Welcome to makedonikajournal.org

Writers Block: What Causes it and How to Overcome it (writers block) If you are a writer then you know what I am talking about. You have everything ready, a drink, a snack, the topic, and even reference material. You sit down ready to start typing or writing, which ever you prefer, and it happens. You are stuck, your mind is blank and you have no idea how to fill that blank canvas in front of you. It is a writer’s worse nightmare come true. You have writers block. First you need to figure out what is causing it. There are a multitude of things that can be causing it. Stress is one of the biggest factors that cause writers block. Whether it is stress caused by personal matters, deadline dates, or fearing your article won’t be good enough it can block the words from flowing as easily as the should. Sleep deprivation doesn’t let your mind function to its full potential. Getting a good night’s sleep is imperative to having a clear mind and being able to focus. The project itself could be causing the writers block. A topic you are not interested in can easily turn your normally resourceful mind into jelly. The research on that topic turns into a grueling task. Then trying to put the words on paper that make sense and will peak someone’s interest seem impossible. If a topic has personal meaning to you it can be hard to write objectively about it. A simple informative topic can easily become a personal rant session. Writing because you have to, not because you want to makes it hard to concentrate and focus. Now that the basic causes have been covered, you need to know how to fix it. Writers block is not permanent. Identifying the reason is the hard part. Relax. The world is not going to end if the article isn’t as perfect as you feel it should be. Just because you don’t think it is perfect doesn’t mean someone else won’t. Go and read some of your previous writings. Even if what you read has nothing to do with your current topic, it can be inspirational to you. Don’t burn yourself out on a topic. Try to split up the writing process. Research and brainstorm one day and write the next. This will give you time to think about your topic and figure out the angle you want to write. Talk your way through it. Call a friend or colleague and chat. Tell them the topic you are working on and get their opinions or ideas. They may be able to offer fresh insight and ideas. Work on multiple projects at one time if you can. Bouncing back and forth between a few topics can keep your mind hopping and will keep boredom at bay. Take a break from you current project and write about something that motivates you. Chances are once you get those creative juices flowing they will continue into your next project. Make yourself a schedule and stick to it. If your schedule says 500 words by noon, write your 500 words and stop. Even if you don’t have a project going, by writing daily you will stick to your schedule and keeps your imagination going. If you write from home, which most of freelance writers do, make a quiet time and treat it like a real job. If you have young children at home, write while they nap. Let your answering machine be your secretary. If it is important they will leave a message. Most importantly remember why you started writing in the first place. Even the best of the best have gotten writers block at one time or another.

Important Steps to Follow in Creating a Professional Digital Identity for your Job Search Having a professional digital identify is essential in finding new business or employment. Everyone can benefit from having a polished professional digital identity. It is key to advancing in any career. Of course, how you present yourself digitally depending on what type of career advancement you are going for. If you are starting a new business you will need to have a stellar website. A professional should consulted so that you have the best website possible. If you are interested in securing a new job, you can probably build your own website or just post your resume and portfolio. Trying to land an interview is much easier than striking out on your own so it takes a little less effort. However, no matter what your career aspirations are a professional digital identity is important. If your professional digital identity is lacking in credibility spend some time and effort improving it. A healthy professional digital identity will help you get the job you desire. Instead of spending money on business cards, invest in presenting yourself well on the web. People can always get in touch with you on the web. Business cards get lost in the shuffle of day-to-day paper accumulation that most people acquire. Locate all of the social networking sites you can. You can never be too well represented on the web. Of course, people like to shake hands and meet you in person. When circumstances permit, set up lunches or coffee dates to discuss projects or networking opportunities. For entrepreneurs, it is wise to stay well acquainted. The type of business you are in will influence what you have in your portfolio. If you are striving to build an online presence for your own personal business, have plenty of samples on your site. If you business is not one where you have samples to show, have coupons or special offers posted. Create a strong professional digital identity and you will attract more sales. Whether you are networking or building up business for yourself, you need to have a professional digital identity that people can respect. Provide a number of ways for people to get in touch with you and keep your information updated. Do pro bono if necessary. Do some things for free to gain exposure. First impressions have a big influence on what people think about you. In the past people were limited to physical or phone impressions. These days the way that employees first get to know most candidates is through their digital identity. A bad web site or a sloppy portfolio online can ruin your chances of getting a job. Make sure that your professional digital identity is well developed. One of the major mistakes people make when it comes to digital identity is registering for networking and social sites and posting less than favorable pictures and comments. Some employers check MySpace and Facebook to try to get a clear picture of the candidate they are interviewing or deciding whether or not to work with. If your Myspace page is full of pictures of you in your scantly clad bathing suit their decision to hire you or not becomes very easy. Do not use your real name to register for these types of sites. Or if you do, use the site in a professional manner. Set up your Myspace page in an attractive and professional way. Friends will be able to reach you but employers will also view you in a professional manner. A great way to present yourself well digitally is to have your own website. Upload your resume and include information about your work history. Employers will be able to review your work history more extensively making them more inclined to contact you.

The History of Writing (history of writing) Writing is commonly used by billions of people each day. However, many of us don’t know the history of writing, and some of us would rather not ponder it for fear of getting a headache. Written communication is much needed today, and many societies could not survive without writing. Writing has a history like everything that is in existence today. The exact history of this form of communication may be clouded and even over exaggerated at times, but there are two known facts, writing has been used for a very long time and writing will be used for a very long time. The true beginning of writing is unknown, but it does have a comprehensive history. The first artistic paintings and writings were said to be done in the form of naturalistic paintings of animals and people in caves. The pictures were known as attempts to appease the spirits of animals that were needed to kill in the hunt. In ancient times pictures were also done of human beings. These pictures of humans were typically done in series, with a figure appearing in different physical positions progressively, which represented positions a ceremonial dance performed by ancient people. Progressively, the early societies began to stylize their messages, which were similar to using symbols to represent restrooms, handicap-accessible places, and international road signs. These stylized symbols are known a petroglyphs and hieroglyphs. The most famous system of hieroglyphs belonged to the ancient Egyptians who had hieroglyphics that were partially representational pictures that were stylized. Petrogylphs were often used by Native Americans as messages along trade routes, ritual information, and various other things. However, they were not as sophisticated as hieroglyphs. During this ancient period, Europeans preserved esoteric knowledge in runes and in an alphabetic writing system known as ogham. The Chinese culture also has a place in the history of writing. The culture began by writing like many others by using pictures then slowly moving to stylized pictures. However, over time the pictures became less representational and more abstract. Today, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and other Asian languages are written with the use of ideeographs. An ideeograph is used to represent an idea instead of a word. Around 1700 B.C. a new form of writing appeared in the Middle Eastern cultures. During this time, the Phoenicians created an alphabet. This development was different from all others because the symbols represented sounds, not pictures or ideas. The combinations of sounds made up the words of the language, which was crucial in the history of writing. The alphabet developed by the Phoenicians spread to Northern Africa and became the system of the Arabs, and spread northwest to Greece. The Greek developed their own letters, which were modified even more to become the Cyrillic alphabets of Russia, the Balkans and the Romans. The Romans modified the alphabet and made it the alphabet that is recognized today. The history of writing developed even further into the 20th century. Following World War II, the Japanese and Chinese began to use the alphabet to represent the sounds of their languages. For these Asian cultures, the alphabetic system was easier to write by hand and to print economically, so it made life far simpler for those cultures. The artistic form of writing used by these Asian cultures will likely never die, but there are many advantages to using an alphabetic system, and many modern people of these cultures benefit handsomely from learning to read and write using the current alphabet. The history of writing is long and sometimes vague, but it can be seen as a necessary teaching that will help modern societies understand the importance of written communication, and understand how the world would be forever changed without it.