Is The Theme Reinforced In The Ending?
August 26, 2007
Creative Writing Tips ?
By now you should have an idea that your theme has to reach its conclusion just as your story does. But our theme has to do more than reach its conclusion ? it has to be reinforced in the end and by doing this, it will strengthen all that we have said in our story.
So if we took a theme?
‘Persist and in the end you will succeed’
And I showed my character working hard to achieve his goals, persisting, even if at times those goals seemed unreachable, then I would’ve showed that all his hard work did pay off in the end. By having him succeed, it would reinforce the theme that had been running throughout the story.
Let me further illustrate this point by giving you a more detailed example.
The theme is?
‘Persistence pays off’
The story is about a writer, who has been writing short stories for years, but has not succeeded in getting published yet.
In your story you will show his persistence with?
An Easy Way to Understand Your Collectibles
August 26, 2007
What kind of gifts you often receive? Is it toy dolls, animal figurine, antique, pottery, game, memorabilia or something you consider as a collectables? Well, what ever it is, as long as it pleases you, those entire gifts are full with memory which you then consider as a collectibles. Gifts and collectibles are not contradicting each other; instead they are supplementing each other.
That is one way to understand your collectibles. Once you understand, you will know the value of your collectibles.
At the back of your head, maybe you consider that gift is something that someone gave it to you, while collectibles is things you are collecting which you get it by yourself. You may say that, however, there are also people giving their collectibles as a gift. And currently, lot’s of places selling collectibles as a gift.
Are you a collector or you just received what ever gifts come to you? If you are collecting gifts from somebody else, or sometimes you buy gifts for your own and consider it as your collectibles, then people might call you a collector.
Westie Merchandise that Benefits your Dog
August 26, 2007
There are many places to find Westie merchandise, but before you make a purchase for yourself or your Westie, consider first a retailer or non-profit organization that uses sales of Westie merchandise to benefit the breed.
WestieMed, Inc. is a non-profit organization that specifically targets rescued Westies that are injured or ill. Along with donations, WestieMed uses sales of Westie merchandise to pay for medical care for these special-needs dogs while homes are found for them. Westie merchandise that can be purchased from their gift shop includes clothing, novelties, home and garden items, greeting cards, and Christmas ornaments. They also benefit from sales of Westie merchandise purchased through their affiliation with Westie Breed Store when the buyer uses the link at the WestieMed website. They can be found at http://www.westiemed.com/.
The West Highland White Terrier Club of America, Inc. also offers a small selection of Westie merchandise in their fundraising effort. Their merchandise includes limited edition collector plates with images of Westies, and a few articles of clothing. Their National Rescue Committee, which is responsible for rescuing older Westies and placing them in new homes, has a larger collection of clothing and small items of Westie merchandise for their fundraising efforts. They can be found at http://www.westieclubamerica.com/. There are also links at the site to affiliated Westie clubs that are using sales of Westie merchandise for fundraising.
Do You Know What A Plot Is?
August 26, 2007
Creative Writing Tips ?
What a plot is and what a story is can be sometimes confusing. If you think they are the same? They are not. A plot is the outline of your story. The story is everything included.
I will illustrate the difference by asking you to visualize two pictures?
1. Visualize a skeleton.
Then
2. Visualize a body.
The skeleton is your plot. It’s the outline of your story. It won’t be visible when we flesh it out but it will still be there, holding your story together.
The body is your story. It’s everything, which our story will contain, including the plot. The story is the plot fleshed out.
What does it mean to ‘flesh it out?’
Let me show you.
I’ll take a brief plot?
A man meets a woman and they fall in love. They encounter great difficulties because their family are against the relationship.
This is the outline of the story.
Now we are going to flesh it out and make it into a story. Fleshing it out means adding things to make this basic plot into a story. To do this we will add the rest of the ingredients such as?
West Highland White Terrier ? How To Capture the Best Pictures of Your Westies
August 25, 2007
For most West Highland White Terrier owners, the dog is a beloved member of the family. Like your children, you will want to capture pictures of your Westies from the time they are puppies until they are old-timers. Getting good pictures of Westies may require a bit of special preparation and know-how, but even the amateur photographer can get good ones at home.
Camera Angle
A common mistake amateurs make when taking pictures of their Westies is to shoot from a standing position, with the dog on the ground. Although you might get a good picture (teeth showing) or two this way, the best are shot from your Westie’s level - low down, on the floor. Alternatively, for a posed picture, you can raise your dog up on a table or chair. The aim is to capture your West Highland White Terrier from his perspective on life.
Sitting Still
Pictures do not have to be hit or miss, with the dog owner struggling to get perfect candid shots. Dogs can be trained, and posed pictures can be taken if you prepare yourself and your pet. It is best to start when West Highland White Terriers are puppies, getting them used to the equipment and the picture-taking process.
Ladybugs, Ladybugs, Come to My Garden
August 25, 2007
Ladybugs, also called lady beetles or ladybirds, can be a gardener’s best friend. The ladybug’s bright coloring brings welcomed cheer to the garden, as well as helping with pest control. Since medieval times, ladybugs have been valued by farmers all over the world. Many believe that the ladybug was divinely sent to free crops of insect pests. In fact, that is how the ladybug got its name. People dedicated the bug to the Virgin Mary and therefore called it "The Bug of our Lady", which was eventually shortened to the present name "ladybug".
Adult ladybugs are usually oval or domed shaped and have red wings, yellow wings or shades and variations of these colors. The number of black spots can range from no spots to 15 spots and they are typically about one quarter inch in size or smaller.
The length of the life cycle of a ladybug varies depending upon temperature, humidity, and food supply. Usually the life cycle from egg to adult is about three to four weeks, and up to six weeks during the cooler spring months. During the spring the adult female ladybug can lay up to three hundred eggs in an aphid colony. The eggs normally hatch in two to five days. The newly hatched larvae feed on aphids for up to three weeks and then enter the pupae stage. About one week later, the adult ladybug emerges. There can be as many as six generations of ladybugs hatched in a year.
Treasure Hunting - Part Two
August 25, 2007
Treasure hunting begins at home. People regularly find famous old books and valuable antiques in their attics, so get up there and look. One couple opened their walls while remodeling, and found them insulated with thousands of old and valuable movie posters. In the thirties a theater owner ahd put them there. The couple sold $200,000 worth of the posters, the last I heard.
There are many more ways to go treasure hunting. I used to take the old telegraph pole insulators form along train tracks, to sell for $4 each at an antique store. They were otherwise being shot to pieces by hunters over the years. The colored glass ones are usually the more valuable ones.
Panning For Gold
For $10 you can buy a gold pan, and start prospecting. It’s easier to see the gold in the green plastic ones. Most federal lands are open to prospectors without a permit. I’ve only seen gold in my pan in Canada (there isn’t much gold in Michigan), but people have better luck in the mountain streams of the southeast and southwest. It’s a nice way to spend an afternoon in any case.
Treasure Hunting With A Metal Detector
Have You Plotted Your Story Before Writing It?
August 25, 2007
Creative Writing Tips ?
The writer, who doesn’t have the time to plot, always finds the time to rewrite.
Sound familiar?
I’ve been guilty of this too, back in the early days of my writing apprenticeship. I was so eager to get stuck into writing my story that I wouldn’t bother with plotting.
Plotting gives you a sense of direction. It’s your map, which will lead you to write your story. Leaping into the unknown rarely works. Without a plot several things can happen?.
- Our stories aren’t focused
- We lose our way
- Our characters don’t come to life because we don’t take the time to develop them
- We get stuck
- The story strays from us
And all this happens when we haven’t figured everything out first.
Your plot is the foundation of your story. It’s the skeleton, which will hold your story together. Your plot is there to work everything out first ? to see if it can be worked out, and then flesh out that skeleton with other elements that make a story.
Do You Know What a Didgeridoo Is?
August 24, 2007
Do you know what a didgeridoo is? There are so many things in this life that are unknown to us. I bet you could find out about something outside your normal sphere of vision and experience everyday for the rest of your life and still not get close to knowing about everything out there. Not to mention the number of things we don’t know about our own internal selves-physical, emotional, spiritual and mental realities that are still unaware to us. That’s another story however, let’s stick to the external in this article.
I play the didgeridoo. It’s a sacred Australian Aborigine instrument, arguably one of the oldest instruments in humankind’s long history. If you type didgeridoo into your search engine you will see hundreds of sites about this thing that you’ve never even heard of. You don’t know how many people I’ve mentioned it to around the world that never have even heard the word. One site I found to be quite thorough and useful was: http://www.echotree.com.au/index.htm
West Highland Terrier Rescue Dog - What To Expect When You Bring It Home
August 24, 2007
Congratulations on your choice to bring home a West Highland Terrier rescue dog. By electing to adopt one of the rescued Westies, you are giving an older dog a chance to find a loving new home
In many ways, this is simpler than going through the arduous process of training a westie terrier puppy. However, there still are steps you will need to take.
Westies that have found their way into rescue shelters sometimes have special needs, if only an owner who is patient and understanding of the way the dog might grieve for its previous family. People who volunteer keep the dog’s needs foremost, and are choosy about the homes in which they place rescued terriers. Expect an application process, an interview, and probably a home visit before you will be approved to take home a dog.
Westie rescue organizations need funds to pay for food and veterinary care while the dogs are waiting for placement, so most charge an adoption fee to cover these expenses. Additionally, you will be required to have the dog spayed or neutered, if it has not already been.
