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Sunday, December 14, 2014

The Art Of Short Story Writing

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A lot of people find that they want to write a short story, even though they are not a "writer" or an "aspiring novelist." Many people find short stories to be therapeutic, fun, relaxing, enjoyable. Short story writing can be a productive use of your time, and it can be a very fun hobby. At the same time, however, it is not much fun to write short stories if no one will read them!

In modern American literature, few writers were as highly regarded as Kurt Vonnegut. From the late 1940s until his death in the late 2000s, Vonnegut wrote critically acclaimed and highly-regarded short stories, novels, and essays. At one point during Vonnegut's writing journey, he compiled his list of "rules" for short story writing. The next few paragraphs summarize these ideas.

Vonnegut began his rules focused on what you should do for the reader - firstly, that you should make sure the reader won't leave your story feeling like they wasted their time, and secondly that you should give the reader at least one character they can root for. Continuing with characters, Vonnegut says that every character should want something, even if it is only something small, and every sentence should either reveal something about a character or advance action. Vonnegut next encouraged writers to make awful things happen to their characters, no matter how sweet and kind these characters are. This allows the reader to see what the character is made of. He advises writers to start as close to the end as they possibly can, and to write to just please one person. To understand this last one, realize this: If you write to please one person, and that one person loves your story, then all others who have similar tastes to your "one person" will love it also.

Vonnegut's final piece of advice was to give the reader as much information as possible as quickly as possible. "To heck with suspense," was his thought on this final rule. He claimed that the reader should always have a complete understanding of what is going on.

Of course, Vonnegut admitted that you can break all of these rules and still create a terrific short story. But you could sure do a lot worse than Kurt Vonnegut if you are going to find a writer to take advice from for writing short stories.

Saturday, December 13, 2014

How To Deal With An Abrasive Boss

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Different bosses all tend to take different approaches at work – and of course, each boss is probably taking the approach that they feel most comfortable with, or that they feel is most effective; but even when you realize that an abrasive boss is acting the way they act because they feel more “comfortable” with this, or feel this is “most effective,” this does not make it any easier to deal with it! When you are working for an abrasive boss, however, there are some things you can do – and as long as you follow these tips, it will make your work life a whole lot easier.

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First off, it will be important for you to realize that you do not need to be a pushover in order to be cordial; continue to treat your boss with the same level of respect and courtesy you would a boss who treats you with respect and courtesy, but do not allow yourself to get “bullied” by them or the approach they are taking with you.

One thing abrasive bosses generally think is that their abrasiveness will make emplyees think they have to please them, but it is important – as an employee working for such a boss – that you keep in mind the fact that you are the person you should be trying to please; you should always feel like you are working hard, and like you are doing the best job possible, and as long as you feel this way, it will not matter how your boss feels!

And of course, realize that there is nothing that is "making you" put up with this boss; you can always look for another job – one where your boss treats you with respect.

When you take this approach to work – being polite without being a pushover, working to feel good about your performance instead of to impress your boss, and realizing that you can always look for another job – it will be much easier to be productive at work (and even to enjoy work!) in spite of having an abrasive boss.

Tips For Hiring Great Freelancers

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You will certainly put a great deal of emphasis on the idea of hiring the "right" employees for your company when you run a business, but you will also reach a point when you need to hire consultants or freelancers for projects (sometimes small projects, sometimes large), and it can be difficult to know if you are following the right steps to hire good workers. If you are running a business - regardless of whether it is a small business or a large business - here are a few tips you can follow in your efforts to "hire" the best people for the jobs you have.

Have patience: When a freelance project needs to be completed soon, the temptation can be to post an ad on a job site and to hire someone from the first few freelancers who respond. Keep in mind, however, the fact that your project is important to you and your company; if you give it enough time, you will likely receive hundreds of inquiries regarding the job you have posted, and even though it will feel nice to "get it over with" and hire someone right away, it will be much better in the long run if you take the time to make sure you are putting the project in good hands.

Look at the resumes: Any good freelancer will also have a freelance resume that they can send; unless you are unable to pay for an experienced freelancer, you should make sure you take the time to look over these resumes, paying close attention to the resumes that show a track record of good work and a great deal of experience.

Ask for samples: A great way to narrow down the "applicants" for a freelance job is to ask for samples of their work, but an even better way (perhaps the best way of all) is to ask them to create samples for you off of a unique "test assignment." When you take this final step, you will be able to truly discern which of the qualified applicants are the right applicants for the job you have in hand!