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How a Prepaid Credit Card Helps Your Credit Score
- Image via Wikipedia
It feels hopeless when you discover that your credit is bad. If you receive the score and it is below 600, things look grim for those looking to buy a car or a house or even a new cell phone. Your credit is very hard to repair once it’s been damaged, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t possible. There are some things you can do to help build your score back up.
Get a Co-Signer
If you are interested in getting a car and you know you can afford the payments, then you may want to see if a parent or sibling can help you by being a co-signer on the car. There is no guarantee that just because they sign for it means you will get approved. Your name on there alone could end up being a problem for the lending institution. But if you do happen to get approved, just being on that application and making those monthly payments will help to restore your credit in a big way.
Check Your Credit Report
Oftentimes there are inaccuracies or false reportings on your credit report. This is good for you if you can catch them. Take your credit report and go through it line by line to find out if there is anything you think shouldn’t be present. Then send a written letter to the credit bureau, with identification enclosed, and tell them you have found inaccuracies and they will notify the companies. If the companies don’t respond in thirty days, the credit bureaus are required to strike it from the record.
Prepaid Credit Card
This is a good way to get a credit card when you need it. The prepaid status makes getting the card easy, and it’s a great way to build up your credit history in order to establish a better credit score.
Why you should subscribe to a Literary Magazine
- Image by Getty Images via @daylife
Every amateur writer hopes to see his name in print. While that occasion comes early on for many, other have to wait a while longer before they get can get there. Though many writers look for fancier ways to seek attention, going old school may, in fact, be more rewarding.
A literary magazine is the most effective way to get some much needed love. With editors, fellow writers and possible fans, all getting a glimpse of your work, you could be two submissions away from hitting the jackpot. While you should constantly try to get your name featured in a literary magazine, here’s why you should also subscribe to one:
• Read and learn: For a writer to learn and perfect his art is a tedious process. However, a literary magazine can serve as an important learning tool. An amateur writer can absorb the style, the vocabulary and the flair with which the featured author writes. Over time, following a veteran writer and his prose can imbibe a similar flair in a newbie writer.
• Contests & Features: When you subscribe to a particular literary magazine, you automatically open up several doors for yourself. Each periodical carries with itself an invitation for newer stories, poems and prose. When you submit your work, you can gauge your skills against others who are published and get a fair evaluation of your work. Beyond that, you open up newer possibilities to get your work published as editors from various publishing houses read the magazines and keep a look out for fresher talent.
• Use as reference: If you have been published in a literary magazine, you can always use that as an additional reference on your resume. Not only does it reflect your capabilities, it also gives the editor the confidence that he is hiring the right guy! If you are still struggling to find your foothold, you can use the contact details of the authors who have been published, to network with them.
You may not see prompt results but don’t let that scare you. Every effort you take brings you closer to your ultimate goal.
Posted in Literary Magazines
Tagged Art, Editing, Literary magazine, Literature, Magazine, Publishing, Writer, Writers Resources
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Read and then Write
- Image by ooh_food via Flickr
If you are a writer, an amateur or a professional, you’ve certainly been told to read.
Voraciously!
While many of us have accomplished that, there are some of us, for whom, the task of reading a book cover to cover is as arduous as the thought of climbing Mt. Everest. While the advice was free and well taken, it was never implemented. But starting today, make the change and pick up that dusty book.
The joys of reading, undoubtedly, are plenty. But while reading may be a hobby for some, it is worth more to those who wish to leave their writing legacies behind. Reading a book or anything that if of interest to you can help you imbibe the essence and broaden your intellectual base. Besides bountiful knowledge, books can give you pointers and questions to think about. Indirectly, thus, they sow seeds of curiosity within you, which when nurtured and cared for, make you wiser.
Books can conjure time travel. There is no other instrument, as effective, that takes you straight into a bygone era or the future with such ease, like a book does. As a writer, you can learn from the author you are reading and understand the nuances that are sown together to create a magnificent piece of literature.
You can, virtually, enter the mind of another individual if you read what s/he has written. Autobiographies and biographies are excellent sources of inspiration besides being affluent gateways to the most brilliant minds on the planet. You can learn beyond your years and use that wisdom to enrich your life. You can instill values, ideas and techniques and build a successful career path for yourself. You may not use the advice mentioned at that instant, but you can always keep it for reference in the future.
When your mind is enriched and your creative sensibilities are in order, you can pass on that wisdom to others. Reading books and learning from them helps you do just that, while satiating your professional hunger by giving you material that can be documented.
Posted in Becoming a Better Writer, Writing Tips and Tricks
Tagged Arts, Books, Education, Literature, Reading, Reading Groups, Shopping, Writer
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Sell Effectively: The Next Step to Writing
Writing a book is like winning half the battle. To own it, you need to conquer your markets. You can experience true victory when you write a compelling book that finds its way to numerous book shelves. While some of the success can be attributed to sheer luck, the rest of it can be calculated in such a way, that it gives you prominent results. As a writer, you can ensure that your book gets the boost it requires to create a remarkable impression on its readers.
For your book to achieve unparalleled success, you have to understand your target audience. Understanding them entails conducting research and workshops to get feedback. It also calls for ‘on-the-field’ action, where you have to make an effort to connect with them on a ‘one on one’ level. Since you will receive first hand information from your readers, you will know exactly who you’re writing for and what you’re writing. This in turn, will help you sell your book to a wider audience.
While you are pumping in the required effort, do not forget that somebody else is doing the same. Now if you have ten such authors vying for the same target audience, your book needs to be set differently to capture attention. At such a time, use your competition to your advantage. Read what they have published previously. Take notes and style your book in such a manner that the reader is compelled to pick up your text instead of someone else’s.
In a world that changes with the flip of a page, you need to stay current and abreast of all the developments. In order to write a saleable book, you need to understand the dynamics of the market that you are addressing. If it changes as often as you change your clothes, you need to put in material that will stay relevant and useful one year down the line. However, if the ever-changing market dynamics do not hamper your audience, you will be better equipped to produce a book that will remain on the stands for quite a while.
Posted in Becoming a Better Writer, Books
Tagged Arts, Book Writing, Business, FAQs Help and Tutorials, Research, Shopping, Writers Resources, Writing
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Book Reviews: Are they Important?
Receiving emails that alert you of new book reviews are common now, but how often do you get to read complete, informative and intellectually stimulating opinion pieces? Most often than not, members on social networking sites send in their opinions, complete or otherwise and leave it at that.
Traditionally, book reviews were meant to be more critical in nature. They would accommodate the reviewer’s opinion on all aspects of the book: the story, the style of writing, the substance, the meaning etc. However, the reviews today are getting shorter and fluffier. Though many authors and critiques review books today like they were done traditionally, the web has a swarm of concise reviews ready for you.
While many readers question the reviewer’s judgment, there are others who accuse them of being biased. Either way, what the common man gets is a fraction of the truth, which hampers his decision regarding the book in question. Instead of being a tool that aided decision making, the review, essentially has become a playground for wannabe critiques.
Some readers may not care to read a review at all. It may not be a deciding factor either. The reader may have different reasons to pursue a book; however, that does not eliminate the need for a thorough, well drafted review. A comprehensive review can offer the assistance and the guidance that may be required to turn a non-readable book in to a readable one.
Book reviews could pass off as unnecessary additions for a reader, but for a writer, it paints a decisive picture. What a reviewer or critique thinks of a book and its story can affect millions of minds in one instant. At such a juncture, can an author afford to have a bad review or no review at all?
It may not be as essential to a reader as it is to a writer, but a book review does have the power to make or break a book. If it does so by generating good publicity or bad, one can’t say. Eventually, only the question remains.
Posted in Books
Tagged Arts, Author, Book, bookreview, Literature, Review, Reviews and Criticism, Social network service
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Literary Magazines: A writer’s resource
A writer is always on the lookout for challenging opportunities that enable him to display his talents. On some occasions, the writer finds himself in demand and thus, produces content for the assignment he is working on. During other times, he should simply open up his books and start writing.
A portfolio is the greatest way to land a writing gig and writers must focus on building one that is comprehensive and resourceful. The easiest way to start building a portfolio is to pick ideas and turn them into stories, essays or other pieces of literature. However, if you see yourself struggle to come up with something concrete, you can always look at literary magazines for inspiration.
These magazines publish new as well as seasoned authors. If you are looking at a literary magazine in your niche, keep an eye out for the contests they publicize about. In this way, while you create a scintillating entry for the contest, you can use the piece you have submitted as a part of your portfolio.
If you are unable to enter the competition, you can always keep the ideas associated with it in your mind and work on them later. You can go on to create an ‘idea-bank’ which can be your escape route when you hit the writer’s block.
While some writers insist that writer’s block is a phenomenon that disappears as easily as it appears, many struggle to get any work done when they are struck by it. Browsing through literary magazines as well as other books can be the ultimate remedy when you find yourself reeling under the block. If it doesn’t serve as a quick fix, it will always be there for motivation.
Over a period of time and after consulting a few literary magazines, you can be sure that your name will be out there, amongst other writers and will be considered for future writing gigs. You can also collect the magazines when they are released or subscribe to the RSS feed of online publications. In this way, whether online or offline, you will constantly be around instant inspiration.
Posted in Literary Magazines, Literature
Tagged Arts, Directories, Literary magazine, Literature, Magazine, United States, writers block, Writers Resources
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Lolita – Proof That Love Hurts
- Image via Wikipedia
Hubert Humbert was a dreadful man, if you believe that loving someone younger than yourself is somehow wrong. The world has this bizarre impression that for a middle aged man to love a 12 year old girl is somehow bad – but other than a difference in projected life expectancy and a rather large differential in social status, there would not seem to be that much of a problem, as long as both partners are consenting to what goes on. Rather like Poe before him, Humbert has an Annabel Leigh that haunts his thoughts throughout his life. While his loving (and lusty) feelings for nubile, sexual girls are unceasing, he sublimates them to a point, in order to come the the United States to seek employment as a teacher.
When Humbert takes a room in a small town, he becomes immediately smitten with the daughter of the owner, a nymphet named Dolores (also known as Lolita). He becomes increasingly obsessed with the girl, following her movements as much as he can, flirting with her, and even marrying her mother so as to be able to stay close to Lolita. Humbert hates Lolita’s mother, and even considers killing her, even though he lacks the wherewithal to actually do something so gutsy. He puts it all down in his journal, though. And when Lolita’s mother finds this journal, she is so distraught she storms off, right into the path of an oncoming car.
Humbert’s obsession and paranoia grow steadily as he and Lolita take a cross country trip in which they have an affair that she controls. A tantrum here and a refused sexual advance there makes a grown man submit to a child – an interesting metaphor for male-female relations, if ever there was one. As time goes on, the pair finally settle – he gets a job, she goes to school. Like most girls, Lolita wants to have boys her own age. In time, she grows ill (sick of Humbert?), and is taken from the hospital. When he finds her, she is pregnant. She dies in childbirth, then he dies.
Posted in Books, General
Tagged Crime, Health, Life expectancy, Lolita, Murder, Nymphet, Sexuality, United States
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War and Peace – Just Like the Seasons
Nearly any school child could tell you that Napoleon’s army was defeated first by the Russians. While there were doubtless many factors involved, the Russian winter has never escaped being a significant factor in the French decision to back off. In a similar vein to how the seasons shift, the characters of War and Peace show off a rather impressive degree of dynamism. Perhaps the old saying that there is a season to every purpose holds true, after all. This is most clearly represented in Pierre’s journey from being married to an attractive woman without the scruples to be faithful (Helene) to finally marrying a woman who may not be the best looking, but actually tends to her family virtuously (Natasha). Although, the love lives of these characters could very well be described as a game of musical chairs.
Pierre really is an odd fellow. He takes up the spiritual principles of Freemasonry, and works toward using those teachings in the management of the estate his father left him. His much more secular friend Andrew is understandably dubious – it is typically unwise to try to reform a government (as is Andrew’s goal) with a religious bent in mind. That kind of a mind set rarely results in anything useful getting done. Natasha actually becomes attached to Andrew, desiring to marry him. But his father demands they wait a year before marrying – and Andrew takes this as a great opportunity to travel, interestingly enough. Perhaps the notion of changing a nation means Andrew is just a perpetually unsatisfied individual, in general.
Ironically enough, despite his rejection of Natasha, Andrew admits to loving her right before he dies. One might call that too little, too late, but it does make for a romantic notion. In time, Pierre grows ill for a long time, but recovers in time to realize that he actually loves Natasha. Since she feels this love in return, they marry, having a lovely family together. It bears thought whether it would have been beneficial for Pierre to have just married her in the first place.
Posted in Books, Literary Magazines
Tagged Government, History, Marriage, Natasha, Relationships, Religion, Russia, War and Peace
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Madame Bovary – Tribute to the Horror of Middle Class Society
- Image by Yvesanemone via Flickr
In Madame Bovary, the secondary character of Charles is initially tormented, and lives the dull and mediocre life of a man who simply does not have much going on in his head. His first marriage is short, unloving and not especially profitable – the trifecta of a bad middle class marriage. As he falls in love with a new woman, the middle class sadness continues onward, as his wife (Emma) has fantasized that marriage would solve the problems of her life. When marriage proves to be suboptimal, she surprises no one by maintaining fantasies about being wealthy and in the state of perpetual infatuation that little girls often secretly dream about well into adulthood.
Emma is further saddened when she gives birth to a daughter. She wanted a son, after all, and this just gives her further reason to be sad about how terrible her life is going. She actually rejects the affections of a man who genuinely loves her – but then she becomes further saddened when he surrenders himself to never having her, and goes off to study in Paris. If all that Emma wanted was wealth, it remains to be seen why she would marry a man like Charles in the first place. Charles continues to love his wife, stupidly doting on her despite her affair with a wealthy neighbor. When she gets dumped by her other guy, Charles even takes care of his wife as sadness drives her to a near fatal illness.
Of course, the debts Emma racked up in seeing (and buying gifts for) her former lover, and her medical bills (because Charles is such a bad doctor, he had to outsource her care), they experience no shortage of financial troubles. Emma makes very little secret of her infidelities, both with her first lover and her second one (the man who had given up on her in the first place). In the end, she so thoroughly fears that Charles will find out, she kills herself with arsenic.
It would appear that the horror of the middle class is nothing but an overabundance of lies.