Ok so you know how to write article content that will knock the socks off your readers. But do you know how to get people to read your content in the first place? Contrary to what some may think the need for effective writing skills is NOT limited to the body of the article itself. When you are writing articles you must realize that your title is the first thing people will see. Based upon their ‘impression’ of the title they make a decision as to whether they will continue reading any further. The title is your ‘lure’ and if it doesn’t work you’ve wasted your time. Writing articles is a great way to gain exposure and generate traffic on the internet. Doesn’t it make sense that if you’re going to take the time to do the article research to make sure people will read your article? Well let’s look at some of the different ways you can compose a title that will attract readers to your article: INSTRUCTIONAL TITLE People are ALWAYS searching the internet for answers: ‘how to’ bake a chocolate cake or ‘how to’ get rid of poison ivy. What ever it is people are looking for answers on ‘how to’ do it. Learn to write titles that clearly convey to people what knowledge they will gain from reading your content. In general people as a rule thirst for information that ‘teaches’ them ‘how to’ solve problems or make their own lives easier so give them what they want! What’s more be sure to tell them what it is you’re giving them in your title. Tell them what they will gain or learn from reading your article. RATINGS TITLE Having a title that gives a ‘numbered selection’ of the best such as ‘Top 10 Ways’ or ‘Top 3 Things to See When in Ireland…’usually draws people in. Most people only want the ‘top’ information and if you put it in a list, this type format is easier for them to review. It creates a sense of organization in their mind. Curiously enough the use of odd numbers such as 3,5,7 or the number 10 seem to get the best reaction from readers! TEASER TITLE Arouse the person’s curiosity by using wording such as ‘rarely seen’, ‘little known’ or ’secret methods’ to instill a feeling of privilege in them. By making readers feel that they will benefit from ‘exclusive’ information the general public is not aware is a temptation that will motivate them to read further. By indicating that the content of your article holds valuable information without telling them exactly what it is will make anybody curious. Curiosity killed the cat but it will also get your article read. SHOCKING TITLE Any title that challenges popular opinion usually will get a second look. Effective writing skills will sometimes seek to get an emotional reaction from the reader. Good or bad these emotions help to compel the reader to seek out additional information within the body of the article. The reasoning here is simple: if the reader agrees with the contention they naturally feel comfortable with the further affirmations the content will supply. It reinforces their beliefs and besides who doesn’t enjoy being ‘agreed’ with? If the authors’ contentions are opposed to the readers’ beliefs then the reader will want to seek out the errors and faults of the writers’ contention. PROBING TITLE When posing a question to the reader in your title you are immediately engaging them. Writing strategies such as these enjoy their success by ‘leading’ the person further into the article content to get answers to the question the title presented to them. Subtle writing strategies like this are very effective as long as the question is thought provoking enough to ‘draw’ the reader in. ASSERTIVE TITLE Any title that communicates in an assertive or authoritative manner normally commands the attention of the reader. ‘Stop What You’re Doing and Read This Now!” or perhaps “You Don’t Need to Buy Diapers Anymore!” are perfect examples. Titles such as these make readers feel the author is both confident and knowledgeable. This feeling compels people to read more and see what the author has to say. EXPLANATION TITLE Once again people are always on a quest for information. Usually titles that ‘advertise’ that the body of the article within will ‘explain’ or ‘give reasons’ for something attract readers. When these explanations or reasons are displayed in an organized fashion such as steps it tends to place the reader in a comfort zone. These steps also serve to lure the reader deeper into the content. It’s hard just to read a portion of all the steps with out completing the entire list. Always try to incorporate, when possible, an easy to read format like this when you are writing articles. If you want your articles to be read you need to know how to write article titles that will attract readers in the first place! When you learn to write eye catching titles by using any of the methods above you’ll likely see an increase your readership. Wouldn’t that make your efforts all the more worthwhile? TJ Philpott is an author and Internet entrepreneur based out of North Carolina. For additional Money Making Tips and a free guide that demonstrates how to find both profitable markets and products visit:blogbrawn.com/
why education system fails to challenge students at school
Teachers are all at sea: despite a great deal of effort over the past 20 years, academic achievement among high school students continues to lag behind. In their attempt to improve school results, the educators are trying to find roots of poor academic achievement of high school students. Some point the finger at the outrageous homework loads students are snowed under. Supporters of this idea argue that students are overburdened with academic demands of questionable value and, as a result, end up indifferent to studies, exhausted, and worn out. Probably, there is some grain of truth in this claim. However, recent investigations have rebutted these suggestions… The recent Pew Research Centre poll has produced unprecedented results: it’s not high pressure, but low expectations that are bringing the American students down! This claim was corroborated by Denise Clark Pope, a Stanford University lecturer who has written about the effects of stress on students. The research she conducted in comfortable San Francisco Bay Area communities proves that the reason of poor level of knowledge is not the heavy workload students are exposed to but the lack of challenge in the school environment. Thus, it gets straight that the problem of low academic proficiency lies with what
the title that hooked the most readers
Online article titles have to do more than those in the print world. In a print magazine, you just need to catch the attention of the reader. The title doesn’t really even have to tell the reader what the article is about, since the magazine it is in will be on a specific subject area. Readers know that if it is in a fishing magazine it about a fishing-related topic. In an online article, on the other hand, the title has to tell the potential reader what the article is about. He may see nothing but the title in the search engine results, and if he doesn’t know what it’s about, he’s likely to just click on the next link. Online article titles have to be found in the search engines as well, meaning they have to have keywords in them that people are looking for. Of course, just like print articles, they should also catch the reader’s attention. My Best Article Titles Sometimes you can do all three of these things pretty well in one article. An example is my article titled “Cheap Homes In Nice Towns.” You know what the article is about, it is okay as an attention grabber (not great), and “cheap homes” is a keyword that many people search for each month. At one of the article directories I have submitted it to, it has been read over 17,000 times - more than double the traffic of any of the other 550 articles I have there (many have been read only a couple hundred times). However, in checking the number of times my various articles have been viewed at this directory, I have often been surprised - enough so to remind me that “rules” are only guidelines. For example, two of the most-read articles I have there are “Remove Permanent Marker From Carpet,” and “How To Get Candle Wax Out Of Carpet” (about 6,000 times each). These are not attention-grabbing titles, but they are also not topics covered well on the internet. Obviously there is something to be said for utilitarian articles with good keywords that are not too competitive. Add easy-to-compete-for keywords to the list of things to try for in an article title. In the top five for visits are the article titles, “Really Cheap Plane Tickets,” (6,400) and “Cheap International Plane Tickets” (10,050). A promise of a way to save money seems to be a good bet. My article “Worry - Five Ways To Eliminate It,” has been viewed 3,300 times, but it is fairly new, making it the most views per month by far. I suppose worry is a common enough problem that people need a solution to. Article titles that promise to help with a problem work, then. So do those that promise to teach the reader something new, and those that are directly targeting the keywords they are searching. What else can make for a good article title? - Ask a question: “Do You Make This Writing Mistake?” - Tell them they can do something: “You Can Write A Better Title Today” - Promise some value: “Ten Ways You Can Make More Money” - Use the words “how to”: “How To Overcome Writer’s Block” - Involve them with a story: “You Quit Your Job - Now What?” Watch the reports (at the article directories and on your web sites) and try to learn from them. Of course those statistics for “views” I mention above only tell me how many times people started to read my articles. Did they finish the articles? Did they then click through to my web sites? There is more to good online writing than good article titles. Copyright Steve Gillman. He lost money on his websites until he discovered the power of articles. Six months later he was making a good living online. To learn how you can do the same, get your free online writing course at: .999articles.com
article marketing technologies advances to the next generation
Article marketing has become very powerful over the last several years and the popularity is increasing constantly. Due to the success that many have with submitting to article directories, new technologies have been created. These technologies and new tools have been designed to help make it easier for many to transition over into article marketing. Article directories have started to upgrade their service to include many new tools and some even with brand new technologies that are created to help the authors and marketers take full advantage of article marketing. Many of these tools and new technologies have been created to make article marketing more automative. Taking advantage of automation will make your article marketing efforts easier and your life easier. Submitting your recent articles that you have written to thousands of article directories is now easier than ever. Creating interesting content filled articles has now become possible because of new technologies. Short articles can even be submitted to your blogs on pure auto-pilot. Advancements That Will Change The History Of Article Marketing Article Submission — The popularity of auto submission for articles have been increasing and some developers have taken note of this popularity. There are many submission services online and software that can be run from your desktop. Not all auto submission is created the same though and this is where technology is starting to step in. Many auto submission services use generic categories to submit your articles, which can be more harmful to your marketing efforts. A handful of submission services have decided enough was enough and have created powerful auto submission tools that will submit to each article directories exact categories. Think of how much more exposure your article could get by being submitted to the proper category. DripFeed Submission — Blogs have been increasing in popularity and with that increase comes the need for automation of posting to your blog. Many marketers have 20 or more blogs and it is very time consuming trying to keep those blogs updated. DripFeed submission will take articles that you have written and post them to your blog on auto-pilot at the times your specify. You could dripfeed your blog with 1 or 2 articles per day or per hour. Only a handful of sites currently offer this technology but those sites are producing more powerful tools to make your life easier. Content Creator — Until recently only a few article directories have been allowing a limited about of html in articles. There are a handful of sites though that are allowing full html that will actually allow the creation of article sales pages. With this brand new technology writers and authors have the capabilities to insert images, videos, flash, html templates and many other elements into articles. Using proper content creation can transform your article into a true work of art. Though many of these tools and technologies are only available at a handful of sites currently, technology is increasing everyday and more powerful tools are being created. Think of how much greater of a response you can get from your recent articles that you have written by using these interesting article tools. Start creating quality articles and products all from one website. compose, - create - submit - dripfeed your blog - marketing resources and much more… Visit - Article Productions Article Marketing website today!
mobile coupons vs paper coupons
Detest carrying around a crumpled pile of paper coupons just to slash 20 cents off your wanted bread? Mobile coupons’ advent allows us to get rid of such kind of trouble. Welcomed by a new crop of shoppers, mobile coupon is an electronics ticket distributed through MMS, SMS, Bluetooth, text message and other mobile means. People who want to get such kind of coupons don’t need to buy a new cell phone. Mobile coupons are widely compatible with various mobile phones, no matter your phone is high-end phones like smart phone, hiphone, and dual SIM phone or middle to low traditional types. These digital coupons are the blue-light specials for modern digital age. They let us get an easy access to freebies, buy-one-get-one-free discount, up-to-minute clothes & apparels sales, dollars-off film tickets, etc. As a result, we don’t need to snip out coupons from the weekend paper, magazines, and calendars or go to some specific shops intentionally any more. Having coupons right sit on our phone is really a breeze. When we intend to use them, simply show digital coupons on our phone screen to the cashier and we could get our discounts. We will never encounter the same embarrassment at the check-out spot when we fish around for a coupon in our packed handbags, messengers, totes or Velcro pouch, like our moms and dads. Cell phone coupons give us handy, stylish, tangle-free way to save money and save our face. How to get mobile coupons? Some advanced cellular phones have applications that help their users collect coupons. A retailer or electronics supplier could directly send to his/her customers who have already signed up for their mobile up-to-date coupons. Cellular phones’ coupon aggregators such as Zavers and Cellfire, also offer deals updates for their subscribers. Just like an old Chinese saying said that gold can’t be pure and man can’t be perfect. Everything has its weak side. Software glitches and other technological hiccups prevent this kind of coupons from swift, wide popularization. Some of their users are bothered by junk information from time to time. However, such advanced, helpful coupons will become ubiquitous in the future. Technologists over the world work hard on it. More and more people would like to take advantage of this digital convenience instead of paper mess.
the libyan man jailed in scotland for blowing up a us airliner over lockerbie in 1988 has returned
buy cheap wow gold move was “a mistake”, and some relatives of US victims reacted angrily. Most of the 270 people who died in the bombing were Americans. In a radio interview, Mr Obama said: “We have been in contact with the Scottish government, indicating that we objected to this. We thought it was a mistake.” US powerless as bomber freed In pictures: Bomber’s release ‘A convenient scapegoat?’ Bomber release: What now? He added that his administration cheap wow gold had told the Libyan government that Megrahi should not receive a hero’s welcome and should be placed under house arrest. In London, a spokesman for the Foreign Office said any decision to release Megrahi “was for the Scottish government buy wow gold and ministers to take, as they have done”. Correspondents say the Libyan authorities will regard his release as a triumph. Hundreds of people waved Libyan and Scottish flags as his plane landed at Tripoli airport at 1830 GMT. Within minutes Megrahi was whisked away for a meeting with his elderly mother, the BBC’s Christian Fraser reports from the scene. Compassion It was a jet owned by leader Col Muammar Gaddafi that carried Megrahi back to Libya after his release on Thursday from Scotland’s Greenock Prison. On arrival, he appeared beside the Libyan leader’s son, cheapest wow gold Seif al-Islam Gaddafi, who described his release as a courageous step by the British and Scottish governments. Local media reports said Megrahi would probably meet Col Gaddafi on Friday. ANALYSIS Christian Fraser, BBC News, Tripoli Well before the Scottish justice minister had announced his decision, Col Muammar Gaddafi’s private jet was on its way to Glasgow. Until now, Libyan officials have been careful not to comment in case they jeopardised the release, wary of this last-minute intervention by the US. Officially there are unlikely to be any triumphant statements here,wow gold for sale but given the personal involvement of Mr Gaddafi it will no doubt be seen as further evidence of his growing stature on the international stage. It is rumoured that he has asked to see Megrahi when he returns, and the timing is perfect. In 12 days’ time, Libya celebrates the 40th anniversary of the revolution that brought Mr Gaddafi to power. The Scottish government said it had consulted widely before Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill made his decision on applications for Megrahi’s compassionate release or his transfer to a Libyan jail. Mr MacAskill told a news conference he had rejected the application for a prisoner transfer. However, after taking medical advice it was buy cheapest wow gold expected that three months was a “reasonable estimate” of the time Megrahi had left to live. He said that fact that Megrahi’s victims were shown no compassion was “not a reason for us to deny compassion to him and his family in his final days”. In a statement released after his departure from HMP Greenock, Megrahi continued to protest his innocence, saying his final days were “being lived under the shadow of the wrongness of my conviction”. “I have been faced with an appalling choice: to risk dying in prison in the hope that my name is cleared posthumously or to return home still carrying the weight of the guilty verdict, which will never now be lifted.” ‘No remorse’ Megrahi’s return was welcomed in Libya. “This person is innocent, thank God he’s coming home. This is a cheerful day for the whole Libyan people,” one man in Tripoli said. But the families of American victims of the Lockerbie bombing reacted angrily to the news. Have Your Say I am ashamed to be Scottish today. Where is the justice for the victims? Ross MacDonald, Edinburgh Send us your comment Kara Weipz, of Mt Laurel, New Jersey, who lost her brother Richard Monetti, said: “It is an utter insult and utterly disgusting… I don’t show compassion for someone who showed no remorse.” New York state resident Paul Halsch, whose 31-year-old wife was killed, said of Mr MacAskill’s decision: “This might sound crude or blunt, but I want him returned from Scotland the same way my wife Lorraine was and that would be in a box.” However, British relatives’ spokesman Dr Jim Swire, who lost his daughter Flora in the atrocity, reiterated his view that Megrahi had “nothing to do with” the bombing. “I don’t believe for a moment that this man was involved in the way that he was found to have been involved,” he said. Megrahi was convicted of murder in January 2001 at a trial held under Scottish law in the Netherlands. “>The Scottish government released Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, who is 57 and has terminal cancer, on compassionate grounds. US President Barack Obama said the buy cheap wow gold move was “a mistake”, and some relatives of US victims reacted angrily. Most of the 270 people who died in the bombing were Americans. In a radio interview, Mr Obama said: “We have been in contact with the Scottish government, indicating that we objected to this. We thought it was a mistake.” US powerless as bomber freed In pictures: Bomber’s release ‘A convenient scapegoat?’ Bomber release: What now? He added that his administration cheap wow gold had told the Libyan government that Megrahi should not receive a hero’s welcome and should be placed under house arrest. In London, a spokesman for the Foreign Office said any decision to release Megrahi “was for the Scottish government buy wow gold and ministers to take, as they have done”. Correspondents say the Libyan authorities will regard his release as a triumph. Hundreds of people waved Libyan and Scottish flags as his plane landed at Tripoli airport at 1830 GMT. Within minutes Megrahi was whisked away for a meeting with his elderly mother, the BBC’s Christian Fraser reports from the scene. Compassion It was a jet owned by leader Col Muammar Gaddafi that carried Megrahi back to Libya after his release on Thursday from Scotland’s Greenock Prison. On arrival, he appeared beside the Libyan leader’s son, cheapest wow gold Seif al-Islam Gaddafi, who described his release as a courageous step by the British and Scottish governments. Local media reports said Megrahi would probably meet Col Gaddafi on Friday. ANALYSIS Christian Fraser, BBC News, Tripoli Well before the Scottish justice minister had announced his decision, Col Muammar Gaddafi’s private jet was on its way to Glasgow. Until now, Libyan officials have been careful not to comment in case they jeopardised the release, wary of this last-minute intervention by the US. Officially there are unlikely to be any triumphant statements here,wow gold for sale but given the personal involvement of Mr Gaddafi it will no doubt be seen as further evidence of his growing stature on the international stage. It is rumoured that he has asked to see Megrahi when he returns, and the timing is perfect. In 12 days’ time, Libya celebrates the 40th anniversary of the revolution that brought Mr Gaddafi to power. The Scottish government said it had consulted widely before Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill made his decision on applications for Megrahi’s compassionate release or his transfer to a Libyan jail. Mr MacAskill told a news conference he had rejected the application for a prisoner transfer. However, after taking medical advice it was buy cheapest wow gold expected that three months was a “reasonable estimate” of the time Megrahi had left to live. He said that fact that Megrahi’s victims were shown no compassion was “not a reason for us to deny compassion to him and his family in his final days”. In a statement released after his departure from HMP Greenock, Megrahi continued to protest his innocence, saying his final days were “being lived under the shadow of the wrongness of my conviction”. “I have been faced with an appalling choice: to risk dying in prison in the hope that my name is cleared posthumously or to return home still carrying the weight of the guilty verdict, which will never now be lifted.” ‘No remorse’ Megrahi’s return was welcomed in Libya. “This person is innocent, thank God he’s coming home. This is a cheerful day for the whole Libyan people,” one man in Tripoli said. But the families of American victims of the Lockerbie bombing reacted angrily to the news. Have Your Say I am ashamed to be Scottish today. Where is the justice for the victims? Ross MacDonald, Edinburgh Send us your comment Kara Weipz, of Mt Laurel, New Jersey, who lost her brother Richard Monetti, said: “It is an utter insult and utterly disgusting… I don’t show compassion for someone who showed no remorse.” New York state resident Paul Halsch, whose 31-year-old wife was killed, said of Mr MacAskill’s decision: “This might sound crude or blunt, but I want him returned from Scotland the same way my wife Lorraine was and that would be in a box.” However, British relatives’ spokesman Dr Jim Swire, who lost his daughter Flora in the atrocity, reiterated his view that Megrahi had “nothing to do with” the bombing. “I don’t believe for a moment that this man was involved in the way that he was found to have been involved,” he said. Megrahi was convicted of murder in January 2001 at a trial held under Scottish law in the Netherlands.
why to learn translation from polish to english
Polish is slowly becoming a language of more and more people in the new business community of today’s times. If you are in international business it is not so very easy to ignore the importance of Polish Language. Polish economy is facing the most golden times ever and doing business with Polish companies can take your business to new heights of success. Polish is the most widely spoken of the West Slavic languages and it is one of the main languages in Central Europe. Although Poland has the largest concentration of Polish speakers, it is also spoken in regions of Russia and other neighboring countries. Polish language is a well known language to over 46 million people across the globe nowadays. Below are mentioned some of the points that why it is always a profitable business to learn the translation from Polish to English. Professional translation from Polish to English provides a great opportunity for companies, especially European ones, who want to run a successful business in Poland by getting new customers and realizing their full international potential. Polish to English translation service helps companies maximize their business performance in Poland. Poland is an attractive location for any business expansion and many European and American companies have invested huge sums into their Polish business partners - so it’s a good time to find the best Polish to English translation services available as English is the most common and widely used language by mostly all of the business faculties all across the globe. Ever since Poland has entered EU since May 2004, it has become even more attractive for foreign investments. So, the need for Polish to English translations and English to Polish translations has grown rapidly in the past few years, since English is the international language for business communications and the Polish economy is expanding rapidly. More and more of the international companies are eager to invest in Poland and thus arising are the countless job opportunities, especially the jobs related to polish to English translations because the non polish speaking people find themselves absolutely helpless in reading the language and understanding it. With Poland’s entry in EU on May 2004, the doors of international business are all opened towards Poland freely and Polish Translators are more and more in demand. Hence, more and more business men are visiting Poland and vice versa for business meetings. English being an international language, it is a great plus point if you know Polish to English translation. If you know this the doors of immense possibilities open to you. You can easily attend seminar and conferences in Polish language. A knowledgeable manager knowing Polish translations can undoubtedly work for you with complete accuracy but know the language on your own will certainly help you build cordial relations with your clients. If you have polish clients, it will be a great help to communicate with them in their very own language. Ever imagined if your boss is Chinese and you don’t speak a word of it. The result most obviously will be an absolute collapse of communication. About the Author: Adelajda Rymut is a Polish Translator working with .78international.co.uk translation agency, specializing in Translation From Polish To English. It provides its clients with high quality Polish Translation at surprisingly reasonable price.
article writing tips
When you write an article for the Web, it is much different than writing a book report. For one thing you must keep the reader engaged and writing like you would an English paper just won’t cut it. Really, which one would you want to read? You need to have more of a conversational style than a term-paper sound. Writing for the Web needs to sound more like a friend sitting down and talking to you, rather than a rundown of what a certain product can do. If you were to tell a friend about a new piece of software you got it would sound little like: “I just got this cool piece of software that I can make DVDs with. I know how much you like to do stuff like that so I thought you might like it. I can do all sorts of cool stuff like edit sections out, fade in and out, add music or add titles. The only things I don’t like are the fact that it won’t work on computers that have Vista and that it costs an arm and a leg at $100, but if you make a lot of DVDs, it will be worth it.” That sounds a lot more friendly and easy going than: “The new DVD program performs well. It allows use of editing, fading, music editing and titles. It is not compatible with Windows Vista. It comes with a retail cost of $100.” One thing to remember when writing articles or writing for the Web is that it needs to engage the reader and keep them wanting to read more. Web content is king as many would say, so the better your content, the better your traffic will be. You also need to find your own voice. When you write, you will see what kind of tone you write with. I found that I liked to write in a casual way with some humor added here and there. I also ask questions in my articles. When I first started to write it was awkward and painful. I was writing an article, going back to it, not liking what I saw and rewriting it. Sometimes it took me hours to be happy with half a page. Don’t let this happen to you. Don’t be a perfectionist. Just write and let it go. It is like any other thing, the more you write, the better you get at it and this goes exactly the same for article writing. There are so many other tips on article writing, but starting with your writing style is a great start. Want to see my top tips on article writing? Click here.
crossing the boundaries science fiction fantasy and horror
Horror has long gone hand in hand with fantasy and science fiction. Many classic horror stories are also fantasy or science fiction stories, and fantasy and science fiction stories often have elements of horror in them. Where would Lord of the Rings have been without the Nazghul, undead kings dominated by the power of the rings? Where would Alien have been without the alien? Dracula and Frankenstein are both considered horror fiction, but Dracula is also fantasy and Frankenstein clearly has early science fiction elements. So, what are the differences between horror and general science fiction/fantasy? Here are a few general guidelines to help distinguish the genres. In general fantasy and science fiction, the main characters have abilities that are a match for the antagonists. In horror, that is often not the case. Frodo had Sting and his elven mail to protect him. In Star Trek the crew members of the Enterprise have their wits, their training and their equipment to deal with their enemies. In a Zombie apocalypse, the main characters typically have little or nothing to protect them except what they find lying around. In general fantasy and science fiction, the heroes typically have someone that knows what is going on and can explain what they will face. In horror this is seldom the case. Obi Wan Kenobi, Gandalf, Dumbledore or some higher up in Star Fleet command or some member of the ship’s crew can usually give the lead characters at least some idea who they are up against and how to beat them. In horror, if there is someone that actually knows what is going on, they are probably in an asylum or some other inconvenient location, and their warnings may not make sense until after someone has been eaten. In addition, wise old mentors in horror have a disturbing habit of being wrong on very important issues. In a horror story, the protagonists are often responsible for their own survival and victory. In general fantasy and science fiction most if not all the main characters come through all right in the end. In horror, the winners may well come away scarred for life. That’s assuming any of them actually survive. How many lead characters were dead at the end of Lord of the Rings? How many of the crew that don’t wear red shirts are killed in the average Star Trek episode? Sure there are exceptions to this, but in many cases even if a lead dies, they get brought back through some miracle of science or magic. Don’t count on this in horror. In a good horror story everyone is expendable. Even if there are survivors, they may still not be in good shape at the end. Many of Lovecraft’s protagonists found themselves long term residents of mental institutions by the end of his stories. They were often considered the luckier ones. In general fantasy and science fiction, the heroes have a chance to stop the villains. In horror this may well not be the case. Fantasy and science fiction give a wide variety of means to combat a hopeless situation or otherwise impossible odds. In horror, if the ultimate evil actually makes an appearance it’s questionable whether it can be stopped at all. Frequently the key is dealing with the frail humans that are its allies before they can bring it all the way into our world. If the heroes mess that up, it’s all over. At the very least, putting an end to the ultimate evil may require the sacrifice of everyone’s lives or sanity or something equally valuable. The world wins, but the heroes lose. So, if you are interested in adding a bit of horror to your fantasy or science fiction story, look at these guidelines and apply some of the horror end of them to the plot. Adding fantasy or science fiction to a horror story is generally as simple as making the thing that is stalking the protagonists some unearthly horror be it an alien from beyond or a demon from beyond. Give some genre blending a try and you’ll add variety and some suspense to your stories and perhaps make them a bit more exciting. Colin Neilson is a teacher, author and publisher. He has edited speculative fiction newsletters, written editorials and articles about writing, and written several speculative fiction product reviews. Readers interested in speculative fiction should go to Spectacular Speculations for a new electronic speculative fiction magazine. Authors will be interested in the author’s page which contains submission and publication information.
journaling versus memoir writing as therapy
About six years into the endless rewriting of my first book, MY MOTHER’S HOUSE, A Memoir, people commented, “Well, at least it’s good therapy.” Well, no, I had to say. Therapy is therapy. Writing is writing. It’s true that I needed to tell the story of my fifty-plus years of relationship with my mother. But this need came as much from my writer’s soul, to capture The Story, as to get the personal story out of myself. This writer’s need comprises one of the two exceptions to that fact that journal writing, not memoir, is the primary form of life-writing that works as therapy. The quest of therapy is to learn about your feelings, needs, desires, and so on, in order to realize the meaning of your life and perhaps change accordingly. Journaling helps you achieve this. In a journal, you are concerned with telling yourself your story, clarifying it for yourself. Memoir, however, is a story form about some aspect of your life that you share with, and must interest, others. In a journal you write, “I ran into John at the supermarket yesterday.” You don’t have to describe the special ambiance of that supermarket in that part of town. You don’t have to explain who John is because you already know. “John” is a kind of shorthand for a whole experience of this man. Of course you might decide to jot down some salient details about John today and/or yesterday, either for yourself or for reference if you eventually do write a memoir. But in a journal, this is a choice, not a necessity. Moreover, you needn’t describe John in complete sentences. Phrases that make sense to you will work just fine in a journal. And you can choose not to write such details as well. Then there’s dialogue. “We talked about
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