The Fabulist Flash

Issue 31
ISSN: 1554-0804

Sand Patterns Journal

In This Issue:

1. This Week
2. Feature Article
3. A Writer Tidbit
4. About The Fabulist Flash

1. This Week

Welcome to Issue 31 of The Fabulist Flash.

What a week this has been. I finished my book and put it in the mail to my editor. What a great sense of accomplishment to put together more than 112,000 words. Of course, fear, worry and dread have all hounded me since the FedEx box was sealed. But, it's out of my hands for now. It's up to others to judge.

Along with the elation came this other weird feeling. I just didn't know what to do with myself. I've got a long list of things to take care of, but my mind was scattered and my emotions were all over the place. I've heard this is normal, but it's all a first for me.

I've started putting together a new list of things to do. Many little things, like having my car serviced and spring cleaning have slipped through the cracks. Those things will be first on the list. Plus, I've already got my next book project lined up and I'll start that next week. What an exciting time.

Until next week,

Gregory
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Gregory A. Kompes is a freelance writer and photographer. Learn more about Gregory and his work at www.kompes.com
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2. Feature Article

The Lost Art of Hand Writing
by Ieuan Dolby

For a couple of years now I have used a computer for everything from writing articles, to communicate, to playing games and to printing addresses onto envelopes. My laptop is never far away, it is usually by my side or on my knees, and the furthest it ever gets from my side is when I am on the toilet or in the swimming pool. Recently though I had to write a personal letter to my mother, just to say hello sort of thing and I thought that a printed letter would not be quite the right thing for the occasion.

Upon making the decision to write I assumed that it would be a relatively simple task to accomplish but all was not as easy as I first thought! Finding paper and pen proved quite a hurdle to climb over. The only paper I could find in the house was reams of unlined printer paper and some flowery toilet paper, my old and once-trusted fountain pen had more ink on the outside than in and the pen with a naked lady body just seemed so wrong to use!

I toddled off to the stationary shop to get the necessary and two hours later I repaired to the task in hand. I had my pens, I had my paper and I had a lovely cup of hot coffee to sip whilst jotting down my thoughts and life for my mother to read in due course!

Five minutes later I gave up! My hand was sore; it ached all the way up to the elbow and felt like I had just started to use it after six weeks in a cast!

My five minute foray into using a pen gave to me a lot to think about, apart from a sore hand that is. It brought fond memories flooding back of when I used to sit on planes, trains and buses with a notepad perched on my knees! I used to jot down notes about interesting things happening on my journeys; I used to let my thoughts wander whilst in motion and to later use these inane thought to make an article. I remembered how I used to build up ideas for future essays or articles by spending hours scribbling and dawdling, pondering and playing till hours, nay days later a finished product would surface out of the mess.

I remembered how I used to be a very relaxed person! I was often found curled up in front of the television or in a hammock in the garden, snuggled up under the covers or lying on the grass! I recalled how I used to turn my thoughts slowly and artfully into a product that I was happy with. And then two years ago that stopped like a bullet in the brain! My hobby turned, with a simple purchase of a laptop computer, into an automatic rush to develop and to produce without proper regard or actual knowledge that the finished product made any sense what-so-ever. Articles were started and finished quickly, without any searches for alternative discussion, pause or reflection and published without fanfare or enjoyment that I had once known. But I was so busy becoming a machine, just like the one that I had bought, that I did not realize and had no warning of what was going on. It was only this recent handwriting exercise that brought all that I had lost back to me like the flood from a damn broken!

Writing by hand has unfortunately become a lost art form that may never resurface! The computer and the keyboard, phones and mobile PDF devices have taken over from basic handwriting for anything longer than one sentence. For many the simple ability to correct mistakes, to alter and to expand documents with ease, the fact that most written notes have to be entered into a machine anyway and the fact that it is fashionable puts handwriting into the annals of history without second thought or hindrance! But what computers do is to take away the enjoyment, the fun and the relaxation that is synonymous with a pen and paper. Computers are machines that are so useful yet have taken the fun out of writing in one fell swoop.

I still put out the same number of articles, essays, pieces, etc. as I did before. Nobody has suggested since my laptop initiation that the quality of my works have diminished and certainly I now spend more time on other tasks or chores than I did pre-laptop times, but the pleasure has been removed.

I am now pondering a return to happier times. To write more by hand so that I may re-experience the leisure that was so much part of it all. But first I must strengthen up my right hand as five minutes is just not long enough!

About the Author
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Ieuan Dolby - Author and Webmaster of Seamania. As a Chief Engineer in the Merchant Navy he has sailed the world for fifteen years. Now living in Taiwan he writes about cultures across the globe and life as he sees it. www.seadolby.com ieuandolby@seadolby.com

3. A Writer Tidbit

10 Profitable Tips For Article Writers
by Ken Hill

1. Write to one person.

When you're writing your article picture one person that you are writing to. This will make your writing more personable and help you to keep your readers interested in your article.

2. Use lots of white space within your article.

Using lots of white space will help you to make your article look more professional and keep more of the skim readers interested in your article.

If you have paragraphs that are too long, try to break them up into two or three paragraphs so that your article will be easier to read.

3. Double check your articles for errors.

Make sure that you haven't misspelled any words, skipped words, or used a homonym such as "their" when you meant "there."

Remember, that spell checking only catches spelling mistakes so you'll need to go over your articles even after using your spell checker to find words used incorrectly and also to find words that were used twice in a row or omitted.

4. Pay attention to feedback you get for your articles.

Getting or seeking constructive feedback about your articles can help you to write better, get back on track with your writing if you're in a slump, and also develop new things to write about.

Even negative feedback or criticisms can help you if it shows you things you can work on. Just don't take everything to heart.

5. Improve your writing skills by trying different things.

When you first start writing your own articles, especially if you're new to writing, you might feel that you can only write list articles like this one.

Nonetheless try your hand at other types of articles that you would like to write such as how to articles or straw man articles.

Also try writing on different subjects that you haven't written about before.

6. Keep a file of articles you've written that you left unfinished or didn't feel were ready to be published.

Also keep parts (i.e., tips, paragraphs, etc.), that you've edited out of your finished articles in this file.

You might be able to rewrite your unfinished articles later on, get new ideas to write about, or get a new tip or two for your list articles from this file.

7. If you run an affiliate program, let your affiliates publish your articles with their affiliate URLs in your resource box.

You'll be able to effectively increase your sales by giving your affiliates an easy way to successfully promote your business to their visitors or subscribers.

8. Create an ebook compilation of your articles.

You could use your ebook as a bonus for subscribing to your ezine or you could let your affiliates brand your ebook with their affiliate URLs.

If you don't run an affiliate program, you could let people brand your ebook with a link to their site or business to get more people to offer your ebook to their visitors or subscribers.

9. Participate in article swaps.

Your swaps will help you to get your articles run in ezines that have subscribers interested in your business.

Your article swaps can also help you to gain more reciprocal links and add more useful content to your site if you swap articles where you publish another writer's article on your site in exchange for the same.

10. Create a list that people can subscribe to that announces when you've written a new article or articles.

Your list will keep people up to date on new articles they can publish in their ezines or post on their web sites.

If you let your affiliates use your articles to earn commissions, you can also use your list to attract more new affiliates and to keep your existing affiliates up to date on new articles they can use to promote your business.

About the Author
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For more articles by Ken Hill and to submit your own articles to Ken's article directory visit: http://www.netpromarketer.com.

4. About The Fabulist Flash

ISSN: 1554-0804

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