Summary based on the article "How to Craft Compelling Characters."

This article provides great key points to look for when you have a list of characters for your story. You want to make your characters memorable and these key points will help. The things to make sure characters have are: a driving need, desire, ambition or goal, a secret, a contradiction, and a vulnerability. All authors include these factors in their stories, which keeps people reading the same stories more than once.

From the writersdigest.com

Summary based on the article "How to Write Effective Supporting Characters."

This article provides great advice on how to develop characters in a story and the proper ways to do so. These tips include : balancing character traits, tormenting your hero, flashing out the supporting cast, naming supporting characters, introducing minor characters and adding authenticity. Some of these tips can be used in developing plays as well and not just books.

From writersdigest.com

Summary based on the article "7 Things That Will Doom Your Novel (&How to Avoid Them)."

This article provided great tips on how to avoid problems while writing stories. These seven tips are: wait for inspiration, look over your shoulder, ignore the craft, keep a chip on your shoulder, write for the market only, take as many short cuts as possible, and quit. I strongly agree with the last one because I can relate to it, but not when it comes to writing a story. I can relate to this during my daily life because there are times when I am consumed with so much work, that I want to throw in the towel (sometimes). I know that I need to just get through it and not give up. I need to push myself and that is what everyone needs to do in order to be successful.

From writersdigest.com

Comments based on the article "She's right on the money Dee Hoty stars in new comedy 'Rich Girl' at George Street Playhouse."

1. Headline: "She's right on the money Dee Hoty stars in new comedy 'Rich Girl' at George Street Playhouse."
Byline: Charles Paolino
Date: March 8, 2013.
Publication name: Home News Tribune
Link: http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20130308/NJENT/303080005/She-s-right-money?nclick_check=1

2. This article provides brief information about Dee Hoty and the plays she starred in like "Mama Mia." She also starred in a very popular show "Law and Order."They even provide information about the her current play and comments about being in the acting business.

3. A. The only person interviewed in this story is Dee Hoty. The interview with Hoty was essential, especially since the story is about her, but they could have interviewed some of her previous cast mates. They could have interviewed people from the television shows and old plays she starred in.

B. The vocabulary was very easy to understand. I found the sentences to be very precise and a great example of this is when the writer discusses some of the awards and plays she starred in. It states "Dee Hoty has been nominated for Tony awards for her performances in "The Will Rogers Follies," "The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public" and "Footloose."
C. The best direct quotation is included at the end of the article and it is by Hoty. In this quote she explains that not everyone can have a long standing career in acting like she does. Hoty says "I've had a career in the theater and made a living at it, which is something not many people can say."

4. A. The lead was strong because it gets immediately to the point and that is that Hoty is continuing her dream.
B. The nut graph was strong because it starts to get into the theme of the play "Rich Girl."
C. The ending was strong because Hoty's message holds true to not just actors, but to people in any career path they choose. When you continue to build up your career history, you can truly be proud about yourself.
D. The story organization was average. It included great information, but there could have been more interviews (at least one or two more).

5. I really enjoyed reading this article and learning about Dee Hoty and her success.

Comments based on the article "Teaching Viewers to Hear the TV with Eyes Only."

1. Headline : "Teaching Viewers to Hear the TV with Eyes Only."
Byline: Brian Stelter
Date: March 8, 2013
Publication name : The New York Times.
Link :  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/09/arts/television/teaching-viewers-to-hear-the-tv-with-eyes-only.html?ref=television&_r=0

2. This article describes how the show producer of  "Switched at Birth" decided to take a spin on the show. The entire show was in sign language and in order to understand it, people had to really pay attention. This was a brilliant idea because it teaches something new to viewers and gives them a break from being addicted to their technology.

3. A. The two people interviewed in this story are Lizzy Weiss the producer of the show and Beth Haller a professor (journalism professor) from Towson University. The interviews added a spice to the story, so it definitely made the story come together great. A great example is when it states "Even as far back as Episode 2, the producers have been prepping the audience to watch a show with lots of character dialogue in sign language," Ms. Haller said, since that episode "explored how lip reading doesn't work well for most deaf people."

B. The vocabulary in the story was very easy to understand. I found sentences to be very precise and one great example is when it states " There is a vibrant subculture about singning on the Internet, which has made sign language (and foreign languages)more accessible."

C. A couple of good direct quotation were included in this story and one of them comes from Weiss. This particular quote made the story great because it is relevant to many people. Weiss says " I think TV now is so much about word-of-mouth," she said, "and I have faith that we did a lot with that episode to get people talking about the show and telling friends to start from the beginning of Netflix."

4. A. The lead was strong because it had some description, but got right to the point.
B. The nut graph was strong because Weiss explained what her intentions were while she created this episode.
C. The ending was strong because it gives viewers a new perspective on things and helps them expand their minds into watching more shows like this.
D. The story organization was strong because it explained why they chose to make the episode unique compared to the others and the interviews provided wonderful deeper information concerning the show.
5. I enjoyed everything about this piece. I enjoyed the fact that the producers did a beneficial and educational change to the show and I enjoyed reading the responses from the interview. It made me interested in learning sign language myself.

Comments based on the article "It's Valentino's Name, but Their Vision."

1. Headline: "It's Valentino's Name, but Their Vision."
Byline: Eric Wilson.
Date: March 8, 2013.
Publication name: The New York Times.
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/fashion/valentinos-name-their-vision.html?ref=style

2. The designers of Valentino fashion line are creating new fashion pieces and they presented their  ideas at a dinner in Paris, which included other top designers as well.

3. A. The people interviewed were the new designers of Valentino. These designers are Pierpaolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri. They also interviewed Elisabeth von Thurn of Taxi, and the editor of Vogue. The research in this article includes observations and interviews. The story could incorporate a few more interview responses, but it was very interesting. The interviews made the story stand out.
B. The vocabulary in the story was very easy to understand. I found the sentences to be long, but very descriptive.  An example of a very descriptive sentence is when it states "Standing in front of this table on Tuesday night were the designers who took over the Valentino label in late 2008: Maria Grazia Chiuri koh;-eyed and almost nunlike in a black dress with a white collar, and Pierpaolo Piccoli, skinny in a Sinatra suit, with a boyish face."

C. One of the best direct quotations in the article is when Piccioli describes how much he loves fashion, as well as his partner Chiuri. "We love fashion more than we love the lifestyle of fashion," Mr. Piccioli said.
4. A. The lead was very strong because of the amazing detail. It described the scenery so well, that people can fully visualize it and feel like they are actually there.
B. The nut graph was strong because it listed all the editors of fashion lines that the Valentino designers wanted to present their new ideas to.
C. The ending was strong because it ended with a quote that will make any women feel comfortable in whatever they wear. Piccioli says " Respecting women means respecting their choices."
D. The story organization was very strong because it incorporated fantastic details and great quotes.

5. I enjoyed everything about this piece. Each interview was essential to the story and the article made me feel like I was reading an actual story in a book. It was a wonderful article to read.

Summary based on article "9 Must -Follow Manuscript Rules."

This article provides steps/rules for writing manuscripts. The rules are the following: 1. Revise, revise, revise!.  2. Start with conflict and tension. 3. Start with the story you're telling, not with the back story. 4. Give the reader something to wonder about. 5. Avoid explaining too much too soon. 6. Make sure your story has both a plot arc and an emotional arc. 7. Read your dialogue out loud. 8. Use adjectives, adverbs and dialogue tags only sparingly. 9. Make sure your details matter. These steps can be applied to other stories as well and not just manuscripts.

Summary based on the article "10 Essential Rules of Poetry."

This article provides important rules for people that are interested in writing poetry. The ten rules are 1. Keep the poetry coming. 2.Read poetry by others. 3. Study poetic forms. 4. Attend open mics. 5. Experiment. 6.  Revise. 7. Connect with other poets. 8. Share your work. 9. Submit. 10. Publish on your own.

Summary based on the article "10 Ways To Improve Your Writing While Thinking Like A Comedy Writer."

This article from the writer's digest provides some wonderful ideas to keep in my mind when writing funny stories. These ideas are the following: Hold your readers attention with incongruity, keep them on their toes, find an element worth repeating, use familiarity to your advantage, satisfy readers with a callback, employ the power of play, stretch yourself short, use the power of 10, remember nothing is off-limits, and explore yourself. These ideas were listed from order of importance and the number ten idea is to hold your readers attention with in congruity. It is important to make sure that this tip is followed in all humor based stories.

Summary based on the article "5 Simple Steps on Creating Suspense in Fiction."

The writersdigest has a list of steps people can follow when wanting to incorporate suspense into a story. The first step is to keep the action intense. The second step is make the danger feel real. Third step keep the emotion high.Fourth step is repeat an action, phrase or event. Fifth step is hide what characters are thinking. If people follow these steps when it comes time to write, the amount of readers will increase.

Summary based on the article "Thriller Writing Made Easy: 4 Steps To Starting a Thriller."

This article provides some beneficial steps in assisting authors (or anyone that likes to write as a hobby) with creating thrillers. Thrillers may seem like that are easy to write, but it takes a lot of work. The steps listed in the article are the following :choose your rhino, formulate the what-if question, answer the what-if question, and figure out who you're going to write about. So in other words, once a writer gets their main idea going, work your way down the other steps.

Summary of the article "4 Techniques For Improving Your Writing."

This particular article from the writersdigest.com provides a list four important methods people can follow in order to make their writing more interesting and fun to read.The first method is to focus on the whole as well as the parts. Second method is put your work aside for a while and then come back to it. Third method is have someone else look your work over. Fourth is read your text aloud. These methods can also help when a writer is lost on what to write about.

Summary based on the article "16 Blogging Tips For Writing Fresh Content & Attracting Readers."

This article provides some methods people can follow when they want to make their blog stand out. Some of the tips listed are to keep your content fresh, avoid politics, religion, or anything that might offend your readers, optimize your blog, post rhythmically, and be visual. If bloggers follow these steps, they will soon see an increase in their amount of readers.

The article came from http://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles

Summary based on the article "5 Steps to Book Publishing."

This article was cool and relevant to people who want to publish their work, but don't know exactly how to go about it. This article provides five steps to make publishing experience a success. These five steps are set your goals, choosing a publication package, put your best work work forward, stay in control, and publish and promote your book. No steps can be skipped, publishers need to follow them in order to get the ball rolling.

This article came from http://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles

Summary based on the article "Writing Gender- Specific Language."

This article was really interesting because it provided tips on how authors can transition from male to female perspectives on stories. This article focuses on how to make dialogue more feminine or masculine (depending on the story). There were two lists of important parts that authors need to remember when writing a story. The first list included pointers for woman authors that are writing from male's perspective. These pointers involve checking for questions, explanations, feelings, details, abstractions, and approval seeking behavior. For male authors the key points are to check for advice, bragging, aggressiveness, emotions, and obliviousness. These tips can help anyone that is an author or just enjoys writing in general.

This article came from http://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles

Comments based on the article "The No-Limits Job."

1. Headline: "The No-Limits Job."
Byline: Teddy Wayne
Date: March 1, 2013.
Publication: The New York Times.
Link:http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/03/fashion/for-20-somethings-ambition-at-a-cost.html?ref=style

2. This article describes all the stress that Casey McIntyre goes through on a daily basis. She is a book publicist and her job is very draining with the long list of duties. She barely has time for any breaks and is having a hard time in balancing it all.

3. A. The people interviewed in this story are Casey McIntyre and some other writers that work on websites. They all share similar experiences in the work field (as in being overwhelmed).
B. The vocabulary was very easy to understand. I found the sentences to be very precise. One example of this is when it states "If I'm not at the office, I'm always on my Blackberry," said Casey McIntyre, 28, a book publicist in New York. "I never feel like I'm totally checked out of work."
C. There was one quote by McIntyre that I can definitely relate to. I follow the same method when I know I have a long day ahead of me and need a coffee (not more then two) to keep energized.
McIntyre states "I have coffee before I leave the house, there's a Dunkin' Donuts conveniently in the subway station when I get off, and I get another coffee during the day," she said. "And they're large coffees."

4. A. The lead was very strong, because it described the transition from having more responsibilities when you are older(related to working field), compared to when you are young.
B. The nut graph was strong because it starts off with a quote describing McIntyre's super busy schedule and regardless of where she is, she is always doing work related things.
C. The ending of the story was strong because McIntyre explains that she has to remain positive through everything no matter how tough it is.
D. The story organization was very strong because it not only focused on McIntyre, but it also incorporated experiences that other writers face while at work.
5. I enjoyed this piece because it is easy to relate to. While working a job in a career path you chose, or even being in school the work can drive someone crazy. The work continues to get worse and its feels great to have someone relate to what you are going through. I enjoyed this piece because of those reasons.