Writing Effective (and Requisite) Essay Openers

When we write for college courses, we write for an audience other than ourselves. And it's an audience of more than one--the professor who assigned the piece. A good way to think of (and never forget) audience is to imagine we are writing the assignment for a popular magazine that sits in multiple copies on the shelves of an equally popular bookstore. For each magazine sold, pretend, we get a percentage.

Our goal, then, is to have as large and widespread a readership as possible--to hook as many browsers as we can--with an effective opener (also known as an introduction). We therefore must engage, first, before we entertain, educate, or inform.

First the Caveats and Comments on Ineffective (Bad) Openers

Writing Effective (and Requisite) Essay Openers

NO to SNORE openers - Forget burdening or alienating your readers with comments of how many people in many countries have many different ideas about life and society and all those other blah, blah, blah hard-to-wrap-the-brain-around opening commentaries...which really just send the reader off to find a more intriguing read.

NO to OBVIOUS - Similar to the snore generalizations, the obvious comments in an opener will have eyes (if not heads) rolling as readers take in the TV is mental masturbation or ads are used to manipulate us statements you can avoid--by using an old Marshall McCluhan quote or Cleo awards description, for example, instead.

NO to HYPERBOLE - Putting myself through school as a waitress, I had a number of regular customers who were writers, too, they said. They would talk at me all through my shift, reciting their best work. One insisted on reiterating his description of the verdant rolling hills that kissed the edges of the glistening waters at the feet of the majestic span of the Golden Gate Bridge...until I would get so mental I would fantasize about bringing the heft of the glistening glass coffee pot screaming down onto his head. In other words, do not exaggerate. Do not bring in heavy drama and description that will overwhelm and, again, alienate your readers. Stick with the truth. Stick with the openers that work.

We Use Modes for Engaging Openers...and I'm going to Use One Here, Out of Necessity...and Spite

I once read a how-to article on web content writing, on making a site that brings traffic (the attention of many). I had already begrudgingly given in to the understanding that web content writing is very different than academic writing--it has different goals, different audiences, and different elements that lend themselves to an 'A' piece of writing. In fact, it is so different that to write for the web we have to unravel all we have worked to weave, have to unlearn all we have learned as college English writers.

Don't Confuse Web Content/Writing and Academic Writing

So the writer of this article says to start web copy you skip the opener and go directly to the main point (what we in academia know as the thesis). Okay. This made sense, I thought, as web readers read differently: they read fast, they skim, they scan, they skip...to draw the most usable info in the shortest amount of time. (Probably the way you are reading now, hoping I get on with the point).

-I was with Mr. Web when he explained these facts.

-I was with him as he noted the research findings that back up the rationale for sacrificing good academic exposition for web text.

-And I was there with his tips and tricks, which were great...until he went too far, editorializing about writers who actually use openers:

He claimed that writers who rely on openers don't have "the courage" to just get to the point. So he lost me.

Don't Let Anyone Shame Your Learning Writing Tricks

We can adapt to just about any rhetorical style. We can adjust our notions of what makes for good writing. But we should balk when a how-to writer insults other methods of writing. We should even disregard implications of cowardice as unnecessary ad hominem attacks. False attacks. Fallacious and floppy and frivolous teaching. Screw that.

Readers of Academic Essay Writing Appreciate (even Prefer) a Good Opener

Openers in academic writing, whether in a creatively developed literary response or a historical survey, are imperative. They are a gentler way of drawing in, luring our readers. They are at first quite challenging to get right, but our mastering them--which is possible--has nothing to do with courage, which comes from the French word, "coeur," heart. We have plenty of heart. We're studying English, for hell sake.

Against my wishes, then, this page opens with a declaration and gets right to the point. At first. But it also has a "grabber" slipped in--because we're looking at grabbers and because, well, I can't help it. I want to model decent prose for you.

Samples of Effective Essay Openers by Mode/Type

Even better, I'll share with you some samples, written by my former students (who have granted permission for the use of their work as models):

****People Love Stories. We Love to Tell Stories. The Narrative Opener:

Once upon a time, during the era of slavery, whites were afraid of blacks, and the "word" was born. That's why someone came up with the "word." Two hundred years later around my sister's house, the children still use this "word". Sometimes I even hear myself say this "word." But guess what? I check myself and correct myself, because when you use the "word" to address someone, no matter who you are or what color you are, it is totally disrespectful.

The word: "nigger". (1)

****To Establish Credibility, Try a Sober, Scholarly Introduction. The Statistics/Facts Opener:

By the age of forty-four, 47 percent of American women will have had an abortion. (Day 6) To describe this statistic as anything other than a tragedy is to deny the sanctity of human life. The Christian abortion debate rests upon the moral and theological dimension[s] of this issue. To examine the moral dimensions of abortion without examining the social realm is to ignore the mutually dependent relationship that surrounds this debate. (2)

****Appealing to the Senses Lures and Keeps Readers Interested. The Descriptive Opener:

Rain is pelting my car relentlessly as I drive home from [XXX] College. Cars rushing on the freeway cause the water on the pavement to burst into a fine mist, surrounding each and every vehicle with a billowing sheet of opaqueness. Finally, I arrive in front of my little two-bedroom home. With a sigh of relief, I enter my living room.

Lately, this house has turned into a haven of safety, sheltering me as much from nature's elements as from the unpredictable and unprovoked malevolence I experience from one of my instructors. My dread is heightened by the fact that I appear to be the primary recipient of this teacher's outbursts of viciousness. Slowly, my gaze shifts across the room and comes to rest on the play I have to read for my English class. It is Mamet's Oleanna. I pick up the book and soon find myself drawn into the story. Quickly, it becomes clear to me that this play [deals with] the relationship between a teacher (John) and his student (Carol). While both characters show evidence of an interesting variety of behaviors, John mesmerizes me to a greater degree. I begin to wonder whether John displays symptoms of an underlying psychological disorder. (3)

Put the Readers in the Frame, Inside the Paper. The Direct Address Opener:

You are in the midst of a blazing inferno. Your mind is moving at the speed of light. Yet you are paralyzed by fear. The silence is deafening between the confinement of the four walls. You are no longer in control. You wonder how the communication between the members of the family has ceased, specifically between Mother and Father. Each passing day, only silence can be heard. The usual chatter at the dinner table is considerably lessened. It comes down to, "Pass the corn, please." Or one excusing oneself from the table. (4)

Advance Trust, Establish Authority from the Start. The Authoritative Quote Opener:

"Generations of students have studied calculus without ever seeing its power." This statement is found in an article by K.C. Cole titled, "Bringing Calculus Down to Earth," from The Los Angeles Times. I most certainly agree with Cole. At one point earlier in the course of the class (calculus), I was not sure about the use of calculus and the importance of it. Others like me, such as friends, felt the same way. For this reason, I would assume, I am doing this research. This research is for students like myself to realize that "there is something about calculus," as Cole states in the article.... (5)

Keep with the Traditional "Show, Don't Tell" Lesson. The Example Opener:

Sex is great. To me, it is all about feelings and experiences--the feeling of flesh against flesh, the experience of orgasm after orgasm. Sometimes, even, there is that feeling of being special, wanted, and loved. I suppose my parents had sex. It is not really an image I like to bring to mind. But when my father has sex with someone other than my mom, how am I supposed to feel then? (6)

Engage by Asking for the Readers' Opinion and Thoughtful Participation. The Profound Rhetorical Question Opener:

Is the play, True West, written by actor/writer Sam Shepard, a sublimation of his own sibling rivalry or a rationalization of one? He writes of two brothers who are equal in intelligence but opposite in character. The older brother lives by his wit and the younger by his pen. In his unique style, Shepard uses many symbols describing the keen emotions that make up these two brothers. He also uses metaphors that reel you, the audience, into the depths of anger, pain, and the reality of life.... (7)

Finally, the Encouragement of Effective (Good) Openers

YES to APPROPRIATE introductory material. That is, use an opener that is relevant to your essay topic. Use an opener that fits the material. For example, a definition of alcoholism (which might work if you were writing a book) might be too clumsy for a cause and effect paper studying the influences of alcoholism on the family.

YES to APT openers. Do the modes that you are best at writing. And do what you best like doing. Write what works for you, your audience, and your assignment.

YES, modes overlap. A narrative opener will have descriptive details. A quote may be combined with statistics and facts. But instead of tripping on what the exact boundaries are between modes or types of writing passages, focus on the specifics of one type of opener as you understand it. The rest will be bonus material that merely enhances your style.

And YES to engaging, alluring introductions that lead your readers in to the place where your thesis/opinion sits waiting to declare your bold, informed truths. Which should never be denied or neglected...any more than your audience should be.

End Notes

(1) Bronson, A. "The Word."

(2) Roncella, L. "Judging Abortion."

(3) Prince, U. "Who Cares? [A Study of Oleanna]"

(4) Tolosa, W. "Dark silence."

(5) Pham, D. "Calculus as a Necessary Tool."

(6) Guiterrez, R. "Dad, Why Cheat?"

(7) Stark, C. "[...a Study of the Psychology of True West]."

Writing Effective (and Requisite) Essay Openers
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N.H.-born prize-winning poet, creative nonfiction writer, memoirist, and award-winning Assoc. Prof. of English, Roxanne is also web content and freelance writer/founder of [http://www.roxannewrites.com], a support site for academic, memoir, mental disability, and creative writers who need a nudge, a nod, or just ideas…of which Roxanne has 1,000s, so do stop in for a visit, as this sentence can’t possibly get any longer…….

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Public Speaking - 5 Tips for Getting Past the Ums And Ahs So Your Message Gets Through Loud & Clear

Public speaking is a powerful way for a solo professional or small business owner to market your business. So is presenting teleseminars. But what happens when you get stuck saying too many ums and ahs? Should you quit speaking in favor of other marketing methods? Here is an actual panicked message I received from a client followed by my response:

"Help! I just listened to myself speak on a recording and I had to stop it within a minute. The Ummmss and Ahhhss were horrendous -- 4 or 5 within that time frame! I plan to conduct many teleseminars and do public speaking and this just has to stop now."

Here are the top 5 most effective ways to get past the ums so your message comes through loud and clear:

Public Speaking - 5 Tips for Getting Past the Ums And Ahs So Your Message Gets Through Loud & Clear

1.Practice Out Loud

If you have a tendency to um and uh, the reason is often because you have an idea of what you want to say next, but you're not totally certain. So you insert a verbal filler to fill the space while you figure out the next word. Practicing out loud will get you to the point where you are completely comfortable with what you're saying, and therefore not have the need to um or uh (or at least greatly reduce it). If you plan on delivering the same material multiple times, you'll have to practice much less often as you gain more experience. If you can, record yourself while practicing so you can hear where you tend to um and uh the most.

2. Work From Detailed Notes and Not a Script

You'd think a word-for-word script would make it easier to stop the ums... and it can. But only if you have experience making a script sound natural. Otherwise you'll sound like you're reading. That's the opposite extreme of um and uh and sounds just as bad.

3. Be Aware

This is important. Many people have no idea they rely on verbal pauses or disfluencies until they hear themselves on a recording. The first step in overcoming from any addiction is to recognize and acknowledge you have one. And truly, people who say um and uh too much are addicted to their crutch words. Simply knowing you make this mistake will get you that much closer to stopping it.

4. Pay Attention

Listen to yourself as you present your speech or teleseminar. Do not think about anything else other than what you are saying, how you are saying it and your audience: IN THAT MOMENT. People will um and uh when they are distracted from their planned comments. For example, while on a teleseminar, shut down your email and other instant message features so you won't be visually interrupted (sometimes just the sound of those things can distract you enough to trigger an um.) Don't try to multi-task while leading a call or doing any type of presentation.

5. Connect with Your Audience

Here's a fun test to do the next time you're practicing with a friend: try to say um while making direct eye contact. It's nearly impossible. Why? Because you're having a conversation and um isn't a word. Um doesn't fit and doesn't make sense. While you're having a 1:1 conversation, you would likely avoid um and uh. Make your presentations much more conversational and your um and uh will disappear.

Is it crucial to get rid of all the ums and uhs? Experts disagree, but in my decades of experience as a speaker, audience member, and instructor, I haven't thought less of a speaker who had outstanding content with an occasional um or uh. You don't have to eliminate every um and uh when the rest of your message is solid. The time to get concerned is when your audience is listening for your next um instead of paying attention to your message. So fix what you can, give yourself a break, and um, keep on public speaking.

Public Speaking - 5 Tips for Getting Past the Ums And Ahs So Your Message Gets Through Loud & Clear
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Public speaking is one important way to increase your credibility as a small or home-based business owner. I invite you to discover how to Increase Business by Communicating Your Credibility now. You'll get this FREE e-course designed to help you attract more business and get more cash flow. Pick it up here: http://www.communicationtransformation.com/creating-credibility-ecourse.html

If you'd like to learn more about using public speaking to market your business, visit [http://www.CashInOnSpeaking.com] . You'll learn everything you need to know from how to choose a topic, how to best organize your speech to get instant results, and where to go to get booked to speak.

Felicia J. Slattery, M.A., M.Ad.Ed. is a communication consultant, speaker & coach specializing in training small and home-based business owners effective communication skills so they can see more cash flow now.

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Public Speaking - 3 Simple Ways to Make Your Speeches Interactive for Best Results and Credibility

Public speaking is a powerful way to market your business. But even if you're not a solo professional, entrepreneur, or small business owner, you can benefit from having a solid presentation when you speak to any group. The next time you have any type of presentation for your business or career, try this:

Make it interactive.

Audiences love to "play along" and participate with you. When your audience members get to interact, they feel included in your presentation and you'll develop a better rapport with the audience as a result. When you develop a better rapport with your audience, you get more positive results.

Public Speaking - 3 Simple Ways to Make Your Speeches Interactive for Best Results and Credibility

Further, by involving your audience you show your credibility. Speakers who take comments and allow the audience to participate during a planned speech demonstrate a level of comfort with the material. You are clearly an expert when you can interact with people about your topic, rather than sticking like glue to your prepared notes.

There are a number of ways you can involve your audience in your presentation.

One simple suggestion to get the audience's involvement is to ask for questions. One caveat here: don't do this in your attention-getter. Asking a question for which you'd like a response at the very beginning of your presentation as the first words you say is a mistake. Wait until the audience is warmed up a bit and knows more about your topic before you draw them in. When is a good time to ask questions? Try this:

1. In between main points, which will also serve as a nice transition. Try asking, "Is there anything you were wondering while I was presenting that information?" Or "Tell me what came up for you as I talked about my first point."

2. After you tell a story you could ask, "What would you have done in the same situation?"

3. During your conclusion before you wrap things up. Provide a review of the main points you covered in your body and then say, "With all that information, you may have some questions. What can I tell you more about?"

Simply asking a few questions can lead to positive interactions with your audience members during your presentations. Remember the more willing you are to interact with your audience during your speech, the more willing individual audience members will be to interact with you when your speech is over.

Public Speaking - 3 Simple Ways to Make Your Speeches Interactive for Best Results and Credibility
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Public speaking is one important way to increase your credibility as a small or home-based business owner. I invite you to discover how to Increase Business by Communicating Your Credibility now. You'll get this FREE e-course designed to help you attract more business and get more cash flow. Pick it up here:

http://www.communicationtransformation.com/creating-credibility-ecourse.html

If you'd like to learn more about using public speaking to market your business, visit [http://www.CashInOnSpeaking.com]. You'll learn everything you need to know from how to choose a topic, how to best organize your speech to get instant results, and where to go to get booked to speak.

Felicia J. Slattery, M.A., M.Ad.Ed. is a communication consultant, speaker & coach specializing in training small and home-based business owners effective communication skills so they can see more cash flow now.

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What is Content Writing & Why Has it Become So Popular?

What Is Content Writing?

Content writing is a serviced offered mainly to website owners and businesses, and many countries in the world have seen the benefits of this service, using it positively for their company. Content writing itself can come in many forms and companies that offer it can write about one specific category or a broad range, usually the ones that target a certain niche such as sport will be more focused and knowledgeable on that area than those that try to write about every possible category, so you will be getting your money's worth.

Why Is Content Writing So Popular?

What is Content Writing & Why Has it Become So Popular?

Its main use is to save webmasters a lot of time by writing out content for the websites, so instead they will produce a brief and outsource the job to a professional content writer who will research the given subject and complete the assignment for you. Content writing itself is quite cheap but with so many people offering this a service you do need to make sure the company or person is legitimate and that there prices are reasonable. As a guide, £7 - £10 for 250 words of content for web copy, articles and blog posts/news pieces is an excellent price and if you are going to a company that specialise is one certain area of expertise then you may pay a little more, but then you will know the quality and experience on that subject will be higher than elsewhere.

What Types Of Content Writing Is There?

Content writing isn't just for website copy though, a lot of business and individuals will ask for articles, blog posts, press releases and many more forms of the service.

For example if you wanted daily news pieces on topical subjects consisting of 150 words a day, these will be classed as blog posts and at many content companies they will gladly do this every day of the working week for you and in some instances offer an attractive price if you are passing work their way for a long period of time. Press releases and articles are quite similar, the first holding more editorial quality than the latter but still, you can expect 350 - 600 words for a good article.

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For more information on the different types of Content Writing Services available feel free to take a look at Finance Talks Limited who offer web content writing for the financial sector. Here you will find a detailed write up of the services available and a competitive pricing structure.

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Writing Your Life Story - Tips And Techniques For Success

Once a luxury of the rich and famous, technology has, for the first time in history, made it possible for anyone to capture, share and preserve their most precious life stories. With the advent of computers, the Internet, digital photography, video, and audio, anyone can capture the richness and texture of their life stories. These personal histories will be appreciated by family, friends, and future generations.

Today it is possible to easily blend the art of traditional biography and memoir with powerful new technologies into a new form of individual life storytelling: the personal life history. Personal life histories are satisfying to create. And, because of the interactive multimedia possibilities inherent in computers and the web, a well-done personal life history can be rich and fully rounded in ways that are impossible to achieve in text-only memoir or biography. But most importantly, personal life histories preserve vital individual and family stories. And, when properly done, they will last for generations.

In this article you will discover how to use time-honored life story writing techniques along with the latest technologies to create a story that is uniquely "you."

Writing Your Life Story - Tips And Techniques For Success

The Art of Traditional Life-Story Formats

For anyone interested in creating their own autobiography, memoir or personal life history, it is important to understand the distinctions between these forms of telling one's own life story. To over-generalize for a moment, an autobiography is more fact-based, while a memoir is more emotion-based.

Autobiographies are written by the subject, sometimes with the collaboration of another writer. Autobiographical works take many forms, from intimate writings made during life that are not necessarily intended for publication (including letters, diaries, journals, memoirs, and reminiscences) to the formal autobiography. Interestingly, the autobiography format does not necessarily have to be true. It may also be a literary fictional tale.

Memoirs are a form of personal recollection that has grown enormously in popularity in recent times. Memoirs often focus on more subjective recollections such as memories, feelings, and emotions and are generally written from the first-person viewpoint. The memoir is often focused on capturing certain meaningful highlights or moments.

In his own Memoir, Palimpest, Gore Vidal writes that "a memoir is how one remembers one's own life, while an autobiography is history, requiring research, dates, facts double-checked."

Memoirs usually focus on a brief period of time or a series of connected events (an autobiography covers a longer time period). In a memoir, the writer is usually retrospective, and contemplating past events. Memoirs may incorporate the techniques of storytelling such as setting, plot, conflict, character development, foreshadowing, flashback, irony or symbolism. And lastly, writing one's memoir often has a therapeutic effect for the writer.

Oral History Recordings

An oral history is a verbatim transcription of an interview, left in the narrator's exact words. These are usually left in a question-and-answer style and are an economical way to preserve family stories. A recording system with a good-quality microphone and a quiet spot free from interruptions are all that is really needed to capture an oral history. It helps to have questions prepared in advance of the interview.

Oral histories are usually recorded using analog tape or digital recording equipment, but it is also possible to record directly into a personal computer. Oral histories are often transcribed (typed or word processed) into a document format. The conversational style is appealing for its easygoing informality.

Caveats: Recording formats and standards are constantly evolving and could become difficult or impossible to play back if the equipment becomes obsolete. Taped recordings decay over time.

Video History Recordings

Do-it-Yourself: At the basic level, it's easy and fun to create a basic video history. Camcorders are relatively inexpensive, and many computers today come with basic editing software. Capturing a good video history shares all of the same prerequisites as an audio recording: a quiet spot, with questions prepared in advance. Plus, you will want an uncluttered background, flattering lighting, and right clothing to improve the quality of the end product. White shirts, pants or dresses, for example don't show up well on video. Likewise, busy patterns can be distracting. Solid light-colored neutrals or pastels are usually safe.

Professional videographers: A large number of professional video companies specialize in the creation of life story productions. Productions may range from a 10 or 15 minute short to an hour or longer mini-movie, complete with titles, music, and other Hollywood-style effects. Naturally, you'll pay more for a professional production than a homegrown effort.

When selecting a professional use all the usual smart-consumer tips. Ask for references. Ask to see samples of prior work. Get all costs, production timetables and commitments in writing. It's delightful to have movies of an individual or family. When well-executed they often have entertainment value and are great for special occasions.

Caveat: As with audio recordings, formats change over time, and media can degrade, even with proper storage methods

The Integration of Art and Technology: Web-Based Personal Life Histories

Just in the last few years, the Web has emerged as a powerful new medium for creating and sharing life stories. On the web it is not only possible, it is enjoyable and easy to create a rich multimedia story with text, photos, audio and video. This is the new format of the personal life history.

Web-based personal life histories enjoy several advantages over paper-based publishing, audio, video, or even CD life stories. Specifically, Web-based publication is updateable-one can add new information at any time. It is easily shareable among friends or family. The most advanced sites offer choices of privacy and security protection. The web is also multimedia, meaning you can add text, photos, audio, and video. Photos, audio, video are never lost, damaged destroyed. An finally, many sites offer print-on-demand, allowing you to create instant books. The books may be printed on your home printer, or sent out to small-run publishers. If you choose the small-run option, be sure to specify archival quality paper.

One of the biggest advantages of web publishing is the ability to build community around similar interests, occupations, backgrounds or life events. For example, a WWII veteran pilot who posts his story to the Web and makes it available to the public may be contacted by long-lost friends, other veterans, students, historians, museum personnel, or others interested in this pivotal chapter in American history.

Why Create Your Personal Life History?

Mark Twain once said: "There was never yet an uninteresting life. Such a thing is impossibility. Inside everyone, there is a drama, a comedy, a tragedy."

A personal life history can be as short as a few pages, or several volumes in length. Whatever the length or medium, it requires thoughtfulness and sometimes quite a bit of work to accomplish. But the work is worthwhile because it has the ability to influence generations ahead. Your personal life history may leave a legacy for your children and grandchildren. As with memoir, writing a personal history allows you to examine and reflect on your life up to the present day. It lets you add your story to the larger historical record of your family, city, and country. And lastly, if you don't do it, who will?

Start with a Timeline of Life Chapters

How does one start to tell the story of a life that may cover 60, 70, 80 years or more? Often it's helpful to create a chronological timeline of major events in your life. It helps to jot down a few notes around key phases in your life. In fact, you may already be thinking of your life as a book, with separate, distinct chapters built around important life episodes.

Of course, not everyone's life follows an identical chronological sequence, but here are a few ideas for chapter headings for your book or story. GreatLifeStories.com uses the following "chapters" to organize life stories:

o Your Beginnings

o In Your Neighborhood

o School Days

o Off to Work

o Romance and Marriage

o War and Peace

o Triumphs and Tragedies

o Words of Wisdom

o Humor

o Words of Gratitude

The chapter system is very flexible. For example, you don't have to start your life story with the days of your birth and youth. Perhaps you had a fascinating experience during the war. As with a movie, you might open your life story with that "scene," then tell the story how you got there.

Once you've got an idea for the "flow," of your story, here are some more specific guidelines to help add color, texture, and authenticity:

Just start writing! Do a mind dump. Get it out of your head and down on paper, the computer, the tape recorder, wherever. Don't worry about how it sounds. Just write. Resist the temptation to edit yourself; there will be time for editing later. Be yourself. Don't worry if your grammar or spelling isn't perfect. Write it as you would say it.Honesty is everything. The best writing tells it like it happened. Include humor. Favorite jokes, stories, anecdotesDetail, detail, detail. What kind of floor did the kitchen have? What color was the scarf she wore when you first met? Go at a comfortable pace. Don't try to capture an entire lifetime in a single session of furious writing. Write, allow time to reflect, and return again to writing. Consult others. Family members and friends can be invaluable sources of facts and interpretation.Use photos to jog your memory. Tip: Set out photos in a timeline of your life, starting from your very youngest days, and moving through current times. Write or record to your visual storyboardLook for themes in your life. Themes are broad ideas that are central to your life. Did you always want to be a pilot? A preacher? Own a restaurant? Be a farmer? Tell the story of how you met your goal, or how the goal changed to something else totally unexpected.

Here are just a few other thematic life story possibilities: a. The Spiritual quest b. The Confession c. The Travelogue d. The Portrait e. The Complaint f. Humor g. The Family history h. The Road to Recovery i. War Story j. Romance

Another Option: Hire a Professional

Most of this article has been focused on creating the do-it-yourself personal life history. There is, of course, the option of working with a professional. The right professional writer or videographer is a highly skilled interviewer and has the proper tools and equipment. And, believe it or not, it is sometimes easier for someone to open up in front of a stranger rather than in front of a family member.

There are many approaches to working with writers or videographers. However, there are a number of similarities in common. The writer/videographer often:

1) Meets with you to determine the scope and cost of the project.

2) Usually sets up taped interview sessions. Depending on your objectives, these may be an hour or two, or 10, 20 hours or more.

3) The recording is transcribed and edited with your input and guidance

4) Once a final manuscript/movie is agreed upon, it may be sent out for printing or duplication.

5) For books, personal history professionals recommend archival bindings and acid-free paper for longevity

6) You receive the number of books/movies agreed upon in your contract.

7) Be sure to discuss services, fees and end products in advance, and get all agreements in writing.

Thanks to high technology, the art of capturing and preserving the stories from one's own life is now open to more people and easier than ever before. A new genre of personal storytelling is emerging that draws on the literary traditions of the autobiography and memoir, while adding audio, video, and web technology to create personal life histories. On the Web, these personal stories personal life histories are multimedia, collaborative, shareable, and instantly updateable.

Enjoy capturing your life story!

References and Further Reading

Web Sites:

http://www.greatlifestories.com

Associations:

The Association of Personal Historians is a 600+ member organization of professional personal historians who create life stories in all formats: text, audio, video. http://www.personalhistorians.org

How-to Books:

There are many good books filled with different approaches and tips for writing a personal life history. Here are just a few:

Daniel, Lios, How to Write Your Own Life Story

Rainer, Tristine, Your Life as Story Books

Roorbach, Bill, Writing Life Stories

Writing Your Life Story - Tips And Techniques For Success
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Mike Brozda is one of the founding members of the GreatLifeStories team. A veteran journalist, he has more than 30 years experience writing for national and international publications. He has also created more than 150 personal life histories for people across the US, Canada, and Mexico. Contact him at mike.brozda@yahoo.com

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Article Writing And Bullet Points

Many people have problems writing articles because they have trouble getting their thoughts organized. Ultimately, they end up going from one random idea to another with no real direction, thus resulting in the article coming off as a jumble of ideas and not at all coherent. In this article, we're going to discuss the easiest way to get through the writing of an article on any topic; the use of bullet points. We'll explain what a bullet point is, how to use it and finish with examples. Hopefully, after reading this article, you'll know how to use bullet points to effectively write all of your articles.

A bullet point is a specific idea to be discussed. For example, in writing an article about identifying home business scams, the bullet points may be as follows:

1. What a scam is.

Article Writing And Bullet Points

2. How to identify a scam.

3. What to do if you suspect you've been scammed.

These are three bullet points that you could use to write your article on identifying home business scams. Each bullet point would be a specific paragraph or section of your article. A well written article only needs to have about three or four paragraphs in addition to your introduction. So three or four bullet points should be more than sufficient to get your point across.

So, how do you go about using bullet points? Well, bullet points should be used in your introduction, just as I did in this article. If you go back to my introductory paragraph, you should be able to easily spot the bullet points. If not, here they are below.

1. What a bullet point is.

2. How to use it.

3. Finish with examples.

By doing this,. I have a clear path for my article to follow so that it flows smoothly.

Finally, we reach the third bullet point in this article, the examples. Okay, here is an example of an introductory paragraph on buying designer shoes. Mind you, I really don't know anything about designer shoes. I'm using this point to illustrate that even for a topic you know nothing about, you can still organize your thoughts in a way that makes researching the topic very easy.

Here is our paragraph.

Many people are into designer shoes because they want to have the latest in fashion. However, for those of you who aren't quite sure how to go about getting designer shoes, this article should give you a head start. We'll discuss what designer shoes are, where to find them, how to know if you're paying too much and finally what some of the top designer shoes are.

Okay, what are our bullet points?

1. What designer shoes are.

2. Where to find them.

3. How to know if you're paying too much.

4. What the top designer shoes are.

There you have it. Those are enough bullet points to fill up four paragraphs of an article.

By using bullet points in your articles, it makes the art of article writing a whole lot easier.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Article Writing And Bullet Points
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Want to write killer articles? Want your bios to sizzle? Want to get people flocking to your site like bees to honey? Check out a book that I personally wrote called "The Complete Article Writing And Marketing Guide" which you can find at http://www.honestincomeprogram.com/tcawamg.html along with a boat load of testimonials.

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