Writing just for the sake of writing and not focusing on legitimacy of the content is like trying to paint without a canvas. One might think that being authentic should be easy, but it is easier said than done. Being truthful is one thing, but to be able to fit it in a certain frame while giving it that creative spark tends to be a tough task at hand, even for the most creative writers.

Some useful tips on how to make your content genuine and relevant:

1. Develop your own Signature Style: Paulo Coelho and Stephen King both have very different technique of writing and they both make it work to their advantage. Do not try and copy anyone’s way of writing because that will just come out as a fake print. Write the way you would normally talk because if you do that, your writing would be smooth and expressive.
2. Tell a Story: Relate the subject of your content to something that may have happened around you, or with you. People love reading a great story and this also gives your article a sense of integrity.
3. Form Your Own Views: It is not necessary that you agree with black being the most fashionable color while the rest of the world thinks it is.  If you think it’s yellow, then take a stand and express why you believe it is. When you write about a certain subject, it is important to formulate your own opinions on it as this will naturally create a coherency in your content and make it an original piece of writing.

It is important to take the time and think before you put pen to paper for any topic that you wish to write on. Trying to rush your own thoughts would never give you the result you’re looking for. Originality in content springs from original thoughts, so as long as the thoughts are your own and uninfluenced, the content would be genuine and high-quality.

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It is a believe-it-or-not moment for this blog to have taken shape and an equally unusual space for it to appear. But we like surprises, don’t we? When it comes to blogging, there is a very competitive set of writers who are beating the other genres. They are making good money as well. It is time that before one hits the art of blogging; one should have a look at the happening cookery blogs that have a thing or two to say.

Flavor: One of the crucial elements of cookery blog is the content. Unless an author chooses to stick to a style of cooking or a particular region e.g. theitaliandishblog.com, the world is the platter. The point to be taken home is that keeping the options open gives an advantage in competition.

Catalogue: The cookery blogs offer variety over the range of cooking. There are recipes available from around the world with details that gives step wise guidance towards cooking. Thus, cataloguing becomes an important aspect. It is a crucial lesson for bloggers as a catalogued blog help readers to browse through content.

Richness: The richness part lies in the picturesque presentation. These cookery blogs beat every other in style, photography and appeal. The dishes are presented in rich, colorful setting making the blogs an absolute delight in read like pinchmysalt.com . Evidently, making a strong connection with an online reader requires a good mix of writing and visual.

Share: It may look like that this is meant only for a food fanatic but not necessarily. Here’s an important point to note. The way the participants and readers share their favorite recipes on these blogs is an inspiration. It means for the blogger half the battle is won. For a blogger to get the readers talking, it is important to engage into one or begin a subject that sparks off a conversation.

We suggest trying the above ingredients to make a blog an interesting one. It takes a little motivation, a bit of skill, a pinch of dedication and some artistry for the touch up for a perfect blog recipe. Blog Appétit.

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It is a believe-it-or-not moment for this blog to have taken shape and an equally unusual space for it to appear. But we like surprises, don’t we? When it comes to blogging, there is a very competitive set of writers who are beating the other genres. They are making good money as well. It is time that before one hits the art of blogging; one should have a look at the happening cookery blogs that have a thing or two to say.

Flavour: One of the crucial elements of cookery blog is the content. Unless an author chooses to stick to a style of cooking or a particular region e.g. www.theitaliandishblog.com, the world is the platter. The point to be taken home is that keeping the options open gives an advantage in competition.

Catalogue: The cookery blogs offer variety over the range of cooking. There are recipes available from around the world with details that gives step wise guidance towards cooking. Thus, cataloguing becomes an important aspect. It is a crucial lesson for bloggers as a catalogued blog help readers to browse through content.

Richness: The richness part lies in the picturesque presentation. These cookery blogs beat every other in style, photography and appeal. The dishes are presented in rich, colourful setting making the blogs an absolute delight in read like www.pinchmysalt.com. Evidently, making a strong connection with an online reader requires a good mix of writing and visual.
Share: It may look like that this is meant only for a food fanatic but not necessarily. Here’s an important point to note. The way the participants and readers share their favorite recipes on these blogs is an inspiration. It means for the blogger half the battle is won. For a blogger to get the readers talking, it is important to engage into one or begin a subject that sparks off a conversation.

We suggest trying the above ingredients to make a blog an interesting one. It takes a little motivation, a bit of skill, a pinch of dedication and some artistry for the touch up for a perfect blog recipe. Blog Appétit.

Image courtesy www.stephenweb.com

Travel writing is just as exclusive a genre as are the passionate lot who provide for it. Travel writers have grown in demand over the past decade owing to the fact that travel has been redefined. Tourism of all kinds is supported by governments across the globe starting from leisure, medical to adventure. Looking at the scenario, the online search for ‘places to visit’ has seen an enormous growth, which is met by travel curators from different sections of the society. They are no know-alls but are everyday people who take deep interest in the whole essence of travel. The great question is how do these travel writers come to practice the genre and the greater one, in whose company would you like to be?

Navigator: A travel writer can be recognized as a navigator when his writing works like a compass and takes you through every nook and corner of the location. It is no big deal for the writer himself as he comes with a good amount of research. With a fair chance, he gives the intricate details based on first-hand account and that just adds to the flavor. This navigator takes good care that you get information on where to, how to and what to about a place.

Conversationalist: This kind is more of a dream weaver. If you happen to have been looking into search engines for an ideal destination of vacation, you might come across a conversationalist who can easily convince you that the backyard of your house is just the right place to enjoy your time. No kidding, they are good at that. Truth be told, a conversationalist travel writer is a pleasure to read.

Projector: He is more of a magician and a good one. You can never verify the resources, the projectors take their cues from but you can always rely on the final product i.e. the information in writing. The projector picks a point on the map and builds a complete story out of it. The facts are seamlessly put in the writing and at the end of it; the reader is ready to move out with his backpack.

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It is said that some of the greatest ideas for a business plan are found scribbled at the back of a tissue paper. And, so I wonder about the stock (of tissues) that someone with an outstanding business plan might have.

Take a look at the points below and you will realize that writing a business plan is no rocket science.

a)      Understanding the Business: The first and the most challenging task for writing a business plan is understanding the type of industry/business that you are writing the plan for. Having done this, ascertain the tone of the plan that has to be inked.

b)      Preparing a Summary: Even though this is something that comes at the last, its importance is only next to “understanding business”. Since it is the summary that most investors read, it has to be informative, concise, extremely well written and thought provoking.

c)      Segregating the Heads: With business plans, organization is really important. Therefore work on the index before framing the main content. Take a book-writing like approach and begin with deciding the head as well as sub-heads of the plan.

d)      Understanding the Tone: A business plan is always, always written in a formal language. An organized structure, smooth transitions and a professional language is the right mix for a business plan.

Ascertaining the audience is also important to frame the content for a business plan. Last but not the lease, persuasive content makes the business sell.

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We often come across the saying that “I was born with an IQ but education ruined it”. Whilst in most cases it has been proved true that no formula picked straight out of the books has ever worked in reality, it is surprising how true it is with writing as well.

Paradoxical as it may seem, the length and breadth of an essay that made literature students fetch copious marks, are insignificant in practicality. Since the industry, today is rooted in a virtual platform and writing has taken a digital form, certain rules of writing do not work.

Writing for the web is not a rocket science. However, like other forms of writing it abides by its set of rules, too. Below is a list of 4 main things to remember while penning for the web:

• Redefined Reading: Only 5% of the entire population on the web would be actually reading it. Well, this may not be true in case of e-books; however, as far as websites and other sales related content is concerned, people on the web “scan” the text. Also, people tend to read 25% slowly on the web; therefore, the content on the web has to be 40%-50% shorter than its print version.
• Information Redefined: Let’s face it! No one is looking for pages and pages of content containing running text. Overloaded with content, information, data and mails 24*7, all that one is looking for at the end of the day is a bang-on solution for their search/problem. If your content can does the tricks in 10 seconds, it will not take more than a minute for the user to get an understanding of the remaining content.
• Voice Redefined: It’s all about writing the way you talk. The only form of voice that works on the web is “interactive”. It is the only way to draw audience attention and encourage information sharing, which is the ultimate goal of web content writing.
• Text Redefined: Crisper, crunchier and much more concise, text for the digital age has to be redefined to fit the small screen of your systems and mobiles. The text has to be focused on the message – to communicate.

When you are writing for the web, you are inviting international readership. Standardization of content, therefore, becomes extremely important.

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Apple couldn’t have been such a huge name without the vision of Steve Jobs. We may not know how but Jobs definitely had the talent of shafting the essential from the non-essential; and, the courage to toss the dispensable.

At the heart of the extraordinary success of Apple lies the empathetic involvement of every member working with and for it. So what is there for writers to cull from a brand like Apple. Answer? Values!!

The Core Philosophy at Apple….and what it Teaches?

 Jobs was right when he said that the user doesn’t always know what they want. True, because until someone gave them the idea, they were not aware that such a concept/thing/service could exist. This might seem like a long lost lesson, but Jobs adopted the idea of familiarizing people with their wants and needs.

The same applies to content. Readers really don’t know what they are about to read in the very next line. They are not “aware” about the vast knowledge pool that exists on or off the internet. Lesson #1 that can be taken from Jobs’s philosophy is that content (and its marketing) needs to reach people for them to know about the existence of the source. Lesson #2 which emerges from the core philosophy of Apple is that until and unless you experiment with a new writing style, no one will be able to figure out that something could be written THAT WAY too.

How Did Success Happen to Them….And How Can it Happen to You

 It was not an overnight achievement. There was careful planning and adherence to values. Apple believed in turning the most ordinary of concepts into delightfully beautiful products. Your takeaway as a writer “Take something ordinary and make it gripping/interesting for your reader”.

Another great philosophy at Apple’s is to communicate the way the user does. How do YOU do that? By empathizing. Know your audience. Write the way that you think will be understandable by them. Writing for an IT company? Let the tone reflect you as an IT expert. Writing for a fashion magazine? Make it fun, fresh yet simple to understand. Last but not the least, “Think Different”.

The Tale of India Cinema

Ours is a country obsessed with cinema. Commercial cinema labelled as Bollywood is one of the most admired and successful industries in India. The industry rose to fame with the emergence of the Superstars and the reflection of trends on the audiences.

What Makes it so Magical?

Even within the film industry, there are mini branches that collectively make it grand.  There is regional cinema which pertains to the audiences of specific states, commercial cinema which focuses on mainstream Bollywood films and then, cinema produced by other countries. The grandeur of cinema lies in the fact that it isn’t just about producing films and showcasing them, but the way it is perceived by the world.

What’s Writing Got to Do With It?

It is undeniable that cinema produces a number of jobs. Apart from the technical aspects, there are jobs in writing as well as editing. If you have a penchant for cinema, doesn’t matter which kind or part of the world it belongs to, you can try your luck in writing for cinema.

There are several mediums that offer you an opportunity to publish your work. Here are a few you can try:

• Blogging - To start with, you can have your own cinema blog. You can write on a number of subjects related to cinema such as Film Reviews, Film gossips, Critical analysis of performances on screen etc. Once you have a certain number of followers, you can make it a website and make it more informative for your readers.
• Newspapers and Magazines - There are many newspapers and magazines that are devoted to writing about cinema and those involved in the business. E.g. Film fare, Stardust magazines. Once you have a substantial information and knowledge about a particular film industry, you can apply for a job with these mediums and be a writer.
• Social Media – Writing for cinema in 21^st century is beyond just print media. Once a film is out on the table, it needs promotion to grab attention. And just like other brands, it needs to build PR, which is done through mediums like Facebook and Twitter. So, if you are well versed with these platforms, go ahead and write for them.

Apart from these options, you can also try writing for a number of film websites, PR firms specializing in promoting cinema etc.