The Hero’s Journey is the template upon which the vast majority of successful stories and Hollywood blockbusters are based upon. In fact, ALL of the Hollywood movies we have deconstructed are based on this template.

Understanding this template is a priority for story or screenwriters.

The Hero’s Journey:

a) Attempts to tap into unconscious expectations the audience has regarding what a story is and how it should be told.

b) Gives the writer more structural elements than simply three or four acts, plot points, mid point and so on.

c) Interpreted metaphorically, laterally and symbolically, allows an infinite number of varied stories to be created.

Managing Creativity: Time pressure

The following article applies to those of you interested in managing creativity but also to those of you interested in screenwriting. The subject is the effect of Time Pressure and it is easy to relate to in this context: do you get better ideas if you try to force them out or if you allow them to “come to you” / will you write better screenplays if you apply yourself regularly each day or if you wait for inspiration?

The answer is that both time pressure and incubation enhance creative output. There are a number of forces at work:

a) Time pressure increases creative output. By forcing idea production, setting goals and incremental deadlines, a greater number of ideas are produced than if a “do your best” approach is taken. If a leader asks participants in an idea generating session to address a problem and think of at least 5 ideas every half an hour, then 80 ideas are produced by one individual and 1600 are produced by 20 individuals at the end of an average working day. This level of output is conscious and would not be produced normally.

b) Time pressure encourages prolific production and therefore the probability of generating good ideas increases. It can be said with great confidence that quality of output is closely related to quantity. The best single creative product tends to appear at that point in the career when the creator is being most prolific.

c) Forcing output pushes individuals along the experience curve, refines their methodology, builds competencies and knowledge and improves performance. The best screenwriters know that they are likely to produce more, better quality work faster if they set themselves a schedule of a certain number of pages per day.

d) Motivation is critical to creativity. If a person is intrinsically motivated, time pressure may be a synergistic extrinsic motivator. If the person is not intrinsically motivated then it may turn out to be a non-synergistic extrinsic motivator, which reduces the level of engagement in the endeavour.

e) Short term time pressure may be a negative in that it does not allow the mind to engage in the endeavour at various cognitive levels. It does not allow rich ideas to formulate through the process of incubation. Intrinsically motivated individuals will benefit from short-term time pressure and goals (sets cognitive forces in motion) and will generate richer ideas through incubation over the longer term.

Learn more…

The Complete 188 stage Hero’s Journey and other story structure templates can be found at http://www.managing-creativity.com/

You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

Kal Bishop, MBA

**********************************

You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made, the author’s name is retained and the link to our site URL remains active.

An effective article is one that is passed around the internet and appears on many web sites and in ezines. A little caution here – there are numerous “article sites” quickly set up to pander to the AdSense trend at the moment. Whilst it might seem great to have your article on thousands of web sites it can work against you. The reasons are two fold:

1. Search engines are very concerned about duplicate content – that’s your article showing up on numerous web sites – and are actively removing multiple listings. Make sure that you publish your article on your own web site first and then a few weeks later publish it on one or more major directories such as www.ezinearticles.com or www.articleshut.com This ensures that you obtain a quality listing as well as obtaining a listing for your own web site.

2. Some of the article sites are of poor quality and put up to attract AdSense income and nothing more. This means that there is not a good chance of your article actually being read. Your challenge is to make your heading and article body, full of keywords and a compelling read. In this way your article resource box should also be read.

So what do you need to do to make sure that you have a viral marketing machine silently working away in the background?

1. Write quality keyword rich articles with catchy headlines so that good quality established web sites publish it.

2. Ensure that your article is about 300 – 700 words long. The shorter length is ideal for ezines and the longer length about right for most web sites. Longer articles are acceptable, but unless they hold a lot of good information, they are less likely to be published.

3. Establish yourself in a niche by writing a large number of articles in that area.

4. Use your resource box to drive traffic to your web site. Don’t be too salesy as this is counterproductive. Just make sure that your product and/or web site are mentioned and linked.

5. Your article should discuss a topic that is applicable to your web site – and more importantly, the products you are selling. For example this article discusses Article Marketing and we have a web site totally devoted to article marketing. We are also established experts in viral marketing – hence the subject of this article. I produced several articles before I discovered this!

6. Adhere to the guidelines of the article directory. This always involves how many links are allowed in the article body and resource box. The ability to use imbedded/anchored links (links attached to key words) is not possible in many directories – so check before you use them.

7. Most importantly – write articles that someone will want to read!

————————————————- © Copyright 2006 Biz Guru Services Ltd Lee Lister, writes as The Biz Guru, for a number of web sites including her own sites. http://www.Clikks.com contains all her informational products. If we have interested you in writing articles and using them to market your business then http://www.ClickingBusiness.com has all the information, resources and ebooks you can possibly need! With over 20 year’s management and business consultancy experience with businesses large and small as well as being a serial entrepreneur, she now helps others set up, develop and market their businesses. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached. ———————————————————————

“No worries I convert all incoming questions to articles if I believe there is any chance that the discussion could benefit someone else who is surfing around the Internet for a specific topic. You know, it is not important for you to agree with my views, although that is interesting to know. What is important in your case and to all parents who have Autistic or neurotypical children and to the general public who does not quite understand it all; that we make them think about it. We are all one, all in this together; it makes sense to do that really.”

The articles were about Autism and the email was about his autistic son, who is quite a great person indeed. And in using this email we were able to raise awareness for the cause of Autism and thus help more people you see? Now let me tell you another little something.

This article about using emails to write articles contains the above quote, which was in fact my reply to him for thanking me for converting our conversation into articles to raise the awareness you see? So, that is one email conversation and this makes the fourth article. You can do this too and if will be of value to others, so consider all this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Here are some professional editing tips to help you keep your writing lean and your readers interested.

Eliminate Unnecessary Words

The most important thing to remember when editing is that every word leads the reader. Since people generally want the most direct route, cut every word or sentence that wanders, meanders or leads to a dead end.

Consider this weighty sentence:

I’ve noticed that one project that I and many other people undertake during the winter months is rededicating themselves to an exercise program for such reasons as to get in shape, improve their health and have a good time.

A bit of editing trims the fatty passage to:
Many people rediscover exercise as a way to get fit and have fun during the winter.

I’ve retained the key message, but eliminated extra words that make the original sentence feel like a workout.

If you’re not sure which are the unnecessary words, look for “I” statements – I’ve noticed, I and many others, etc. These can often be eliminated without losing the meaning of the sentence.

Cut words that are repetitive or that state something obvious. Winter months becomes winter; exercise program becomes exercise.

Be aware of calorie-dense language. Phrases like in spite of the fact and because of the fact make your writing feel heavy. Substitute although and because to keep your writing lively and your reader engaged.

Use An Active Voice
Active voice means beginning a sentence with the subject rather than the verb; identify the person first, then the action. Instead of saying that a meeting was held or an award was received, say we held a meeting or we received an award.

Active voice is important because our brains automatically create mental images of the words we read or hear. (Don’t think of an orange elephant. See what I mean?) It’s easier for readers to follow what was done if they know first, who did it.

Which of these statements do you prefer?
A resume writing workshop was conducted by our training department.
Our training department conducted a resume writing workshop.

A presentation on motivating employees was given by Chris.
Chris gave a presentation on motivating employees.

I’ll wager my orange elephant that you chose the second sentence in each pair. The power of the active voice.

Use Positive Statements

Positive wording prevents confusion. This is especially important if you are trying to make a specific impression or compel your reader to take action. If I write use positive statements, you know exactly what I want you to do. If I write don’t use negative statements, I’ve told you what not to do, but I haven’t told you what to do instead.

Don’t send press releases to this department leaves me wondering where to send them. Send all press releases to the news department tells me where to send and where not to send my press releases.

I’m not suggesting that all written communication should express a positive sentiment. The sentence that you just read is a negative sentence. What I am suggesting is that you substitute positive wording whenever possible.

Although editing and dieting are alike in some ways, editing is actually much easier than dieting. Dieting requires careful attention to calories, portions, hunger, habits and lifestyle. Editing requires careful attention to only one thing. Your reader.

Sally Bacchetta is an award-winning sales trainer and freelance writer. She has published articles on a variety of topics, including selling skills, motivation, pharmaceutical sales, parenting and RFID.

You can contact her at sb14580@yahoo.com and read her latest Onwords column on her website.

For one thing, the use of quotes varies the voice of the story. What do I mean by voice? Every writer has a voice, a certain tone to his or her writing. That’s a good thing. Every writer’s voice is different, so it gives variety to the world of literature. At the same time, big chunks of narrative in the writer’s voice can bog down your writinglike having the same speaker drone on for too long. Almost all writers (including me) are in love with their own voices, but it can get very boring for the reader. That’s why it’s a good idea to break it up by letting someone else do the talking. As I already said, that’s done with quotes.

Nonfiction Writing
Let’s start with journalistic writing. Why? In my opinion, it’s easiest to add quotes to news or feature writing. You’ve interviewed a variety of sources (at least, I hope you have, otherwise you need a different article). Now all you have to do is pick the quotes that best tell your story. While that can seem daunting when you have a long interview, you’ll soon find it’s easy to separate the useful quotes from trashthe wheat from the chaff, as it were.

As you get more experienced with news writing, you’ll learn to weave quotes into your story or, even better, make them the foundation on which you build your story. If you’re not at that point yet, a good rule of thumb is to place a relevant quote every few paragraphs.

Voice aside, the biggest plus to adding quotes in nonfiction is that it lends authority to your writing, especially if your sources are credible experts in their fields. Finally, using quotes in nonfiction lends a special human touch to writing that, if the writer isn’t careful, can become too much about facts and figures.

Fiction Writing
It’s a little more difficult to add quotes to fiction. That’s not because it’s hard to make up things for your characters to say. It can be refreshing to be able to make people say whatever you want them to say. However, it is a challenge to make sure those quotes aren’t also in your own voice. If every character sounds the same, it makes your situation worse, not better.

On the other hand, if your characters are too overdone, the dialogue can become laughable. I’m sure you can think of an example from your own readingan Irishman with a brogue so stilted and behavior so stereotypical that the Irish wouldn’t have him, for instance. Anyway, you can see how tricky quotes in fiction can be. Still, if you achieve the right balance, it takes you work to the next level, making it worth every bit of the effort you put into it.

If you’re still shaky about using quotes in your writing, try this:

Write a scene, any scene, in straight narrative. That is, write it only from your narrator’s point of view. Then, go back and write the same scene, but this time describe the same scene using only dialogue. Tough? Probably. But it will help you refine your use of quotes so you’re comfortable using this powerful writing tool.

A Bonus Secret
Finally, I’ll tell you a secret…readers love white space. How is that relevant to quotes? No matter what genre, quotes generally add white space to the page. Pull almost any book off the shelf and look at a page of dialogue. Then compare it to a page of straight narrative. Doesn’t it look like less work to read? Readers think the same way. White space makes them think they can get through a page quickly, so they’re more likely to keep readingand that’s good for you!

Andrea’s writing background includes features, editorials, reviews, profiles, poetry and fiction. She was the winner of the MOTA short story contest in 2002 and received honorable mentions for fiction from Writer’s Journal magazine in 2002 and 2004. Check out her blog at http://creativewithwriting.blogspot.com.

A mini-course is fr*ee information on a specific topic. It is normally distributed as multiple articles in e-mail format over a defined period of time. The mini-course also goes by the name eCourse, free report or autoresponder course.

Before attempting to write your mini-course, identify a “niche market” that has a unique need for information. A niche market is a small segment of the total general market. It is a group of individuals with a common interest that have specific wants and needs. Individuals in a niche market may also have a common problem that needs a solution.

Creating a mini-course is similar to creating an ebook but on a smaller scale. You need to select a “killer” topic that is of interest to your niche market and satisfies a want or need or solves a problem.

There is an unlimited amount of information that can be used in a mini-course. The key is to know what information to use. What information do most people want? Individuals look for informational products that satisfy their most important wants or needs. This includes information on: how to do something, money, time, work, health, self-improvement, entertainment, hobbies and sex.

How can you find your killer topic?

• Listen to your customers. Look for problems they are experiencing when they communicate with you.

• Conduct a survey of your customers and the visitors to your website and ask for comments.

• Join niche discussion boards and chat rooms. What items are discussed on a repeating basis?

• Subscribe to article announcement lists in your niche and identify the key topics being published.

Next, look for common issues or problems in the information you have collected. Can you solve any of them? If not, locate an expert that can help you.

Identify creative and useful solutions to the issues or problems. Develop an outline to be used as a guide in writing your mini-course. Perform the necessary research to obtain the information you need for the mini-course. Present your information in a manner that satisfies the wants and needs or solves the common problem of your niche market.

You need to have a killer title to grab the interest of your visitors. Select a title that compels your visitor to want to see your report. You want your visitor to request the report, download it, read it and purchase your product offerings.

All of your work in creating the mini-course is of no use if nobody reads it. You want a title that reaches out and pulls the individual into downloading your course. Instead of using a title like “My Report on Golf ” use something like “How to Take Strokes Off Your Golf Game.” Which title is more likely to grab the interest of the high handicap golfer?

Once you have the attention of your audience you want to be able to keep them. The opening paragraph must excite your reader and make them want to know more. Use an opening sentence that pulls them into your report like “Everything you ever wanted to know about improving your golf game and more!” Your opening paragraph also needs to define the main objective that will be presented in your mini-course.

The course content is the most critical part of your mini-course. Make certain your information is presented in an organized and meaningful manner. Content can be presented to your readers in many different writing formats.

Some of the most common formats include:

• How-to-do something tutorial

• List of ways or tips to accomplish a desired objective

• Interview of one or more experts regarding your topic

• Narrative discussion of the issues at hand.

Whatever format you select, it must be easy to read and understand. Do not use difficult words or long sentences and paragraphs. Write in a straightforward manner. Let your personality show in your writing. People that are comfortable with your writing are more likely to buy from you.

Be careful in promoting your own products or affiliate products in the mini-course. The products and services promoted need to relate to the content you are providing. Blend the product or service promotions into your content so that it supports the content. Find ways to weave your product or affiliate program information into your content in a low-key manner.

Avoid outright blatant advertising except in the top sponsor, bottom sponsor and other designated areas of your articles. Blatant advertising in the wrong section will be a quick turn-off. Your mini-course will be viewed as a sales letter and probably not read. Keep your audience in focus. They are reading your mini-course primarily for the valuable content you promised to deliver in the beginning.

The last segment of your mini-course needs to provide a conclusion or closing section. Pull together what you have presented in the course and present your findings. It should satisfy the original objective of your course or provide a solution to the stated problem. Finalize the mini-course with words of value to your readers. Direct your readers to utilize the information you provided. Instill in them the desire to get involved and follow through with your conclusions or implement your solutions.

Organize the information into article segments of roughly 700 to 1,500 words per segment. Keep the length of the mini-course in the range of 3 to 8 segments. Try to avoid information overload and unnecessary padding in your articles. Determine the distribution cycle of the articles. In general, one segment should be delivered each day or every 2 days. Personally, I prefer once every 2 days to avoid overloading the recipient with too much information if they don’t check their e-mail on a daily basis.

The best way to distribute your mini-course is by autoresponder. Set up the autoresponder to automatically distribute your articles according to your defined time schedule.

Use the mini-course to promote yourself, your business and your products. It is fr*ee advertising. You can use the following methods to promote your mini-course:

• Include in the resource box of an article you wrote

• Include in your newsletter

• Include in your signature file

• Provide as a fr*ee bonus on the purchase of your product

• Place in an advertisement

• Provide as a promotional tool for your affiliates to use.

In conclusion, your mini-course should deliver valuable content to your audience with the side benefit of promoting your ezine and products. Create your mini-course with a clear picture of wants and needs of your audience. You have wasted your time and effort if the report has little or no value to your reader. Produce a quality mini-course and both you and your subscribers will benefit.

Best of success in your online business activities.

About The Author

Copyright © 2003 – F. Terrence Markle has worked for over 20 years with public and private companies. He has an MBA in marketing and finance. He has been involved with Internet-related businesses for over 3 years. His primary focus is the marketing of affiliate programs.

tmarkle@quiksystems.com

It is discovered that only sixteen percent of users tested who regularly surf the web for information actually read every word of an article. A whooping seventy nine percent just scan it. All they do is choose among the many words in front of them and pick out the relevant words, phrases or sentences.

But, there is an exception though. In the same test, it was also discovered that articles that enjoyed a more than one hundred percent usability rating were articles that were concisely written, well-researched and objectively presented.

For articles that were average in content and form, this is where text scanning is definitely usable. Articles such as these would be easier to scan via keywords that are highlighted or in a different color or typeface.

What would it take then for an article to be easily readable enough at the same time be considered important? The following are basic tips to apply to a written article and to make it appear clear and comprehensible.

Apply sub-headings

Make sure to use sub-headings that are meaningful. Take note that these sub-headings need to be more contextual than cute or clever. Though making it cute is nice, a sub-heading that is more applicable and apt for the article’s topic is a more superior and enjoyable read than one who is striving only for cuteness.

Use bullets

Bullets that are made out into a list are an easier read than a lengthy list of paragraphs. It makes the article readable as it is straight to the point. Bullets should be short and snappy and must deliver the real deal. Not winding statements that really do not go anywhere.

A paragraph per idea

Users of the web are a very harsh bunch. They want a good read, a good article, and they want one fast and they want one good. So a paragraph that contains more than one idea will more likely cause their eyes to glaze over and intentionally skip these ideas especially if they find the first few words, phrases and sentence in the paragraph as not worthy of their attention.

Being credible is incredible

Credibility is the key ingredient for making an article stand out among the hundreds and thousands that proliferate over the internet. Since the web is a free for all medium, the source of information for a specific article maybe unclear at times making it sometimes a bit difficult to trust.

However, there are ways to increase the credibility of a given article. One of the many ways is through graphics that are of good quality. Another way is through the creation of outbound links in hypertext. Through this method, a user is able to connect to a link of another similarly related article thereby giving to users the impression that the article’s author did good homework is not clearly afraid to show other users similarly themed sites.

Boast it not

Writing that promotes and exaggerates a certain product, information or subject and putting out claims that such a product is, “the best thing ever” is very prevalent on the internet.

However, such articles do very little in the user’s perception as they process that this detail is a mere overstatement if not embellishment.

The best way to do it

According to a test conducted in measuring the usability of articles submitted to sites, it has been discovered that articles which were written in a succinct manner, had features and key words that are easily scannable as well as a style that is objective enjoyed a whooping one hundred and twenty four percent user rating compared to articles that were promotional in style (those who exaggerate). This type of articles have a usability rating of zero percent. Meanwhile, articles that were just concise had a fifty eight percent of user rating. Articles that were strictly objective had a twenty seven percent of user rating.

In summary, the more credibly valid an article is the greater and higher the probability that users will be more attracted to it, as well as the site that carries it.

Mary Murtha has BLS and M. Div degrees majoring in biblical studies and ethics. She is an accredited author and publisher who started in the IM business in 1998 and started back up in Feb 2005. Her main passion is content and its availability. She has 18 sites that are specific niches, but her main web site is The content Corner, an Article Distribution Center that recently opened at: http://www.thecontentcorner.com

Writing different types of articles and tutorials for a site is by far the best way of gaining unique information on the Internet. Most users utilize this type of content within their own site and never think about the benefits using those articles on other sites, forums, message boards and other forms of communication on the Internet can be to them and their site. Articles and tutorial are a great way to drive targeted traffic to a web site, no matter the topic.

This type of promotion is also useful for product manufactures. Writing an in-depth product review and posting it on several web sites is a great way to reach millions of people and gain recognition for a product or service.

Writing articles is a great way to generate target traffic to a site and get gain long last referrals to a site. Most ezine sites will post a users article without thinking twice about it. They will then archive the article for a very long time. This keeps a back link and information about a user or company. Ezines aren’t the only place to post articles. Many specialty sites will allow article posting. These will also provide great back links to a site which will aid in SEO. Search engines are using back links as a major popularity ranker in how a site is ranked in a search engine.

Michael Plante manages Womens….Article Directory/Submission Site, located at http://www.go-article.com/womens We offer free author membership for article submission. If you are looking for even more free content, check out our sister site, http://www.go-article.com/readthis.

The Hero’s Journey is the template upon which the vast majority of successful stories and Hollywood blockbusters are based upon. In fact, ALL of the Hollywood movies we have deconstructed are based on this template.

Understanding this template is a priority for story or screenwriters.

The Hero’s Journey:

a) Attempts to tap into unconscious expectations the audience has regarding what a story is and how it should be told.

b) Gives the writer more structural elements than simply three or four acts, plot points, mid point and so on.

c) Interpreted metaphorically, laterally and symbolically, allows an infinite number of varied stories to be created.

and more…

Sample Movie Deconstructed: Platoon (1986)

FADE IN: text: “rejoice O enjoy young man in thy youth…”

Introduce Hero arriving in a New World: the body bags; “alright cheesedicks, welcome to the nam…;” “the faces of the returning soldiers…”

Overview of the New World: the jungle near the Cambodian border.

Pushed Forward: “hurry up…”

Warnings: “what are you afraid of?”

Meeting the Antagonism: Barnes: “you are one sorry sonofabitch Taylor,”

Meeting the Mentor:: Elias: “you’re humpin’ too much stuff, I’ll hump it for ya but next time, ask me first.”

Meeting Allies, Developing Characters and Relationships: the men during rest break…

Developing the Hero / Reflecting on the New World: Taylor: “I hate it here…”

Hero’s Status: he’s a new guy and nobody cares about the new guys.

Danger of the Journey: “if you’re gonna get killed n the ‘nam, it’s better to get it in the first few weeks…”

Meeting the Shape Shifter: O’Neill.

Pushed to the First Threshold / Developing Characters and Relationships: Barnes decides who will go out.

Guided by the Mentor: Elias takes care of Taylor.

Journey to the First Threshold: dark, wet, foreboding, dangerous.

Hero’s Backstory: Taylor narrates about his Mom, Pop, Gran, the men etc..

Physical Deformation on entering the First Threshold / beginning of the Transformation / Resurrection: Taylor is hit.

Developing the Antagonist: “take the pain,” Barnes kills a defenceless enemy.

Polarization: Barnes et al versus Taylor and Elias et al.

Polarization: O’Neil puts Taylor et al on toilet duty.

Meeting Allies / Developing Characters and Relationships: Taylor volunteered; smoking…etc.

Inner Cave [protagonists]: entering The Underworld and smoking marijuana.

Developing the Mentor’s familiarity with the Inner Cave: Elias shares smoke through the rifle barrel.

Inner Cave [antagonists]: Barnes’ barracks.

Developing Characters and Relationships: Barnes, O’Neill, the Lieutenant etc.

Rest Break: music in the protagonist’s Inner Cave.

Resistance to the Physical Separation: the bunker complex; “lets get outta here..”

Pushed to the Physical Separation: the bunker explodes; men dies.

Foreshadow of the Atonement Barnes stares Taylor down.

Pushed to the Physical Separation: a man is strung up.

Physical Separation: the village sequence; Taylor makes an innocent dance; killing the innocents; Elias and Barnes fight; they torch the village.

Trial 1: saving the girl from the gang rape; taking sides.

Polarization: Elias reports the illegal killing; the men take sides.

Foreshadow of the Sword: thinking about killing Elias.

Hero and Mentor Relationship: Taylor and Elias talk about the stars; losing the war.

Developing the Hero and the Situation: Taylor narrates; the civil war amongst the men.

Danger of the Journey: the leech, “don’t drink that asshole, you’re going to get Malaria…”

Danger of Trial 2 developed: the fire fight; the bombs.

Meeting the Oracle and the Knowledge of the Sword: Elias needs three men to circle around.

Trial 2: Taylor risks his won life to rescue Gator.

Antagonist developed: Barnes admonishes the Lieutenant.

Journey to the Sword: Elias goes down by the river.

Trial 3: Taylor “gets two of them fuckers…”

Journey to the Sword: “I’ll go get Elias…”

Threshold Guardians of the Sword: Elian Elias shoots the enemy as he glides through the jungle.

Resisting the Sword: Taylor runs after Barnes and Elias.

Seizing the Sword: Barnes shoots Elias.

Night Sea Journey: they are getting out with the helicopters.

Rebirth through Death: Elias Elias is alive; pursued by the enemy; dies.

Foreshadow of the Atonement (+growth): this time Barnes looks away.

Atonement with the Father: Developing the threat: “Barnes has been shot 7 times and he ain’t dead yet…” Barnes enters The Underworld; Taylor and Barnes fight; Barnes pulls a knife…”I shit on all of you…”

Apotheosis: “people like Elias get wasted and people like Barnes make up the rules…what can we do about it.”

Ultimate Boon: King is going home.

Developing the Antagonist: Barnes makes the soldier walk.

Refusal of the Return / Shape Shifter Decides: Barnes won’t let Red stay out of this one.

Magic Flight: King flies away.

Rescue from Without: the ambush starts.

Crossing the Return Threshold: Taylor decided not to DD; Taylor takes control; saves his partner from the hole; kills the enemy.

Final Antagonism: Barnes almost kills Taylor.

Master of the Two Worlds: Taylor survives and kills Barnes.

Freedom to Live: Taylor goes to hospital; Red gets 2 nd platoon.

FADE OUT: Taylor in the helicopter.

Learn more…

The Complete 188 stage Hero’s Journey and other story structure templates can be found at http://www.clickok.co.uk/

You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

Kal Bishop

**********************************

You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made and the author’s name and site URL are retained.

Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. His specialities include Knowledge Management and Creativity and Innovation Management. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached at http://www.clickok.co.uk/

If you’ve been on the Internet for a while, you’ve probably subscribed to a few ezines. Many ezine publishers will include an article written by a guest author. At the end of the article are a few lines of text about the author referred to as bylines or resource box. These lines of text are basically just an advertisement for the writer. They usually contain a couple of lines about the author and a web address.

The writer gives the publisher permission to publish their article, free of charge, in exchange for the publisher including the author’s bylines.

By writing articles and allowing them to be freely published, your articles will have the potential to be viewed by millions of Internet users. They may be published by several ezines with subscriber bases of a few hundred to several thousand. In addition, they may be displayed in ezine archives or on high traffic websites.

Most ezine publishers prefer short articles between 500 and 750 words. Short “tip” articles of just a couple of paragraphs are also very popular. Articles should be formatted to 65 characters per line or less, including spaces, and written in short paragraph sections.

When you begin writing your article, avoid using your standard word processing programs, as they do not allow for proper formatting. Instead, use a text editor such as NotePad. It should already be installed on your desktop.

When you begin typing your article, use a hard carriage return (hit enter) when your text reaches 65 characters, including spaces, and leave a space between your paragraphs. This will enable publishers to easily copy and paste your article into their publication. By taking the time to properly format your article, you will increase your chance of being published significantly.

Most publishers receive many article submissions each week and only select a few to be published. Here are some basic guidelines to assist you in getting published:

(1) Make sure you follow the publishers’ submission guidelines. Articles submitted to publishers that don’t follow the submission guidelines will most likely be deleted.

(2) Make sure your article is properly formatted. Publishers won’t take the time to format your article. They’ll simply delete it and move on to the next article submission.

(3) Keep your bylines down to 6 lines or less. Publishers will not publish articles that contain excessively long bylines.

(4) Select a descriptive title to intrigue your readers. Use a powerful headline that demands attention and try to keep it all on one line.

(5) Use proper grammar and spelling. Publishers will not take the time to edit your article. Make sure you read your article several times and use spellcheck.

(6) Avoid articles that are nothing more than a sales letter. Publishers want quality content and will simply delete an article that is written like a sales letter.

(7) Avoid referring readers to an affiliate URL. Articles containing affiliate links may make your article appear to be biased and untrustworthy.

(8) Write your articles with a sincere desire to teach and inform. Talk to your readers and share your expertise.

Once you’ve written your article, you’ll need to develop a list of publishers that may be interested in publishing it. The best way to accomplish this is to display your articles on your website. Place a subscription box on each of your article pages to enable your visitors to subscribe. This list should be used to send your new articles to your list of publishers.

In addition, you can visit some ezine sites to locate publishers who may be interested in your articles. A good place to start is eZINESearch.
http://www.ezinesearch.com

Search through the database for publications that may be interested in the type of article you’ve written.
Another great way to promote your articles is to submit them to article announcement groups. These groups enable writers to submit their articles to an entire group of publishers, completely free.

Article Announcement Lists:

Article Announce
Subscribe:
mailto:article_announce-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

AABusiness
Subscribe:
mailto:aabusiness-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

AAInternet
Subscribe:
mailto:aainet-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Articles Archive
Subscribe:
mailto:articles_archives-subscribe@egroups.com

Free Content
Subscribe:
mailto:Free-Content-subscribe@egroups.com

Make sure you review the submission guidelines prior to posting your article to an announcement group.

Here are some additional promotional resources to help you get published:

http://www.web-source.net/syndicator_submit.htm
http://www.authorconnection.com/
http://www.ideamarketers.com/
http://www.ezinearticles.com/
http://www.marketing-seek.com/
http://www.netterweb.com/articles/

Writing and distributing free articles on the Internet will be one of the best promotional decisions you’ll ever make. Not only will it provide you with free publicity, but if your articles are good, you’ll become a trusted professional in your area of expertise.

Copyright © Shelley Lowery

About the Author:

Shelley Lowery is the author of the acclaimed web design course, “Web Design Mastery” (www.webdesignmastery.com) and “eBook Starter – Give Your eBooks the look and feel of a REAL book” (www.ebookstarter.com)

Visit www.Web-Source.net to sign up for a complimentary subscription to eTips and receive a copy of Shelley’s acclaimed ebook, “Killer Internet Marketing Strategies.”

You have permission to publish this article electronically, in print, in your ebook, or on your web site, free of charge, as long as the author bylines are included.