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Ray's Blog: May 2009

Wife Beating: Should You Warn A Bride-to-be About Her Intended?

Dear Mel,

You read all the time about different forms of domestic violence. Well my best friend’s daughter, who’s never been married before, is about to get married to a man who’s quite a bit older than her and who, I’ve just heard, was divorced for beating his wife up. I know you’re going to...

Posted at 17:01pm on 31st May 2009

Successful Step Parenting: Consider The Impact Of Divorce On Children

Continuing the series on Stepfamilies, this revised and updated excerpt from Mel's book examines the steps that can be taken to avoid some of the problems that may arise for children of divorce.

MARRYING AGAIN used to be the only alternative to remaining single after a divorce but, with a shift in benefit payments in...

Posted at 01:00am on 29th May 2009

Broken Spoken English - When A Polite Request May Inadvertently Be Rude

Creative writing is not always what it seems! It is a temptation, sometimes, to put up on my blog some of the jokey e-mails that circulate, if for no other reason, than to give people a laugh. I have always resisted, however, on the grounds that this is not its purpose.

The inclusion today is...

Posted at 14:21pm on 27th May 2009

4 Comments

Lead Techniques When Writing An Article

Part 4 of 6 in a Series on Article Writing

When writing an article, do you plan for success? Or for failure? Silly question? Possibly!

In the past few weeks, we’ve been considering the secrets of article writing through the lens of knowing your market. That has included the personal experience, professional expertise, and specialist knowledge...

Posted at 17:48pm on 26th May 2009

2 Comments

Marriage And Remarriage: When Two Halves Don't Make A Whole

Following is an abridged and revised excerpt from Mel’s book Stepfamilies, which the BBC recently asked her to debate on the Richard Bacon show. In previous posts, the inference has been that unless the two people embarking on a second (or subsequent) marriage get it right, there is little chance of tackling other blended family...

Posted at 15:02pm on 22nd May 2009

2 Comments

Know Your Market, Know Your Reader, When Writing An Article

Part 3 of 6 in a Series on Article Writing

Whatever you read about the secrets of article writing, one of the first pieces of advice you’ll be given will be to Know Your Market. In blogging terms that means knowing your Brand – as I alluded to in a previous post (see below). But...

Posted at 14:20pm on 20th May 2009

Live With Less: How To Love Working To Live Rather Than Living To Work

I began this article a couple of months ago before Parliamentary Expenses took over as the latest UK soap opera escapism from the real story of boom and bust economics. So I wondered, this morning, whether it would still have any relevance; whether, in fact, it would resonate with you, my readers. But thinking...

Posted at 20:55pm on 18th May 2009

Love And Commitment: The Basis Of A Stable Marriage

Last week, in my Friday series on Families & Parenting, which is currently focused on stepfamilies, I pointed out that if American author Charles Swindoll equated marriage to a house, then remarriage could be said to be like a conversion. I then went on to show why love, in terms of romance, is not...

Posted at 07:45am on 15th May 2009

The Secrets Of Article Writing: Know Your Market, Know Yourself

Part 2 of 6 in a Series on Article Writing

I began this series of articles with one titled Ten Tips On Writing An Article and I'm going to unwrap each of these ten points in turn and look at them in detail. Some may require more than one post to develop the theme,...

Posted at 19:22pm on 14th May 2009

Ten Tips On Writing An Article

Part 1 of 6 in a Series on Article Writing

Article writing, or journalism, is an art-form quite unlike anything else. And yet, in many ways, the fundamentals are identical to the way in which you’d go about writing a book. It’s these differences and similarities which I’m going to look at today.

ARTICLE WRITING OR...

Posted at 15:01pm on 13th May 2009

2 Comments

Setting Up A Book Group: Twenty Tips - Part 2

Yesterday, I began a response to a letter from Sonia, requesting information about setting up a Book Group. As my reply turned out to be rather lengthy, I have split it into two parts. If you wish to read from the beginning, use this link for Part One: Setting up...

Posted at 18:07pm on 10th May 2009

Setting Up A Book Group: Twenty Tips

Dear Mel,

Somewhere I've seen that you wrote about starting a book group and I wondered if you could tell me what qualifications you think are needed. I've always loved reading and I did join a group once but there were so many people and they all had such a lot...

Posted at 17:34pm on 9th May 2009

Remarriage: Laying Firm Foundations

A marriage is a lot like our house. While new it sparkles. Fresh smells, fun surprises and new discoveries... As time passes, however... the grit of responsibility mixed with the grind of routine starts to take its toll... Weeds sprout. Doors squeak and sag. Windows stick. Paint peels. Roofs leak...
From Strike The Original...

Posted at 18:55pm on 8th May 2009

Creative Writing Tips And The Definition Of Denouement

This article has been revised & updated on: 6th September, 2010.
Photo: Looking back down to the end of the funicular railway at the sea below!

I expect many of you, as an aspiring author, will know that a novel has a beginning, a middle and an end. That’s pretty obvious, I would have thought. But...

Posted at 22:56pm on 5th May 2009

Do Niche Blogs Attract More Readers & Subscribers Than A Scatter-gun Approach?

Have you ever thought about what makes the best blogging sites so attractive, and why you subscribe to some and not to others? Yes, I asked a similar question in a previous post titled Six Blogging Styles: Which Approach Turns You On? but, today, I want to take that further. The issues I’m raising...

Posted at 20:05pm on 1st May 2009

Stable Stepfamilies: Book Excerpt - Foreword

AS A SCHOOLGIRL, I loved history. Not the dry dates and wars of my school books, but the vital characters that strode right out of their pages straight into my imagination. People like Henry VIII of England, for instance. His marriages particularly fascinated me. How, I would ask myself, did he get away with...

Posted at 20:05pm on 1st May 2009