Writing Your Life Story - Tips And Techniques For Success

Once a luxury of the rich and famous, technology has, for the first time in history, made it possible for anyone to capture, share and preserve their most precious life stories. With the advent of computers, the Internet, digital photography, video, and audio, anyone can capture the richness and texture of their life stories. These personal histories will be appreciated by family, friends, and future generations.

Today it is possible to easily blend the art of traditional biography and memoir with powerful new technologies into a new form of individual life storytelling: the personal life history. Personal life histories are satisfying to create. And, because of the interactive multimedia possibilities inherent in computers and the web, a well-done personal life history can be rich and fully rounded in ways that are impossible to achieve in text-only memoir or biography. But most importantly, personal life histories preserve vital individual and family stories. And, when properly done, they will last for generations.

In this article you will discover how to use time-honored life story writing techniques along with the latest technologies to create a story that is uniquely "you."

Writing Your Life Story - Tips And Techniques For Success

The Art of Traditional Life-Story Formats

For anyone interested in creating their own autobiography, memoir or personal life history, it is important to understand the distinctions between these forms of telling one's own life story. To over-generalize for a moment, an autobiography is more fact-based, while a memoir is more emotion-based.

Autobiographies are written by the subject, sometimes with the collaboration of another writer. Autobiographical works take many forms, from intimate writings made during life that are not necessarily intended for publication (including letters, diaries, journals, memoirs, and reminiscences) to the formal autobiography. Interestingly, the autobiography format does not necessarily have to be true. It may also be a literary fictional tale.

Memoirs are a form of personal recollection that has grown enormously in popularity in recent times. Memoirs often focus on more subjective recollections such as memories, feelings, and emotions and are generally written from the first-person viewpoint. The memoir is often focused on capturing certain meaningful highlights or moments.

In his own Memoir, Palimpest, Gore Vidal writes that "a memoir is how one remembers one's own life, while an autobiography is history, requiring research, dates, facts double-checked."

Memoirs usually focus on a brief period of time or a series of connected events (an autobiography covers a longer time period). In a memoir, the writer is usually retrospective, and contemplating past events. Memoirs may incorporate the techniques of storytelling such as setting, plot, conflict, character development, foreshadowing, flashback, irony or symbolism. And lastly, writing one's memoir often has a therapeutic effect for the writer.

Oral History Recordings

An oral history is a verbatim transcription of an interview, left in the narrator's exact words. These are usually left in a question-and-answer style and are an economical way to preserve family stories. A recording system with a good-quality microphone and a quiet spot free from interruptions are all that is really needed to capture an oral history. It helps to have questions prepared in advance of the interview.

Oral histories are usually recorded using analog tape or digital recording equipment, but it is also possible to record directly into a personal computer. Oral histories are often transcribed (typed or word processed) into a document format. The conversational style is appealing for its easygoing informality.

Caveats: Recording formats and standards are constantly evolving and could become difficult or impossible to play back if the equipment becomes obsolete. Taped recordings decay over time.

Video History Recordings

Do-it-Yourself: At the basic level, it's easy and fun to create a basic video history. Camcorders are relatively inexpensive, and many computers today come with basic editing software. Capturing a good video history shares all of the same prerequisites as an audio recording: a quiet spot, with questions prepared in advance. Plus, you will want an uncluttered background, flattering lighting, and right clothing to improve the quality of the end product. White shirts, pants or dresses, for example don't show up well on video. Likewise, busy patterns can be distracting. Solid light-colored neutrals or pastels are usually safe.

Professional videographers: A large number of professional video companies specialize in the creation of life story productions. Productions may range from a 10 or 15 minute short to an hour or longer mini-movie, complete with titles, music, and other Hollywood-style effects. Naturally, you'll pay more for a professional production than a homegrown effort.

When selecting a professional use all the usual smart-consumer tips. Ask for references. Ask to see samples of prior work. Get all costs, production timetables and commitments in writing. It's delightful to have movies of an individual or family. When well-executed they often have entertainment value and are great for special occasions.

Caveat: As with audio recordings, formats change over time, and media can degrade, even with proper storage methods

The Integration of Art and Technology: Web-Based Personal Life Histories

Just in the last few years, the Web has emerged as a powerful new medium for creating and sharing life stories. On the web it is not only possible, it is enjoyable and easy to create a rich multimedia story with text, photos, audio and video. This is the new format of the personal life history.

Web-based personal life histories enjoy several advantages over paper-based publishing, audio, video, or even CD life stories. Specifically, Web-based publication is updateable-one can add new information at any time. It is easily shareable among friends or family. The most advanced sites offer choices of privacy and security protection. The web is also multimedia, meaning you can add text, photos, audio, and video. Photos, audio, video are never lost, damaged destroyed. An finally, many sites offer print-on-demand, allowing you to create instant books. The books may be printed on your home printer, or sent out to small-run publishers. If you choose the small-run option, be sure to specify archival quality paper.

One of the biggest advantages of web publishing is the ability to build community around similar interests, occupations, backgrounds or life events. For example, a WWII veteran pilot who posts his story to the Web and makes it available to the public may be contacted by long-lost friends, other veterans, students, historians, museum personnel, or others interested in this pivotal chapter in American history.

Why Create Your Personal Life History?

Mark Twain once said: "There was never yet an uninteresting life. Such a thing is impossibility. Inside everyone, there is a drama, a comedy, a tragedy."

A personal life history can be as short as a few pages, or several volumes in length. Whatever the length or medium, it requires thoughtfulness and sometimes quite a bit of work to accomplish. But the work is worthwhile because it has the ability to influence generations ahead. Your personal life history may leave a legacy for your children and grandchildren. As with memoir, writing a personal history allows you to examine and reflect on your life up to the present day. It lets you add your story to the larger historical record of your family, city, and country. And lastly, if you don't do it, who will?

Start with a Timeline of Life Chapters

How does one start to tell the story of a life that may cover 60, 70, 80 years or more? Often it's helpful to create a chronological timeline of major events in your life. It helps to jot down a few notes around key phases in your life. In fact, you may already be thinking of your life as a book, with separate, distinct chapters built around important life episodes.

Of course, not everyone's life follows an identical chronological sequence, but here are a few ideas for chapter headings for your book or story. GreatLifeStories.com uses the following "chapters" to organize life stories:

o Your Beginnings

o In Your Neighborhood

o School Days

o Off to Work

o Romance and Marriage

o War and Peace

o Triumphs and Tragedies

o Words of Wisdom

o Humor

o Words of Gratitude

The chapter system is very flexible. For example, you don't have to start your life story with the days of your birth and youth. Perhaps you had a fascinating experience during the war. As with a movie, you might open your life story with that "scene," then tell the story how you got there.

Once you've got an idea for the "flow," of your story, here are some more specific guidelines to help add color, texture, and authenticity:

Just start writing! Do a mind dump. Get it out of your head and down on paper, the computer, the tape recorder, wherever. Don't worry about how it sounds. Just write. Resist the temptation to edit yourself; there will be time for editing later. Be yourself. Don't worry if your grammar or spelling isn't perfect. Write it as you would say it.Honesty is everything. The best writing tells it like it happened. Include humor. Favorite jokes, stories, anecdotesDetail, detail, detail. What kind of floor did the kitchen have? What color was the scarf she wore when you first met? Go at a comfortable pace. Don't try to capture an entire lifetime in a single session of furious writing. Write, allow time to reflect, and return again to writing. Consult others. Family members and friends can be invaluable sources of facts and interpretation.Use photos to jog your memory. Tip: Set out photos in a timeline of your life, starting from your very youngest days, and moving through current times. Write or record to your visual storyboardLook for themes in your life. Themes are broad ideas that are central to your life. Did you always want to be a pilot? A preacher? Own a restaurant? Be a farmer? Tell the story of how you met your goal, or how the goal changed to something else totally unexpected.

Here are just a few other thematic life story possibilities: a. The Spiritual quest b. The Confession c. The Travelogue d. The Portrait e. The Complaint f. Humor g. The Family history h. The Road to Recovery i. War Story j. Romance

Another Option: Hire a Professional

Most of this article has been focused on creating the do-it-yourself personal life history. There is, of course, the option of working with a professional. The right professional writer or videographer is a highly skilled interviewer and has the proper tools and equipment. And, believe it or not, it is sometimes easier for someone to open up in front of a stranger rather than in front of a family member.

There are many approaches to working with writers or videographers. However, there are a number of similarities in common. The writer/videographer often:

1) Meets with you to determine the scope and cost of the project.

2) Usually sets up taped interview sessions. Depending on your objectives, these may be an hour or two, or 10, 20 hours or more.

3) The recording is transcribed and edited with your input and guidance

4) Once a final manuscript/movie is agreed upon, it may be sent out for printing or duplication.

5) For books, personal history professionals recommend archival bindings and acid-free paper for longevity

6) You receive the number of books/movies agreed upon in your contract.

7) Be sure to discuss services, fees and end products in advance, and get all agreements in writing.

Thanks to high technology, the art of capturing and preserving the stories from one's own life is now open to more people and easier than ever before. A new genre of personal storytelling is emerging that draws on the literary traditions of the autobiography and memoir, while adding audio, video, and web technology to create personal life histories. On the Web, these personal stories personal life histories are multimedia, collaborative, shareable, and instantly updateable.

Enjoy capturing your life story!

References and Further Reading

Web Sites:

http://www.greatlifestories.com

Associations:

The Association of Personal Historians is a 600+ member organization of professional personal historians who create life stories in all formats: text, audio, video. http://www.personalhistorians.org

How-to Books:

There are many good books filled with different approaches and tips for writing a personal life history. Here are just a few:

Daniel, Lios, How to Write Your Own Life Story

Rainer, Tristine, Your Life as Story Books

Roorbach, Bill, Writing Life Stories

Writing Your Life Story - Tips And Techniques For Success
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Mike Brozda is one of the founding members of the GreatLifeStories team. A veteran journalist, he has more than 30 years experience writing for national and international publications. He has also created more than 150 personal life histories for people across the US, Canada, and Mexico. Contact him at mike.brozda@yahoo.com

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Article Writing Tips - The Commentary

I hear these complaints from article writers all the time. "I can't think of anything to write about" or "I don't know enough about the subject." The list of excuses is endless. Well, with the commentary, there are no more excuses. Why? Well, when you're done reading this article, you'll understand why. The commentary, or what is more commonly referred to as the opinion piece, is the easiest thing in the world to write. After all, everybody has opinions, right?

Okay, so what really is an opinion piece of commentary? Well, it's exactly what it sounds like. It's an article where you give your opinion about something. I mean you DO have opinions, right? I have yet to meet a person who isn't so opinionated that you just want to throw darts at them. Hey, I'm probably one of the most opinionated people around and my opinion is that ANYBODY can write these kind of articles. The form of them is very simple.

You start out by simply reporting the facts of a particular subject, whatever it is. So let's say you're writing about the current financial crisis and Wall Street. You simply report the latest happenings on Wall Street, whatever they are. These are easy enough to find through newspapers, TV or even the Internet. Just look up latest Wall Street news. Report the facts and then move on to the next part. That next part is YOUR opinion. And guess what? Since it's an opinion, it can't be wrong.

Article Writing Tips - The Commentary

So let's say you have an opinion on the housing crisis, people defaulting on their mortgages. You might write that it's their own fault for taking out mortgages that they clearly knew they couldn't afford in the first place. That's one angle you could take. Another angle is from the viewpoint of the lending institutions. You could write about how irresponsible you think they have been for giving loans to people they knew could never pay them back. You could write about what you think of the bailouts. There is so much to comment on.

Opinion pieces are without a doubt the easiest in the world to write. Just get the facts straight and nobody can accuse you of writing an article that is inaccurate. After all, opinions are just that.

Try writing these sometime. You might be surprised to find out how easy they REALLY are.

And yes, THAT is MY opinion.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Article Writing Tips - The Commentary
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Creative Writing: How to Generate Ideas

Most well-known authors agree that the most commonly asked question is, "Where do you get your ideas?"

It is almost an impossible question to answer because everyone generates ideas for writing differently. Ideas can come from just about anywhere; you just have to know where to look. Most beginning writers don't realize that fodder for stories are located almost everywhere you turn. So start opening your eyes on a day-to-day basis and keep a look-out for ideas that you might otherwise have missed.

How to Generate Ideas: Television Most people watch TV, regardless of the type of programming. You can get ideas for creative writing on any show at any time of the day. Sitcoms, dramas, documentaries and the news can all get the creative juices flowing. For example, I once was contracted to ghostwrite a book about a sex crimes assistant district attorney who was stumped by a strange case of rape and incest. Sound strange? My client got the idea from watching Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He loved the show, and wanted to mirror some of the problems faced in their episodes.

Creative Writing: How to Generate Ideas

How to Generate Ideas: Tabloids If you are interested in the unknown or unexplainable, the tabloids are an excellent source of creative material. From UFO sightings to children born with three heads, you might be able to craft a mystery or suspense story around one of the articles you read. Even if they are written by crackpots and loony tunes (I didn't say that), you can still use it for fiction.

How to Generate Ideas: People The people around you on a daily basis can give you great ideas for creative writing. For example, when your friend comes to you with a problem or your colleagues talk about what they did last weekend, you can use their experiences as creative material. Not only that, but they can also be convenient templates for characters.

How to Generate Ideas: Exaggerations They say that truth is stranger than fiction, but not always. Take a seemingly mundane experience, soup it up and create a fiction plot. Often, you can exaggerate a true story just enough so that it makes a captivating story. Or, if your life really is stranger than fiction, you can always tone it down a few notches to make it believable.

How to Generate Ideas: Your Life Believe it or not, your own life experiences can make great fodder for stories. The trials and tribulations that plague all of us on a daily basis can translate into plots. Take a look at your life and pick out a few memorable experiences, then tweak the details into a riveting novel.

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Laura J. College is a professional ghostwriter with more than ten years' experience writing fiction and non-fiction manuscripts. Her work can be found all over the Internet, and she is currently accepting ghostwriting clients. Check out her website at www.laurajcollege.com [http://www.laurajcollege.com].

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Selecting a Creative Business Name - Here's Why and How

Picture yourself trying to name a baby, especially your own. You would make sure that you take enough time and put in enough effort before you close in on any one name, while also trying to ensure that the name that is given to your baby is as unique as possible. So why should naming your own business be any different? Of course, the two aren't exactly the same, but the point is that naming your business calls for as much attention as naming your newborn baby.

While starting a business from scratch does involve a lot of hard work and planning, there are scores of businesses that do not pay enough attention to giving their businesses appropriate names. In looking for a suitable name for your new business/company you should take every effort in looking for creative business names as this would help set your business apart from its competitors and give you the edge you so badly need, especially at the onset.

One of the most common mistakes that new businesses make in giving the businesses a name is that even though the business name might be descriptive and accurate, it turns out to be quite forgettable. One of the primary reasons for this to happen is that the business name lacks creativity.

Selecting a Creative Business Name - Here's Why and How

Many business names are decided in the boardroom wherein a number of decision makers sit around a table tossing names in the air. With no expertise in this endeavor (yes, naming your business is an endeavor in itself) there is every possibility that the good names are overlooked and what is picked is an inappropriate business name. The end result of such an exercise is your business losing out on getting the required attention and fading into oblivion.

There are a number of aspects that need to be looked into before you decide on any one name for your business. These include looking at the supporting elements, seeing the context, and ensuring that the new name that you come up with is does not find itself associated with names from the past. The creative aspect of naming a business is very important as this makes your business name eye catching and gets your prospective and probable customers to look in the right direction. However, you must remember that a creative business name isn't enough if you haven't taken the other aspects into consideration.

The closer you can get to pinpointing the 'what' of your business, the more is the possibility of coming up with a suitable creative business name. On the other hand, this could also lead to your business name turning out to be more of a description instead of a business name. This is why it is important that if you are unsure about the process of naming your business, you seek professional guidance (and plenty is easily available).

So no matter what you decide to name your business, make sure that it does not lack in creativity, as this will ensure that your business can make that much needed initial mark, and this will also ensure a much smoother ride for the future.

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Writing Articles For Publication - What You Should Know

Most articles are written for publication, either online or in print. Many people are writing articles for publication, especially on the Internet. Some of these articles are great to read; others are just total waste of time for those who write and those who read them. Some of these horrible articles come about because writers refuse to follow certain basic rules regarding writing articles for publication. Here are some of these basic principles.

Draft your articles first

The first thing to do when writing articles for publication is to draft them. The draft could be done in any format: as a text file, word file or handwritten (which is actually getting outmoded). This allows you to put down all the ideas in your mind quickly as they come to you. You then have them ready for editing and proofreading. You must always resist the temptation of publishing your articles prematurely. This temptation is great because publishing articles on the net could just take a few minutes.

Writing Articles For Publication - What You Should Know

Edit and proofread

The next step is to edit your article and proofread them. This should not be done immediately after drafting your article. It is ideal that you wait for at least a day or two before editing your article. This is because the ideas are still fresh in your mind, and you are somehow excited just after finishing drafting. You will not be critical in your reading. But after a day, you will be able to discover the omissions and spelling and grammar mistakes you made. You will even realize that some of your sentences should be redone. If you don't want to wait, then you can let someone do this for you. You cannot avoid this when writing articles for publication.

Make articles interesting to read

When writing articles for publication, you should bear in mind that the reader is not obliged to read. It is an essay for your High School or College teacher who must read whatever boring piece you produce in order to award you marks. You will have to entice your reader to read. This means that your article should be fun to read. You must know how to capture your reader and make him/her stay with you until they finish reading. Even if you are writing about very serious topics, you can still find ways of adding fun to it.

Your style should match your content

The style of writing you choose is a very important part of writing articles for websites. There are certain topics such as "How-to's" which will demand the use of the conversational/instructional style. You can't write pieces of this nature in a third person neutral style. Your style makes the article easy to understand.

Remember that writing articles for publication is a serious business. If you want to improve your readership, then you can't take the above points for granted.

Writing Articles For Publication - What You Should Know
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Stan Ashton is a marketeer and specialists in the marketing and supplying of high quality information products to entrepreneurs and small businesses globally. A management consultant since 2003 I also have a Diploma in training and development.

Article by Stan Ashton. Did you like this article? Then I'd like to offer you my free report on 7 ways to profit with articles. Grab your free copy here: http://www.profitswitharticles.com/

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Book Writing - Page Count and Chapter Length

Regardless of genre, there is no hard and fast rule about how many pages or words each chapter should contain or how many chapters should be in a book. However, there are some general guidelines in this article that may help you determine the page count and chapter length needed for your book.

Pages in a Chapter:

Many people read in spurts, at lunch time, or on the subway to work, readers enjoy chapters that can be finished in ten to fifteen minutes.

Book Writing - Page Count and Chapter Length

I try to set my chapter lengths by how long it takes me to read the material. If it goes past fifteen minutes, I may decide to divide a chapter in half and make two chapters out of it. Take into consideration that I write mostly non-fiction.

As you probably know, there's a difference in the way fiction and non-fiction are handled. In a fiction book, writers use shorter chapters. Some are only one page if that is all it takes to catch the reader up on the action of other characters in other scenes. When writing non-fiction, your chapter content needs to be specific to your chapter's heading or title.

Twenty pages per chapter is a good rule of thumb, but the most important thing is to include everything that relates to a particular topic in one chapter. For example, if your book is about fishing, you want to include the bulk of your information about fly casting in one chapter. All your info about bait and lure would be in another chapter.

Chapters/Pages in a Book:

These guidelines should give you a general idea of how to determine the length of your chapters and your book.

If your book is titled "The Accuracy of the US Census" you may have 52 chapters (one on each state). If your book is titled "Ten Tips for Marketing" you may have only ten chapters. There's no rule about how many chapters a book can or must have.

In order to be considered a book rather than a pamphlet or booklet, a book needs to be at least 10,000 words. If your book has more than 475 pages, you might want to consider producing it in two volumes.

Because you will submit your manuscript as an 8.5" x 11" word-processing document, you cannot be certain of its final length until after your publisher formats it for print. I have found that 250-300 words will approximate one page of 12-point font text in a standard size (5.5"x8" or 6"x9") perfect-bound book.

Book Writing - Page Count and Chapter Length
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Yvonne Perry is a freelance writer and the owner of Writers in the Sky Creative Writing Services (WITS). She and her team of ghostwriters are ready to assist you with writing and editing for books, eBooks, Web text, business documents, resumes, bios, articles, and media releases. For more information about writing, networking, publishing, and book promotion, or to sign up for free email delivery of WITS newsletter, please visit http://www.writersinthesky.com New subscribers receive a free eBook Tips for Freelance Writing.

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Newsletter Name Ideas - Creative Ideas to Choose A Good Name for Your Newsletter

When you want to choose a name for your newsletter, you should come up with as many newsletter name ideas as you can think of. Because the more ideas you get, the easier it will be for you to choose a good name.

You may want to brainstorm, get inspired by other people's newsletter names, or even learn from offline magazine names. You can also ask your friends, colleagues, family members, online forums, or anyone who might give you good ideas.

You should collect all these ideas in a list and then start choosing the best ones. Of course my personal experience shows me that doing it in reverse is much easier and more effective. I mean, instead of choosing the best ones, cross out the less good titles.

Newsletter Name Ideas - Creative Ideas to Choose A Good Name for Your Newsletter

Do it until you have 5 names on your list. Then put your list aside and don't think about it for a day or two. Let your mind rest for a while. Then come back to your list and pick up the best one.

Your newsletter name should be simple and attractive. It should describe what your newsletter is about. It should also motivate people to subscribe. Depending on the topic of your newsletter, you may choose a serious or funny name.

Just remember it's essential that you choose a good name right from the start. Like naming a baby, you should spend enough time to choose a name you're completely satisfied with, because it will be very difficult to change it later.

Also your newsletter name can make or break your newsletter's success and readership. A great name will make people curious and pulls them to read your every issue. But a poor name will just push them away.

Wish you the best of luck on starting your newsletter!

Newsletter Name Ideas - Creative Ideas to Choose A Good Name for Your Newsletter
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You can get a FREE step-by-step guide to help you choose awesome newsletter names that pull people to subscribe and read your newsletter.

Also to learn more easy, effective secrets to publishing a successful newsletter, you can check out these Easy Newsletter Ideas.

Ladan Lashkari is the author of this article and is giving away lots of helpful tips and ideas to help you start your own successful newsletter.

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The Importance of Imagination

With children and their development, nothing is more important than imagination to help with the growth of thought processes and creativity. Children that are able to get away from it all and place themselves, mentally, in another world are more likely to be able to think "outside the box" and produce more creative results when learning and working. For this reason, the importance of imagination cannot be underestimated and should be encouraged when raising children.

Parents know the importance of curiosity in children. Curiosity holds an important place in the minds of kids because it helps provide them with the will to explore objects and places that they do not know. Children become curious from a very young age and begin to wonder about various notions in this broad universe, but it is imagination that helps carry the child beyond the boundaries of imagination and into a new world of discovery.

It is imagination that begins to develop and occupy a very vital place in a child's mental world. With imagination, a child can move mountains, transport himself to a distant world, make himself smaller or larger, or disappear from sight. Imagination allows children to form new ideas and explore old ideas, all at once. For children with more to escape in their unfortunate realities, such as abuse victims or children with separated parents, imagination plays an even more critical role in development as it aids with coping.

The Importance of Imagination

Promoting Imagination

As parents, it is critical to promote imagination through various activities and ideas. Expose children to fantasy worlds through books and television shows. Discuss these ideas together and explore your children's ideas. Don't judge them for the ideas they think of, but rather explore them together and ask questions to promote more thought through imagination. This will help children flesh out and solidify ideas through their imagination, leading to the building blocks of creative thinking.

In today's world, having imagination is more important than ever. Jobs are being filled with people with creative thinking skills that can get things done. News reports are filled with terrible items that can create feelings of fear, despair and hopelessness. Imagination offers not only a release and an escape from the world, but also a new ability to think and create within it. The skills that come about as a result of a working imagination are infinite in number.

When children get scared, it is important to show them compassion and belonging. This can be accomplished through the use of imagination at play. Doll houses, miniature worlds, board games, role-playing games, or even a simple tent in the backyard can promote imagination in small children as they are influenced through the limitless boundaries of the creative world.

Buy children imagination-promoting toys and activities, too. A dollhouse is a great activity for promoting imagination, as the child can design and work with various characters and situations within the dollhouse. Any toy or activity that promotes imagination is a tremendous asset for preparing children for the world and allowing them the space in which to truly and safely grow up.

The Importance of Imagination
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Top Ten Tips for Writing a Professional Overview or Biography

A professional biography or overview, showcasing your background, experience and expertise, is a necessity for every business owner. This often overlooked marketing tool is an excellent way to introduce you and your business to potential clients and possible strategic business partners. Potentially, it might open up opportunities for speaking engagements, radio or television interviews, or a feature print article. While any information about you and your business is helpful, information that is presented in a professional, well-polished manner can make all the difference in how others perceive you. Consider these important points as you craft your own professional biography.

1. One page wonder.

Your professional biography should be a few paragraphs and kept to one page or less. One page is perfect for copying on the reverse side of a handout or flyer. Several paragraphs, left justified make it easier to read and skim.

Top Ten Tips for Writing a Professional Overview or Biography

2. First, second, or third person?

Always write your biography in the third person. That is, refer to yourself by your name or she/he as appropriate. It sounds more professional as it appears that a third party wrote the text. For example, "Alexandra has been featured in the New York Times, Forbes, Newsweek, and Time magazines."

3. Business in brief.

Not only do readers want to know what you do, but also they want to know who you work with - because they might want to work with you! A professional biography should include a sentence or two about your business niche (or niches) as well as the types of clients you serve. A modified version of your 30-second elevator pitch might be perfect.

4. And the winner is....

Make sure that you include a list of awards that you have received. Readers are interested in knowing about your talents and the organizations that recognize you for them.

5. Organizations.

Include names of the organizations, clubs, or associations to which you belong. A reader's interest might be highlighted at seeing that you belong to the same alumni association or professional business group. Again, these connections might possibly lead to some interesting and exciting business opportunities.

6. Certifications and designations.

Include any professional certifications or designations you hold. Make sure you write out their names in full, rather than use abbreviations. Not everyone might know that CMA stands for Certified Management Accountant. And, perhaps, in a different discipline, it might represent something else - like a Certified Materials Analyst. If you no longer hold a particular designation, but it has played a major role in who you are and what you do, don't hesitate to make a reference to it. For example, "Ann is a former Certified Data Processor and spent the last decade as an adjunct faculty member teaching higher mathematics at the University of Colorado, Boulder." Don't include abbreviations of college degrees, like MBAs as it looks unprofessional. The only exception to this would be for a Ph.D. designation.

7. Published?

Have you written any articles, books, e-courses or e-books? Self-published or not, your works add to your level of professionalism and credibility. Showcase them in your biography and you might earn additional royalties in terms of new clients or other opportunities.

8. Did I mention the media?

Have you been a guest on talk radio or television? Were you or your business featured or even mentioned in a newspaper article? If so, readers want to know. Again, these types of "mentions" add to your credibility and presence.

9. Call me any time.

People who want to know about you will read your biography for just that reason. And, if its compelling, rich, and includes the information they're interested, in, they'll want to contact you. Include complete contact information like your title (if any), name, address, telephone, fax, email, and website address. Make it easy to find this information by including it in the last paragraph of your professional overview.

10. Write, rewrite, and do it again.

After you have written your biography, edit, edit, and edit again. You may need to do a dozen or so revisions before you get it just right. Eliminate extra words, use descriptive words, keep the sentences short but varied in length, and write in the third person. Ask some friends to provide input as well. Make sure to revise your biography regularly to keep it up-to-date and refreshed.

Copyright 2004 by Tara Alexandra Kachaturoff.

Top Ten Tips for Writing a Professional Overview or Biography
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Tara Alexandra Kachaturoff is a business consultant, writer, speaker, Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach and producer/host of Michigan Entrepreneur Television. Drawing on over 15 years of corporate experience, she coaches executives, professionals, and entrepreneurs on business and lifestyle issues and has been featured in print, radio and television. Her websites include http://www.virtualleverage.com, http://www.tarakachaturoff.com, and http://www.michiganentrepreneurtv.com

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Creative Writing: How to Write Fight Scenes

Many of the novels produced today have fight scenes which must be described in detail. If you are writing a suspense or horror story, chances are someone will throw a few punches. Depending on the type of fight you are writing about, you will need to think through each fight scene and decide exactly how you want to tell it.

Fight scenes are much easier to perform on television than to write in a manuscript. On the screen, you can see the fight happening and you aren't worried about what anyone is thinking. You don't have to tell the audience how each move is executed because it is right there in front of your face. In a novel, however, the way you write a fight scene will determine whether or not your reader can follow.

One of the most difficult aspect of writing fight scenes is the tendency to slip into monotony: He kicked her. She kicked him. He punched her. She bit him. In order to keep your reader interested, you have to find creative ways to tell the reader what is happening.

Creative Writing: How to Write Fight Scenes

When writing fight scenes, focus not only on the characters who are engaged in the fight, but also various aspects of the scenery. In most cases, you will be "in the mind" of one specific character, which means that the fight is explained from his or her point of view. Even as your character is kicking ass and taking names, he or she should be cognizant of the world around them.

There is a fine line, however, between creating enough description and creating so much that it takes away from the pace. Fights are fast, furious and often over within minutes; if you drag it out too long, your reader will get bored. Keep the pace flowing by intermixing your description with the mechanics of the fight.

For example:

"Caleb was momentarily distracted by the shouts that emanated from the rapidly growing crowd in the parking lot. Catcalls were followed by cheers of encouragement so loud that his attention was momentarily called away from the fight. Joshua's leg swept out in a wide, graceful art, connecting with Caleb's ankles, throwing him off balance. Without even realizing what exactly was happening, Caleb found himself flat on his back, sucking in deep breaths of air that seemed devoid of oxygen, wincing as tiny pebbles from the asphalt dug painfully into his back. The subsequent tunnel vision that threatened to take away his sight cleared with just enough time to roll away from a kick to the ribs."

The above is an excerpt from a suspense novel I wrote several years ago, and displays an example of complementing action with description. We know what is going on with the fight, but we also understand what has happened to Caleb.

Once you have finished writing a fight scene, read it over aloud. Listen to the words from an objective point of view and determine if you can see the fight happening in your mind. If you don't feel that you can maintain objectivity, read it to a friend or family member.

Creative Writing: How to Write Fight Scenes
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Laura J. College is a professional ghostwriter with more than ten years' experience writing fiction and non-fiction manuscripts. Her work can be found all over the Internet, and she is currently accepting ghostwriting clients. Check out her website at [http://www.laurajcollege.com]

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