Writing Tips

- First of all, read a lot _ books, magazines, newspapers, whichever you prefer. Besides entertaining, reading is a means of obtaining knowledge, expand vocabulary, observe and assimilate the correct use of the language.

- Never imitate anyone. Create your own style. While writing, your style will emerge and develop spontaneously.

- If imitation is not advisable, plagiarism is forbidden.

- There is a difference between imitating and feeling inspired by someone. Read your favorite authors and let their work serve as encouragement.

- When you write concentrate yourself more in the contents than in the form, expressing your feelings and ideas spontaneously. Make the necessary corrections after that, when you are reviewing your text.

- Make a constant effort to always improve the grammar rules, keep updated and review what you forgot. Any time you have doubts while writing, don’t hesitate to consult a reliable source for research, whether are grammar rules or dictionaries.

- Always take a note pad and a pen with you, or a tablet. Inspiration to write can appear when you least expect it.

- Use an adequate language for the kind of reader you want to reach _ children, adults, executives, etc.

- Avoid repeating words, especially in the same paragraph or in the closest paragraphs, but also throughout the text. Many times a word, such as “however”, end up becoming a bad habit without the writer realizing it and it appears everywhere, becoming tiresome.

- Equilibrate the use of “he” and “she”, alternating them with the characters’ names, and also substituting them by the object pronouns when possible. Always make clear to the reader who is talking or acting in the text.

- Use simple language, without too much elaborated words, so it flows naturally, and the reader won’t feel compelled to consult the dictionary, because he/she will end up interrupting the reading of the text permanently.

- Avoid too many footnotes. The reader will be tired of interrupting the text all the time.

- Talking about Grammar, keep in mind the importance of the correct punctuation. Remember how a single coma can alter the whole meaning of a sentence.

- Don’t use sentences that are too long. Be clear and direct, or else, the reader can feel discouraged by a sentence that seems to never end.

- Be clear and direct, doesn’t mean to be dry. Most readers like descriptions of characters and sceneries, which stimulate their imagination, or the use of case examples to illustrate texts. Just don’t exaggerate in the adjectives not to be tiresome or fussy.

- Avoid repeating descriptions through the text. If, for example, you’ve already mentioned that the main character has blue eyes in the beginning of the text, repeat this detail only once or twice until the end, in case the reader has forgotten it.

- If your style is more concise and less descriptive, respect it. There are readers who prefer to leave scenery and characters to their own imagination.

- In dialogues, avoid unnecessary information that will only make you repeat the name of a character when it’s already clear that he/she is the one speaking, such as: “Hello”,said Mary.

- Always review your texts.

Mother and Son

     One of these days, my son told me, in one of those moments of childish/juvenile impatience: “You’re the only person in the world”, he emphasized, “that is like that.”
    “How come?”, I asked him, surprised.
    “Like that”, he muttered in a critical tone. “Joyful, happy, cheerful, full of enthusiasm… I don’t know”.
    He could’ve called me “goofy”!
    I couldn’t help it and laughed, because it was really hilarious. But I thought to myself: “It’s so good that   I’m capable of transmitting to my son the image of the happy, jovial, care-free, optimistic person that I try hard to be, despite all my problems, fears, and worries.”
     Then I answered in the same mocking tone he has just used:
    “It’s great that among billions of people, you have by your side precisely the only person that is like that!”

Shining light and meaning of our lives.
 Overjoy is what he makes us feel.

  Never forget to show and say
                   how much you love yours.

Happy Mother's Day!

Selfie Fever

Hey, come back! I wanna just your camera to take a selfie.

     We are certainly on the selfie era. Almost everybody takes selfies intending to post them on the social networks. It’s been a long time that self-taken pictures exist, naturally, but the term selfie became more popular in 2012, and now we can say that we’re living in a selfie culture. When people post selfies just for fun, it’s a way of relaxing and sharing good times with friends. The problem is when they just seek approval and worry about how much Likes, or comments they get. The selfie can’t be an obsession, or, as with everything else, too much of them can become tiresome, and may mean a case of low self-esteem, or narcissism. Selfies are here to stay and to be enjoyed with common sense and sense of humor. Have you already posted your selfie today?

Happy World Book Day!

    On April 23rd, World Book Day, through the Blue Ink Letters Blog, where I write _ one thing I’ve been improving also through reading, among other things _ I congratulate this priceless companion, the book. The time we can dedicate to read a book is totally enjoyable. We can’t forget, though, that millions of people in the world don’t have access even to printed books much less to ebooks. We can never consider libraries or used books stores outdated. We have to divulge projects and initiatives such as itinerant libraries, book sales on bookstores and the books donation campaigns, also donating books when we can. Happy World Book Day!

Books are bests friends. They

guide us through a fascinating

world of wonder, learning,

hope, entertainment; a

world available to us all. tj*¬

Social Networks Without Stress

     If people use the social networks for business, things such as the number of followers and “likes” matter, but, in any circumstances, it’s advisable not to be clingy, annoying. I enjoy marketing and advertising, and I want to take courses in the area someday, but, in the meantime, I’m able to talk about it only as an enthusiastic amateur. As such, and as a common consumer, I’m sure at least of the things I like to see. Ads must captivate us somehow, they can’t be boring. As there are many advertising vehicles, in each one there’s a specific way to do so. Except for paid ads, that have a proper usage, our own “homemade” kind of advertisements have to be subtle on the social networks or, otherwise, we risk being considered inconvenient.

     When people want to divulge their work _ a book, for instance _ on the social networks, the more followers and likes they have, the better, but it’s important not being too exhaustive about it. If a person wants to divulge a blog, specially a non-profit blog (as all my six blogs are), he/she can’t be too insistent, or he/she will be labelled as “clingy”, and people won’t even began to read his/her posts. For example, if you take part on 6 different groups on facebook, it’s better not to post exactly the same thing on the 6 of them at the same time, because most of the members participate of almost all similar groups. And it’s not advisable to post things such as “Visit my blog on the link…” all the time; it’s more useful to be creative. To go with the simple link, we can post a quote, a beautiful image, a comic comment or image, an extract of an article, anything that’s interesting and not repetitive.

     Finally, when we use the social networks just for fun, to talk to friends and make new ones, to meet again people we’ve lost contact with through the years, to know new cultures and peoples, to like a fan page, to be well-informed about the world in general, among so many other things, I think we must make good use of them without worrying so much. It’s natural to get upset when absolutely no one likes our posts, when that’s the case, but I’ve got a feeling that most people are more anxious to post rather than stopping to read. Anyway, to me the most important thing is not the number of “likes” or followers we have, but to enjoy social networks without stress! tj*¬

Mr. Spock is just being unassuming.

Millions would have liked his facebook today.

The same applies for Captain Kirk and

“Bones” McCoy, of course.

P.S.: My humble homage to the brilliant Star Trek.

The Benefits of the Sense of Humor

     Sometimes we have a sense of humor that is difficult for certain people to understand, depending on the occasion and on the circumstances. I admire several humorists, of a variety of types and styles. The kind of sense of humor I like most, though, is the naïve and joyful one, the one that brings fun and make us laugh in an innocent way. Like the sense of humor of the brilliant Jerry Lewis, with whom in fact we can identify ourselves sometimes, at least with his characters, because who isn’t a little clumsy?

     With hundreds and hundreds of things to do and without time to pay the due attention to certain details that go by unnoticed, we can end up in comic and confusing situations! I guess everybody knows those humorists who, in order not to let a joke unspoken, end up talking without thinking first. Not to mention that the humor concept is relative. What may seem hilarious to one person is not for the other one and so on…

     The most important thing is to be able to extract joyful laughter from people because, as I use to say, I really think sense of humor is part of our “surviving kit”, that it’s essential to soften the tension and stress of the modern world. The joyful, honest and naïve sense of humor is the one that really comes from the soul and it certainly pleases everyone.

     Let your Jerry Lewis’ side emerge a little bit more each day too!

Dedicated to the Brilliant Master

Gifs in Blogs

     I love gifs, and they can be used for several things, but I think they give a special touch to a blog. They’re heavy files and strong images so we have to use them with moderation, naturally. But there’s nothing like a well placed gif in a corner of a blog, or to go with a post here and there. Images and words can complement themselves perfectly without outshining one another.

     This is one of the most beautiful gifs I’ve ever found in the internet: