EigenGraphs

I started my first manuscript during my junior year at Virginia Tech. I had a couple of characters in mind, a flimsy skeleton of a plot, and one pressing question. Where to set the book?

At that point in my life, I hadn’t traveled too far past the Virginia state line. And to me, the rest of the world sounded alluring in a way the town I grew up in couldn’t compare.

So I considered my options. My story could take place on an island. An obviously appealing setting. Palm trees, sinking pink sunsets, water as blue as a robin’s egg. And of course, glistening white sand.

Or what about Italy? A place I had always dreamed of going. Olive groves, the chiming of beautiful old church bells, faded stucco buildings.

I set my first few manuscripts in exactly that kind of locale. The only trouble was, I had never been to any of those places. And once I got past the generic descriptions, I found myself facing what felt like an empty reservoir from which to draw my story.

I had read the advice in practically every creative writing handbook. Write what you know. And I began to understand that they weren’t just talking about plot and characters, but the place where the story unfolds as well.

What I knew was southwest Virginia. But what could the rest of the world possibly find interesting about it?
Despite my skepticism, I finally started a manuscript set in a small Virginia town much like my hometown. This was the first of my books to sell. No coincidence, I’m sure.
How did I finally come to see what was around me and what others might find appealing about it? By looking at where I’ve lived and what it has meant to me.

The physical beauty of Virginia is indisputable. Spring arrives with its paintbrush of green. Summer fills the orchards with apples and peaches, thickens fields with grass for hay. Fall dips maples and oaks in red and gold. Winter lays ice across our lakes and hides our roads under snow.

Those are the broadbrush strokes of my story, but I believe the details that bring a setting to life come from the individual places that populate a small community.
From the Main Street of my childhood, there was Ben Franklin and the Melody Shop. Kittinger’s Drug Store, Brammer’s Five and Ten and N. Morris Department Store.
Ben Franklin was a favorite. After digging out coins for the parking meter, we would head downstairs to the toy department. The snack bar was also on the bottom floor, and I can remember the delicious smell of steamed hot dog buns and french fries wafting up in greeting.

The Melody Shop was the place to buy 45 rpm records - yes, I know, I’m dating myself! Kittinger’s for a cherry Coke. And at Brammer’s Five and Ten, my sister and I stocked up on five-cent candy which we resold at elevated prices to our cousins in the pretend store we set up in my grandma’s basement.

Country stores show up in my stories on a regular basis, and I’m sure their origin is the one owned by my great aunt and uncle. My sister and I spent many Saturday nights there with our grandparents. All the adults sat on stools in the middle of the store and talked, while we drank Sun-drop and ate Wise potato chips from bright blue bags.

Much of my love for the place where I grew up comes from my grandpa. He loved just getting out and looking at it. Bright and early on Sunday mornings, my sister and I would climb in his old blue and white Chevrolet truck and drive over to the local Quickette for the morning paper. We always took a detour of some sort, to check on cows, look at hay, see a pony he was thinking about buying for us. These were adventures, and we learned the county roads like our own backyard.

Pieces of these places have shown up in each of my books. I loved them, and I think that rings true with readers. I’ve traveled a bit since those first manuscripts, and although I may venture out in future books to other settings, it will be with a healthy respect for the gold in my own backyard.

Inglath Cooper is the RITA Award-winning author of six published novels. Her books are often peopled with characters who reflect the values and traditions of the small Virginia town where she grew up. To read about her latest release, please visit her website at http://www.inglathcooper.com

If you’ve spent any time online trying to promote your website or business, you must have very likely realised that one of the most effective ways to generate tons of free targetted web traffic on a long term basis is to write your own informative articles and freely distribute them to other webmasters and ezine publishers for their use.

Some of the benefits of this amazing strategy include:

-it’s totally FREE and gets links to your website distributed to a huge number of other related websites on a permanent basis…

…no need to pay for the links…

…no need to give a return link on your own website to other sites…

-The presence of your links in many other websites also directly increases your Google PageRank and increases the targetted free traffic you get from search engines!

-When people see your name and website/company in the bylines of the articles on different sites, you will naturally be thought of as an “expert” in that field…This increases your credibility and makes it more likely that your visitors will take your recommendations to them more seriously.

The purpose of this article is to seek to create a comprehensive list of places where writers can submit their articles for distribution…

If you find this page useful, please bookmark it…and use it whenever you have new articles to distribute…we will continue to update it with the latest links as we get “tip offs” from our visitors.

If you would like to reproduce this article and link resource in your website/ezine to increase your website’s “stickability”, please feel free to do so. (because of the convenience of finding all the possible submission sites on one page,many writers will bookmark your site if you have this resource on it…Go Ahead…Bookmark this page NOW!)

Here Are The Link:

http://www.infoprisor.com

Hope you found this article useful…

Remember…bookmark this page and if you discover any other good sites to distribute articles through, let me know.Thanks!

http://www.infoprisor.com Free articles for reprint

The Lowdown: How To Create And Send HTML Email
Copyright © 2004 Steve Shaw

I am frequently asked how to create and send HTML email, usually with regard to how to broadcast it to a mailing list. This article presents the various options available to you.

How to create HTML email:

Creating the content of an HTML email is very similar to how you would create a basic web page. Just use your normal web page editor, such as FrontPage or Dreamweaver (or even Notepad can be used, in conjunction with a browser to preview the code), and construct a web page in the normal way, saving it as an .html or .htm file.

You may consider creating an HTML email template that you can use as a basis for all your future HTML emails. If so, once you’re happy with the basic look, save it and then just open and re-edit for your future emails.

There is an important difference that you need to remember between writing HTML for your web site, and writing HTML for email.

All the URLs in your code need to be absolute, rather than relative, for all links and images, eg. http://www.yourdomain.com/image.gif, rather than something like just image.gif. This also means of course that any images used in your HTML email need to be stored on a web server, the same as when you use images on a web site.

How to send HTML email:

To send the HTML email to an individual, such as to yourself in order to check on its appearance, you can open the web page (i.e. the HTML email) you have created in the latest version of IE (File -> Open…), and then click File -> Send.

However, if you’re creating HTML email for use in email marketing, you will normally want to use a completely different tool in order to send it to numerous recipients.

There are two main options to enable you to send email to a mailing list - you can either use some special software on your own computer; or use a web-based solution, either on your own web site, or via a service run by a third party.

If you are looking for software, you can find a variety of solutions by going to somewhere like download.com, and searching for ’send email’.

You can also install some software onto your own web site, which can give you more control but also gives you all the responsibility for maintenance of the software/script if things go wrong.

However, I personally have a preference for using a third-party web-based service when sending out my newsletter. For one, it means my broadcasts are not reliant on my own Internet connection or PC, and it also let’s someone else take care of delivering my messages to several thousand recipients.

There are literally hundreds of third-party web-based services available, all varying widely in quality and ease of use, and suiting different budgets and email requirements. One of the best ways to do your research on this is to check out your competitors or your favourite newsletters and ezines, and, if they send out HTML email, find out what service they use. Often the unsubscribe link, that should be at the bottom of their messages, will point towards the relevant web site.

(HINT: By signing up to my own newsletter at http:/ akanomi.com/newsletter, you will be able to find out which service I personally use.)

Finally, and importantly, should you send out HTML email? It entirely depends on the preferences of your own list. But, in general, look towards big business. Most big businesses tend to send out HTML email, and there’s only going to be one main reason for that - response rates. But you do need to ensure that your HTML email is professional, easy to read, and has an attractive layout.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Steve Shaw creates systems and software for effective e-marketing. His powerful PopUpMaster Pro software creates popups that beat the popup blockers and can significantly increase your conversion rates.
For more information:
http://www.popupmaster.com

To create an impact with your speech or presentation, the audience has to “get” the message. That means they have to be able to hear it and to understand it. And to do that, first they must listen.

So the very first step in this whole process is to gain their attention and then keep it, so that they listen, hear what you say, understand it, and then they can be influenced by it … which is, after all, the essence of impact.

There are several strategies to keep attention and the one we’re looking at here is designing the structure of your speech.

That structure has to work flawlessly to keep attention, and you can also use it to make you message absolutely clear.

“Tell them what you’re going to say. Say it. Then tell them what you said”

And that is so true!! We must take into account that we have such short attention spans. And so do audiences. If we want to make a point that will stay with an audience after they leave the room, we have to repeat and reinforce it throughout the presentation.

The first thing to do is get that attention - arouse it, focus it and keep it. Don’t waste your breath on the expected or the blah. If you must begin with something like “Good evening”, then make it different, or unusual. Here in Australia, we might say “G’day!” That would be unexpected. Otherwise use your voice and body language to make the greeting unusual, challenging, noticeable. Use pause here. Then use an opening that grabs the attention. You can use a question, a joke, a comment about the people or surroundings or event. You can make a statement, use a quotation, or simply use body language or gesture. But choose that opening to grab attention, to align with the audience and their needs, hopes and aspirations, and to lead into your message.

Your introduction to the speech should

lead into the main point

and give a short background for the points to follow

…The body of the speech should

present points that are pertinent and support the theme or premise

support the points with examples, illustrations, etc.

use different strategies to appeal to different interests and learning styles

present original ideas or a new approach to familiar materials

…The conclusion should:

summarise the points and restate them briefly

emphasise the theme or premise again

make the purpose of the speech clear

provide a strong finish for the speech

…

Your closing is your last chance to create impact, to influence, to call to action. Make it very clear.

So right through the speech, there has to be a reiteration in as many ways as you can find, and clarification in as many ways as you can think of, of the message you wanted the audience to take with them…to make that message clearly heard and understood.

(This assumes, of course, that you articulated the impact you wanted and the message you intended to convey at the beginning. That step is vital - visit my article “Plan to create the WOW factor with your speech or presentation”)

The structure of your presentation introduced your well defined theme, presented that theme, and repeated it to conclude.

And you will have given your audience a great chance of remembering it.

Bronwyn Ritchie is a speaker, writer, librarian and trainer and she manages Pivotal Points - resources for the times in your life when you pivot - change direction - towards a better you, a better life.

For more tips, articles and courses on creating an impact with your public speaking and presentations, visit http://www.consultpivotal.com/public_speaking.htm

Two Days Ago The Sky Was Falling…

…yesterday, it was on fire, and today it was pale blue like
the color of a seashell’s interior; and, if such a seashell
doesn’t exist….it should! Wow, I was talking to my pal Chet
Thoreau tonight, and he brought up Albert Einstein, and, you
know, how eccentric Einstein was in respect to his clothes,
because, see, Einstein didn’t want to waste thought on such
stupid issues. I feel you Einie! Well, Albert Einstein was, of
course, a genius, and, in addition to his scientific brilliance,
Dr. Einstein also had a wonderful philosophy (weltanschauung…
chalk up a couple pretentious points, but, it really is a good
word…) At any rate, who else would say something like this?

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though
nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a
miracle.” - Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

And, this is quite apropos to the sky, and how it’s falling one
day, on fire the next, and the color of a seashell’s interior
today. I don’t know what it is about out here. I don’t know what
it is about my job, and I don’t know why every time I’m leaving
work at about 4 to 6 on my day shift days, I don’t know why, but
somebody tell me why I feel like I’m seeing the sky for the
first time every time. I mean….somebody tell me why. I mean…
plenty of people are like, “Kemal, why do you write so many
poems about the sky?” Well, that’s the way it is. But, what is
it about out here? I can’t figure it out.

If you find this interesting, please take a moment to visit an
Creative Memories Forum.

If your articles aren’t getting published very often, or you just want to increase the chances of them being published, then you will benefit from the tips in this article.

1. Article Length

You should always keep you article 500 to 800 words long. If you can’t fit what you want to say into that amount of space, then break your article up into more than one part.

2. Resource Box Length

When writing your resource box, keep it 5 to 6 lines long. In a resource box you are simply trying to get people to request more information, not sell them something. If you want a longer ad, buy one!

3. Line Length

The lines in both your article and your resource box should be formatted to 60 to 65 characters per line. One of the consequences of not doing so is that, in some email programs, your article may appear with every line at a different length.

You can get your article formatted, as well as learning its character, line, and word count, at the following website for free. http://www.fwointl.com/FWOFormatter.html

4. Is Your Article Actually An Article?

Publishers want to provide their readers with actually useful information and you should want the same. If you write an article that is just a sales letter or press release it will be rejected 99 percent of the time.

5. Inactive Links

Before you even think about publishing or submitting your article check that all links within it are active and working. Nothing is more irritating than to click on a link for a site you’re interested in only to find out that it no longer exists.

6. Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar

If you submit your article and it’s full of errors it will be thrown into the trash folder so fast that your head will spin. Submitting articles with these types of errors not only makes you look extremely unprofessional, but it shows disrespect for both the publisher and their readers.

7. S*AM Triggers

As a courtesy, you should run your article through a program that will check it for triggers that could possibly get it rejected by filters. This isn’t a necessary step but it will definitely impress publishers and increase the chances of your article being published.

You can check your article for free at http://www.lyris.com/contentchecker.

8. Publisher Guidelines

This should be understood without having to say it, but it is still important enough to mention. Always, always, always follow the publisher’s guidelines when submitting an article to them. Not doing so will get your article rejected quicker than anything else.

Read this list, print it out, and keep it by you when you are writing an article. Read each tip and make sure that you are following it.

Making the above mistakes will insult the intelligence of both the publishers and their readers, as well as wasting your time and theirs.

Brandie King is a writer and author who teaches other writers how to write, as well as promote, using articles. She is currently looking for a wide variety of articles on a wide variety of topics for her article directory. You can submit absolutely free. http://www.articlesubmission.com

You are free to reprint this article in your ezine or ebook, or on your website, as long as the contents in the article and the resource box are not changed.

owner@articlesubmission.com
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If your present domain name doesn’t get you top placement in directories, it’s
broken.

A second domain name pointing to your web site can give you guaranteed
top placement in Yahoo (with over 25% of all online searches).

If you are just starting a web site, you can choose a domain name that will get top
directory placement and bring visitors to your site.

Most online traffic is directed to web sites by search engines and directories (over
50% by most estimates). Many sites get more visitors from specialized directories
related to the subject matter of their site than from search engines. Visitors coming
from directories specializing in what you offer are much more likely to be genuinely
interested in your products
or services. That means qualified customers coming to your site.

When people input search words into the search engines and directories, they
produce lists of web sites (often thousands) related to the search words. Unless
you are at or near the top of the list, it’s very unlikely people will ever find your
listing. How do you get to the top of the list?

Here are some key strategies for getting your site placed at the top of the list ahead
of those thousands of sites in the search results. Use these strategies to get major
numbers of qualified
interested visitors to your site.

Top Directory Placement

To place high in directories you must learn to use the key features of directories.
All directories list alphabetically:

Yahoo lists alphabetically by domain name
Yahoo puts a few web sites at the top of the list that have the key search
words in the domain name
Many directories list alphabetically by page title

For guaranteed high placement in directories you need:

Domain name with alphabetical priority
Domain name with high scoring search words
Page title with alphabetical priority

Alphabetical Priority

The key here is that numbers appear before letters and symbols appear before
numbers in alphabetical listings.

Domain Name - Your domain name cannot begin with a symbol, but it can begin
with a number. For example, “1st” gets high alphabetical priority and suggests the
best or the first. Some names from our domain auction that use this principle are:

1stAirline.com
1stAutomobiles.com
1stHTML.com
1stPeopleSearches.com
1stPictures.com

“4Naming.com” and “4WebDesigning.com” are other examples from our domain
auction of domain names beginning with numbers.

Page Title - Getting priority with the title of your web page is easy. Use a symbol
or a number or both at the beginning of your page title. For example:

#1 Source for … (whatever products your site offers)
1,001 Ways to … (whatever services your site offers)

Key Search Words

The words following the number in your domain name and page title must be the
key words related to your site subject used the most in actual online searches.
They should also attract visitors to come to your site by telling what is available on
your site.

There are many great generic names available with high scoring key words by
placing numbers at the beginning of the names. “Airline”, “automobiles”, “html”,
“people searches”, and “pictures” are all highly used search words.

You may want your company name to be your primary domain name because
people already know your name and can click to your site. But, you can have any
number of other domain names with high alphabetical priority and high scoring
generic search words pointing to your site. To point additional domain names to
your site can cost as little as $1 to $5 a
month depending on your web host.

The cost of a second domain name and low monthly pointing cost are certainly
worth getting thousands of visitors. You can get the qualified visitors who may not
know your company name, but who use generic search words to find products or
services like yours.

So, for guaranteed top placement in directories, like Yahoo with over one fourth of
all searches online:

Use a domain name beginning with a number
Use a domain name with high scoring search words
Begin your page titles with a symbol and/or number

Use these strategies and your site will be on top of the directories, including
Yahoo. You can get all of the qualified visitors you want with the right domain
name and page titles.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Don Meeker has top ranking domain names in an auction, sale & custom name
service at http://www.namespecialists.com