» New York Times 50 Most Challenging Words (defined and used) The New York Times recently published a list of 50 fancy words that most frequently stump their readership. They are able to measure this data thanks to a nifty in-page lookup mechanism, which you can try here. Try double-clicking the word “epicenter”. Since the NYT didn’t include definitions of these words, I decided to post a job to MediaPiston to produce an article defining and using each word in the list. Voila! The New York Times 50 Fancy Words (defined and used) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50.
Write & Get Paid Get Paid $100 Do you want to earn money online? Listverse was built on the efforts of readers just like you. Readers who didn’t have any experience as writers but decided to put a list together and send it in. So here is the deal: We will pay you $100 for your efforts. You don’t need to be an expert—you just need to have English equal to that of a native speaker, a sense of humor, and a love for things unusual or interesting. It works like this: You write your list (10 items per list minimum), you send it in, we reply and say “Great—we’ll publish it” and send you $100 by PayPal (don’t have an account? Either way you win—your list will be read by us and reviewed, and if it’s amazing it will appear on the front page of Listverse to be read by millions of people a month! We can not accept lists from writers who do not have a PayPal account; this is non-negotiable. The Rules The rules are really pretty simple. Pictures and Video Please note that we publish original articles. Ready to start?
33 Genius Three-Ingredient Recipes | Posted by on Mar 24, 2014 in Food Hacks | 12 comments If you are looking for some New recipes, some new ideas that will make you happy, than you are on the right place. These 33 easy and amazing food recipes will make you happy and you will enjoy in your food. All you need to do is to chose one of this food ideas and try it, or you can try all of them.
The Freelancers Guide to Staying Organized This post comes from our Australia contributor, Miann Scanlan. Follow along with her on Instagram @freepeopleaustralia! I’ve always been a pretty organized person. Sometimes I even dance the fine line between organized vs. obsessive — to the point where I can’t sleep if my room isn’t clean, or I generally feel as if my world is crashing down around me if there’s clutter in my apartment. But even with my books that are laden with colored tabs and notes, my color-coordinated closet (with matching wooden hangers), and a paper filing system that works with both color and the alphabet, I still had much to learn about being organized when I made the change to the freelance life. For years I told myself (and others) that I could never work for myself. Being your own boss comes with many freedoms. As I continue on my journey, from blogger, to freelancer, to new business owner and now working with Free People over here in Australia, here are a few of my tricks of the trade to stay organized: Share
Synonyms for 95 Commonly Used Words - A Mini-Thesaurus for Writers Synonyms for 95 Commonly Used Words in the English language Source for Comic Source for Synonyms Writers Write offers the best writing courses in South Africa. 10 Books Every Fantasy Author Should Read What an awesomely capacious list, what with the fiction and the non-fiction. (It's an even better list after I reread the title of the article and saw that it didn't say "10 Book Every Fantasy Author Should Read Daily.") I want to add an enthusiastic cheer for Mendlesohn book of criticism, which is rich with description, analysis, and not prescriptive or tyrannical in its breakdown. I almost want to separate out this list into its constituent parts: 10 Fiction books (everyone's list here might vary, so I leave that to your consciences), 10 Non-fiction history research books (which would greatly depend on what period your fantasy is set in), 10 Critical works on sf/f (with the caveat that some of these books are less easy to read than Mendlesohn's). Flagged I nearly fell over laughing at your misread — I picture fantasy authors going, "Oh dear, 11 AM.
50 greatest cult classic movies of all time 20. 'Blade Runner' Hey, look, Harrison Ford! 19. Terry Gilliam is one of the weirdest, cultiest filmmakers out there – what else do you expect from the dude who did the animation sequences for Monty Python’s Flying Circus – and Brazil is perhaps his masterpiece, a futuristic sci-fi movie that doubles as old-fashioned film noir. 18. John Carpenter and Kurt Russell team up to do sci-fi horror and, naturally, it kicks all kinds of ass. 17. It’s a movie about a cross country road race featuring mayhem, grizzly murder and a main character named Frankenstein played by David Carradine. 16. This is one of those movies that everyone knew would be a cult favorite as soon as it was released. 15. If you’re gonna do Blaxploitation, especially a good thirty years after it became, uh, socially unacceptable, you’ve gotta go balls out with it and make it as insane and as fun as possible. 14. 13. 12. 11. This mockumentary is so perfect that people actually treat Spinal Tap like a real band.
How to Get Organized for the New Semester The year 2015 is here, and for most of you, this month marks the beginning of a brand new semester of college! Whether it’s the last semester of your senior year, the second semester of your freshman year, or anywhere in-between, getting (and staying) organized is extremely important and helpful. For some of you, organization may come naturally and feel like second nature. I, for one, am practically obsessed with putting and keeping things in their place (I even have a Pinterest board devoted to organization titled “Therapy”; I may, in fact, be insane). As a recent college graduate, I’ve definitely done my fair share of experimenting with different techniques for staying put-together over the years, and I hope that the following tips and tricks help you have a more successful, organized, and stress-free semester! 1. Product Info: Spiral Notebooks – Mead (Five Star) 2. Product Info: 1. 3. Product Info: 1. 4. Product Info: 1. What do you think? How do you stay organized during the semester?
Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules for Writing Elmore Leonard — author of Get Shorty, Out of Sight, and Rum Punch — died today. What was it about his suspense thrillers that made them both popular AND critically acclaimed? Maybe his own writing rules will provide the answer. 10 things you should watch out for in your writing, according to Elmore Leonard 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. And his most important rule, to sum up all the others: “If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.” What do you think of those rules?
Seven Tips From Ernest Hemingway on How to Write Fiction Image by Lloyd Arnold via Wikimedia Commons Before he was a big game hunter, before he was a deep-sea fisherman, Ernest Hemingway was a craftsman who would rise very early in the morning and write. His best stories are masterpieces of the modern era, and his prose style is one of the most influential of the 20th century. Hemingway never wrote a treatise on the art of writing fiction. He did, however, leave behind a great many passages in letters, articles and books with opinions and advice on writing. 1: To get started, write one true sentence. Hemingway had a simple trick for overcoming writer's block. Sometimes when I was starting a new story and I could not get it going, I would sit in front of the fire and squeeze the peel of the little oranges into the edge of the flame and watch the sputter of blue that they made. 2: Always stop for the day while you still know what will happen next. There is a difference between stopping and foundering. 5: Don't describe an emotion--make it.
The Cerebral Cortex The Cerebral Cortex The cerebral cortex is the most important part of our brain (at least in the field of psychology) because it is what makes us human. The cerebral cortex (sometimes referred to as called "gray matter", is actually densely packed neurons. We actually are born with more neurons in our cerebral cortex than we have now, but they are young and inexperienced. As you get older the neurons learn to work together forming what we call neural networks. Let's go back to when you were a kid and your parents taught you how to wipe your own butt. Now our cerebral cortex is pretty big and full of wrinkles- these wrinkles are call fissures. Now the cerebral cortex is divided into two hemispheres- the left and right hemispheres. Between the two hemispheres is a band of nerve fibers called the corpus callosum. Areas of the Cerebral Cortex We are going to talk about alot of places in the cerebral cortex-but there are also even more places that we will not talk about. Frontal Lobes
Writing No-Nos: Would Your Professor Really Want to Read That? Since before anyone can really remember, writing has been prevalent. Humans rely on writing. Webster defines “writing” as, ”the way that you use written words to express your ideas or opinions.” Have you read a paper that started off like that–or, have you written one like that? Chances are good, especially if you haven’t had the opportunity to take an introductory writing course in college. Unfortunately, the introduction above includes virtually nothing a professor wants to see. How do I know? Using qualifiers like “very”: use stronger words and avoid using “very.” In addition to the list above, there is also a list of specific phrases your professor doesn’t want to see, you can check those out here. Was this helpful?
23 Writing Websites to Improve Your Writing We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master. ~Ernest Hemingway How strong is your writing? No matter how good you think it is, there’s always room for improvement. In most cases, plenty of room. Luckily, there are some amazing websites that’ll help you improve your writing, and take it to the next level. (***By the way, have you seen this amazing online creative writing course, “Story Is a State of Mind,” created by Giller finalist Sarah Selecky? Want to strengthen your story, empower your performance, and beef up on the publishing business? Here are 23 sites (in no particular order) I look to for daily inspiration and advice: PS If you find this list useful, please share it on Twitter, Facebook or StumbleUpon – I’d really appreciate it! 4) Query Shark A query critique site you don’t want to miss. 5) Men with Pens Fantastic articles on copywriting and freelancing. 6) Ask Allison Writing and publishing Q&A by novelist Allison Winn Scotch.
Freelance Writing Jobs for Beginners: Getting Started Online - The Work at Home Wife This post may contain affiliate links. All opinions are 100% my own. Those looking to work from home have far more opportunities available than they may initially think. Freelance writing in itself, for example, offers dozens of shots for freedom to the right individual. From product descriptions to blog posts to expert articles and eBooks, there is a little something for every aspiring freelance writer. Skills Required for Freelance Writing You must have above par English and grammar skills. Recommended Tools I highly recommend signing up with Grammarly. It is also a good idea to start a website or blog to share links to published articles with those interested in your services. Google Drive is a popular choice for word processing and sharing files with clients. You need some type of accounting system to keep track of money in, money out and money owed. Getting Started Writing Online Make it easy on yourself and avoid trying to appeal to the masses. Get Writing Clients Important Tips