Hello readers! I just discovered this cool publication avenue. If you’re looking for something to add to your tear sheet, these just may be your dudes (or dudettes)! The people over at The Artificial Selection Project are now accepting submissions for their next ePublication from creators of fiction, non-fiction and artwork. You can check out the details at the link below:
Eileen Maki
Today’s OneWord: Creative
Carrie stared down at the carpet in front of her. The spot was definitely red. Not orange or brown, but red. A deep red. One she recognized from years of looking at red stains on carpets, as being blood. Not having her evidence kit with her, she knew she’d have to get creative to not contaminate the sample.
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To learn more about OneWord, visit OneWord.com
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WordPress Daily Prompt!
Hello fellow writers and readers!
Some of you may not be aware that WordPress actually posts a daily writing prompt. The prompt is usually about personal writing, as WordPress is first and foremost a personal blogging arena. However, the prompts could be used in many various ways. For example, the prompt from yesterday was:
So, while this prompt may be intended to inspire you into writing about your secret love of Glee! or your hidden passion for pineapple shaped plastic canvas tissue box covers, it can also be used as a fiction exercise as part of a story or for character development.
As an example, I have written two short pieces below.
Example # 1: Personal Writing
Some people don’t know that I have a love and fascination of the paranormal. This fascination goes so far as to compel me to want to speak with and interview those who have the ‘gift’ and find out how it works. What do they feel when they are being ‘psychic’? Are they psychic all the time? Can they turn it off? and many more questions. I have actually interviewed several psychics over the phone and plan to meet with them in person to interview them further on the topic, eventually crafting a book out of the interviews on psychic abilities.
Example # 2: Fiction Writing – Part of a Story
“Tell me something that even those closest to you don’t know about, Kyra.”
Kyra looked at her psychiatrist and didn’t say a word. Blinking slowly, she processed the question.
“Kyra?” The woman peered at her over her half-glasses, her milky gray eyes blinking. “Did you hear the question, Kyra?”
Making a decision quickly, Kyra grinned a lop-sided grin.
“Yes, Dr. Martinson, I heard the question.” Commiting to her decision, Kyra leaned back on the white leather sofa and crossed her legs. Joining her hands on her slim knees, she bounced her leg so her anklet jingled gently. “The real question, Doctor, is whether you want the answer or not.”
“Kyra.” Dr. Joy Martinson laid her pad and pen aside and looked her patient in the eyes. “We don’t play games here. You know that. Answer the question please.”
Kyra watched her doctor’s face and smiled, her red lips curving gracefully.
“Alright, Doctor.” Her grin widened and her index finger tapped slowly on her leg. Kyra brushed her straight dark hair from her shoulder. “When I was five, my cat went missing.”
“Yes, you told me. Fluffy, right?”
“Yes. Fluffy was the first.”
“First?”
“Yes, when the fifth cat disappeared, my parents finally suspected where they were really going.”
Silence stretched in the room. Without breaking eye contact, Dr. Martinson picked up her pad and pen from the table and adjusted her glasses.
“What happened to all the cats, Kyra?”
Without skipping a beat, Kyra leaned forward.
“I skinned them, Dr.”
The good doctor blinked. “You skinned them?”
“Yes.” Kyra said calmly. “I skinned them.”
Dr. Martinson had heard this from young people before. Kyra was trying to shock her. The doctor knew how to solve this one.
“Ok, Kyra. Tell me about skinning the cats. What did you use to skin them? Did you kill them first or skin them alive?”
The doctor, satisfied with herself, sat back in her chair and waited for Kyra to back down from her challenge.
Kyra’s smile didn’t even come close to reaching her emerald green eyes. Dr. Martinson felt a chill run down her spine and shivered despite the warmth of the room.
“The first cat was already dead and I filleted it with my Father’s fishing knife. The second cat I smashed over the head with a rock before I skinned it with the same fishing knife. For the third cat, I had purchased my own fillet knife off the internet. I skinned it halfway while it was still alive and then it died. I finished skinning it after it died. The fourth cat, I disemboweled and gutted while it was still alive but I was disappointed that it died before I got to skin it. I skinned it anyway. By the time I got the fifth cat, I knew what I had to do. I sliced it open slowly, pushing my bare hands inside her belly. I loved the feeling of her warm insides all over my hand. I wiggled my fingers, finding her heart and massaged it to keep her alive. I skinned her slowly, keeping her open so I could massage her heart while I finished skinning her. When I was done, she was fully skinned and her guts were intact, but exposed to the air. It was a success.”
Kyra sat perfectly still, enjoying the terror that slowly filled her doctor’s eyes. She let a few seconds pass before she whispered, “Well, Dr? Am I making it up?”
The session timer chimed and without another word, Kyra took her purse and left the room.
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For your daily dose of inspiration, visit:
The Daily WordPress Prompt Posts
I hope you enjoyed my samples! Happy Writing!! 🙂
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Today’s OneWord: Manifest
As Carrie watched in silent terror, the fog began to change around her. Swirling and climbing up over her head, a shape began to manifest. Her feet froze her in place as her skin became clammy. ‘No!’ Her mind yelled out, ‘It’s not possible!’ And as the heavy mist completed its transformation, Carrie’s eyesight went black.
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Today’s OneWord: Sleeved
I was sitting on the stool so I could see the door out of the corner of my eye. It opened and the little bell above the door jingled merrily. Sipping my red wine, I pretended not to care who had just come in. In the mirror behind the bar I saw him and nearly spit my drink out on the bartender. There he was, but he wasn’t the man I remembered.
The dweeb I had dated in high school was now sleeved, muscled and hot! I wiped the wine from my lips on a napkin and wondered if I could hide before he saw me. Too late, our eyes met and he frowned.
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To learn more about OneWord, visit OneWord.com
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Today’s OneWord: Pixels
Wind whistled around the corner of my building, raising to a howl as it rounded the corner and rushed past the balcony. Suddenly, it began to pour. I glanced out my 17th floor window and saw a flash of lightening. Grimacing, I turned my attention back to my computer screen. In the seconds when I had looked away, my screen had now become a mess of pixels.
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Today’s OneWord: Celestial
The celestial body was at its apex and Moriah knew it was time. Turning from the water, she placed her sacrifice on the ground and began to chant. The moon shone on the water behind her and as Moriah recited the ancient words, a figure rose from the depths.
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To learn more about OneWord, visit OneWord.com
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Today’s OneWord: Withered
Poetry this time:
A heart, withered and scorched
Beats failing and weak
Floundering for air it lurches
And bumps
Along this fated journey
This dusty path
To a shore that no longer
Houses the traveler
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To learn more about OneWord, visit OneWord.com
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Free Book – Ghostly Bounty
Hello Writers and Readers!
I have published a new book on Amazon that will be free for the next 5 days. This is a book based on true life events as they were told to me by the person it happened to. Here’s some information on the book:
Ghostly Bounty: The True Story of Wealth Beyond the Grave
Larry is an average guy with above average dreams. Taking his future into his own hands, he invests in a house flipping project. Everything is going according to plan until treasure is discovered in the basement wall.
Mysterious events and disappearances begin to plague the project as Larry struggles to finish the remodel before his money runs out. Desperate for help, Larry turns to paranormal resources and learns that the house he purchased never really belonged to him at all.
***** Based on true life events. *****
Check it out for free from March 11, 2013 to March 15, 2013! And don’t forget to leave me a raving review. 🙂
If you have an Amazon Prime account, you can also check it out for free.
Here’s the link: Ghostly Bounty on Amazon
Ghostly Bounty by Eileen Maki
The True Story of Wealth Beyond the Grave
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Writer Resource: iWriter
If you are looking to make a little extra money doing something you love (writing), then iWriter is a great resource for you.
iWriter is a forum that posts writing jobs from clients and you can register as a writer and pick items to work on. There are three levels of ‘Writer’ that you can achieve. When you first join, you earn the lower rates, of course, until you achieve high feedback rankings with clients. This can take a lot of time, or you can do the Fast Track program to earn a higher Writing rank faster.
iWriter lists writing jobs for articles, eBooks, and reWrites. They can vary in length greatly, depending on what the client needs. There is an excellent tutorial on how to use the site located at the bottom of the page HERE. iWriter pays writers via PayPal and you can choose how often and when you get paid from four different choices.
Payment options are:
- Weekly (Tuesdays)
- Every 2 weeks (Every other Wednesday)
- 5th of the month
- 25th of the month
Completed articles are checked for uniqueness and spelling/grammar. So, do your best work. Clients do have the option of rejecting your work if it does not meet their criteria or is poorly written.
Each assignment listed on the board has specific requirements. You can choose specific topics like Automotive or Technology and then each client will have keywords or instructions for how they want the piece written.
So, just to give you an example, you can view the job board and filter and limit the jobs by your criteria. Or, you can just view all jobs. Once you see one you are interested in, the listing appears like this:
You can view additional information about the order by clicking on the gray plus sign in the top left corner of each listing. Clicking on the gray plus sign button will show additional information like this:
So you can now view the keywords available. If this client had more than one order, you could see all the orders from this client at the same time by clicking the gray plus sign button. Now, you can click on the Special Instructions button to view the specifics on the order. Here is an example of Special Instructions:
This particular example is pretty specific, but many of the orders don’t have any special instructions other than using a specific keyword. If you decide you would like to write this order, close the Special Instructions by clicking on the green Close button. Then, you can click on the green Write Article button.
Each order has a time limit and you must complete the order in that time frame. Sometimes, the time limit is only a few hours, so make sure you will be able to finish the order in the time frame allowed.
The more orders you write that are accepted and receive good feedback, the higher your writer ranking will become. Once you have completed, 30 reviews with a 4 out of 5 rating or higher, you will be a Premium Writer and will get paid more for your writing. From there, you will need to get 30 reviews at the Premium level and have a 4.6 rating overall to gain the Elite Writer ranking and get paid even more for your writing.
In all, it’s a pretty cool resource for earning money with your writing. I write a few articles in my ‘spare time’ and get a few hundred dollars a month. It doesn’t pay all the bills, but it definitely covers a few.
Check it out. iWriter.com
Eileen Maki 