The Sentinels: Corruption and Deception Unveiled

In his new publication The Sentinels: Voices Behind The Curtain, Gordon Zuckerman  taps into the source of our current political issues. His book unravels not only the corrupt dealings of our government. It also concentrates specifically on the cracks in our free enterprise system. The books calls on us to become acutely aware of the corruption at the heart of the political scene. As intelligent citizens with unique political views, we simply cannot afford to ignore these issues any longer. They naturally disturb us and make us worry, if not panic, about the future of our nation.

Zuckerman emphasizes the issue of trust on our political scene. In a political system that is complicated in itself and involves so many factors to function properly, trust is absolutely critical. We need to be able to trust our leaders if we want to solve complex political issues. According to Zuckerman, however, we seem to be pretty far away from this kind of mentality. He questions the “silent” political leaders: “When will the corruption, conflict of interests, and underhanded dealings in deception by those we are supposed to trust stop?” (PR Newswire). After all, the issue is that we do not trust our leaders. In a way, we are justified, because we regularly witness corruption in the news and the media. We have tolerated deception for too long and are frankly tired of it. The time has come, Zuckerman implies, to express our indignation at the political corruption and bad leadership that we are only too familiar with.

In addition, the author explores what happens when the big machinery of the government is suddenly undermined. In particular, he explains that as soon as we become dissatisfied with the way our government is treating us, we give way to rebellion. We can definitely put up with deception for a while but not for too long. Eventually, according to Zuckerman, a small group decides to oppose “agendas of misdirected concentrations of wealth and influence” (PR Newswire). In other words, little by little, the rebels who oppose the actions of the government form their own political organization. They do not want to put up with the government’s manipulations any longer. Neither do they want to patiently wait for the government to change its  policies in their favor. Rebellion starts brewing.

At this point, we realize that good leadership is absolutely indispensable to us. We absolutely must have strong leaders who would know how to distribute resources and resolve political and economic issues. Zuckerman suggests that “[w]e need more, high-minded, entrepreneurial leaders,’…  ‘who are opposed to those who abuse privileges of free enterprise for their own interests’” (PR Newswire). The issue is that we do not have capable leaders who will be able to lead us forward into progress. Not only should these people be forward-thinking. They should also be wise and know how to make the right decisions at just the right moment. On the other hand, if we do not have good leaders, we must also know how to respond. Otherwise, without a good leader, the complex machinery of our government would eventually disintegrate.

Once we realize how strongly we need a good leader, rebellion actually starts to smolder within us. We begin noticing flaws in our government. If we do not agree with a leader’s policies, we do not just put up with them. We rebel. In his book, Zuckerman sends us a very concrete message. He tells us that there is no need for us to be silent. He uses the power of fiction to communicate to us what we could do to express our rebellion if only we could be bolder. For Zuckerman, silence is no longer an option for us. According to PR Newswire, the author comments on his individual writing process by articulating the purpose of his book: “By using the fictional lives of the main characters as vehicles for the telling of the story, I have attempted to utilize their experiences to speculate what they might have done in opposition” (Mystery Tribune). His message cannot fail to get home to readers. Zuckerman uses fiction to help us identify faults in the system. Even if we cannot actually rebel against the machinery of the government, at least we can speculate, imagine what we could have done if we had the chance to finally express ourselves.

Needless to say, we should be able to hearken to the voice of reason. Those voices, the ones that are behind the curtain, could possibly tell us exactly what we need to hear. We must learn to listen. Perhaps then, we would finally be able to open our eyes to our current political reality. Perhaps then, we would also realize that the corruption we witness is simply staring at us. It has become so glaring at this point that no matter how hard we try we just cannot ignore it. Above all, we should be able to trust our leaders. We cannot tolerate “the looming threat of malignant agendas of misdirected concentrations of wealth and influence” any longer (PR Newswire). Our leaders are supposed to lead the country and help us make progress as a nation. We cannot allow ourselves to live with incompetent leaders anymore. The book moves us to think about political issues that at this point have become too pressing to be tolerated.  

Ultimately, Zuckerman’s The Sentinels: Voices Behind The Curtain can help us open our eyes to our grim reality. It is time for us to stop corruption. We must embrace free enterprise all over again and focus on returning to the values we once had. We must also become economically stable as a nation and believe in the importance of strong leadership. In the end, the book pushes us to become aware of our flawed political reality and presses us to remain vigilant.

Dream vs. Reality in the Post-Graduation World

In his new book Graduates Nationwide Face Growing Challenge, Mike Eltgroth discusses the problems that every college graduate grapples with in today's reality. Objectively speaking, thousands of students across the U.S. graduate from universities every year. Naturally, as soon as they graduate, many of them start looking for work. If many of these graduates fail to find a job after a thorough and extensive search, life becomes quite difficult for them. Of course, some of them may be better off than others, because their families help support them while they look for work. Others, however, may not be so fortunate and are forced to work odd jobs. In his book, Eltgroth motivates us to think very seriously about the growing challenges that students have to deal with as soon as they are out of college.

So many graduates struggle with numerous questions regarding their future plans. Even if they have a pretty clear idea of what they want to do professionally, the process of actually realizing their goals may become a stumbling block. In fact, it may seem daunting to them, if not almost impossible. Eltgroth draws attention to a serious issue that is at stake in many graduates’ reality today. According to the author, most graduates are simply not equipped with the skills they need to survive in the professional world. He suggests that “the lack of a clear post-graduation plan along with a lack of real-world skills can often lead to anxiety and poor decision making with long term impacts” (PR Newswire). This is precisely the issue that confronts many graduates today. At the university, they complete their general education and major coursework and work on getting an internship. If they are lucky, they find an excellent internship and secure their future at a company. For many though, the process of finishing an undergraduate degree or even a Master’s does not necessarily open up more opportunities. In particular, if the student does not finish a degree in a practical field and lacks real-world skills as well, the act of securing a job can be a very trying experience.

The book provides new graduates with the guidance they need as they plan out their lives after college. Notably, the author focuses on the disparity between dream and reality that they encounter as they realize that the career they envisioned for themselves is not that easy to get. He argues that “[w]hile graduates may have dreams of breaking from the crowd and becoming successful, many don’t have a clear picture of what that really means or how to get there” (PR Newswire). We can picture the new graduate fresh out of college and excited to embark on the next stage of professional life. The trouble is, however, that many students simply do not have a clear idea of how they will get to their dreams, to begin with. If they have a variety of resources at their disposal and are able to get concrete advice from someone, the next step will be less of a problem for them.

In addition, the author discusses other factors that new graduates should be aware of. In this way, he actually prepares them to face real-world challenges. According to the press release, the book covers topics including “…dealing with people, learning from failure, what to expect at their first job, understanding emotional intelligence, building confidence and more” (PR Newswire). These are issues that most new graduates confront as they finish college and enter the real world. Even though they have gained valuable academic skills in the classroom, they may not have the psychological stamina as yet to deal with pressure in the real world. In his book, Eltgroth provides graduates with tips they can use as they embark on the professional stage of their lives.

The book may also move us to think seriously about real-life problems that students have to deal with once they graduate. Looking for a job is certainly not their only concern as they leave the classroom. Life pushes them to think about the issues they have to address if they want to have relative financial stability. According to Eltgroth, new graduates must know “what they truly want, how to go after it and what to expect along the way” (PR Newswire). He suggests that being sure of what they want and being realistic about their goals may help them work through post-graduation challenges. Perhaps, new graduates could get started on their careers sooner if they actually adopt such an approach. Instead of having unrealistic dreams, they could  look for opportunities that match both their skill and experience levels.

In conclusion, exposure to resources such as Mike Eltgroth’s Graduates Nationwide Face Growing Challenge might help us become aware of what is at stake for new graduates. The book cautions us to think deeply about securing their professional and financial future. In addition, it spurs us into action, motivating students and parents to work on developing a concrete post-graduation plan that new graduates can pursue. Most importantly, the book makes us keenly aware of the challenges we are now facing as a nation. We absolutely should do our utmost to apply our skills and knowledge in the real world regardless of the major or skill level. It is crucial for students to grow into professionals and earn decent salaries. Consequently, I believe that more and more readers should be made aware of Eltgroth’s new book.

Wildfire and Tragedy: Inside the Inferno

Simon & Schuster Canada has recently published Damian Asher’s Inside the Inferno: A Firefighter's Story of the Brotherhood that Saved Fort McMurray in which he and his coauthors describe the tragedy of the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire in Canada. Those of us who regularly follow the headlines may have heard of this wildfire. Shocked by its intensity, we may have noted the damage it caused, discussed it at length and then moved on with our own lives. Quite naturally, it may have shocked and terrified us. For those of us who only heard about the fire, it may be difficult, if not impossible, to imagine what the courageous firefighters experienced in the process. As we look at Asher’s book, however, we may eventually start redefining heroism for ourselves. What, we may ask, is the definition of a hero? While Asher’s memoir may not necessarily provide us with the answer to this question, it brings our attention to the Fort McMurray tragedy in all of its terrifying intensity.

If we focus specifically on the book’s title, we may become inevitably drawn to its message. Struck by its power, by the awe-inspiring courage of these people, we would begin to feel that we are not just an audience who are looking at people’s fearless, bleeding hearts on a page. Inevitably, we become silent participants in this tragedy. By commiserating with these people, we become part of their tragic experience, get a taste of the courage that burns inside them. As we read, we are forced to stand face to face with real tragedy. According to Simon and Schuster, the brave men and women of the fire department were tasked with a very difficult mission — “to defend the community and to save thousands of lives.” It is a mission that moves us to think about someone other than ourselves, helps us reflect on the bigger and higher purpose of our lives. These people were not afraid to sacrifice themselves for the sake of others. They walked into the fray, knowing that they had already lost everything except for their lives. And yet, they were able to find the courage to ignore their own desires and to work together to defend their community.

As we look at the book, the concept of brotherhood stands out to us. In our modern world, it may often seem that we are pulling further and further away from this concept. Each of us lives in his or her own isolated space. We buy houses, computers, and numerous other gadgets, always eager to claim ownership over some new possession. Only when a natural disaster strikes do we suddenly realize that we cannot hold on to our possessions forever. According to Canada NewsWire, “Inside the Inferno details the courage, strength, and sacrifice of the firefighters and shows what it takes for a city to reunite and rebuild.” In the book’s pages, we rediscover the values of courage, strength, and a sense of bonding. These firefighters would not have been able to save Fort McMurray had it not been for their powerful sense of loyalty to one another. Thus, when reading the book, we inevitably open our eyes to the values that we may have forgotten about in our daily struggles.

The book may also motivate some of us to make connections to literature and films. In particular, I cannot help thinking about Dante’s Inferno. The title itself moves us to make this connection. After all, Dante descended into hell both to cleanse himself and to relieve the sufferers’ pain. He passed through every level of hell and witnessed the suffering of so many souls. In the end, he emerged strengthened and purified both by their suffering and his own. Analogously, the men and women who braved the fire together went through so many levels of hell in order to save their city. According to CBC News, “the story's universal themes could resonate with people whose lives were changed by the wildfire.” All of these people suffered. So many of them lost everything they had, including the homes they worked so hard to build and the possessions they took years to accumulate. Just like Dante, they descended into hell. Like him, they had to descend into an abyss in order to start rebuilding their lives, scarred by suffering but more resilient overall.

These courageous people sacrificed themselves in order to save their community. A spirit of camaraderie bonded them. It was this camaraderie that helped these firefighters eventually emerge from the fray as the heroic group of people who saved the fort and survived the fire. Ultimately, an allusion to the final lines of Tennyson’s “Ulysses” comes to mind precisely because it describes these people’s courage so aptly: “One equal temper of heroic hearts, / Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will / To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”

Inspiration, Creative Writing Process, and our Struggle to Stay Awake

Deniz Besim, a well-known Turkish-Cypriot poet, has recently spoken to a local newspaper about her creative writing process. As we look closer at the poet’s work, we learn that she has successfully published three books of her poetry and short stories. In her poetry, Besim expresses her innermost feelings, feelings that are familiar to most of us — pain, grief, and especially, empathy. In her writings, she finds powerful words both to describe and express her suffering. As we look at her stories and poems, we could experience a reawakening of dormant feelings inside us and hear the suffering her characters have endured. In the process, we may inevitably pick up the vibrations of her inspiration and experience our innermost feelings expressed in words.  

If we carefully examine her poetry, we might be immediately drawn to her writing style that is so intricately interwoven with the feelings we experience. For us, her style becomes one with natural beauty, synonymous with inspiration. According to PR Newswire, she draws from sources such as the “howling of the wind, a fluttering of anything that could happen in nature.” Besim then uses poetry to describe her experience of natural beauty. She looks for inspiration in nature and finds its source. The poet’s writing notably strikes at the very core of our feelings, motivating us to appreciate natural beauty and learn to resolve our psychological troubles.

In addition, Besim’s work moves us to think deeply about our unique emotional responses to our own experiences. The experience of reading the poet’s work draws us into her world. Inevitably, we begin to sense the power of the written word. Eventually, we realize that her “style of writing has a powerful impact on the reader as it has the magical movements of dragging you into the story…” (PR Newswire). Once we are in her world, we are as if enchanted. We experience the rise and fall of inspiration together with the poet. Through her writing, the poet also moves us to “empathise with the character(s) and put[s] [us] through emotions [we] may not even be familiar with” (PR Newswire). We may also realize that there are emotions inside us that we have not been aware of. The experience of looking at her writing might move us to awaken those feelings and find an outlet for them.

In her talk, Besim pays special attention to what she learned from reading other writers. She gives us the sense that her inspiration draws from the wisdom of the centuries. We also realize that the lessons she learned helped her become a truly powerful writer. According to PR Newswire, Besim talks about the importance of reading other authors and suggests that they “gave her a solid perspective to understand and digest the language, and open wider doors for inspiration perhaps.” Inevitably, we come to the conclusion that language might have real power. Reading the work of other writers might have helped her expand her perspective and realize how to best find a voice for her ideas.

As we continue looking at this writer’s work, we are drawn to the power of her messages.   Gradually, we understand that she sees and hears with her heart. A deeper sense of hearing opens up for her and she is able to convey messages that are truly valuable to her audience. As we read, we become more and more aware of the difficulty involved in making the right kind of choices especially when we are still young and unsure of ourselves. In particular, as we look at some of her poems such as “Amazon,” we see an interesting parallel between the website and the intricate jungle of the web. The poet observes that the trees of the jungle are cut down to produce the books we read. We do not realize that millions of trees have to be sacrificed so we can keep reading those books. And yet, the wild, untamed beauty of the amazon suffers because of our desire for “knowledge”. The issue is that oftentimes we do not even value what we learn or fail to actually make meaningful and logical conclusions afterwards.

It is interesting, therefore, to examine Besim’s responses to our relationship with the natural world. Eventually, we might understand that our own inability to appreciate the world around us conveys a very important message to us. Maybe, we are asleep. We have fallen asleep emotionally. Only a jolt that is powerful enough to get us out of our half-dormant state would help us gradually awaken. Besim’s writing might be the key. Perhaps, what we need is to emotionally experience the magical movements that Besim’s writing style evokes in us. Perhaps then, we will finally awaken from a deep emotional sleep and begin feeling, empathizing with people around us, and simply acting like human beings who still have not lost the best in us.

9 Top Notch Proofreading Tips And Tools For Creative Writers

There's lots of reasons why your book doesn't get read by enough people. You published it at a bad time, you published something not relevant, or it just didn't capture your readers' imaginations. One of the most common reasons is that your book wasn't proofread properly. Want to make sure your copy is flawless? Use these tools to get the most from your writing.

1. Know the difference between editing and proofreading

Before doing anything, you need to know the difference between proofreading and editing. Many people don't even know there is a difference. Essentially, proofreading is looking for technical errors such as spelling mistakes, and editing is making changes to your content to make it more succinct and relevant.

2. Be ruthless

When you sit down and go through your writing, don't hold back. If something isn't working, delete it. If it's too wordy, make it shorter. If something isn't working, don't hold onto it. Rework it or let it go. Your book will suffer if you're too precious about what goes in it.

3. Make sure you have the rights to use your content

If you're using images or text from other sources, be sure that you have the rights to use them. It's best if you buy from a stock image site, or use copyright free material. Also, be sure that you've credited the creators properly. You can still be pulled up for plagiarism if you don't.

4. Don't trust spell check

Spell check programs are great, as they pick up a lot of errors. However, they can't do everything. Once you've used it, read through your text again. You'll find plenty of errors that it missed. For example, 'from' and 'form' are often mistyped and get missed as they're still a correctly spelled word. This doesn't mean that spell check should be ignored, but don't rely on it to catch everything for you.

5. Change the format before you start

If you're typing in a word processor, print the work out before you edit it. The change in format can often be enough to help you spot errors that you missed before. It's often easier to do this than to read through it over and over again on your screen, as you'll still miss the errors!

6. Improve your grammar

The top reason someone will ignore a book from you is because of poor grammar. It can make you look unprofessional and not careful with the image you're putting out there. Pay attention to your grammar when you're writing. What can be improved? If you're finding it difficult, there are lots of tools you can try out online. Academized and AustralianHelp both have excellent grammar guides that you can refer to as you're proodreading.

7. Read the post aloud

You don't know how the text will read to others until you read it aloud. You may feel a bit silly, but this is a vital tip. Reading aloud means you'll see your book in a different context. It's easier to see what needs to be changed when you do this. You'll also spot errors right away, as they'll trip you up while you're trying to read.

8. Ask for a second opinion

Find yourself someone that you trust to read your writing. This can be a friend, co worker, or anyone who you think can give a good critique for you. Ask them to read through your text, and point out anything that needs to be fixed. You're very close to your work, so it takes a second party to come along and point out errors that you just can't see.

9. Use online proofreading tools

There's lots of tools online that can make your proofreading job a whole lot easier. They can pick out errors, or even help you find another human experienced in proofreading. Try these ones out for size:

• After The Deadline: Paste your work into this tool to get any spelling errors or grammatical mistakes highlighted and corrected.

• Essayroo: This proofreading service will take in your work and polish it up for publication.

• Proofread Bot: Check your work quickly and accurately with this tool.

• UK Writings: Get in touch with the editors here for help in editing your writing.

• Easy Word Count: This tool quickly highlights any errors in your text for you.

• Boom Essays: This website is an excellent proofreading resource, when you feel you need some advice.

• Reedsy: Find yourself an experienced editor with this website.

And there you have it. Put these tips to good use, and you'll be putting out top quality content, every time. Keep them in mind, and bookmark the online tools. When you're proofreading your next piece, you'll be glad you did.

About the Author

Mary Walton is a professional editor at BigAssignments. She helps various businesses with building content marketing strategies and increasing revenue via email marketing. Read Mary's blog here. And follow her on Twitter!

How to Write an Awesome Dialogue

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Dialogue is an integral part of any story, novel, script or play. With some exceptions, the dialogue in which we believe is considered as a good one. When characters react as we would react, the story seems natural.

However, an element of surprise makes dialogues exciting and adds some degree of intrigue to the narrative. A competent balance between predictability and unpredictability is what authors strive for and what can make bad dialogue good.

Writing lively dialogue is a complex task. Many authors start working on dialogues at the very end when the story is almost finished. Well, some make dialogues in parallel with the construction of the plot. However, both categories several times rewrite dialogues to bring them to perfection.

So, how not to lay an egg when writing dialogues for a story? Lucy Adams, a blogger and essay writer, will give you a few essential tips.

#1 Dialogue in a Novel must be Different from the One in Life

Yes, dialogue should look real, just like in life, but at the same time, it should be deprived of many moments that happen in real life.

• For example, in real life, people often get confused with what they say. You can use some unnecessary words and even sentences in your narrative too, but only if it makes sense. In life, conversations can be meaningless, while in a book, every word should have a certain value.

#2 Reveal the Nature of Characters

A character can show his nature either through actions or dialogues. Remember that the reader knows nothing about your characters, and via the dialogue, you should reveal what they think. Even if a character is lying, you can make readers understand it or hide it until the time when the truth will come out.

Every person has a personal way of talking. Everyone uses certain words, strange expression, metaphors or says everything like it is. So think carefully about what you want to tell to the reader.

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#3 Make Dialogues Simple

Of course, everyone loves confusing dialogues in Tarantino movies, but if you watch any of them, you'll see that all characters speak in a rather simple way. Tarantino works with the audience so skillfully that it does not even understand how simple the dialogue is because these simple words contain a lot of sense.

That’s why you have to write understandable dialogues while having a double bottom.

#4 Remember About the Context

The best masters of dialogue have learned one of the main rules — characters should not say what they think. Or say it indirectly. That is, there is nothing worse than direct answers to the question, followed one by one. Of course, if it’s Hodor, it will be difficult to come up with double meaning, but at least try to leave some intrigue and space for reflections. Make your characters play a subtle psychological game.

#5 Read the Dialogue Aloud

You will be surprised how different the dialogue is on the paper and when it sounds. It can look perfect, original and lively, but only until you read it aloud. The trick is that you may love the dialogue just because you’ve put a lot of efforts in it.  

Read the dialogues aloud and make necessary corrections. Perhaps, you will remove and replace some words with more accurate synonyms.

#6 Use All the Reader’s Senses

In the scene with dialogue, you can pay attention to subjects and objects, and insert phrases that will turn on imaginative and creative thinking. Describe the taste or smell, the touching or physical pain.

Activate as many senses as you can and try to balance them.

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#7 Characters Should Use the Space of the Scene

The reader will have a very unpleasant feeling if you don’t use the description scene. When your characters are in a dark room – the dialogue and interaction will be different from when they are in an abandoned building or pool. Are your characters hungry or thirsty? Think about their states – it affects their phrases and manners of behavior. Let the characters comment on what is happening in the location, not just talking quietly so that nothing will change if to move them to another place.

Writing dialogues seems to be one of the most interesting processes in working on a book. Indeed, the dialogues delight, make laugh, surprise, and call to sympathy. However, when an inexperienced person gets to write dialogue, characters refuse to talk.

Learn your characters thoroughly, live their lives, and then, at some point, they will start talking, and you will have only to choose the phrases you need for specific tasks.

I wish you best of luck in your writing endeavors.

Bio:

Lucy Adams is one of the professional academic writers. She’s a generalist able to bring to life almost any topic. Lucy is found of literature, writing, and education. Feel free to share your craziest ideas with this diligent author, and you’ll get a chance to add some unique and high-quality posts to your blog.