How to Handle Criticism

When it comes to criticism in your life, usually either through a family or job situation, there is more than one way to handle it. In this article, I will discuss some ideas on how to handle criticism in a healthy way.

1) First, before anything else you need to determine the motivation of the person giving you criticism.

This is extremely important because it's the difference between someone trying to correct you because he or she cares about you and someone who just wants to tear you down for some reason. If your emotions are tense, it may be hard to be objective about this at first. Give it some thought however.

2) Realize that no one is perfect and that mistakes happen.

If there's something about the criticism that can help you improve, try to approach it with as positive of an attitude as possible because it may make you better even in a small way. The important thing is not to take it so personally that it discourages you from moving forward.

3) Realize that not everyone is going to share your point-of-view on things.

If you make pleasing everyone your main goal, you're honestly going to have a hard time accomplishing anything significant in life. You can look at any famous or successful person when they were in the process of achieving something, and almost all had their share of critics. Don't expect to be able to handle it overnight, but over time it does get less emotional when it happens to you.

More Tips:

• If you're in a leadership position, it's better to build people up and encourage them on a daily basis than constantly criticize. This way when you do have a suggestion, you've built up respect from showcasing what that same person has done right.
• A book that really helped me when it came to the relationship between success and encountering critical people is called The Dreamgiver by Bruce Wilkerson. It's a great book if you've never read it.

How to Start a Personal Journal

People start personal journals for many reasons, and they're very worthwhile in helping you focus your thoughts and goals in life. In this article, I'll share some ideas and tips in starting a personal journal.

1) Select Your Journal and Supplies

I still have spiral-bound notebooks that are over 15-years-old from when I was a kid that are in good condition. They work fine as long as you pick one without perforated pages and use a dark-colored pen as opposed to a pencil or light ink. As my writing has changed however, I've switched over to hardback journals.

2) Got writer's cramp?

If you need some inspiration, try searching "personal journal prompts." You'll find wide variety of resources that are free.

3) If this is your first journal, consider taking a few pages to do some autobiographical information.

Later on you may want to pass on family history to your children and grandchildren or use it to write stories or even books.

4) If you're looking for an on-line option, Writing.com is a good site that has the ability to set items you write to either public or private.

I like their site because you can access it from multiple locations (as long as there's an Internet connection) as opposed to accidentally leaving a journal at home. I basically do a combination of both.

5) What's very important in all of this is establishing a habit of writing as soon as possible.

When you get used to writing on a daily basis, it does become easier. It also helps you in venturing into writing for profit if that's a goal you'd like to have.

More Tips:

• When I first started out, I didn't worry as much about spelling and grammar as much as getting my thoughts on paper. If it's personal and only something only you're going to read, you're going to get better at these naturally over time. Just don't let them keep you from enjoying the process.
• Have fun with this. I used to think writing was a chore (mainly because of some teachers I had), but fortunately I also had teachers that showed how rewarding writing can be for your life.

How to Write and Sell an Ebook

When I first started writing for profit, the idea of creating ebooks was very appealing to me. I just didn't really know how to do it. In this article, I'll show you one option you can take. It's not the only way to do things, but it's a way I know that's legitimate and helpful.

1) Obviously, you're going to need to have an idea or some existing material in mind to do this project.

For me, I had some short stories on a site called Writing.com. Basically on that site, people could read my work for free. After I had written 14 short stories, I decided I wanted to combine them into a book and if possible, an ebook that could be instantly downloaded.

2) At this point, there are a lot of options out there available to you.

After I did some research, I personally decided to look into a site called Lulu.com. Basically they're publishing on demand, meaning you don't have to put up money to be in their system and sell copies of your books and ebooks. Lulu and sites like it make money when something sells, and the percentage isn't bad considering many of the people who've bought my books I've never personally met (one even lived in Singapore!). My general recommendation however is be very careful when it comes to your money and finding a distribution source. There are scams out there, as well as good opportunities.

3) Lulu and similar sites like it have templates where you can upload a Microsoft Word copy of your work and have it formatted to an Adobe Reader download.

I recommend this because it works with a lot of different electronic readers as well as most computers since the program itself is free.

4) If you do self-publish, keep in mind that your marketing is primarily in your own hands.

This can actually be a good thing if you enjoy it. I personally keep my marketing very simple. I have a blog and just write in a lot of different areas to where there's at least some name recognition and hopefully the realization I put a lot into what I'm doing. You just have to be patient, and good things will happen for you if you're persistent.

More Tips:

• Even if you don't consider yourself a writer, there's a high demand for knowledge in a lot of different areas. Give it some thought because you may have something to offer that other people would like to know more about.
• Unless it's a copy of an actual print book, I'm learning to keep ebooks shorter due to people read them during shorter time spans.
• Don't assume that if you just write the book that people are going to flock to buy it. Writing the book is about 50% of the work and marketing is about the other 50% when it comes to making an income doing this.

How to Make Money From Writing Online

If you love to write, you may have thought about it as a way to make money and have fun at the same time. In this article, I will discuss a few ideas you may want to explore that could earn you some extra cash!

1) If you enjoy doing shorter works such as articles, there are now several sites on-line where you can earn money based on how many hits your article receives and the type of topic you write about.

Ehow.com is a great site to start with when it comes to How-to articles, and I've had a wonderful experience with them. Two other sites I know are legitimate are Helium.com and Associated Content. All three pay you through PayPal.

2) If you want to set your own price on an article for other sites to buy (exclusive or non-exclusive rights), Constant Content is a good site to consider.

Just realize you'll have to be patient and will likely need to produce a bulk amount of material to make regular sales.

3) If you've ever wanted to self-publish a book or e-book, the best site I've found for this is Lulu.com.

The great thing about them is they're publishing-on-demand. I've never had to pay anything upfront since I've worked with them, and you only have to make $5 in sales before they send you a royalty, again through PayPal.

4) I'm fairly new in this field, but overall what I've found works is keeping your own rights to your work and giving multiple sites non-exclusive rights to sell or display your work.

This way you can do the work once and try it out on different outlets. It's amazing how on one site an article will make you a small amount of money while on another it will make you a lot! It all depends on the topic of the article.

5) Hubpages is a little more complicated to set-up, but it's worth checking out.

They don't pay you directly but allow you to set up affiliates including Google Adwords (pays you based on hits to the pages), Amazon's affiliate program, and eBay's affiliate program. I really like them so far.

More Tips:

• Making a decent income by writing on-line takes time, but it is possible to do. Considering the price of gas and other costs involved with most jobs, this is a very viable work-at-home option if you're willing to be patient and do the work. Just realize it may take you a year or two to get it off the ground.
• Check with your tax accountant to find out what you need to keep track of if you want to transition into self-employment (I could tell you, but since I'm not a professional in that area I think it's better to consult them).
• Another fun thing I've found is that when people find out you write for websites, they'll ask you for write content for their business or organizational website. This can get you extra money as well.

How to Write a Popular How-to Article

If you're writing how-to articles for income, the popularity of an article can play a major role in the number of hits you receive on-line or the chances of it being accepted for print. While I personally don't make popularity the only reason I write an article, I don't ignore it either. Here are some ideas to consider that I've found helpful.

1) First of all, I think writing how-to articles is very similar to inventing a new product in the aspect of the popular saying, "See a need, fill a need."

Inspiration for how-to articles is unlimited because there are many people out there who want solutions to problems or want to learn something new.

2) Keep your titles simple for articles you want to appeal to a mass number of people, especially if your topic is fairly general.

A long title won't impress people unless it's addressing a specific problem or topic, where you're likely going to have a smaller audience. (This isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially if little has been written on the topic). What I've noticed however is when I change a long title to something more simplified, I get better results as far as hits.

3) Do a little "homework" and thinking before you begin writing.

Be observant of the world around you. I pay attention to what people are talking about and what topics are popular in larger works such as recent nonfiction book best-sellers. I read a lot as well, and sometimes an article comes from having a different viewpoint or approach to the same topic or problem. I keep notebooks at home, in my car, and at work so when an idea hits me I won't forget it.

More Tips:

• Another great thing about writing how-to articles is that you can learn something new as well. I know since I've first started writing articles that I've learned a lot of new things in the process of researching topic ideas. From an income standpoint, you're getting paid to educate yourself and help other people! That's a very fun combination.
• Don't try to write on topics that personally aren't interesting to you. I've tried that before, and the quality of your article suffers no matter how hard you try to force it. With articles, it's not totally "Write what you know" but "Write what you want to know."

How to Start a Web-Based Freelance Writing Business

Though writing on the web is a fairly new field, it is growing and a great option for writers of all ages and backgrounds. In this article, I want to give you tips and direct you to resources that would get you off to a good start.

1) The first thing to do is to give some thought into what you would like to write about.

This is because some websites may be better suited for you than others. For example, eHow is a fantastic site for writing how-to articles and pays well in my opinion, but their format does not fit creative writing such as short stories or poetry.

In any type of business, it's almost always to your advantage to have a niche or specialty. That doesn't mean that you can't do other things, but it helps from a marketing standpoint. If you write on a particular topic really well, that can be carried across different formats including articles, blogs, and even books.

2) Next, do a search for websites that will pay you for the content you want to produce.

Read the fine-print and terms of working with these websites carefully. I personally work with sites that pay for non-exclusive rights, meaning that the site is paying you to display your work but you still own it.

If you don't know where to begin, I have a short list of general sites I work with at Web Writer Central. This information is free, and given enough time you can figure more out on your own once you understand how these sites generally work.

3) Begin building up an inventory of content.

I began making money with my articles and short stories the first week I found a set of paid writing sites. It took about six months however to generate an income that I consider significant. In less than a year, I'm not too far away from being able to do this full-time without needing a job. It's just like any other business, but in this case your creative work is your product.

4) From a financial standpoint, I find it easier to have one bank account to send your earnings that's separate from your personal account.

Speak with the person who does your taxes, and they can give you more information on what records you need to keep and what is and isn't considered tax deductible with your expenses.

5) Something that I've found very helpful is connecting all of my articles and stories to each other, so if a reader likes one thing I do they will continue to read more.

More Tips:

• Though it may seem counter-intuitive for some people, networking with other online writers is helpful. The more you help other people, the more it comes back to you. I learned that from business experience in general.
• Another aspect of this business you can grow is writing for company and individual websites. It's just a matter of letting people know what you do.
• Don't get discouraged by the pennies you make in the beginning--it does add up!

Resources:

Web Writer Central
Ehow.com
Hubpages.com
Squidoo.com
Writing.com
Constant-Content.com
Gather.com

How to Create a Believable Fictional Character

This article is mainly geared toward fiction writers who already have characters in mind or created. It is a checklist of ideas to keep in mind that will help you create realistic characters or slightly alter existing ones.

1) When you start brainstorming the traits of your character, you want to look more at how those traits impact your character than the really the traits themselves.
Too many times I've seen writers give a detailed list of traits when they begin to describe a character--this can make the character seem flat if you're not careful.

The advice of many writing books of "show, don't tell" is very important in characterization as well as plot. If your character is intelligent, show them doing something intelligent. Don't just have it listed.

2) You need to have some background information on your characters that is specifically for you as the writer--it doesn't have to be thing that the reader even knows about directly.
This can be information about the characters personality, general reactions when they have a certain emotion, etc. You can keep this stored in notebooks or even in a computer database if you're more technically oriented.

If you need help in this area, you can go to the Fictional Character Development Template for free.

3) It's helpful sometimes to mentally put your characters in situations that aren't related to your plot.
Playing with ideas may help you create a more solid character, even when the ideas themselves don't make it into your book or short story.

4) Do your homework.
If your main character is a pilot, you may possibly have readers who are pilots. If little details are off, your drama may suddenly become a comedy to them. You don't have to go overboard, but either do enough research or have a friend who's an authority review it for you.

5) Be observant of people in general.
This is especially helpful in studying mannerisms, such as people running their hands through their hair if they're frustrated or nervous. Sometimes this is also helpful for coming up with conflict ideas as well. Just don't creep people out by following them around with a notebook in public.

More Tips:

• Take the time to look through some books on psychology and personality-types. When you study real people, it makes creating fictional people a lot easier.
• There are also a lot of free online resources on personality-types as well.

How to Get Writing Ideas

I believe that writer's block comes from two things: Not being prepared or wanting your writing to be perfect on the first draft. In this article, I will address both of these issues and help you get a better flow of ideas going for you.

1) One of the first things you need to do is get in a habit of carrying a notebook and something to write with wherever you go.
We all have down time--waiting in line at the post office, doctor's office, etc. You can brainstorm during these times and come back to your ideas later when you're home. This has personally allowed me to come up with dozens of short stories I don't think I would've done otherwise.

If you want to do it, keep separate notebooks by your bed and in your car as well. Just remember to write down that great idea you get in your car when you get to a red light--not while the car is moving.

2) Read.
I've also found it helpful to keep some reference books in your home office about the area you like to write about. It's always good to read about a book a month to keep your mind sharp and help you to spark some ideas. This makes some writers uncomfortable--thinking it's going to limit their creativity--but for me it's had the opposite effect.

I sometimes even read a little of people I disagree with (don't buy their books--just read a few pages) and have an idea of how I'd put a topic in my perspective.

3) Don't worry about getting things right on the first draft.
While I was in school, I used to be so worried about getting a paper back with red ink on it. Now I actually like it when I run copy past other people and have them catch my mistakes. It makes your final draft better than if you keep it to yourself.

There are a lot of great web sites for writers that are very nice and helpful when it comes to reviews. I'll link you to a free one, Writing.com, that's one of my favorites. I'm not affiliated with them but have been a member of their site for over a year--we review each other's work for things called gift points, which you can exchange for better memberships and to reward people for reviewing you. What I like is you can store your work online (private or public) in a portfolio and pick back up where you left off on another computer with the Internet. They've been really good to me or I wouldn't suggest them.
Other Resources:

Web Writer Central (Has free information for on-line freelance writers)

More Tips:

• Keep yourself in a habit of writing, even if it's not the masterpiece of work you're wanting. It makes things easier when you take on a larger project.

• When you fill up a notebook, put it in a filing cabinet. The next time writer's block hits you, you have a whole set of ideas you can start on.

How to Write Natural Dialogue in Fiction Stories

In creating novels and short stories, it can sometimes be difficult to create natural and realistic dialogue. In this article, I'll show you ways you can solve this problem.

1) The first step involves taking a look at your characters.

Keep in mind traits such as personality, where they are from, their ages, and their education. Dialogue is a tool that you can use to show these traits to your reader without directly telling them. Taking the time to do this will help you determine not only what a character might say, but how they would say it.

2) Second, mentally picture your characters interacting as if they were on a TV show or a play.

Is there anything about what they're saying to each other that seems odd or out of place? Sometimes a sentence may be correct from a grammar standpoint, but you may have to reword it for dialogue because of how people speak in reality.

3) Third, read the dialogue out loud.

This will help your pacing. If you feel like you're out of breath after a string of dialogue, you may want to shorten your sentences. Likewise, if you feel like the dialogue is too short for the situation, you can smooth it out.

4) Last, do a check of your overall story.

Do you have a lot of "he said" and "she replied" after each sentence? You can eliminate a lot of those after you've established who is talking. This makes the story as a whole flow a lot better.


More Tips

• Try paying attention to the conversations of people. You'll begin to pick up on patterns such as rapid subject changes.

• Think of ways you can show your character's personality by how much they speak and how much they listen.

• On the other extreme, you don't necessarily want your dialogue to completely reflect how people talk--especially filler words such as "um."

• Avoid phonetically spelling out accents of characters if at all possible. This can annoy your readers after a certain point. Mention the accent, but make the words themselves easy to read.

• Also avoid modern slang if you intend for the story to be longer-lasting.

Get more character development tips at The Fictional Character Development Template.