Do People Still Send Postcards?

by Jonny Blair

One of my first travel memories was seeing a postcard come through our letterbox when I was a child in Bangor, Northern Ireland. As a kid, you ignore those boring brown or white envelopes and you are intrigued by colour so the postcard that arrived in the post caught my eye.

The first postcard I got came from London, or Holland and I kept it as a souvenir. The journey of a postcard is the classic travellers souvenir. Postcards have been on a journey, however an e-mail has not. Let's hope the art of postcard writing and sending continues as we have now entered a very digital age.

Last time I was in my homeland with family I checked out the postcard collection that I had sent them. I was amazed that it has now reached well over 100 postcards from over 50 different countries.

All bought in various shops across all seven continents (yes, I bought and posted a postcard when I was in Antarctica!), then written with details about what I did there at the time, then a stamp is put on them, then I find a post office or postbox and post them. Then the completion of the journey when my family receive the postcard. What an amazing journey.

One of the most pleasing things for me was buying, writing and posting a postcard at Port Lockroy in Antarctica in a cold hut, where there was thankfully NO mobile phones, NO internet and certainly NO other way to send home my special travel memory!

Young and new travellers might not remember the era before the internet and mobile phones and they may even wonder why people still bother to send postcards when an e-mail is a lot faster. However it's the real life journey of the postcard and the physical element to it.

Spot the difference:

1. E-mail: E-mail v postcard. So I logged onto the internet and sent a quick e-mail.

2. A postcard: Postcard v e-mail? I bought, wrote and posted this one in Port Lockroy in Antarctica. Thankfully there was no internet around.

Which one would you rather receive?

There you go then - next time you travel - send a postcard!! I still receive postcards from all over the world from my friends and family. It means much more to me than an e-mail.

Postcards are great - keep writing and posting them everywhere you go!

Publishers Announce New Murder Mystery Writers

The genre of crime and mystery is exciting for all ages. Almost everyone enjoys a tale of things gone wrong. There are new stories surfacing daily from new murder mystery writers. Even early readers, just getting into chapter books, love to read these puzzles, as do adults. Even other genres often have elements of crime and mayhem in them.

Though authors who they have been depending on for years by publishers are their lifeblood, they also look for new talent. They constantly look for new talent to add to their stable of authors. Sometimes they launch new talent in connection with veteran authors. Using common themes, the new names are helped by the loyalty of the veteran's readers.

A relatively new type of novel in this category, though not actually entirely new, is the cozy crime novel. It is similar to the old British detective story, being basically a modern twist to that genre. These stories mostly feature women protagonists, are preferred by women, and are mostly written by women. The protagonist is the female sleuth who is great at figuring out a puzzle, often without much effort.

These Cozy novels have certain typical characteristics. Violence is only suggested, not written about directly. Though there is a killing, details are not given in detail. The suggestion is there and the reader fills in the details based on their experiences with crime stories. This makes them easy reading, thus the name cozy crime novels.

Additional traits that indicate a cozy is the sleuth, who is a woman, an amateur, and works independently. She is not affiliated with any organization, though may cooperate with local law enforcement to help solve crimes. There may even be a romantic involvement result, but no sexual content is included.

These stories are not plot-driven, but rather character-driven. The characters have strong profiles, especially the female sleuth. Settings are often exotic, such as on cruise ships or other settings where the action takes place. Sometimes the action takes place close to home, in the detective's own neighborhood. Either way, the setting needs to be meaningful for the sleuth.

Just because the characters are the main focus doesn't mean that plot is not significant. Many authors weave detailed plot lines throughout the story. It is just that characterization takes precedence. The female protagonist, or sleuth, is the most strongly developed character, and the reader follows her closely as she solves the puzzle. Romantic suspense novels and the dark Gothic novels are both variations of the cozy.

How to Write a Book Review

Informing

One of the most fundamental things in writing a good book review is the real rank sentence. Staring with a evidence that give real take the client's attending. It could still be a ruminate. Be sure to  write something that faculty egest the customer of the review impoverishment to feature this book.

Abstract

Communicate a precis synopsis of the book. Aver the readers what you enjoyed almost the playscript and if you didn't similar something mention that too. Don't be scared to say anything electronegative. Most books hold good points and a duo of bad points. Why did you equal the characters? Virtuous don't suggest that you enjoyed the collection because the characters were superior. Swear the client why the characters were superior, etc!

Unofficial

Sum up your analyze in a few sentences with your characteristic. Erstwhile again, suggest why or why not you would advocate this book and be sure to relinquish whatsoever treatment.

POINTS TO Name

1. Don't ever double anyone's practice. Be careful it is in your own words. You should never use papers real.

2. Don't be too prolix. Grouping run to get uninterested by a protracted think. Say what you hit to say but don't pull it on and on.

Nancy Eaton - I am the soul of Bestsellersworld.com and Mysteriesgalore.com - I bang scripted hundreds of assemblage reviews.

Get Your Book

I don’t believe in writer’s block. Listen: If you hire a plumber to come to your house and fix a problem, do you expect him to say, “Sorry, I can’t figure out what your problem is. I think I have plumber’s block”? Probably not, and if he did, you’d toss him out and call another guy faster than you can say Drano. Not that plumbing can be compared to writing, but if we follow the proper steps to get the job done, I find that writer’s block melts away, the drains are unclogged, and the words start flowing like water from a faucet. But what are these “steps”? Well, a big part of my job as a book marketing specialist is to help people create something they can actually market: a finished book. Many of us have ideas aplenty but not a clue how to get them down on paper.

Unlike other professions, authors operate under a whole different set of rules. We often can’t just sit down and pound out a story, and those who do have created their own formula for doing so. We see this huge story with all sorts of directions we want to take it, we see the cover, we see the characters, we see the market potential. Then we see Katie Couric or Oprah smiling and holding up our book for the whole world to see. Then we glance back down at our monitor and see a tormenting blinking cursor and blank screen. And we are again reminded of what a failure we are. We have all these stories and nothing on paper. We are idea generators. We have zillions of them running through our minds, but none of them on paper. Unless you make your money in a think tank, operating this way probably isn’t getting you any closer to your goals.

When a project looms before us, it’s like this big elephant — huge, overwhelming and ready to stomp us flat any minute. There’s an old saying: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” The same is true for writing. You finish a book, one step at a time. But to create these steps, you first have to break down your book into manageable, bite-size pieces. This can be accomplished by creating a TOC (table of contents) that can guide you through the book. My reasoning behind this is as follows: You’d never think of driving from California to New York without a map, right? Well, how can you expect to finish your book without one? Your TOC is your roadmap, guiding you through your book. If your chapters don’t have individual headings, then write a 2-3 sentence description of what the chapter encompasses. Don’t get too elaborate on this. Remember, it’s not going in your book; it’s just a brief descriptor. Once the TOC is outlined, you’ll have a vision of your book from start to finish.

Art Of Essay Writing

I love essays! I enjoy reading them, checking them, teaching my students how to generate them, but most of all I enjoy writing them! You want to ask why. I hope after reading my article you will understand. And I so much believe that you will also fall in love with the incredible world of essays. Let’s start our trip from a short background. The word “essay” originated from French word “essai” which means “attempt, effort, sketch”. And this translation reflects the essence of the task you are assigned at your college. Really, it is your personal attempt to give a challenging sketch on some engrossing issue. Unlike other academic assignments, essay suggests freedom of your creative work. Its main advantage is that you can write it on any topic, in any style. Essay is your own point of view on something you have heard, read, seen etc. The forefront of the essay is your personality, your thoughts, feelings and your life position. You have a unique chance to enter a reasonable controversy with other authors, as the teacher expects you to show your erudition in the subject. However, you should remember that regardless freedom of the writing process, it is not that easy at all. Because you are expected to find an original and capturing idea (even in the traditional context) and exceptional opinion on some problem. 

The title of essay does not strictly depend on the essay topic: the title can also serve as a starting point in your reflection; it can express the relation of the whole and the parts. A free composition of essay is subject to its inner logic, it is an emphasized position of the author. The style of the essay is marked by its aphoristic, paradoxical and figurative character. To convey your personal perception of the world you should: employ a lot of capturing examples, draw parallels, choose analogies, use various associations. One of the characteristic features of essay is the wide usage of numerous expressive means, such as metaphors, parable and allegoric figures, symbols and comparisons. Your can enrich and make your essay more interesting if you include in it: unpredictable conclusions, unexpected turning points, interesting clutches of events.Essay presents a dynamic interchange of author’s arguments, supporting evidence and questions. 

Be brief, but at the same time avoid absolute simplicity. No one will like reading a monotonous narration. Completing the draft of your essay, read it aloud, yes, aloud. You will be struck by the number of rough details in your essay. You should get rid of them with no regret. If you have to say something new, original and exclusive, then the genre of essay is your genre. Be creative, free your mind and may be you will reveal a great essayist in yourself.