April 19th, 2010
Offering discounted services to the public via students working under faculty supervision, the Regency Beauty Institute has a growing network of over thirty campuses in nine states.
If you would like to find out more about Regency and what their campuses are like, take a look at the information they provide for their Madison or Greenfield cosmetology school in Wisconsin. Regency campuses mirror upscale salons, and provide students with cosmetology training that is fully accredited by the National Accrediting Commission of Cosmetology Arts and Sciences (NACCAS).
Regency Beauty Institute got its start in the 1950’s as Myndall Cain Beauty Academy, assuming the name of Regency in the 1980’s. Regency got its latest makeover in 2002. A fully accredited cosmetology school, Regency is able to offer federal financial aid to those who qualify.
This post sponsored by Regency Beauty Institute
April 19th, 2010
I got side tracked from my painting and writing both by tax time, but I am hoping to get back into the full swing of both over the next couple of weeks. The painting and videos will need to wait a bit longer, since I have a bunch of writing to catch up on, but I will get back to the painting as soon as I can, because I have a lot of fun with that and love making videos.
March 29th, 2010
I’ve started working on adding some tutorials to the site. Mainly video tutorials. Check out the first one, a dragon painting tutorial I am currently working on by following the links from the main page of the site.
March 18th, 2010
We live in a age where everyone wants instant gratification. If you can not provide a reason to read on in the first few paragraphs, then chances are your reader will loose interest and move on to something that is more interesting to them.
The Internet is a huge place, with uncounted writing opportunities, so it is only natural to wonder just what the ideal length of an online article is. As a general rule online articles should be kept to an average length of 300 to 500 words, with some leeway for shorter or longer works depending on the topic.
Why 300 to 500 words? Quite simply because it is long enough to actually say something about the subject you are writing about, and brief enough that your reader can read it in just a few minutes. This is by no means a hard and fast rule, since online discussions have proven that even those who are writing articles for websites have a difference of opinion on how long an article should be. 250 to 11,000 words, less, more… It all focuses around one general rule. Write how much you need to write to inform the reader, no more.
February 18th, 2010
When you are writing a story, you want to create unique characters for it, not cookie cutter stereotyped characters.
Don’t create a dark shadowy figure that lurks in the shadows of an alley. Create a real character that watches your hero from the gloomy depths of the alleyway.
Rather than a busty blond or nondescript brunette taking your hero’s order in the cafe, maybe their order is taken by a young man that has traces of grease under his fingernails from his second job as a mechanic.
A danger zone is in too much detail, however, which can be just as bad as a character that is too classic a stereotype. Yes it might be stereotyping to have a meek bespeckled librarian, but just as dangerous is to toss out all of the traits of your stereotypical librarian. There should be aspects of the character that, while not what one might expect from the role, are also universally expected.
For example, a librarian might be different in their body builder physique, but they likely still love books or they would not have become a librarian.
A good exercise is to take a sheet of paper and write the kind of character you are creating at the top. Then draw a line down the middle. On the left write everything you think of when you think of that particular type of person, including and especially stereotypes for them. Then on the right side of the paper write all of the things you need for the character in your story. From these two lists you can create a character that has the traits of both what you need and what you expect, and from that you can create a non-stereotypical character or your story.
