A story arc is another word for "story structure," but this term goes back to Aristotle's conception of what makes an aesthetically pleasing story in Poetics. A classical story demonstrating dramatic structure generally has three parts:

1. The Inciting Incident - This part of the story sets things up, piques our interest and gives us a taste of what's to come.  The best stories begin "in media res," in the middle of things.
   
2. The second act - This part of the story builds through rising action unti...

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Sometimes professors (or bosses) request a précis on some book or journal article.  When I first started graduate school, I wasn't sure how to write a précis. By the time I left, I found the short summary paper to be an incredibly helpful tool for studying for comps and preparing for seminar classes. Below you will find step-by-step instructions for writing a successful precis for class (or work).

1. The very first step in writing a précis is reading the reference material carefully.  While re...

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Family can be a tricky thing.  They're always there when you need them, and they're always making things interesting for you.  In today's prompt, you will write a description of each member in your family.

Writing Prompt Rules

• Write for 15 minutes
• Don't stop writing
• Don't erase anything
• Don't cross anything out

As always, feel free to share in the comments section or by leaving a link to your own blog.

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It's almost time to start back at school.  Whether you are in high school, college, or graduate school, chances are that you will need at some point to write a research paper.  Sometimes our jobs require us to do research.  In this post, you will find the steps to successfully writing the research paper that will get you the grade you want.

1. Set up a time schedule.  That's right, the first thing you should do when you are assigned a research project is set up a schedule to complete your rese...
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I've been reading Carolyn See's book, Making a Literary Life.  I've gathered two new goals from it.  1) I will start writing at least 1,000 words a day and 2) I'm going to be writing what she calls "Charming Notes" - at least one a day five days a week.

The second goal is the one I want to talk about here.  I don't know why, but it never really dawned on me to write my favorite literary folk.  Some might think that this goal constricts the writing process, but for me, I feel so liberated.  Her...
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You've heard of the phrase, "Slaying Dragons" before.  Lots of people use it to refer to those people who go out and achieve in a highly competitive way showing courage.  What "dragons" would you like to slay given the chance? 

Writing Prompt Rules

• Write for 15 minutes
• Don't pick up your pencil
• Don't stop
• Don't cross anything out

Happy Writing!

(Oh and feel free to post your results here or links to your results in the comments section!)

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It's summertime.  Remember when you were younger and you would daydream of that summer love?  Or maybe you have a summer love right now.  Whatever the case may be, like in the movie Grease, these affairs are meant to be just a fling, but sometimes the feelings run deeper and it continues.  Today's writing prompt will be about summer love - and "what if's."  Take fifteen minutes to write about what if that "Summer fling" turned out to be something more.

• Don't pick up your pen
• Don't cross anythin...

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Since July 4th in the USA is the day we celebrate the independence of our country from imperialist Britain, it seems appropriate to have today's writing prompt concern the concept of freedom.  What does it mean to be free?  This is the question I would like you to answer in today's prompt.

Writing Prompt Rules:

• Keep your hand moving
• Don't cross anything out
• Don't pick your pen up
• Write for 10-20 minutes on the topic.  If you run out of things to say, try starting over with the sentence "Freedom r...

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This week I'm finishing up a book review, sending in a few encyclopedia articles, and putting together the production schedule for July.  I'll also be fine-tuning a brochure I've been putting together for Stan Levine's Mount Diablo Collection.

 There's not much to update from the update on the 26th, but I have had a few publications these past few days:

"The Computer That Stole My Life" - Urban Mainstream page 13

"How Can I?"  A Greeting Card

-and-

"Should You Hire a Tutor for Your Children's Lati...
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This past week I have been playing catch up.  Earlier this month, my mother was in ill health and I took an emergency trip to visit her.  Once I found out she's going to be okay, we returned home.  Our return home was short, however, because we had already scheduled a family trip with my in-laws to Disneyland.  It was a wonderful trip - but I'm now behind.

Projects on my task list include a book I am co-authoring with a colleague of mine, articles for Bright Hub, and blog entries for a new pro...
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Stephen Covey and other personal coaches advocate the use of a mission statement to help guide you in reaching your goals.  Writing a mission statement is not as difficult as you might think.  Follow the questions below to begin to construct your personal mission statement.

•  Ask yourself what you would like people to say about you after you've accomplished your goals. 
•  Where do you see yourself in five years?  Ten years?
•  If money were not an issue, what would you do?
•  How do you want to relate...

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I haven't posted for a week.  I was out of town due to a family emergency and when returning, I had to play catch up.  Well, now I'm "caught up" and I'm ready to get some work done.  Last night I finished a short story I've been working on, "Landslide."  I plan on revising that and submitting it to literary journals for publication.  I'm also working on revising some poetry for publication.  One of my big projects, the life science study guide is going to be underway again.  I'm also going to...
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This week, I'm working on wrapping up my May projects.  I'm finishing my Bright Hub articles for the month, and revising my encyclopedia articles for the Slavery and Anti-Terrorism projects.  I'm also excited to announce that a greeting card idea I had was accepted for production.  I'll update on that once it's released. 

Other exciting news involves a cover article at Urban Mainstream Magazine.  Find out whether "The Secret" might work for you on page 14. of this month's issue.

As always at t...
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I'm finishing work today on a ongoing PowerPoint Project.  Once that is done, I will be writing Bright Hub articles and finalizing revisions on encyclopedia articles I have been working on this month.

I'm also writing another article for an up and coming magazine - this one will be on art and special needs children.  Look for that this fall.  Finally, coming soon is an article I wrote for Urban Mainstream magazine on "The Secret." 

Since I was out of town for the first half of this week, it i...
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While it's May and not February (the time we usually think about love and romance in our country), the classic love letter is always appreciated by the beloved.  Forget about email for a moment.  Forget about applications like "HugMe" on FaceBook or MySpace.  What your beloved will truly treasure is a handwritten note, from you, telling him or her just how much you care.  In order to write that perfect "love letter," follow the steps below.

1. Find the right stationary.  You don't need anything f...

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It's the beginning of the month again, and for me, that means it's time to do some general housekeeping with respect to my Writing Research Editing projects.  At the beginning of each month, I consult my project list and update it.  This means taking off any client projects I have finished, updating next steps, and creating a schedule of when each item on my list will get done during the month.  My focus this month is on adding a few more client projects to my repertoire.

Here's a list of some...
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This week I'm finishing up work for a client.  I'm also working hard on my Life Science Curriculum.  My goal this week is to finish outlining the main characters for I'll See You Tomorrow and to start outlining the plot. I hope to update my philosophy blog at Philosopher's Outpost.

Of course, I'm also working on finishing up an article on Ancient Egyptian Artwork, an article on Maternal Ethics, an article on applying project management principles to every day task management, and a couple thin...
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This week I've been spending time with family in Denver.  I have managed to work on a few client projects, start a new article for an upcoming magazine release, and make progress on my Life Science Curriculum project.  Things have been pretty hectic with the start of the month.

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I've been working hard on a client project this week and on Bright Hub articles.  You can check out my most recently published  articles:

• Using Outlook's Journal to Increase Productivity This article describes how to use Outlook's journal module to increase productivity by tracking the time spent on various items - including other Office software. Also touched upon is using journal to write a daily productivity report.

  ...

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This week I've been working on a client project.  I've also been working on, you guessed it, Bright Hub articles.  Keep you eyes out for those coming soon. 

You may wish to read my article on talent agency scams in the latest issue of Urban Mainstream Magazine.

Other things I'm working on? A further article for the Motherhood Encyclopedia, articles for an encyclopedia focusing on slavery, and an article for an up and coming magazine that will be released this fall.

Stay tuned for more updates!
...
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I'm sorry the posts have been a bit slow here, I've been out of town.  This week I'm working on some Bright Hub Project Management articles.  I'm also working on some transcription work for a client and writing a few magazine articles.  Look for my new article on talent agency scams coming out March 20th in Urban Mainstream Magazine!

You can expect more posts on here in the near future!

For now, you can view some of my most recent Bright Hub articles:

The 5 Best Easy-to-Use ...
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Last week was quite busy for writing articles, and this week will be just as busy.  Here is a sample of my Bright Hub articles published in February:
   

• Review of OpenGoo Open Goo is open source software that project managers can use on their web browser- but is this software that would be helpful to you? Read this review and find out.

• Teaching Shakespeare to Elementary Students ...

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First, you may wish to cruise over to Urban Mainstream Magazine and take a look at pages 11 and 13.  On page 11 is an article I wrote titled "Entering the New Year in a New Recession" and on page 13 is an article titled "Universities in Crisis."  This week I am working on another article for this magazine's March issue.

As usual, I'm working on articles for Bright Hub this week.  Look for new project management software reviews and exciting articles on my Bright Hub home page. 

I am also begin...
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This week I'm working on a short story titled Landslide.  I'm revising some work for a client, and I'm starting work on new encyclopedia entries on the history of slavery.  Of course, I'm also working on some writing for Bright Hub, and a Valentine's Day story for Helium.  It has been a busy month thus far.       

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This week, my priorities include finishing up my work on the poverty brochure.  I am also writing a few new Bright Hub articles.  Finally I am finishing up an adventure I have been creating for Mind Flayer Games.

I would like to create some query letters for magazines, and work some more on my novel Night Song this week.  Also, I would like to create an article or two for Helium.

It promises to be a busy week!       



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This week I'm finalizing those Motherhood Encyclopedia Articles.  I'm also forging ahead diligently on the poverty project for a client.  The other main project of the week is writing a small adventure for a Role Playing Game company. 

While there are three projects I'm working on this week, it is a very busy week!  I hope to also get some work done on video game reviews for Bright Hub and some short articles for Helium.



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This week's priorities are the poverty project and the Motherhood Encyclopedia project that I am working on.  I'm also in the process of organizing everything for the new year.  I will be working on reviews of video games for Bright Hub in the coming weeks.  Finally, I am working on promotional materials for Stanimation Productions.



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With the holidays, the weeks have been a bit short around here.  This week I'm finishing up an article on wealth and poverty in America from the mid-1700's to the mid-1800's.  I'm also working on another project for a client.  These projects are right up my alley, since my primary focus as a graduate student in philosophy was social justice and societal ethics. 

Since the new year is coming up, I've been thinking about goals.  One thing I would like to do in the new year is wrap up Night Song...
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I apologize for not updating this blog sooner.  This past week has been quite busy.  I've had many Bright Hub writing assignments.  I finally put the "Italian Unabomber" and "Minutemen" articles to bed.  I've started up a few new projects as well.  This week I'm working on an article on wealth and poverty for a history encyclopedia, more Bright Hub articles, and motherhood encyclopedia entries.  I also am working on another project concerning poverty in Marin County and I will be scheduling i...
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This week is pretty much the same as last week.  I have many Bright Hub articles that will be up in the coming days.  I also am putting the finishing touches on two encyclopedia articles this week - one on the Italian Unabomber and one on the Minutemen - and finalizing research on my wealth and poverty article.  I may have a new client and I'm waiting for that to be finalized. I also plan on posting some new Associated Content writing and finishing my plot outline for Night Song.  Exciting th...
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It's that time of year again.  When the holiday season rolls around, we spend many more nights with friends and family, give and receive gifts, and donate our time. One of the most overlooked components of all of these activities is the thank-you note or letter.  Here is a list of times when a thank you letter would be appropriate:

• After an Interview
• After you have received any gift
• After you have enjoyed a meal at someone's home
• When someone has done you a favor
• After you have stayed at someone's...

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As I begin this week, I am getting ready to write articles for Bright Hub. I will be writing an article on great Playstation 2 games, several on project management topics, and several on home office topics.  Look for these in the near future.

Meanwhile, I'm finishing up work on my encyclopedia articles on the Italian Unabomber and the Minutemen.  I am also working on two articles for a great magazine called Urban Mainstream.  I'll have more information on these soon.  The final update is that ...
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Writing prompts are a great way to unleash your creativity.  In order to create suspense from the beginning of a story, begin things in the middle. 

    The rules for this prompt are:

•         Time yourself for 10 minutes.
•         Keep your hand moving.
•         Keep your pen on the paper.
•         Do not cross anything out.

Start your writing prompt with "While she knew...  she didn't know that..." 

What did she know?  How can you contrast this with what she did not know? 

Happy Writing!
...
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On this cold December 1, I'm working on a few pieces.  My priority today is to complete all research for encyclopedia entries I am working on.  The first encyclopedia I am working on is the Motherhood Encyclopedia.  The other encyclopedia is the Anti-Terrorism and Homeland Security Encyclopedia.  Both projects are very exciting.  You can understand why, then, good note-taking skills are on my mind.

Another exciting project I am working on is online programming reviews for Black Hole Online.  T...
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Writing prompts are a great way to tap into your creativity.  Here are the writing prompt rules:
 
1. Time yourself for 5 minutes.
2. Do not pick your pen up off the paper.
3. Do not cross anything out.
4. Aim to keep your hand moving.

Since yesterday was Thanksgiving, I'm going to use a Thanksgiving theme. Think of a problem you have been having in your life and then think of the things you are thankful and grateful for.  Then, start your writing with the following line:

    Even though (insert you...
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