LIZ PURCELL

Did you ever see the movie Amadeus? There’s a pretty funny scene in which Mozart is playing a piece for one of his noble patrons and a room full of courtiers and ladies. The patron is quite disturbed by Mozart’s rather manic playing and the tsunami of notes erupting from his harpsichord. The nobleman inquires of Mozart whether he doesn’t “have too many notes” in his composition, at which Mozart looks at the man as if he is insane, and assures him there are “exactly the right number of notes, not an extra one anywhere.”

Questions Authors Ask

I often think of this scene when meeting with authors who are thinking about publishing, because a common question I get at these meetings is, “How long should my book be?” If you love Mozart the way I do, you can’t imagine him removing even one note from the divine music he’s passed along to us. Not one! Books are very similar. You need “exactly the right number of words” to tell the story, and not an extra one. But how many is that?

Genre Dictates Length?

It’s true that in certain genres publishers give a lot of weight to book length as a function of their marketing plans. For instance, I’ve had business book publishers tell me that, regardless of how many words are in a book, it has to appear “to be a quick read,” because otherwise busy executives won’t buy it. And we squeeze until we get to their desired page length.

At the other end of the spectrum are some fiction publishers who want their books, again regardless of the length, to appear to be “big fat beach reads” no matter what, on the theory that otherwise book buyers will look for something more “meaty.” Invariably I advise these authors to tell their story and leave it to the book designer to create a book that will be appropriate for their niche, attractive to read, and deliver their work in the best possible way to their readers.

The Prince and the Potter

As an example, look at the two top-selling “children’s books” on Amazon, although neither of these is, strictly speaking, just a children’s book. At number 1 is Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s The Little Prince. This charming parable, which can be read by anyone no matter their age, is 96 pages and weighs a bare 7 ounces. At number 2 is J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, a book I certainly enjoyed. It runs 870 pages and weighs in at a hefty 1.5 pounds. But here’s the thing: each of these books is a completely satisfying reading experience in itself. Each tells a story adeptly, and you are carried along throughout the book to the end. In fact, when I’m reading a book I really love, I just don’t want it to end, even if it’s 870 pages!

So the only answer to the question of “How long should my book be” is the response, “How long will it take for you to tell your story in the best way you can?” Because that, in the end, is how long your book should be.

Takeaway: As an author your job is to keep your readers reading, anxious to find out “what comes next.” If you can do that, don’t worry or obsess about how long your book is, because it will be the right length.

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Makler Heidelberg

Source by Joel Friedlander

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Source by Kaitlin Lundquist

Legitimate grant writing consultants Do Not…

• contact your organization through any means (phone, email, fax, etc.) to offer unsolicited services
• guarantee that they will get funds for you – grants are never guaranteed
• guarantee when you will receive the funds – getting funds is a long-term process, requiring commitment and perseverance
• work on a commission or percentage basis — this practice violates the ethics of the grant writing field

You should also keep in mind that foundations do not pay anyone a finder’s fee to bring in qualified applicants. And small businesses generally are eligible only for loans, not grants.

Do not work with any grant writer until they give you the name, address, and phone number of their company, the name of their CEO, and the URL for their website. Google the company and visit the website. Make sure the website information matches the information the person gave you. (Some scammers may refer you to a legitimate grant writer’s website and trust that you will not probe any further than that.)

Beware of those who sell kits or books but do not actually write grant proposals. You cannot learn grant writing by reading a book. And beware of those who claim you can get money for “personal expenses” like paying off credit card debt or starting a business. Grants are never provided for these purposes.

Be suspicious of any one claiming to be a grant writer who does not list their fee schedule. Legitimate grant writing consultants list theirs and apply it across the board to the organizations they work with.

Learn to identify legitimate grant writers

You can find legitimate and effective grant writing consultants…

• in various professional associations, including the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), The American Grant Writers Association (AGWA), and The National Grant Writers Association (NGW)
• in niche affiliations, including the Christian Leadership Alliance (CLA), National Outreach Association (NOC), and the Evangelical Council on Financial Accountability (ECFA)
• by using search engines, including Google, Yahoo, MSN, and Bing (But beware: Anyone can call themselves a grant writing consultant, regardless of their qualifications or background. This is why you need to make sure you hire one with a documented history in the field.)

It is also helpful to use a grant writing firm held by a credentialed professional. The most respected and accepted credential is the Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE). To earn a CFRE one must meet rigorous requirements and document education, experience, and the highest levels of success.

CFRE International sets those requirements to include:

• No less than 5 years of paid employment in the fund raising field;
• 80 hours or more of Education related to fund raising;
• On-going educational and professional development activities;
• CFRE candidates are required to earn a certain number of Professional Achievement points. Points are earned for specific amounts of funding raised, for public relations and other major Communications campaigns, and for strategic planning or organizational management projects;
• Each CFRE candidate must also earn a minimum of 55 points for public service to professional associations and/or volunteerr work with community organizations.

There are telltale signs that separate legitimate grant writing services from scams. Just remember to be careful. Then you will find a consultant who will look out for your interests, helping you secure funds for your ministry or church.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Source by Dr. Jeffrey J. Rodman

As you learn to love poetry as a beginner, and then write as an amateur you soon or later discover that your love for writing might be something more. The feedback from your peers raises questions, should you publish? How do you go about getting noticed on a local, then a global stage? Is there money in it? If so, how much? As you may or may not know, there are thousands of scams out there concerning poetry, more specifically, your work. These sites or individuals tell you exactly what you want to hear, things like; “Your poetry is one of a kind”, “You should look into publication” or “If you win this contest, your poetry will appear in a book”, something along these lines. So, how do you know who to trust, that’s if you could trust any of them. Honestly, I am not published, nor am I looking to publish my work, but I have been asked how to get it done. When I was younger, I also was interested in having my poetry published, so I did do some research; I’ll discuss what I found out, pros and cons.

Firstly, if you’re an amateur poet, just like I consider myself; you’ve probably asked, “If i post my work on the internet on a few forums, can someone take it and publish it?”. In other words, steal your work. The answer is yes, but the likeliness is not, unless you write like an expert, and it’s a born talent; if your work was to be taken for publishing, it would go through some drastic changes, basically, it would be re-written. Real critics are particular when it comes to literary works; it’s like being graded on a school paper, did you ever get 100%? If you’re just starting out with poetry, you probably just write it, without knowledge of style, form, flow, etc. It sounds like a poem, it is a poem, but it’s not ‘publication’ worthy; grammar and punctuation corrections can probably be made (this is of course including my work, as I learn something almost everyday to improve the quality of my work).

Also, as a warning to everyone that posts in forums, if your work is stolen and you find out you can take legal action, but you will probably lose. The reason behind that is, yes, your work is copy-written when you post, BUT it is not registered under any published author. To win an infringement regarding your poetry, you must be a registered author, to become one is a daunting task on its own.

To become a registered author you must find a publishing company to submit your work to. DO NOT submit one or a few poems, or your work will be ignored. Think of it like an interview, you need to have a portfolio or ‘anthology’, which will be explained a little later. When submitting your work to these companies, make sure that the one you choose is a trust worthy one, with a good reputation. Searching on the internet will pull up thousands of sites that can promise to publish your work, some will ask for money to just look at your work, I wouldn’t bother with these because most of them are scams just to get your money. You might even find sites that offer to proofread your work before your submission to an ‘editor’ for a small fee, it could sound something like “We only charge 40 cents a line, or 7 cents a word, or $9 per poem, which ever is cheaper for you”. Sounds great and cheap doesn’t it? Still, a scam, at least in most cases. I find that the best sites to submit your work to are the sites that don’t ask for money at all, you still have to do your research, but at least you don’t loose anything, at the most, they got your work.

When you have found the publication company that you would like to submit your work to, make sure to build an anthology; this is a collection of your work, make sure to break it down into themes as well, sad poems, darkness poems, spiritual poems, haiku, sonnet and so on and so forth. It does not have to be all of your work, but make sure to submit enough ‘to quench their hunger’, so to say. After submitting your work, you will probably find yourself waiting a few weeks maybe even months for a response; and when you finally receive that response, it probably won’t be something you will like, you’re declined. This maybe frustrating to you, but the things you should take away from it is that 1) you know your work can be improved (they will probably give you feed back as to why your work was not approved for publication and how it can be improved) 2)Before you get praise, you will always receive criticism (it’s just how the world works) and 3) at least you were not scammed.

Although I am not looking to publish my work, I am always looking for legitimate criticism to get better, which should always be your first goal (“The day we stop learning, is the day we die” -Anonymous). If you or I get discovered for our work, this is the best way, it may be the long way to getting what you want, but it’s also safer; not scam free, but safer.

Now that the publishing portion is out of the way, there are other ‘MUST KNOWS’ to poetry. Below is a list, and I will discuss each of them:

Rhythm and rhyming; Long and short poetry; Writing in clichés; Titles; Writers biography

Rhythm and rhyming

Typically, writers with an interest in poetry generally start off with a poem that rhymes. Although it seems to be the easiest to write, it can actually turn out to be very difficult; you must find words that rhyme with each other, but also don’t stray away from the topic of the poem. Aside from that, the sound of the poem when read needs to have ‘flow’, in other words, it has to be smoothly read. The syllables in every line is important to help with the flow; for example, you wouldn’t write a poem that has line syllables like – 10, 12, 8, 13. There would be no ‘smoothness’ therefore, it wouldn’t sound appealing, no matter how good the topic. Poetry that has line syllables like – 8, 10, 8, 10, 9, 12, 9, 12 will usually get more recognition because it sounds smoother when read. When you get better with rhyme poetry, make sure to expand your talents to other styles, like haiku’s or sonnets. Rhyming poetry is taken as outdated and naive, more for new or amateur poets.

Long and short poetry

Longer poetry usually does not have a long-lasting impression on its readers; mainly because its long (longer than a page). Also, for publishing purposes, shorter poems with smaller lines are more likely to be excepted. The most accepted length for poetry is about the length of a page; this leaves enough room to be descriptive and short enough to leave some sort of impression on the reader.

Writing in Cliches

Writing poetry in cliches is a common thing for new writers, money, love and death are said to be the most common topics of poetry. If you choose to write on these topics, it still needs to be original and extraordinary; if you think about it, it’s actually a tough task. A way to make sure you are not ‘caught’ in these cliches, you can read poetry; you will be amazed at how many different things you can related to and write about. It will also widen your ‘vocabulary’ in poetry so your not re-using the same words in all your poetry.

Titles

The title is just as, if not more important as the poem itself; the title encourages the reader to read your poem, it needs to be ‘eye-catching’ and intriguing, but of course, still relevant to your work. Publishers say to stay away from one-word titles because it does not give much description of what will be read, unless it is truly a unique title. In other words, stay away from titles like – Friendship, Love, Hate, Death, etc. because they are too simple and spark no interest.

Writers biography

When submitting your work to an editor/publisher or even just a blog/forum on the internet, make sure that your bio is strong. Be descriptive, tell a story as to how you became a fan of poetry; what made you decide to write? Basically, the more information you give about yourself will help the reader understand why you write poetry, and the topics you choose to write about. It almost makes it seem like the reader has a better connection to you and your work.

Lastly, if you are searching for a publisher, or you just write as a hobby; don’t forget the reason why you started writing in the first place. It’s because you loved it, for whatever reason; poetry should be something that you enjoy to write or read before it becomes anything more.

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Makler Heidelberg

Source by Jay R

Speaking in public can be a powerful way to build a business. It can help raise the profile of your business, generate new leads and create greater profits. But speaking in public can be nervewracking and seriously stressful for first timers. Writing a speech can be a major challenge, especially for technical writers.

We can all learn from watching professional speakers.

I have achieved a long held ambition to hear Bill Clinton – in Perth on Saturday February 23, 2002. It was a fantastic event!

My motivation? Anyone who earns $300,000 for a 50 minute keynote presentation must be good. As a professional speaker, I wanted to see Clinton in action. I didn’t want to only hear what he said, but how he said it.

Here’s my analysis of what I learnt from hearing Bill Clinton in person and noting how he was presented. You should be able to adapt at least some of these points to fit your own circumstances.

1. The marketing strategy

In previous years a big advertising blitz brought audiences to see speakers such as former Soviet leader Gorbachov and others. Their marketing approach was very commercially focused with a massive advertising budget. The Clinton event had a more humanitarian angle with funds being raised for a good cause, namely sick kids through The Princess Margaret Hospital for Children Foundation. This was a better match with Clinton’s core values of building community and having an empathy with the concerns of ordinary people. The marketing campaign relied heavily on positive media coverage to create awareness of the event.

2. A memorable entry

Clinton’s entry to the ballroom was brilliantly stage-managed. Everyone was asked to stand and then he walked into the room to his US Presidential election theme song ‘Happy Days are here again’. The emotion in the room was electric and made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up!

3. Personal presentation

His dress and presentation was absolutely immaculate. (Maybe the $500 haircuts help.) Many women at my table commented that Clinton was far better looking in the flesh than on TV.

4. The Power of Presence

There was a buzz about being in the same room as President Clinton. His body language, smile and confident hand shake exuded charisma. His considerable charm reminded me of that high school science experiment when you tip iron filings onto

a white sheet of paper covering a strong magnet. People were attracted to Clinton like metal filings to a powerful magnetic field.

5. Warm-up

Alan Jones was MC and the warm-up included a short film taking a light hearted look at Clinton’s last days in office. Scenes included Clinton washing the Presidential car, clipping the hedges and playing switchboard operator in the Oval Room. A great scene from a press conference showed Clinton waking a single sleeping journalist.

6. Introduction

A well constructed introduction helped build empathy and highlighted that Clinton’s life had not all been plain sailing. The fact that his father died when he was young, his mother was a nursing assistant and he was born in Hope, a town of 10,000 people, helped put his success and achievements in context.

7. Building on the sense of destiny

A strong personal brand is built on stories. The story of Clinton meeting President Kennedy when on a youth leadership camp was used to great effect. Not only was it mentioned in the introduction but that famous photo of Clinton shaking JFK’s hand was also used in the marketing materials. Other brand building shots included an intimate moment with Hilary, a shot of him playing the saxophone, a jogging photo, one with Chelsea and one featuring Clinton lined up with 3 past Presidents. They all helped to define Clinton the man.

8. Customising the message

Clinton’s speech in Perth was customised to include stories relevant to a Perth market, including his memories of Perth switching on its lights at night for a US space mission re-entry and comments on a former US President’s career as a mining engineer in Kalgoorlie.

9. Using humour

Clinton had some great lines about how he could have helped previous Presidents in dealing with the media in tricky situations.

10. Memorable one liners using opposites

This can be very effective. When talking about possible solutions to the war against terrorism, Clinton said “most of the big things in life are simple”.

11. Repetition

Clinton used this proven speechwriting technique to great effect.

12. Using metaphors

Clinton used the metaphor of the gap between the invention of the club and the shield to describe the present situation in the war against terrorism. He said “this gap needs to closed”. Metaphors can give intangible concepts more impact with an audience.

13. Develop empathy with the audience

Clinton told the story of how he was in Australia at Port Douglas on September 11th and how his daughter Chelsea was in downtown New York. He connected with every parent in the room when he talked about his feelings when he couldn’t contact his daughter for three hours on that day.

14. A call to action

The aim of the event was to raise money for a Children’s hospital. Clinton’s final words were “I want you to help”. Simple, direct and powerful.

I hope you have enjoyed this analysis. I certainly learnt a lot by seeing one of the world’s great communicators in action.

Whatever your personal views on Clinton are … his personal warmth, ability to connect with an audience and presentation skills are outstanding.

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Makler Heidelberg

Source by Thomas Murrell

These days, you can publish your work without making huge upfront investments. With the help of online publishing channels (e.g. Amazon’s Kindle platform), publishing books can now be done by the writers themselves. In this article, you’ll learn how to take advantage of online publishing.

Two Types of Online Publishing Services

• Single-Channel – With this kind of service, you will publish your work on one channel only. The KDP (i.e. Kindle Direct Publishing) program of Amazon belongs to this type.
• Multi-Channel – Services of this type sell books through various retailers.

Important Note: The Multi-Channel approach is not advisable if you are new to the self-publishing game. That’s because it requires considerable upfront fees and sale deductions. It would be best if you’ll start with a single-channel distributor such as Amazon.com.

Prepare Your Work

Regardless of the publishing service you’ll choose, you have to format your work and make sure that it has the right file type. With Amazon, you can use the following file extensions:

• PDF
• MOBI
• DOC/DOCX
• ePUB
• KPF
• TXT
• HTML

The following tools can help you in formatting your book:

• Sigil – Use this free software if you want to format and/or edit your ePUB books.
• Calibre – This is a free program that you can use to convert your book files.
• Scrivener – This word processor offers powerful formatting features. It is a paid program, but its writer-friendly features will surely help you in writing and publishing books.

Create a Book Cover

This aspect is probably one of the most complex. Your book needs a cover that is both relevant and attractive. It would be great if you can design the cover yourself. If you don’t have the time, resources, or skills, however, you may hire someone to create a cover for you.

Make sure that your chosen cover looks great regardless of how it shows up in the reader’s device. That’s because people can change the color and size of the digital materials they are reading. For instance, a reader may view your book using a black and white screen.

Boost Sales

The following factors determine how much money you’ll get from online publishing:

• The book’s quality – If you wrote a great book, there’s a high chance that many people would want to read it and buy it.
• The book’s overall visibility – The term “visibility” refers to the book’s presence on the market. Obviously, you can attract sales if you will promote your book. For example, you may tweet about your book to let your Twitter followers know. By making your book more visible, you will have more chances of earning money from it.
• The book’s cover – It is a well-known fact that a book’s cover greatly affects its salability. If you want to sell a lot of copies, use an excellent book cover.
• The price – This factor is tricky. Selling your book at a high price might scare away potential readers. But that will make your book “premium”. Selling it at a low price point, however, will attract sales but might give the impression that the book is of low quality.
• The royalty percentage – Amazon offers two choices regarding royalty: 35% and 70%. The option you’ll pick will greatly affect your “take-home pay”.

Conclusion

You might be able to reach your dreams of becoming a popular author by publishing your books online. Amazon, one of the world’s most popular businesses today, can help you in publishing your book globally. The things you’ve learned from this book can help you greatly.

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Makler Heidelberg

Source by Rob Hillman

Seeing your poetry in print can be a wonderful feeling, but the poetry market is one of the hardest to break into. The rejection letters can really pile up, and that can lead to some discouragement. But rejection letters should not get the would-be poet down. There are more markets available than many poets realize. Part of the trick to seeing one’s poetry in print is knowing where to start.

I have found The Poet’s Market to be one of the best guides for locating good markets, paying or otherwise. The book gives nice listings, with a good description and thorough information, for nearly 2,000 different markets. There are also a series of indexes for making navigation through the various listings a little easier. My favorite index is probably the one that lists the markets by “openness to new poets.” Poets who are still in the early stages of getting their work published will find this especially useful. A realistic approach about the markets most suitable for one’s own work is very important for the poet who hopes to see his or her work in print for many years to come. While “starting small” might be uncomfortable for some, it is the surest path to success. Even if the earlier publications are not in paid markets, it can be very helpful in building up a track record, and in helping you learn the ropes of working with a literary magazine.

Another useful resource for poets who want to see their work in print is Poets & Writers. The magazine always has a good classifieds section. At their website, you can find a submission calendar that will help you stay more disciplined, if you follow the deadlines listed there. The online classifieds section, like the print version, includes calls for manuscripts in magazines and anthologies, as well as calls for chapbook submissions.

Similarly, you will find good listings for potential markets at the Once Written and the Poetry in the Arts websites. Christian writers might like to have a look at the Utmost Christian Poets website.

When you have begun submitting poetry, you will find that you get several different sort of rejection letters from editors (and you are bound to get some rejection letters). I have found it helpful to sort through these letters and find those that offer some feedback on the poems I sent to them. For the most part, editors who take the time to respond to your work, even if they are rejecting it, do so because there is some potential for a future relationship between you and the magazine. Take note of which poems the editor liked best, and why s/he rejected them. This will give you a clue to what sort of poems to send to that market the next time around.

Once you get a foot in the door and begin to see your work in print, it becomes a little easier to have more poetry accepted for publication. This is partly, perhaps, because your credibility within the publishing community has gone up. I think, though, that it is equally because the poet becomes a little more savvy in knowing where to submit. Having seen which types of publications like your work helps you decide where to submit in the future. If you find magazines that are similar to those you have already worked with, then you should submit to them. One way to find such publications is to note where the magazines that have accepted your work are sold, and find what other literary publications are also sold there.

The most common advice I hear when I am submitting poetry is, “Don’t give up.” I will pass echo that advice, along with these tips for where to find good markets. A rejection letter does not mean the poem is not good enough to get into print. It only means that it is not suitable for that particular publication. The best response to a rejection letter is to look at the poem again (particularly if the editor has given you some feedback), and rethink where you will submit it next.

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Makler Heidelberg

Source by Shelly Bryant

Ever since the childhood days, I am a die-hard fan of popular Telugu fiction writers, Yandamoori Virendranath and Malladi Venkata Krishna Moorthy. What fascinated me about them is the way they meticulously organised interesting information around their storyline which makes novel reading enriching rather than simply being entertaining. And a further interesting fact about them is that both of them earlier worked as bankers.

As I continued my reading of fiction, I noticed similarity of the banking background for most of the fiction writers. I am not sure how many would know that Jules Verne (popular author of scientific fiction books like Around the World in Eighty Days, A Journey To The Centre Of The Earth) had some inside prior experience in the working of finance. Most of us will be surprised to know that Britain’s historically famous bank, Barings Bank, which Nick Leeson brought to closure in 1995, first figured a century earlier in Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days, as the protagonist approaches the same bank for deposit of the stake money as a part of the deal in the story of the book.

Needless to mention, the phenomenon of fiction writers from banking industry is further evidenced in India through Chetan Bhagat and Ravi Subramanian. Both of them were working for reputed foreign banks in India at the time of writing of their first fiction. Fiction writers from banking industry becoming popular internationally is also seen during the recent financial crisis with the release of a lot of fiction novels using the crisis as the backdrop.

Does banking really breed best selling fiction writers? Further, why is it so that banking as a genre always fascinates some fiction writers? These are the questions which I am going to reflect upon in this article.

My concluding thoughts on this aspect led to the formation of a theory what I funnily term as the ‘5-C framework of Banking in the world of Fiction Writing’. And please pardon me with the similarity of this title to the famous 5 – C framework for credit analysis (Character, Capacity, Collateral, Capital and Conditions) used in banking. I just can’t help it – after all, I am also basically a banker.

The first postulate of the theory is “Banking requires Creativity”. To understand this postulate, just read Satyajit Das’s (investment banker cum author) book Traders, Guns and Money, which will help people appreciate what goes on with their money in the curious and creative world of financial products called derivatives. First released in 2006 and subsequently reviewed and modified in 2008, it outlines the creative aspect of derivatives in the world of finance in a witty format. This interesting book helps people new to banking in appreciating the root cause of recent crisis in international markets.

Secondly, it is true that “Creativity produces Currency”. The fact that creativity in banking is a most sought after skill for high performing bankers is also echoed through the huge pay packets of Wall Street Investment Bankers, just before the crisis. And why not cash on what went right or wrong with creativity in banking? Nick Leeson just did that, at the time when he is completely broke and is behind bars for Barings Collapse. With his book Rogue Trader he went on to cash the catastrophe of his life that resulted from his ultra creativity to boost the profits of his trading desk of Barings Bank in Singapore. The book is also made into a movie which is shown as a learning case study for bankers in particular and finance students in general, even today.

Thirdly, one will not dispute with me when I say “Currency promotes Charisma”. If you need far more evidence on how creativity, currency and charisma constitutes the perfect storyline for a fictional account, you can pick up the recent fiction titled “How I Caused the Credit Crunch” by a former Japanese investment banker, Tetsuya Ishikawa. It is an entertaining tale of how a young Oxford graduate quickly finds himself in command of vast sums of other people’s money; how a novice to the mysteries of hedge funds, sub-prime mortgages and Collateral Debt Obligations (CDOs) can fix complex deals for billions of dollars in the exclusive bars, brothels and trading floors of London, New York, Frankfurt and Tokyo, and reap the benefits in a colossal annual bonus and an international charismatic lifestyle.

Fourth postulate of my theory is “Charisma influences Conduct”. Pick up Ravi Subramanian’s “If God was a Banker” for a support of this postulate. It’s a story of two young management graduates, who had nothing similar in family backgrounds and temperament and join an International Bank on the same day and take two entirely different routes to success. The racy narrative set in the high-pressure milieu of competitive banking carries the undercurrent of a clash of values, in the pursuit of charisma and success in the personal and professional life of bankers.

Finally, it all boils down to the fifth postulate “Conduct seduces Criminality”. It implies that any sort of misconduct in a creative banking world, lured by currency pay packets and charismatic success, breeds criminality – which is an all time favorite baseline for fiction stories. And there are a plethora of books that support this viewpoint, a case in example being Nest of Vipers by Linda Davies. It is a story of a brilliant and beautiful foreign exchange dealer, who becomes an undercover agent to investigate an apparently straightforward case of insider trading and gets caught up in a much wider international financial conspiracy affecting operations of central banks of the G7 nations.

Banking, therefore, forms an interesting mixture of basic raw materials – Creativity, Currency, Charisma, Conduct and Criminality – necessary for a fiction storyline. No wonder why bankers need not turn to other industries when set to write fiction. Their own world offers them enough examples and story lines, which breeds best selling plots for their books. Unlike scientific fiction, that requires basic understanding of deeper academic principles, banking fiction plays on people’s basic expectation from a storyline, basic elements that excite anyone irrespective of their background.

As I conclude, I would like to use words of RBI Governor Dr. Duvvuri Subba Rao, who, in his recent speech on lazy banking, mentioned that the days of 3-6-3 banking (taking deposit @ 3%, lending @ 6% and going home @ 3 p.m.) are gone and exciting days are still ahead for bankers even after the recent crisis.

And as the world of banking is set to become more complex and more intriguing, more dominating and more promising, more challenging and more influential, especially after the recent financial crisis, this trend is only going to increase – a rise in the number of fiction writers from banking industry – not a bad enough reason for most of us bankers to cheer during the current period of downturn and recovery.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Source by Srinivas Yanamandra

1. In-depth knowledge. As a sportswriter, it’s very important that you have in-depth, working knowledge on the sports that you’re covering. You must know how the game is played, the star players, its history, and the important statistics that you’re readers need to know. It will help if you have first-hand experience or if you’re actually playing the game. Your readers will most likely to pay attention to your articles if you’re an authority on the sports that you’ve covering.

2. High level writing skills. Of course, it’s not enough that you know a particular sport inside out. In order to give your audience great reading and learning experience, you must also have decent writing skills. You must be able to write your sports articles in such a way that you’ll be able to excite, entertain, and educate your readers. Aside from regular practice, it will also help if you learn from veteran sports article writers. Read their articles as often as possible and take advantage of their writing seminars, if there are any. This is the best thing that you can do to follow their footsteps.

3. Knowing the best topics to write. Keep in mind that you’re not limited to writing games as sports fans are usually more interested in knowing their favorite players or teams. Every once in a while, feature an athlete on your article or talk about behind-the-scenes or team building. For example, you can talk about Tiger Woods these days and not talk about golf and still get the attention of sports fans. As much as possible, find topics that will target human emotions. This is a great formula that can help you get people to actually read your articles.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Source by Sean Mize

I’ve read hundreds of character development tips, and most are very good. Making a list of character features is great, but generally your characters come from you. I’m not suggesting you make all your characters the same, but I am suggesting that most of your characters come from your personal experience.

How do I begin character development?

Start with yourself. Put yourself in a situation in which you wouldn’t normally be involved. What would you do if you were walking down the street and a midget wearing a mask pulled a knife and stabbed you in the knee. Would you cry, laugh, scream, or gimp away as fast as your injured knee could carry you? Why did he do the dirty deed? What did you do to make him mad? Is he mad enough to keep stabbing you as you run away? How will you get help?

An Exercise

Write five or six paragraphs about the situation mentioned above without putting any physical characteristics into either character or any other characters that enter the scene. Use only those descriptions already mentioned. Use action to describe the scene. What did you imagine? How much damage was done?

Go ahead and do the above exercise. I’ll wait.

I’m still waiting…

Are you done?

Okay, now describe each character as you imagined them. In your mind’s eye you developed a vision of your characters as the action proceeded. Write down those qualities. Congratulations, you are on your way to character development.

Many qualities are defined by the actions of your protagonist and antagonist. Many times I leave the details to the reader. Most people have an idea how a smart beautiful woman looks. Let them enjoy their vision. Use only descriptions that are necessary for the story. Don’t get bogged down in unnecessary details.

One hard fast rule I always keep is to make the character consistent. Once a characteristic is set don’t change it. Don’t change the protagonist in mid-story unless there is an important lesson to be learned by the change. People are creatures of habit. Don’t change the character to fit the story. Change the story to fit the character. If the protagonist isn’t able to accomplish his goal, maybe you need to introduce a helper.

What does your protagonist need to accomplish. What are his fears. What are the obstacles to his happiness. What does he fear worse than death? What does he love more than life itself?

What is the hero’s self image. Is he filled with self loathing? Is he egotistical?

People read fiction to be entertained. They don’t want to be bored by minutiae. They want to experience joy, fear, love, hate, triumph, or a myriad of other emotions. Use action to gain insight into your characters. They won’t let you down.

Copyright 2010 J-me

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Source by Mark A Brown