside you waiting to come out; they only need the right character. Let them each speak for themselves, individually, to bring them to life. You literally must pour yourself into your writing. That isn't as much a cliche as you may have thought.

Have you ever found an old personal writing of yours, something you'd written a few years ago, and been surprised at the strong voice you heard? It will have a tone of realism you didn’t know you could present so well. It's your writers voice. It is probably something you wrote on the spur of the moment while in a particular emotional state and you poured yourself into it. Learn to use it by becoming each character. To become each character, you must know them well. Study them, make them individuals by basing them on someone real.

I've heard some creative writers say they don't worry about the characters, because they think the story is more important. They admit throwing card-board characters in as they're needed to get the story to the finish line. I haven't read their work so I don't know if they can pull it off or not, but I wonder who performs the action; how is emotion brought in? I think even if it's completely narrated, the narrator still needs a strong voice to keep boredom at bay..

I agree with the statement that the story is important, but the characters are equally important. Good ones can fool the reader into thinking even a bad story is good. Good, solid characters with consistently strong voices can sell mediocre serial books. Readers read to escape. They don't know or care that the writer was forced to draw on painful memories and cry buckets of tears to make the characters true-to-life; they just know if they can identify with them or not. They can't become that particular character or overcome the obstacle, without a strong writer's voice bringing the character to life. Bottom line - they won't like your story.

So, to find your writers voice, dig through all the animosity, fear, anger, cruelty, joy and heartbreak of everyday living, past, present and perceived. Twist it, exaggerate it, and give it to your characters to work out. Your readers will love it.

About The Author

Harriet Silkwood is a reviewer of new writers and has written newsletters and articles on the subject of novice writing and reviewing with common sense and encouragement. Her portfolio may be found at http://www.Writing.Com/authors/storytime. She is an author on http://www.Writing.Com/ which is a site for Writers.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Love Links

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Friday, August 24, 2007

Increase your TECHNORATI ranking and GOOGLE PAGE RANK. Guaranteed!

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If you are looking for ways to improve your GOOGLE PAGE RANKING and TECHNORATI RANKING, I recommend that you give Viral Linking or Viral Tagging a chance. All you need to do is follow these four simple instructions and you're on your way to increasing the number of links to your blog. (courtesy of Blogging Mix.)

==== Copy and Paste below this line ====

Instructions

1.) Copy and paste the entire matrix of “ViralTags” below.

2.) Substitute the Host Tag and one of the “ViralTags” in the matrix with your anchor text of choice containing your blog’s URL. Please keep anchor text to a maximum of 4 words to keep the matrix size manageable.

3.) When you get a ping back from someone that has your link in one of their “ViralTags”, practice good karma by copying his/her Host Tag’s anchor text (automatically the associated link will also be copied) and paste it over one of your “ViralTags” below.

4.) Encourage and invite your readers to do the same and soon this will grow virally.


Host Tag: Blogging Mix : Blog, Bloggers and Blogging

| Blogging Mix | Blog About Interesting Stuff | Internet Blog Branding | Blogspot - Search Engine Optimization | Blogging Tips, SEO Guide | Blog Instructor | Blog, Blogger and Blogging | Blog About Networking | Blog Monetization - Blogspot | Blogger, Blog and Blogging | Blogging and Marketing | Blog For Bloggers | The Bloggers Haven | Business Logic | Extension - Blogging Mix | Content, Connection, Continuity | Asian Women and Culture | Viral Tag | Viral Tag | Viral Tag | Viral Tag |


UPDATE: Please let me know through the comments when you've posted this on your blog so I can add your link. Please inform me of your preferred ANCHOR TEXT too. Thanks.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

What is Link Trading and How Do You Trade?

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Link trading is the task of getting links to your site on other sites by trading.. umm.. links. This is done to get more traffic to you web site. Link trading creates more traffic in two main ways, increased search engine rankings and also from the traffic the links themselves generate from people clicking on them.

Link Trading and Search Engines

Trading links helps search engine rankings because the algorithms that determine rankings factor in the number of sites that link back to the site to be ranked. The logic is that sites that have many links pointing back to it must be relevant and good in some sense, and are therefore ranked higher in the engines.

How to Trade Links

Now that we know what link trading is, how is it done? There are many methodologies. Since link trading can involve many contacts, requests and link categorizations, it is best to use software to handle your link trading campaign.

Link Trading Software

The software you choose should allow you to create a link directory, ad links to that directory, send requests to have your link posted on other sites and a method for keeping track of responses.

Link Trading Process

The general process begins when the site owner identifies a site which he or she would like to trade links with. Generally, these sites should be relevant to the topic of your site, or at least have a section dedicated to the topic of your site. Trading links with huge numbers of unrelated sites will actually hurt your search engine rankings in most cases. Also, usually it is a good idea to look for well-ranked sites to trade links with. The importance of a well-ranked site's link to your site in search engine algorithms will be greater than those of not so well ranked sites.

After the site to trade links with is located, a link to that site is posted on your site. Sometimes the link would be posted on a different site than the site wishing to get a link back. This produces non-reciprocal links, which weigh heavier in search engines.

After the link is posted, a request is sent that a link back be posted, explaining that if a link back is not created, the original link to the prospects site is likely to be removed.

If a link is returned, then the trade is marked as successful and each of the link traders has one more site linking to it. Other wise a follow up is sent. If the follow up still does not result in a link back, often the link would be removed.

Link Trading Etiquette

Asking to trade links without posting a link to the site you are wishing to trade with is bad form. The prospect is likely to think "If this person has not already posted a link to my site, what will motivate them to do so when I post a link to their site?" Many people will not even respond to a link request whereas the link has not yet been posted.

This is of course only a brief introduction to link trading. In short, effective link trading requires organization, persistence and time, yet is often well worth the effort.

About The Author

Halstatt Pires is an Internet marketing consultant with http://www.marketingtitan.com - an Internet marketing firm in San Diego offering automated web site systems through http://www.businesscreatorpro.com.

Attract Traffic to Your Blog: Alternative to Search Engines


Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Give me 1 Link, I'll Give You 5 Links in Return

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Make Money Online Idea That Has Changed So Many Lives

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It would be difficult to find another online make money idea that has changed more lives than this particular one you are about to discover. And what is even more fascinating about this particular make money online idea is the fact that it is based on a very recent trend that has proved to be more than a passing fad.

We are of course talking about the phenomenal rise of blogs. Without blogs this make money online idea would not have been possible.

For years, since the days of the rise of Amazon.com folks have been making money from affiliate programs. Still it has always been a rather difficult thing to do mainly because setting up a web site, getting it hosted and keeping it running has always been a costly and time consuming thing to do for most.

Enter blogs, which are easy to set up and even easier to maintain and you have a make money online idea that has taken the World Wide Web by storm.

All one needs to do is set up a free blog and simply sprinkle it with the relevant affiliate links and you could swiftly find yourself earning thousands of dollars every month.

This is the make money online idea that is revolutionizing the web.

Learn more about this make money strategy from a blogger who is using it to rake in thousands of dollars... and growing. Or subscribe to his email newsletter with plenty of case studies that will help you maximize on your affiliate earnings. To get it free send a blank email NOW.

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

What Makes BlogCatalog Different? - Blogging Mix Review

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Freelancing as A Career Option

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Home bound workers can either consider telecommuting or freelancing. While telecommuting may keep you out of your home for some hours a week, online freelancing is a good way to make money if you are forced to stay at home. For example, homemakers, part-time students, retired folk, or others who wish to supplement their income from jobs or businesses can all consider freelancing.

Freelance Skill Sets

You can start earning as a freelancer as long as you have skills that someone is willing to pay for. For example, writers, web designers, photographers, and programmers can earn a substantial income by creating articles, websites, portfolios and software from home. The Internet is a hot and viable source of income for freelancers from around the world. Your target customers can be webmasters, online business owners, blog owners etc. For example, blogs and wikis are hot sources of income for freelance writers nowadays, and there's no reason why you can't tap into this market if you possess good writing skills.

Freelance Income

On the flip, your income may fluctuate from one month to another. As with all businesses, freelancing does not guarantee a stable paycheck at the end of the month. So keep a small kitty reserve for dry days or have another source of income for which you can work part-time. Be prepared to accept boring, low-level work initially just to keep the cash flow strong. Once you get a good reputation for providing original, high-quality work at reasonable price, then clients will flock to you.

Freelance Advantages

Probably the best thing about freelancing is that you get to work at your pace, in your own hours, from home, and be your own boss. That means, your shop is open 24x7. And as long as you provide good quality work and meet deadlines, your clients will remain happy with you.

In order to be visible, you also need to be seen and heard in the right places, like forums, blogs, online groups, etc. Spend time everyday to visit such sites because they are invaluable repository of freelance gigs and email addresses of prospects. Alternatively you can sign up with freelance sites like Elance.com, GetAFreelancer.com and Scriptlance.com where you can start bidding on projects and snag a few as early as today!

To conclude, a freelance business is one of the best ways to earn money from home and to work for your own self. If you've got a fair amount of time on your hands, maybe you too should consider freelancing as your full-time career alternative or supplementary income source.

(Hint: While you can find plenty of lucrative freelance assignments on Elance, the other sites mentioned above generally tend to feature lesser-paid projects. However, if you're just starting out as a freelancer, the competition on Elance can prove to be really tough. So you might want to first try GAF and Scriptlance to build up your portfolio, and then go for Elance.)

About The Author
Lewis Low is the founding editor of OnlineBizPromo.com. For more Practical Online Business Ideas and Work-From-Home Opportunities, visit his Work-At-Home directory at http://www.OnlineBizPromo.com
Enhance your blog and blogging skills with BLOGGING MIX! A blog dedicated to helping bloggers!