Series on Freelance Article Writing - Part 3

How to Present Articles to an Editor by Debbie Roome
Once your article is written, you need to submit it to the publication’s editor. Layouts vary and if you don’t have guidelines, examine past issues to see how the articles are presented. While an editor often makes adjustments, they always appreciate a piece of work that follows the required format.

What to Look for when Formatting an Article
The following are areas that need to be considered:
· Indentation
· Line Spacing
· Paragraph spacing
· Punctuation
· Font

Spelling is also important and although spell checkers are useful, they cannot replace the human eye. Look carefully for words that have double meanings and may have been spelt incorrectly. Also double check the spelling of names.

Paper or Email Submission
Many publications accept email submissions but some still prefer a hard copy. Enquire as to their preference and then make sure the following points are adhered to:
· If submitting on paper, make sure it is clean, not creased and the print quality is good
· Only use photographs that are clear and of a high enough resolution
· If submitting by email, find out if they prefer the article pasted into the body of an email or sent as an attachment
· Is a cover letter required or not? Once an editor gets to know you, the cover letter is often done away with

Come back next week to learn about marketing your work.

Read Part 1 here
Read Part 2 here

Debbie Roome works as a freelance writer from her home in New Zealand. Visit her at Debbie Roome or browse through her blog. Some of her work can be found at Suite 101 , Take Root and Write and Faithwriters.

Metamorphosis

BY SUZANNE WILLIAMS

My observations of the metamorphosis of the Monarch butterfly

Each spring my garden is covered in Monarch butterfly caterpillars. They come because of the milkweed plants that are so prevalent there. After gorging themselves on the leaves, which is their sole source of food, these fat little "worms" crawl off to find a place to "hang". Once a location is selected, the caterpillars cannot be moved. In fact, if you try to detach them, they will most likely return to that same location.

The caterpillar will suspend itself into the shape of the letter "j" to prepare for creating its chrysalis. It takes less than 24 hours for the caterpillar to form the chrysalis. Eventually, the head of the caterpillar falls off, and a bright, green chrysalis appears.

The chrysalis remains green until the morning the butterfly is to emerge. At that point, it becomes completely clear, and you can observe the butterfly folded inside. This happens within about a week's span.

Don't blink! Within less than one minute the butterfly emerges. Close observation shows a split occurring to the chrysalis from which the butterfly will push itself out. I am always so amazed it could fit in there!

After emerging, the butterfly hangs upside down for several hours to dry its wings. It will turn back and forth to stimulate air flow. The drying time is very important because if the wings do not dry properly, they will be wrinkled and the butterfly will not be able to fly. Sadly, I've seen this happen.

Eventually, the new butterfly begins to pump its wings open-closed, open-closed. This helps to finish the drying process and also strengthens their wings. Then as the temperature of the day starts to rise, the butterfly flies away!

You can watch a newly emerged Monarch as it dries its wings in the video below.

*All of these images were taken with my Nikon d5000, including the video.

-------------------------------

Suzanne Williams Photography
Florida, USA

Suzanne Williams is a native Floridian, wife, and mother, with a penchant for spelling anything, who happens to love photography.

Intrigue in Paris

Reviewed by Phee Paradise

Dark in the City of Light
By Paul Robertson

It’s the middle of the nineteenth century and Europe is essentially divided into three powers – Austria, France and Prussia. The clash of empires makes war inevitable and the race is on to see who can amass the largest army and develop the most powerful weapons. Dark in the City of Light is a classic historical novel about the events of this period, but the setting and characters personalize it and keep it from becoming a historical treatise.

The story is centered on an Austrian family living in Paris. They are critical to the balance of power in Europe because they own one of the only sources of the explosive used in large guns. Their mines produce cinnabar ore which is distilled into mercury fulminate. The attempts by agents of the super powers to obtain the ore are full of intrigue, lies and maybe even murder.

Although the events of the story are global, Robertson personalizes it by focusing on Baron Harsanyi and his two children. The baron appears to be self-serving, playing one country against another. He is also an autocratic but not very attentive father. His son doesn’t know what he wants, but is angry with his father for making him attend the French military academy. His daughter is only interested in parties and the mysterious Frenchman who stole her heart in Vienna. And the French agent who wants to buy the ore is willing to take advantage of all the family’s problems.

The title is appropriate because there doesn’t seem to be much light in Paris at that time. It’s hard to see the good in any of the characters, although Harsanyi and his son both have their moments and I liked the few people that they both trust. The theme can best be explained by a phrase that is often used throughout the book. “Only God could … stop evil, keep a man from doing evil, stop the war …” Unfortunately, that is not an expression of hope, but of cynicism. When they use the phrase, they mean it will not happen because they don’t expect God to act. But somehow, through the evil events in the story, good does manage to shine through, God is not totally absent, and genuine love motivates some of the characters.

I found the book refreshing, after reading a lot of much lighter, romantic historical fiction, and I enjoyed learning about a period of time I knew nothing about. Keep in mind that the Napoleon in the book is not the one you studied in high school. This one is his grandson and not nearly as powerful or brilliant.

Pros: Detailed historical fiction with conflicted characters who reflect the international conflict they influence.

Cons: The mood is pretty dark and you have to be patient to see the goodness in the story.

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Dark In The City Of Light Bethany House (July 1, 2010)

by Paul Robertson



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Paul Robertson is a computer programming consultant, part-time high-school math and science teacher, and the author of The Heir. He is also a former Christian bookstore owner (for 15 years), who lives with his family in Blacksburg, Virginia.




ABOUT THE BOOK

What Evil Haunts the Shadows of 1870s Paris?

Baron Ferdinand Harsanyi — After his wife's mysterious death, this Austrian attaché holds control over mines whose coveted ore could turn the tide of war.

Therese Harsanyi — Swept up in new romance and the spectacle of Paris, the Baron's daughter is blind to the dangers stalking her family and the city she loves.

Rudolph Harsanyi — Unsure whom to trust, the Baron's son's grief over his mother's death twists into growing anger and a desire to break free.

As France and Prussia plunge toward war, one family is caught in a web of deceit, political intrigue, and murder that threatens to tear them apart.


To read the first chapter of Dark In The City Of Light, click HERE.

Series on Freelance Article Writing - Part 2

Structuring an Article by Debbie Roome
Welcome to part two of our series on writing articles. This week we will look at how to put an article together.

The Basic Components of an Article
An article needs an introduction, a middle and a conclusion:
· Introduction – this should tell the reader what the article is about ... and capture their attention. Many people decide whether to keep reading based on the first couple of lines of an article. Try and present the topic in an interesting way that raises questions and lays a foundation for the middle of the article
· Middle – this is the place to develop the content. Do this in a logical manner and focus on the chosen topic. Facts should be verifiable and sources cited where appropriate. Quotations add interest to an article and should be included were possible
· Conclusion – once the content has been presented, it is important to summarize the important facts. The ending should pull the article together while allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions

How Long should an Article be
Articles can start from as little as a couple of hundred words and extend to several thousand words. The length should be determined by the publication the article is aimed at.

Where are Articles Published
Articles are published in a variety of publications which can be divided into the following broad categories:
· Newspapers
· Magazines
· Websites
· Advertising material

Come back next week to find out how to lay out your articles and present them to an editor.

Read Part 1 here

Debbie Roome works as a freelance writer from her home in New Zealand. Visit her at Debbie Roome or browse through her blog. Some of her work can be found at Suite 101 , Take Root and Write and Faithwriters.

A Shaker Romance?

Reviewed by Phee Paradise

The Seeker
By Ann H. Gabhart

A romance about the Shakers seems like an oxymoron, since they believed marrying was sin. In The Seeker, Charlotte Vance follows her fiancé to the Shakers after he breaks their engagement, and joins them. Hoping to convince him to change his mind, she discovers that is not an easy task, since she is not allowed to talk to him. So where’s the romance?

Well, it isn’t really about Charlotte’s ex-fiancé. There’s an artist that visits her father’s house, who is enchanted by Charlotte, but has no intention of making a commitment. So, although the Shakers play an important part in the story, it’s not really a romance about them. In fact, the book is more about the Civil War and slavery, than it is about the Shakers.

Charlotte has more than one reason for joining the Shakers, including escaping from her father’s new wife and trying to help her favorite slave. While she lives with them, she learns a lot about herself, about hard work, and about her own faith. The Shaker faith had some strange tenets, including belief that their female founder was the second coming of Christ. In spite of this, Gabhart dwells on their positive attributes and gives her readers an interesting look at this fascinating cult.

My favorite parts of the book were not about the Shakers. The story takes place in Kentucky, which hopes to stay neutral in the pending war. Many of its citizens want to stay in the Union, but keep their slaves. When the war starts, Gabhart provides moving, but not too graphic, descriptions of several of the battles. There is also a delightful series of letters between Charlotte and the artist, which document both the war and their romance.

You might pick up the book out of curiosity about the Shakers, and it’ll be satisfied, but you’ll get so much more than that.

Pros: Fascinating descriptions of a Shaker community and the Civil War. It also has good characters and a satisfying romance.

Cons: The main character lacks common sense and some situations seem contrived.

About the book

When well-laid plans go awry, can she still make her dreams come true?

Charlotte Vance is a young woman who knows what she wants. But when the man she planned to marry joins the Shakers—a religious group that does not allow marriage—she is left dumbfounded. And when her father brings home a new wife who is young enough to be Charlotte's sister, it is more than she can bear. With the country—and her own household—on the brink of civil war, this pampered gentlewoman hatches a plan to avoid her new stepmother and win back her man by joining the Shaker community at Harmony Hill. Little does she know that this decision will lead her down a road of unforeseen consequences.

Ann H. Gabhart brings alive the strikingly different worlds of the Southern gentry, the simple Shakers, and the ravages of war in 1860s Kentucky to weave a touching story of love, freedom, and forgiveness.

About the author

Ann H. Gabhart is the bestselling author of several novels, including The Outsider, The Believer, and The Seeker. Her latest novel was inspired in part by the many stories her mother and two aunts told her of growing up in small town Kentucky during the 1930s. She lives with her husband a mile from where she was born in Kentucky.