Accountability

Want to Get Ahead? Here’s How to Set Effective Goals

Setting goals and seeing them come to fruition can be difficult.  A way to make sure goals are achieved is to set goals that are measurable, meaningful, realistic, and that have a timetable.  Below you will find tips on how to set effective goals. How to Set Effective Goals By taking the time to look …

Recommended Reading

Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird: My Favorite Writing Manual

Short Assignments, False Starts, Shitty First Drafts, and Index Cards – what do these three things have in common? They are all chapters in Anne Lamott’s Bird By Bird (affiliate link, if you purchase the book, I will receive a small payment). This book is a great reference whether you’re writing a report on birds (Lamott’s younger …

Writing

How to Create a Story Arc for Your Fiction Project

If you want to create a successful short story or a novel that has a great story, you’ll likely want to create a story arc. This is another way of saying “story structure,” but this term goes back to Aristotle’s conception of what makes an aesthetically pleasing story in Poetics.  What Is a Story Arc? A …

Research

Showcase Academic Work in Undergraduate Journals

The semester has come to an end, now what do you do with that research paper you received excellent feedback on?  You may want to consider submitting it to one of many undergraduate journals for publication.  If your paper is published, it will look great on graduate school applications and in personal statements.  Several undergraduate …

Accountability

I’m Back and What I’m Working On

I’m back at the computer after taking a break to spend time with a cute baby on my maternity leave. Freelancers have an interesting relationship with work and taking personal leave. Since we’re self-employed, we don’t really get paid time off. Thus, I’m back in the saddle again already and ready to make a portfolio …