If a grammatical “mistake” becomes common enough, common wisdom states that the mistake is no longer a mistake. Grammar rules are not set in stone because they change to conform with real-world usage. Real-world usage aside, the widespread use of “me and so-and-so” in our culture drives me a bit crazy! It used to be, “George and I went to the store.” A couple decades ago, if someone said, “Me and George went to the store,” the listener would quietly come to the conclusion that the speaker was uneducated. These days, turn on the television and the newscaster is saying, “Me and … blah, blah, blah.” Talk radio hosts say it. Even educated people such as lawyers and CPAs have embraced the “me and my client” culture. I ran a little experiment while writing this article and found something even more frightening. I have intentionally included the “me and George” error and other grammatical mishaps in this article and ran it through Microsoft Word’s spelling and grammar check. Guess what? Obvious errors — and in particular, the “me and …” error was not reported as a grammar error by the software! Is this real-world grammar just the product of a narcissistic “Me, me, me society?” Have we become sloppy? Or am I way behind the times and perceived as dumb because I am not using real-world usage? I’ll be honest … it’s been a very long time since I sat through a semester of grammar class. I can see or hear what’s off with a sentence but do not know what the error is specifically called. So, here’s the practical, common sense rule as I understand it from second grade: Break up the sentence to see if you are using the correct pronoun. If you’re saying “Me and George went to the store,” keep George out of it and try this: “Me went to the store.” Sounds ridiculous, eh? Conversely, split up the proper form and we have, “George went to the store,” and “I went to the store.” You can do this with a variety of sentences to easily figure out what makes the most grammatical sense. Simple grammar tips aside, those of us who are offended by the constant “me and so-and-so” grammar can at least take comfort in the fact that pronoun variations such as “Me and him went to the store” or “Her and me went to the store” have not yet skyrocketed to the top of the common usage charts. Well, now that this is off my chest, me going to the store. Maybe George wants to go, too. Urbain Beck is a freelance writer who has authored numerous online and off-line articles and technical reports. If you have written online content and would like to show off your writing, be sure to submit some blurbs at The Blurbosphere. You’ll receive one-way links from PR2, PR3 and PR4 blogs at no charge. Visit .blurbosphere.com for details.

A single death is a tragedy, while a hundred a mere statistic…… The stark audacity of this statement seems revolting to me and yet what is even more horrible is that it is perfectly true. Deaths no longer mean anything to us. Terror has almost become mundane, people expect it, it has become a part of their lives and sadly we have got used to it. We experience a profound numbness, there is a non registration of the gruesome, grotesque pictures of individuals dying on news channels, in news papers as if, this too is some sort of stupid hindi movie, only a lot more crueler. The people, their death, bravery, sacrifice no longer mean anything to us. A question materializes: Why has the government not stepped in and removed these pictures, for after all we shouldn’t be seeing this? We sit back in the safety of our homes watching the coverage thanking our gods that it hasn’t happened to us, then try to express a mix of shock, grief with anger and in a couple of days we conveniently forget about it, as if nothing had ever happened. It is said that in this country public memory is very short, and why not because after all there are hundreds of news channels panning out utterly uninformative, needless news proficiently, twenty four hours a day. What else would you expect? For after all, our life is in a mess, there are millions of complex, intricate, life changing decisions to be made : Which color shoes to buy today to add to the dozen we already have, which dress to wear to the party, which new hair style to mock this month, how can we possibly be expected to remember anything. I hope my malice is quite apparent because it is very well intended to be……. And the direction in which we are progressing, at our pristine 8% growth, is one in which there is a terror strike every two months, that is if we are lucky. But then I think by then our progressively degrading psyche would have reached a point where a message condemning the attack on facebook would seem like a convenient, comforting mean to express our profound patriotism. Are we any better than our politicians? We do the exact same things. Condemn issues beyond our comprehension and then go ahead and forget them. They put the blames on each other and we go a step further and simply put it back on all of them. We are inching towards a state of being not just absolutely robotic, but incompetently dumb at the same time. Ahh! and then comes the spirit of the city statement. Who are we try to kid around with? Whenever I hear the statement that we must commend the people for their spirit, I feel an intense resentment, a bitterness which goes beyond comprehension. Can a statement as insignificant as this mean anything to those who have lost their family in an instant; can this comfort them of the absolute grief flowing through their veins? I don’t need to even say anything further because the answers are so apparent. In the end, I would like to pose a question, one which each of us has to face individually and have the courage to answer, before we simply blame others: WHAT HAVE WE BECOME ?

Web and email addresses pose a special challenge for writers and publishers of email newsletters and ezines. I don’t know about you, but I find it frustrating when I have to copy and paste an address into a browser, or into a separate email window. Especially when I know how easy it is for the writer or publisher to put in ‘live’ links that allow readers to reach a destination or to create a new email message. I also object to links that get contaminated by punctuation marks. I’m referring to web and email addresses immediately preceded or followed by a punctuation mark. They mean I have to copy and paste the link, then eliminate the offending punctuation mark before I can go on. Let’s deal with that latter issue first: If you plan to include Web addresses and email addresses, use chevron marks, which you may also refer to as the less than “” symbols. By putting them around the addresses, you keep them distinct and easy to copy. It also reduces the likelihood you will add a punctuation mark right after the address, and make it non-clickable. Turning to the other issue, it’s also easy to make your addresses immediately clickable. Do this by fully writing out URLs of Web pages and by putting “mailto:” before email addresses. For example, rather than writing .managersguide.com , I would write .managersguide.com . (note how I left a space between the address and the period that ended the sentence). This makes the URL immediately clickable; all your readers have to do is put their cursors over the address and click. Turning to email addresses, put the word “mailto” plus a colon before the address. For example, mailto:infoyoururl.com rather than simply infoyoururl.com . When readers click on an address with a mailto: before it, a new message automatically pops up in their email programs, with your address already in the TO field. That also has the advantage of reducing errors in transcribing or copying and pasting. Also, be wary of URLs that split at the end of a line. While the URL may not split in your email program, it may do so in the subscriber’s. I usually try to set up so URLs fall at the end of a paragraph, and then put in a return before them, so they are on a line by themselves. Finally, after you’ve emailed a test copy of your newsletter to yourself, test the links on the copy that arrived at your IN box. Click each link to ensure your readers can get to your page or to their email program with just one click. No copying,. no pasting, no transcribing - just one click. In summary, by taking these few simple steps, you can make your newsletter more readable. And if it’s more readable, it’s more likely to get the response you want. Robert F. Abbott, the author of A Manager’s Guide to Newsletters: Communicating for Results, writes and publishes Abbott’s Communication Letter. Read more articles about Internet communication, as well as email and printed newsletters at: .communication-newsletter.com/ic.html

She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that’s best of dark and bright Meet in her aspect and her eyes: Thus mellow’d to that tender light Which heaven to gaudy day denies. One shade the more, one ray the less, Had half impair’d the nameless grace Which waves in every raven tress, Or softly lightens o’er her face; Where thoughts serenely sweet express How pure, how dear their dwelling place. And on that cheek, and o’er that brow, So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, The smiles that win, the tints that glow, But tell of days in goodness spent, A mind at peace with all below, A heart whose love is innocent! Lord Byron’s opening couplet to “She Walks In Beauty” is among the most memorable and most quoted lines in romantic poetry. The opening lines are effortless, graceful, and beautiful, a fitting match for his poem about a woman who possesses effortless grace and beauty. About the Poem, “She Walks In Beauty” In June, 1814, several months before he met and married his first wife, Anna Milbanke, Lord Byron attended a party at Lady Sitwell’s. While at the party, Lord Byron was inspired by the sight of his cousin, the beautiful Mrs. Wilmot, who was wearing a black spangled mourning dress. Lord Byron was struck by his cousin’s dark hair and fair face, the mingling of various lights and shades. This became the essence of his poem about her. According to his friend, James W. Webster, “I did take him to Lady Sitwell’s party in Seymour Road. He there for the first time saw his cousin, the beautiful Mrs. Wilmot. When we returned to his rooms in Albany, he said little, but desired Fletcher to give him a tumbler of brandy, which he drank at one to Mrs. Wilmot’s health, then retired to rest, and was, I heard afterwards, in a sad state all night. The next day he wrote those charming lines upon her

Speech writing tip Top 10 for developing and outlining speech topics and other speech writing tips and tricks. Use it before and after you have written your speech. Before, to work out your speech ideas. And after, when you finished a first outline to assure you don’t forget important things. 1. What is your goal? What response do you want the audience to think, feel, change or act? What do you want them to learn? It takes time, but setting a clear goal is the bone of a great speech. This first speech writing tip is perhaps the most important one. 2. Write down one central speech idea in one short sentence with which you want to leave our audience. Test if your title sounds good by speaking your bottom line out loud in 5 seconds maximum. Try to catch attention in a few teasing words. 3. Determine the demographic, cultural and other characteristics of your listeners. As public speaker your have to know who they are, what they need, what they are concerned about and what they expect from you. 4. In the introduction you write down why you have chosen this speech topic, how it relates to you and to your audience. Tell why you want them to agree with your views. List an important benefit. 5. Approach your theme from many different views, the supporting points, in your body copy. 6. Find evidence to prove your arguments and ideas. Ask reference librarians to help you researching your speech topic in comprehensive databases. And why not asking them for their favorite speech writing tip? Reinforce your message at the end of all your supporting points and refer back to it. 7. Prelude while speech writing on some interacting with your audience. Ask a rhetoric question, offer the outcomes of a poll, and relate these to the ideas of the audience. 8. Effective speech writing is also writing in a conversational manner. So, deliver your speech by heart with only a few note cards. It will enhance your total performance. Each card contains only one point. 9. The conclusion is the most important part and should be leaving everyone with something to think about. Refer to your central message. See my speech writing tip number 1. 10. Prepare for the Q and A or other feedback after your talk. Make sure you have researched one or two extra, bonus examples to make your message clear. So, to summarize it: research surprising points and views, use my speech idea checklist, prove your credibility and expertise, and interact with your audience. That is the bottom line of this speech writing tip Top 10. About the Author: Jim Peterson has over 10 year’s experience in the speech writing business. He offers 1,250+ free speech topic ideas and how-to guides for any kind of public speaking and speech writing assignments at .speech-topics-help.com.Copyright 2006 Jim A. Peterson

On Writing: Visualize Your Writing Success By Pamela White I was one of those children who know early on what they want to be “when they grow up.” “I’m going to be a writer,” I told my parents. “I’m going to write books,” I said to my teacher. When they stopped laughing, I took my secret dream and buried it. But I did know who I was and who I was going to be, so finally I started writing despite the expectation of ridicule. I was 35. Each time I wrote, I agonized over what to say. I fretted over the quality of my work, and felt inadequate even before the letter of rejection arrived. Six months or more would pass between one submitted piece and the next, while I tried to overcome the embarrassment and shame I felt at each rejection. Ten years later, I make my living as a writer. I write something every day, and have a 75 percent acceptance rate for my queries, short stories and articles. I publish two ezines for other writers and have multiple books on food writing and writing for sale. What happened in those ten years to change my writing process? Many things, but it wasn’t until recently that I started creating and selling my writing regularly. What did I do? I visualized my writing success. It sounds simple, but it’s hard to put into practice when you are filled with self-doubt. My first breakthrough came after reading The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. One step to personal fulfillment she suggests is writing “morning pages.” Start each day by sitting down with a notebook and pen. Write three pages of whatever comes out. Write without planning, editing or thinking. These three garbled pages are my data dump. I write about my many worries: the high price of gas, my weight, my cat’s limp, rejection letters, the snow storm on its way, losing my job, obnoxious people. Once the three pages are done, I let go of the mundane and clear the way for the extraordinary to flow from my mind and my finger tips. But that was only a start for me. It did clear away my insecurities but only temporarily. Throughout the day those self-doubts would sneak back. As I lay in bed each night I was haunted by my mistakes, my sloppy syntax, the very idea that I thought I could submit a short story to a writing contest, and why couldn’t I produce like the other writers I knew did. I had to find something that would fill my mind and heart after the crud was written out each morning. I changed my evening ritual of worrying and self-recrimination to one of visualization and raising my “vibration.” I’ve had this explained to me two ways: we are all just energy and we can operate at a low vibration and negative energy, or at a high vibration and positive energy. Alternatively, we can raise our vibration and connect with God, the Source, the Divine or the Creator - choose your own name for it. The Creator is the place from where all creativity comes. I learned to tap into that feeling of joy and began to gratefully accept my gifts and talents. Each evening before I fall asleep, I close my eyes and let myself be successful, productive and filled with joy. As I feel the joy, I experience a lightness and feel a buzzing around me. I let the feeling flow over me until I am operating at this level of vibration, awash in positive energy and feelings. My specific visualization changes based on the projects I’m working on. One night I might visualize myself walking into my office, smiling and energetic. I am thrilled at the ideas that flow from my center, and start researching markets to sell these articles to. I see myself writing winning query letters and manuscripts. I think about spending my paychecks on something special: flowers to plant, new hiking shoes for me and my husband, a donation to the food pantry. After a few practice sessions, any writer can benefit from this tool by: - Finding a quiet place. - Thinking of the happiest moment in your life and allowing yourself to relive the happiness you felt at that time. - Imagining yourself getting lighter. One way to do this is to visualize yourself in an elevator. Get in on the first floor, then move up, floor by floor until you notice a “buzzing” feeling. - Once there, start the visualizations of your writing success. Remember the good, happy feeling. This is the feeling you want to continue throughout the day as you turn your visualizations into reality. The next step is to create that positive feeling by talking to yourself about where you intend to be, not just tomorrow morning, but in a year from now: “I’m so happy that my new novel is being published this week. I thought the interview I gave last week was productive. My second novel is nearly finished.” Despite the fact that none of this has yet manifested, keep talking to yourself (or journaling) about it as if it is happening now. Truly see yourself in these positions - signing books, giving interviews on CNN, and preparing a second manuscript for your editor. Keep practicing, knowing that you will find yourself writing and selling more. You will become more creative and better able to overcome the obstacles you’ve placed between you and your writing success. When you start to head down the “I’m a loser” road, stop yourself and redirect your feelings by beginning a new visualization about how wonderful your work is, and how many people have benefited from your writing. For great, easy to understand teaching on positive feeling and raising vibrations, read “Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting,” by Lynn Grabhorn. Day by day, I am manifesting my dream. Since starting my visualization practice, I have begun writing every day. In fact, I often squeeze in extra writing throughout the day, enjoying the happiness that flows in and out of me as I write. ************* Pam White’s work has been published widely on the internet and in ByLine, Writer’s Digest, Low Carb Energy, Home Cooking, Back Home, Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine, Without a Clue, and Third Degree. Her website (.food-writing.com ) is home to her food writing newsletter, book and online classes. She has launched a new ezine for parents who write, “The Writing Parent,” at .thewritingparent.net. © 2006 Pamela White

SEO writing is very different from content writing, article writing, story writing and news writing. When I first realized my innate talent for writing stuff and putting thoughts into words, I was still reading Mills and Boons, and it was during this time that my romance storybooks were confiscated by my classroom teacher because I was reading in class. Writing is a very personal thing, I discovered. Some people have the talent for writing creative stuff. Some people have the talent for writing ads. Some write excellent factual stuff. Well, I fall into the factual stuff category. The boring-writing-technical-mumbo-jumbo writing stuff. How I fit into this category, I don’t know. Well, SEO article writing is very much like that. First, you decide what topic or keyword that you want. For instance, you’re selling decorative lamps, right? In the SEO article writing process, list down ‘decorative’ and ‘lamps’. Then think about other words that relates to ‘decorative’ and ‘lamps’…words that people use all the time to describe them. This is a very important part of SEO article writing because these are common words that your potential site visitors will use to find you. How about ‘light’, ‘bright’, ‘pretty’, ‘lighting’? Ok, now your SEO article writing keywords are: - decorative, lamps, light, bright, pretty and lighting, right? So, on to the SEO article writing process. First you write everything that you need to write down first. Beef up the article. As a general rule of thumb, SEO articles should be no less than 300 words and no more than 500 words. Any more than that, you’re wasting your writing a novel for your SEO article. Read through the SEO article now and replace words and reword sentences to fit in those keywords. Yes, you’ll have to restructure some the SEO keywords here and there, but do it anyway. Make sure the sentences make sense, ok? Because although the search engines won’t know bad grammar from good grammar, your site visitors will. And most of them, site visitors who visit your website based on those SEO keywords DO mind the bad grammar. And once you turn them away, it’s almost impossible to bring them back! The final step to SEO article writing is…..proofread your SEO article and make sure they flow. The problem with SEO writing is that your thoughts might come in buckets….a splash here and a splash there. So, during the SEO article proofreading process, you’ll have to make sure one paragraph flows on to the next. About The Author:-Please browse for more information at our websites. .allfreereports.com

Article marketing can promote your website and protect your website from competitors. You can strengthen your article marketing strategy by evaluating the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in your article submissions. Article marketing provides you with an opportunity to optimise your website for search engines, promote your website’s visibility, and keep your website strong in the face of competitors. Applying a traditional SWOT analysis to your article marketing strategy can sharpen your strategy to capitalize on opportunities that might have otherwise gone unrecognized. SWOT is the acronym for â€

You want to appeal to your audience and deliver your message in a way that rouses them to action, or makes them think, or laugh, or cry; you want to make an impact. That’s where style and voice come in. Style covers things like word choice, the types of sentences you write, how you introduce a piece, how you conclude it, and how you show your meaning (if you don’t know it already, memorize and make your own the mantra of “show; don’t tell”). Voice is that element that’s intangible, yet so crucial for effect. Voice in writing is what makes it yours and no one else’s. It’s you peeking out from behind your words saying, “This is me!” It’s what gives your writing power and captivates your readers. Here’s how to write with voice: 1. Good writing comes from the heart. Writing from the heart and letting the real you shine through is crucial to a strong voice. The reader gets a great sense of you, the author, and what kind of person you are. Maybe you have an irreverent voice and you’re always railing against the status quo. Maybe your voice is comedic, and your readers laugh right along with you as you tell tales of office politics to make a point. Maybe your voice is gentle, quiet, and kind, and the reader feels drawn in to hear what you have to say. If there’s a type of voice you’re most attracted to (be it irreverent, wickedly funny, gently humorous, kind, irate, political, you name it), you’ll write more passionately if you use that voice. Practice writing something from different voices. Have an article on communicating well within an organization? Try writing it with a humorous voice, and then rewrite using a different voice. Soon, you’ll find a voice and a rhythm that appeals to you. 2. Good writing is strong. Good writers choose a stand and believe in it. If your writing is filled with “I think” and “I guess” and “I believe” and “it seems,” you come across as wishy-washy. Take those words out and stand firm. Say what you believe and believe what you say. 3. Good writing is original. You don’t have to say it like everyone else does. You don’t have to follow all the rules. You don’t have to incorporate all the great advice you read in articles and books on writing (even mine!). Do it your own way and stand out from the crowd. If you’re like everyone else, what would make people gravitate toward you? Give them a reason to pick you. 4. Good writing is authentic. You’re not the answer for everyone, and not everyone is going to be attracted to your stuff. However, if you write authentically, then you have a better chance of people sticking around to see what you have to say. It’s basic Law of Attraction. 5. Good writing is passionate. Enjoy what you’re writing about. Write from the heart. Be passionate. If you like humor, be funny. If you like word play, add a few puns. If you’re thrilled with what you’re doing, let that joy come out in your writing. Writing well isn’t a trick or a gift that only a few are blessed with. It does, like everything else, take practice. Writing is not just a talent; it’s a skill that can be learned and practiced, just like playing an instrument. May you play your instrument, your writing, well. ——- © 2008, Dawn Goldberg and Write Well U. All rights reserved. Dawn Goldberg is founder and Chief Writing Officer of Write Well U, helping people improve their writing skills. You can find out more about Dawn, Write Well U, and all the programs and services to help you write well at .WriteWellU.com.

One of the most important search engine optimization strategies that you can implement is writing articles and submitting them to the thousands of article directories for people to use on their websites. If you have not tried already, submitting to thousands of article directories can be a long and painful experience. One of the tools that is most useful in helping you get your articles out is Article Submission Software but be warned not all Article Submission Software is the same. There are in fact five key issues you must consider before investing hundreds of dollars in Article Submission Software. The five core issues to consider are as follows: 1. Ability to Add New Directories to your Software 2. Ability to Have Independent Logins for Each Article Directory 3. Must Have the Ability to Submit to a range of at Least Five Categories 4. The Ability to Automatically Submit Articles 5. Ability to Prevent a Submission If There is No Categories I am sure you are quite aware of the dynamic change that occurs on the internet and how it is in a constant state of change and in the world of article directories this is an absolute. The first issue that you must ensure your new article directory software is able to do is to add new article directories to your list of submission sites. Often article submission software will come with preset lists of article directories and for example they may come with 300 article directories programmed into the software. The problem with this is that you will find over a period of months that the operability of these article directories will change. For example, when I first started using article submission software the tool I was using had roughly 300 article directories. With in 2 months of using this software over 60 of those directories became in-operable. This meant the software usefulness became less and less as time went on. Some of the other issues that you will find are that some article directories will not approve articles regularly or they may have a policy of only approving a certain number per month and if you are a regular writer you could find that your articles are not approved. Non-approved articles are costing you money, so whilst the software may specify that it submits to 300 articles, in reality only 40 directories may approve your article in the first week and less and less approve it as time goes on. As such, the more article directories you submit to, the more likely it will show up in the directories and people will use it on their own websites. In the article directory world there are roughly three or four article directory engines and each one has its own issues. Your article submission software must be able to work with all article directory types and an important aspect is to be able to have a unique login for each article directory. The reason you will need this is that some sites use a common login system rather than your email address which will be unique. For example the article dashboard directory engine uses your email address as the logon which as such must be unique on the internet. Other article directory engines use a logon that you have to create. You may find when registering for these article directories that your logon is already used, so for this directory you will need an alternative logon. As such it is better to have each article directory with its own logon in the Article Submission tool. Every article submission software system must have the ability to choose five categories in which an article could be submitted to. One of the things my team and I have found in surveying the thousands of article directories on the internet is that no two article directories have the same list of categories that you can submit your articles to. Because of this you need to purchase article submission software that allows you to choose up to five categories so that you have the greatest chance of finding a category automatically. The next issue is an extension of the previous paragraph and that is, the software must skip the article submission process if it cannot choose or find an appropriate category. The quickest way to be banned from article directories is to submit your articles to the wrong the categories. It is better to not submit your article to the article directory than to submit it to the wrong category. The last and final issue that your article submission software should have is to be able to automatically submit your articles. If you can not submit your articles automatically then you will find that the process of article submission will be painful and long winded. What I have found in the past, is that if you do not automatically submit your articles, you will find after a while that your passion and desire for writing articles will wane simply because of the time that it takes to submit them. If you are buying Article Submission Software, use it wisely. One of the big mistakes I see with people who buy this software is that they will submit their same article to the article directory 4 or 5 times over a period of a few months. Let me be blunt - DO NOT DO IT - YOU WILL GET BANNED. You should only be using this software to submit your articles ONCE! Article Directory owners do not tolerate spamming of their article directories and in reality, it does not help you. The secret to article directories and using it in your seo strategy is to write regularly. You will find that the more you write, the easier it will get. However, if you write one article and resubmit it or change only the heading or a few words, article directory owners will pickup on this and you could find yourself banned. If you ever accidentally submit your article more than once, make sure you visit every site and delete the additional submissions. Once again, article directory owners take a dim view on people who spam their directories so DO NOT DO IT. Article Submission Software can be a huge time saver but it must be used wisely in the SEO Process and it must be used ethically. If you are not going to be an ethical writer then you will find yourself banned in the article directories and you will not have any recourse. For other great online and offline marketing ideas visit our website Online Marketing Business Opportunity. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill will teach you the 13 secrets to become rich. To help you in learning this material I strongly recommend our High Performance Meditation Music at - Meditation Music