Stop Struggling and Write Your Article

Don't let overwhelm hold you back- follow this expert advice and start writing your promotional article today.

As a writing coach, I frequently work with independent professionals who have great ideas for promotional articles, but no idea how to start writing them. Here are the first three of six essential steps to help you get clear about your subject, kick-start your process, and ensure your article is ready to go.

1. Have something you really, really want to say. It seems obvious, but before you write, make sure there's a point you want to make, a story you want to tell, advice you just have to give. You've got to be a little bit burning to write, or your message will ramble, you'll be bored, and there'll be no connection with your reader.

Before you write, see if you can state the kernel of what you want to say in one sentence. If you can make it intriguing, all the better:

"Here are six guaranteed ways to kick-start your writing."

"Here's why my divorce was hell and how you can avoid that experience."

"The best way to have a tidy office is to get rid of your office."

If you can't state your premise in one sentence, either you're not clear on your message or you have more than one topic. Take some time and get clear on that single thing you want to say. We want one topic in depth, not skimming the surface of several.

If you're stuck on your article, or getting bogged down or confused as you write, you can be sure you need more focus. So take a deep breath and put your article away until you can state your one-sentence premise.

2. Create an outline. I used to be one of those "jump in, bang ahead and follow your nose" type of writers. And guess what? Every time I tried to write, I'd run out of steam. I'd lose focus, so I wouldn't finish; or, if I did finish, I'd have to edit a huge, rambling mess. Ugh. The whole process took weeks and was extremely discouraging.

You see, I was writing fiction, and I had this idea that it was more "creative" and "artistic" to just jump in. Making an outline seemed so predictable and dull.

My awakening came when I began writing non-fiction articles. Here's why: I had to communicate a message, and communicate it clearly. I had to write coherent, logical paragraphs, in strong, simple language. And I couldn't take weeks to write every article, or I'd be, well, pretty darn old before anything was ready.

So, give me predictable and dull (for process, that is-not results!). Starting with an outline frees up my energy and attention for the actual writing and saves me one to two complete days of editing per article.

A great way to create an outline is to read other people's articles, analyse their structure, and use that structure for your own. Be sure to choose well-written articles by established professionals in your field.

Here's an example of an outline I created by deconstructing an article I'd read:

• intriguing introduction

• statement of the problem

• case history to demonstrate your solution

• list of practical tips

• upbeat conclusion

Fill this out in point form, making sure that there's a logical progression of thoughts. Then flesh out your points. You can write a first draft of a 1,500-word article in a day or two, put it away for a day, go back and tighten it up. You're done.

Please note-using an article's structure is fine, using someone else's words is plagiarism (theft of their intellectual property).

Here's the great part: You can simply use the same structure over and over. No one will notice, or care, because the content will be different each time.

3. Consider using lists. People love to know the 10 best ways, the five secrets, the 12 essentials. Be honest-don't you always take a peek at an article whose title promises "Five ways to enhance your love life" or "10 secrets to financial independence"? There's something almost addictive about reading these lists, like nibbling popcorn or potato chips.

Here's my take on what makes lists enticing:

Readers love the tidbit form. The items in the list break up your article into manageable chunks of information, and also provide visual clues for skimming the page. Face it, you've done some of the reader's work for her (and who isn't grateful for a bit less work?).

Lists create an air of authority and credibility. After all, it takes confidence to promise "the 10 best ways" to do something.

This format creates a ready-made action plan for the reader.

For you, the writer, a list makes the process much less daunting. It's less stressful to tackle writing your article if you know that you can divide it into five or 12 info-bytes comprising a paragraph or two each. And lists force you to be concise and direct.

You can use a list as the structure for your entire article, or you can include a list within a longer, more narrative-style piece of writing. One way to do this is to offer your reader a concluding list of practical tips coming out of your article's premise.

This is a great strategy for staying connected with your readers. If you're discussing "big" concepts that threaten to become too vague, give your reader an agenda:

"Now that we've discussed the importance of being organized at work, here are five actions you can take.

About The Author

David Roddis, The Writers' Coach, helps independent professionals write killer marketing copy, promotional articles and information products that attract more clients. Go to http://www.coachdavid.ca/fasttrack1 to join his mailing list and receive a free copy of "12 questions to fast-track your article". For more information, visit http://www.coachdavid.ca.

Is the Goal to Reach the Goal?

In this fast and crazy world, we want to multi-task at every given moment. After all, how else can we accomplish all that needs to be done in only 24 hours? We've been taught that if we reach all of our goals in a day, week, month, or year, we are successful. What we haven't been taught when achieving goals is that quality counts and so does the amount of effort exerted.

Our tendency is to set many goals especially at work for any given day or week, and then we feel discouraged or disappointed when we don't achieve all of them. In fact, we usually have to carry them over to the next day or the next week. The first step in feeling a sense of accomplishment and completion is to set only 3 goals for a day, for a week, for a month that HAVE to be accomplished. Why only 3? In an average day, we can't anticipate all of the other things that will snag our attention. We get called into a meeting, we get a time-consuming phone call, we get a request that requires some searching, we notice an article of interest that we want to read, etc. If we don't allow for these other time-consuming things, then we're not being realistic about what we can accomplish in a day. Same goes for a month ? unexpected family situations, travel, illness, new projects, etc.

So, how do we accomplish 3 goals in a day and accomplish them well with little effort? It's better known as focus and undivided attention. The keyword is undivided ? our attention remains TOTALLY on the task at hand. The distractions, the pulls, the unimportant but more interesting, don't take us away from what needs to be done at that moment. If you attend to the task in front of you and don't allow the distractions to interfere, you will notice how effortlessly the task is accomplished. Even if it's something you have been putting off and dreading ? just simply setting aside the time and concentrating on it, will result in one less thing on your plate. Ironically, the more attention you give it and the more focused you are on the task at hand, the less you will feel any effort in its completion. If you allow any of the distractions to interfere and you believe you are multi-tasking, what you are really doing is flitting between many different things and not giving any one thing your undivided attention. The result: a little of this and a little of that gets done with mediocre quality and it feels as though a lot of effort is needed.

Invitation to Experiment: Set 3 or more goals for any given day, for a week, for a month of which 3 HAVE to be accomplished. That may mean letting the answering machine pick up, turning off the cell phone and Instant Messaging, going to another desk or conference room. Totally focus your attention on one thing at a time and notice how they are accomplished ? and see if it feels any different than it usually does.

Marion Franklin - is a Professional Certified Life Coach who coaches individuals and groups regarding personal and professional change, focus, human relations, and conflict management. Marion has coached managers at major corporations including PepsiCo, Toys'R'Us, and Reader's Digest. She conducts and help clients design workshops and presentations, has been a featured presenter at meetings, retreats, and an ongoing Women's Workshop Series, has been cited in The Journal News and The Wall Street Journal, and has appeared on local Cable Television. http://www.lifecoachinggroup.com

Partitioning, Formatting and Reinstalling in Windows 98

Formatting and reinstalling windows 98 is very easy if you have the right know-how.

This article will discuss how to format, partition and reinstall windows 98 on your PC.

Before going ahead and doing this, it is important to be comfortable with the terms format, partition and file systems.

Formatting creates magnetic markers, which define sectors where the data is stored.

Basically you might want to format your hard drive if you are experiencing constant problems with your operating system. Another reason could be to clean out the registry, which gets clogged up over time by installing programs (and spy ware and third party software which get installed without your knowledge).

It's also a good idea to format your hard drive if you are upgrading to a new operating system.

Partitioning is the process of dividing the space available on the hard disk into blocks. One reason for partitioning is that it helps in organising the data.

I.e. lets say you have an 80 GB hard disk drive. You can partition it to organize data into various categories like a drive for your Windows and system files and for your personal work. You can then have another separate drive for storing the rest of your programs.

You can even have one more for storing all your multimedia files, and maybe even one for storing backups of all your important files.

Before going ahead and partitioning a drive it is important to understand how partitions actually work.

There are two kinds of partitions: primary DOS and extended DOS, and you can create logical DOS partitions within the extended partitions.

The primary partition is your active partition and this is from where your computer boots, sort of like a system partition.

The extended partition is a placeholder where you can create all the other logical partitions.

File System is basically the way that files are stored on your computer. Windows 98 supports two kinds of file systems: File Allocation Table 16 (FAT 16) and file Allocation Table (FAT 32).

FAT 16 can support a drive of maximum 2 GB in size. For example, if you have an 8 GB hard disk, then you can have 4 drives of 2 GB each.

FAT 32 on the other hand can support a drive of up to 2 Terabytes in size.

Before actually going ahead and doing the reinstall it is advisable to back up any and all of your data and device drivers as a format will wipe out all your data on the drive.

There are two ways of backing up your data and device drivers:

* Save them in a storage media like floppy drivers, CD's, zip disks etc.

* If you have a partitioned hard disk and you do not plan to format a particular drive then back up all your data there.

After performing your backups it's time to get down to formatting and partitioning (if you want to do that as well) your hard drive.

First you need to decide on a few things:

* Do you wish to partition you hard drive or change the way it is partitioned currently? * The file system you want to use. Windows 98 support two file systems FAT 16 and FAT 32.

To format your PC and reinstall windows 98 you need to do the following:

1. Make sure that you have the start up disk that came along with your operating system CD. You can also make a start up disk by going to the Control Panel> Add/Remove Programs> Create Start up Disk, click on the button and insert a floppy in your floppy drive.

2. Eject the floppy disk after the start up disk has been created.

3. Turn off your computer.

4. Insert the start up disk in your floppy drive.

5. Restart your computer.

6. Instead of booting from the hard disk, your computer will now boot from the floppy and a menu will appear.

7. From the menu select "Start without CD-ROM support."

8. After the files are loaded and you are returned to the prompt "A:/" type FDISK

9. The FDISK tool is loaded and allows you to delete the existing DOS partition.

10. Choose the file system you want to use.

11. Delete the existing DOS partition by following the prompts on screen. (Option 3))

12. After you have deleted the partition press the 'Esc' key to return to the main menu.

13. Now you need to create a new DOS partition.

14. Type in FDISK again and go through the various steps to create a new DOS primary partition (Option 1)). Assign it all the space available (100%).

15. Exit FDISK and reboot system.

16. Now you need to format your drive, so type in FORMAT Driveletter: (where Driveletter is the letter of your hard disk, C: by default)

17. After the format switch over to your CD ROM, by typing in the drive letter for the CD ROM drive (D: by default) and type in setup.exe to begin the installation of windows 98.

Creating extended and logical DOS partitions

Follow steps 1 to 14

Now in order to create other extended and logical DOS partitions make sure that you have not assigned all the space to the primary partition. Decide beforehand how much space you want to allocate to the primary partition.

14.1.Instead of exiting FDISK, re enter the FDISK options menu and select the option to create Extended DOS partition (Option 1)) and assign it the rest of the space that is still unallocated and follow the various prompts on screen to create the extended partition.

14.2 Again re enter the FDISK menu. This time select the option to create logical DOS partitions and assign space to it.

14.3 Follow the above step in order to create more logical drives.

Follow step 15 and 16

16.1 Format all your other drives by using the format command i.e. FORMAT Driveletter:

Follow step 17 in order to in install windows 98.

Deleting existing extended partitions and creating new ones

If you are not happy with the way your hard disk is currently partitioned you can also delete the existing partitions and create new ones.

Follow steps 1 to 11

11.1 Instead of exiting, re enter the menu and delete the rest of the partitions (Option 3).

Follow steps 12 to 17

Ashish Jain
http://www.m6.net
Ashish is an integral member of the M6.Net Web helpers team, hoping to share some of his knowledge with the internet populace.

Do You Have a Name For Me?

MAN: Good afternoon Professor Knowledge. Let me cut to the chase. I am interested in a name whereby salvation can be found. I came to you because you were highly recommended and I need your help desperately. I have been led to believe that salvation is predicated on the schools I have attended and the academic credentials that follow behind my name. Well, I have several degrees and so now I want to know if you have a name that will help me. Do you have a name I can call out to when I get to the chilly banks of Jordan? Please, check out your libraries; your dictionaries, encyclopedias, references, concordances and anything else you have available to you, to see if you can find me a name that will help me when I'm being tossed and driven on the restless sea of time. Look among your Who's Who and see if you have a name whereby my salvation can be found. In other words professor, do you have a name that will save me?

KNOWLEDGE: I'm sorry. I have names that will help you understand the universe. I have names will help you comprehend theories and behaviors. I even have names that will help you grasp all aspects of technology and science. But in all my books, I cannot find a name that you can call on for salvation.

MAN: Good afternoon Mr Power. You count a great deal among your sons, Hitler, Napoleon, Mussolini, Hussein, Arafat and all the demigods that we read about. Mr Power, with your nuclear bombs and your inter-continental ballistic missiles, and your lasers, surely you can help me. I need a name I can call on when I must lay down my sword and shield and study war no more. Do you have a name that will save me?

POWER: No, I'm sorry, but I cannot help you. I can help you fight wars with countries. I can even help you gain control over people's minds. I can promise you a position on top of the world for as long as you live. But when it comes down to pressing a dying pillow, I can't help you. I am strong and mighty but I can only go so far. I do not have a name for you.

MAN: Well, can you help me Doctor. I am familiar with your progress and I know that you specialize in fixing up these old bodies. I know that you take the Hippocratic Oath seriously and that you do all that is humanly possible to try and keep up alive. I am looking for a name that will help me when my clay house must return to the dust from which it came. I need a name that I can call on to reassure me when I must lay down on my bed to rise no more. Tell me Doctor, do you have a name that will give me eternal life.

DOCTOR: I'm sorry. I can give you all kinds of surgeries to make you look better and feel better. I can prescribe all sorts of mediations to take away all your aches and pains. I can prolong this life, but I do not have a name that can save you from eternal death.

MAN: Riches, do you have a name for me? I have heard about Bill Gates, Li Ka-shing, the Waltons and Albrecht. I know all about what money can do. But all I want to know is do you have a name for me? Is there any way money can go with me when I have to walk through the valley of the shadow of death? Is there any way for money to go with me when I've reached the end of my journey and the last chaper of my book of life is done? Can riches buy me salvation?

RICHES: I'm sorry. I can help you obtain all the material things you desire. I can even buy you friends and influence. But, I cannot help you with salvation because the last time I got news through the grapevine, it was free. So if you are looking for a name that will save you, I'm sorry, I cannot help you. I have looked among all my possessions but in all my wealth, I cannot come up with a name for you.

MAN: Mother Earth, can you help me?

MOTHER EARTH: I'm sorry. I can't help you. I do not have much time to talk because I'm on my way around the sun. I'm due every 24 hours. Salvation cannot be found in nature.

MAN: Apostle Peter, can you help me? You are my last hope. I need a name whereby salvation can be found. Because you see, every now and then I find my back against the wall; hemmed in and hedged in. Do you have a name that regards my helpless estate? Peter, do you have a name that will save me?

PETER: Yes. It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth? Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Acts 12:10b-12 (NIV).

Rev. Saundra L. Washington, D.D., is an ordained clergywoman, veteran social worker, and Founder of AMEN Ministries. http://www.clergyservices4u.org. She is also the author of two coffee table books: Room Beneath the Snow: Poems that Preach and Negative Disturbances: Homilies that Teach. Her new book, Out of Deep Waters: My Grief Management Workbook, will be available in July.

Russian State Administration Gives New Facelift to Oil and Energy Resources

With the world's largest oil and natural gas reserves, second in coal production and eighth largest oil assembly, President Vladimir Putin draws grandiose plan for the country's hydrocarbon reserve encouraging drilling and investment plans aimed at further development. Private investments, domestic or foreign is however, a big no-no, rather state government plays the steward to Russia's energy patrimony or to say 'serve the national interest'.

"Hydrocarbons are an extremely important sphere of our potential cooperation" Putin says in an interview "but I would like to stress: we are already cooperating in the electric power, primarily engineering for the electric power sector".

Given today's high oil prices, state government sounds positive to funding new projects. Additionally, Indian and Chinese government shows willingness to do business with Russian companies with their investment criteria more in line with the approach favored by their Russian hosts. Putin further stressed state government to have larger share while a meager chunk gifted to private investors mainly in electricity sector.

The post Cold-War relics witnessed Russian industries as highly inefficient, combined with under-nourished investment opportunities and mismanagement dominating the sector; of which petroleum poised to have a serious impact overall. Further huge infusion of capital, technology and negligent exploration management hit the production to a record-low and decline. This is return could have foiled Putin's plan and country's national honor.

Putin must recognize that to put back the country's faltering image, he needs a petroleum sector with well-managed and well-capitalized oil, gas and pipelines. Russia's oil and gas industry being the backbone to the country's economy generate fifty percent of the total revenues and taxes and most of foreign exchange, need balanced combination of public and private governance.

A faltering Russian oil sector would be a disaster for the world economy as well as for Russia itself.

Rahul Ghosh, working as freelance industry analyst working is a regular contributor and has written many articles and commentaries on diversified industry sectors. For further discussion with the writer, email at rahulghosh@rediffmail.com

WLS Patients Feeling Gassy & Bloated? Sugar Alcohol May Be To Blame

Sugar intake is a real concern for people who've had gastric bypass, in fact most patients fear sugar. The foremost fear isn't weight gain, it's dumping. Foods containing sugar pass too quickly through the small pouch, they are rapidly absorbed and cause insulin levels to drop resulting in dumping.

Very unpleasant. Instead of taking chances with sugar many of us reach for "sugar free" sweets or diabetic candy to satisfy our sweet tooth. Many of these products contain sugar alcohol, a natural sweetener derived from fruits and berries. Unlike artificial sweeteners that contain no calories, sugar alcohol has about half the calories of sugar. Diabetics are able to have food with sugar alcohol because it's converted more slowly to glucose and require very little insulin to be metabolized.

While sugar alcohols are low in calories and slow to convert to glucose, the down side is they can cause gas, bloating and diarrhea. I learned this the hard way. One day that devil we call temptation seduced me into buying a bag of sugar-free jelly beans. Jelly beans are dangerous because they are little bites of soft food which means a gastric bypass patient can eat too much volume. I ate the entire bag in about an hour (true confessions of the closet snacker). I soon became uncomfortable with a small tummy ache. The tummy ache turned to bloating, cramping and gas. Extreme cases of all three symptoms. Painful "take me to the hospital I think I'm gonna explode" symptoms. It took a couple of days for my body to return to normal, a couple of stressful and uncomfortable days.

The jelly beans I ate contained Mannitol, a common sugar alcohol extracted from seaweed. I know they contained Mannitol because I read the package mid-way through the crisis. The package contained this warning, "Warning: excessive consumption can cause a laxative effect" Fine time to be reading labels I told myself! Mannitol is found naturally in pineapples, olives, asparagus, sweet potatoes and carrots. It's about 60% as sweet as sugar, so more product is needed to replicate the sweetness of sugar. "Mannitol lingers in the intestines for a long time and therefore causes bloating and diarrhea." Yup! That's exactly what happens all right.

What other names are sugar alcohols called?

Sorbitol is found naturally in fruits and vegetables. It is manufactured from corn syrup. Sorbitol has only 50 percent of the relative sweetness of sugar which means twice as much must be used to deliver a similar amount of sweetness to a product. It has less of a tendency to cause diarrhea compared to mannitol. It is often an ingredient in sugar-free gums and candies.

Xylitol is also called "wood sugar" and occurs naturally in straw, corncobs, fruit, vegetables, cereals, mushrooms and some cereals. Xylitol has the same relative sweetness as sugar. It is found in chewing gums.

Lactitol has about 30-40 percent of sugar's sweetening power, but its taste and solubility profile resembles sugar so it is often found in sugar-free ice cream, chocolate, hard and soft candies, baked goods, sugar-reduced preserves and chewing gums.

Isomalt is 45 - 65 percent as sweet as sugar and does not tend to lose its sweetness or break down during the heating process. Isomalt absorbs little water, so it is often used in hard candies, toffee, cough drops and lollipops.

Maltitol is 75 percent as sweet as sugar. It is used in sugar-free hard candies, chewing gum, chocolate-flavored desserts, baked goods and ice cream because it gives a creamy texture to foods.

Hydrogenated starch hydrolysates (HSH) are produced by the partial hydrolysis of corn. HSH are nutritive sweeteners that provide 40 - 90 percent of the sweetness of sugar. HSH do not crystallize and are used extensively in confections, baked goods and mouthwashes.

Should Gastric Bypass Patients indulge their sweet tooth with sugar alcohol?

The American Diabetes Association claims that sugar alcohols are acceptable in a moderate amount but should not be eaten in excess. In addition, weight gain has been seen when these products are overeaten. Personally, I'm not dipping my sticky fingers into sugar-free candy again. For gastric bypass patients generally the key, as in all eating, must be moderation, not a full bag of jelly beans. And of course, we can always rely on the old advice of conventional dieters, "Hungry for something sweet? Reach for a piece of fruit."

Kaye Bailey is a weight loss surgery success story having maintained her health and goal weight for 5+ years. An award winning journalist, she is the author and webmaster of http://www.livingafterwls.com and http://www.livingafterwls.blogspot.com

LivingAfterWLS is a no-nonsense resource for people Living After Weight Loss Surgery. Our community is growing in numbers even as we are shrinking in pounds. Together we support one another in this lifestyle, that it turns out, is NOT the easy way out.

Fresh & insightful content is added daily, check in often. To subscribe to the LivingAfterWLS monthly newsletter "You Have Arrived" click on http://www.livingafterwls.com and enter your details in the subscription box.

Wedding Tips for Saving Your Sanity and Your Bank Account

Overwhelmed is a common feeling a bride-to-be experiences as she begins to delve into the $45 billion a year world of planning a wedding. However there are several ways to deal with the incessant head spinning that can ensue as you begin to contemplate who to invite, what to feed everyone, where to have it, and how in the world you can stay within your budget without requiring a stylish white straight jacket to wear with your Badgley Mischka gown.

After you have gotten use to the idea of being engaged and you have begun to refer to your newly engaged beau as your fianc?, you may find yourself starting to imagine or daydream about what the big day might be like, thus beginning the dreaded planning process. Planning is really an inaccurate description of what this process is all about. Juggling expectations, both yours, your finance's, as well as your family's and friend's is a more accurate description of what the next 6 to 12 months of your life will entail.

The best way to maintain a loose sense of control during this maddening process is reducing the amount of input that every parent, sister, childhood friend, and co-worker has on what you and your groom HAVE to do. Of course this process is considerably easier when the commentary is not accompanied by much needed checks with their signatures. In a perfect world you and your partner would determine what best suits you and your budget, and then select the best florist and DJ based on your common love of tulips and salsa dance! However, when your mother-in-law-to-be gushes about how lovely her so-and-so's wedding was and she is significantly contributing to your wedding fund, it becomes difficult to reasonably suggest that what worked for her niece doesn't suit you. I already have a call into Martha Stewart's people to suggest that she consider developing extremely stylish earplugs designed to reduce the number of helpful suggestions that actually reach your ears! However, until such a gem exists, a "Really, I am sure that looked lovely" response can do the trick as you quickly back pedal and change the subject. And as hard as it can be to disappoint the masses, maintaining your sanity requires you and your partner to frequently touch base, determine what you want, and decide what you are prepared to deal with from your loved ones. In the grand scheme of things, your family and friends think that they are being helpful offering suggestions; they are not trying to make this process harder on you.

After you have dodged and weaved your way around the mountains of suggestions, you might have time to think about what you actually want. Perhaps you have already planned out every last detail of your wedding, as a matter of fact those details were set in stone at age 14, however there's another group of ladies out there who don't have a clue! Regardless which group you fall into, research is key! In response to the booming multi-billion dollar business, several savvy groups have created Web sites that are extremely helpful for the wedding challenged. Quite frankly, I do not know how on earth anyone planned a wedding pre-Internet! Some sites, including theknot.com and theweddingchannel.com, offer users helpful budget tools, ridiculously detailed to-do lists (which allow the less formal brides to junk half of the to-dos), guest lists, and registry tools. These tools are free and highly recommended! Now don't get me wrong, they are by no means miracle workers, in that you still have tough decisions to make, including choosing only five appetizers versus eight so you can add a few extra days to your honeymoon, but these sites at least give you a good starting point.

Which brings me to the concept of trade-offs and what an important role they can play so you don't completely blow your budget. For some lucky brides, the sky is the limit. I have a good friend whose sister is getting married this summer and we were recently discussing wedding plans. I literally choked when she said that her sister had 700 guests on her invite list, none of which would be slid to the B list. This was not including her fianc?'s family or friends. I was shocked! Why in the world would anyone do that to themselves? I learned that most weddings in South Carolina are extravagant and it is not odd to plunk down six figures in an effort to make the day special. So if brides in South Carolina are far exceeding the average that means some lucky ladies are doing it for much less!

Another pal of mine is working with a $10,000 budget and is easily making trade-offs, which will go unnoticed by her guests. Instead of using a fancy-schmancy cake designer, she is using a local grocery store to create her wedding cake for a fraction of the price! You can also save a lot of money with flowers. Being selective about where you use flowers is key. For example, I have been to more weddings than I can count, and I couldn't tell you what type of flowers were used to decorate the end of each pew. Use flowers sparingly and in obvious places where they will be missed like bouquets and center pieces and make every attempt to use flowers that are local and seasonal, which should cut down on your floral costs.

Although you have to feed your guests something, trade-offs can be made with regard to the type of food and the time of your reception. Avoiding the dinner hour can save you big bucks! If you have wiggle room with the time of day you want to get married, a reception can be more affordable by foregoing a sit down meal and opting instead for a cocktail reception with hor d'oeuvres, a late reception with champagne and dessert, or a brunch-style reception. Another huge dough saver is your approach to the open bar. I truly believe that every reception should have an open bar of some sort, however if you are looking to pinch a few pennies, sticking to beer and wine is another good way to save. If you are one of the lucky brides who doesn't need to worry about having the wedding of her dreams or maintaining some semblance of a budget, you may need trade-offs for different reason, be it satisfying your parents, compromising with your soon-to-be husband, or meeting an older siblings expectations.

Remember, that whatever you determine is a trade-off to meet you budget or a family member's or friend's belief of what your big day should be, make sure you don't trade your sanity in trying to find all of the money saving loop holes. At the end of the day, you and your partner want to have a day that expresses your personal styles and leaves your guest with fond memories. Happy planning!

Lisa Demmel

Ladybugs, Ladybugs, Come to My Garden

Ladybugs, also called lady beetles or ladybirds, can be a gardener's best friend. The ladybug's bright coloring brings welcomed cheer to the garden, as well as helping with pest control. Since medieval times, ladybugs have been valued by farmers all over the world. Many believe that the ladybug was divinely sent to free crops of insect pests. In fact, that is how the ladybug got its name. People dedicated the bug to the Virgin Mary and therefore called it "The Bug of our Lady", which was eventually shortened to the present name "ladybug".

Adult ladybugs are usually oval or domed shaped and have red wings, yellow wings or shades and variations of these colors. The number of black spots can range from no spots to 15 spots and they are typically about one quarter inch in size or smaller.

The length of the life cycle of a ladybug varies depending upon temperature, humidity, and food supply. Usually the life cycle from egg to adult is about three to four weeks, and up to six weeks during the cooler spring months. During the spring the adult female ladybug can lay up to three hundred eggs in an aphid colony. The eggs normally hatch in two to five days. The newly hatched larvae feed on aphids for up to three weeks and then enter the pupae stage. About one week later, the adult ladybug emerges. There can be as many as six generations of ladybugs hatched in a year.

The ladybug enjoys popularity around the world. These pretty insects have long been considered a symbol of good luck and fortune because of their ability to eat an enormous amount of aphids. One ladybug can eat as many as 50 to 60 aphids per day. Aphids (also called plant lice) are herbivores and are one of the worst groups of pests on plants. They feed in colonies and damage plants by sucking the juice out of the leaves, stems, or roots. While aphids feed, they damage plant tissue creating a loss of plant fluids and the photosynthetic tissue needed to produce energy for plant growth. Some plants will show no adverse response to aphids, while others react with twisted, curled or swollen leaves or stems. Aphids also transmit many plant diseases from one plant to another.

Apart from aphids, ladybugs eat a variety of other insects and larvae including white flies, mealy bugs, spider mites, and other types of soft-bodied insects. They also require a source of pollen for food and for that reason are attracted to certain types of plants. Their preferred plants have umbrella shaped flowers such as dill, fennel, angelica, tansy, caraway, cilantro, yarrow, and wild carrot. Other plants that attract ladybugs include cosmos (especially the white ones), dandelions, coreopsis, and scented geraniums.

If your garden does not have adequate space to plant ladybug attracting plants, you can purchase ladybugs from numerous websites on the internet and most nurseries. Before releasing them into your garden, here are a few tips to help ensure that the ladybugs stay where you want them:

1. Release ladybugs near infested plants after sun down or before sun up. They navigate by the sun and are most likely to stay put in the evenings and early mornings.

2. Water the area where you are going to release the ladybugs. They will appreciate the drink and the moisture on the leaves will help the ladybugs to "stick" on the plants. If released in a dry garden, the ladybugs will most likely fly off in search of a drink instead of sticking around to eat.

3. In the warmer months, chill the ladybugs in the refrigerator before releasing them. This will not harm the ladybugs and they tend to crawl more in colder temperatures rather than fly away.

Another way to attract ladybugs to your garden is to place several ladybug habitation boxes around your garden. Fill the boxes with organic material such as peat or compost to encourage ladybugs to roost and lay eggs inside the box. In addition, the habitation box also provides protection for the ladybugs in the winter months.

To further promote ladybug populations, consider cutting back on spraying insecticides in your garden. Ladybugs are sensitive to most synthetic insecticides and if the majority of their food source is gone, they will not lay their eggs and therefore will not continue to populate.

Here are some interesting ladybug facts:

- There are nearly 5,000 different kinds of ladybugs worldwide and 400 which live in North America.

- A female ladybug will lay more than 1000 eggs in her lifetime.

- A ladybug beats its wings 85 times a second when it flies.

- A gallon jar will hold from 72,000 to 80,000 ladybugs.

- Ladybugs make a chemical that smells and tastes terrible so that birds and other predators won't eat them.

- The spots on a ladybug fade as the ladybug gets older.

- Ladybugs won't fly if the temperature is below 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

- The ladybug is the official state insect of Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Tennessee.

As you can see, the ladybug is one of the most effective and economically important insects to have in your garden. In some cultures, seeing ladybugs in gardens indicates a bountiful harvest, an indication of good weather or a good luck omen. Create an alluring environment for ladybugs and they are sure to provide charm and pest control in your garden for years to come.

Lesley Dietschy is a freelance writer and the creator/editor of The Home Decor Exchange and the Home & Garden Exchange. The Home Decor Exchange is a popular home and garden website featuring resources, articles, decorating pictures, free projects, and a shopping marketplace. The Home & Garden Exchange website is a link exchange program and directory dedicated to the home and garden industry, as well as offering free website content and promotional ideas. Please visit both websites for all of your home, garden, and website needs.

http://www.HomeDecorExchange.com

http://www.HomeGardenExchange.com

Planning Permission Tips UK - Illegal Building Works - Is there an Upside?

Many times throughout the year we are called in to assist people who have got into trouble by completing building works without Council permission. This can be either Planning or Building Regulations - often both. Guess when this 'illegal' building works is usually exposed - Right at the time when the home owner is under the most pressure & exposure to other abortive fees - you guessed it - WHEN THEY ARE ABOUT TO MOVE HOME!

I am amazed at the blinkered approach most homeowners have to completing building works without the required council consent. They just bury their heads in the sand & think that it will not be exposed - HOW WRONG MOST HOMEOWNERS ARE.

They seem to forget that most purchasers surveyors just love it when they are able to expose any illegal building works that may assist the purchaser in pulling out of the sale (strange I here you say) - you see they get paid for their survey report irrespective of the homes condition & by exposing illegal building works they obtain a 'get out of jail free card' - in other words, the purchaser is likely to pull out of the sale & not rely on the contents of the survey and thereby the surveyor reduces their exposure to negligent claims from the purchaser when some other form of defect may be discovered later on.

Not only this, but illegal building works also exposes the homeowner to clever purchasers who then use this aspect to literally blackmail the homeowner into accepting a vastly reduced offer price. If you have already invested in reciprocal professional fees, moving costs and other commitments you suddenly become what the trade calls a 'motivated purchaser' and likely to accept a far lower offer due to your personal commitments and desires.

You are then faced with a panic - to resolve the situation by applying for retrospective consents which will have a financial cost and loss of time implication thereby at high risk of losing your current purchaser.

HOWEVER, all that said - we do need to place a little perspective on the situation for some balance. Firstly it is perhaps a bit unfair to call the works 'illegal'. A better term would be 'un-approved' - remember this is not criminal legislation we are dealing with.

Also, there is a time element that affects the seriousness of the breach of control. Generally speaking, if the works have been completed for 4 years or longer then the Planning Department cannot normally insist on a retrospective permission or require the works to be removed. Building Control on the other hand have a shorter period for compliance which is normally two years. After this time (and provided the works are not an obvious risk to health and safety) they can only normally make a note within your property file. They are normally unable to insist that the works are retrospectively approved after this time.

As a guide, if you fall into this category, the longer the un-approved works have been in place, the easier it is for surveyors and purchasers to accept the works 'as is' without too much detriment to the properties value. The reason for this is clear - someone has to take a view that the works are not going to be removed or fall apart after a period of time.

Most people are surprised to find that both the Planning Department & the Building Control Department have formal applications to regularise the un-approved building works. The risk for the homeowner is how much more works are required to the property to make it comply. Often building works have to be demolished & reinstalled to the approved standard.

Therefore, any homeowner fully aware that they have completed un-approved building works and soon to move home should now put into action a 'regularisation plan' to avoid the 'eleventh hour' panic described above. Seeking early professional advice & guidance from a professional Building Designer or surveyor should be your first port of call rather than approaching the council direct.

Our 'Maximum Build Planning Guide' explains further the issues involved when installing un-approved building works.

Our 'Maximum Build Planning Guide' explains further the issues involved when extending or developing a property for planning permission.

http://www.planning-approval.co.uk

Find Me the Expert on This!

Many people who set up as consultants never make more than a minimal living. They get some clients who like them, but are so dependent on these few businesses that the resignation of a key contact can destroy their business for months ahead.

The problem? They're nice folks who do a great job and have lots of experience, but they're not indispensable or even memorable. They can be replaced any day by another nice person with, apparently, just as much to offer. Or, more likely, by a new college graduate from a big consulting firm with minimal expertise but the power of the big brand name.

Being THE expert (or at least THE expert in your neck of the woods) is pretty much the only way to fight back effectively.

Here's why. Experts are given things other consultants have to work damned hard to get.

1. Access. Corporate Big Dogs like to feel they're dealing with the top banana. Their staff know they won't be criticized fro letting these people through the defenses around their boss.

2. Trust. People believe what experts say, until they're proved wrong (and sometimes then as well). More trust means less feeling of uncertainty in the buyer.

3. Standardization. Corporations like to have standards for things -- preferably ones that apply industry-wide. They don't like having different approaches to the same problem in every division or department. They want to believe a consultant can set a standard everyone will accept.

4. Validation. Corporations don't like to be trend-setters. It risks too many people's reputations. That means they always want to know if the person they're using has done the same thing successfully before, ideally with a business they see as being like them (or better). This produces a Catch-22 situation where you can't get the validation until you get the work; and you can't get the work...Experts are often immune from this, even if the only validation they have comes from having written THE book or article on the topic. And it doesn't matter how narrow that topic is, so long as it's important to the client.

5. Latitude. Because people trust an expert, they give them more latitude to make mistakes or vary the brief. You can't push this too far, but it does mean clients are more patient in waiting for results. If you're seen only as someone brought in by a specific person (probably because he or she is your friend), you'd better produce instant results or you'll be out on your ear.

6. Credibility. People listen to experts and allow themselves to be persuaded. A lousy, amateurish presentation by an expert will beat a slick, professional one by a non-expert every time. Indeed, the slicker the non-expert's presentation, the more the audience will suspect they're being hoodwinked into buying snake-oil.

If you really want to establish a small consultancy working in a generic area like leadership training, it's a free country. Just don't expect it to be anything other than a bed of nails with an earnings level considerably lower than your neighborhood plumber.

Adrian W. Savage writes for people who want help with the daily dilemmas they face at work. He has contributed more than 25 articles to leading British and American publications and has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and The Chicago Tribune.

Visit his blog on the ups and downs of business life.

Writing Copy for Voiceovers

As with any of the performing arts, an effective voiceover begins with a well-crafted script. You don't have to have many years of writing experience to create copy that is both effective and a pleasure for the voice actor to perform. Here are some ideas to consider before you put your pen to paper or fingers to keyboard.

Commericals: Radio and TV

Determine the purpose of the ad, e.g. drive traffic to a store, produce direct response inquiries, announce a grand opening, move end-of-season merchandise, etc.

Determine who your customer is and speak to that person one to one, and, ideally, present one main idea in the copy.

Use A.I.D.A.: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. Get the listener's attention to the ad; get the listener interested in what you'e offering; get the listener to want to take some action on your offer; give the listener a means to act and urge that action.

Narrations (also called "Industrials")

For a video script, use the story board, if you have one, to guide the development of the script. This will help you time the voice over to the video' scenes.

For audio only, where no storyboard exists, do a rough outline. This will help you create a basic logical structure before you start writing. The result will be a script that flows much better for the narrator and the intended listener.

All Scripts

Leave room for "verbal white space." Just as a large block of densely printed copy is intimidating and difficult to read, a voice-over script that's crammed with copy is difficult to follow and understand. A good rule of thumb for 30-second radio or TV copy is eight lines down (double-spaced), 10 words across the page. For a slower, more intimate read, go with seven lines, 10 words across. The same idea applies for a briskly paced 60-second ad: 16 lines down, 10 words across. For a slower pace, 14 lines, 10 words across. This 60-second guideline is helpful in timing long-form scripts, too. Just count the pages and you have the total number of minutes.

Numbers are words, so be sure to consider them in your word count. A phone number, such as 1-860-291-9476, is eleven words. That's more than one entire line of copy! Try spelling out numbers as words to get a good handle on the actual length of your copy. For example:

1-860-291-9476,

when typed or written out, is

one-eight-six-oh, two-nine-one, nine-four-seven-six.

You can see how long the line really is when the numbers are spelled out. Then, after you're ready to print your final draft, convert the words back to numbers.

Write for the ear, not the eye. Construct short, conversational sentences, with natural breaks for taking a breath. This is especially helpful to narrators when they voice technical or medical copy, which contains large, complicated, and difficult-to-pronounce terms.

Read your copy out loud, just as you intend the voice talent to read it, and time it. Then adjust your copy accordingly for timing.

Try to write in the active voice, not passive voice. This is a passive construction: "When writing a script, be sure you're saying some exciting things, or else you'll be losing the attention of the listener." Instead, use the active voice, structured something like this: "When you write a script, say something exciting, or you'll lose the listener's attention." Active voice is more conversational and easier for the ear and mind to follow.

Happy writing!

?Peter Drew

Peter Drew, a freelance voice-over talent and copywriter/producer with decades of experience, is heard on radio and television stations, corporate presentations, web sites, and messages-on-hold across America and countries around the world. To send an email regarding this article, please visit http://www.peterdrewvo.com/