:Article Marketing At Its Best

Difficult situations prompt us to take a loan, but the repayment burden it creates and the amount of extra payments, which we have to make in the form of interest and fees, worries us constantly. The first priority of any person should be to be self-sufficient. If he or she has to take a loan due to unavoidable circumstances, the borrower should make sure that he gets a low cost secured loan. The total amount he repays to the lender can be minimised if he follows some simple steps.

Many factors affect the cost of any secured loan you take. Getting a low cost secured loan is dependent on how well you understand these factors and utilise them to suit your needs.

A secured loan takes your home or property as the collateral. The property you pledge to the lenders has a direct effect on the total cost your secured loan will incur. If the value of your collateral is sufficiently high to guarantee the secured loan, the lender will not hesitate to give you a loan on better terms, which will bring the overall costs of the secured loan to the lower side. On the other hand if he feels that the collateral is not sufficient, he might charge high interest rate to offset the risk. This high interest rate will bring up the total cost of the secured loan.

Many of us think that they can take a loan from any lender and get away without paying it. The lending institutions make sure that everyone pays them back and those who don’t are marked so that the lenders are not duped again. The credit report of every borrower is the benchmark of his creditworthiness. So, if you have a bad credit report be prepare to pay higher interest rates on secured loans. Conversely, if you have a good credit report and do not miss installments, you will be rewarded with low interest rates and discounts or incentives. Therefore, it is in the interest of the borrower to maintain a good credit history so that the lender confides in him and he gets a low interest rates.

Most of the lenders have their interest rates pegged with the bank rate. Depending on the nature of economy a floating rate might seem low at present but can increase if the economic condition worsens. This might increase the cost of secured loan. Lenders therefore, give the borrowers the options to choose from a fixed interest rate, floating interest rate, capped interest rate or discount interest rates. A judicious borrower should give every such offering a due consideration. He should calculate the effective cost of the entire loan with each of these interest options, if this sounds too mind-bending for him he can take the help of online loan calculators, most of which are free of cost.

There are many fees to be paid while taking a secured loan. The property valuation fees that are used by lenders to assess the value of the collateral according to market rates, the solicitor’s fee that is used to prepare the legal documentation, and the office charges are included in the cost of the loan. The borrower should take care that these fees are as low as possible. To get a low quote on this fees he will have to consult different lenders but the effort will be worth as he will be able to save a lot and get the low cost secured loan.

Following the repayment schedule closely can also reduce the cost of a loan. If at any time you feel that the loan can be done away with, do it. This will incur some prepayment penalty, but it can be negotiated with most lenders and the savings that the borrower will get over the long term will help him very much in bringing down the overall cost of the loan. Paying the loan early will also reflect positively on the credit report of the borrower.

Peter Taylor is a senior financial analyst at easyfinance4u with an acumen for finance and insurance. In recent years he has taken up to provide independant financial advice through his informative articles.His articles are widely read because of the lucid manner of wriiting and thoroughly researched datas.To find Secured loans,secured personal loans,secured debt consolidation loans in uk that best suits your need visit www.easyfinance4u.com

Comments Off

To increase male libido naturally, you should try the supplements outlined here - not only will they increase male libido they will also make you feel happier and healthier.

So here are the best supplements for increasing male libido:

L argentine

This nutrient is highly important for peak sexual performance. In fact, it is probably the most effective natural supplement for increasing male libido.

Current studies support the use of argentine supplements to ensure that nitric oxide secretion is sufficient to keep blood flowing to the penis.

Nitric oxide insufficiency can stop the penis from becoming erect, as it relaxes smooth muscles in the penis during sexual stimulation, allowing increased blood flow to the penis - so it’s needed to produce and sustain an erection.

A study published in 1994 showed an 80 percent improvement in the erectile function of men given 2.8 grams of argentine a day for two weeks.

L Tyrosine

Supports and assists neurotransmitters in the brain. Reduced levels of L-Tyrosine are present when your body’s under stress, aged, or tired.

L-Tyrosine supplementation helps reduce stress, improves mental alertness, and enhances mood, which in many instances manifests itself in increased male libido.

Gingko Bilbao

Used to improve blood flow around the body, and functions as an anti-oxidant in the body.

Ginkgo is a standard herbal remedy for male sexual dysfunction and increasing male libido, due to its affect on blood circulation.

Ginseng

Korean Ginseng - used in China as a sexual balancer and revitalizing tonic for over 7000 years - an adaptogen, and believed to help maintain balance in the body and help the body adapt to stress.

Korean Ginseng is widely known for its ability to boost energy (including sex drive) and support the immune system.

As an adaptogen, it also helps you adapt to physical or emotional stress and fatigue.

Ginseng also has a normalizing effect on hormone imbalances, and boosts metabolic rate, as well as improving blood flow to the genitals.

Selenium

Selenium - believed to be good for sperm production and mobility - nearly 50% of the selenium in a man is in the testes and seminal ducts; men lose selenium in their semen.

Getting enough selenium is therefore vital for peak sexual performance and male libido.

Zinc

Zinc is required for the production of testosterone, and the zinc content of the prostate gland and sperm, is higher than in any other body tissues.

A deficiency of zinc is associated with numerous sexual problems, including sperm abnormalities and prostate disease.

Zinc not only helps produce testosterone, but also helps to maintain semen volume and adequate levels of testosterone, therefore maintaining sex drive and keeping sperm healthy.

Magnesium

Magnesium is a trace mineral that is important for the production of sex hormones such as androgen, estrogen and neurotransmitters that modulate the sex drive - such as dopamine and nor epinephrine.

Essential Vitamins

Vitamin A
Helps regulate the synthesis of the sex hormone progesterone.

Vitamin B1
Thiamine (B1) is essential for optimal nerve transmission and energy production throughout the body - which means it’s essential for sex.

Vitamin C
Participates in the synthesis of hormones that are involved in sex and fertility: androgen, estrogen and progesterone

Vitamin E
Often referred to as the sex vitamin, is a powerful anti-aging antioxidant that protects cell membranes from free-radical damage.

Vitamin E is also required for the synthesis of hormones, and hormone like substances known as prostaglandin.

More health and wellness information and FREE exclusive diet and health magazines, are available on our web site: http://www.net-planet.org

Comments Off

It is not enough to have a successful market timing strategy if that strategy is not traded with discipline. It is also not enough to trade with discipline if you are overly aggressive with those funds allocated to market timing, and cannot handle the resulting volatility.

Many market timers think that the more they trade, the better they will do. But in reality, market timers do not need to trade aggressively to do well. Four critical issues; strategy, discipline, money management and diversification are discussed below.

A case in point is our Bull Pro Timer compared to our Bull & Bear Pro Timer. Currently the Bull Pro Timer, which takes only bullish trades and goes to cash during sell signals, is outperforming the more aggressive Bull & Bear Pro Timer, which takes the more speculative bearish positions during sell signals.

When the market has a prolonged down trend, or a bear market that can last months to even years, the more aggressive strategy will achieve gains that far exceed the Bull Pro Timer. But when the bear is not growling, a less aggressive approach usually works much better. If fact, our very Conservative S&P Timer, which only averages about one trade “per year,” is doing incredibly well. It has gains in excess of + 18% for this buy signal.

This brings up the subject of diversifying. We go into that below so be sure you read it.

So, much depends on the current market conditions and on a market timer’s expectations. Are you looking for gains over a long time frame, during which bear markets are sure to occur, or must you see immediate or constant gains in order to stay with a timing strategy?

Market Timers Must Have An Edge

At FibTimer, our “edge” is trend trading. We know that the financial markets are usually in a trend, either up or down. In fact, history shows us that they are in trends 80-90% of the time.

This “knowledge” is our “edge.” We know that there are times that the markets are not trending, but that these times do not last long. We keep our losses small during non-trending markets using disciplined risk management. And, by trading every trend that occurs, we know absolutely that we will never miss a trend.

With the markets trending 80-90% of the time, we are “profitable” 80-90% of the time. By limiting losses, and allowing profits to ride, we use our “edge” to time the markets with great success. There is an old saying that applies here; “Limit your losses and the profits will take care of themselves.”

Disciplined Execution

Once you have an edge, you have to be able to execute. The common trading errors of not taking trades until you see if they are profitable, or jumping the gun and taking trades ahead of time because you “think” a signal will be issued soon, can be a disaster to your profitability.

By not sticking to a plan, you allow emotions to rule your finances, and that places you right in with the majority of investors. Those who are the cause of the market’s volatility. The “herd” followers.

At FibTimer, all of our strategies are non-discretionary. Emotions are not allowed. Our strategies offer disciplined execution of non-emotional buy and sell signals.

The reason for following any timing strategy is to “remove” yourself from making emotional trades. To remove yourself from the herd, which is often headed in the “wrong” direction.

If you are concerned that following a disciplined non-discretionary timing strategy can result in small losses at times, just try trading the markets using your instincts. The deadly results of emotional trading are usually evident quickly.

A second reason for following a non-discretionary timing strategy is that is gets you “out” of losing buy and sell signals fast while limiting drawdowns. You are not subject to the psychology of trading. To holding onto a trade in hopes it will come back to profitability. Then exiting, finally, in a panic after huge losses.

The disciplined execution of a timing strategy avoids all of these pitfalls. You just follow the buy and sell signals with the absolute assurance that your losses will be limited and you will never miss a trend. Over any fair time frame, you will beat the markets.

Effective Money Management

Overly aggressive investment allocations can ruin even a good timing strategy with excessive drawdowns, while overly conservative allocations of capital will not optimize your total returns.

If you are a conservative investor who wishes to use market timing to protect against losses in a bear market, do NOT invest 100% of your funds in an aggressive bull and bear strategy that you are not prepared for. Yes, they make a great deal of money over time, but aggressive strategies do have more frequent buy and sell signals, and more frequent small losses.

If as a conservative investor you are unable to handle those losses, you are likely to exit the trade, thus locking the losses in, at just the wrong time!

Stick to strategies that fit your emotions. Market timers should know themselves and use timing strategies that they will be able to stick with over long time frames. Patience is the market timing key to success!

Diversification

Even aggressive market timers should not time 100% of their funds in a single aggressive strategy. Diversification is not just a word., it is a prerequisite to having a successful timing strategy.

At Fibtimer, we rarely invest more than 20-30% of our own funds in bull and bear strategies. The rest is diversified in sector funds (Sector Timer), a small percentage in the Gold Timer and a small percentage in the Bond Timer.

Using at least some diversification takes the stress out of investing, and makes it much easier to follow buy and sell signals with discipline.

Conclusion

At FibTimer, we never question buy and sell signals and follow them faithfully. Over the years, our disciplined approach has resulted in superb gains. We hope that we can instill this disciplined trading into all of our subscribers.

It does not take blind faith. What it takes is a realization that our own emotions and instincts are usually wrong, and that a non-discretionary timing strategy that trades all trends and limits losses in non-trending periods, is the most successful approach to profiting in the stock market.

Once you realize this, you will relax and allow the strategies to successfully grow your investments as they are designed to do.

Frank Kollar is the Editor and Chief Analyst at http://www.FibTimer.com

Comments Off

In my 3 decades of training experience I have identified 5 major bodybuilding troubles or problems. These are:-

1 Overtraining…training too much…too often and too long. Not taking a complete week off every 3 months…

2 Under eating…Not eating enough…you need 6 meals per day minimum…every day, including weekends…

3 Neglecting the window of opportunity for rapid growth by not taking Whey protein and creatine immediately after training…

4 Not stretching properly to facilitate easy growth…

5 Not focussing your mental muscle on who you want to become…

PART ONE

1 Overtraining…training too much…too often and too long. Not taking a complete weeks break or rest every 3 months.

This would have to be the most common trouble that hinders many would be successful bodybuilders from realising their full potential. And it’s a particularly insidious trouble because we have been taught that to get things in life , we have to work hard. Well that’s true to some extent both in life and weight training. In weight training we have to train hard as far as intensity goes…if you want to get big you need to push big weights. But where the problem creeps in is that we apply rules from other places that don’t apply to weight training. The rules I am talking about can be best illustrated with an example. I want to grow a big bank account…So I work a few jobs or set up a few businesses that give me multiple streams of income. Hey presto…that works…my hard work and long hours returns lots of money and a big fat bank account.

The problem is when we apply this more is better to weight training, with the underlying premise that if training 3 days per week made me gain 3 pounds of muscle in 8 weeks…then if I train 6 days a week I should be able to put on 6 pounds of muscle in the same time. Or if training 30 minutes per workout made me gain 3 pounds…then if I train an hour and a half(3 x as long) I should be able to put on 9 pounds(3x as much) BIG MISTAKE…BIG TROUBLE…The logic on the surface sounds OK…but the underlying reality is quite different. The only thing the extra training does is burn you out and frustrate you with diminished returns. When I owned and operated my two bodybuilding gyms I used to see this all the time…and you just can’t tell some people.

They are so caught up in the belief that more is better that they are too scared to cut back on their routine lest they slip back…the irony is they won’t “slip” back…they will actually burst forwards because they are unaware that they are being held back by over stressing their body. Don’t get me wrong…hard work isn’t bad…and sometimes its the persistence factor that gives (lands) us the big win. But the way to burst through sticking points is not to add exercises or volume (sets, reps)…but to add or increase intensity.( bigger weights…higher resistance…less rest between sets) Now since volume and intensity are inversely proportional, it is only logical that to increase intensity you also need to reduce volume. To overcome this block or obstacle requires you to do less…but make what you do even harder.

Another trouble related to this is the myth that as you become more advanced…you need to train more. Nothing could be further from the truth…you actually need to train less (but smarter…with more intensity) The reason for this is because although your strength and size becomes greater over time…your recovery ability does not increase to the same extent…your ability to recover improves only marginally compared to your ability to get stronger. Why does this happen? Think of it this way…when you first started and had, for example 12″ arms…

If you did a set to failure of bicep curls, the amount of stress being inflicted on your total body wasn’t that great because 12″ arms don’t require that much blood flow and the small muscle cell size isn’t much of a drain on your energy or nervous system. However, when your arms have grown to say 18″ and you do a set to failure…the weight will be huge compared to when you were a beginner…and the subsequent drain on the bodies total energy system and the shock effect this has will be immense. Although your strength may have improved by over one hundred percent, your bodies ability to recover won’t have…your arms might be 50% greater in size…but your capacity for recovery won’t have increased by 50%(more like 30% maximum)… and this leads to the condition of overtraining that we are talking about. So as you become more advanced…keep thinking of ways to make your training harder (more intense) but shorter in duration and less in volume.

I remember years ago I was at a sticking point with my own training…and I was getting really frustrated. Nothing seemed to work for me. I thought I was doing everything optimally…eating right…getting plenty of sleep etc…but my weight hadn’t budged for months. I was at 89 kilos and I desperately wanted to break the 90 kilo barrier, but nothing seemed to work…I suppose the 90 kilo barrier to me was like Roger Bannister’s four minute mile…this was my four minute mile…which the final solution was to be a four minute instead of four hour (I’m exaggerating here, but I hope you get my drift) exercise workout!

Time to try something different I thought…what I was doing obviously wasn’t working…so I had nothing to lose. I had read Mike Mentzers Heavy Duty training book, which had just been released. His Arthur Jones based training ideas were quite revolutionary…Incredibly heavy, hard intense workouts that were very brief. So I started experimenting with this style of training. I remember everybody thinking what the hell is he doing…some were even chuckling behind my back…despite the fact that I was by this stage a successful competitive bodybuilder. I remember one exercise session vividly…the first time I did heavy negatives on the dip rack. I got my training partner to help me suspend a 100-pound dumbbell via a chain from my training belt. He would help get me to the top position of the dip by lifting me at the knees, and I would have to lower myself slowly under control to the bottom.

The weight was so heavy I couldn’t even do a single positive rep on my own. I finished my first set of 4 reps, and when I looked up I noticed the whole gym had stopped to watch what I was doing. At first people just dismissed this radical for the time style of training…but when after only 3 weeks I had busted through my sticking point and my weight soared to 92 kilos… people weren’t laughing anymore. I was stoked. I purposely had not weighed myself for three weeks because I was hoping to get a pleasant surprise…I felt and knew this new style of training was working for me based on the mirror and judging by the fact that my strength was rapidly improving (100 pound db was too light for the dip now because I was capable of doing positive reps with it).

I would have been happy to have just hit 90kg…but I overshot it by 2 kilos (4.4 pounds). I was sold on this new style of training…a 3 kg (6.6 lb) gain in only 3 weeks…after months of not putting on an ounce…and with a fraction of the amount of work I had been previously doing. At first everyone wanted to know what I was on! What I was on was an incredibly effective training routine, and soon others started copying and getting similar results. And it wasn’t before too long 90 kilos seemed like a joke as I crashed through the 100 kg barrier(220 pounds) But this never would have been possible for me if I had just followed the masses and continued with my 20 sets per body part training systems.

So my advice to avoid this problem of overtraining is to continually be searching for ways to make your workout harder, not longer. Do less, but achieve more. Bigger weights…less sets…higher intensity…less rest period between sets…less exercises…less training days…more rest days…this will ultimately make your workouts super effective…and more fun!

For parts 2-5 of this five part series…Visit http://ironpower.biz/download.htm and download yourself a FREE copy of “5 Familiar Bodybuilding Troubles…Which Do You Want To Overcome?” E-Book. Part 4 of the eBook reveals a secret stretching technique for unleashing phenomenal muscle growth.

About the author: Richard Hargreaves is a former Mr Australia, and personal trainer with 25 years experience. He has written numerous bodybuilding and fitness books, and articles for magazines such as Australian Ironman, Australian Musclemag, Taekwondo, Blitz martial Arts, Kickboxer, Natural Bodybuilder, Network Fitness, Australian Personal Trainer, Personal Training On The Net, and Women’s Fitness. Visit http://ironpower.biz/download.htm to download Bodybuilding and Fitness eBooks valued at $70, absolutely FREE.

Comments Off

A mortgage is a loan that is guaranteed by a property. At its most simple that means, if you can’t pay back your loan the lender can force you to sell your home so they can get their money back.

Typically you can borrow three to three and a half times your income, or two and a half to three times the joint income of you and your partner. These are known as income multiples.

The amount you can borrow will also depend on the value of your home. Most lenders will allow you to borrow up to 95% of the value of a property. The loan rate is set by the lender, and is called the standard variable rate (SVR).

Always shop around for the best rates. However you must be careful to ensure you are comparing like with like. To do this check the annual percentage rate (APR) of the loan. You also need to bear in mind that the interest payments in respect of fixed rate mortgages can rise steeply once the initial ‘fixed’ period ends. Therefore your planning should always include the possibility of sharp changes to future interest payments.

There are two basic species of mortgage, repayment and interest-only. The option you choose is determined by the way you want to repay your loan. Depending on the type of mortgage you choose, your monthly repayments will be made up of either capital and interest or interest only.

A repayment mortgage requires you to pay back both interest and loan capital, so at the end of your mortgage period there is no money owing. With a repayment mortgage you make the repayments monthly for an agreed period (the ‘term’) until you’ve paid back all the loan and the interest. A typical term is initially 25 years, although it can be any amount of time - the shorter the term the higher your monthly payments but the less you’ll pay overall.

An interest-only mortgage allows you to repay just the interest on your loan, but you have to take out an investment that will mature to pay off the outstanding amount. With an interest only mortgage you’ll normally also have to pay into another savings or investment plan that’ll hopefully pay off the loan at the end of the term.

A lender might require you to take out life insurance to pay off your mortgage should you die. You can choose from basic ‘term assurance’ with low monthly payments that stop when your mortgage term ends. You can also get insurance to protect your income or just your mortgage payments if you become ill or disabled, or lose your job.

If you cannot meet your mortgage payments you should contact your lender as soon as you realise that you have a problem. Although your mortgage is secured on your home, lenders see repossession as the last resort: they stand to make more money from your mortgage than the sale of your home.

Lenders will work out a plan with you to reduce your payments for a time or stop them temporarily, and work out a new term for your mortgage. It is wise to remember that your home is at risk if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage or other loan secured on it.

You may freely reprint this article provided the author’s biography remains intact:

About The Author
John Mussi is the founder of Direct Online Loans who help UK homeowners find the best available loans via the http://www.directonlineloans.co.uk website.

Comments Off

If you want to design a catalog, you should have some
exceptional and significant points to consider. Of course
designing is the first requirement in catalog printing but
earlier, what you should consider are the products that you will
include in your catalog. Some products may not be helpful at
all. There are products that will need to be grouped or
categorized. Keeping your list sorted makes it easy to use and
follow.

We make sure that your products get the exact description it
offers. Make it specific and information-rich. It should have a
clear and brief description which comes in 30 to 60 words per
item or product. It should be concise and clear.

The overall look of the catalog is like the heart of it. The
way it appears talks about our product lines so keeping it
presentable draws more attention. Proper information brings the
customers with helpful decisions in purchasing your product.

Catalog printing calls for drawing out attention and grabbing
the interest of the users. For the incorporation of your images,
have some special effects and tastes of photography with the
application of Photoshop with the right perfect colors! In
putting up all the images in its corresponding page, make sure
that they are set and grouped correctly.

Printing doesn’t need to be expensive at all. There are so many
useful ways on how to keep your budget low. If you are going to
print a lot of print jobs, you should print it all so that the
inks and materials will not be put to waste. This style is very
ideal for bulk jobs. You will surely save money in all your
printing costs.

Printing a lot of print jobs at one time will minimize your
cost and the customers as well. So if you can keep this up, your
clients will keep coming back for more of your services.

You can also minimize your expenses like for the shipping
expense. This will surely eat your budget and give your
customers a headache. Make it to a point to consider the
shipping charges you set on your customers. Some of them would
resort to just purchasing their won due to the high rate of
shipping.

Holding down your printing cost is an effective deal to your
customers. The domain name does help a lot too. Have it unique
with style that easily renders to the people’s minds.

For more related articles, you may visit
http://www.catalogprintingexperts.com

Comments Off

The danger of any weight loss program is that you may lose more
muscles than fats. This is not healthy at all because when you
lose muscles, your metabolism will slow down and your body will
in turn retain more fats.

So how do you know if you are burning more muscles than fats?
There is a simple and inexpensive way to find out.

Firstly, you must know that whenever your body burn fats for
energy, a certain chemical call ketones are released. “When your
body releases ketones, it is chemical evidence that you’re
consuming your own stored fat.” said the famous MD Dr Atkins.

You want your body to burn the food you have eaten and even more
so if you are obese, your body fat for energy and not your
muscles.

One simple yet inexpensive way of knowing whether you are
burning your body fat or muscles is to test for the production
of ketones. If you are releasing ketones, you are burning fats
instead of your muscles. If you are you are on a weight loss
program and you are not producing ketones, then your program is
not effective because you are burning other energy sources such
as carbs or your own muscles. That means your weight loss
program is virtually ineffective and can even be dangerous.

Ketones strips to test for ketones in your urine are readily
available in most pharmacies. These strips are usually used by
diabetics but are also a wonderful tool to check how effective
your weight loss program is.

If you are losing weight and do not include exercises and a
healthy diet in your weight loss program or you are actually on
a severe caloric restriction diet, chances are very high that
you may be burning your muscles for energy instead of your fats.
Losing too much muscle is dangerous and may be fatal. Do know
that your heart is a muscle. Does this statement give you
warning bells?

Comments Off

Something like a decade ago the actual idea of a wall-hung TV could have appeared like something from a sci-fi film It was out of the reach of most punters, with high fees that called for taking out a second mortgage to manage to afford these particularly luscious tellies. Nonetheless, over a period these startling television products reached the point of attainability. Still, still not something you can just go out and pay for, it has of late suddenly become much more of an option. Costs for these flat panel High-Definition Television sets are at the moment declining quicker than new home prices, and have made the daydream a certainty.

Today there are 2 opposite flat-panel products; plasma & LCD. While each make supplies a clear picture & these television sets do look alike from the front, the components on the inside is noticeably different. And while LCD TVs have been limited to thirty seven inches and smaller, TV sets with the liquid crystal display technology are at this present time in sizes as big as plasma.

But despite that, numerous consumers judge plasma to supply several very important advantages over LCD televisions. The key selling points is that plasma sets generally include deeper black levels-endorsing that the blacks are truly black and not just a dark gray. This in turn means that the colours are much more stunning and realistic. The hottest models from Bush and Hitachi have in truth taken the black levels to incredible depths, & as a result have engineered the greatest images we have seen to date.

In spite of the gossip that plasma TV sets “needs to be recharged” after seven-thousand hours, nothing could be further from the fact. These days flat panel plasma televisions should often last for sixty thousand hours or more, awarding you with years of astonishing television viewing. Despite the fact that there has been an unease over issues like that of burn-in (correctly so, as this may perhaps ruin that expensive television), the latest televisions feature components to sort out image retention, offering pixel shift methods that gradually move the whole screen and more crucially, take away any ghosting should static images in fact “stick” the picture. This has a white wash mode on top of an inverse mode to eradicate all burn-in. For great offers on 32 cheapest Digital LCD TV, there is only one site you need to visit, and that is Digital Direct.

Comments Off

ADAPTATION 101

Brimming with confidence, you’ve just signed the check
purchasing the rights to adapt John Doe’s fabulous, but little
known novel, Lawrence of Monrovia, to screenplay form. Suddenly,
panic sets in. “What was I thinking? How the devil am I going to
convert this 400-page novel to a 110-page screenplay?”

The answer is: “The same way you transport six elephants in a
Hyundai… three in the front seat and three in the back!”

Old and very bad jokes aside, how does one pour ten gallons of
story into a one-gallon jug?

In this article, we’ll take a look at this challenge and a few
others that a writer may encounter when adapting a novel to
screenplay form.

CHALLENGE NUMBER ONE - LENGTH Screenplays rarely run longer than
120 pages. Figuring one page of a screenplay equals one minute
of film, a 120-page screenplay translates into a two-hour motion
picture. Much longer than that and exhibitors lose a showing,
which translates to fewer six-cent boxes of popcorn sold for
$5.99 at the refreshment stand. It took the author of your
source material 400 pages to tell the story. How can you
possibly tell the same story in 110 pages, the ideal length for
a screenplay by today’s industry standards?

And the answer to this question is no joke. “You can’t! Don’t
even try!”

Instead, look to capture the essence and spirit of the story.
Determine the through-line and major sub-plot of the story and
viciously cut everything else.

By “through-line” I mean, WHO (protagonist) wants WHAT (goal),
and WHO (antagonist) or WHAT (some other force) opposes him or
her? It helps to pose the through-line as a question.

“Will Dorothy find her way back to Kansas despite the evil
Wicked Witch of the West’s efforts to stop her?”

The same needs to be done for the major sub-plot.

“Will Dorothy’s allies achieve their goals despite the danger
they face as a result of their alliance?”

One workable technique is to read the book, set it aside for a
few weeks, and then see what you still remember of the story’s
through-line. After all, your goal is to excerpt the most
memorable parts of the novel, and what you remember best
certainly meets that criterion.

In most cases, everything off the through-line or not essential
to the major sub-plot has to go. Develop your outline, treatment
or “beat sheet” accordingly.

CHALLENGE NUMBER TWO - VOICE Many novels are written in the
first person. The temptation to adapt such, using tons of
voiceovers, should be resisted. While limited voiceovers can be
effective when properly done, remember that audiences pay the
price of admission to watch a MOTION (things moving about)
PICTURE (stuff you can SEE). If they wanted to HEAR a story
they’d visit their Uncle Elmer who drones on for hour upon hour
about the adventures of slogging through the snow, uphill, both
ways, to get to and from school when he was a kid, or perhaps
they’d buy a book on tape.

The old screenwriting adage, “Show, don’t tell!” applies more
than ever when writing an adaptation.

CHALLENGE NUMBER THREE - “LONG-THINKING” Some tribes of American
Indians had a word to describe those of their brethren who sat
around thinking deep thoughts. Literally the word translated to,
“THE DISEASE OF LONG-THINKING”. Quite often, lead characters in
novels suffer from this disease.

“Mike knew in his heart that Judith was no good. Yet she caused
such a stirring in his loins, he could think of nothing else. He
feared someday he would give in to this temptation named Judith,
and his surrender would surely bring about the end of his
marriage!”

If adapted directly, how on Earth would a director film the
above? All we would SEE is Mike sitting there, “long-thinking”.
That is not very exciting to say the least. And as mentioned
previously, voiceovers are rarely the best solution.

When essential plot information is presented only in a
character’s thought or in the character’s internal world, one
solution is to give this character a sounding board, another
character, to which his thoughts can be voiced aloud. Either
adapt an existing character from the novel or create a new one.
Of course as always, you should avoid overly obvious exposition
by cloaking such dialogue in conflict, or through some other
technique. Even better, figure out a way to express the
character’s dilemma or internal world through action in the
external world.

CHALLENGE NUMBER FOUR - WHAT STORY? Mark Twain is quoted as
saying about Oakland, California, “There’s no there, there”.
Similarly, some novels, even successful ones, are very shy on
story and rely for the most part on style and character to
create an effect. Some prose writers are so good at what they
do, that their artful command of the language alone is enough to
maintain reader interest. Such is never the case in
screenwriting.

Successfully adapting a “no-story-there” novel to screenplay
form is a daunting task. One approach is to move away from
direct adaptation toward, “story based upon”. Use the brilliant
background and characters created by the original author as a
platform from which to launch a screen story. In fact, if for
any reason a screenplay doesn’t lend itself to screenplay form,
consider moving toward a “based upon” approach, rather than
attempting a direct adaptation.

Congratulations! You’re now an expert on adapting novels to
screenplay form! Well maybe not an expert, but hopefully you
have a better understanding of how to approach the subject than
you did ten minutes ago. And if the subject still seems too
daunting, you can always get professional help as outlined on
our web page http://www.coverscript.com/adaptation.html

Copyright © 2004 Lynne Pembroke and Jim Kalergis,
Coverscript.com

Comments Off

If you have ever traveled across country by train, you know that meals are served with community seating. That means you can meet new people with every meal.

In late March I took the train home (to Southern California) from an engagement in Massachusetts. One evening my meal companions consisted of a very nice couple and a teenager. At first, the teenager had little to say. (Parents, does this sound familiar?) But through my questions he told us that he was 16, wanted to be an attorney, and could bench press 325 pounds.

Then I asked him, “What three recommendations would you give someone in 8th grade about high school?” Without hesitation he gave an answer that all of us can use. Here are his recommendations, with my comments on how they apply to leaders:

1) Watch who you hang out with.

Certainly, your friends define who you are.

Leaders know this and thus build organizations that consist of people who reinforce productive work, discourage destructive behavior, and provide a variety of complementary skills.

A wise leader will direct a person’s development by placing the person with colleagues who have beneficial characteristics. Similarly, this explains why some leaders work with a coach who provides a contrast to their preferred style.

You can also manage your personal growth by associating with people who have achieved what you aspire to have. For example, one entrepreneur left a mastermind group of millionaires to join a group of multimillionaires.

2) The next four years are very important.

Actually, every “next four years” will have a significant impact on you. Your actions and decisions during that time will determine everything that follows. And the key to making the most of time is having a vision, setting goals, and making plans.

Most leaders work with a business plan. And some have a business plan for their career and other important aspects of their life.

3) It can be a lot of fun.

Yes, the next four years and the rest of your life can be a lot of fun. If you choose to make it so.

My train ride serves as an excellent example of this.

When I bought my train ticket I decided that I was going to enjoy the ride. And I can report that I had a ball. In fact, I told everyone that I met on the train that I was the happiest guy on the train.

Now, let’s be realistic about this. A train offers some challenges. For example, the train rocks from side to side as it rattles along over old track, switches, and rail crossings. The train blows a whistle, which you can hear all day (and night) long. The train provides limited space. I spent the first night in coach, curled up on my seat and the suitcases that I stacked on the floor between my seat and the one in front. My sleeper (for the next two nights) consisted of a 3.25 feet wide, 7 ft. long, 6.5 ft high space.

And yet I was the happiest guy on the train. Because I decided to enjoy the ride.

Similarly, we can enjoy our ride through life if we decide to enjoy it. And leaders exert a tremendous influence on the culture around them by the energy they radiate. If you act like you’re enjoying the ride, others will enjoy the ride, too. And that leads to greater productivity.

- - -

Steve Kaye helps leaders hold effective meetings. He is an IAF Certified Professional Facilitator, author, and speaker. His meeting facilitation and leadership workshops create success for everyone. Call 714-528-1300 for details. Visit www.stevekaye.com for a free report.

Comments Off