The Power of the Senses: How to Fire Up Any Story Description As writers, it is our job to give our readers a powerful emotional experience, via story description. Many emotions come about because one or more of our five senses has been stimulated, so one way to elicit emotions is to “awaken” your readers’ senses. Sight is probably the easiest sense to incorporate, because when you are in your character’s POV, you have to show what they are seeing.Touch, taste, smell and sound are a little tougher to include, but once you get the hang of it, you will be able to include them instinctively. How to Use All Five Senses in Your Story Description Since I’m a visual learner, let’s look at a quick scene from the POV of a cop named Mary as she and her partner arrive at a house during a hunt for a missing woman Before: The Scene With “Okay” Story Description Mary dug her fingers into the seat as John killed the siren. A surge of adrenaline threatened to close off Mary’s throat and she concentrated on breathing slowly, methodically. She scanned the small yard.
Earth - Why the source of the Amazon river remains a mystery We all know a river when we see one. These braided or meandering systems can be among the most beautiful – and potent – features of the natural world. But powerful rivers have humble origins. Textbooks tell us that rivers start somewhere high up in the mountains. When rain falls, snow melts, or underground springs rise up, the water starts collecting in tiny creeks that flow downhill. Several tiny creeks join together to form larger streams, and numerous streams interweave and converge to form even larger rivers. Obviously this means that a powerful river – an Amazon or a Nile – has dozens or even hundreds of starting points. So how do they decide? "Different definitions of a river's source have been used and continue to be used," says Andrew Johnston, a geographer at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. There are, however, two major definitions that have been used more commonly than others. This is not a great way to define the source, though. I was like 'Gee!
Synonyms for the 96 most commonly used words in English Amazing — incredible, unbelievable, improbable, fabulous, wonderful, fantastic, astonishing, astounding, extraordinary Anger — enrage, infuriate, arouse, nettle, exasperate, inflame, madden Angry — mad, furious, enraged, excited, wrathful, indignant, exasperated, aroused, inflamed Answer — reply, respond, retort, acknowledge Ask– — question, inquire of, seek information from, put a question to, demand, request, expect, inquire, query, interrogate, examine, quiz Awful — dreadful, terrible, abominable, bad, poor, unpleasant Beautiful — pretty, lovely, handsome, attractive, gorgeous, dazzling, splendid, magnificent, comely, fair, ravishing, graceful, elegant, fine, exquisite, aesthetic, pleasing, shapely, delicate, stunning, glorious, heavenly, resplendent, radiant, glowing, blooming, sparkling Begin — start, open, launch, initiate, commence, inaugurate, originate Break — fracture, rupture, shatter, smash, wreck, crash, demolish, atomize Come — approach, advance, near, arrive, reach Read on: Related
Your guide to reading the world “I’d always thought that I was well-traveled,” says writer Ann Morgan (TED Talk: My year reading a book from every country in the world), but “actually, when I looked at my bookshelves, they told a very different story about me.” Her shelves were crowded with English-language books, mainly from English-speaking countries. From the rest of the world? Click on the red pins in the maps below to see all 196 recommended books. South America [googlemaps In her selected readings from South America, Morgan encountered a number of characters in the throes of mental illness. North America [googlemaps Much of Central American literature followed the patterns of South America. Europe [googlemaps “Some of the funniest books that I read during my quest came from Europe,” Morgan says. Africa [googlemaps Asia Australia and Oceania
40 Most Useful Travel Websites That Can Save You a Fortune Welcome Stumbled Upon & Delicious Users: You may also want to check out our 180+ Best Money Saving Tools. Traveling doesn't have to break the bank (in fact, you can travel for free), and there are plenty of places that'll help you find the best vacation for your budget. Get discounts and the insider scoop with these great resources. Don't forget to ask for free travel upgrades. (See also: 5 Essential Travel Tools) Cheap Flights and Accommodations Find the best rates for airlines and places to stay, no matter what type of traveler you are. CouchSurfing - Bum a night's sleep on somebody's couch and save hundreds of dollars on hotel costs! Farecast - Farecast gathers data from all over the web so you can find out if airfare for a trip is rising or dropping over the next 7 days, if a hotel rate is the best deal based on past rates, and if there's a better travel offer on another site. Home Exchange - The most comprehensive listing of home listings. Destination Guides and Travel Communities
Australia Is Drifting So Fast GPS Can't Keep Up A significant correction must be made by the end of the year for navigation technology to keep working smoothly. Australia is not quite where you think it is. The continent has shifted by 4.9 feet since the last adjustment was made to GPS coordinates in 1994, reports the New York Times. All of the Earth’s continents float on tectonic plates, which glide slowly over a plastic-like layer of the upper mantle. And the plate that Australia sits on has been moving relatively fast, about 2.7 inches a year (northward and with a slight clockwise rotation). In contrast, the North American plate has been moving roughly one inch a year, though the Pacific plate moves three to four inches a year. The result is that “some countries are more stationary than others,” says Damien Saunder, the director of cartography for National Geographic. This type of shifting is coming more into focus as GPS systems get more accurate. Australia has tended to move particularly fast due to its unique geology.
Can We Auto-Correct Humanity? - DFCOvideo I Forgot My Phone 393 Views2 Likes Written by Charlene deGuzman & Miles Crawford Directed by Miles Crawford Starring Charlene deGuzman With (in order of appearance) Jacob Womack Nick Luciano Ani Baker Sabrina London Sean London Garrett H... A New Story of the People 260 Views3 Likes How do we change the world? The Culture Of Reddit 392 Views2 Likes Since its creation in 2005, Reddit has grown into one of the most influential communities on the internet. PressPausePlay 339 Views3 Likes The digital revolution of the last decade has unleashed creativity and talent in an unprecedented way, with unlimited opportunities.
Spain Eric Solsten and Sandra W. Meditz, editors. Spain: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1988. Acknowledgments Preface History IBERIA HISPANIA AL ANDALUS CASTILE AND ARAGON THE GOLDEN AGE Ferdinand and Isabella Charles V and Philip II Spain in Decline BOURBON SPAIN War of the Spanish Succession The Enlightenment The Napoleonic Era THE LIBERAL ASCENDANCY The Cadiz Cortes Rule by Pronunciamiento Liberal Rule THE CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY The Cuban Disaster The African War REPUBLICAN SPAIN THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR THE FRANCO YEARS Franco's Political System Policies, Programs, and Growing Popular Unrest Foreign Policy under Franco THE POST-FRANCO ERA Transition to Democracy Disenchantment with UCD Leadership Growth of the PSOE Foreign Policy in the Post-Franco Period Geography External Boundaries and Landform Regions Rivers Climate Bibliography Custom Search Country Studies Index
45 Pieces of Career Advice That Will Get You to the Top When it comes to your career, sometimes it feels like you could use all the advice you can get. From picking the “right” career to actually excelling in it, there’s certainly a lot to learn. And that’s why we’ve gathered our all-time best career advice. From starting out at the bottom of the totem pole to advancing to a more senior position to—who knows? Tips 1-7 On Working a Not-Quite-Dream Job The best career or job is the one in which you’re using the skills you enjoy. Tips 8-15 On Advancing Your Career Every year or two, spend some time really thinking about your career. Tips 16-28 On Excelling in Your Career I first heard Zig Ziglar say it when people challenged him on his “positive attitude” manifesto: “You can do anything with a positive attitude better than you can do it with a negative one.” Tips 29-37 On Starting Your Own Business Tips 38-45 On Doing What You Love Don’t sweat it. A career coach can help make the leap not so scary.
Journalism’s biggest competitors are things that don’t even look like journalism Ever since the web was invented, newspapers and other media entities have had to continually expand their view of who their competition is: in the good old days it was other newspapers, and then TV, and then after the web it became other news websites, or maybe Yahoo or Google. But even now, their perspective on that competition may still be too narrow — as my friend Om has argued, they are competing with anything that captures a reader’s attention. And I would argue that they are competing with any service that fills an information need. I started thinking about this again earlier this week, when a link to an old blog post by journalist/programmer Stijn Debrouwere showed up in my Twitter stream, posted and retweeted by multiple people. I couldn’t track down exactly where it came from, but I’m glad it appeared, because it reminded me of how much sense it made in 2012 when it was first published — and how much sense it continues to make. Debrouwere’s essay is simply called “Fungible.”
99 motivational quotes for entrepreneurs The most successful entrepreneurs draw inspiration from those who came before them. Credit: Forbes Being an entrepreneur can be challenging, rewarding, frustrating, satisfying, disappointing, and exhilarating. To help you through all the highs and lows of starting your own business, I’ve gathered some of my favorite inspirational quotes for entrepreneurs. Let these words of wisdom motivate you on every step of your entrepreneurial journey: 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. “100 percent of the shots you don’t take, don’t go in.” 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97. 98. 99. Still not inspired enough? Copyright © 2014 by Richard Harroch Tags: Business,Downtime,Entrepreneurship,Tech Culture
The Power of Owned Media This article is part of SWOT Team, a new series on Mashable that features insights from leaders in marketing, brand-building and public relations. Journalism, at its core, is about objective storytelling and shedding light on issues, people and trends that affect everyday life. At best, it is an act of nobility and service. At worst, it is a regurgitation of someone else’s information devoid of emotion, empathy, or authenticity. A royal disconnect, if you will. Today's journalists, God bless them, are tasked with sifting through thousands of emails and off-target pitches from PR reps and company founders who assume their audience will give a flying fudge about Audiences don’t care about that, really. The convergence of brands and media The explosion of digital has not only flipped the script on how we consume information, but it has also completely rearranged the relationship between brands and media. The PR industry, for its part, is also affected by this changing of the journalism guard.
The 5 Worst Networking Flops, and How to Recover From Them I’ve been to my fair share of networking events, sometimes as the speaker and sometimes as a fellow participant. From each vantage point, I’ve witnessed many impressive, thoughtful, and incredibly beneficial interactions. I’ve also seen some embarrassing networking flops. Most flops, however, are really just awkward moments from which—with a bit of effort—you can recover. What are the most common violations? 1. This is usually such an innocent mistake. The Fix First, don’t just stand there and stare at people. That will likely gain you more focused time with someone of interest, not to mention get you out of an uncomfortable moment. (Related: Here are some non-awkward networking conversation starters.) 2. This is the exact opposite of #1. Open sesame, for crying out loud. 3. Most of us go to networking events with our own agendas in mind. 4. Hi, I’m holding a drink in one hand and a little plate of food in the other. 5. Honestly, if you’ve committed to following up, I would.