November 17th, 2010
188 Comments
In the English speaking world, many people don’t realize just how wonderful non-English speaking writers are. One of the communities that produce some of the most amazing writers is the Filipino community - so I’ve decided to offer this list of Filipino writers for our Filipino readers.
The following are a top list of Filipino writers, but at the bottom of this article you’ll also find a list of about thirty more that deserve mention.
Top 10 List of Filipino Writers
In a literary world dominated by English-speaking writers, it isn’t always easy to make your mark as a Filipino writer. However, the culture and heritage embodied by the carefully crafted words of some writers pay tribute to the creativity and writing skill of this community.
The following writers are a few of the best Filipino writers you’ll find. Whether you are Filipino or simply love the culture, make sure to check out these writers.
Manuel Arguilla
Manuel Arguilla was the author of the 1940 book of short stories titled How My Brother Leon Brought Home A Wife. It took first prize for short stories in the 1940 in the First Commonwealth Literary Contest. People that knew him said that he enjoyed doing his writing around one or two in the morning, when the stories came to him easily. Read the rest of this entry »
November 13th, 2010
105 Comments
If there’s one thing that warms my heart when reading novels it’s a bit of well-placed nostalgia from someone who knows what he’s talking about. Driving on the Rim by self-taught Montana rancher Thomas McGuane offers just that and more.
The 70 year old writer, once taught to be a mad dog in his close-knit Montana community and amongst fellow writers, was recently interviewed by the New York Times to discuss his tenth novel and how his life as a rancher has effected his work.
The novel about a young doctor who lands himself in a modern malpractice case draws on both McGuane’s own experiences of living in Montana when it was still regarded as the Wild West, and how the new ways of the 21st century and heightening blows made by the recession have impacted on it. McGuane’s recent work features conflict between the old and new ‘West’ often depicted as an internal battle within the characters. Read the rest of this entry »
November 10th, 2010
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As a writer, the one thing I want to concentrate on the most in my work is the actual writing side of things.
However, as anyone will tell you, writing on a freelance basis involves many of the practicalities of running a small business, if for no other reason than to keep the tax man happy.
Accounts, taxes, emails, phone calls, invoicing, chasing up bad debts and looking for more work are just some of the non-writing tasks we face each day.
While keeping the ‘business thinking cap’ on, it might be a good idea for you to think about outsourcing some or all of these tasks which eat up your time. Thus leaving you with more time to actually write and earn money.
The Virtual Assistant
You might be wondering how you would go about outsourcing your admin work and making it a profitable decision. Well, it’s not really all too hard. All you have to do is look to a closely related cousin of the fully fledged freelancer; the VA or Virtual Assistant. Read the rest of this entry »
November 8th, 2010
61 Comments
Story telling is a tradition that has been loved and practiced for hundreds, even thousands of years, by native people across the globe.
Perhaps without realizing it at first, in an age without Internet, TV, radio or even the movable type printing press, storytellers were passing down culture and heritage to new generations who would in turn do the same.
As with many other traditions, the 20th century mass media revolution has all but wiped out story telling amongst those whose culture survived upon it, including the native Alaskan people. However, they’re not going down without a fight it seems, with the arrival of a new initiative to reinvigorate the tradition.
Elizabeth Jones, a native Alaskan and key speaker at the First Alaskans Institute’s Elders and Youth Conference in Fairbanks, which aims to restore storytelling amongst younger people, said that the older generations who participated in story telling will have to work closely with the local youth population to teach the art of story telling and as such keep their culture and heritage alive.
The conference, which finished last Wednesday promoted Alaskan native culture through song, dance and of course story telling. This however is just the start of the initiative, headed by several key people within the Alaskan community. Read the rest of this entry »
November 4th, 2010
56 Comments
Starting off in blogging can be disorientating at times. I found it was like standing in the middle of a desert, horizons on all sides with no clear path to choose from.
To add to this feeling of being lost and alone there was the ‘strategies’ and ‘get rich quick from home’ schemes that sucked me in, all be it temporarily .
Clear information detailing pitfalls, errors and plans of action that get results are what a newbie blogger needs and for that reason I’ve compiled a list of five must read websites for any blogger starting off (and indeed experienced bloggers alike).
I thought I’d start with an entry which may seem obvious to anyone whose been in the blogosphere more than five minutes; however for people who have just created a blog the name Darren Rowse may not mean anything. Yet.
Read the rest of this entry »
November 3rd, 2010
132 Comments
Internet working is often perceived by outsiders to be very laid back and stress-free. This image is largely due to misconceived notions that web workers and freelancers lounge around the house all day and do a few hours work when they feel like it.
The reality is that web working can be stressful at times and blogging, whether it’s a hobby or a career, is no exception.
Deadlines, demanding readers and writers block can have a crushing effect on any bloggers’ motivation and lead to stress. But with a little bit of calm planning and setting up systems to lighten the work load you could have a stress free blog in no time at all.
Automate to Eliminate
Writers want to write and bloggers want to blog. Fiddling with the innermost working of your blog on a daily basis will induce a lot of stress. The same goes for filtering SPAM, checking blog related Email and paying your staff (if you have any).
First things first. Use a good CMS. Chances are many of you bloggers out there already use Wordpress or Blogger.com. These have numerous tools built into them which can remove some of the more basic of tasks such as ridding your comments of SPAM and ensuring your blog posts are well formatted and presentable. Make good use of these to free up some ‘me time’.
Read the rest of this entry »
November 2nd, 2010
64 Comments
So you have a blog, you have awesome content and still no one is coming. What’s up with that? In this update I’m going to give away 4 of the best SEO tips that you won’t find at any of the expert SEO sites.
The reason you won’t find these on most expert SEO sites is because they work. While that may sound strange, it’s really the nature of Search Engine Optimization that you have to beat out the competition in whatever niche you’re focusing on. Most SEO sites give you the basics, but not the beef. Well, here’s the beef.
1. Destroy Those Broken Links
The nature of the Internet is changing rapidly. Half a decade ago, webmasters could get by just putting together a well-optimized website consisting of a few interesting pages, and it would actually perform pretty well in the search engines and in terms of overall traffic, even over the long term.
However, these days it’s all about being current, timely and updated. People don’t want to read about information that was written back in the 1990s. The Internet is fast becoming a place where information is constantly updated, and it’s updated fast.
Read the rest of this entry »
November 1st, 2010
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Experimental writing, by its very nature is only really experimental for a little while. After the experiment, it either becomes writing … or trash.
This form of writing, historically, has been associated with times of great social upheaval across the world, such as at the beginning of the twentieth century and the swinging sixties. Times of conservatism, such as Europe during the Cold War, saw writers, in large part, take off the lab coat and put on tweed jackets instead.
If in your writing you do the opposite to what you were taught at school or what any editor could call ‘acceptable’, then you’re engaging in experimental writing.
For example the great writer James Joyce would often just throw down any old rubbish that was circulating in his mind or indeed the mind of his characters with absolute neglect to the niceties of the English language. Joyce often ignored grammar, as well as what could be seen as acceptable at the time, all in just one great plop called a “flow-of-consciousness.”
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October 13th, 2010
113 Comments
At this point, everyone that owns a website or a blog recognizes the truth behind the motto, “Content is King.”
You can have the best SEO strategy in the world, the ultimate website theme and the coolest ideas - but unless you can produce consistent, valuable content - you might as well pack up and go home.
If you’re not a writer yourself, then it’s critical that you find a good web content provider.
Good Content is Timely and Updated
The nature of the Internet is changing rapidly. Half a decade ago, webmasters could get by just putting together a well-optimized website consisting of a few interesting pages, and it would actually perform pretty well in the search engines and in terms of overall traffic, even over the long term.
However, these days it’s all about being current, timely and updated. People don’t want to read about information that was written back in the 1990s. The Internet is fast becoming a place where information is constantly updated, and it’s updated fast.
Read the rest of this entry »
October 6th, 2010
65 Comments
At this point, if you doubt that it’s possible to earn income on the Internet, then you probably aren’t very familiar with the Internet. Whether you’re a writer, graphic designer, web designer, antique collector, teacher, photographer or anything else - it is certainly possible to earn significant income on the Internet.
In this post update, I’d like to cover a dilemma that many online writers face early on - the concept of writing for royalties.
Writing for Royalties
There are blogs and websites throughout the Internet that understand they need to pay writers in order to produce quality content that performs well in the search engines. Google is getting a lot better at identifying high-quality, relevant content, so only the best sites with the best information will end out on top.
This creates a high demand for good writers. If you’re a writer, that’s great! But understand that there are still websites out there that have not come to terms with the reality that good writing has very real value, and you get what you pay for.
Currently there are two popular payment scenarios for online writers - per article or royalties.
Read the rest of this entry »
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