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      <title>SmartTechWriting</title>
      <link>http://www.smarttechwriting.com/</link>
      <description>Technical Writing - A discussion of technical writing, what makes a successful technical writer, technical writing careers, help guides, training, schools, advice and tips for better technical writing.</description>
      <language>en</language>
      <copyright>Copyright 2009</copyright>
      <lastBuildDate>Mon, 13 Aug 2007 14:25:51 -0800</lastBuildDate>
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         <title>EssayTown.com (EssayTown)</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<p><b><a href="http://www.knowmoremedia.com/2006/11/sponsored_reviews.html" rel="nofollow">Sponsored Review</a></b></p><p><a href="http://www.essaytown.com" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://www.smarttechwriting.com/uploads/EssayTown%20Essay%20Writing%20Help-thumb.png" alt="EssayTown%20Essay%20Writing%20Help.png" align="right" height="117" width="172" /></a><b>What Does EssayTown Do?</b></p><p>EssayTown helps essay writers use proper reference formatting and write excellent <a href="http://www.essaytown.com" rel="nofollow">essays</a>.&nbsp; You can pay EssayTown to serve you a fresh, piping-hot paper of virtually any kind, which you can use to help you become a better writer. </p><p><b>EssayTown Editing Software</b></p><p>You can use the <a href="http://www.essaytown.com/editorsoftware/" rel="nofollow">editing software</a> EssayTown provides to edit your essays and improve them until they sparkle with acedemic brilliance.&nbsp; Whether you&#39;re writing <a href="http://www.essaytown.com/miscellaneous_book_novel_poem_story.html" rel="nofollow">book reviews</a>, in-depth research papers or even all-out theses or dissertations, EssayTown can help.</p><p>Working on a thesis?&nbsp; Get <a href="http://www.essaytown.com/thesis_help_thesis.html" rel="nofollow">thesis writing</a> help at EssayTown.&nbsp; A slew of professional EssayTowners stands at the ready to write for you.&nbsp; There are many kinds of papers and documents - proposals, white papers, book reports, applications, acceptance letters, love letters (well, you know) - you name it, EssayTown can probably help you quite a bit with it.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><b>Why Should You Consider Using EssayTown?</b></p><p>Wait a sec - let&#39;s go back to the beginning.&nbsp; Why do you need help with essays at all?&nbsp; Who needs help writing anything?&nbsp; Well, if you&#39;re a student, you&#39;re (hopefully) trying to get good grades.&nbsp; Maybe you&#39;re a professional - in that case, your company might ask you to produce an original report of some kind.&nbsp; Whatever your situation, you are bound to encounter situations in which you need to create a well-written, abundantly-referenced essay or paper. </p><p>I checked out the EssayTown website and was impressed by the amazing number of possibilities they present to you.&nbsp; They have several payment options and promise quick turnaround - 24 hours or less in many cases. </p><p>Whether you detest writing, need to save time or just want to get someone else&#39;s take on a topic, EssayTown presents an appealing way to get an original document in front of your eyes fast. </p>]]>	</description>
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<category>Writing Tools</category>
         <pubDate>Mon, 13 Aug 2007 14:25:51 -0800</pubDate>
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         <title>Earn My Degree</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.knowmoremedia.com/2006/11/sponsored_reviews.html" rel="nofollow"><i><b>Sponsored Review&nbsp;</b></i></a></p><p><a href="http://earnmydegree.com" rel="nofollow">EarnMyDegree</a> is an online education resource for adults who are interested in pursuing further education, whether it be a certificate course or an MBA -&nbsp; but have no time to sift through all the data of schools and universities in the USA.</p><p>The main competence of <a href="http://earnmydegree.com" rel="nofollow">EarnMyDegree</a> is its online database of colleges and universities which allows several point of entries for adults hoping to find their dream course. This is made easier by the way the site is dsigned. You can easily browse by course - from crimonology to liberal arts to the natural sciences or by the level of education from certificate accreditations to doctorate level of studies.</p><p><a href="http://earnmydegree.com" rel="nofollow">EarnMyDegree</a> is a boon for the busy adult who has no time to sift through the tons and tons of data for program offerings in different universities. Their database makes it handy for anyone who has an Internet connection (which is basically anybody) to find what they are looking for in the shortest time possible.  </p>]]>	</description>
         <link>http://www.smarttechwriting.com/2007/03/earn_my_degree.html</link>
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         <pubDate>Mon, 05 Mar 2007 22:26:07 -0800</pubDate>
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         <title>Writing Tip: Buy a huge widescreen monitor</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<p>A few days ago my brother got himself a huge 19 inch flat LCD widescreen monitor for about $200.00. Coming from the CRT age, I didn&#39;t really care much for these &quot;latest developments in technology&quot; (duh, like these are new) as a huge monitor was the least of my concerns. As long as it worked, I was fine.</p><p>Then came the widescreen which I&#39;m currently using to type this piece. As I&#39;m drinking coffee and eating my words on what I used to think about CRT monitors I figured I could get twice as much typing done by having my references take up the right side of the monitor and my word processor take up the other half.</p><p>Get a widescreen now :)&nbsp;</p>]]>	</description>
         <link>http://www.smarttechwriting.com/2007/02/writing_tip_buy_a_huge_widescr.html</link>
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<category>Advice</category>
         <pubDate>Mon, 26 Feb 2007 08:39:02 -0800</pubDate>
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         <title>Stop Reading???</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<p>Here&#39;s a thought. When you start writing an article, do you, in between, break to read someone else&#39;s work?</p><p>It is like having someone else criticize your painting halfway through finishing it. It is like dripping a different color of ink on your own inkwell. Are we that easily influenced by other authors? I remember a colleague once say that our minds are most open and defenceless when we read something. Do we easily copy other authors&#39; styles too?</p>]]>	</description>
         <link>http://www.smarttechwriting.com/2007/02/stop_reading.html</link>
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         <pubDate>Wed, 14 Feb 2007 02:18:33 -0800</pubDate>
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         <title>5 Laws of Blogging</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<p>Blogging has been gaining ground lately here in the Philippines. There are social aspects to it as online familiarities turn to real world meets. As the blogging community gets more tightly knit, a focus on community does come to order. Better bloggers mean better community as we all learn from one another. Brian Clark has posted the <a href="http://www.copyblogger.com/the-5-immutable-laws-of-persuasive-blogging/">5 Immutable Laws of Blogging</a> which can be found here.</p><p>But in summary, these laws are: The Law of Value, The Law of Headline, The Law of How To, The Law of Lists and the Law of the Story. Once you have mastered these laws, you are on the way to grabbing more attention in the blogosphere. </p>]]>	</description>
         <link>http://www.smarttechwriting.com/2007/02/5_laws_of_blogging.html</link>
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         <pubDate>Thu, 08 Feb 2007 08:42:16 -0800</pubDate>
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         <title>&quot;Podvertorials&quot;</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<p>I was at an office where I do consulting work for and we were talking about how web and print advertorials are different from audio advertorials - &quot;podvertorials&quot; as the firm&#39;s sales manager put it. I guess listening in to a podcast and being interrupted in the middle of the broadcast by an advertisment can be rather unnerving at some point. I guess it takes good copy to say something witty - and say it over and over again as you listen to the podcast.</p><p>A big tip to this would be to read your work out loud. Remembe that you&#39;re writing for the spoken word and not for active reading. It should catch attention, flow well, and have cadence just like poetry.  </p>]]>	</description>
         <link>http://www.smarttechwriting.com/2007/02/podvertorials.html</link>
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         <pubDate>Thu, 08 Feb 2007 06:26:50 -0800</pubDate>
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         <title>The Alternate Universe</title>
         <description>As a gamer, I am quite fond of the concept of alternate universes. It is quite a geeky concept, truth be told - as the designer of a world takes bits and pieces of familiar things and pulls them all into something completely new. Today, fiction and folklore tend to stick by some rules. Like the way vampires can only go out at night or how all ogres are aesthetically unpleasant. Realize that it is your work and though people may be familiar with these general concepts and machinations, it is still to your advantage to warp these concepts to your pleasure.	</description>
         <link>http://www.smarttechwriting.com/2007/02/the_alternate_universe.html</link>
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         <pubDate>Thu, 08 Feb 2007 05:11:24 -0800</pubDate>
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         <title>Tell the story the way it should be told</title>
         <description><![CDATA[As a writer, you need to get &quot;into the act&quot; when you&#39;re with peers. Don&#39;t hesitate to TELL them your story by setting the drama - how bright and cheerful it was, or how ominous the night was then. This isn&#39;t a pitch for a movie script. it is an opportunity for you to play God and there is no word limit. At that one instance, you&#39;re at the center of the stage with everyone&#39;s attention focused deeply onto your hands and eyes.]]>	</description>
         <link>http://www.smarttechwriting.com/2007/02/tell_the_story_the_way_it_shou.html</link>
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<category>Advice</category>
         <pubDate>Wed, 07 Feb 2007 04:02:16 -0800</pubDate>
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         <title>Thinking of event titles</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<p>A few days ago a colleague was stuck at the office dying for the influx of ideas. Her boss wanted her to come up with a &quot;not conservative, but not over the hedge&quot; title for their event with a consumer IT company. Unless you have a witty way with words (ha! alliteration + 1),&nbsp; I gave her this advice:</p><ul><li>Most importantly, know what the purpose of the event is for</li><li>Secondly, know who your target market is</li><li>Third, look at the program or sequence of events. That way you will get a good idea as to how formal or informal the event title should be.&nbsp;</li><li>Avoid cliche words like &quot;Convergence Reloaded&quot; or &quot;Wireless Freedom&quot; and stick to the basics.</li><li>Get some fresh air. Grab a burger. It will usually come to you in between savoring the patty and the garlic bun.&nbsp;</li></ul>]]>	</description>
         <link>http://www.smarttechwriting.com/2007/02/thinking_of_event_titles.html</link>
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         <pubDate>Wed, 07 Feb 2007 00:45:39 -0800</pubDate>
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         <title>Fact or Fiction: &quot;Write when you&apos;re sober&quot;</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<p>I was&nbsp; reading a book titled &quot;How to find your one true love&quot; by <a href="http://www.preacherinbluejeans.com/">Bo Sanchez</a>. Okay, that&#39;s besides the point - I don&#39;t think I need any self help on love. What I wanted to point out was a paragraph that struck me - in sum Bo said never to make decisions when you&#39;re too happy or depressed as you will most likely make the wrong decision.<br /> </p><p>&nbsp;I drew a parallel to the art of writing as a profession. Usually, writers are &quot;in their game&quot; when they are inspired - either in their most melacholy of states or their happiest of moments. So is it true then that the best time to write is when you&#39;re sober? This is the time when you aren&#39;t on a high or low. You are just at peace with the rest of the world and drawing the Writing Zen out of that state is prudent and moderated. </p><p>I learned though that answering interviews in such states may be detrimental as you may get overly excited and say something you really should not have said.&nbsp;</p>]]>	</description>
         <link>http://www.smarttechwriting.com/2007/02/fact_or_fiction_write_when_you.html</link>
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         <pubDate>Fri, 02 Feb 2007 20:09:29 -0800</pubDate>
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         <title>Doh! Writer foiled by Beta!</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<p>Silly me. With the launch of Windows Vista and Office 2007 I completely forgot I was running a beta copy which expired yesterday.</p><p>And guess what? I forgot to convert my essential documents back to the old Word format. Sucks really since I haven&#39;t had the time to grab a copy of the new version of Office. So I&#39;m stuck in a rut now. So all my documents written on the new proprietary format cannot be opened until I grab a copy - which I WILL HAVE TO DO later. </p>]]>	</description>
         <link>http://www.smarttechwriting.com/2007/02/doh_writer_foiled_by_beta.html</link>
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         <pubDate>Fri, 02 Feb 2007 17:52:38 -0800</pubDate>
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         <title>How to &quot;refill the well&quot;</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<p>There will be times when writers must raise the white banner to concede to the void of not being able to write anything significant. This may happen on the most unlikely of times, even several weeks or days after your fantastic vacation. Instead of thinking up of grand plans to get up to pace again, why not consider doing some of the following to bring back inspiration:</p><ul><li>take a walk in the park</li><li>visit your neighbor</li><li>take out the trash</li><li>do fine dining with a loved one</li><li>catch that movie you always put aside</li><li>visit your in-laws</li></ul><p>These are but everyday activities which we put aside in favor of writing. But we have to come to the conclusion one day that writing is still work, and there needs to be a break somewhere.&nbsp;</p>]]>	</description>
         <link>http://www.smarttechwriting.com/2007/02/how_to_refill_the_well.html</link>
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         <pubDate>Thu, 01 Feb 2007 00:58:37 -0800</pubDate>
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         <title>Should you always pay for your interview?</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<p>There is a rule of thumb to follow when doing interviews for articles. Usually the publishing company you work for will always subsidize the cost of coffee or food which means that you need not worry about picking up the tab.</p><p>You, as the writer needs information from another person who is particularly &quot;mavenized&quot; in the subject matter you need to research on. Thus, the interview forms part of the publishing company&#39;s operational costs. If an interviewer is kind enough to be the one to treat, insist that your company will cover the cost. If he or she still wants to answer for the bill then ask for the receipt which you can liquidate. You can then ask your office to write a cheque out for him when you give a copy of the magazine article. Cheques are easier to accept than a cash reimbursement.</p><p>But what about the rare times that your company has no money to subsidize your interview cost? Well then, my frien, the task at hand is to extract information, not to grab the best cup of coffee. You should still opt to treat your interviewee out in a comfortable yet budget friendly place and hope your editor changes his or her mind about the reimbursements. They usually do anyway, if it was for work. The budget always allows, if not now then maybe in the next month.</p>]]>	</description>
         <link>http://www.smarttechwriting.com/2007/01/should_you_always_pay_for_your.html</link>
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         <pubDate>Sun, 28 Jan 2007 23:25:08 -0800</pubDate>
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         <title>A bad day affecting your writing?</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<p>it really sucks when you&#39;ve prepped yourself to work from a coffee shop or any other cozy establishment only to find that the service given you sucks - it bites. And that good mood you&#39;ve had all morning which you carefully want to transplant to your serene locus suddenly gets lost in a fit of disappointment of waiters not taking orders as you wait for 5 minutes in the counter.</p><p>Oh well. This is where the true test of writing skills come in - in the same way that being inspired or being &quot;in the mood&quot; shouldn&#39;t be the prime motivator for you to write. A good writer can write anywhere, in almost any condition.&nbsp;</p>]]>	</description>
         <link>http://www.smarttechwriting.com/2007/01/a_bad_day_affecting_your_writi.html</link>
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<category>Advice</category>
         <pubDate>Fri, 26 Jan 2007 09:11:28 -0800</pubDate>
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         <title>Who would you dedicate your book to?</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<p>When the time comes for you to write your book, what would you put in your dedication? It would be pretty standard to thank those people who have helped you, your family for the patience and understanding - of vacations and quality time missed, your patron and your Creator.</p><p>If you wrote a book, how would your dedication page go?</p>]]>	</description>
         <link>http://www.smarttechwriting.com/2007/01/who_would_you_dedicate_your_bo.html</link>
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         <pubDate>Fri, 26 Jan 2007 05:58:23 -0800</pubDate>
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