Alexander the Great is known as one of the most...

Alexander the Great is known as one of the most significant and most influential historical figures of all time. Alexander the Great accomplished more than any other known military figure in ancient history, by conquering the entire Persian Empire and extending his own empire into India, he was without a doubt the most successful military figure in ancient history. There has never been a military leader that has accomplished so much, in only approximately 32 years. Alexander II of Macedon was born on the sixth day of the ancient Greek month â€Å"Hekatombaion, which corresponds to approximately July 20th 356 BC, the exact date is not known for sure. He was born in Pella, the capital of the ancient Greek Kingdom of Macedon. Alexander was the†¦show more content†¦Aristotle taught Alexander about medicine, morals, philosophy, religion, art, and logic. Alexander ended up developing a passion for the works of Homer after influence from Aristotle. Alexander received a copy of Homers Iliad from Aristotle, and later Alexander carried the same copy with him when he went into battle. Alexander was tutored by Aristotle until the age of 16. The reason Alexander did not receive tutoring from Aristotle for a longer period of time is because he father Phillip II went to war against Byzantion. For the time being, Alexander was the temporary King of Macedon. During Alexander’s father’s absence, Macedon was attacked by Thracian Maedi. With strong knowledge in battle, learned previously from Aristotle and Leonidas, Alexander responded quickly and colonized the Thracian Maedi territory with the Greeks. Alexander names the new born city Alexandropolis. Fast forwarding four years, Alexander’s father Phillip II, was assassinated at his daughter’s wedding by Pausanias, who was killed by the men who pursued him minutes later. Thus, at the Age of twenty Alexander the Great became king of Macedon. Alexander the Great was a very intelligent leader; he made bold decisions as King of Macedon and also as the military leader of the Macedonian army. After the assassination of his father, he felt to be in danger of being assassinated himself. To deal with his problem, he had everyone closestShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Book By Nikolaus Pevsner Essay1250 Words   |  5 Pages The second recurring issue is that it is difficult to tell from what time period most art came from. Lots of art pieces are given circa, from a rough period, of about two hundred years, making it difficult for some pieces to be determined as Roman Republic or Empire work. In Strong’s preface to his book, there is an overview about the influences of propaganda in artwork given by his editor, Nikolaus Pevsner, in the foreword of the book. 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Personal Action Plan Free Essays

In the last few years I have gone through some major life altering experiences. Everything from losses that were important; including a loved one, a long friendship, gainful employment and a serious illness which affected one of my sources of income, loss of hopes and dreams. I became depressed about all the traumatic events which were happening in my life. We will write a custom essay sample on Personal Action Plan or any similar topic only for you Order Now The most painful experience, such as the loss of a loved one; due to divorce, a medical illness, or losing everything as a result of putting all my trust into a relationship that ended. All these life altering events took away my sense of control and caused great emotional upheaval. These traumatic events caused more distress for me than I could ever imagine. The end of my marriage has been the most painful experience in my life. Ending a twenty year union and losing my best friend was shocking because of the fear of not knowing what to do or feeling a sense of everything being hopeless had the biggest impact on my life, Even being diagnosed with breast cancer did not have this impact on my life. I started to feel and think as though every event of my life was predetermined and my entire course was laid out for me and no matter what I did or how I tried to avoid it, my life would unfold in some predetermined way. I felt as though there was such a thing as fate or destiny, but in the back of my mind I wondered, what about free will? I thought I was suppose to have the freedom to choose my actions but I felt as though free will was negated since existed. In order for me to find resolve in my pity and my life which had become depressing and stressful, I had to learn everything I could about the changes that were negatively impacting my life. The more I knew about them, the better I thought I would be able to deal with them. I started asking questions such as: What’s the worse thing that can happen? What do I stand to lose because of this change? How is this change affecting me now? Who or what is in control of the effects of this change now? Is there a way to minimize the negative effects of the change? What result do I want to avoid? What result do I want to create? The first thing I decided to do with my life was to move away and get a fresh start. At this point I was not really concerned with financial resources because I was always taught to save for a rainy day. As far as the pain of my marriage I found that women who lose their husbands may be more willing to seek out emotional support. I found this support in a relationship I cultivated and it developed into a friendship which replaced all the voids I felt in my personal life. I always wanted to pursue my educational goals and the new relationship helped pave the way for me to go back to school to finish some educational goals I wanted for myself. It also made a way to get my family back together under one roof. Through everything I now realize traumatic life events and major changes are an inevitable part of life. From the loss of a loved one, personal illness, financial set-back, to starting a new job or moving into a new home, changes throughout life are constant. I now know I moved beyond these crisis and disappointment and made my life better. The changes that seem to cause me the most problems are the changes that I feel I had no control over. Since dealing with traumas and changes I understand that I had no control over such external events. I realize that I cannot change the traumas or crises; they can only change themselves. Creative personal growth has been an ongoing process for me to commit to as a way of developing personally. It is about my psychological and spiritual growth and development. A key component of creative self-growth is to take full responsibility for my life. It is about bringing forth my highest potential as a human being. The benefits of undertaking any form of personal growth were many, including healing family wounds, gaining more confidence and self-esteem, learning to trust myself, forgiving others, developing compassion and kindness toward myself and others, increasing inner peace and a sense of well-being, developing the ability to cope better and meet challenges with more ease, feeling more comfortable in expressing myself, having more skills in creating loving relationships and looking at life’s challenges as opportunities to grow and learn for myself. One of my biggest strengths is my communication skills. I work very well with all kinds of people, and understand that everyone has different perspectives about projects and work tasks — so when I work with others I realize that everyone comes to the table with different priorities and objectives. I keep this in mind when I communicate tasks that need to be accomplished with positive reinforcement and awareness of what others are working on. Another strength is my flexibility to handle change. I was able to turn around a negative working environment and develop a very supportive team. I am a hard worker, very punctual, determined, able to prioritize, I believe in myself and I am self confident. One of my greatest strengths I’ve acquired during my education is good analytical and planning skills. This will benefit me and challenge to set goals and try to achieve them, at the same time, I’m driven by the thoughts of success; I have full commitment to my work. I am highly energetic; I love to learn new things, I process good interpersonal skills; along with being well organized and like to be neat with all my work; I am a good helper towards those who need it. I am a team player and work well with others, I am a quick learner and I possess great problem-solving skills. I’m sometimes told that I am a bit too slow, that’s only because I want to do the best job I can. I guess you could say I’m a bit anal when it comes to perfection. I am very headstrong. I really like to be challenged in my job, and I just want to learn as much as I can in my position. At the end of the day I need to be able to look back on my day and feel good about the job that I’ve done. I guess you could call it sense of self worth. That’s why I always put my all into everything I do. I used to have trouble with procrastinating, now I have learned to write down a list of things that I need to do, and I keep a calendar to keep track of deadlines, I have found that this not only helps me to finish things on time, but it has also helped me to be more organized. A weakness of mine would be the fact that I get nervous when speaking in front of groups. I haven’t had a lot of experience with this over the past several years. I’m little egoistic when it comes to winning things and get a little ruthless too. I lose patience sometimes when I am not in a position to complete the assigned job in time. I have to work on having more patience and giving myself a break because I always want everything done at once. I am too focused on my work and I need to find more time to relax and I need to develop some after hour’s hobbies. I am a workaholic person and love to dedicate myself to the work I am doing. But at the same time I forget to keep a balance between other things which I am trying to improve on. The big irony is that my future is in much better shape even though I focus most of my attention on the present. By making my present reality as enjoyable as possible, my motivation has just been soaring. I’m working from a state of joy instead of a feeling of obligation. I’ve actually created the very situation I was hoping money would someday grant me. I imagined what I would do if I was already rich beyond my wildest dreams. I saw myself spending lots of time working on personal growth, doing all sorts of interesting experiments, and then sharing what I learned with others. I thought to myself, â€Å"That would be a truly incredible life for me. † Today I’m so happy it’s almost ridiculous. I couldn’t even have imagined being this happy on a daily basis two years ago. And I certainly wasn’t depressed back then, I was at least content. But now my emotional state is highly positive, not just neutral. I stopped seeking happiness in the future and instead looked for ways to create it right now. In order to reach my goals I know I need to start small. I cannot afford to take on more than I can handle too soon, especially since some of my goals are outside of my knowledge and current abilities. I do not want to get discouraged when I realize that my goal of running three miles a day has fizzled out after two weeks because I cannot seem to get past one mile a day. I feel when you start small and set mini-goals for yourself; you are much more likely to succeed also by setting goals that are attainable by assessing the reality of the situation and gathering information. It is great to aim big, but not so big that you can’t reach your goal. I was taught by my maternal grandmother to write down your goals, because until you do, it is still a dream. I want to be able to see my goals every day. My goal is long-term and I feel to reach it, I need to write down concrete steps on how I will achieve it which can provide gratification so I will feel as though I am making progress. My affirmations and positive words along with statements I use repetitively help to build my self-confidence and change my attitude and behaviors. I print affirmations on note cards and type them into a screen saver on my computer. Since I have a strong sense of self-motivation, I believe the skill can be acquired by using positive affirmations. A social network can be a powerful motivational force as well as a safety net if I encounter issues along my journey. I have reached out to friends and family to encourage me and to provide support until I achieve my goals. How to cite Personal Action Plan, Papers

Salvador Dali was born into a middle

Salvador Dali was born into a middle-class family on May 11th, 1904 in Figures Spain Essay Salvador Dali was born into a middle-class family on May 11th, 1904 in Figures Spain. In 1921 he entered the San Fernando Academy of Fine Arts in Madrid where he made friends with Federico Garcia Lorca, Luis Bunuel, and Eugenio Montes. He pursued his personal intersest in Cubism and Futurism. In June of 1923 Dali was suspended from the Academy for having indicated the students to rebel against the authorities of the school. He was let back in October of 1925, and a year later Dali was permanently expelled. In 1924 he was imprisoned in Figures and Gerona for political reasons. Dali joined the Surrealists in 1929 due to the influence of metaphysical paintings, and his contact with Miro. Dali developed his method over the next few years. He describes his method as paranoic-critical, a spontaneous method of irrational knowledge based on critical and systematic objectivation of delirious associations and interpretations. Works he produced at this time include The Lugubrious Game 1929, The Persistence of Memory 1931, and Surrealist Objects, Gauges of Instantaneous Memory 1932. Salvador Dali was the top Surrealists of this time. Surrealism explored the subconscious, the dream world, and irrational elements of the psyche in the belief that the discoveries to be made from such exploration would be of more fundamental importance to the human condition than any other form of social analysis. Salvador Dali was very fascinated by the fleeting state of the mind between sleep and consciousness, dream and reality, sanity and insanity, as one in which the mind functioned purely, free from the constraints of logic and social behavior. He read psychological case histories, hoping to represent neuroses in an ultra-realistic style, objectifying the irrational with photographic accuracy. In 1936, Dali began painting in a classical manner again, switching between Italian, Spanish and pompier styles. Dali was very politically involved, and had some extreme opinions. He was fascinated with Hitler, and his relations with the rest of the Surrealist group became strained after 1934, breaking away in 1939 when he declared his support for Franco. He moved to the USA, living there from 1939-1948. Dali held many one-man shows during his career. He directed and was a part of many films including the first surrealist film Un Chiea A Dalou A Andalusian Dog, with the director Luis Bunuel. In 1945 he designed the surrealistic dream sequence for Hitchcocks Spellbound, and filmed Don Juan Tenorio, in 1951. Salvador Dali returned to Spain, marrying Gala in 1958. She was the only woman in his life. She was his model, his muse, and his most effective agent. He turned to sculpture in 1965, repeating themes from his paintings: a Venus equipped with cupboard drawers, elephants with spiders legs, soft watches, etc. He created his sculptures out of bronze and crystal. The reason he turned to sculpture was mainly financial. Uncontrolled print runs caused resulted in many fakes being sold on the artistic mass market of the 1960s. Salvador Dali uses history, literature, religion, mythology, politics, contemporary science and psychology to construct a series of personae within which he could create his work, and in the context of which he could manipulate its reception. As Dali creates an artwork, one of his goals is do something that is strange, that comes from the deep thoughts of his mind and that people can relate to by just looking at it. These thoughts come from his dreams, beliefs, and reality. Salvador Dali is looked upon as a surrealist par excellence. A lot of people refer to Dali as crazy painter or that he has mental problems, but the real truth is, Dali is a genius. Just because he thinks different from everyone else, do not mean he has mental problems. Such portrayal is the result of newspapers and magazines, and their gossip columns. It appears as if Dali behaved like an eccentric in order to gain publicity. He said of himself, I want everybody to talk about Dali even if they speak well of him. Salvador Dali never understood his artworks. Never Dali understand one painting of Daliaâ‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦ Because Dali only creates enigmas. Mystification was his way of life.

What Is Academic Writing free essay sample

The first factor or rule would be Complexity. Academic writing is meant to be more complex, using longer more dense words and with a varied vocabulary. It should be on a more complex level than spoken language, being precise and very accurate, meaning no slang or shortening of words. In addition to Complexity, the second factor links with it very well, Formality. Formality is very important, as academic writing is to inform the reader on a subject, it is not to be entertaining. Writing should be up to a formal standard, like broadsheet papers, textbooks and journals.As writing has to be a high standard, Precision should also be considered. However this type of writing might be more relevant to scientific writing, giving facts and figures precisely. There is however a general rule that applies to all types of academic writing, which is objectivity. All academic writing should be written from an objective view, and not from a personal one. We will write a custom essay sample on What Is Academic Writing or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The main point of academic writing is to get your information across to the reader and your arguments. Making arguments for and against of the topic you are writing about and also with accurate vocabulary.Also good language to use with academic writing is links or hedging. To make a good piece of writing flow together would be using words like, However, Also, On average, etc. These words help link arguments and references together, making it easier for the reader to understand your topic and arguments. After taking these points and transferring them to your writing, you should be able to produce a good piece of writing at an academic level. However you should always take accessibility for any piece of writing were you are using resources and references.Some form of a bibliography should be always be in any form of academic writing. You should also never copy any form of writing and use it for your own writing, as it would be plagiarism. Plagiarism is very important not only in university, but also for many careers. To conclude, there are a general rules to follow when writing in an academic style. Formality, accuracy, complexity, precision, objectively and most of all responsibility are the key factors to remember, if you want to write at a university level and for future arrears.

What Is Academic Writing free essay sample

The first factor or rule would be Complexity. Academic writing is meant to be more complex, using longer more dense words and with a varied vocabulary. It should be on a more complex level than spoken language, being precise and very accurate, meaning no slang or shortening of words. In addition to Complexity, the second factor links with it very well, Formality. Formality is very important, as academic writing is to inform the reader on a subject, it is not to be entertaining. Writing should be up to a formal standard, like broadsheet papers, textbooks and journals.As writing has to be a high standard, Precision should also be considered. However this type of writing might be more relevant to scientific writing, giving facts and figures precisely. There is however a general rule that applies to all types of academic writing, which is objectivity. All academic writing should be written from an objective view, and not from a personal one. We will write a custom essay sample on What Is Academic Writing or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The main point of academic writing is to get your information across to the reader and your arguments. Making arguments for and against of the topic you are writing about and also with accurate vocabulary.Also good language to use with academic writing is links or hedging. To make a good piece of writing flow together would be using words like, However, Also, On average, etc. These words help link arguments and references together, making it easier for the reader to understand your topic and arguments. After taking these points and transferring them to your writing, you should be able to produce a good piece of writing at an academic level. However you should always take accessibility for any piece of writing were you are using resources and references.Some form of a bibliography should be always be in any form of academic writing. You should also never copy any form of writing and use it for your own writing, as it would be plagiarism. Plagiarism is very important not only in university, but also for many careers. To conclude, there are a general rules to follow when writing in an academic style. Formality, accuracy, complexity, precision, objectively and most of all responsibility are the key factors to remember, if you want to write at a university level and for future arrears.

Free Essays on Orthodox Vs. Herterodox

Orthodox vs. Heterodox Buddhism derived from the preaching’s of Siddhartha Gautama â€Å" the Buddha†, who is said to have reached the state of enlightenment at the young age of thirty-five. Siddhartha Gautama spent most of his life teaching his beliefs that focused mainly on his goal to rid himself and others from suffering in an attempt to ultimately attain inner peace. â€Å"The Buddha’s teachings are like the Buddha himself-practical. Surrounded in India of his day by every kind of speculation about the afterlife, the nature of the divine, and other difficult questions, the Buddha concentrated on what was useful† (Molloy 111). Among his ideals was the belief in the eightfold path and the four noble truths as methods to reach the ultimate state of enlightenment. Meanwhile, he gained many followers and began an order of monks. A few months after his death, five hundred of his most devout disciples made up the first Buddhist council, led by the eldest monk Maha Kassapa. Their l ack of agreement on any changes to be made to their new system of belief helped Maha Kassapa decide that none of the original teachings of the Buddha should be altered in any way. About one hundred years later a second council was held and some minor changes were made to the religion. The disagreement of Buddhist with some of the original Buddhist teachings resulted in many braches being formed but only three remain prevalent today; Therevada, Mahayana and Vajrayana. Therevada took on the conservative approach â€Å"hoping to protect the Buddha’s rather stark teachings and simple practice from being altered† (Molloy 122). When Therevada was first developed there was no such term as Mahayana, but later it appeared in the Sutra of the Lotus of the Good Law. About a century later, the term Mahayana became clearly defined and referred to as â€Å" the big vehicle† that included a more hopeful approach in attaining enlightenment for the laypeople. Although Th... Free Essays on Orthodox Vs. Herterodox Free Essays on Orthodox Vs. Herterodox Orthodox vs. Heterodox Buddhism derived from the preaching’s of Siddhartha Gautama â€Å" the Buddha†, who is said to have reached the state of enlightenment at the young age of thirty-five. Siddhartha Gautama spent most of his life teaching his beliefs that focused mainly on his goal to rid himself and others from suffering in an attempt to ultimately attain inner peace. â€Å"The Buddha’s teachings are like the Buddha himself-practical. Surrounded in India of his day by every kind of speculation about the afterlife, the nature of the divine, and other difficult questions, the Buddha concentrated on what was useful† (Molloy 111). Among his ideals was the belief in the eightfold path and the four noble truths as methods to reach the ultimate state of enlightenment. Meanwhile, he gained many followers and began an order of monks. A few months after his death, five hundred of his most devout disciples made up the first Buddhist council, led by the eldest monk Maha Kassapa. Their l ack of agreement on any changes to be made to their new system of belief helped Maha Kassapa decide that none of the original teachings of the Buddha should be altered in any way. About one hundred years later a second council was held and some minor changes were made to the religion. The disagreement of Buddhist with some of the original Buddhist teachings resulted in many braches being formed but only three remain prevalent today; Therevada, Mahayana and Vajrayana. Therevada took on the conservative approach â€Å"hoping to protect the Buddha’s rather stark teachings and simple practice from being altered† (Molloy 122). When Therevada was first developed there was no such term as Mahayana, but later it appeared in the Sutra of the Lotus of the Good Law. About a century later, the term Mahayana became clearly defined and referred to as â€Å" the big vehicle† that included a more hopeful approach in attaining enlightenment for the laypeople. Although Th...

How to Edit a Book The Ultimate Free 21-Part Checklist

How to Edit a Book The Ultimate Free 21-Part Checklist How to Edit a Book: Your Ultimate 21-Part Checklist So you want to get published? If you want people to actually read what you’ve written, you must master the art of ferociously self-editing your book. These days, anyone can get anything printed. It doesn’t even have to be good. If you have the money, you can find someone who  will print whatever you submit, as is. That’s not necessarily underhanded. Almost any independent publisher would be happy to offer all the services you’re willing to pay for to make your manuscript as publishable as possible. But you’re the boss. So if you want them to print your unedited book in the exact form you give it to them, they’ll say, â€Å"As you wish. And if they wont, you can easily find someone who will. On the Other Hand Ideally, you’d rather be discovered by a traditional publisher who takes all the risks and pays you an advance against royalties and then royalties on your sales. But the odds of landing a traditional publishing contract are slim. So you must separate yourself from the competition by ensuring your manuscript is the absolute best it can be. Yes, a traditional publisher will have its own editors and proofreaders. But to get that far, your manuscript has to be better than a thousand other submissions. And if you’re self-publishing, the only way to stand out against even more competition is by ferociously editing your own book until its as crisp and clean as possible. There’s little worse than an independently published book that looks like one. So, You Must  Learn How to Edit a Book Whether you’re going to hire an editor, or be assigned one by a traditional publisher, your responsibility is to get your book manuscript to the highest level it can be before you pass it on. Never settle for, â€Å"That’s the best I can do; now fix it for me.† Why? Because sadly, if you attempt the traditional publishing route, could pour your whole life into a manuscript and get just five minutes of an editor’s time before your book is rejected. Sounds unfair, doesn’t it? But as one who has been on both sides of the desk for more than four decades, let me tell you there are reasons for it: Why Publishers Reject Your Manuscript After Reading Just Two Pages Editors can tell within a page or two how much editing would be required to make a manuscript publishable; if it would take a lot of work in every sentence, the labor cost alone would disqualify it. An editor can tell immediately whether a writer understands what it means to grab a reader by the throat and not let go. Have too many characters been introduced too quickly? Does the writer understand point of view? Is the setting and tone interesting? Do we have a sense of where the story is headed, or is there too much throat clearing? (See below for an explanation.) Is the story subtle and evocative, or is it on-the-nose? Yes, a professional editor can determine all this with a quick read of the first two to three pages. If you find yourself saying, â€Å"But they didn’t even get to the good stuff,† then you need to put the good stuff earlier in your manuscript. So today, I want to zero in on tight writing and self-editing. Author Francine Prose says: For any writer, the ability to look at a sentence and see what’s superfluous, what can be altered, revised, expanded, or especially cut, is essential. It’s satisfying to see that sentence shrink, snap into place, and ultimately emerge in a more polished form: clear, economical, sharp. If you’re ready to learn how to edit a book, here’s what you need to do: The  Ultimate Checklist for Editing a  Book Want to keep these 21 self-editing tips handy next time youre writing?  Click here to download the checklist. 1. Develop a thick skin. Or at least to pretend to. It’s not easy. But we writers need to listen to our editors- even if that means listening to ourselves! 2. Avoid throat-clearing. This is a literary term for a story or chapter that finally begins after a page or two of scene setting and background. Get on with it. 3. Choose the normal word over the obtuse. When you’re tempted to show off your vocabulary or a fancy turn of phrase, think reader-first and keep your content king. Don’t intrude. Get out of the way of your message. 4. Omit needless words. A rule that follows its own advice. This should be the hallmark of every writer. 5. Avoid subtle redundancies. â€Å"She nodded her head in agreement.† Those last four words could be deleted. What else would she nod but her head? And when she nods, we need not be told she’s in agreement. â€Å"He clapped his hands.† What else would he clap? â€Å"She shrugged her shoulders.† What else? â€Å"He blinked his eyes.† Same question. â€Å"They heard the sound of a train whistle.† The sound of could be deleted. 6. Avoid the words up and down unless they’re really needed. He rigged [up] the device. She sat [down] on the couch. 7. Usually delete the word that. Use it only for clarity. 8. Give the reader credit. Once youve established something, you dont need to repeat it. Example: â€Å"They walked through the open door and sat down across from each other in chairs.† If they walked in and sat, we can assume the door was open, the direction was down, and- unless told otherwise- there were chairs. So you can write: â€Å"They walked in and sat across from each other.† And avoid quotation marks around words used in another context, as if the reader wouldnt â€Å"get it† otherwise. (Notice how subtly insulting that is.) 9. Avoid telling what’s not happening. â€Å"He didn’t respond.† â€Å"She didn’t say anything.† â€Å"The crowded room never got quiet.† If you don’t say these things happened, we’ll assume they didn’t. 10. Avoid being an adjectival maniac. Good writing is a thing of strong nouns and verbs, not adjectives. Use them sparingly. Novelist and editor Sol Stein says one plus one equals one-half (1+1=1/2), meaning the power of your words is diminished by not picking just the better one. â€Å"He proved a scrappy, active fighter,† is more powerful if you settle on the stronger of those two adjectives. Less is more. Which would you choose? 11. Avoid hedging verbs like smiled slightly, almost laughed, frowned a bit, etc. 12. Avoid the term literally- when you mean figuratively. â€Å"I literally died when I heard that.† R.I.P. â€Å"My eyes literally fell out of my head.† There’s a story I’d like to read. â€Å"I was literally climbing the walls.† You have a future in horror films. 13. Avoid too much stage direction. You dont  need to tell every action of every character in each scene, what they’re doing with each hand, etc. 14. Maintain a single Point of View (POV) for every scene. Failing to do so is one of the most common errors beginning writers make. Amateurs often defend themselves against this criticism by citing classics by famous authors who violated this. Times change. Readers’ tastes change. This is the rule for today, and it’s true of what sells. 15. Avoid clichà ©s. And not just words and phrases. There are also clichà ©d situations, like starting your story with the main character waking to an alarm clock; having a character describe herself while looking in a full-length mirror; having future love interests literally bump into each other upon first meeting, etc. 16. Resist the urge to explain (RUE). Marian was mad. She pounded the table. â€Å"George, you’re going to drive me crazy,† she said, angrily. â€Å"You can do it!† George encouraged said. 17. Show, don’t tell. If Marian pounds the table and chooses those words, we don’t need to be told she’s mad. If George says she can do it, we know he was encouraging. 18. Avoid mannerisms of attribution. People say things; they don’t wheeze, gasp, sigh, laugh, grunt, snort, reply, retort, exclaim, or declare them. John dropped onto the couch. â€Å"I’m beat.† Not: John was exhausted. He dropped onto the couch and exclaimed tiredly, â€Å"I’m beat.† â€Å"I hate you,† Jill said, narrowing her eyes. Not: â€Å"I hate you,† Jill blurted ferociously. Sometimes people whisper or shout or mumble, but let your choice of words imply whether they are grumbling, etc. If it’s important that they sigh or laugh, separate the action from the dialogue: Jim sighed. â€Å"I just can’t take any more,† he said. [Usually you can even drop the attribution he said if you have described his action first. We know who’s speaking.] 19. Specifics add the ring of truth. Yes, even to fiction. 20. Avoid similar character names. In fact, avoid even the same first initials. 21. Avoid mannerisms of punctuation, typestyles, and sizes. â€Å"He†¦was†¦DEAD!† doesn’t make a character any more dramatically expired than â€Å"He was dead.† Your Assignment Apply as many of these book editing hints as possible to the first page of your work-in-progress. Itll make a huge difference. I’ve added a downloadable self-editing checklist below to help you master these 21 tips. The more boxes you can check for your manuscript, the leaner, meaner, and more ready it will be for submission to a publisher. Click here  or below to download it free: What other questions do you have about how to edit a book? Ask me below.