We tend to think of revolutions as being violent and bloody conflicts, which of course they are, French, Russian and American Revolutions being prime examples. On other hand, Industrial Revolution, which, in end was more far-reaching than any of other contemporary revolutions, was on whole, peaceful.

At this point I have to do a little flag waving for Scotland. Well, I don't have to, but I'm going to. Three important inventions of time, without which it's difficult to see how Industrial Revolution could have made much progress, were all Scottish. In 1769 James Watt patented first effective steam engine and subsequently had a unit of power called a Watt, named after him. Then there was macadamised road, invented by - yes, you've guessed it - a man called McAdam.

Finally there was pneumatic tyre, invented in Scotland not once but twice, and forty years apart. It was first patented in 1845 by Robert Thomson, used successfully for a while on bicycles and then, unbelievably, forgotten. Forty-three years later John Dunlop re-invented it, and rest, as they say, is history. Robert Thomson, went on to invent fountain pen, and he gets my vote for that, as I detest biro pens (excusez-moi, Monsieur Biro).

Just for record I might as well mention a few other contemporary Scots inventions. James Simpson - first doctor to use anaesthetics, Joseph Lister - first to use antiseptics, The Kelvin scale, Maxwell's equations in Electro-magnetism (whatever they are), Marmalade, The macintosh. A waterproof coat, invented by a Scots chemist called (why, of course) Charles Macintosh. He invented it whilst trying to do something else, but it still counts as a Scottish invention.

I'm tempted to add whisky to list, but I have a feeling that this particular invention would have had effect of slowing march of progress to a walk, or possibly a stagger.

Fortunately we do not have revolutions anymore; we have elections. Not even that business with holes punched in voters' cards in Bush vs Gore election scramble caused more than American equivalent of a Gallic shrug (and doesn't that seem a long time ago now?)

All same, earth has moved a couple of times in our lifetime (well, in mine, anyhow); once in fifties and then again in nineties, with coming of communications revolution, based on silicon chip and all-conquering computer. Incidentally, while we're on subject, hands up all those who actually know what a silicon chip is. Hmm, I see you're all with me and Homer Simpson on this one. You remember when doctor asks him if alien life form he'd seen was silicon or carbon based, and he thinks for a moment and says, "Um, first thing - zilophone".

Anyway, fifties, as everyone knows, saw rise of teenager. Before fifties, young people wanted nothing more than to grow up like their parents. They dressed like them and probably thought like them. If Dad wanted to wear his trousers under his armpits and have shoulder pads so broad that he looked wider than he was tall, then that was okay for Junior too.

All that changed with coming of James Dean and Marlon Brando. James Dean was gone by time I reached my teens, but I still went through black leather jacket and white T-shirt phase. Dean had such an impact that he still seems modern today. It's as if he belongs to an entirely different world than, say, Jimmy Stewart.

In Part 1, I talked about importance of planning and structuring your article. Here are three more essential steps to help you make sure your article is ready to go.

4. Avoid clichés (like plague). As in, clichéd language, clichéd advice, and clichéd topics. To refresh your memory, a cliché is anything that's over-used, banal, or tired. It's anything we've all heard 1,000 times before and hoped we'd never hear again.

Some typical examples of overworked expressions (and there are thousands):

... bring you up to speed, at end of day, since time immemorial, chilled to bone, a gleam in his eye, her heart leapt into her mouth, a level playing field, when all is said and done, on same page ...

Clichéd language can be fixed with a good edit. First, determine whether you really need that phrase. If you do, express concepts in ordinary terms. So, for "see if we’re on same page", substitute "see if we all agree".

Clichéd advice and topics might include:

"Achieve your goals" "Build life you want" "Don't worry, be happy" "Empower yourself" and, my personal fave, sent to me in an e-mail newsletter: "Take a bubble bath".

I include in this category any concept that's corny and sentimental, or writing that attempts to express inexpressible: all those fluttering leaves, vibrant sunsets, and yearning sighs.

It's really tough to write about intense emotions or universal experiences in a way that's original and subtle. Great novelists and poets spend their lives struggling to do this. If you’re not careful, it's easy to end up sounding like a 50-cent greeting card.

Fixing clichéd ideas is more challenging than fixing clichéd language. You need to ask tough questions:

"What does this phrase mean? What am I really saying here? What situations illustrate this? What do I want people to get? What value am I adding here?"

Remember that people are looking for straight talk and solutions to problems. Your solutions. They want your ideas, expressed with your urgency and importance.

So don't give your readers hackneyed ideas expressed in stale language. Don't fob them off with a bubble bath, try shoving them into a brisk, eye-opening cold shower instead.

5. Proofread Your article has to be 100% perfect in grammar, spelling and punctuation before public gets to see it. The public means anyone visiting your Web site, and anyone you submit your article to for feedback or possible publication.

I confess, I did work as a professional proofreader for a time. And when you spend your life looking for missing periods and dots over i's, you tend to get a little demanding. But there's a reason for my concern.