How To Craft a Compelling Story - Freewrite Store

How To Craft a Compelling Story - Freewrite Store How To Write With Impact Whether you’re writing a short story, novel or a sales page for your website, keeping your readers hooked is your main goal. If you fail to hook them, you lose them - and not just in the short term. They’ll remember how underwhelmed they were by your writing - and probably won’t give you a second chance. To have a positive impact on your readers, you have to impress them with your skill. Compelling content that almost forces them to keep reading will stick in their mind long after they’ve finished reading - and they’ll want to come back for more. That’s the secret to building a loyal audience that will benefit you long into the future.   Writers - just like you - come to me frustrated because they’re not happy with their writing. It lacks that attention-grabber hook that propels you from writer to storyteller. It doesn’t mean you’re not a great writer. It doesn’t mean you should quit. It just means you need to develop the skills. How To Write With Impact Writing a compelling story isn’t easy - not even when you’ve been doing it for years. You have to work hard at it, then edit, refine and improve until it’s a polished piece that could almost reach out and grab your readers by their lapels. It’s a skill you develop and practice, not something that’s innate - which is why so many writers get frustrated by the process. Related: Story vs. Plot So, what makes a compelling story? What techniques do you have to use to grab your reader’s attention and keep them firmly on those writing hooks? There’s no magic formula for this kind of powerful writing, but there are some key ingredients. What’s more, they work for content marketing, business writing and blog posts just as well as they do for fiction. Crafting content that’s compelling is a truly transferable skill. Let’s dive into the top 1.Show, Don’t Tell Okay, so this old cliche is so tired and worn out I really debated about whether to put it in - but despite its overuse, it’s still important. When you’re trying to hook your audience, it’s no good telling them how your character feels. Showthem, with a description that’s loaded with opportunities for your reader to slip into your character’s shoes and immerse themselves in the story. Related: Show and Tell Rather than explaining to your readers, you’re giving them the opportunity to draw their own conclusions. Once they’re in your character’s shoes, you’ve started the process of making them care - and that means they’re much less likely to abandon the story early on. 2. Shock and Surprise Startle your readers with something they weren’t expecting. Marketers do this a lot - aiming for the shock factor - but it’s just as important if you’re writing a short story or novel. Make it truly shocking and unexpected and you’ll have your readers right where you need them. Related: Did you catch our April 1 'product launch'?   We encounter the unexpected every day - and how we respond is part of our learning process. Injecting something shocking into your writing keeps it real and (most) readers will be intrigued as to how the character handles what’s happened. Is it different from how your reader would respond? Is there something they can learn from this? The shock factor is a sure fire way to get your readers on the hook - because you’ve grabbed their attention. Now you just have to keep them on the hook. 3. Relatability Compelling writing is real, gritty, and doesn’t pull any punches. If you want to keep your readers on the hook, they have to be able to relate to what’s happening in your story. To master relatability, you have to know your audience inside out. What problems do they have? What in their lives causes them the most pain. If your reader encounters a character they can relate to, who has problems as they do, they’re automatically more engaged. Your readers care about the characters they can relate to. They don’t care about the characters they have nothing in common with. Far too often, the reason why you’re not hooking your audience is because you don’t fully understand them. 4. Raise The Stakes You’re writing about real situations (or situations that could be happening to your readers) - but that doesn’t mean you have to confine yourself to strict realism. Your readers have put themselves in your character’s shoes, been shocked by something, and can relate to the problem - so now you have to raise the stakes. What’s the worst thing that could happen to your character right now? Even if it’s not really likely, you have to raise your readers’ investment in the story you’re telling. You’re playing with their emotions now, and you can’t hold back. (Well, you could, but make it too ‘ordinary’ and your readers will slide right off the hook again.) When you raise the stakes, you create that edge-of-the-seat anticipation in your reader. You know, that feeling where you can’t put the book (or tablet, e-reader, magazine, whatever) down because you just have to find out what happens next. That’s exactly what you’re aiming for. 5. Mining The Depths Characters that your readers care about aren’t 2D cardboard cutouts. When you’re creating content - whether fiction or non-fiction - 2D cardboard cutouts aren’t going to get you the results you want. You have to bring your characters to life - so it feels like they’re living, breathing people bursting off the page. You bring your characters to life by creating layer after layer of details. To do that, you need to know everything about your character’s backstory (even if you’re just creating them for a digital marketing campaign!). I’ve had students tell me that it’s way too much effort for content marketing, and should only be for fiction, but it works for me and the results are worth the effort. It’s the little details that bring your character to life. Anchor them in real-life events that have enough detail to make it sound like you’re giving eyewitness testimony in the courtroom. Names, places, feelings, sensations, emotions - build the details until you start to feel like you are giving eyewitness testimony. 6. Make It Memorable Compelling writing leaves a lasting impression on your reader - which makes them remember you. Whether you’re a novelist or a social media marketer, your goal is to ensure that your reader remembers you. Compelling writing inspires loyalty in your readers, building an audience that is already primed to sign up for your mailing list or like your Facebook page. Making an impression on your readers isn’t easy when there are so many other writers trying to do exactly the same thing. You have to stand out. You have to get your hook so deep into your audience that they won’t be able to forget how your writing made them feel, or how your writing changed their life. One way to ensure that your readers remember you and remain firmly on your hook is to leave them with a feeling of unfinished business. Don’t resolve all of the conflicts in your story. Leave an unresolved thread that will be like a constant itch at the back of your reader’s mind. Refining Your Writing    Don’t expect your first draft to be a masterpiece of compelling writing. While some writers may be ready to publish after the second draft, most writers go through multiple drafts. I don’t put a number limit on my drafting process - I redraft until I’m happy that I’ve done everything I can. Sometimes it takes five drafts. Other times it takes fifteen. I’m a ruthless editor, too. Crafting compelling stories isn’t something you can do in an evening, sitting with your laptop on your knee in front of the TV. Cut out all the distractions and immerse yourself in your characters’ world. Distractions and interruptions only dilute the strength of your writing. Give your writing the dedicated time it deserves, and you’ll master the art of writing with an impact much more quickly.       About the author: Ariella is an experienced copywriter, editor, and digital marketing consultant. Driven by a passion for writing and content creation she takes pride in producing articles that deliver the latest information in an engaging manner and marketing campaigns that deliver exceptional results. Ariella has a BA (Hons) in English Language and Creative Writing (First), an MA in Theology and Ministry, and is a published author of three novels and a bestselling non-fiction book. A creative at heart, Ariella has 14 years’ industry experience and always aims to keep abreast of current trends and developments. She lives in the UK with her three beagles Zeke, Hope, and Sandy, who always make life interesting. How To Craft a Compelling Story - Freewrite Store How To Write With Impact Whether you’re writing a short story, novel or a sales page for your website, keeping your readers hooked is your main goal. If you fail to hook them, you lose them - and not just in the short term. They’ll remember how underwhelmed they were by your writing - and probably won’t give you a second chance. To have a positive impact on your readers, you have to impress them with your skill. Compelling content that almost forces them to keep reading will stick in their mind long after they’ve finished reading - and they’ll want to come back for more. That’s the secret to building a loyal audience that will benefit you long into the future.   Writers - just like you - come to me frustrated because they’re not happy with their writing. It lacks that attention-grabber hook that propels you from writer to storyteller. It doesn’t mean you’re not a great writer. It doesn’t mean you should quit. It just means you need to develop the skills. How To Write With Impact Writing a compelling story isn’t easy - not even when you’ve been doing it for years. You have to work hard at it, then edit, refine and improve until it’s a polished piece that could almost reach out and grab your readers by their lapels. It’s a skill you develop and practice, not something that’s innate - which is why so many writers get frustrated by the process. Related: Story vs. Plot So, what makes a compelling story? What techniques do you have to use to grab your reader’s attention and keep them firmly on those writing hooks? There’s no magic formula for this kind of powerful writing, but there are some key ingredients. What’s more, they work for content marketing, business writing and blog posts just as well as they do for fiction. Crafting content that’s compelling is a truly transferable skill. Let’s dive into the top 1.Show, Don’t Tell Okay, so this old cliche is so tired and worn out I really debated about whether to put it in - but despite its overuse, it’s still important. When you’re trying to hook your audience, it’s no good telling them how your character feels. Showthem, with a description that’s loaded with opportunities for your reader to slip into your character’s shoes and immerse themselves in the story. Related: Show and Tell Rather than explaining to your readers, you’re giving them the opportunity to draw their own conclusions. Once they’re in your character’s shoes, you’ve started the process of making them care - and that means they’re much less likely to abandon the story early on. 2. Shock and Surprise Startle your readers with something they weren’t expecting. Marketers do this a lot - aiming for the shock factor - but it’s just as important if you’re writing a short story or novel. Make it truly shocking and unexpected and you’ll have your readers right where you need them. Related: Did you catch our April 1 'product launch'?   We encounter the unexpected every day - and how we respond is part of our learning process. Injecting something shocking into your writing keeps it real and (most) readers will be intrigued as to how the character handles what’s happened. Is it different from how your reader would respond? Is there something they can learn from this? The shock factor is a sure fire way to get your readers on the hook - because you’ve grabbed their attention. Now you just have to keep them on the hook. 3. Relatability Compelling writing is real, gritty, and doesn’t pull any punches. If you want to keep your readers on the hook, they have to be able to relate to what’s happening in your story. To master relatability, you have to know your audience inside out. What problems do they have? What in their lives causes them the most pain. If your reader encounters a character they can relate to, who has problems as they do, they’re automatically more engaged. Your readers care about the characters they can relate to. They don’t care about the characters they have nothing in common with. Far too often, the reason why you’re not hooking your audience is because you don’t fully understand them. 4. Raise The Stakes You’re writing about real situations (or situations that could be happening to your readers) - but that doesn’t mean you have to confine yourself to strict realism. Your readers have put themselves in your character’s shoes, been shocked by something, and can relate to the problem - so now you have to raise the stakes. What’s the worst thing that could happen to your character right now? Even if it’s not really likely, you have to raise your readers’ investment in the story you’re telling. You’re playing with their emotions now, and you can’t hold back. (Well, you could, but make it too ‘ordinary’ and your readers will slide right off the hook again.) When you raise the stakes, you create that edge-of-the-seat anticipation in your reader. You know, that feeling where you can’t put the book (or tablet, e-reader, magazine, whatever) down because you just have to find out what happens next. That’s exactly what you’re aiming for. 5. Mining The Depths Characters that your readers care about aren’t 2D cardboard cutouts. When you’re creating content - whether fiction or non-fiction - 2D cardboard cutouts aren’t going to get you the results you want. You have to bring your characters to life - so it feels like they’re living, breathing people bursting off the page. You bring your characters to life by creating layer after layer of details. To do that, you need to know everything about your character’s backstory (even if you’re just creating them for a digital marketing campaign!). I’ve had students tell me that it’s way too much effort for content marketing, and should only be for fiction, but it works for me and the results are worth the effort. It’s the little details that bring your character to life. Anchor them in real-life events that have enough detail to make it sound like you’re giving eyewitness testimony in the courtroom. Names, places, feelings, sensations, emotions - build the details until you start to feel like you are giving eyewitness testimony. 6. Make It Memorable Compelling writing leaves a lasting impression on your reader - which makes them remember you. Whether you’re a novelist or a social media marketer, your goal is to ensure that your reader remembers you. Compelling writing inspires loyalty in your readers, building an audience that is already primed to sign up for your mailing list or like your Facebook page. Making an impression on your readers isn’t easy when there are so many other writers trying to do exactly the same thing. You have to stand out. You have to get your hook so deep into your audience that they won’t be able to forget how your writing made them feel, or how your writing changed their life. One way to ensure that your readers remember you and remain firmly on your hook is to leave them with a feeling of unfinished business. Don’t resolve all of the conflicts in your story. Leave an unresolved thread that will be like a constant itch at the back of your reader’s mind. Refining Your Writing    Don’t expect your first draft to be a masterpiece of compelling writing. While some writers may be ready to publish after the second draft, most writers go through multiple drafts. I don’t put a number limit on my drafting process - I redraft until I’m happy that I’ve done everything I can. Sometimes it takes five drafts. Other times it takes fifteen. I’m a ruthless editor, too. Crafting compelling stories isn’t something you can do in an evening, sitting with your laptop on your knee in front of the TV. Cut out all the distractions and immerse yourself in your characters’ world. Distractions and interruptions only dilute the strength of your writing. Give your writing the dedicated time it deserves, and you’ll master the art of writing with an impact much more quickly.       About the author: Ariella is an experienced copywriter, editor, and digital marketing consultant. Driven by a passion for writing and content creation she takes pride in producing articles that deliver the latest information in an engaging manner and marketing campaigns that deliver exceptional results. Ariella has a BA (Hons) in English Language and Creative Writing (First), an MA in Theology and Ministry, and is a published author of three novels and a bestselling non-fiction book. A creative at heart, Ariella has 14 years’ industry experience and always aims to keep abreast of current trends and developments. She lives in the UK with her three beagles Zeke, Hope, and Sandy, who always make life interesting.

A Short Quiz About Emphasis

A Short Quiz About Emphasis A Short Quiz About Emphasis A Short Quiz About Emphasis By Mark Nichol In each of the following sentences, there is a deviation from one of the conventions about how to convey emphasis in writing. Identify the error, and then check below for corrected versions followed by explanations. 1. â€Å"So-called ‘notification laws’ require businesses to notify customers when certain unencrypted customer data is improperly accessed.† 2. â€Å"Thus the question is not one of quality, but of quantity.† 3. â€Å"I suppose this was the moment when I was supposed to experience a sensation of ‘being one with the universe,’ but I just wasn’t feeling it.† 4. â€Å"With a strident vigor that arrested the attention of all present, she shouted, ‘YOU JUST DON’T GET IT, DO YOU?’† 5. â€Å"After seeing this movie, I just have one thing to say: ‘I want those two hours of my life back!!!’† Answers 1. â€Å"So-called notification laws require businesses to notify customers when certain unencrypted customer data is improperly accessed.† Explanation: Quotation marks employed to highlight a word or phrase, known as scare quotes, are almost invariably unnecessary, and are redundant to the phrase so-called. (Note that in the previous sentence, I didn’t enclose the introduced slang term â€Å"scare quotes† as I explained, these quotation marks are superfluous. However, I did use quotation marks around the phrase in this parenthesis, just as I italicized so-called above and here because that’s how open phrases and words or hyphenated phrases, respectively, are styled when used as names of concepts rather than as the concepts themselves.) 2. â€Å"Thus the question is not one of quality, but of quantity.† Explanation: Italicization of key words can be appropriate but is often overused. Use your judgment to determine whether your point needs such emphasis or whether you can rely on readers to get it without special treatment of words. Usually, they will, and if you doubt it, perhaps your point needs to be expressed more clearly. 3. â€Å"I suppose this was the moment when I was supposed to experience a sensation of Being One with the Universe, but I just wasn’t feeling it.† Explanation: Using quotation marks in this case isn’t necessarily the wrong approach, and it’s appropriate if someone a guru, for instance previously used these words, but if the intent is mockery, sarcasm, or irony, it may not be effective. Using headline-style initial capital letters is the conventional approach for conveying such a tone. 4. â€Å"With a strident vigor that arrested the attention of all present, she shouted, ‘You just don’t get it, do you!’† Explanation: Except in display copy (headlines, headings, and the like), using all capital letters is an awkward distraction. Let the narrative carry the emphasis; note that in the sample sentence, thanks to the expressive description in the introductory phrase, the quotation could even get by with a question mark alone (though, because it’s a rhetorical question, the exclamation point is suitable). 5. â€Å"After seeing this movie, I just have one thing to say: ‘I want those two hours of my life back.’† Explanation: Again, let the narrative do the work. Multiple exclamation points have no place in writing, except to mimic a hormone-addled adolescent. And avoid even single exclamation points; usually, they’re extraneous, and if they’re not, they’re probably a crutch for inexpressive writing. Isn’t the deadpan tone implied by the lack of an exclamation point in the sample sentence above more effective than the impotent peevishness that an exclamation point would suggest? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How to Format a UK Business LetterWhat's a Male Mistress?The "Pied" in The Pied Piper

Application As Physician Assistant Personal Statement

Application As Physician Assistant - Personal Statement Example For five years, I worked as an Emergency Medical Technician for 72 hours a week, or more, whenever possible; and did my best at school. These challenges, and the psychiatric disorders of both, my mother and sister, provided the impetus for my decision to pursue a Physician Assistant Program. Thus, I have affirmed that my previous health care experiences and the commitment to undertake message-based volunteering with autism patients, veterans and chronically depressed patients in my Santa Ana Community through the California Fellowship of Neuromuscular Therapists organization, make me qualified to pursue the PA Program. I want to be a PA for professional growth in the medical field and to enable me to support my family and my community who needs health care workers who understand the "options" and "limitations" in their lives and can work with them to face an under-education in healthy resistance to care. I excelled in massage therapy school, with a 97% rating. I acknowledge that PA s chool is more difficult; yet, I strongly believe I would excel due to the time management skills that have been developed; and a perspective that recognizes placing education, as the priority. I affirm my conviction that I could be an instrumental contributor to the well-being of people through undertaking the responsibilities of a physician assistant. The challenges and difficulties that I have encountered in life were seen as little blessings in disguise to pursue a productive and rewarding profession.

Advantages and Disadvantages of GMO Cotton Essay

Advantages and Disadvantages of GMO Cotton - Essay Example The countries that we know for producing GM cotton are the USA and India although the product also has production in China, Argentina, Australia, Mexico, South Africa, among others. The major advantage of genetically modified cotton is that the plant is resistant to insect pests. More than 68% of the genetically modified cotton in China produces a substance that helps it to become resistant to insect pests. It is known as "Bacillus thurengiensis" toxin. There are a few problematic pests such as caterpillars that bore the cotton itself thus hard to fight. The European Union is yet to approve submissions made for the growth and use of modified cotton. There are problems that farmers in India are experiencing as the Bt toxin failed to work. The Bt cotton yields declined significantly as secondary pests invaded the cotton. The trouble led to the use of more pesticides on the plant plus the price for the cotton seeds went up by a large number.   Scientists suggest that the Bt cotton pro duces a number of beneficial insects which help the small-scale farmers in the production of cotton. China was the leading country in the study of the benefits of having genetically modified cotton. The toxin that is used is lethal to the bollworm that is usually a major problem for the cotton growers. There is a significant decline in the use of insecticides because of the reduction in the bollworm pest. The reduction in the number of pests means that the cotton produced in good health increases.

Vocabulary :: essays research papers fc

Introduction One of the most fascinating aspects of words is that they all have a past. Some words in English, for example, can be shown to have been in place for more than 5000 years (P. Baldi, 1999). Ordinarily we pay little attention to the words we articulate; we concentrate instead on the meaning we intend to express and we are seldom conscious of how we express that meaning. Only if we make a mistake and we have to correct it or we have difficulty remembering a word we become conscious of our word. This means that most of us do not know where the word we use come from and how they come to have the meaning they do. English words come from several different sources. They developed naturally over the course of centuries from ancestral languages, they are also borrowed from other languages and we create many of them by various means of word vocabulary available to us today. History and morphology of the word Mother The idea of the mother goddess was invented in early ice age, some 25,000-30,000 years ago. She and her life giving breasts were called omma from which we have the words akin to maternal, matter, and mother. By the late ice age the Semites had shortened omma to om. The Dravidians of India are Semites who migrated to India after the ice age. They still call mother goddess omm. Om is also the present day Arabic word for female and mother. Omma became ma among the Iranians, meaning the female breast. From ma we have the Iranian maman. Also, we have the Iranian ma-Dar (earlier ma-tar) meaning breast which became mater in Latin, modor in Old English (725), madre in modern Italian, and mother in modern English (1425), (R.K.Barnhant, 2000). Collocation There are several words that fit together with the word mother.  Mother Country  Mother Nature  Mother Figure  Mother Tongue  Mother Board Connotation The word mother has a positive connotation as it describes maternal tenderness and affection although in American English mother could also mean motherfucker which carry a negative and vulgar meaning (Chambers, 1994). Semantic field relation The following are some semantic field relations to the word mother.  Father  Son  Daughter Semantic usage   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  REGISTER Mother  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Very Formal British English Mum  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Informal British English Mummy  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Informal British English mainly used by children Mom  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Informal American English Mommy  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Informal American English mainly used by children Ma  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Informal expression American and British English working class (often used with any much older woman)

Book Review of Not So Quiet Essay

The role of women during the First World War or even the Second World War has never been fully recognized as that of men. There are only a few literary and academic pieces which depict the roles that they played and their significance to it. In this regard, children who are tasked to read history books get the notion that women did nothing significant during the war. However, in reality, there are many women who played important roles during the war, their effort were just left unrecognized by historians. Women, just like men also participated in the war and exerted tremendous effort just to get through it. Many of them also served in the battle grounds fighting for their country and helping their countrymen who are risking their lives just to raise the flags of their country and protect their interests. The book Not So Quiet by Helen Zenna Smith mirrors one of the significant roles that women played during the First World War. The story is a funny and lively story of a group of women who served as ambulance drivers for the British army. They had the privilege of bringing the wounded soldiers from the freezing cold of the war zone. These women were sent by their parents to serve in the army in order to signify their patriotism for the British crown. Their parents are very proud of their children who are in the army. However, they just don’t know the pain and hardships that they are going through just to be considered as patriots. These women were under the tutelage of their Commandant, who they named as â€Å"Mrs. Bitch†. As the name itself signifies, Mrs. Bitch is not a very good Commandant in the eyes of the girls. She is very watchful and strict. She wants the girls to be always on the go while the girls at times would want to rest from their heavy work. For instance, they want to take a decent bath but they cannot because they do not have the sufficient facilities that would allow them to and even of they had, Mrs. Bitch would not allow them. Moreover, Mrs. Bitch was very cruel that she would take every pain they complain of as â€Å"mere feminine affectation†. Tosh, one of the female ambulance drivers, decided to cut her hair short because her hair is starting to be a house of lice. This act was frowned by many of her colleagues since she looks like a boy. To them, the hair reflects a lot about feminity. It is a crowning glory of every women and thus should be preserved as much as possible. However, for Tosh, the hair is not much of a big deal especially if she cannot have the resources in order to care to it. Although Smithy is serving hard in the war, she does not see the point of going to war and shedding tons of blood. Unlike those people who are so engrossed to becoming a patriot, she holds the view that wars are pointless and useless. It is a gruesome manner of taking away limb parts from a human being and ending many innocent lives. Everyday, she takes the bodies of men screaming from pain. They are full of blood and some parts of their bodies are even missing. She somehow empathizes with their cause but she cannot do anything but to bring them to where medical services are available. In addition, wars also put women like her on the line 24 hours a day, seven days a week just to serve the needs of her countrymen, regardless if they are sick. â€Å"Ambulance drivers have no fixed hours. They can be called out any one of the twenty four,† Helen said. The total war changed Helen’s life in so many ways than one. First she was exposed to the realities of life. Living in their home with her parents and siblings, she had not idea how the war zone is like and what patriotism is all about. The war zone is not a place for those who are weak and afraid. It is a place for strong and determined individuals. In addition, the war zone is a not place for those who do not have regard for patriotism. Although not a self-acclaimed patriot, she has done much for her country to consider her one. She has to work in field even if she is sick or had not even experienced a complete rest. Moreover, her work requires her to adequately take care of the sick and injured soldiers while they are not yet being attended to by medical practitioners. Ambulance drivers are not simply drivers. They also need to take extra care in dealing with the needs of the people the transport. â€Å"We have no fixed rest times after driving all night, and consider ourselves lucky to get consecutive hours’ sleep†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"We are supposed to have an afternoon off weekly†¦I never had mine once,† Helen claimed. There was even an instance wherein she is sick but had to spend only a few hours of rest as this is the Commandant asked her to. Another change that Smithy had to deal with is to eat the food served on the table. In the comfort of her own home, she has a caring mother to take care of her meals. She eats palatable and satiable food. However, her service in the war forced her to eat whatever the cook serves them, the taste be it good or bad. Eating as a matter of fact has become a joy for the drivers as they do not eat anything if they are on the road. â€Å"Any driver out on duty during mealtimes simply misses the meal,† Helen said. Moreover, Smithy was raised to become prim and proper. She was educated with the proper ways of speaking and acting in front of many people. She was raised well, however, in the war zone, she had to be accustomed to the brutal manner of speaking and dealing with other people. It is a man’s world and she needs to let go of her desire for sophistication just to survive and be the hero that her parents expect from her. She can only whine about the changes that she is facing. â€Å"My conversation daily is growing less refined,† Smithy said. Having a woman in the war zone is entirely difficult. There are many adjustments that the woman needs to face just to survive the war. The first thing that she should get accustomed with is the fact that she does not have the luxury of time to pamper and beautify herself. In the case of Smithy, they are ambulance drivers who are always on the go. They can be called anytime thus, they cannot get their hairs done or apply make up on before they leave otherwise, their patients will die. In addition, they also do not have the option to have a decent bath or to care for themselves. They have to satisfy themselves with whatever is available. â€Å"We have not had our garments off for nine days†¦,† Smithy claimed. Compared to men, women are very conscious of their looks, the clothes that they wear and the appearance that they exude to the public, however, Smithy and her co-ambulance drivers had no room for any of these feminine routines. They need to suffer in the itchiness of their heads and bodies. â€Å"We have been itching furiously for days past,† Smithy uttered. Aside from their looks, women who are serving in war zone also need to get accustomed with a light diet while working the tasks of a man. They had to content themselves whatever is available be they stale biscuits or the bad food in the canteen. As Smithy said, â€Å"we are always hungry in varying degrees†. Another difficulty that they faced but encountered is dealing with bloody screaming men. At first they had difficulty completing their tasks but as they went along, they got used to dying men inside the carts of their ambulance. The women in the story may have faced difficulty in completing their task as ambulance drivers but they managed to pull it off. While being a woman gave them several difficulties in dealing with their job, they did not use these in order to back off and leave their dying countrymen in the war zone. These women only show that men and women are just as capable in doing anything for their country. These women survived in a man’s world and became instrumental in saving the lives of their soldiers. In this regard, women should never be forgotten in history books. They should be seen in equal light as men are for they too have their own contribution to the liberty that many nations now enjoy. Reference: Smith, H. and Marcus, J. (1989). Not so quiet: stepdaughters of war. New York: Feminist Press

Writing News New Mural Dedicated to Garcia Lorca Appeared in Bushwick

It is generally thought that street art and classic culture are incompatible. There are, however, people who are always happy to laugh in the face of these and many other incompatibilities. Some of them live in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Recently they painted a huge portrait of Federico Garcia Lorca on a pharmacy’s wall, along with his poem Sleepless City (Brooklyn Bridge Nocturne). The choice isn’t random it isn’t very common knowledge, but there are a lot of things that tie Brooklyn and the famous Spanish poet together. He lived in New York in 1929-1930, and mentioned Brooklyn in his works much more than once. There is even an annual event dedicated to the poet, called Lorca’s Route in New York. The news of the new mural appearing on a pharmacy wall was met with mixed feelings by Bushwick’s residents and passers-by. Some are confused by the text of the poem (even the creators of the mural, Jane Weissman and Camille Perrorret, admit that they themselves are not exactly sure what does it mean, the poem being highly symbolic and metaphorical), some are pleased, some wish there were some socially important message instead of it. But mostly they are ready to celebrate the fact that a world-famous poet stayed here and considered this place to be worthy of his talent. Both the creators of the mural and other people who are simply fond of Lorca’s poetry agree that the writer’s sojourn in New York influenced his life and literary work to a great extent, however short time it may seem when compared with the rest of his life. He was there at a critical point of American history and saw it all: the Wall Street crash, the Great Depression, the way they influenced the everyday life of people, both rich and poor. It certainly left its trace in his heart. It changed Lorca, even to the extent of altering his style – he ceased using his accustomed Spanish verse and adopted some peculiar internal rhyme. This mural is, in fact, the fourth one of the series, which Weissman and Perrorret have been working on for the last two years, so its appearance didn’t come exactly as very surprising news to the residents. The artists say that they are already pretty much used to witnessing the entire range of emotions and reactions expressed by people when they first see their work. It is hard to say right now whether the fourth mural will be their last work dedicated to the Spanish poet, but it certainly did what it was supposed to do – it stirred up the popular attention and interest towards this personality.