How to finish a book

Someone said: “Writing is either easy, or it’s impossible.” He was lying. I can’t tell you how to finish your book, but I can tell you how I finished mine. Please apply these simple, difficult steps to your writing process. 1. Appropriate aptitudes and psychopathology I’ve always scored highly on the verbal portions of standardized aptitude tests––the SAT, GRE, etc. I’ve always been able to write. I have an obsessive tendency, which adds get-it-done-ness to my personality, as well as a bit of mania for inspiration. Many years of education have honed my obsessive streak to full-blown workaholism. These are necessary, but not sufficient, ingredients of a writing career. 2. Kundalini Shakti and the worst things that ever happened to me In 1975, I began meditating using a form of kundalini yoga. Kundalini is conceptualized as energy coiled at the base of the spine, lying dormant until awakened. When awakened, it moves up the spinal column, purifying the individual’s energy centers and psyche. My experience of kundalini is like sitting on the business end of a cosmic fire hose. It produced ecstasy, as well as kicking out memories of the worst things that ever happened to me. 3. The right circumstances, and motivation becomes sufficient During an extended healing after step 2, I went to a meditation retreat, coming home spiritually renewed and sparkling. Two days later, I had a cataclysmic experience: The plot of a book was injected into my brain in a second. After that, I wrote for nine years straight, completing drafts of nine novels. The drafts are mostly drivel, but they’ll rewrite nicely. My spiritual awakening unleashed my writing and fueled my creativity, also imparting the drive to complete what I started. 4. The material will finish the book The book that I’ve published wasn’t one of my novels; it was a freebie, leaping out of me by surprise. I went to a Native American spiritual retreat, had an incredible experience, and started writing about it. Voila! Three years of single-minded work later, I had a book. (That’s the second retreat to jump-start my writing. Neither was a writers’ retreat. No cogitating for hours about technique or critiquing anyone’s writing. Just spiritual regeneration.) I could not stop until I finished Stepping Off the Edge. The material drove me until the book was published, and beyond, into marketing. 5. Paying dues Would I write better if I an MFA in creative writing or a PhD in literature? Probably, but I’m sixty years old and can’t afford the time. Writing is a skill that demands training. In that, I have paid my dues. I’ve been in writers’ groups for more than ten years. I’ve worked with a number of editors, ranging from great to horrid. I walked away from one publisher and have had my share of scathing critiques. I’ve written queries, gotten rejected, and had “experts” try to scam me. I’ve rewritten, reframed, and thrown out. Had too many migraines and worked myself into a frazzle. I’ve also made dear friends, met fabulous professionals, and finished a book that I love. How did I complete my book? It took all of my craziness and sanity, the worst things I that happened to me, applying myself to wellness with all my soul, and doing everything necessary to see it born: a lot of work, commitment and much love. And a touch of the divine. Writing is not easy. Even so, if your highest and deepest self drives you, it’s impossible not to finish.

The guide to handle one of most important tasks in your life

: Certainly sometimes you are assigned with the topic, but sometimes you have the possibility to choose one. It seems so easy yet so many students either have failed their assignments or did not write the paper they wanted to because no interesting, exciting and challenging topic had been chosen. Many students follow some simple and mistaken route - they choose the topics according to its popularity-if it is popular nowadays to evaluate this event or research this subject, than it might be worth my while to write the term paper on this subject as well. However, your interest, the topic that attracts your attention is what matters. Once famous Chinese philosopher Confucius said: “Choose a job you like and you will never have to work a day in your life.” What pertains to the life in general, pertains to the process of writing and designing of your term paper. Your aptitude to the term paper as well as your enthusiasm and your eagerness with which you will research, depends on that. Your term paper will be more interesting to read and will gain consequently more points if you choose the topic that really concerns you rather than pick up the topic that will leave you indifferent. Once you have chosen the term paper topic, you can start organizing it. Your topic, whatever subject you research should not be too broad. At this stage it might be advisable to consult with your tutor. He will be able to advise you on this point; however most of the tutors require making of the topic more specific. For example one should not choose the topic “History of American continent in the 20th century”. Unless you write some 100 pages book, you will not be able to research and write a detailed story of American continent of the 20th century. It might be advisable in this case to narrow your topic to the following: “The collapse of France and its influence on political life of American continent in 1940”. However, one should not try to choose the topic that are highly specialized or too technician or on which there is not enough material. Once the topic of your term paper has been chosen, you can start investigating and researching available material to gain a term paper idea on the subject. Start with one of the most popular and one of the most convenient sources of the information - online network. However, you should be very cautious in using of different sites. Remember, that some of the sites contain outdated or not credible information, and some of them just advertise the product and do not provide any information. You can use many online libraries or databases that contain useful and credible sources. Domains that have such endings as gov, edu, and org. should be considered more credible ones; however you should treat information on other websites cautiously. Do not forget that many tutors and some of the educational institutions might not recognize web sites as the credible and trustworthy source, so it you can turn to more traditional ones – books and printed journals. Finally, whatever sources you use, read guides on plagiarism before you start using other sources for your term paper.

Of the good use of relaxation

Your Recommended Daily Allowance for Relaxation Stress is the curse of living in modern times. Everyone suffers from stress. And the stress we suffer takes a heavy toll on our bodies, emotions and minds. Feeling stressed out, worn out by fatigue or just simply having a miserable day, the best thing to do is relax. Watching television may be a form of relaxation for some, but is not a recommended method by experts. When we watch TV we are bombarded with commercials, ads, sounds and images. So how do we achieve relaxation? If there are thousands of ways we can get stressed, one of them is not meeting deadlines, there are also many ways we can relax. In recent studies, experts have determined that heart disease is linked to anger and irritability is linked to mental stress. Too much stress brings about ischemia that can lead to or cause a heart attack. Relaxation takes on added importance in light of this matter. Managing your anger and attitude is significant to heart health, and relaxation can help you manage stress. One way of relaxation is transcendental meditation. Recent studies have also shown that this method might reduce artery blockage, which is a major cause for heart attack and stroke. People practice transcendental meditation by repeating uttering soothing sounds while meditating, this is to achieve total relaxation. The researchers found that practitioners of transcendental meditation significantly reduced the thickness of their arterial wall compared with those who didn't practice transcendental meditation. Another study on another method of relaxation, acupuncture, seems to reduce high blood pressure by initiating several body functions for the brain to release chemical compounds known as endorphins. Endorphin helps to relax muscles, ease panic, decrease pain, and reduce anxiety. Yoga is also another method for relaxation and may also have similar effects like acupuncture. In another study, participants were subjected to several minutes of mental stress. Then they were subjected to various relaxation techniques, such as listening to nature sounds or classical music. Only those who did Yoga significantly reduced the time it took for their blood pressures to go back to normal. Yoga is a form of progressive relaxation. Breathing is one of the easiest methods to relax. Breathing influences alamost all aspects of us, it affects our mind, our moods and our body. Simply focus on your breathing, after some time you can feel its effects right away. There are several breathing techniques that can help you reduce stress. Another easy way to achieve relaxation is exercise. If you feel irritated a simple half-hour of exercise will often settle things down. Although exercise is a great way to lose weight, it does not show you how to manage stress appropriately. Exercise should also be used in conjunction with other exercise method. One great way of relaxation is getting a massage. To gain full relaxation, you need to totally surrender to the handling and touch of a professional therapist. There are several types of massages that also give different levels of relaxation. Another method of relaxation is Biofeedback. The usual biofeedback-training program includes a 10-hour sessions that is often spaced one week apart. Hypnosis is one controversial relaxation technique. It is a good alternative for people who think that they have no idea what it feels like to be relaxed. It is also a good alternative for people with stress related health problems. Drugs are extreme alternatives to relaxation. They are sometimes not safe and are not effective like the other relaxation methods. This method is only used by trained medical professionals on their patients. These relaxation techniques are just some of the ways you can achieve relaxation. Another reason why we need to relax, aside from lowering blood pressure in people and decreasing the chances of a stroke or a heart attack, is because stress produces hormones that suppress the immune system, relaxation gives the immune system time to recover and in doing so function more efficiently. Relaxation lowers the activities within the brains' limbic system; this is the emotional center of our brain. Furthermore, the brain has a periodic need for a more pronounced activity on the right-hemisphere. Relaxation is one way of achieving this. Relaxation can really be of good use once a relaxation technique is regularly built into your lifestyle. Choose a technique that you believe you can do regularly.

Learn how to use commas properly

The comma is the most frequently used internal mark of punctuation. Of all the marks of punctuation, it has the widest variety of uses. Using commas with dates, addresses, greetings, names, and large numbers * Commas are used with full dates (month, day, and year) but omitted with partial dates (month and year): 1. Gas has been first used by the Germans on October 14, 1914, when they fired a prototype of modern tear gas from artillery near Pyres. – Paul Fussel 2. In June 1985 Beth Henley was working on her fifth play. Exception: No comma is used to separate parts of a date that begins with the day. The atomic bomb was first dropped on 6 August 1945. * Commas are required between most of the elements in place names and addresses: 1. Miami, Dade County, Florida 2. Writing Lab, University of California, Riverside Exception: # Do not use comma to separate street number from the name of the street: 15 Amsterdam Avenue # Do not use comma to separate a state from zip code: 5625 Waverly Avenue, La Jolla, California 92037 * In complete sentence, a comma must follow the last element of place name, addresses, or dates: 1. He shot himself twice, once in the chest and then in the head, in a police station in Washington, D. C., with the cops looking on. – Red Smith 2. July 4, 1776, was the day the Declaration of Independence was signed. * Commas are used to set off the names of someone directly addressed in the sentence: A few years ago, Mr. Taplow, I spoke to you about the possibility of a summer job. * Commas are used after the greeting in a friendly or informal letter, and after the closing of the letter of any kind: Dear Mary, Sincerely, Yours truly, * Commas are used to set off titles or degrees after a person’s name: Barbara Kane, M. D., delivered the commencement address. Exception: But Jr., Sr. may be written without commas: Sammy Davis Jr. started his singing career at age four. * The comma is used after the last part of a proper name when the last part comes first: Lunt, George D. * Commas are used to mark groups of three digits in large numbers, counting from the right: Antarctica is 5,400,000 square miles of ice-covered land. Using commas with conjunctions * The comma is used before a conjunction (and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet) linking two independent clauses. Canadians watch America closely, but most Americans know little about Canada. Exception: Some very brief independent clauses may not require a comma. 1. We dickered and then we made a deal. – Red Smith 2. I have seen the future and now I’m tired of it. – Gerald Nachman * If one or both independent clauses have internal punctuation (especially commas), a writer might choose to separate two clauses with a semicolon and a coordinating conjunction so that the reader can easily see the main division of the sentence. Genetically, we are nearly identical to mankind fifty thousand years ago; and some of us delight in the continuity represented by this, while others may be appalled. – Edward Hoagland * Comma alone should be used between two independent clauses (comma splice): “I plan to travel to England”, my friend said happily. “I want to visit Shakespeare’s birthplace.” * When a conjunction adverb joins the independent clauses in a compound sentence, it is preceded by a semicolon: Petra was absent on Friday; consequently, she missed the chemistry test. * The use of a comma to join coordinate clauses is more common in novels, stories, and some types of journalistic writing than it is in serious expository prose. Although it is hard to make general statements here, it is safe to say this practice is the exception, not the rule. The comma is used by most writers to join coordinate clauses in the following situation: # When the series of sentences takes the form of a climax: 1. I came, I saw, I conquered. 2. The leaves are turning to gold, squirrels are fattening, hunting time is near. # When the statements form an antithesis, or are arranged in the “it was not merely this, it was mainly that” formula: 1. It was more than an annoyance, it was a pang. – Winston S. Churchill 2. To allow the Mahdi to enter Khartoum would not merely mean to return the whole of the Sudan to barbarism, it would be a menace to the safety of Egypt herself. – Lyton Strachey

Great technical writing make your product fit

OVERVIEW Most product documentation sounds like their product is the only thing in the User's life. Such thinking results in User confusion and dissatisfaction. This article presents three real-life examples of this attitude, and what should be done to remedy these unfortunate situations. The article concludes with some techniques for the writer. BACKGROUND There are two important facts that User Documentation ignores: 1. Your product is a only minor item in your User's life 2. Your User Documentation must help fit your product into the User's life User Documentation that is written with awareness of these facts results in a better user experience. Here are three examples of where the writers (always incorrectly) thought that their product was the only thing in the User's life. EXAMPLE 1: Shoe Cleaner/Protector Most people know about polishing and perhaps cleaning their leather shoes. This cleaner/protector product is meant to clean, protect and shine shoes. The instructions simply tell the User how to apply the product. What the User is Used to: I polish my shoes with regular wax (or liquid) shoe polish. The Problem: If a User wants to polish his/her shoes as well as use your cleaner/protector, then what order should the polish and the cleaner/protector be used? The instructions merely tell the User how to apply the cleaner/protector. It's like the cleaner/protector is the only shoe product in existence. Possible Solutions: The the cleaner/protector instructions could say (as appropriate): * Use the cleaner/protector instead of your normal shoe polish. * Use the cleaner/protector after you polish the shoes with your regular shoe polish. * For a deluxe shoe treatment, use the cleaner/protector first on the shoes. Wait a few minutes, then wipe off any excess with a clean cloth. Then polish the shoes using your regular shoe polish, in the usual way. Finally, use the cleaner/protector again, but do not wipe it off. These would make for much more effective instructions, and they could easily fit on the package. EXAMPLE 2: DVD Player didn't realize that I had a VCR People buying a DVD player a few years ago were in the following situation. They had a VCR connected to the single video input of their TV. DVD players' instructions described how to connect the player to a TV using a video input. The instructions ignored the situation of how to connect the player if there already was a VCR connected to the TV 's only video input. What the User is Used to: The VCR is connected to the only video input of my old television. The Problem: My new DVD player needs to be connected to the TV's only video input. Do I have to buy a switch or manually switch the DVD player and VCR? Solution: The writer should provide some tips or instructions how to set up the DVD player in the customer's real-life situation. These instructions may include how to connect the DVD video through the VCR. Or connecting the DVD to the TV's video input, and connecting the antenna of the VCR to the antenna input of the TV. Both devices can be connected with no need to buy additional parts. The instructions should mention how. It would improve the User's experience in setting up the new device. (The instructions should also mention that these methods of connecting the devices would yield a less than optimal picture.) EXAMPLE 3: A 2 in 1 Shampoo and Conditioner Product A User normally shampoos his/her hair and then may use a separate conditioner product. He/she just purchased your product, a 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioner. It has no instructions. What the User is Used to: A shampoo is used on the hair and immediately rinsed. A conditioner gets left in the hair for a few minutes, then rinsed. The Problem: Does this 2 in 1 product get left in the hair, or does it get rinsed out immediately? The Solution: Provide correct instructions on the package. Or, if it does not matter how long the 2 in 1 product gets left in the hair, then say so. Don't leave the User guessing. If the User wanted to guess about something, then they would be reading a novel, not your User Documentation. BOTTOM LINE: What to Do for Your Documentation Examine your product in the light of how it will change the way that the User currently does things. How will it fit into the User's life? How does the product fit with other products your User employs? Make sure that your User Documentation helps the User to effectively fit the product into his/her life. By ignoring the reality of your User's situation, you are forcing him/her to solve problems that you could easily solve. If you provide the solutions, then you will create a better product experience for your User. Fitting the product into the User's life presents the writer with a duty and an opportunity: * The duty to ease the User from what he/she previously did to the new product's situation * The opportunity to explain your product by using the User's experience as a background.