Thursday, April 19, 2012

Simple and Doable Tips to Start Writing Creatively

Creative writing is not exclusive for those who have journalism degree or write for a living. For as long as you put your thoughts in paper to convey your feelings, emotions, and to send a message or write something about anything under the sun that is purely non-technical in approach then you can be considered a creative writer.

If you want to develop your writing skills and even start a career in this field then the best thing for your to do is to take correspondence courses. There are numerous creative writing courses currently being offered in the internet and all of them are to your advantage considering that you will have a significant amount of control when it comes to your studying. You will be the one to choose your course schedule and the same is not limited in the day, you can actually take classes in the middle of the night or even in the wee hours of the morning. Hence, you are not obliged to relinquish your daily activities and responsibilities just to be able to take classes. Furthermore, distance education allows you to study at your own pace; you can finish the course in the shortest or longest time possible.

Taking creative writing courses will help you to release your potential in the field and can open doors of opportunity for you whether to simply grow as person or to develop professionally. To further assist you in your journey towards becoming the best creative writer you can be, here are a few tips that you can consider:
  • Determine a writing haven like a spare bedroom, a room corner, or porch where you feel most comfortable and most inspired. It can be a place that overlooks beautiful scenery or a section in the house where you can feel the cool breeze blowing.
  • Play classical music while writing to keep your mind alert and active. Writing can make you feel sleepy especially if you are not yet used to it and there are studies that suggest how certain classical or instrumental music can keep your mind alert.
  • Have your own writing materials; remember that writers have their own “tools”, hence, you need to think and act like a writer.
  • Stick to a writing schedule to practice your writing muscles. During this specific time make sure to write even if you are not inspired or you don’t feel like writing anything.
  • Be completely immersed in your writing so that you will stay interested and write better. Imagining that you are living in the story will put more emotion and will give more life to the written words.
  • Have a small notebook that you can carry anywhere so that whenever something inspires you, you can readily put it on paper. Write down your thoughts and feelings while they are still raw and fresh.
  • Write for yourself without initially minding about style or grammar. Write from the heart first then edit and rewrite if there is a need to.

Advantages of Having Comprehensive Writing Skills

There is a steadily increasing number of writers from the past couple of years because of the number of people who are getting connected via the internet everyday. This is particularly helpful for stay-at-home individuals who still need to earn some income to at least support themselves somehow.

Writing jobs abound online and more and more people are discovering that one does not necessarily need to have a writing background or experience to be able to make comprehensive writing as a career. Nevertheless, it is helpful to have at least the basic knowledge and skills so that one can get concrete advice on where to start and where he should go if he wants to make a career out of this.

It is fortunate that not only did the internet revolutionized the way people conduct their lives and livelihood, it also opens opportunities to learn different courses without having to enroll and attend classes in universities or colleges via distance education. Hence, if you are one of the many who are interested to take classes on comprehensive writing, you can now do so without having to alter your schedule or sacrifice your existing responsibilities. Taking correspondence courses online will help you acquire the skills that you need at your own pace, in your own schedule, and desired venue. You literally have complete control of your learning experience.

Once you take and ultimately complete a comprehensive writing course, you will be amazed of the advantages it will present such as the following:
  • Opportunity to have the skills to write for your own pleasure or as means to increase your income.
  • You will not only learn how to write but more importantly how to market your written work.
  • You will have a mentor that can guide you every step of the way so you can reach your goals and one who can keep you focused and give you tons of advice on how to move forward, both in your career and as a writer.
  • It will help you to unlock or tap hidden writing talent and achieve your maximum potential in the writing field that you want – cooking, travel, fiction writing, etc.
  • You will have the chance to do something that you love and extremely interested in at the same time make money out of it.
  • You can finally start a rewarding career wherein you are your own boss and you are in control of how successful you want to be in the future.
There is more that you can add to the above list once you try taking and benefitting from online classes. Keep in mind that there are no pre-requisite courses that you need to take before you enroll in comprehensive writing classes but then again you should never forget that you need to have passion, dedication, and the willingness to exert effort for you to be able to experience the abovementioned advantages. As with other careers, the only thing that can hamper you from getting what you want and going to where you want to go, would be you and nothing else.

A Practical Guide on Effective Business Writing

Most people desire financial freedom more than financial stability considering that the former is a position wherein one has the resources to buy whatever he wants, whenever or wherever he wants it without having to think twice. This state of being financially free, however, is not for everyone as it is reserved for those who are courageous and bold enough to take risks.

One cannot deny the fact that unless one engages in his own business or find a way to be in control of his own finances, financial freedom would remain just a dream. If one is merely employed in a company, regardless of the pay or position, he can only accept what is given to him by the organization and he cannot demand anything more.

For those brave souls who took the challenge and decided to be their own boss their venture will not be easy especially in the first few stages. There are numerous skills to learn, one of which is effective business writing as this is an official way to communicate not only with the clients but in the business community as well. Fortunately, one no longer needs to go to an educational institution just to be able to gain this skill as there are numerous online correspondence courses that one can take. This learning mode is advantageous for busy individuals considering that the student gets to decide the schedule and the place where he wants to take classes for as long as he can connect online. Traveling to and from school is no longer necessary and one can even take courses in the comforts of his own home in the middle of the night. Furthermore, the pace of the lessons depends on the learner; he can go as fast or as slow as he wants.

If you are one of those who took the plunge you would probably have experience by now how important it is to know at least the basics of business writing considering that business people are expected to write memos, proposals, business plans, and other written documents. Although nothing can take the place of signing up for classes to be competent in this area, here are practical tips that can help you improve your business writing skills:
  • Keep it as concise as possible – it is not a secret that for people who engage in business, time is equivalent to money that is why when you communicate with other business individuals such as yourself, make sure that you get right to the point. The reader of your letter should be able to know what you want after reading the first part of your correspondence.
  • Use readily understandable words – keep in mind that this is business and not creative writing; your main purpose is to get your message across in the shortest time possible. To be able to achieve this you need to use plain words that could be readily understood in a glance.
  • Make sure to check for mistakes – after writing your business correspondence, you need to make sure that the same is free from typographical and grammatical error, especially with regard to the name, designation and other facts about the receiver of the letter. Remember that professional individuals always aim for perfection in everything they do.

The Beauty of Writing Autobiographies, Biographies, and Family Histories

Fiction-type written materials are becoming more and more popular as time goes by particularly to kids and young adults. But then again one should never underestimate the power and inspiration that can be drawn from reading autobiographies, biographies, and family histories of famous people. It has been said that the journey of life is far more important than reaching the destination because of the lessons that are learned along the way and such life lessons could be taken from non-fiction literature on individuals.

Although reading autobiographies, biographies & family histories are enjoyable and inspiring, being able to write such materials is even better as one can get the story first-hand and be directly moved especially if the subject of writing is still alive and cooperative.

If you are fond of reading such stories and have the secret desire to write one but need guidance on how to go about the same, there are correspondence courses offered online that can help you go closer to fulfilling your dream. Imagine being able to gain the skill to write without having to spend a fortune on tuition and travelling fees going to and from the university and the career opportunities that you can derive from what you learned thereafter.

But then again, before venturing on this field you can test whether or not you have the talent for non-fiction writing by trying to write one using yourself or another interesting significant other as subject; as you do so keep in mind the following points:
  • Take the material as you would in fiction; make sure to take into account the characters, plot development, and highlights, among others and use a creative writing style to make your story interesting and alive.
  • To know whether or not the subject of your story is worth writing, try coming up with a short version of the story and ask the people you trust to comment on the same truthfully. You can change the names, setting, and other points so as not to reveal your writing subject’s identity readily.
  • If you are going to use your own family history as subject you have to ensure that every member of the family particularly those who will be depicted in the story approve of your plans and how you would proceed with the material you have. This will save you from the trouble of having to deal with family rifts later on.
  • Apart from collecting materials for your story orally or in written form, it is best to look at old photographs, particularly on the critical points of the story so that you can better remember the events that took place and the people in the story.
Once you have done the list above and the feedback came out great then it would be much easier for you once you take classes. However, even if you didn’t do that well on your first try, your basic skills will be sharpened and you will also learn new ones if you avail of correspondence classes. If you will take your lessons seriously and without fail, then you would definitely be able to do a good job writing non-fiction.

Article Writing as a Career: An Overview

Thanks to modern technology, particularly the internet, opportunities now abound for people who enjoy and have the talent for writing. Gone are the days when only those who write in newspapers, magazines, and other printed materials or those who attended universities are called writers considering that anyone who has the knack for words has the chance to have their written work read by people from all over the world. All they have to do is post their articles on-line and anybody can read and appreciate it immediately.

Apart from experiencing the joy of giving life to written words, article writing also provides one with numerous advantages such as satisfying one’s creative hunger, widening one’s network and circle of friends, communicating with individuals of diverse background, and more importantly earning extra income wherever you are for as long as you have the means to be connected via the internet.

Writing articles online is becoming more and more popular among stay-at-home moms and other people who no longer want to be bound by an eight-hour job as it provides flexibility and freedom in terms of schedule. Apart from these plus-points, this endeavor can be done by anyone as there are classes or courses offered on this subject through distance education. By taking such courses, anyone has the opportunity to earn a decent living without having to attend formal schooling. Furthermore, similar to other corporate jobs, article writing has its own career path; hence there is plenty of room for advancement.

Online courses on writing articles usually cover techniques on how to develop one’s writing style, how to come up with ideas or gather information, how to connect with editors, how to write articles on diverse topics and market, and also how to market one’s written work. All these knowledge are critical for building a writing career and prospering in it.

Should you be interested in pursuing this path, here are three basic qualities most commonly possess by good writers. The items on the list are values that are usually taken for granted when determining whether article writing is truly the path for you:
  • Tremendous amount of discipline – unlike writing for pleasure which usually happens when you are struck with an inspiration, writing as a career requires you to discipline yourself into writing regularly even when you don’t feel like it. 
  • Endurance – writing one article is very easy but keep in mind that once this becomes your work, you will be forced to finish several articles in a given period of time and you need to sustain your interest and passion during this period. 
  • Integrity and Honesty – one of the consequences of articles posted online is that the same can readily be ripped of by another; if you plan to grow and be a great writer you need to keep your integrity intact by not copying someone else’s written work. 
  • Commitment – this value is necessary in whatever field one is in because you can only excel in something once you invest your heart and soul in it,

Monday, April 16, 2012

Young Writers Online Course

Many young professionals today are searching for other means to earn additional income. It can be in the form of part time jobs; however, most young professionals are looking for part time jobs that they can relate to their hobbies or interest. If you are one of the young professionals looking for additional income or for enhancement of your interest, why not take young writers classes. You can gain the necessary knowledge in this class by enrolling to an institution offering distant education. There are many learning institutions offering online degrees or distant education today. If you are a working professional or an individual who is busy in life, taking online classes in Young Writers can be a good enhancement for your pleasure, hobby or even for profit.

On the average, the Young Writers degree program is mostly conferred as undergraduate and graduate level as part of the creative writing degree program, there are also certificate or diploma degrees in this field on the onsite studying. It may take up to four or more years to complete the course at school on-site and not all the lessons taught are needed in Young Writers. However, you are a young professional and included in the working class and attending college again is not the best way. Online education is your way. You can take the Young Writers course online at Lifestyle Learning Direct (visit www.lifestylelearningdirect.com) – an institute providing high quality education to individuals like you. With their program, you can complete the course ahead of the usual time because you are the one setting the pacing of your study and it is focus only in concepts and methods in writing short stories. Since you set the pace, you are really absorbing the lessons taught. Online studying or distance education of this degree at Lifestyle Learning Direct will make its students reach its goals and dreams and you will complete it with flying collars and be able to practice it as soon as possible. The Young Writers program of the Lifestyle Learning Direct is open to all individuals worldwide with affordable tuition and comprehensive learning methods.

At Lifestyle Learning Direct, you will study the principles, aspects and techniques in writing articles for Young audience. You can achieved this with the guidance of the experts and professionals in this field. While you take your classes here, you can still continue your career in other field. By the time you complete the program, you can think of getting a new career in writing, using it to enhance your interest and hobbies and providing additional income aside to your usual work.

Tips to Follow when Doing Landscape Photography

One of the best things that you can take a photograph of is nature. Nature has a lot of beautiful things and sceneries to offer and we can best capture this through taking pictures so that we may always remember our experience. At the same time, we can also share this experience with the people that we know and help others appreciate its beauty as well.

Landscape photography is a genre that aims to show people the different things that nature can offer. This usually entails taking pictures of something vast such as mountains and sceneries, but this can also be of small things as long as you can be creative. Taking photos of landscapes is an art form and you will need some skill in order for you to capture its beauty and be able to transmit it to your photos so that other people may also enjoy the view even without being there personally. Here are some tips that you can keep in mind the next time you try landscape photography.

When taking photos of a landscape, it is best that you maximize your depth of field. Doing this will help you focus on everything at once, as opposed to focusing on one object while the rest of the photo is blurred. Since your objective is to show the entire scenery, it is best to choose a small aperture setting as this will translate to a greater depth of field in your photos.

A tripod is an important tool to have when taking pictures of landscapes. This can help keep your camera still so that you can get exactly what you want in your picture. Having shaky hands can often ruin a great picture as your picture may end up slanted which is contrary to the appearance of the landscape that you are taking a photo of.

As with any other photo, you should also remember to look for a subject or focal point in your photograph. This is what people will focus on while looking at the entire photo. In addition to this, be sure that you put the photo in an appropriate part of the picture and using the rule of thirds may be applicable for this situation.

When taking pictures with the sky being part of it, make sure that you choose whether you will include a large part of the sky or not. Depending on the weather and the appearance of the sky, you may opt to make it a large part of your photo if it looks interesting. But of the sky looks bland or boring during the specific time that you are taking the photo, you may opt to lessen it in your picture and instead, focus on a more interesting foreground.

Other things that you may try are changing your point of view and making sure the lighting is perfect when taking your pictures. Try to keep these in mind when taking your pictures and keep on practicing so that you may be able to develop your skill and eventually start taking very good photos.