COLOR MY WORLDWritten by Arleen M. Kaptur
You have permission to publish this article in its entirety, electronically, or in print, as long as bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication, if possible, would be appreciated. Or an e-mail informing writer of your use. akaptur@centurytel.net Thank you. Word-Count: 753 Category: Writing TITLE: COLOR MY WORLD Author: Arleen M. Kaptur If world had no color, would you still want to live in it? You wake up in morning to shades of black, grey and white. That is full spectrum of tints, tones, and hues. Nothing else just variations on these three colors. Your home would be decorated in these shades and if you stepped outside, there it would be again. A color range that only had three choices plus any derivatives. Dull, monotonous, and very unappealing. But our world is made up of color. Lots of colors to choose from. You arrange your home around your favorites, and your garden just blooms with flowers that take your breath away. Wherever you look or travel, or happen to be, you are surrounded by shades of color that inspire, enlighten and make life worthwhile. Then, as writers, why don't we use colorful descriptions, conversations, and characters? Pick up a newspaper and you know basically how each story will start, questions an interviewer will ask, and in some circumstances, how it will all turn out. Some stories resemble others so closely that if you are reading one of these colorless renderings your mind is probably ten pages ahead of your eyes. Sometimes you wonder where all glitter and shine has gone in some of today's literature. When you try to research any subject, there is a very good chance that half articles or books you pick up will describe your topic in about same way, even using same words. When this happens, your mind takes notice and realizes that one of these writers either didn't really delve deep enough into material or he/she just decided that all other writers knew what they were talking about so it was all right to copy it, change it a wee bit, and sign their name to it. Ahem! how long do you think this deception would last? Today world is better educated, more in touch with world than ever before, and are very well read in whatever interests them. Today's writers, therefore, have to be a hop and a skip in front of their audience and present their material in a way that is fresh, new, and will excite or motivate reader. This is especially true if you write for younger people and children. Using your imagination and your skills to render stories, articles, and novels (fiction and non-fiction) that will be "fresh and new" is your key to success. Don't copy what has been done and especially not in same words. This is unforgivable and all your pens should be removed from your desk immediately!
| | Writing Made Them Rich #2: Charles DickensWritten by Michael Southon
Charles Dickens was born in Portsea, England, in 1812. His father was a clerk in Navy Pay Office, stationed at Portsmouth. Although his job was well paid, his father had a weakness for spending money and spent much of his life in chronic bankruptcy. In 1824, when Charles was just 12 years old, his father was sent to debtor's jail. Charles Dickens was sent to a boarding house and given a 12 hour-a-day job preparing bottles of shoe polish in a blacking factory. But Dickens' fortunes improved: a sudden inheritance allowed his father to pay off his debts and he sent Charles to school. At age fifteen Charles was placed as a clerk in office of an attorney, a friend of his father's. In his spare time he studied hard to become a Parliamentary reporter. At age nineteen he entered parliamentary gallery as a reporter for The Mirror. It was a well paid job and he soon became known as one of best shorthand reporters in London. Dickens began writing fiction at age 21, under nom de plume of 'Boz'. In 1836, when Dickens was 23, he began writing a series of short stories (The Posthumous Papers of Pickwick Club) which appeared in cheap monthly installments. By age of 24 he had become internationally famous. Charles Dickens burst onto literary scene at a unique moment in English history Until end of 18th century, England had been a mainly rural society. But from late 1700's onwards, land holders started forcing people off their land to make way for sheep farming. At same time Industrial Revolution was creating new towns and cities with belching smoke stacks and factories that needed workers - English countryside was emptying and a new urban working class was emerging. The concentration of people in towns and cities created something that had never existed before - a mass audience. Newspapers, Magazines and Newsletters sprang up to cater for this new and growing demand.
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