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The makers of the world’s most recognized pencil continue to change the shape of writing. It’s a triangular shaped pencil that eases writing stress by allowing maximum surface contact between the pencil and the fingers.

Ergonomic experts say the new three-sided pencil, called the Tri-Conderoga, is the world’s most comfortable pencil. Larger than a normal No. 2 pencil, the triangular shape is more comfortable and easier for consumers to grip and use than traditional round or hexagonal-shaped pencils.

And with the wave of Sudoku raging the nation, the Tri-Conderoga is a natural choice for puzzle lovers everywhere.

Here are some facts that will sharpen your knowledge about pencils:

• More than two billion pencils are used in the United States every year.

• A pencil will write in zero gravity.

• The average pencil can be sharpened 17 times and can write 45,000 words or draw a line 35 miles long.

• Seventy-five percent of the pencils sold in the United States are yellow.

• The Ticonderoga No. 2 is the world’s best-selling pencil.

• Famous novelists Ernest Hemingway and John Steinbeck used pencils to write their books; Steinbeck used as many as 25 cedar pencils every day.

• One million pencils are used each year on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

• Pencils did not have erasers on them until 100 years ago, because teachers felt they would encourage children to make mistakes.

• Francis Scott Key wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner” in pencil.

The triangular-shaped Tri-Conderoga is like the familiar No. 2 pencil with style. It is made entirely of premium California incense cedar, has a “soft-touch” finish and sports a latex-free black eraser that ensures smudge-proof corrections.

The Tri-Conderoga is non-toxic and certified by the Pencil Manufacturers Association, making it safe for everyone. This new pencil is available at Staples stores throughout the country.

Writers are an interesting breed of humanity &ndash they can make us feel joy, sadness, anger and empathy. Sometimes they can cause us to feel all these emotions simultaneously.

There are certainly more lucrative methods of gaining an income, yet everyday thousands of individuals will sit down at their keyboard pounding out a story that may never actually be published.

There is a creative energy required to create a meaningful story. It is hard to invest that energy into a story if there is a feeling the story has no chance of success, yet writers will do so.

What motivates a writer to spend their time and talents on something that may bear little fruit?

The answer is found in a quote from author Isaac Asimov, “I write for the same reason I breathe — because if I didn’t, I would die.”

For many writers the reason stems from the fact they have a story in their mind that won’t leave them alone until the story is drained onto the written page only to be replaced by a new story that requires telling. The story might be for the author alone or it might be for a larger audience.

Many writers are not in the market to be famous, they simply agree with the sentiments of Fran

Greetings,

I’m writing to you to share some of my concerns and

at the same time, ask you for help.

It’s about the Internet.

The biggest problem caused by the Internet, as I can see it, is the openness and accessibility to an unlimited amount of information.

Naturally, one who can touch a key board at least with one finger, should accept the Internet with all its good and evil as an incredible invention of all times.

That’s one side of the coin.

Another one is that I’m totally lost in the ocean of online offers; one is more seductive than other.

”The best method of creating your wealth on line…” shouts at us a sales letter.

“The most progressive ever way of building your list of subscribers…”hollers another.

Tens if not hundreds of messages (most of them, certainly, unsolicited) call us to prosperity on line.

I was raised to respect the word written. It’s not only The Constitution , laws of the state, school textbooks, manuals, instructions, notes, you name it!

The Bible, of course. I will always remember a notorious question my Pastor used to ask me: ”What is written in the Bible about it?”

Looked like for every problem one had ever experienced, Pastor could find the answer in the Bible.

In short, the miraculous power of the word, written in my heart, is written ‘in stone.’

Now, when I read the unlimited list of superlative adjectives of sales letters I feel desperate, thriving to find out ‘where the dog is hidden.’

The messages where the writers start saying:

”Don’t you lose this one in your whole life opportunity, etc”

I wonder, if one can find a pumpkin, who would wish to lose his one time in his whole life chance?

So, I click the link, open the web site and read a special report, nicely formatted, highlighted, emphasized, splashing good news into my face, raping me with ‘order, order, order, and again, order.’

But that’s not all!

“If you order before midnight,” it says, “you will sure get tons of bonuses, so don’t tarry!”

I move aside from my desk everything, spilling a cup of coffee I was advised to grasp before reading a message, fumbling for my ‘electronic wallet’ and just about to fill in the form…

Thanks the Lord, it is still necessary to fill in the form, the last chance to escape the hypnotic daze of the sales letter, cool down, and recover from the fog of a ‘narcotic’ power of the commercial offer.

Uff, sweating and shivering, I regain consciousness, trying to think about something else and put off the hanging above me horrendous cloud of doubt:

”What if this is that one chance from a thousand , which just come only to bold and smart individuals, who, after just a few months report to us:

”I come back to gloomy days of the winter 200? when I didn’t have any money to pay the bills, to do this and that, etc, unless I met John Smith who showed me the big picture… so now my life has completely changed. Look at my house, I bought a week ago and a new car I’m thinking of buying, and, so on.”

To resist this temptation is next to impossible…

With my last effort, I press my right hand so that not to click the desirable link taking me to the treasures island where money grows on the trees and one can experience joy and gladness because one blessed day she clicked this miraculous link!

Paradise lost?

No, Mr John Milton,

Paradise found…

Instead of an epilog.

After nearly four years of trying to find a ‘Magic formula’ for getting rich on the Internet, I’m still where I was last century.

“If I could do it, you can too…”

“Can I?”

I came to realize early on in my stay in this beautiful country of Thailand, that Thai women were not only perfectly groomed and gracious, but they were absolutely “svelte.” I mean, how many more attributes do they get? I felt like Gulliver in the land of the Lilliputians.

As a newly-arrived expat in Thailand, I looked forward to seeing everything; from the Reclining Buddha to the gold-encrusted temples. But first, I told myself, I had some serious shopping to do. With the temperature at 100 degrees and the humidity fighting for top billing, I thought the best place to kill two birds with one metaphorical stone would be at an air conditioned shopping mall. Shopping has always had a way of lifting my over-sized spirits. I’d hoped to find a cutesy little sundress that could transform my 38DD bust line and my 30 inch waist into something that looked “svelte.”

But this wasn’t just for me, this shopping business. No, no. I made it a prerequisite to always help the local economy. I was directed by our hotel’s concierge to try Robinson’s Department Store in downtown Bangkok. “Very nice clothes foh you, MaDam.”

Wow, Robinsons? Right here in downtown Bangkok? It took me thirty minutes on a hot tuk-tuk ride in the piercing heat, but I made it, unscathed and ready to spend, spend, spend. As I sauntered into what I thought was the Women’s Department, I stopped short. Oh, no, these must be the teen’s clothes. They’re much too small for an adult. I scanned the racks. Who wears a size 2? Where am I, in the Barbi and Ken Department? I couldn’t get these styles around my thigh, much less my back-side.

I could see someone walking towards me, but she looked like a teenager. Surely she’s not the salesgirl? She stopped in front of me. “Gootmoanin.”

“Oh.” I felt my face get hot. She looked like a sprite. She wasn’t a little girl after all; she was at least in her 20s and obviously the salesgirl in this department. “Uh, I, ah, was… Is there a Woman’s department in this store?”

“Yeth.” She smiled and waited expectantly.

“Oh. Well, I, ah, could you point me to it?”

“Mai kow jai ka.”

I yanked my Thai-to-English conversation book from my pocket and handed it to her. She pointed to a Thai phrase and handed the book back to me.

“Oh! You don’t understand?”

She smiled.

“Okay. Sure. Sorry.” I pointed to my well-fed body, while she watched expectantly. I then yanked on the waistline of my dress and said, “Clothes. For me.”

“Yeth,” she smiled demurely while looking at her feet, “preze foroow me.”

She led me to a small alcove, where some well-fed tourists were grazing about. Sidling up to a rather rotund shopper, I asked if she knew why we were led to this separate area. “Is it because we’re foreigners?”

She puckered up her mouth as if sucking on a sour gumball: “Yeah, honey, it’s cuz we’re foreigner’s all right, larger-than-life foreigners!” She threw back her head and guffawed at her cleverness.

“Huh?”

“The only sizes you’ll find out there,” she cocked her head towards the tiny clothes I’d just left, “are size twos to fours, and honey, that ain’t us.” She had herself another good laugh.

I snuck a peek around the room while she chortled, and realized that every body standing in this room was years past those proportions.

I knew I wasn’t going to like these svelte, tidy little women. They must be bulimic &ndash that’s it. Binge, purge, binge, purge - they’re not fooling me. Dream on, lady.

As I toured and shopped the city in the following weeks, I came to realize that the Thais were also neat and tidy in other aspects of their lives. Every department store I visited in Bangkok was unbelievably pristine. Shirts and pants, towels, linens and sportswear were not only folded and stacked, but actually looked as though folded by automation. All the garments concealed cardboard inserts to give them shape. No pins showing, no uneven edges, just as if it were a picture on display. The dresses, blouses and shirts were neatly hung on hangers according to sizes and colors. Amazing, considering the litter I’d witnessed outside on the streets of Bangkok, where every little nook and crevice harbored some sort of debris.

For us, ahem, larger sizes, I found that anything imported was deplorably high. An imported name-brand in Thailand could be four times higher than one might pay in the States. Paradoxically, Thai clothes are very inexpensive and quite stylish &ndash if you’re less than five feet tall and weigh between seventy and ninety pounds.

I made a decision then and there: Before I left this country I would diet, fast, quit eating, quit breathing; whatever it took to look as svelte as these Thai women.

Another eye-opener I found was that every place I shopped, there were at least three salespeople hovering over me, smiling, waiing &ndash a Thai greeting. So helpful! I’ll be very cranky when I return to the States and don’t get the same service.

But &ndash back to reality. After living in Thailand for a few months, I learned the secret of the segregated clothing. The salespeople have the perfect solution for us larger sizes. It’s called “Won Sigh” &ndash meaning HUGE. You enter the clothing department, and unless you’re built like Twiggy, the sweet, smiling, ever-helpful salesgirls &ndash who all look pre-pubescent &ndashsteer you toward the “Won Sigh” department. This is where you’ll find all the loose-fitting, baggy, beachy, gauzy, hippie-looking outfits, and all claiming to fit ONE SIZE; from size 8 all the way up to Mama Cass. This is their way of saving face - yours. They would never dream to insinuate you were large, fat, obese, or chubby. You just happen to fall into the category of Won Sigh.

As I departed Robinsons in my new muumuu, nearly tripping over the hemline, I got a glimpse of my reflection in the display window. YIKES! Picture Hilo Hattie in strappy sandals.

(Excerpted from A Broad Abroad in Thailand by Dodie Cross, with permission).

When my first book (The Cliffhanger) was published nearly seven years ago, I had high hopes of its success. I mean I am, after all, a PR person &ndash so how hard could it be to market fiction? Granted, up till that point I hadn’t taken on a lot of fiction &ndash well, to be honest I hadn’t taken any fiction. Fiction is tough and everyone knows it. But now I was going to get my chance, and what better way to start than on my own book? When The Cliffhanger hit the #1 spot on Amazon it was no accident, it was a creative push that got it to #1 and ironically, the pitch that prompted this Amazon soar had nothing to do with the book. Curious? Then read on.

When I was first pushing The Cliffhanger I did all the things a good fiction author is supposed to do. I sent out review copies, created a stunning press release, scheduled book events. All of these things were great, but they didn’t give it the momentum the book really needed to succeed. The book signings were good, but a tad boring, the press was interested, but not enough to feature me more than once. I knew I needed to do something, but let’s face it, when you’re writing romance it’s tough to find a pitch that has the stickiness to it to, well, stick. When you’re taking a fiction book to market you need to have more to hang your star on than a groovy story &ndash you need something the media can sink their teeth into, you need grit. That ‘grit’ is the reality piece of your story.

The truth is there’s always a thread of reality that weaves through each piece of fiction. Find your reality and own it, if need be, craft your pitch around it. Let’s say you wrote a book about a woman overcoming domestic abuse. You’ve done your research, you know the stats, in fact, you might even be considered an expert. Why not then turn a portion of your campaign into a domestic violence pitch? The same can be said for just about anything. They key here is to find that grain of reality and see if it’s interesting enough to create a new peg. Once you’ve found your hook, own it. What I mean is become the expert on that hook and familiarize yourself with ever statistic, every study and every new trend.

When The Cliffhanger was released I soon realized that marketing romantic fiction was only going to take me so far, but marketing the method of printing was more unique. Why? Well, The Cliffhanger was one of the first books in the San Diego area to be published via print-on-demand. Hence, that became my story. Until the Presidential race of 2000. Now that was an entirely different story.

No doubt many of you will remember the counts, recounts, chads, and hanging chads, right? Well, one morning I woke up to find our local paper with the following headline: “Cliffhanger.” I knew right then that if I couldn’t find a hook to hang my star on that angle, I might as well hang up my marketing hat forever. It was at 3 a.m. that I woke up with an idea so stunning, I knew it had to work. I raced out to the office supply store the minute it opened to pick up several packs of clear labels. I got out the postcards I had printed with the book cover on them and stuck on labels with the following slogan:

Getting tired of the Presidential cliffhanger?

Try this one.

The Cliffhanger, a novel.

No politics involved.

I mailed 500 postcards out that day while praying the election wouldn’t get called. I mailed these postcards to everyone in the media I’d ever contacted. Ever!

Days after my mass-mailing, I was walking through my living room, when suddenly I spotted my book cover on the screen. I was stunned. The local TV anchor was saying, “This has got to be the best thing I’ve ever seen. This lady wants you to go buy her book. I say everyone should rush out and buy it.” And everyone did. That afternoon my book shot up to the #1 spot on Amazon, where it stayed for three months. It even beat out Harry Potter (which was #4 at that time), yet Harry got the movie. Go figure.

The point is that finding an “anchor” will help you push your campaign. This works for book events, too. If you’ve written a crime book, why not “theme” your event with DO NOT CROSS Police line tape (if you can get your hands on it) or some other prop? The key is to be unique, carry your theme throughout your marketing and hang your star on unique ways to promote your book.

But the second piece of this, the piece that’s become all the rage recently, is the visual aspect of your book. Now I’m not talking about the cover, I’m talking about the movie. Yes, you read right. Your book, a movie. Now I’m not talking about a full-blown two hour motion picture. I’m talking about a movie trailer. Most recently several major publishers have started using book trailers to promote the fiction books they publish. Why? Because we are a very visual society, and if you’re trying to distill the core of your book into a thirty-second elevator pitch, why not distill that same information into a trailer? Studies have shown that book trailers can increase book sales in excess of 30%. This is why most of the major publishers are jumping on the book trailer bandwagon. Still not convinced? Check out this book trailer of Candlewood Lake and see if it doesn’t entice you to buy the book:

.authors-online.com/billboards/drivein/candlewood/index.html

Now here’s a short list of tricks we’ve used to promote fiction:

* For a series of detective novels we worked with, we told the author that instead of pitching the book, we were going to pitch some of the intriguing unsolved mysteries. He became the unsolved mystery expert and when he did a book event, that’s what he talked about. People were enthralled, and it also got him quite a bit of radio, too!

* For a chick lit book last year the author had one of her recipes (for Orgasmic cookies) come to life when she partnered with a local cookie company. The result? We had people writing us for copies of the book just so they could try this fabulous cookie.

* And what better place for a romance reading than a romantic winery? If you live near some wineries, don’t hesitate to stop by there and ask if they’d like to invite you in for a reading.

Have you ever considered partnering with another author who has a similar title? Last year, I consulted with two authors who’d written books about Paris. I decided they might want to meet and partner up for events. They did, and the result was magnifique! Everyone loved the “evening in Paris” they’d created, and needless to say, they got lots of bookings!

The trick is, with all the fiction out there, you have to find a way to be different. Selling the story isn’t always going to sell your book, but entertaining the reader or selling how the story affects the reader or how it can benefit them will. Find your anchor, hook, or story &ndash and you’ve found an audience.

Becoming a marketing story-teller isn’t as hard as some people make it out to be, and whoever said fiction can’t be marketed just didn’t know how to tell a great story.

Before you start writing and designing your term paper, make sure that you know and understand the subject and topic, you are assigned with. It might be simple, yet nevertheless a lot of students experience many difficulties at this stage. Why? Because apparently, it is not as simple as it might look. Even highly experienced and well educated person can spent several hours and in many cases days to come up with some ideas and points on particular topic.

That is why it is highly important to turn to term paper help resources. What kind of resources are these? In our modern world you have access to many databases, electronic libraries and other online sources. Sometimes, it is difficult to find a particular book or journal at the library. Yet, wherever you are - in the rural area or even in some distance country, you will be able to find many useful resources if you are connected to the web. There on the internet, you can find new research on your topic, new articles and messaging boards - vital information that might give you some ideas on the topic, you research. Try to read attentively and impartially in order to understand why this particular topic or subject concerns so many people. Why do they want to discuss it? Why do they argue about it? Once you have used these term paper help resources, you can move on to other stages of the writing of your paper. You may learn more about it here: term paper help

Once you have come up with new ideas and have decided what you are going to investigate, you may start researching. This process is very important for all writing assignments; however I would like to single out two assignments where research is in the forefront of the writing process - research paper on health and research paper on religion.

When you start writing research paper on health, you may use internet extensively as well. There is a lot of information on various health topic, many health departments, organizations schools as well as societies have their web sites. One can find much useful practical information in different medicine journals which are available either free or under subscription. However, one should exercise extreme caution, when you use information from messaging boards or some unknown sites. Do not forget that in this type of the paper you should make sure that your information is relevant and authentic. In many cases internet sites or rather moderator review the information (messages and news) before it is posted. However do not forget that sometimes, though not always this information is reviewed by technical staff of the site rather than by real professional. Certainly, you understand that there are many branches of medicine and in my opinion it is virtually impossible to assign experienced and well-educated professionals in all fields to review the information. That is why one can use this information, but should be very cautious about it. You can learn more about it here

research paper on health

Internet might help you in the designing and completing research papers on religion. However, in this case you should remember that religion is viewed as interdisciplinary subject and you might visit some web sites on other disciplines as well (such as history, geography, psychology). When visiting these sites you should follow the advice given above (for the writing of the research paper on health). Try to follow the instructions of your tutor. When visiting web sites of different religious organizations, try to avoid the web sites that advertise religious intolerance. I can presume that you will not visit these sites, however remember-some of them may be outwardly aggressive, but some of them may promote hatred in surreptitious way. Learn more about it here research paper on religion

And finally, despite the fact that these papers might differ in some methods of the research, one should always follow simple rule- gather information and resources before you start working on your paper. Custom Essay Writing Service

Stephen King says he starts his novels with a “What if?” question. What if a woman and child are trapped in a car by a rabid dog? What if a family pet buried in a Pet Semetary came back to life? What if a young girl could start fires with her mind?

I have also heard many other bestselling novelist such as Jodi Picoult, Janet Evanovich and Nicolas Evans lay claim to the same thing.

And I have heard others say they just saw an image in their mind, or had a persistent sentence knocking on the inside of their brains, and they just followed that to where it lead them.

And while their insight and tutelage is invaluable, when I was a budding writer it left me with another question.

What’s next?

It’s all good and fine to have a starting point. In fact a starting point is imperative. But in answering the question of “What next?” you will lift your novel from “What if?” to “Howzat!”

So in answer to the “What next?” question, I defined the five essential elements of any good story, whether it’s a novel, a short story, a play or a screenplay. Use these five elements to plan your story and you’re guaranteed to write a bestseller everytime.

Step One: Desire

It is essential that your main character want something. Even if it’s only a glass of water, they must have an “object of desire” to pursue. It can be anything from a way of escaping their predicament, or a way to bring their world back into balance, but the key is that your main character must want something. Without that you will not have a story.

This “desire line” is the golden thread that will run through your story.

For example, in a love story, the object of desire is the beloved. In a story of illness, the object of desire may be anything from a medical specialist who can treat the patient, to a specific medicine guaranteed to cure. In a failing marriage, the object of desire could be the best divorce lawyer in town, or an apartment of their own. It’s your choice and will be dictated by the type of story you are writing.

Step Two: Conflict or Opposition

You will undoubtedly know that nothing ever moves forward in story except through conflict. So once your main character knows what they want, there has to be something or someone around to stop them. And the most powerful person, or thing, to oppose the main character is the one who can put the most pressure on them and force them to change.

It’s critical to remember this: the strength of any story is directly related to the strength of the opponent. If it’s easy for the main character to reach their goal, then where’s the challenge? Where’s the drama? Where’s the struggle for growth and change?

The Harry Potter novels kept us on the edge of our seats for seven books and ten years because of the promise of a showdown between Harry and Lord Voldemort. The success of Star Wars hinged on the multilayered battle between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. The Bourne series enthrals us because it’s one man against the CIA.

In our earlier examples, the opponent in the love story is always the lover. If boy meets girl and they get together and live happily ever after, where is the story? There isn’t one! So the lover must resist in some way. In the case of the illness, the main opponent could be a government department that is withholding approval for a drug that will cure you, or it could be a lack of funds to travel overseas to see that one specialist who can treat you. And in the failing marriage, the opponent would be the other marriage partner, who is either trying to send you broke or stopping you from moving out.

Really take the time to explore your opponent. They can often be the most interesting character in the story!

Step Three: Moral Dilemma

The conflict must build so that your main character is forced into a corner, where they must make a decision that challenges their values.

There is only one question you need to ask yourself at this stage, and that is, “how can I push my main character into a place where they feel as though they are stuck between a rock and a hard place?” The decision they make here must be a true test of their core values, and whatever decision they make needs to tip them into the most intense conflict of the story, where they battle the opponent in a do-or-die climax to your story.

For example, in the love story, your character may be forced to choose between love and security, or love and family, as they enter new territory in the relationship stakes. In the illness story, your character may need to choose between health and authority, or health and pride, if they are forced to ask for charity to finance their overseas trip. And in the case of the divorced couple, your main character may be forced to choose between freedom and control, or financial security and love, depending on the scenario you choose.

One way or the other, your character has to make a choice and this choice sends your story into its most intense conflict.

Step Four: The Battle or Climax

You are now entering the most intense conflict of the story and the action here must take place between your main character and the main opponent. This is the classic “fight” scene, or where the great revelation comes out, where you can otherwise surprise or shock your readers. Push it out there! Allow whatever comes out to come out onto the page. Remember you are just exploring your story here. If it goes too far you can pull it back in the writing or the editing. Just remember that the most powerful climax will be one that brings about absolute and irreversible change.

It’s a good idea to explore your character’s highs and lows at this time. By this I mean look at how they can behave really badly, as we often do when we are pushed into a corner. Does your character come out swinging, or do they submit and surrender? Neither answer is wrong or right. It will depend entirely on your story.

Step Five: Resolution

Every good story asks a question at the beginning. Whether it’s a Stephen King “What if?” question, or something entirely different, it’s imperative that you answer the question here. How can you show your character having learned their lesson? How are they seeing themselves clearly for the first time? What impact does that have on those around them? What is the “solution” to your story?

I recommend not spending too much time planning this final step, as it almost always simply comes out in the writing. Stories that you are meant to write have a way of just coming out the way they need to, and too much planning of the ending will make it seem contrived.

So those are our five simple steps to great fiction. Have a character who wants something, add something or someone who tries to stop them, put them in an impossible situation, watch them fight their way out and see what they learn in the process!

Simple really!

I have a friend who has enjoyed a long successful career as a published novelist. More than once we took part in the same panel at a writer’s conference. Whenever it came time to field questions from the audience I came to expect — actually anticipate — that some bright-eyed, eager novice would direct a particular question at my friend. It wasn’t so much the question that I anticipated as her answer.

The question would always be some variation of “What is the secret to your success?” We all knew it would happen and we would always sit back and let my friend handle it. Not only because she was the most successful among us, but because she had the best answer.

My friend would always play to the audience. She’d lean forward conspiratorially, check to make sure the doors were closed, and swear the audience to secrecy. Then she’d repeat the question and pause for a few dramatic heartbeats and answer: “The BIC Method!”

Those of us in on the secret would begin to grin at this point, but it wasn’t until she explained the BIC method that the other writers would get the joke. You see BIC stands very simply for Butt In Chair.

Yes, her writing success is that simple. Placing her bottom on the chair in front of her computer and writing every day — whether or not she was in the mood, whether or not she was motivated, whether or not she was inspired, and whether or not she had a paid writing gig.

Regular writing improves the quality of your writing by giving you the chance to hone your skills and experiment with new methods. Writing regularly also generates greater quantity — in two ways. First, obviously simply disciplining yourself to generate two or four or ten pages a day will quickly add up in quantity, but the more disciplined you become about this regular production the easier it will be to achieve your minimum and you can keep step up your daily goal accordingly.

Improving the quality of your writing and generating more writing projects gives you that much more to market to the reading and publishing public and therefore increases your chances of writing success.

It really is that simple and it really isn’t a secret. Most successful writers know the BIC method is key to their success.

Of course some of those eager-beaver beginners don’t want to believe in the BIC method because it actually involves work and discipline. They’d rather believe it was as simple as dreaming up a catchy pseudonym. But if you have become a writer because you love it then the BIC method is the best possible news. Simply keep on doing what you love and you can make your dreams come true.

When the verdict was read my client smiled broadly and rapidly turned toward me and shook my hand vigorously and patted my shoulder at the same time. His quickness of movement surprised me and as I stared into his smiling eyes and I saw no relief, only gladness. He again reacted when he saw my look and darted his eyes upward as if to thank the ceiling. He brought his gaze back down as open eyed innocence.

“Thank you much, counselor, thanks to you very much!” This time he spoke his congratulations as he continued to shake my hand. “I knew you were a good one, from what I heard and could see you calculate. You got a very good start and this only proves your worth. You have my utmost gratitude and I’m forever thankful.” He grinned widely then spun around to move toward his wife only a few steps away behind the rail.

A couple of other court observers came over to me but I kept a sideways glance at my client. With narrow eyes I could see their blank look at each other then a slight eye movement toward me from him to her that caused her to smile more yet unmoving her glance. They hugged one another as I turned my attention back to who was talking to me.

“For a youngster like yourself you did a meticulous job drawing the reasonable doubt. This was all circumstantial, and they knew it, but it was all they had. Just think they don’t like the couple, they’re kind of liberal with the kids. Nothing but bias, though a tragedy that kid got taken from their school. Good job, Hank.”

“Thanks, Ben; I really appreciate your opinion. It means a lot to me.” I told the older attorney. I figured he was here mostly to watch the proceedings.

As I gathered my paperwork I glanced over to the exit doors and they were already gone. They didn’t stay around for anyone else. They had just left.

The prosecutor nodded at me as he turned to head for the exit but said nothing. I went back to finish up when I noticed the detective standing at my table.

“At least we got them noticed. They’ll probably end up leaving the city to go further away. We’ll keep that trace on them, through the network, wherever they will land. These kind of people, once they got that taste they’ll have to do it again.” He kept his stare at me. “That kid was molested enough to have caused torture. Then they suffocated him. If we find the DNA match it’ll probably be a drifter they hired to ‘walk’ in around the same time. Then all he could say for the money he was paid they told him to pilfer through the living room to look for more cash and take pocket valuables. Just for an insurance claim, they would have told him. Too bad the living room led to the kitchen where the boy supposedly was making a snack. Holding the kid so hard to keep him quiet must of somehow cut off his air. Then to find the kid in the woods clubbed mercilessly with a log to create a messy distraction could have been anyone that carried him that mile. But it wasn’t.” He looked at the exit. “Didn’t you notice how they responded to the not guilty, counselor? It wasn’t with the stress of the falsely accused. You could see that, couldn’t you?”

“No sir,” I told him, “It was a random act. This city is dangerous.”

“They are,” he replied. Then he left.

As I left there was a couple more handshakes from people. Outside the courtroom I sat down on a bench after the court officer refused to look directly at me. I was young but sharp as I had been told and willing to dig through the details until I could make a point. But this was the first time my gut had started to react. And my observance has become keener. Yes, now I know there is something wrong with their story. Everything too pat in their telling and everything too smooth in what must have happened. I am getting better.

I got up to go back to my office for I know there will be more offers. This will help gain wider notice; these people had money and influence. This case will help me in the long run. What matters is the win.

One of the most powerful tools in my creative arsenal is what I call unconscious creativity.

No, I do not ask someone to brain me with a hammer and I don’t even need to be actually unconscious. This is when I simply allow my unconscious to do all the heavy lifting for me creatively. It is the use of this method that has allowed me to write quickly when working as a newspaper reporter and to generate several books while also working a demanding full-time job and going to school.

This method falls back on the age-old advice to “sleep on a problem”. Have you ever been worried about a decision or struggled to remember something important before bedtime only to wake up the next morning with the answer sharp and clear in your mind as if it was a gift from the gods? It is a gift of sort, but no outside agency delivered it to you. The answer was supplied to you by your greatest creative ally-your subconscious.

Unconscious creativity uses the power of the unconscious mind. The simplest technique is incubation, where after thinking about the challenge consciously for some time, it is put to one side and left for a while. Often a solution will pop into your mind unbidden, as your mind continues to work on the problem below your level of awareness.

The human brain is a beautiful, highly-functional instrument and yet we utilize so little of its power. Our unconscious does amazing things for us. It helps with our daily coordination needed for useful tasks such as walking, eating, breathing, driving. It stores memories for us, it keeps a check on those things that are truly important to us (our values), it reminds us what we believe. Most of the time it does these things (and a myriad more) without us even having to consciously think about it - that’s why it’s called the unconscious, by the way!

However, it does something even more wonderful: it is able to sift and sort vast quantities of data (things we have seen, heard, said, felt, smelt, tasted) and recognize patterns and generate ways of responding. It sometimes does this in wonderfully creative ways. We often overlook the potential of our unconscious mind and instead let it worry about such trivia as our dental hygienist’s name and whether or not we remembered to buy peanut butter. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. Using the unconscious as a creative tool is very simple.

Spend some time consciously thinking about your writing task or challenge. What are the parameters of the project? What are the special requirements? What ideas do you have already? What specific questions do you need to work on further? Sometimes even spending some time jotting down the ideas you have is a good idea. Don’t work on shaping or organizing them. Just record them on paper or computer file. You may not even need them later, but the process of recording them can be a helpful way to prepare your subconscious for its task.

Then forget about it! That’s right. Move on with your life and consciously think about something else. Revise another project. Read something for education or pleasure.

The incubation time varies according to your creative personality and of course the size of the project at hand. I’ve found a few days usually works best although even giving myself a few hours can be beneficial. Doing something physical is often helpful during the incubation period and sometimes this is the only time I really get my gardening or housework accomplished!

When I am working on a novel I allow my subconscious to work scene by scene through the book and often when I sit down at the computer I find the words just flow throw me as the scene plays itself in my head almost like a movie. I have heard of several authors who are able to program their dreams so they are literally writing in their sleep. Dreams can be as vivid as a painting, as resonant as music, and as symbolic as poetry. Using this method I can often write a scene a day (sometimes in less than an hour) which is fairly decent progress while simultaneously working full-time and maintaining a life.

While it is often frightening to think about trusting something as important as the writing project of your heart to your subconscious, it might help to remember that your brain is a muscle of sorts. Your unconscious mind controls many muscle functions for you all the time (try thinking about the way that you walk while you actually walk. I always trip when I think too much about the action of walking and yet I don’t trip when I’m not thinking about it.)

The same is true for great athletes. They talk about being in the zone. The zone is simply the place where they can act and react without consciously thinking about what needs to be done. The body and unconscious mind handle all the details. Thinking too hard can actually interfere with the zone and this is true of writing as well. Interestingly, a recent study of professional and amateur golfers showed that the amateur golfers had significantly more conscious activity when playing a shot than did the professionals. I would bet something similar would result if experienced and novice writers were studied.

So give unconscious creativity a try and see how far it takes you. Simply program your subconscious and then leave it alone to incubate for a while. It may take some time to find the method of tapping into your subconscious after your incubation period. For some freewriting or journaling serve to unlock the fruits of your unconscious labor. Usually, I sit myself down and begin the task at hand. It is often slow-going at first but I force myself forward and at some point my subconscious kicks in and the words start flowing and the keyboard starts clicking away.

Best of luck with your writing!