Edward hopper capturing private solitary moments

I have a fascination with the paintings of the American artist, Edward Hopper. Somehow—whether by technique, imagination or subject matter—he is able to create the most compelling and evocative scenes, which stir my imagination. One of my favourites is Automat an oil painted by him in 1927. A young woman with a yellow felt hat sits absolutely alone in a barren restaurant drinking a cup of coffee. I look at this and immediately feel her isolation and loneliness as if it were my own. Is she running away? What thoughts are in her mind as she stares into the cup? Right away, Hopper has got us speculating, as he does with all his paintings. Where did she come from? Where is she going? You're caught right in the middle of a story which you can "read" backwards or forwards in time. I was so taken with this painting that the woman in it became the inspiration for a character in a short story, The Thief, and now a novel which I am writing. Struck by her isolation and self containment, I called her Celia. I search the painting to see what emotions Hopper creates and how he does it. Behind the solitary woman is a large window, blackened by an impenetrably gloomy night. The lights or reflections of lights recede into the background giving a murky, tunnel-like effect, leading to nowhere. The radiator, crouching at the left of the painting, seems just as isolated as the girl in the composition, but almost looks more communicative than her. The lonely, solitary moment is caught in time—permanently engraved on my mind. Just think how many stories could grow from this one painting! Will someone, a boyfriend or family member enter that door, hoping to bring her back? If no one comes, where will she go as soon as she drinks her coffee? To a dingy hotel room? Onto a train to New York? That would be just like so many other Hopper paintings, which so often depict hotel lobbies, motels and railway cars. Or maybe she will change her mind and go back home. Perhaps this painting speaks to me of the apprehension of the unknown as we proceed moment to moment through life. So often, we are unsure and tentative, fearing to venture out into the unfamiliar. Then again, maybe the girl is incapable of reaching out to others. After all, for me, Celia — the character in my story who was inspired by this painting — grew into a character that was desperate to get free of her self-imposed isolation from the world. And so, for me — art, painting, sculpture, and photography are so often an inspiration for writing. Of course, all art [whether it is painting or writing or music] speaks of its own time — that is, the time and place in which the artist lived. Hopper painted much of his work in the twenties, thirties and forties of the last century, when rapid industrialization and urbanization were forcing people from their old dwellings and old ways of living. Consequently, so many people felt lost and displaced. And yet, the emotions evoked by his work are universal, whatever the time and place. Great art transcends time and place and touches a nerve in us all, which communicates those universal emotions and ideas to us. Just like a photograph, Automat is a permanent moment in time existing in a world which, at the same time, seems so transient. And that is why such a painting as the Automat inspires me even today.

An author s guide to publishing a book

Ask any published book author about writing a book, and they will tell you it's a monumental task. The process is long, drawn out, and grueling. Even if you enjoy writing – and don't mind writing on the same subject for an extended period -- the writing process will, undoubtedly, exhaust you. Getting your book published, however, will take even more time and effort than writing the thing in the first place. Are you thinking about writing a book? Have you already written one? Do you wonder how to get your book published? If you so, read on. Here are some hand-picked tips on how to publish your book. WRITING YOUR BOOK To write a successful book you need to start out with some original thought. You probably have plenty of originality, but you may have trouble creating a coherent flow of ideas and information that the public will digest. The first step is to create the skeleton (or blueprint) of your book. You need to organize your thoughts into a progression of chapters. If you are writing a non-fiction book, start with a table of contents. Write chapter headings and sub-headings. Organize your chapters so you build each chapter upon one another. If you can brainstorm more chapter headings than you will use, you will find it easier to fill your book with a series of short articles that flow into one another. If you are writing fiction, you will need more of a storyboard. You will need to create cause and effect as well as character sketches. To make your story coherent your characters will need to react to events. Their reactions should become predictable as your readers get into the story. You may need to create some situations for your characters to introduce their traits to the reader. These are general guidelines on how to construct your book. The complete process will be much more involved as you move closer to finding out how to get your book published. Even after you are finished with the bulk of the content, your goal to publish your book involves a lot more work. GETTING YOUR BOOK INTO PRINT The next step to get your book published is finding a publisher. Both the Internet and your local library have many resources. You can tap into these resources to find the best publisher to publish your book. After a series of queries and correspondence with potential publishers, you may get an invitation to submit your manuscript. Then the work begins. A publisher is very experienced in finding marketable books. He knows what it will take to get your book to sell. Don't be offended when a book editor tears your writing apart, as this may be a positive sign that the publisher is interested in your book. Expect to enter into a close relationship of compromise and change with the editor as you rework what you have already painstakingly written. When you are finished, you will have a readable, clean, and correct manuscript, ready for print. The road to getting a book published is a long one, but it is well worth the effort. Trust yourself, and trust the publisher to create a beautiful masterpiece. Don't be discouraged if several publishers are not interested in your book. You may have to self-publish your first book, and then again, your book may eventually get accepted right away. Good luck and enjoy the process.

Bloggers are a lot like pigeons

Bloggers Are A Lot Like Pigeons So I'm sure many of you read the title and thought, "Where is he going to go with this one?" Okay, I agree it sounds corny, but it is amazing how your mind frames things early on a cold, wet Midwest winter morning walking to the train station (remember, a perfect morning involves staying in my sweats, not leaving the house, working on the computer). Now granted, I do hope most of us are potty trained better, have a more permanent residence and a sharper mind when it comes to avoiding traffic, but stay with me and read on. Both bloggers and pigeons are: 1. Vastly colorful and individual. The flock of pigeons that served as my inspiration reminded me of how unique each one was physically. At a glance they may appear similar when you see a flock together as a tapestry, yet, it is remarkable how distinct the markings are to each bird. Just like our blogs; each possesses personal font-image-layout-color preferences, variances and nuances specific to distinguish us. 2. Tend to bobble, hunt and peck. I don't know about you, but I feel I resemble a pigeon as I hunt and peck across the keyboard with my head bobbling most the day! It's crazy too how their always pecking at something they can see on the ground, or think they can see, and I can't see it! Do we do that? 3. Friendly and respectful. Pigeons and bloggers are a genuinely friendly, communal group. Even when pigeons are being fed they are respectful to one another as they go in for their share--unlike seagulls. Granted, every now and then, one in the group gets a little "randy" and starts climbing on the other, but we know the motivation behind that behavior. Overall, they get along tremendously. 4. Very vocal. Ever notice how much cooing goes on-especially when they congregate? I am amazed everyday as I sit with my feed reader at the wealth of intellect and insight shared daily amongst us all! Maybe that's why pigeons huddle too, because they have so much to share with one another! 5. Free to travel. Well, bloggers can travel anywhere Wi-Fi to blog, but isn't that almost the same today as having wings? What a beautiful thing to no longer be bound to a brick and mortar model and be able to blog from the beach (its really funny here in Chicago along lakeshore beaches we have both pigeons and gulls out in the sand!). 6. Helpful. Fellow worldwide bloggers I have been privileged to "meet" are some of the most amazing people I have ever had any fellowship with. Although most bloggers are willing to lend a hand with information or a project, if they have the time, don't forget that they might have to refuse or even not reply because of time constraints, heavy workloads, set principles, or a simple distaste with your lack of proper etiquette. You know what I am saying, don't get so consumed with your own needs that you behave or come across disrespectfully to your fellow bloggers. Even pigeons do get ruffled and fly away. Let me know what you think! Derrick Sorles copyright 2007

Write for you a reader focused writing primer

You want to write better, more engaging articles and content right? You want to get your message across and you want your call to action….actioned right? I am no writing expert, but I can tell you one thing, the secret to writing better starts with one tiny word….. YOU! Your readers (And maybe your potential clients/customers) read what you have written for a reason. They read because they want to gain something from it. THEY want to gain something. They are not interested in how YOU are this, that and the other. They want to find out how what you are writing can benefit THEM. People are greedy. Even when they are not trying to be. They are greedy at a subconscious “Brain Sponge” level. How many times have you read an article or blog and stopped reading half way through? How many times have you thought “God…this person likes to talk about himself”? And don’t you just hate conversation when someone else always talks about themselves? READ ON! ALWAYS FOCUS ON YOUR READER When you are writing, and especially when you are writing to sell something, focus on your reader. They (Usually) don’t care about how great your product is, they only care about how great it will be to them. Use the Words “You” and “Your”. Make your reader feel how much it is going to benefit THEM. A great testimonial to this fact is a test I ran on a single eBook I used to sell. It was a single page website that sold an eBook on setting up a website. I played around with the copy a lot and the product was great, but it was not selling. I invested in a split testing software and created two different versions of the sales page. One was the normal sales copy and the other was the sales copy focusing on the user. So rather than “With our eBook” I had “With your eBook” etc. The results were surprising. By minimizing the use of “I” “We” and “Our” and increased the use of “You” and “Your”, the sales of the book increased by 60%. That’s a lot! ASK QUESTIONS Asking your readers questions is also a great way to engage them. Make them think. Make them ask the questions YOU WANT THEM TO ASK! Questions that YOU have an answer for. Have a specific call to action and lead them down the path. I have used this technique on many sites in my network from the beginning and have seen great results. I am sure you will too. ***It should be worth noting that I (tried) to keep you engaged in this article by using the word you/your 30 times (Including this sentence) and asked 5 questions. Seems like a lot now but it worked, didn’t it?

Sonydigitalcamera

SONY DIGITAL CAMERA: EMBRACING PERFECTION Known for producing quality electronics, Sony is also one of the pioneers and the best producers of digital camera. Truly using a Sony digital camera is embracing perfection with its many features exclusive to a Sony digital camera. Indeed, one of the best ways to capture your memories forever is thru photos and what better to do it than with a Sony digital camera. Photos are used to remember or when we reminisce of the wonderful times of our lives. And only vivid and detailed photos can help us bring back all those memories. And quality photos are exactly what a Sony digital camera offers to its consumers. Equipped with the best optics and imaging technology available, the Sony digital camera line ensures its consumers that a Sony digital camera will only capture more detail, more color and more brightness imaginable. Every Sony digital camera has an exclusive Sony technology that enhances photo capturing experience. Armed with the Real Imaging Processor (RIMP), any Sony digital camera allows high digital processing that reduces picture noise and delivers smoother and more detailed images. The RIMP is an intelligent Sony digital camera technology that allows faster shooting time, swifter burst shooting and almost simultaneous processing of your images (enables immediate display of your image) for your Sony digital camera. All Sony digital cameras are furnished with Carl Zeiss lens. Carl Zeiss lenses are world renowned for their quality brilliance, outstanding accuracy of colors and enhanced definition with almost zero distortion. With a Carl Zeiss lens, flawless imaging is truly embracing perfection with a Sony digital camera. Sony has its own Cyber-shot line of digital camera for all photo fanatics out there. One of the lower ends of their Cyber-shot series of the Sony digital camera is the DSC-L1. The L1is a 4.1 mega pixel camera with a 3x optical zoom and plays MPEG Movie Vx. It is also supplied with a Vario Tessar lens from the Carl Zeiss line. A higher version of the L1 is the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P200. Almost same in all respect with the L1 expect this baby is a 7.2 mega pixel Sony digital camera. For those who are serious in their craft, the right Sony digital camera for you id the Cyber-shot DSC-F828. Designed for professional photographers, the F828 has a 28-200mm equivalent of a Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar lens, which makes it excellent for action and low-light shots. An 6 mega pixel Sony digital camera, it is outfitted with 7x optical zoom and a 1.8 inch LCD screen where you can review the pictures that you just took. The DSC F828 has a four color system that includes RGB+emrald colors and enables night shot/night framing system. The F828 even allows manual exposure, zoom and manual focus controls for your customization needs. For the younger and trendier generation, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-M1 is the right Sony digital camera for you. The M1 is a digital camera and a camcorder in one. It can record either up to five seconds MPEG 4 playback or unlimited video recording, depending on your preferred setting. Shooting with 30 frames per second, it is 5.1 mega pixel camera with a 640 x 480 maximum pixel resolution. It has 3x optical zoom and 2x digital zoom. Very lightweight at only 6.5 oz. the M1 is very portable and is only 2x1.1x4.5 inches (dimensions). A USB 2.0 compatible and with PictBridge support, the M1 makes file transferring from your Sony digital camera to your computer as easy as taking pictures. Available with accessories such as wrist strap, docking station and a 32MB memory Stick Duo, the M1 comes with an expansion slot that lets you upgrade up to 512MB of memory for further picture taking or video playback. It even has a built in features such as stereo surround, built-in mic and a 2.5inch TFT active matrix LCD display. Check out Sony’s website at sony < sony> to look for other available Sony digital camera models that will fit you and your lifestyle.

A bad literary agent can be worse than no agent at all

Types of things to watch out for with agents: * Charging the author a fee up front, to be accepted as a client. Can be called a reading fee, or a monthly "office expenses" charge. The best agents, and most successful ones, only charge a percentage fee of royalties the author earns, typically 15%. Suppose a realtor charged you a fee to come over and tour your house before getting the listing? How quickly would you show that realtor the door. . . * Charging back unusually large "postage and copying fees" to send out an authors' work. One crooked agency accepts almost every client that contacts them, but in the fine print of the contract they charge "postage and handling" of up to $10 per submission they send out on your behalf. It doesn't cost $10 to send a letter and a sample chapter of a book to a publisher. This company makes a fortune from these fees whether or not they actually successfully market any of their clients work. * Directing authors toward specific editing services or giving authors' names to these services. Sometimes they even own the editing service. Some agents make a significant portion of their income from referral fees from these services. * Terms in Agency contracts with writers vary widely. Must be read carefully. Not standard at all. * The agent contacts publishers pretty much at random. The agent's value to you is in the relationships they have with publishers, so that if the publisher hears from them, they know the book is worth taking a look at. Ask to see copies of rejection letters that come back from publishers. If it looks like just a form letter response, rather than a letter you would send to an acquaintance, you can bet the agent may be just picking names out of a directory of publishers. * Puts forth a weak effort or gives up on the client's project after a few months. You have a right to ask how active the agent is going to be. How many publishers are they going to contact, how will they follow up? You also have a right to periodic reports as to whom they have contacted and the results. You must determine how much time and attention they are really going to give you. Another reason it is imperative to have a reputable agent is that the publishing house typically pays the agent, who deducts their "cut" and sends the remainder it to the author. It's a frightening thought that a less than honest person gets their hands on the money you've earned from sweat, blood, and even tears. Find out more about agents