You can make article writing a key to topping the search engine Google. The key factors that determine the rankings in a search engine are whether it is optimized for keywords the number of links back to your site from other sites. How to Write Good Articles It is always best to write about what you know. This may not always be what you want your site to be about, but the more know about your topic, the better your writing will be. If you are writing about a niche that you don’t know much about, try to make it something that interests you, so you will want to do the extra research to learn more. This will eventually lead you to write more articles. You probably have a hobby that people would like to know more about. Articles on hobbies like photography, cooking, music, gardening are some that will get readers. Attention spans today, especially since the internet, are really short. Give your reader what they are looking for quickly, or they will click away from your webpage. Try to keep your articles around 400 words or so. If they are much longer, your reader could lose interest. If you want to say more, just write another article, being sure to focus on important keywords. Focus on keywords - This aspect cannot be overstated. You need to optimize your article for keywords. Let your keywords turn into links back to your site. Include keywords in the headline, at the beginning of the article and a number of times in the main body of the text. This is essential for article writing success. But don’t just load your article with keywords or it will not read naturally and search engines will penalize you. Submission of article - A good search engine will help you in finding sites to submit your article. Select a site most suited to your article subject and a one having a large number of subscribers. If you write a decent article, you will find that many directories and sites will use your article. Everyone wants to supply useful information on their sites, and if you can give it to them, you will get the payback of having lots of links pointing to your site. You will need to wait before you see results. Search engines do not update their index pages frequently. They may even do it once every two months. Even 100 inbound links may not make much of an impact on your ranking. Maintain a sustained interest in article writing. You will see results soon Attention spans today, especially since the internet, are really short. Give your reader what they are looking for quickly, or they will click away from your webpage. Try to keep your articles around 400 words or so.Submission of article - A good search engine will help you in finding sites to submit your article. Select a site most suited to your article subject and a one having a large number of subscribers. for more details about the author and article visit at :- .internet-copycatting.com .articlemarketing.reprintarticlesite.com

Conqueror, my mystical horse, was not getting any younger. He had lived well beyond a normal lifespan and I wondered how many trips he could still make. Was that old, robed man, who brought an enchanted colt to the Kingdom of Ayatana those many years ago, the sorcerer? Of course, he was, and he arranged that I would follow the stableman’s advice and pick out Conqueror for my mount, my protector, for there was never a question as to whether or not he was the one; he was always the one. And during the many years we had been together, he had never let me down once, and he now again slowly limped behind me, the only place he ever wanted to be. His head was down and his back swayed badly as he bravely coped with the burdens of old age, but his heart was as strong and true as ever. The dense jungle thinned out until it became only a fond memory, as we steadily made our way eastward. We walked through scrub brush for months until it eventually gave way to parched desert, populated with throngs of destitute people trying to survive on almost nothing. We went many days without food in this poverty-stricken land, only hoping for a little water ahead. Many diseased people, both young and old, sat hopelessly along the road beside corpses rotting in the sun, causing me to reflect on the fate of all beings, rich or poor, good or bad. This is our destiny, every one of us whether it is easy and sudden or slow and painful, and I hoped with my heart that I would not have to go through this agony too many more lifetimes. We stopped in a small settlement where a kind family took pity on this old man and his broken down horse, and offered us some rice and water. I took my precious pittance of food to a shady place under an outcropping of rock and just began to eat when an old man with long gray hair, a white beard, and wearing a white robe approached me, “My name is Weepasa and I am hungry. Will you give me your food?” He didn’t look famished, actually he was rather portly, but his request didn’t seem to be too out of place in this impoverished country, so I gave him my food justifying my generosity by thinking this would give me an opportunity to continue my fast and deepen my inner work. I had a feeling, however, that this was no ordinary old man. His wizened face looked at me for a while and then asked, “How did you lose your eye?” I told him my story, and he appeared to be amused, but still was not eating the food I so graciously offered. “Your journey has now taken you to a forsaken place and I’m puzzled how you plan to find the key in such desolation?” he inquired. “How did you know that I am a key seeker?” “What else could you be?” “I don’t know where to find my key,” I replied. “I am simply following my heart and trying my best,” He shot me a stern glance, “Trying? Trying is for fools. Are you an idiot, one of those weak-kneed morons who try all his life and never gets anywhere? One must do! Period! Do it right now!” Then he sat back, gleefully ate my food, and walked away. This brash, unholy looking character not only puzzled me, but what he said touched a nerve. ‘Trying’ puts off what I need to do so I should just ‘do it!’ It sounded good, but not exactly possible. How do I just ‘do it?’ How do I just ‘find the key?’ I was perplexed, so much so that I decided to stay one more day. The same family took a liking to us and again offered some food. When we got to the outcropping of rocks to eat, guess who showed up and again asked for my food? After I politely gave it to him for the second day, he ate heartily and then without even having the courtesy to say thank you, went on his way. I was getting hungry. After the old man had eaten and was walking away for the third day, he turned and remarked, “You are really stupid, you know? Why would you let me eat your food, day after day, while you starve? Do you think of yourself as some kind of saint or something? Do you think that starving yourself will magically instill wisdom? With you, fasting is not instilling wisdom, it is instilling stupidity, and merely building an indestructible ‘self.’ You are really confused, aren’t you? You have no idea how to balance compassion and wisdom yet, do you? Who has been teaching you?” I felt a slight, unbelievably disappointing twinge of anger brought on by his swarm of abusive questions. This spiteful old man had successfully brought up negative emotions that I thought were defeated long ago. I knew I had overcome doubt, as well as belief in rituals and belief in a permanent personality - the three hurdles of stream entrance. I had overcome doubt at the temple years ago with the hooded being when I met myself. Ceremonies and magic were seen through shortly after I began my inner work, and the idea of a personality was seen through with Weeja. Therefore, I was positive that I was already a Stream Entrant, or one who only returns seven or less times to human form. But as far as overcoming the next two - anger and sensual desire - but because of this annoying twinge of anger which came up when my “holiness” was challenged, it looked as if I had my work cut out for me. As if he were reading my thoughts, he began laughing, and then he incredibly rose ten feet in the air and drifted toward the far hills like a wind-blown kite, disappearing into the sky as I watched in total disbelief. I tried to sort out what I had just seen. I had heard of advanced key keepers who acquired certain powers, such as flying in the air. Some could read minds as well, and some could walk on water. Some would have knowledge of people’s past lives and there were those who could be in two places at once. At any rate, I felt I had no choice now but to pursue this man. With Conqueror following behind, I made my way across the sun-bleached valley into the hills following the general direction Weepasa drifted, eventually coming upon a large, white stucco building in the center of a compound surrounded by smaller buildings and many walking paths. These paths were about thirty paces long and were being used by men and women in white robes who were walking back and forth. There were many people coming and going, and a crowd had assembled outside of the large building behind a fence, apparently wanting to remain within close proximity of something or somebody. I approached the building and was permitted to enter as if I was expected, and found Weepasa sitting on a large, comfortable chair eating mangos, and surrounded by a dozen villagers. When he saw me he said, “Well, you have come. Now, will you do exactly as I tell you?” After seeing him fly through the air, I enthusiastically said, “Yes!” “Good. If I ask you to jump off a cliff, will you do it?” I thought that this was a rhetorical question of some kind, (I didn’t know this master yet), and so I said, “Sure!” not considering the gravity of his request. The old man’s face turned somber as he pointed out the window and said, “There is a high cliff out there, go and jump off.” Everybody in the room snickered. I was taken by surprise for a moment, and somewhat embarrassed in front of everybody, so I found myself walking out the door toward the cliff. This spiteful man seemed to delight in pushing me to my limits. Now this was no small cliff, as I was hoping! It was higher than the deadly cliff that I nearly fell from when I was with a John. Also, this did not involve simply sitting on the edge; I had to jump! Perhaps Weepasa had enough magic to save me if I jumped . . . perhaps not. I was completely baffled, so I just sat there on the edge pondering my awkward situation. I could not see the wisdom of committing suicide, not after coming this far, and furthermore, a John sternly warned me about suicide - saying that with few exceptions, suicide would sentence one to many future lifetimes of repeating the same agonizing misunderstandings that precipitated the first suicide, including the horrific delusions a suicidal person goes through. However, I did not want to appear cowardly either, so I was mystified. . (To be continued) (hr) E. Raymond Rock of Fort Myers, Florida is cofounder and principal teacher at the Southwest Florida Insight Center, .SouthwestFloridaInsightCenter.com His twenty-nine years of meditation experience has taken him across four continents, including two stopovers in Thailand where he practiced in the remote northeast forests as an ordained Theravada Buddhist monk. His book, A Year to Enlightenment (Career Press/New Page Books) is now available at major bookstores and online retailers. Visit .AYearToEnlightenment.com

We all use commas in our writing; we know they’re essential: They separate parts of sentences into clear segments that aid in comprehensible reading. However, for most of us, placing commas becomes guesswork that uses up a significant part of the time we devote to writing. Imagine writing without using any commas: Your sentences run on with no separation between subjects discussed; reading becomes a nightmare. The use of comma in English writing is essential to distinguishing between the various phrases, marking a brief pause in the flow of our thoughts, and most importantly, makes our writing accurate, effective, and easy to read. The following guidelines will help you use commas correctly in your English writing. Use a comma: (1) When you have more than three words, phrases, or clauses in a series. i.e., “Ben, John, and Sheryl took the bus.” (2) To set off geographical places, i.e., “Miami, Florida”. (3) After introductory clauses, phrases, or words that precede the main clause. Introductory clauses that should be followed by a comma include: after, although, as, because, if, since, when, while. i.e., “While I was watching TV, the power suddenly cut off”. (4) To separate independent clauses when they’re joined by any of the following words: and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet. i.e., “The sun went down, yet the children kept playing outside.” (5) When it will prevent confusion, i.e., Eats Shoots and Leaves vs. Eats, Shoots, and Leaves (6) Use a pair of commas in the middle of a sentence to set off words, phrases, and clauses that are not crucial to the logic of the sentence, i.e., “My favorite sport, aside from basketball, is tennis”. Use of comma to separate subjects from verbs, or between two verbs or verb phrases in a compound predicate must be avoided. Learn how an advanced online grammar check software can help you with the correct use of comma and with other punctuation rules. © 2007 Gil Lavi. All Rights Reserved

The internet has undoubtedly augmented the spirit of creative communication, both in precept and practice. Web enabled communication, can be a writer’s paradise, especially in reference to ezines, blogs and web sites.In fact if we hold this supposition to be true, then the web is not a mere end in itself, but a means towards, an end : a larger design of thought processes and means for aesthetic and creative communication. The WWW is compressed into a microcosmic world of letters, thoughts, discussions and ingenuity.Years ago the novelist Virginia Woolf pleaded for ‘ A Room Of One’s own’, meaning the inner and outer space that a writer needs. The ‘ room ‘ is metaphoric in that sense, it is both the outer and inner labyrinth of the writer. A parallel can be drawn here, the blog is today the writer’s space, analogous to a ‘ room’ the blog quintessentially is the writer’s space and place. But this ‘ space ‘ also dislocates the writer in the sense that what is being written is ‘ anywhere’ in the world:as what is written is viewed,and read anywhere. There can be comments and discussions too in e learning groups, both in real time, as well as outside of it. To use distance education terminology:synchronous and asynchronous.Yahoo groups for example are forceful group discussions and sharing platforms, of information and opinions; so much so that online activism , web enabled is gaining ascendancy the world over, and focalising it into one Community. The point is that technological interventions in the form of the web and connectivity are narrowing divisions between people and bringing them into a common platform of shared feelings, debates, and polemics. When Tibet was under siege e groups discussed this issue, animatedly. When Pakistan was under the shadow of political turmoil, and when the freedom of the press was gagged in that country, fellow journalists in different parts of the world empathised with their counterparts in Pakistan. The interconnectedness between technology, connectivity and the internet is forcefully driven home through existence of literary and poetry sites for example. It is perhaps cheaper to maintain these sites than the print medium. Conversely however many such sites choose the best writings from among bloggers to get them printed in book form! Examples of this are .sulekha.com and .siliconindia.com, in India. I personally love to write on the web, as it brings out in me a spontaneous gush of thought.The thought processes arise out of sheer instinct. My poetry has been published in a number of ezines, all over the world-so much so that, my friends describe me indescribably!- as the ‘ web footed’ poet. Ananya Guha.

British author Robert Bob Carter spared a few moments to answer some questions about his new novel, ‘The Magic Eye’ 1. What inspired you to write ‘The Magic Eye’? It really started as a discussion with my young daughter Lexi that led to the idea. I’ve always enjoyed fantasy fiction, particularly when written for children. As the ideas evolved it seemed natural to turn them into a book. 2. The heroine is called Amelia, who is she based on? Melie is based on my daughter Lexi, after all she was instrumental in the book being written in the first place. The name Amelia is borrowed from my only granddaughter who is 9 months old. 3. The co-star and Melie’s best friend is John Simon who has Down’s Syndrome. Can you share the background to this idea? My fourth child Joe is the inspiration behind John. Joe was also born with Down’s Syndrome and I wanted to share the beauty of Down’s with as many people as possible. I think that everybody who reads the book will fall in love with John. 4. You have an innovative idea for the rest of the series. Where did it come from? As an innovator myself, I wanted to do something that would add much more value than simply writing a book. I have developed a method for writing that makes the process simple. I want to share that method with as many people as possible. Melie’s followers and readers will be invited to submit ideas for the next story. Twice a year, 20 children with the best ideas will be invited with their parents to join my family at a special boot-camp. The objective will be to jointly design the next Melie adventure. This will be a weekend of fun, alternating between England and the USA, where they jointly develop the outline and first chapter for the next book.I also believe that many hands can make light labour and that there isn’t an idea that can’t be improved upon. I expect the problem for the second book will be fitting in all the great ideas generated. The most difficult bit will be discarding the ideas that don’t fit the story or that haven’t yet had their time. 5. Why alternating between the UK and USA? I currently share my time between both countries and so having a boot-camp in each seems logical. There is no reason why we can’t expand this to other countries in the near future. Perhaps Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia can be in the second wave, and then we can expand all over the world. The intent will be to keep the ideas coming in to keep the adventures as fresh as possible. The different cultures of the world will help to do that. 6. How is this book different to other children’s magical fantasies? I think that the major difference is the blending of old world magic with modern technology. 7. Who is ‘The Magic Eye’ aimed at? The Magic Eye is written in a style that can be enjoyed by all age groups. Families can snuggle up to experience the adventures together, or family members can immerse themselves in the magic on their own, if that is their preference. Fans of other fantasy books like The Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and The Spiderwick Chronicles are expected to be drawn to ‘The Magic Eye’. By comparison to other books in the genre, ‘The Magic Eye’ can be enjoyed in a comparatively short time. The twenty six chapters can be read in as little as three hours, encouraging younger readers to enjoy the magic as well as their older siblings. The other major difference is the setting. ‘The Magical Adventures of Melie’ are set in the twenty first century and blend the magic and wizardry of old with modern technology. 8. A key part of ‘The Magic Eye’ concerns an enchanted book. What is it? ‘The Book of the Future’ was first written fifteen hundred years ago by the evil witch Faranella. Many copies were made and all but one was destroyed. The destruction of the book was ordered by Karak Pendragon, Grand Master of all Wizards on earth. The order was made immediately after Faranella was finally beaten by the combined armies of all the earths’ wizards. The one book that remains is enchanted. Many attempts have been made to destroy it and all have failed. Early in the twenty first century the book has appeared again. It is foretold in the book, that a magical being will be born. This special girl will have the power to bring Faranella back to the earth after centuries of imprisonment. Faranella believes that she has now been born and her name is Amelia Pendragon, distant ancestor of Karak. 9. Are there any plans to make a movie? Let’s not get away with ourselves. The first book is only just coming out. I believe ‘The Magic Eye’ would make a great movie but I think the honest answer is let’s wait and see. 10. Finally, you talk about being a wannabe rock singer, what do you mean? There’s always one embarrassing question. I have been lucky to be the lead singer in many a garage classic rock band. Three bands in Tucson were actually pretty good and we made a bit of beer money as well. I would love to find a good classic rock band to front in Manchester, but don’t currently have the time. More details can be found at meliesadventures.blogspot.com

The New Partner In this scenario a veteran cop has to get a new partner after the death of his old one. The rookie is either keen as mustard and eager to please, or burned out from personal problems. It’s probably best known in modern times from the Lethal Weapon movies. Screenwriters tried to add some tension early in the series by having Mel Gibson as a borderline suicide case, and that gave the first film an edge; but it was lost in later instalments. By the time the fourth movie came came along they had fallen so deeply into a buddy movie relationship that all drama was lost in favour of light comedy. You need to do some serious subverting if you want to use this situation. People have tried having a dog as the buddy in K9, having their Mom as the buddy in Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, and having foreigners as the buddy in big Arnie’s Red Heat. Outside the strictly police procedural we’ve also had the robot buddy in Robocop, the ghost buddy in Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), the alien buddy in Alien Nation, the magician buddy in Jonathan Creek, the ex-serviceman buddy in both Sherlock Holmes and Poirot. The list just goes on and on. However you do it, filling in the blanks is easy in this scenario. What you need is something new. How about having the cop being given a politician doing a meet-the-people stint. Or, on a completely tasteless but might be funny level, how about the schizophrenic cop who is his own buddy? The Rookie in the Morgue Once only the province of young students in Quincy, this one now turns up on TV in the CSI franchise or Crossing Jordan and in print in the Kay Scarpetta books. There are usually two ways this one can proceed. Either the young cop rushes out, hand at mouth, or he stands still, icily cold and detached, as the autopsy proceeds. Inspector Morse tried to subvert this situation by having the old timer as the squeamish one, but how about having the rookie as the pathologist? Whatever you do, try not to give the pathologist a chance to be smug and patronizing while explaining large chunks of the plot. In the UK, this is overdone in Silent Witness and Waking the Dead, and is just a lazy way to advance the story. The Cantankerous Lieutenant Chews Out The Cop In films and television shows this happens to every protagonist, and Clint Eastwood for one must be tired of it. In the Dirty Harry series he was rarely out of his boss’s office. It usually ends up with the lieutenant and the cop snarling at each other, so how about having one of them being completely calm and laid back? Or how about having one of them being deaf? And if you must write this scene, please don’t use lines like “I’ll have your badge for that”, or “I’m not covering for you this time” The Slimy Defence Lawyer This one was a hot favourite on NYPD Blue and was guaranteed to get right up Sipowitz’s nose. Once you’ve introduced the sharp suit, the slick hairstyle and the briefcase, this guy will inevitably say, “My client has no further comment,” or “You had no right to talk to him without me there.” Everybody knows the rest. Again, serious though is needed to bring a new twist to this situation. Your lawyer could be an ex-cop who knows all the moves, or a relative or lover of one of the cops? How about a lawyer defending himself? Or a counter-culture lawyer covered with tattoos and piercings? Whatever you do try to come up with some creative invective. Slimeball, sleazeball, reptile and shyster have all been overused. The Car Chase Bullit and The French Connection set the standard, and Gone in 60 Seconds brought it into the 21st Century, but this situation has mostly become tired. There are only so many little old ladies to avoid, so many road signs to hit, and so many police cars to trash before your audience becomes jaded. Over the years the Bond movies have used up just about all the possible permutations, so you’ll struggle to come up with something new. It would be better to add tension in another way. In a bid to appear fresh, the chase element has sometimes been dropped altogether in favour of the race against time as in Speed or Die Hard With a Vengeance. To succeed you’ll need a good reason for the journey to take place, a disastrous outcome if it’s not successful, and some good near misses on the way. But beware. Too much carnage and your readers will start thinking of The Blues Brothers. And please, don’t have your protagonist drive the wrong way down a one-way street.. it’s been done far too often. The Shoot Out Raymond Chandler’s advice to crime writers still holds. “If your plot is flagging, have a man come in with a gun.” You’ve got to be careful though. Too many people still transfer scenes from old cowboy movies almost verbatim into modern cop scenes. Probably the best recent shoot out was in Michael Mann’s Heat. You cared who lived or died, and there was excitement and tension. Therein lies the trick. Make your readers have an opinion, not just about your hero, but about the other characters as well. At the end of LA Confidential, we knew all of the people involved in the climax, and it made it more satisfying to watch who lived or died. Lining one-dimensional people up just as cannon fodder might work in a Saturday night popcorn movie, but we should be aiming higher than that. Shoot outs work well on film, but they can be a drag in print. Some writers tend to slow things down, especially to have a close look at the wounds. Unless you’re careful it can read like a medical textbook. And, please, don’t have heads “exploding like ripe watermelons.” The Cop in The Cafe This was used in Chips in every episode, giving them an excuse to show a motorbike speeding from a car park with loose gravel flying. It’s also a favourite in most of the aforementioned buddy movies, and especially in Starsky and Hutch. They’ll be in a cafe, musing over the chewing out they’ve had from their boss, when a call comes through. The radio buzzes, giving them a chance to attach a flashing light to the roof of their car and head off to a car chase, closely followed by a shoot out. See how it’s possible to run one cliche into another? Pretty soon you’d have a whole plot, but would anybody buy it? One way of changing this scene might be to have an alternative means of the cops getting the message. You could have them hearing something on the Television? Or how about on a cell-phone or laptop… there are multiple opportunities for foul ups, misunderstandings or criminal actions there, and they haven’t been overdone… yet. Good Cop / Bad Cop The good cop / bad cop interview became a cliche almost as soon as crime fiction began. A fine example, nearly seventy years old, can be seen in The Maltese Falcon. By now everybody knows the moves, and your readers will be bored long before the interview is over. Unless you’re being self-referential and ironic, as in LA Confidential you’ll never pull it off. Cracker tried to subvert the interview situation altogether by having it performed by a psychiatrist who played both cops in one. In The Rock, Sean Connery as the prisoner told Nicholas Cage which questions he should be asking. You’ll need to find something similarly innovative if you’re going to make it work. How about having two good cops? Or two bad cops? Or maybe there is a new computer system designed by psychologists to ask the right questions in the right order? How would your cops and your prisoner handle that? The Estranged Wife Why do all fictional cops have relationship problems? This scene always goes the same way. The wife says, “You never see the children anymore.” The cop doesn’t say anything, because his mobile phone interrupts. You know the rest. Cracker is again a good case in point as he went through this scene in almost every episode. Pacino played a variation of it with his girlfriend in Heat. Not only does Cracker have a failed marriage, but he’s also a gambler and a drinker. In recent years people have been giving cops more and more problems to overcome, culminating in Denzel Washington’s paraplegic investigator in The Bone Collector. I wouldn’t even try to top that. Why not be original. Make your cop a healthy, stable, happily married man. Now there’s a challenge. Conclusion The next time you read or watch a police drama, notice how many of the above are still in use. All of them can occur in any one story, and frequently do… just shuffle the paragraphs, add a murder or two and you have an instant plot. But unless you can subvert some of the cliches, don’t expect anybody to buy it.”>Crime fiction is big business at the moment, but there are certain situations that have been overplayed so much that they have become genre cliches and everybody knows what to expect next. Here are ten cliches you should try to avoid and thoughts on how to subvert the cliches if you do decide to use them. Cops and Doctors You can find this perennial favourite in both crime and historical fiction. You’ll see it in ER, NYPD Blue and in cross -genre shows like the X Files. The doctor says “OK but only for a minute” or “It’s touch and go. The next few hours will be crucial” or “It could be minutes, it could be days… you never know with coma cases” The policemen usually say nothing. They just stand around and chew the scenery in frustration. Mulder and Scully actually spend a lot of their time hanging around in hospitals but you don’t notice so much because the patients aren’t your run of the mill criminals or witnesses. And that’s the way to get around this one. Get a new twist and add some tension. Maybe the patient is related to either the cop or the doctor. Or maybe the doctor is an amateur detective and knows better than the cop? But beware of the “Dick Van Dyke” syndrome… that leads you into a whole new area of cliche The New Partner In this scenario a veteran cop has to get a new partner after the death of his old one. The rookie is either keen as mustard and eager to please, or burned out from personal problems. It’s probably best known in modern times from the Lethal Weapon movies. Screenwriters tried to add some tension early in the series by having Mel Gibson as a borderline suicide case, and that gave the first film an edge; but it was lost in later instalments. By the time the fourth movie came came along they had fallen so deeply into a buddy movie relationship that all drama was lost in favour of light comedy. You need to do some serious subverting if you want to use this situation. People have tried having a dog as the buddy in K9, having their Mom as the buddy in Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, and having foreigners as the buddy in big Arnie’s Red Heat. Outside the strictly police procedural we’ve also had the robot buddy in Robocop, the ghost buddy in Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), the alien buddy in Alien Nation, the magician buddy in Jonathan Creek, the ex-serviceman buddy in both Sherlock Holmes and Poirot. The list just goes on and on. However you do it, filling in the blanks is easy in this scenario. What you need is something new. How about having the cop being given a politician doing a meet-the-people stint. Or, on a completely tasteless but might be funny level, how about the schizophrenic cop who is his own buddy? The Rookie in the Morgue Once only the province of young students in Quincy, this one now turns up on TV in the CSI franchise or Crossing Jordan and in print in the Kay Scarpetta books. There are usually two ways this one can proceed. Either the young cop rushes out, hand at mouth, or he stands still, icily cold and detached, as the autopsy proceeds. Inspector Morse tried to subvert this situation by having the old timer as the squeamish one, but how about having the rookie as the pathologist? Whatever you do, try not to give the pathologist a chance to be smug and patronizing while explaining large chunks of the plot. In the UK, this is overdone in Silent Witness and Waking the Dead, and is just a lazy way to advance the story. The Cantankerous Lieutenant Chews Out The Cop In films and television shows this happens to every protagonist, and Clint Eastwood for one must be tired of it. In the Dirty Harry series he was rarely out of his boss’s office. It usually ends up with the lieutenant and the cop snarling at each other, so how about having one of them being completely calm and laid back? Or how about having one of them being deaf? And if you must write this scene, please don’t use lines like “I’ll have your badge for that”, or “I’m not covering for you this time” The Slimy Defence Lawyer This one was a hot favourite on NYPD Blue and was guaranteed to get right up Sipowitz’s nose. Once you’ve introduced the sharp suit, the slick hairstyle and the briefcase, this guy will inevitably say, “My client has no further comment,” or “You had no right to talk to him without me there.” Everybody knows the rest. Again, serious though is needed to bring a new twist to this situation. Your lawyer could be an ex-cop who knows all the moves, or a relative or lover of one of the cops? How about a lawyer defending himself? Or a counter-culture lawyer covered with tattoos and piercings? Whatever you do try to come up with some creative invective. Slimeball, sleazeball, reptile and shyster have all been overused. The Car Chase Bullit and The French Connection set the standard, and Gone in 60 Seconds brought it into the 21st Century, but this situation has mostly become tired. There are only so many little old ladies to avoid, so many road signs to hit, and so many police cars to trash before your audience becomes jaded. Over the years the Bond movies have used up just about all the possible permutations, so you’ll struggle to come up with something new. It would be better to add tension in another way. In a bid to appear fresh, the chase element has sometimes been dropped altogether in favour of the race against time as in Speed or Die Hard With a Vengeance. To succeed you’ll need a good reason for the journey to take place, a disastrous outcome if it’s not successful, and some good near misses on the way. But beware. Too much carnage and your readers will start thinking of The Blues Brothers. And please, don’t have your protagonist drive the wrong way down a one-way street.. it’s been done far too often. The Shoot Out Raymond Chandler’s advice to crime writers still holds. “If your plot is flagging, have a man come in with a gun.” You’ve got to be careful though. Too many people still transfer scenes from old cowboy movies almost verbatim into modern cop scenes. Probably the best recent shoot out was in Michael Mann’s Heat. You cared who lived or died, and there was excitement and tension. Therein lies the trick. Make your readers have an opinion, not just about your hero, but about the other characters as well. At the end of LA Confidential, we knew all of the people involved in the climax, and it made it more satisfying to watch who lived or died. Lining one-dimensional people up just as cannon fodder might work in a Saturday night popcorn movie, but we should be aiming higher than that. Shoot outs work well on film, but they can be a drag in print. Some writers tend to slow things down, especially to have a close look at the wounds. Unless you’re careful it can read like a medical textbook. And, please, don’t have heads “exploding like ripe watermelons.” The Cop in The Cafe This was used in Chips in every episode, giving them an excuse to show a motorbike speeding from a car park with loose gravel flying. It’s also a favourite in most of the aforementioned buddy movies, and especially in Starsky and Hutch. They’ll be in a cafe, musing over the chewing out they’ve had from their boss, when a call comes through. The radio buzzes, giving them a chance to attach a flashing light to the roof of their car and head off to a car chase, closely followed by a shoot out. See how it’s possible to run one cliche into another? Pretty soon you’d have a whole plot, but would anybody buy it? One way of changing this scene might be to have an alternative means of the cops getting the message. You could have them hearing something on the Television? Or how about on a cell-phone or laptop… there are multiple opportunities for foul ups, misunderstandings or criminal actions there, and they haven’t been overdone… yet. Good Cop / Bad Cop The good cop / bad cop interview became a cliche almost as soon as crime fiction began. A fine example, nearly seventy years old, can be seen in The Maltese Falcon. By now everybody knows the moves, and your readers will be bored long before the interview is over. Unless you’re being self-referential and ironic, as in LA Confidential you’ll never pull it off. Cracker tried to subvert the interview situation altogether by having it performed by a psychiatrist who played both cops in one. In The Rock, Sean Connery as the prisoner told Nicholas Cage which questions he should be asking. You’ll need to find something similarly innovative if you’re going to make it work. How about having two good cops? Or two bad cops? Or maybe there is a new computer system designed by psychologists to ask the right questions in the right order? How would your cops and your prisoner handle that? The Estranged Wife Why do all fictional cops have relationship problems? This scene always goes the same way. The wife says, “You never see the children anymore.” The cop doesn’t say anything, because his mobile phone interrupts. You know the rest. Cracker is again a good case in point as he went through this scene in almost every episode. Pacino played a variation of it with his girlfriend in Heat. Not only does Cracker have a failed marriage, but he’s also a gambler and a drinker. In recent years people have been giving cops more and more problems to overcome, culminating in Denzel Washington’s paraplegic investigator in The Bone Collector. I wouldn’t even try to top that. Why not be original. Make your cop a healthy, stable, happily married man. Now there’s a challenge. Conclusion The next time you read or watch a police drama, notice how many of the above are still in use. All of them can occur in any one story, and frequently do… just shuffle the paragraphs, add a murder or two and you have an instant plot. But unless you can subvert some of the cliches, don’t expect anybody to buy it.

Hard selling salespersons can be difficult to deal with: they can cajole you into buying a product or purchasing a service; they can drain your wallet with a few magic tricks up their marketing sleeves, and they can walk away with your money while you are left with a product or service you are not quite sure how to use, or why you should have it in the first place. For more information visit to : .sales-letters-creator.com Such are the arts of marketing, whether they use television advertisements or radio jingles. Not exempt from this label are sales letters, which are now also very difficult to write why; are good sales letters hard to compose? In the age of instant messaging and emails, salespeople can be caught up in the swiftness and decide to downgrade their writing talents to typing out a few words of text. Sometimes, curt, quick replies can turn potential buyers away; conversely, long, overdrawn replies can bore potential buyers to death and keep their money in their wallets. The ultimate sales letter will strike the balance right in the middle: it will be long enough to describe a product or service in detail, but it will be short enough so that the recipient will not take long to read and understand its contents. It will be terse enough so that the potential buyers can be convinced to buy the product or service, but respectful so that potential buyers still feel that the sender cares for their welfare. So how can you write the ultimate sales letter? You need to know that any letter has two main elements: format and content. Format is highly important, as it organizes the letter into known sections. Organization can allow your recipients to jump to the parts of the letter that they want to go to, simply because they have a clear view of how it is organized. An organized letter, moreover, can also reflect an organized company. Content is a little bit trickier, especially if you are used to writing slapdash messages. The ultimate sales letter will contain a description of the product or service, its price, any incentives that the recipient may get if he or she buys the product or service, and how the recipient can purchase the product or service. All this has to be placed in three or four short paragraphs of text, perhaps along with illustrations, and with an air of both care and respect. The ultimate sales letter is admittedly difficult to write, and difficult to get right on the first try. If you are after the ultimate sales letter, you will first need to practice a lot. Choose a product or service that you believe in, and then write about it, addressing an unknown recipient, and convincing that same recipient to buy the product. When you are done, count how many words you used to sell the product. Did you write down a hundred, or a thousand? You will need to trim your sales pitch down little by little. The ultimate sales letter will take no more than two hundred words to make the sales pitch. First, you will need to convince the reader that he or she needs a certain product or service. This process of need creation is where many sales people fail, since it requires subtlety, not hard-selling overeager pitching. When you convince the reader that he or she has a need, then you need to show that you product or service can fill that need you may feel the need to compare your product or service with those of other companies’. Although this can be acceptable for some countries and in some contexts, don’t do it. You need only tout your product or service as the best. If you can, cite some testimonies from your satisfied customers. For more info login to : .sales-letter-secret.com Make sure that your product or service is not only attractive, but can be sold. Have you reached the two hundred words, four paragraph marks yet? You need to be respectful, and show the reader that your company cares for them. .private-labels-empire.com .10steps-to-killer-web-copy.com

Would you blow your entire annual marketing budget on just one ad to run once during the Superbowl? Of course you wouldn’t. You know that people seeing your message just once wouldn’t be enough. Then why do we tend to spend our time and dollars on single-shot marketing, rather than repeated messages? The answer is… most folks just don’t know any better. Or, perhaps it seems boring to repeat your message over and over and over and over. But the truth is, your fortune is in the follow up! This past weekend I went to hear direct marketing master Bill Glazer (my marketing mentor who runs Glazer-Kennedy Inner Circle (along with Dan Kennedy) speak at a conference here in Los Angeles. During his talk, he shared with the audience how he spent the last few decades of his life running Baltimore’s #1 retail men’s clothing store, Gage Menswear, along with his late father. Bill talked about one of his first direct mail campaigns, and how during the planning stages he announced to his dad that they were going to mail a special promotional offer to the same list not once, not twice, but three times. His father was appalled and yelled at Bill that he was crazy and was wasting their money! Bill persisted and mailed all three pieces of the campaign. Well, their results revealed that mailing the exact same offer three times not only increased their response, it DOUBLED their response! Pop was floored, and he sure was delighted with the flurry of sales that came in. From that point on he also trusted Bill with their marketing dollars. Why does repeating your message work? online newsletters writing It’s simple… people are inundated with messages every day. Last statistic I heard was each of us sees over 3,700 distinct messages a day! That means you need to repeat yourself over and over if you’re going to break through the clutter, actually get their attention, get them to read or listen AND get them to respond. Your assignment is to now look at all areas of your marketing and advertising in your business, and see where you need to add some follow up. Some quick places to look at: Your Ezines - Are you publishing your ezine enough? Once a month just doesn’t cut it anymore. You should be reaching out and “touching” your prospects and customers at least once a week, if not more. (If you’re running out of ideas or you’re not sure how to do this without bugging folks, my ezine system takes care of that for you!) Teleseminars and Live Events - When promoting events, you’re going to need many more than one or two announcements or mailings. As a general rule, when I’m really trying to fill up a teleseminar (phone seminar) I sent out at least three emails dedicated to the promotion. For live events, you need dozens of messages, and well ahead of time. Most of the trainers I know start marketing no less than six months ahead of any live event they’re hosting! One-on-One Marketing - If you cold call or mail out letters to prospects, how many times are you following up? Don’t be afraid to call or mail again. I myself have finally responded to an offer after I’ve been contacted several times, and was glad the vendor took the initiative to follow up. Advertising - Instead of blowing your budget on a few large ads per year, try running a smaller ad much more often! Also most publications, both online and offline, will usually give you big discounts for purchasing more than one ad at a time. (I do this with ads in my own ezine, Straight Shooter Marketing.) Remember, many marketing experts who test all these strategies say that repetition is the key. So don’t even feel you have to be creative with your marketing - just saying or mailing the same thing over and over is better than not saying it or mailing it again. Online entrepreneur Alexandria K. Brown, “The E-zine Queen,” publishes the award-winning ‘Straight Shooter Marketing’ weekly email newsletter with 20,000+ subscribers. If you’re ready to jump-start your marketing, make more money, and have more fun in your small business, get your FREE tips now at .EzineQueen.com

We have all been taught that tattoos are forever. But if you realistically think about it, they really are not as permanent as you may think. If you have gotten a tattoo that your completely regret and want to endure the pain and the expense of laser tattoo removal than, yes you can get that tattoo removed. However, there is a new dye in town, that is set to hit tattoo parlors all over the United States this fall. This new and improved dye as they are calling it has a great advantage. This new tattoo ink is permanent as well as removable. This new ink is made by storing dye in microscopic capsules that will stay in the skin for good. But if you have a lover’s name tattooed on you and you break up or you simply have a tattoo that you may have out grown. You can now get it zapped away with a single laser treatment instead of the seven to fifteen painful and expensive treatments that are needed now for removal. With the staggering number of young people from the age of 18 to 29 that are getting tattoos, there is bound to be a few that will regret one of their tattoo designs. So this new and improved ink is sure to be a great success with tattoo customers. Not to mention being able to save people time, money and pain is another great selling point to this new ink. Please note you might want to ask the tattoo artist before you get inked if they are using the new improved ink, just to be on the safe side. Your Tattoo Friend Ashley

By Marige O’Brien, Copyright © 2005 One of the first important lessons a writer learns is that writing is a process, a series of steps that take an idea from concept to completed work. This is true whether the work is an article, a poem, a report, a short story or a book. Understanding this process — and the role a writer plays in it — is crucial to their success. One of the most important steps in this process is learning to look at one’s own work objectively. To focus on the intended message and ensure that it is delivered properly. While that may seem obvious enough, as the work progresses, it can become blurred. As the old song goes, “I have so much to say; but the words get in my way.” To clarify that ‘blurring’ effect, it is essential to be able to edit your own work. But how does a writer edit their own work? While the process may vary depending on the writer, there are six steps that are integral to editing. 1) COMPLETE THE DRAFT Novice writers should not attempt to edit as they write. Even experienced writers, who learn to smoothe over the copy as they go, know this is not editing and must wait for that separate step later on. The most important point of a first draft is to simply get the idea on paper, in whatever fashion that’s comfortable for the writer. An outline is helpful and can serve as a rough draft for smaller projects. But if that format seems too limiting, just write out the first draft, understanding it is only the first go-around. 2) WALK AWAY Even if it’s only for a long enough period of time to get a glass of water. With longer projects, try to lengthen the time to a few days or weeks. This step allows the writer to gain perspective by “stepping back”. Mostly, it allows the writer time for the subject to settle in their mind, plus it gives them time to mentally shift gears from writer to editor. 3) ASSESS OBJECTIVELY While reading over the copy, the writer must learn to view it as a reader. One should be neither overly critical, nor overly attached to certain pet phrases or side remarks, but simply read it as if reading it for the first time. When done earnestly, this will make any errors, flaws or awkward points more apparent. 4) BE BRUTAL This is the most difficult step, especially for the young or insecure writer. Heck, it’s tough for the pros. Think of the classic image of an editor– from the old Superman comics, for instance, wielding his red-ink pen with flourish, only interested in the facts. Especially when writing articles or in business, this is your best ally. With this image in mind, really look at what is necessary to make a logical progression. One trick is to put yourself under an artificial word restriction. Nothing helps cut unneccesary copy better than a specific word limit. 5) CRISP, CONCISE, CLEAR These are the “3-C’s” of good writing. While each writer has his/her own way of expressing themselves (and, in the case of fiction, more latitude is acceptable), these three points are integral parts of any successful writing. CRISP - A fresh or meaningful viewpoint. Take a stand. The purpose of writing is to say something– so say it! CONCISE - Do not wander from the point. At least, not without a reason that directly relates to the original idea. CLEAR - Make a steady progression from beginning to end. Don’t leave major gaps in the progression. Whether a report, a novel, an essay or an article — even in poetry or song — this rule applies. While editing, a writer must ask themself if the work succeeds in these three areas. If it doesn’t, WHY? Analyze when and where it strays, even if that means working backward to the beginning. 6) PERSONAL WEAKNESS Just as an athlete must learn to be aware of any physical weakness and compensate for it, so a writer must familiarze themself with their own bad habits or tendencies. A classic example is when a young writer masks their insecurity with a flourish of fancy words. But each writer has their own faults and must learn to guard against them. For example, when I was young, I had a nasty habit of using at least three adjectives whenever I described something. Eventually I saw this as the annoying flaw it was, and learned to choose the very best adjective and commit to it. Seeing this habit as a flaw was difficult. But it made me a stronger writer. And that is the entire purpose of learning to edit one’s own work: to grow and strengthen as a writer.–mo About The Author ******************************************************* Marige O’Brien works as a writer, web designer and Internet Marketer. Visit her Website, Tracker Mo’s Den for her latest recommendations in i-marketing tools and biz opps. NEW– RSS Feeds to Articles and blogs, Plus A Special Offer for new TCC Sign-ups. *Click HERE for complete instructions on creating an RSS Feed today.