Have you ever felt the need to use big, long words to sound more authoritative or to fill up space?  In most situations, all you are doing is sounding more difficult to read.  Your writing should be as simple and easy-flowing as possible.

This is a problem our manuscript editors often encounter:  sesquipedalian words where a simple word would do.

Let’s look at three very common words that are overused and should be replaced with simpler ones.

UTILIZE.  Wow, just three syllables to replace one. Honestly, have you ever heard anyone utilize this word in normal conversation, like at in the stands at the ball game or over a mid-week lunch?

“Hey, dude.  Wait up.  I just need to go utilize the washroom.”

“He just wanted me for my money.  I feel so utilized.”

“It’s easy to choose a password, but all the best utilizer names are already taken.”

Yes, there is a much simpler word to use: use.  And “use” is a fine word, even if it doesn’t sound pretentious.

“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious!
If you say it loud enough, you’ll always sound precocious “

 

PURCHASE.  More pretentiousness, perhaps?  I go out to buy things, not to purchase them.  How about you?  Why do we need an extra syllable?  Because a lot of advertisers think you will spend more money if they sound more educated an fancy?  Or because they want to avoid you feeling like you are being pressured into buying things.  So instead they pressure you into purchasing things.

Phew – that’s a relief.

ACQUIRE. This is the word that inspired this article, after I read the following message that somebody posted on the Warrior Forum :

In one of my titles, I had a confusion of whether to use “get customers” or “acquire customers”.

The former is simple but the later looks more sophisticated.

Google Search Says:

“acquire customers” 283,000 results
“get customers” 1,500,000 results!

So now the choice is obvious. I don’t want to look sophisticated. I just want to CONNECT with the readers with the right titles.

“Acquire” is another laughable word that people just don’t use in normal conversation.  Can you imagine…

“Please, Daddy, can I acquire another candy.”

“The phone is ringing.  Can somebody please acquire the phone?”

“I need to acquire some new light bulbs.  This one is burnt and I’ve run out of replacements.”

Whether you are writing a book or a blog post, you want to connect with your readers.  And unless you are writing a sales page for an expand-your-vocabulary course, it is almost always the simpler word.  Or put more bluntly, the world with the least syllables.   The smaller word, not the littler word.

 

Are you an original?  OK, so I am sure you will say “yes”.  No two of us are the same, and these days movies, songs and personal development blog posts drum into our heads the importance of individuality.

But this is not a personal development blog post.  This is a blog post about your blog posts and your articles.  The question is, “Are you an original…blogger.”

A lot of emphasis has been placed on “original” and “unique” content recently, mostly because people believe (partly correctly) that Google robots will storm your website and emasculate it in the SERPs if they discover that you are publishing duplicate content.

The bad news is that blog owners and blog writers have reduced “originality” to “Can this article pass Copyscape?”  You hear ghost writers constantly promising that their copy is original and unique, just because it is not “duplicate content”.

If you or someone you are guest blogging for is even asking this question, you are not only missing the point – you are missing the boat.

Originality is not about rewording a sentence and adding bullet points.  Originality is about thinking new thoughts.

Now that’s a new thought!

How can I be original?

Let’s be fair.  Not everybody is a creative thinker, not everybody is a born writer, and not everybody is meant to be.  So how can someone be original?  Here are three prompts to help you.

Prompt Number One: Read three or four articles or blog posts on the topic you want to write about.  As you read them, make notes about what you agree about – and, more importantly, take notes about what you disagree about.

If there is something that more than one article says that you disagree with, you have the foundation for a truly original article.  Playing Devil’s Advocate is always a great way to be original.

If there is no common theme you disagree with, review your list of points you disagree with.  Maybe there are three points in the four blog posts.  Maybe just one.  In either case, you have at least one, and perhaps three, blog topics to write about that are your own original thoughts.

Prompt Number Two: Pick a topic you like – the topic might not be original, nor your opinion – and wrap it in a brand-new analogy.  In the case, your idea or topic is not unique, but your presentation of it is very unique.   Here are a few ideas of analogy themes you can use:

• Animals: Replace people with animals that display characteristics you are writing about.
• Food: describe your topic as a meal.
• Recipe: Write a recipe for the advice you are giving.
• Geography.  I am sure you have seen the maps called “The United States of…”.  You can put just about anything into map form, and you can do so in writing, too.
• Geology.  Every topic has a hard-to-scale mountain, a vast uncrossable dessert, an ocean, an abyss, etc.
• Clothes.  How can you dress up your topic? Underwear (you can’t leave those off), regular clothing, outer wear, accessories… now write it.

There are countless other analogies possible.

Prompt Number Three: Interview somebody.  Sure, this is cheating, but when you can’t come up with your own original thoughts, pull them from someone else.  Try to be as creative as you can with your questions, and make sure to ask for original content:

“Can you share with our readers one tip you have not included in your course?”

“Can you give an example of when this has happened to you recently?”

“What was the most successful [whatever] you ever did?”

Originality pays off

There are hundreds of blogs and thousands of articles on almost every topic.  I don’t have time to read most of them.  I will read those that are not just the same old, same old rechurned slop they served up at the last dozen blogs I have visited.

I am not saying it is easy to come up with truly original content, especially in well-trampled niches like personal finance, blogging, nutrition and such.  But the payoff will be a loyal readership that spreads the word for you – a growing audience of engaged fans.

Bloggers increasingly like to refer to themselves as “citizen journalists.” However, in spite of the title, some writers might not actually use journalistic standards when they prepare information for others in their blogs and even in books they might write.

As a professionally trained journalist, I’ve learned that if you want to establish yourself as a writer with credibility, whether you are writing for a newspaper, a magazine, a book, or a blog, it helps to observe journalistic standards. And, if you want people to take your writing seriously as a piece of credible information, it helps to be careful when you use unnamed sources.

The Anonymity of the Web

Thanks to the Internet, it’s possible to say just about anything – true or not. While there is good information out there, it’s also possible to run into information that is less than credible. One of the things that makes it hard to determine whether or not you can trust something is the anonymous, and semi-anonymous, nature of the Web.

It’s possible to say almost anything about anyone, and not get “caught.” However, even though the Internet seems to thrive on anonymous name-calling, if you want credibility, you need to watch out for using unnamed sources, especially if that source is name-calling.

One example is a recent post written on The Verge about the new Digg. While there were plenty of sources cited, there was one, unnamed, “source in the aggregation industry” that was quoted. I understand why a source close to aggregators and marketers might want to keep a low profile on this one. And the first part of the quote, “The fact that these folks are pissed off is a good sign,” I don’t have a problem with, per se, even though I think that there are probably other insiders and experts who would probably have shared similar information on the record.

My issue comes in when the source started calling out names, singling out two marketers, and referring to them as “shady online marketing scum who tried their best to ruin the organic Internet.” When you start making those sorts of name-calling accusations, my opinion is that you should have the guts to come clean about your identity. One of the issues with the Internet today is that it is so easy to hide behind anonymity when you want to say something rude about someone else.

When to Use Anonymous Sources

 Of course, there are times when it makes sense to use unnamed sources. The most compelling reason is when the source could lose his or her job, or be ostracized by the community to which he or she belongs. When personal safety is involved, such as getting information from a criminal informant, it also makes sense to grant anonymity to the source. But that anonymity comes with greater responsibility. If you are going to use an unnamed source in the article, it should be accompanied by the following:

• Thorough research and evidence
• On the record sources who back up the statement, or information
• Independent verification of the source’s identity
• Verification that the source can actually speak to the issue at hand

Most of the time, though, there isn’t much need for unnamed sources. For most stories, you can find people willing to share their names along with their opinions and information.

So, do I trust an anonymous source engaging in name-calling, or do I trust someone that went on the record in that self-same article? Anonymous sources call creditability into question. A named source is always more credible than a non-named source. As a result, if you want to be a more credible writer, it makes sense to avoid using anonymous sources, unless you have verified the information as best you can, and you can demonstrate a compelling reason to keep those sources’ names out of it.

Miranda Marquit is a journalistically trained freelance writer and professional blogger. Her blog is Planting Money Seeds.

It all happened so innocently.  In fact, at first nobody even noticed. Rachael Ray, a well-known celebrity chef loved her family.  And her dog.  Apparently, she really, really loved them. In fact, she was normal in every sense of the word.

But then, somebody made a fatal mistake.  A proofreader failed to proofread…

Much space has been given in the blogosphere to the topic of writer’s block. So many bloggers with so many blogs and they just can’t think of anything to write (or so it would appear).

And they see this as a problem.

So do I, but in a different way.

The bloggers see this as a problem, because they want to write something but can’t think of anything to say. The problem with this, as I see it, is that so many people who have nothing to say, want to speak.

This is generally a great way to create trash.

Speak just to hear your own voice.

Write just to see your own typing.

Hold meetings just to say you have met.

Watch TV just to do something with your time.

Drink because you are bored.

All the most wasteful uses of our time and energy are the things we do without having a good reason to do them. When you write just for the sake of writing, I can almost guarantee that your writing will not be worth reading.

Let me ask you about two blogs.

Blog A publishes occasionally. Every week, every month, irregularly – whatever. Every post is meaty and meaningful. Every post inspires or provides useful information or gives something of real value.

Blog B publishes regularly – every week or even every day. Regularly. The writer follows all the advice of how to overcome writer’s block, and writes lots of articles even though he has nothing of import or useful – or inspired! – to say. Sure, occasionally he does, but most of his posts are already written in different ways on other blogs and don’t really add much to anybody’s knowledge or inspiration.

Which blog will you choose to read?

On our SEO blog we began a tradition of presenting blog commenting carnivals, and we’ll be carrying that tradition over here. I comment on a lot of blogs about writing, and often the comments are quite substantial. Why let those comments go to waste, when I can share them with our readers, too?

Over at Common Excuses For Not Starting A Blog, I tackled the five excuses, one by one…

1. Everyone is a writer.

2. There is no such thing as writer’s block. When you have something to say, there is no block. When you have nothing to say, you should not be blogging.

3. You don’t have to be creative; just write what comes to your mind during a normal “day at the office”.

4. OK, it is true – blogging is too time consuming. But if it is worth doing for your business model, then it is no more time consuming than all the other time-consuming things you do.

5. All the good ideas have been taken…yeah but “so what?” All the best music has been written, and they keep writing more. All the best books have been written, but they keep writing more. Just write what you think and you will find elements of originality in your blog posts.

I expanded on point #2 above at How to Blog for your Business – 4 helpful tips!…

Generally some good advice, but I disagree on keeping to a schedule. I have never heard of someone removing a blog from their RSS reader for not having received a post in a while. I can see why someone would remove a blog that posts too often and they are inundated with posts in their RSS reader (making it hard to find posts from other blogs), but there is no reason to remove something for not bothering them. I believe a schedule is a very poor way to decide when to blog. A much better way is to blog when you have something to say. A single really good post is worth more than a hundred on time posts.

And on the fun side, I planted my tongue firmly in my cheek and added to Time Management For Freelance Writers…

Oh, not just for freelance writers. Anybody who works from home will be tempted to surf, tempted to keep marketing, tempted to just hang loose and avoid timing himself or handling the bookkeeping. My personal temptation is blog commenting…and…uh…oops, I guess I should be getting back to work.

I was not bored when Martha Griffin told us Why Most Blogs Bore Me. So I responded…

Nothing new is being said. That is the one that makes me cringe. When you spend as much time as I do in social media, reading, partially reading or just suffering through the same repetitive headlines over and over (Do I really want to read yet another blogger’s review of the same plugg-in?), you start to wonder where is the imagination, where is the passion, are they people really enjoying blogging, or are they just trying to fill their page and keep to an arbitrary publishing schedule. Which brings us to the second one that makes me cringe, “The blogger didn’t show up. ” and “Lacks passion”, which really are the same thing in my eyes.

Jane writes at BlogEngage about Why Should You Blog About What You Know .  Apparently, I agree…

Yes, yes, yes. About what you know AND about what you are passionate about. You should never have to worry about writers block or not knowing what to write about. You should only be writing when there is something inside you, something just bursting to get out!

Martha Giffen writes that Keyword stuffing is not a blogging tool.

I am afraid that using common sense is highly under appreciated. Best to write your post for the readers and for yourself – just because you have something to say. Then add in your keywords a couple times where it makes sense …if it makes sense. Then choose a title for your post. If possible, include your keywords in your title – but if the title didn’t attractive and doesn’t draw readers and (ultimately) linkers, there is really no point to the keywords in the first place.

Do I have to tell you haw very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very important it is to proofread your material before you publish?

Somebody has written a sales page that most cruelly slanders ghostwriters.  I will not post the URL and give him the benefit of a link, but the challenge cannot go unanswered. My comments are in RED below. Once you have read his sales pitch below, it’s your call whether he is:

• A demagogue, lying about ghostwriters to make a quick buck
• The most incompetent person you will ever have the misfortune to meet
• Stark, raving mad

START SALES PITCH

What do you do if you have a story or expertise to share, but are not a writer yourself or simply don’t think you have the time to write a book? The typical belief is that you need to hire a ghostwriter. You Don’t!

I’ve managed dozens of ghostwriters for clients over the years and now work with best-selling authors and writers at the highest level. Let me share with you what I have learned, and the reasons I no longer hire ghostwriters for my clients. Let me save you from the aggravation, unhappiness and wasted money (Read on to find out why this guy wasted so much of his client’s money!) that I’ve seen too many endure. Then, once you’ve heard the reasons why you should not hire a ghostwriter, stick around and I’ll share with you what I believe to not only be the better approach for your voice and your message, but also the less expensive option!

We are excited that Eradonis: Legend of the Black Rose is published.  This is another book that we helped the author, South African born  Narisha Rajnandan, to perfect.  She calls South Africa “a land where fantasy and reality have often met.”   Eradonis: Legend of the Black Rose is a fantasy lover’s fantasy.

Here is a summary of the book:

When a sorceress in training Odeya visits an enchanted temple in Aradeya Forest, Priestess Haniel presents her with the Lexion, an ancient book of spells. Odeya is about to leave when she hears her name called and notices a strange light under the statue of Adonis, the god of war. Curiosity takes her below the temple where she discovers a powerful staff and a note that reads: “The journey to the Black Rose has begun.” Odeya is mystified. The Black Rose is only a fairytale, isn’t it? The perilous journey she is about to undertake, however, will prove her dead wrong.

The book is now available at Amazon, where you can pick up a copy for yourself (or as a gift for that fantasy-lover on your Christmas list).

Last July, one of our writers was featured on PT Money Blog.  Philip interviewed Miranda Marquit, who happens to be one of our freelance writers.  Miranda writes mostly on financial matters, helping our clients with online content and also having written a number of finance-related books for business clients.

The podcast, which I am running below with permission, asks Miranda about the business of freelance writing and what it takes to become a freelance writer. As an aside, when you work from home, you are not working in some antiseptic office environment, where almost everything is artificially controlled. At home, office life and real life collide ion the most unpredictable of ways, especially when there are children running around. In the case of this podcast, you hear the doorbell ring at one point. My comment to Miranda after I had listened to the interview was, “Next time instead of a doorbell, maybe you could have a motorcycle followed by a scream and a crash.” That would be much more entertaining.

Here is the podcast, as it was first published.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

One of the big takeaways from this podcast is the value of journalistic training – yes, go take some journalism courses if you are serious about being a freelance writer.  Here is an excerpt from the podcast.

Well, one of the questions that really embarrasses me is people ask me how long it takes me to write a post. And I always just answer, you know … and one of the things I learned how to do when I took this journalism course of study was to write fast and to write with a minimum of grammatical errors—I mean, I still make mistakes; everybody does—but I do try to take those things, and it really helped me learn to write concisely, to write quickly, and it taught me how to do research quickly, so that I could pull together my writing on a deadline. And so, it really helped me learn how to write in a way that was efficient for my time and help me to get things done a little bit quicker.

Miranda offers much more incredible advice for budding freelance writers, so take a few minutes to listen to the full podcast.

These Golfing Geese Are About To Ruffle Some Feathers at Penny Ehrenkranz’s Blog

Meet Sami DeMani, a Canada gander with a legendary golf game. He’s on track to win the prestigious Waterfowl Tour — and put his nemesis, the ruthless Pete Swan Lake, in his place once and for all. But right as Sami prepares to take a critical swing, a surprise scare changes everything — ruining the shot and putting Sami in the hospital. What happens next dashes any hopes for golf glory — or does it? No longer able to play, Sami throws himself into coaching his nephew, Myles, in the game he loves. Then the golf pro hatches a plan to help his nephew win a tournament with the aid of the specially designed Gooseneck Putter. This breakthrough device has the potential to change everything — including the confidence of the golf prodigy who uses it. But none of them are prepared for what’s about to occur as the tension rises on the course. Along the way, Sami and Myles will learn a powerful lesson regarding sportsmanship, perseverance, love, and what really matters in the game of life. A heartwarming and inspirational tale, The High-Tech Gooseneck Putter is about the power of golf to boost self-esteem, change lives, and bring a community together.

This is the latest Happy Guy Marketing success–my collaboration with artist, singer and Laughter Yoga leader Samuel DiMatteo. I am excited that Sami listed me as co-author because Samuel is one-of-a-kind. He, along with the colorful cast of golfing geese, sportscasting squirrels and business-minded beavers in the book, has won over several lovely lady authors–and I am thankful to every one of them.

It is Thanksgiving this month, after all!

• July 18–Walking Through Walls author Karen Cioffi-Ventrice guested on A Ghost Writers Blog
• July 24–We celebrated Christmas in July at Susanne Drazic’s blog.
• August 5–We golfed through walls on Karen Cioffi-Ventrice’s blog.
• August 22–We had more fun than geese dancing at Lisa Haselton’s blog.
• November 14–We swapped tales of ghosts and geese, dragons and co-writing at Penny Ehrenkranz’s blog

 

 

Every now and then, I get asked this question: “What do people want written?” And I usually answer that people come to us for a lot of biographies and fiction manuscripts. But is that the most accurate answer?

I decided to do some number-crunching. And I cam up with three sets of data. First, here are the types of services people seek…

 

As you can see, biographies are the most popular project people seek.  Everybody has a story to tell.  Yes, most “biographies” are in fact autobiographies.

There are a lot of people who come to us with manuscripts – including websites and marketing materials, but mostly books – to edit.  These include biographies, as well as every other genre.

The three other popular genres are business manuscripts, online writing and fiction manuscripts.

 

Breaking it down a different way, 46 percent of people come looking for some form of book to be written.  Twenty percent of people seek some form of editing and 12 percent seek copy for use online.  Everything else is pretty minor.

Breaking down the books into the various types, you can see just how important biographies are – how many people have a story to tell.

 

If you have a story to tell or a book you want to help promote your business or career, we’ll be happy to help you.

Rant time! Every day – yeah, pretty much every day – I get an email from somebody seeking to hire a slave. In my mind’s eye, I see them standing there with a whip and an evil laughter. “Muuaahhahahhahahaaaaa!”

Here is one of those emails I just received.

I am looking for an article writer who can write quality articles for the keyword and the special instruction that i provide. I need 500 words and 700 words articles meeting the deadline. I give $1.20 for 500 words article and $2.40 for 700 words article. You can take a keyword after submitting an article. Time frame to complete 500 word article is 2hrs and 4 hrs for 700 words article. Let me know if you have any questions.

I was tempted to respond…

“Yeah, and I give $5.40 for a quality transatlantic flight. However, I got tired of the “comfortable” seating in the catapult, and the landing is usually quite rough – especially since I always hit the office tower across the street. But, “Hey”, you can’t beat the price, tight?

I didn’t send that email – what’s the point of arguing with an $%#@%! and starting a flame war with someone whose intelligence level makes him a threat to anybody standing close enough when he sets himself on fire?

A much better way to handle such things is…

We are excited that Asim: Servant of Two Masters is published.  This is another book that we helped the author, Daniel Smith, to perfect.  It is an exciting adventure set in exotic locations.  Here is how the author himself describes the book:

“In 1453 Turkey, Mehmed the Conqueror has just defeated the Byzantine Empire and a new era called the Ottoman Empire is ushered in. Sending an envoy to open trade routes to Spain and Portugal, Mehmed sends his most trusted bodyguard Asim to look after the members of the envoy. The mission is turned on its head when one of the Islamic members is murdered in her bed chamber by unknown hands.

“Asim is given permission by way of a secret letter from Pope Nicholas to investigate the crime but no allowance of arresting authority of any Christian that may be involved. But his instructions from Mehmed were simple: bring the cowards to justice. How can a man serve Christianity and Islam without offending either?”

A video trailer has been created to help put you in the mood. Sorry, no belly dancers. But if you like a murder-mystery adventure that touches on some of the hot points of today and yesterday, this is one book you’ll want sizzling in your reading pile at home.

Another client published. Daniel Friedmann’s first book, reconciling Biblical teachings and scientific understanding, has hit the bookstores.

Here is how the book is described:

“Were the heavens and the earth created 6,000 years ago, as the Bible suggests? Or did the universe expand into existence nearly 14 billion years ago from a spontaneous “Big Bang”? Both dates cannot be right – or can they?

“Imagine that there were some medieval manuscripts, written eight hundred years ago, that could help us decipher Genesis to pinpoint exactly when the universe began, as identified by our most up-to-date cosmological theories. Further, suppose that these same manuscripts could help us extract from Genesis the timelines for the development of life on Earth, precisely as identified by the latest scientific evidence from the fossil record.

“The Genesis One Code offers a careful examination of the relationship between scientific theory and biblical teaching. The book targets the origins debate from a fresh perspective informed by scientific and spiritual research. The book demonstrates an alignment between the dates of key events described in Genesis 1 and 2 with those derived from scientific theory and observation. This alignment provides a compelling perspective deserving of thoughtful consideration.”

You can pick up your copy of The Genesis One Code at Amazon.com.

It is always exciting when one of our client books gets media coverage, but when both the client and our writer are mentioned at the same time, it is an extra special event. That is just what happened a couple weeks ago in the Canton Repository.

 

The article is about H.P. Stephenson’s new work of fiction, in which he gave our writer Kathryn Tedrick co-authorship (usually our authors remain ghost writers).  Appropriately enough, this book straddles the realms of science fiction and fantasy, Kathryn’s two specialty genres.

It’s the third item in this round-up article. Here is what it says:

Akron author Kathryn Tedrick, along with co-author H.P. Stephenson, has put a new modern twist on a popular subject — vampires — while “returning to the roots of sci-fi,” says the publisher of “War of the Staffs: Quest for the Staff of Adaman.”

The novel is the first book in the proposed “War of the Staffs” trilogy about “a myriad of mythical creatures.”

“ ‘War of the Staffs’ is a fresh new series for all those who love dragons, wizards, elves, dwarves, and mayhem,” said Tedrick in publicity material for the book.

Tedrick, who writes articles for magazines and websites, also has ghost written several books.

Was my writing stolen?

I invited Briana Myricks to write this guest post.  When I heard her story, I knew that all writers – not just blog writers – will relate to what she experienced.  I am curious to hear your comments once you have read her post.

Have you ever written a blog post that you put your figurative, or even literal, blood, sweat, and tears into? If you are a blogger, chances are, you have on numerous occasions.  Most other writers have, too.  What about a post you spent hours researching and perfecting to be not only logical and understandable, but also fun and entertaining? Writers and bloggers everywhere are probably nodding their heads in unison. Think back to how proud you were when your hard work was noticed by your peers, your supervisor, and even other media. When your writing was featured in roundups and bigger blogs, you probably patted yourself on your back for a job well done. You were getting the recognition you’ve always thought you deserved.

Now think of a time when someone stole either your idea or your work outright. How furious were you? If you’re a blogger and your content was scraped onto a spammer blog, you may or may not have even flinched. But what if your work showed up on a more authoritative site with a large readership, a more expansive reach, and higher SEO value than your site? You wouldn’t feel too good, would you?

A few weeks ago, my childhood came to an end with the final movie installment of the Harry Potter saga. I felt that I had learned so much from the Hogwarts students, and was compelled to blog about it. I took to StupidCents, a personal finance blog that I’m a staff writer for, and explained to readers the financial lessons I learned from each Harry Potter story. I spent hours doing research and writing the post, wanting it to be accurate and a quality post, rather than simple link bait. My diligence paid off; the article was featured in the Carnival of Personal Finance, the Best of Money Carnival, and even Canada’s largest national newspaper, Globe Investor. The post is the most popular on StupidCents.

Friday, I was going through my RSS reader and found that Business Insider’s War Room had a post about financial tips from Harry Potter. I was excited, assuming that my post was also featured on the huge news site. As I read the article, I saw that there were several points that I mentioned, but another person as the author with no credit to my article. I was livid! Was Business Insider stealing my content? I left a comment voicing my suspicion, and I consulted several friends and colleagues to compare the two posts. After reading both posts, they felt that although my post may have heavily influenced the one featured by the War Room contributor, it was not stolen. I felt a little better about it. I was put a bit more at ease when the author pointed out differences in our articles with a reply to my comment.

This situation got me thinking: how many other times has this happened in the blogosphere? No doubt, there are sites that exist specifically for content scraping. Content farms, where high quantity and low quality are the name of the game, were also known for taking quality articles from other sites and passing it along as their own. Thankfully, Google’s Panda update has discredited thousands of those sites, including content farms like Associated Content, AllBusiness and HubPages. Of course, there’s going to be articles that echo many of the same lessons, much like there are so many articles offering mostly the same tips on “how to save money on gas”.

What are the odds that you get several of the same personal finance lessons from 4,195 pages (from the US edition of the Harry Potter books) and 19.6 hours of film?!

Another issue is when your content is featured word for word on a higher authority site. I was in this situation a year ago. I wrote a post on my now defunct Internet marketing blog about why “Facebook Quit Day” was a flop. I was a tiny blog getting very little visitors, and a small blip on the Internet radar. I was also a member of Social Media Today, and had my blog feed imported. My article was featured on the website, word for word, and received tens of thousands of page views…on the Social Media Today site. Sure, there was a link to the “original article” but who’s really going to go to a little known blog to read the exact same article on a bigger site? Even the number of tweets was more than I could imagine but I didn’t prosper, as my Twitter profile was not connected to the auto-tweet. So was Social Media Today not stealing because they linked my original article? It’s tough to say.

It’s understandable that people look for research online and can come up with similar ideas, or even base their posts off another one. I even understand that as unique as you may think your idea is, someone could have the same idea as you without it being content theft. Internet publishing still doesn’t have the same rights and protections as physical works like magazines, newspapers and books. However, if you are using another story or someone else’s ideas in your creative work, always give credit where credit is due. It’s common courtesy at the very least.

As part of the “High Tech GooseBlog Tour,” we showcase author and tour host Karen Cioffi…

Wang bound the last bunch of wheat stalks as the sun beat down on the field. Sweat poured from the back of his neck drenching the cotton shirt he wore.

I hate doing this work. He hurled the bundles on a cart. “Father, the bales are stacked. I am going home; it is too hot.”

Twelve-year-old Wang longed to be an Eternal. He craved wealth . . . and power….

So opens Walking Through Walls, Karen Cioffi’s retelling of a classic Chinese fable. In just a few sentences of this 40-page children’s book, she establishes the main character, a disgruntled twelve-year-old boy, and the conflict, his dreams of a life away from unending hard work on his family farm. She also hints at a mystery: what is an Eternal?

In short order, Coiffi-Ventrice also introduces us to a bit more of Wang’s personality. Like any 12-year-old, he fights with his sister and his father. He knows his father wants him to work on the farm rather than daydream about learning magic and being “the richest man in all of China”.  When he receives a dream visitation from the dragon illustrated on the cover—think ERAGON set in China—Wang decides his father can’t keep him on his peasant farm any more.

After Wang goes to the Elder of his village, a lemon-loving mystic, and asks the way to the Eternals’ home, he ends up more confused than ever. In typical martial-arts movie fashion the Elder speaks in cryptic messages before scolding Wang for seeking wealth and power for their own sake: “I cannot give you the information you seek. Your heart has already spoken. Go home and set your sights on learning patience and virtue.”

Oddly, Wang’s younger sister helps him, because of her sweet nature—or perhaps she wants to teach the arrogant Wang about a girl’s worth. The true value of a person—character, kindness, integrity—is a common theme in this story and Cioffi-Ventrice brings it out quite well. She also subtly highlights the Confucian society of the time, where “respect your elders, especially males” is paramount, and the Asian ethos, in which the group is much more important than the individual. Wang, like many child heroes, rebels against his family and society to seek his own way—and learn a lesson. You have to give Wang credit for pursuing what he wants and for undertaking his perilous journey to the distant mountaintop to find the Eternals (This is what you want: you must follow through, he thinks). While Wang’s journey may seem reckless, he shows some guts and courage in leaving his family to pursue his dream.

There’s a lovely moment in which Wang’s father gently touches him and asks him to stay. It’s an understated and in-character way of showing that Wang’s father is concerned, for the first time, about his son leaving home—a deeply human emotion.  Wang does not understand until much later—he is too excited about seeing the mystical temple of the Eternals materialize after his long perilous trek.

Wang’s impressions of the temple capture my own awe whenever I visit Asian temples such as Wat Pho, Senso-Ji, Sanjusangendo, and shrines in Taiwan, even though in keeping with a fable like this, the temple’s plain exterior belies its grand interior (representing, perhaps, the richness of the Eternals’ spiritual life). Although I have never met an Eternal Master, I imagine he (she?) would be just like the one in Walking Through Walls (many of the Buddhist rimbans and reverends I’ve met have senses of humor to package their lessons). The Eternal Master is the equivalent of a magical drill sergeant—not what Wang expected. Everything about the Eternals, from their strict regimen of simple food and hard work to their habit of appearing and disappearing, confounds Wang—although he begins to understand a bit more of the world when he meets his roommate Chen and hears of Chen’s quest to help his village and rescue his sister by becoming an Eternal. Chen’s story kindles compassion in Wang’s heart, but not enough to make him gain patience. With all the magic around him, Wang is hungry to become an Eternal himself, especially after he sees the more advanced students walking through walls after a midnight feast. Is it a dream? Is it a test? Wang decides he must learn to walk through walls.

Wang endures his peculiar education for a year before deciding to leave, despite his best friend Chen’s hope of having an ally in his quest. The Eternal Master teaches him the longed-for spell of walking through walls, even though he lectures Wang about not being pure of heart or worthy of the Eternals’ great power. Of course, Wang does learn the spell—and faces a test of his character once he returns home. During that test, I bit my nails and then screamed, “Don’t do it,” when Wang was about to make the wrong choice. Cioffi-Ventrice makes us care about Wang in spite of, or perhaps because, of his character flaws. In addition to the magic of the storytelling, the sense of wonder never lets up—enchanted snakes and other creatures follow Wang as he chooses his destiny, and we learn that the Eternal Master is even more extraordinary than he appears…

In addition to the story, Cioffi-Ventrice provides dragon lore, a brief, easily readable history (and cultural facts) of the Ming Dynasty during which the story is set, and activities and questions for young readers.

 

 

Ghost Blogger Kristin Johnson’s Note: As we announced, Walking Through Walls author Karen Cioffi is one of the hosts for the “High-Tech GooseBlog Tour”. She is also honoring us with a post that speaks to the advice my fellow Ghost Bloggers and I have provided previously. If you read Karen’s book, which I will review in a subsequent post, you will glimpse her 3D Character System at work…and you don’t even need 3D glasses!

Thanks for this wonderful article, Karen.

Is Your Character One, Two, Or Three Dimensional?

By Karen Cioffi

Between your characters, the plot, and the other writing elements, you develop a story. If the mix is right, and the characters are believable, you can create a story worthy of publication.

Creating believable characters is an essential part of writing, and they need to be as life-like as possible. To accomplish this, you need to have a three dimensional protagonist.

So, which is your protagonist?

Is your protagonist flat – lacks any type of emotion and action, like the simple and safe kiddy rides at a children’s amusement park, the carousel horse that goes round and round, but does nothing else? Then you have a one-dimensional character on your hands.

Is your protagonist a little bumpy – he has some quirks, life and emotion, but no real depth of character or history, like the carousel horse that goes round and round and up and down at a steady easy pace? Then you have a two-dimensional character struggling to break into the world of believability.

Is your protagonist a full blown amusement park – a roller coaster, full of ups and downs, knowledge, emotion, character, quirks, life, and history? Now you have it; you have a believable three dimensional character that is strong enough to bring your story through to the end.

Now the question is: how do you create a wonderful, believable life-like three dimensional character?

There are a number of methods you can use that will help you create a believable character, here are two:

1. Create a character sheet or use an index card before you begin.

On your sheet, list all the characteristics, quirks, moods, mannerisms, physical attributes, artistic attributes…you get the idea. Keep this sheet handy as you’re writing your story. If you tell the reader Pete has blonde hair in the beginning of the story, and then you describe it as black, unless he dyed his hair as part of the storyline, stay true to the character. Readers pick up on errors very quickly.

The more detail you add to your character sheet the easier it will be to know what your protagonist will do in any given circumstance. This will take the element of wondering out of your writing process and save time: Pete finds a bag of money next to his neighbor’s car. Hmm . . . will he keep the money or try to find out if it’s his neighbor’s? Oh, wait a minute, on your character sheet you wrote he’s an honest guy! Simple.

2. Add characteristics and attributes to your protagonist as you write your story.

Write your protagonist’s characteristics, quirks, moods, mannerisms, and so on, on a character sheet as your story evolves. There are some writers who use different methods to create a story. Maybe you’re using the ‘seat-of-the-pants-method’ and your character evolves as your story does. With this method, you want to be sure to note each new development in your protagonist’s character or being.

Let’s go back to Pete again. Pete scratches a car as he’s parking. Does he leave a note on the car he damaged? Does he quickly leave the scene? Does he just ignore the incident as if it didn’t happen? Whichever one of these actions he chooses will establish another element to his character – be sure to make note of it.

No matter which process you use, remember to add life-like qualities to your character. Readers need to develop a relationship with the protagonist. If they feel Pete is three dimensional and they are drawn to him, they’ll be sure to read to the end of your book.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Karen Cioffi is an author and ghostwriter. Her new MG/YA fantasy book, Walking Through Walls, is based on an ancient Chinese tale.

Wang longs to be rich…and powerful. At twelve-years-old, he already knows more about the Eternals and their way of life than many of the adults in his village. Learning about these mystics takes his thoughts away from the possibility of working in the wheat fields all his life, like his father. Wang has far grander goals.

 

Walking Through Walls should now be available through online retailers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and book stores. If it’s not yet listed, it will be very soon!

You can also order the book today at:

http://4rvpublishingcatalog.yolasite.com/mg-ya-page-2.php

To learn more about Walking Through Walls, its touring schedule and contest, and purchasing information visit: http://walkingthroughwalls-kcioffi.blogspot.com

To learn more about Karen and her books, visit:

http://www.karencioffiwritingandmarketing.com/p/karens-books.html

 

Please be sure to stop by Eylsabeth Eldering’ site http://jgdsseries.blogspot.com on July 19th for the next stop on the Walking Through Walls Tour.

 

 

These Golfing Geese Are About To Ruffle Some Feathers

Meet Sami DeMani, a Canada gander with a legendary golf game. He’s on track to win the prestigious Waterfowl Tour — and put his nemesis, the ruthless Pete Swan Lake, in his place once and for all. But right as Sami prepares to take a critical swing, a surprise scare changes everything — ruining the shot and putting Sami in the hospital. What happens next dashes any hopes for golf glory — or does it? No longer able to play, Sami throws himself into coaching his nephew, Myles, in the game he loves. Then the golf pro hatches a plan to help his nephew win a tournament with the aid of the specially designed Gooseneck Putter. This breakthrough device has the potential to change everything — including the confidence of the golf prodigy who uses it. But none of them are prepared for what’s about to occur as the tension rises on the course. Along the way, Sami and Myles will learn a powerful lesson regarding sportsmanship, perseverance, love, and what really matters in the game of life. A heartwarming and inspirational tale, The High-Tech Gooseneck Putter is about the power of golf to boost self-esteem, change lives, and bring a community together.

This is the latest Happy Guy Marketing success–my collaboration with artist, singer and Laughter Yoga leader Samuel DiMatteo. I am excited that Sami listed me as co-author because Samuel is one-of-a-kind. He, along with the colorful cast of golfing geese, sportscasting squirrels and business-minded beavers in the book, has won over several lovely lady authors. Suzanne Drazic will host us for Christmas in July on her blog to kick off our tour! A schedule:

• July 18–Walking Through Walls author Karen Cioffi-Ventrice guests on A Ghost Writers Blog
• July 24–We celebrate Christmas in July at Susanne Drazic’s blog.
• August 5–We golf through walls on Karen Cioffi-Ventrice’s blog.
• August 22–We stop at Lisa Haselton’s blog.
• November 14–We swap tales of ghosts and geese, dragons and co-writing at Penny Ehrenkranz’s blog.

And of course any of these lovely ladies has a standing invitation on this blog.

Our tour has a special significance: each date corresponds to golfing events in honor of our hero. A sample of the events:

• July 18, Karen’s stop–Ernie Els’s charity golf tournament Els for Autism Golf Challenge, TPC Deere Run, Silvis, Illinois
• July 24–Skins and Pins Shootout, Strategic Fox, Fox Hills Golf Club, Plymouth, MI
• August 5–36th Junior PGA Championship, Sycamore Hills Golf Course, Fort Wayne, Indiana
• August 22–Las Vegas PGA Expo, also Boy Scouts of Omaha Invitiational
• November 5–PGA Tour President’s Cup in Australia

We have teed and shouted “Fore!”