• Technical Writing Thu, Nov 4, 2010 Comments Off

    The goal with these business writing tips is not to be the next Charles Dickens but to write in such a way that you are always understood.

    Use the tips below to make your business writing more clear and friendly to your work colleges.

    1. Work on your writing plan.

    If you make a plan before you start writing you can get all your ideas in order and this will ultimately make your writing more understandable, and also make sure you cover everything you need to.

    2. Use the first sentence to explain why you’re writing.

    This will make your work clear and to the point. You will leave the reader in no doubt as to how best to respond.

    3. Make it short

    Your goal is to be understood in the shortest amount of time, so the reader of your work can start to take action on whatever you need. Make your request so clear and simple that even Homer Simpson could understand it.

    And no big fancy words please.

    4. Make your writing flow

    You can achieve this by using linking words such as “and”, “because” or “However”. Writing in a flowing style will make your writing more successful.

    5. Find the right tone

    This simply means that you should be looking to speak to everyone you work with in a polite and professional way, showing that you care. Even if you have a good friend in the office, you should refrain from being overly familiar because your emails might get forwarded on.

    6. End your message with a call to action

    A call to action is a marketing term which means you always tell your prospect what you want to happen next. You want to include the same in every piece of business writing you put out there because without a clear call to action you’re wasting your time.

    7. Attention to detail

    This means that all grammar and punctuation should be in the right place and no capital letters or nouns out of place.

    8. The final check

    Make it a habit to do one final check before you send anything. There is nothing worse than reading your masterpiece a few minutes later and realizing that you have made an error.

    By Chris Howarding

  • Creative Writing Thu, Nov 4, 2010 Comments Off

    Writer’s block is a glorified temper tantrum on a grown-up scale. Your muse is acting out against what it perceives to be unrealistic demands.

    Granted, your muse’s tantrum will in no way be as impressive-looking as a meltdown from the resident two-year-old, but the result is the same. You’re prevented from accomplishing what you set out to do.

    Temper tantrums in children can be impressive, to say the least. You’re running late and all you want is to get your toddler dressed and out the door. Of course, that’s the exact minute the little darling has a meltdown, which can range from a relatively mild stomping of the foot, crossed arms and a pout and progress all the way to Junior throwing himself on the ground, kicking and screaming at the top of his lungs.

    At some point in his or her career, every writer will experience the literary version of this experience.

    The good thing is at least writer’s block is quiet and it doesn’t happen in the aisle of your crowded neighborhood Wal-Mart.

    New writers who are already unsure of their talents and abilities may find themselves hopelessly blocked as soon as they sit down at the computer. The result is a blank screen and that infernal blinking cursor. It’s enough to make someone give up on writing altogether.

    Experienced writers, on the other hand, may be cursed by a blank page while all sorts of ideas frolic, unapproachable, in his or her head. All the while, the writer feels the swooshing of his or her deadline as it rushes past.

    The result is the same. Your muse, the inner child that is usually so full of life and fun, shuts down and takes your ability to write with it.

    Toddlers eventually outgrow their temper tantrums as they become more mature. Likewise, writer’s block will also eventually come to an end. The question is how long are you willing to wait?

    It’s possible to lessen both the frequency and the severity of your blocks by taking a lesson from parents who have emerged relatively unscathed from battling toddlers during the Terrible Twos.

    Identify the problem
    No two tantrums are alike. Likewise, no two cases of writer’s blocks are the same. Once you figure out what the trigger is, you’re in good shape to prevent another occurrence in the future.

    Mom may realize that her screaming banshee is acting out because he or she is tired and over-stimulated. It just might be time for a nap.

    For writers, the block could be telling you that your muse doesn’t have the information or skills it needs to complete the your project.

    Just as your toddler lacks the verbal skills to express his or her frustrations, so, too, writer’s block is a traffic sign designed to let you know something is wrong. Your muse is communicating in the only way it can. Don’t fight it. Take a step back and re-evaluate.

    Provide a distraction
    When your kids is screaming at the top of her lungs, that is not the time to try to instill any lessons. Instead, most parents will excuse themselves and their child from the area.

    This is good advice when your muse is misbehaving.

    Remove yourself from the situation. Continuing to sit there and trying to force matters will only make it worse.

    There are a number of things you can try instead.

    Take a break. Go for a walk. Try a different approach. When you return to the problem with fresh eyes, breakthroughs can happen.

    If one way doesn’t work, try something different. If you compose at the computer, try writing longhand. If you have a portable tape recorder, dictate your project to be transcribed, and edited, later.

    If none of these help, it might be time to re-evaluate your direction.

    Whatever you do, don’t turn your frustrations inward or punish yourself. Writer’s block is a symptom. It’s not the source of the problem.

    Start over
    Parents don’t avoid public situations with their children until the child grows up and leaves home. Writers should not use writer’s block as an excuse to stop trying to write. If you’re a writer, you have to write.

    The reality is that no matter how problematic children can be as toddlers, they eventually grow up. If you find out why you’re blocked and work your way through it, you’ll be on your way to becoming the writer you were meant to be.

    By Denise Bowman

  • Technical Writing Wed, Nov 3, 2010 Comments Off

    Do you wish to start a career as a technical writer? This article will help you to become a perfect technical writer. As the growth of online marketing is at its heights, the demand for technical writers will also increase. For the promotion of the products and services of an organization the technical writers has a major role.

    Writing is a strong medium to communicate between various branches of science and technology. It is the content that matters. Informative content regarding the topic you write is essential for others to evaluate your potential. A person from a different field may be reading your article, and he should also understand the article. It should be simple and informative.

    The language in which you write your articles is also very important. Use proper grammar and punctuations. Mistakes should be avoided at the maximum and it should have proper structuring also. Use simple language to express the ideas as you may have readers from other fields also. Common people may not be aware of the technical terms. Content writing is there in both software and hardware industry. Not only in the field of technology there are content writers in the field of arts, literature and science. The reputation for technical writers can be estimated from this.

    Content writers will have specific target customers. For them you can specifically write the articles. Those articles should be relevant to the topic and it should contain more technical details. You need to write a lot to get a good style of writing. This can surely contribute more number of subscribers for your articles. Before writing about a topic make sure that you have enough knowledge about it. Just have a general study about the topic and its relevance; this will help you in writing a good article about it.

    By Nasrin S

  • Technical Writing Tue, Nov 2, 2010 Comments Off

    A good resume can help a job seeker get his dream job. Many people are not good at all at writing resumes and even if they have all the qualifications and experience needed for the job, they end up losing the job just because of an ineffective resume. Such people can take help from resume writing services. If you have good writing skills then you could start a resume writing service business. This is a great work at home business.

    You can quite easily earn $100 to $500 per resume with no formal training. You may have to prepare a questionnaire to be filled by the client with all the necessary information, or need to interview him to get a feel for his personality and strengths. You can pursue this home based business part-time or full time. Often resume writing involves writing a cover letter as well.

    Start Up Costs

    Starting a resume writing service business does not involve high costs. You would need a laptop or a desktop computer, an Internet connection, telephone, fax machine, laser printer and a good copier machine in your home office. You would also need good resume-quality stationary and templates. All these along with advertising costs should not be more than $2000.

    Marketing Your Business

    First of all, you would need to develop a website that talks about your resume writing business. You can also use affiliate programs to advertise your business on their sites and vice versa. The younger graduates or college pass-outs should be targeted as they would be starting their careers soon and would require well-written resumes. Posting flyers at colleges as well as high schools (for part-time/summer jobs) would take care of promoting your business to the younger generation. You may also put up ads in the local Yellow Pages, Classifieds, newspapers and magazines. You may also plan a seminar on job searching and interview skills and distribute your printed business cards at the end of the presentation.

    Writing resumes can sometimes become monotonous as it does not qualify as the most creative writing. However, this is the service that is most sought after and your writing would be appreciated by the job seekers. As you continue writing resumes, you can also advertise for other writing businesses on your website and this is how you can grow your home business. All these can be done with a very little investment and you earn great money from it too. Not a bad business idea at all!

    By Lisa Paredes

  • Technical Writing Tue, Nov 2, 2010 Comments Off

    A professional small business grant writer is essential to businesses seeking grants. Poor writing gives the reader a negative impression of the one sending it. That is why, businesses are advised to hire a small business grant writer in submitting grant proposals. Grant writers are able to write grant very well. They offer top quality writing services. With their help, the business can be assured that the proposal that they will submit meets the requirements of the grantor and shows high quality writing content. This increases their chances in getting their proposal approved. A small business grant writer is experienced in writing grants, and is knowledgeable in the grant writing process. They are well acquainted with the requirements of the grantor and what it takes for the grantor to approve the proposal. They have writing techniques that are effective in persuading the grantor to sponsor the project that they want.

    Grant writers are aware of the different lay outs of grant proposals and will be able to recommend, what can best suite the type of project that the business want to have. They are prompt in meeting deadlines for submission and may even submit the proposal earlier than the date when it is due. Though acquiring the services of a small business grant writer may be an additional cost for the business, getting one is the best thing to do. After all, what is more important for the business is to get the funds for the project. A small business grant writer is an excellent writer. Thus, even in a worst case scenario wherein the grant proposal will not be approved, you won’t be able to say it was a poorly written proposal.

    Good proposals have several key components. The first part is called the cover letter, while next is the summary of the proposal. The summary empowers the reader to read through the proposal and persuades him/her to approve the grant. Next is the statement of the problem. Here the business proves to the grantor that the project is essential and that they are the right people for the project. The next part is the objectives of the proposal. This section tells about what the business plans in making the project and the results that they want to show. In the methods and approaches, the business tries to align the problem and the objectives with the methods and approaches they have come up. This section tends to justify the procedures that were chosen to carry out the project. Next is the evaluation part. This is where the business presents an evaluation program to check on how far they are going in making the project. The conclusion section which is the last part of the proposal should make the reader realize that it is a sensible project. It should also include the time duration for each task and when it should be done.

    By John Halasz

  • Technical Writing Mon, Nov 1, 2010 Comments Off

    In business writing, the memorandum is a common document. Typically it is a short informational message sent from one person in an organization to another. In business writing, the memorandum is sent in a number of different formats: e-mail (most common), electronically formatted and published emailed document, e-mail with an attachment, or hard copy. Often, the hard copy memo is a back-up for one that has been sent electronically.

    How to set up a memorandum

    Memos are set up in a specific format. The document usually has four tags:

    To – (enter the name of the primary receiver(s) of the message here; From- (enter your name if you’re the author) Subject – (no more than six words describing the memo’s main point, and Date – This is usually today’s date, the date the memo is being sent. An additional memo tag is “CC”, which technically stands for “carbon copy” and is meant for secondary readers, those to whom the message is also of interest.

    Structuring routine memos

    Most business messages are informational and written with a clear and direct opening explaining the main purpose and point of the messages (this is called front-loading). The middle paragraphs or sentences, give more concrete details, developing the message, and finally, the close winds the message down, ends on a note of goodwill and requests any follow-up.

    Routine Requests

    In business writing, the memorandum is also used for routine requests. These are structured with the direct query somewhere in the memo’s opening. That can be uncomfortable to those who prefer to beat around the bush in the opening and are unaccustomed to asking for anything directly up front.

    Don’t be shy; be direct. Since this request is not meant to be terribly controversial or persuasive, the expectation is that reader will be receptive to the request. The body of the memo, then, develops some contextual details, and the close winds down, often giving an end date for the request to be met and asks for additional follow-up if necessary.

    Different situations

    Memos can also respond to requests, describe a new procedure, or announce some major news. They can be fairly short, such as the invitation to the company picnic. Or they could take up about a screen full of type (anything longer should be sent as an attachment, since the reader’s on screen attention is fairly limited, and typically, he or she is usually busy).

    Writing Style

    Use plain English and simple words, and keep the tone fairly conversational, using the active voice (please not the passive!). Be sure, too, to avoid using any type of Instant Messaging abbreviations (to ensure that your document has a professional tone). Also, as with any written document, don’t forget to edit and proofread your work.

    By Rhonda M

 

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