Omnipotence.Written by Malcolm James Pugh
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At everything I chose to tackle, Where fire had turned to embers, I soon seemed to make it crackle, So I thought myself invincible, Inviolate, towering and wise, Never sensing for an instant, Storm clouds gathering in my skies, For many words I had uttered, In order to give everything a boost, Were like homing pigeon post, And were coming home to roost, And in truth I cant remember, What I said on any given day, I just said what seemed appropriate, Got completely carried away, And though it all seemed justified, And almost noble at time, Now its all come round full circle, And now its deemed a crime, And peculiar thing is now, When I need to be my most persuasive, My words ring empty cold and hollow, And my triumphant tone evasive, Though I thought that history, Would scribe my name in runes of fire, I will end up with epitaph, Of having been a fool if not a liar.
ex systems programmer.
| | The Hard Facts about EditingWritten by Jennifer Minar
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Ask a Friend to Read. It's helpful to have friends look at your work. They'll see it with a new perspective, which in turn will help them find things you may have missed. But remember, non-writer friends may not always know what to look for. Friends may also be shy about correcting you. You need dead-honest criticism, so if you feel you won't get it from a particular person, don't ask him to read. Join a Critique Group. Peer critiques can be a terrific way to get feedback on your work, and to offer feedback on work of others. As an added benefit, you will learn that there's a lot to gain from correcting others' mistakes. There are many online critique groups. (One place to look is Yahoo Groups http://groups.yahoo.com/). Find one that works for you, then submit and critique as needed. Read Books. There are many good books that can teach you to become a better self-editor. Check out a couple of them. Also, make sure to keep a style guide handy. One good one is Strunk and White's, The Elements of Style. Hire an Editor. A good editor will be able to reveal hidden mistakes and will ensure that your best possible work is being submitted. There are many editors who will gladly take your money, so be careful when choosing someone with whom to work. Ask friends for recommendations. If you'd like my recommendation, WritersBreak.com works with a fantastic and super-affordable editor who owns BookShelf Editing Services. I cannot recommend her highly enough for editing articles, novels, or web material. She can be found at www.writersbreak.com/bookshelf-editing.htm. Remember, few things undermine credibility as quickly as work that contains errors. But, on a positive note, also remember that there are many actions you can take to avoid them.
Jennifer Minar is a freelance writer in the health & fitness and writing markets. She is the founder & managing editor of Writer's Break (http://www.writersbreak.com), a web site and ezine for fiction and creative non-fiction writers. She is also the founder of Industry News @-a-Glance, an ezine for the retail pharmacy industry. Jennifer can be contacted at jminar@writersbreak.com.
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