http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/15614 There’s a great line in Alice in Wonderland when the Queen says, “Sometimes I think of 6 impossible things before breakfast.” I think you’ll agree that this has to be creativity at its best! As a small business owner you want to be as creative as possible but how on earth can you open up your mind to get to the point where ideas just spill out? Mon, 01 Nov 2010 03:42:45 PST en-us http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/15614 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/15614 Mon, 01 Nov 2010 03:42:45 PST In the course of building your business, there are times where you may not actually be sure of what next steps to take or even what questions to ask. I help entrepreneurs with business development and small business funding support and coaching and these are the very questions I hear from clients during our first meeting. http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/145 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/145 Sun, 26 May 2013 07:20:36 PST All too often, practitioners and service professionals who maintain a high degree of integrity with the work they do find it challenging to grow their business--- or to even think of the service they provide as a “business”. What general happens is they find themselves continually trading time for dollars with no room left to pursue other important activities such as marketing, follow-up, networking, operational duties, or developing other revenue streams of their business, etc. http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/146 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/146 Tue, 15 Apr 2008 10:30:10 PST Yes it IS possible to write marketing materials that get your customers to take action. (Best yet, it’s easier then you think.) http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1023 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1023 Sun, 24 May 2009 10:52:34 PST How is a writer to access her deepest and most powerful wells of creativity? How do we tap into our talent, our genius, our greatest potential for success? Writing classes often tell us how to plot, or structure, or build characters, or create poetic images, but the question of accessing our excellence is a slippery and elusive one. It is possible we’ll need to go outside our usual sources to find an answer.Many will merely say “be born with talent,” coldly suggesting tha... http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1166 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1166 Sun, 24 May 2009 11:20:15 PST When the first reviews for my most recent novel (Great Sky Woman, Random House 2006) started coming in, my emotions went through the usual roller coaster. The first, from Publisher’s Weekly, was 90% positive, but mentioned that, in their opinion, it was slow in spots. My stomach sank. Slow? In spots? Oh my God—all is lost!The second review came in two weeks later. This one, from “Booklist,” used words like “magnificent” and “engaging” and “advent... http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1226 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1226 Sun, 24 May 2009 11:20:16 PST One of the core conflicts for creative artists of all kinds is the tug-of-war between art and commerce. Frankly, an artist needs to make money, and it is preferable to make it from his craft. A writer who must work a full-time job to support himself will struggle to find the time to work, and often eventually gives it up altogether. On the other hand, being able to write on any project at all can polish valuable skills, and teach one the rules of the publishing industry. ... http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1238 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1238 Sun, 24 May 2009 11:20:17 PST One subject arising whenever writers gather to discuss their craft is the mining of life itself for story material. While a vital and important technique, it is important to remember that real human beings are impossibly complex, far too complicated to serve as story characters without major modification. The most complex character in all of western fiction (arguably), Hamlet, is still only 1% as complex as a real human being. One must remember that there is a unity betwe... http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1324 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1324 Sun, 24 May 2009 11:20:19 PST One out of every eight people call themselves a writer, which means there are roughly 24 million people in the United States who carry that banner. Unfortunately there are charlatans and scam artists just waiting to ambush the unsuspecting author. How can a novice writer protect themselves?Anyone can call themselves a publisher. Always remember money flows towards the author from the publisher, not the other way round.What to look out for:Charges the author a fee ... http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1325 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1325 Sun, 24 May 2009 11:20:19 PST There is a great deal of misunderstanding about what that particular branch of literature called “Science Fiction” actually consists of. Is it space-ships and monsters? Time machines? Galactic empires? Well, its all of those things, and often none of them.Science Fiction, broadly speaking, is story-telling that deals with the impact of organized knowledge on human beings. Usually, this means technology, and the way it changes us—and reveals about us. After all, most techn... http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1329 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1329 Sun, 24 May 2009 11:20:19 PST Good writing is often designed around a character who has a distorted vision of himself or of the world. During the story, he is placed under sufficient pressure to force an epiphany, a moment of clarity in which, he sees the world as it is, not as he wished it to be.A classic example is “Casablanca,” where Bogart’s immortal Rick has managed to create an insular world in which he can pretend to be utterly detached and uninvolved. He supposedly has no political beliefs, an... http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1331 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1331 Sun, 24 May 2009 11:20:19 PST