25 Reasons to Make Online Article Writing Your Career

25+ Reasons to Making Online Article Writing Your Career
Writing articles online can be a lucrative, satisfying home business. If you enjoy composing articles, have proficient grammar, possess a computer, have reasonable typing skills and enjoy writing, here are 50+ reasons write online articles.
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Ave Maria- Haiku

Ave Maria
A haiku from one mother to The Mother.
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Big Lake Poems: The Good Ship Marguerite Louise

The Tale of the Good Ship Marguerite Louise
A tale of two ships on Lake Michigan on a cold November Night. For my father D. Jack who knows all there is to know about the ships of Lake Michigan and who likes a good story.

stranglehold cold wind and rain

mute dull foghorn moan

rising banshee storm shriek

drowns alarm's warning groan

feeble fading lighthouse beam

struggles, fails and strains

in fog clogged unlit night

and driving, blinding rains

freighter D. Jack out on the lake

as November gales begin

headed for the haven

unaware of the danger within

no beaming light across the water

nothing seen in darkning drear

no moon marked rocks to alert

around us sail and not too near

nothing heard in dead cold fog

of steady, sounding alarum gong

muted bell tolls a death knell

of disaster 'fore ere long

searchlight flickering fizzling out

tempest waters dead ahead

no saving beam on empty sky

close the book and mourn the dead

blame the deadening pea-soup fog 

blame the storm that tossed night

blame the winter for coming too soon

blame the waning of the light

sing the song of blinding dark

mourn the D. Jack's ending doom

lament the brave ship dashed and torn

finis, death, in the drowning room

But pause a moment this tale's end

hold a bit the death bell knell

consider a mystery, too low for heaven

but just as much too high for hell

old ship Marguerite Louise sits in ruin

safe within dark deadly walls

invisible beneath the foggy shroud

silent under deafening squalls

then occurred the thing so odd

something in the very waves

woke Marguerite Louise from her slumber

to save those men from watery graves

Warn them, Marguerite and make them hear

bang your moorings, jangle your chains

Raise a ruckus above the storm

Drown out those roaring killer rains

She answered the call, the D. Jack was saved

she was heard on down the coast

and clear across lake Michigan

so the old ones loved to boast 

Now she sits still rusting and silent

but what possessed the old ship night

shades of sinners or visions of saints

dark demons or heaven's saving light?

Sailors lost are nevertheless gone

however varied be the clime

Do some come back to warn others

just in the nick of time?

Memoirs of My Husband

My Husband is the Sexiest Man Alive
I woke up this morning to Jennifer Wright's AC's Sexiest Men of 2009 article. Inspired, I'll toss a nomination for my husband as sexiest man. But this in no way detracts from Jennifer's list of highly desirable AC men.
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Writer's Guide: Article to Page View Ratio

Guide to Increase Online Article Page Views: Consider Your Article to Page View Ratio
Many quality articles have been written at Associated Content and other online venues about SEO, keywords and other tools for succeeding an online writer. Here's an oft overlooked factor: article count to page view ratio.
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Thanksgiving Thoughts

Thanksgiving Thoughts on Loved Ones
How many times have I assigned students to write that Thanksgiving holiday essay entitled, 'What I Am Thankful for'. Family always tops the list. I'm thankful for my family, always, and in memory of a boy named Michael.
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Writing YA Fiction or Coming-of-Age Stories? 14 Must-Read Authors

Mature Reading for Teen High School Boys and Young Adults
It's a sad fact that the majority of teenage boys and young men do not read anything beyond magazines or newspapers. Here is list of literature guaranteed to get teen boys and men hooked on books. Excellent for YA authors.
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Happy Baby Feet: A Poem to Our Stillborn Daughter Isobella Raine

To Our Daughter, Isobella Raine Sachteleben Born and Died June 28, 2004
It's been 12 years since baby had to go. A tiny little soul, not quite ready in body. It's really sad when hello is also goodbye.

when did it happen

i'd really like to know

she was so alive

just why did she have to go?

  sweet child grew
 
  tiny heart beat
 
  sleeping baby beauty
 
  in my secret deep

  lovely baby feet
 
  dancing in my womb
 
  when did happy feet
 
  cease to hear the tune?

  baby girl and me
 
  whisper soft kiss
 
  living in our joy
 
  in happy baby bliss

  would her eyes be

  like daddy's baby blue?
 
  maybe long dark curls
 
  like her mama, too?

  pretty baby smile

  warm, golden glow
 
  glad you stayed awhile
 
  why did you have to go?

  why did she have to go?
 
  i asked the universe today
 
  i know she plays in heaven
 
  but i wanted her to stay.

  why, she never left
 
  Love said in great surprise
 
  she dwells within your soul

  and shines out from your eyes

  your tears upon his cheek
 
  kisses from Isobella Raine
 
  his strong arms 'round you
 
  are shelter from the pain

  sweet daddy and dear mama
 
  i didn't want to go
 
  but Blessed Mother held my hand
 
  so it wouldn't hurt you so

  and when you see that baby star
 
  that's me smilin' on you
 
  and when my little star twinkles
 
  that's me playin' peek-a-boo

Big Lake Poems: Acorn benediction and Oak Leaf offertory

November fall leaf funerals

grampa in flannel coat and ear-flap cap

me in fur-trimmed jacket and pom-pom hat

big rake and little rake

26 trees in grampa's yard  

oaks with crunchy-crisp fall-down-brown leaves  

and thousands of acorns

kept us and squirrels hunting and gathering

grampa boasting with neighbor  

of how many bags each would offer 

on his autumn harvest pyre

each secretly sure his sacrifice would please most

On cracked cement altar  

leaves piled ceremoniously high  

consumed in flame under watchful eye  

of grampa against shifting winds

leaves to ashes, ashes to dust

pom-pom clad mourner bids farewell

rest in peace, rainbow friends

to nourish next year's soil

but acorns were not burned

acorns explode sending out soul sparks

that singe unwary watchers

their little selves spared, but only for autumn-greedy squirrels

close my eyes and i can smell

oak-leaf incense from ritual burning

hanging heavy-hazy under leaden November clouds 

sharp, sad fire-fall fragrance

summer oak bounty smoldering

on heaps of crimson and ash

tolling Indian summer death knell

somber scent of endings and good-bye

  

  

Halloween Haiku: The Dead

The Dead- a Haiku
Another Halloween Haiku from my friends at Associated Content. This is Rissa Watkins prize winning Halloween haiku,'The Dead' Pure creepy in 17 syllables.
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Big Lake Poems: Pink Pickable Ladyslippers

Pink Pickable Ladyslippers
This one is from The Big Lake Poems anthology. The Lake Michigan dunes flora decorated my growing up and has inspired these poems. This one is about lady slippers, childhood and big life choices.

i wasn't to pick the lady slippers

that much was clear

but they are so pickable and plus i WANT to

i whined to grampa

as we walked to Lake Michigan

through the woods of the backdune

where their precious lady slipper

grew just to taunt me

let them grow he said

if you pick them, no one else can enjoy them

i didn't see that as my problem

there was no one around to see them anyway

Besides he said they are protected

its illegal to pick the lady slipper.

illegal, humph i scuffed my feet and scoffed

(not really seeing that as my problem either)

pick up your feet, you'll ruin your shoes

he smiled over his shoulder 

to where I lagging and still slightly scuffing 

Also if you pick the lady slippers, they can't grow.

he had me there

other people not seeing flowers

did not in the least bother 

a selfish four year old girl

going to jail for picking a flower

did worry me a bit

not about breaking laws

only whether i could bring my toys

but to be responsible for the murder of flower?

now that was troubling

if i should pick her

she would wither and die

her pretty pink blossoms shaped like fairy pointe shoes?

little flowers that never hurt anyone 

whose sole job was to make the forest nice

i decided to leave the lady slipper to her work and announced this to grampa

grampa in his plaid flannel coat

took his less-selfish little girl's hand

in his big printers ink stained one

and we walked home, we two, content in our company

The Grama-Grampa House Smell: Fresh-wind Lake-green Pine-time

Fresh-Wind Lake-Green Pine-Time
More from the Big Lake Poems anthology. I wish that I could make you smell the way my grandparents' house near Lake Michigan smelled. Or that I could smell it again. Maybe this poem will help.

The grama-grampa house

was not on Lake Michigan

but you could smell the big lake 

in their house

as the crow flies grampa and I could walk

to the big lake and we did

at least once a week every week

of my life since birth give or take

except when we moved to Alaska

or during my years in college

until I moved away

but i came back and walked with him

he took my kids for walks to the beach

our oldest three that is

he wasn't getting around too well

when the youngest came

the lake inhabited the grama-grampa house 

in scents of sand and wind

wood and rain

and an indefinable fragrance signature of Lake Michigan alone

I smelt it first and best

coming upstairs third step from the top

of the cool yellow speckle- tile basement

where I was sent to fetch canned cherries

from the cedar wood pantry

that grampa built for grandma

for a dessert called

Cherries in the Snow.

we saved some things

from the grama grampa house

in a box sealed tight

to preserve the wind-fresh lake-green pine-time smell

for awhile if you sniffed soul-deep

there was a whiff of it

wind-fresh lake-green pine time

but now its all gone

i can evoke scent-memory a little

with feel-think smell- remembering

i can conjure up the grama-grampa house

but only a little and its fading fast

Big Lake Poems: Trillium and Pine

I'm creating a volume of poetry that I call 'The Big Lake Anthology' about my life and memories growing up near Lake Michigan, or The Big Lake as we called it. This one 'Trillium and Pine' is centered around a white tri-petaled flower, also known as grandiflorum, native to Michigan's old-growth forests and protected by the DNR. This early spring blossom is welcomed every year with a festival in my home town. Some trillium are red and so my poem reflects those species in metaphor. It also celebrates the short lives of my two infant daughters, deceased at birth, Mary Therese and Isobella Raine Sachteleben.

warm wine glow
tranquility flow
trillium and pine
rhythm and rhyme

good with the bad
happy I've had
time upon thyme
trillium white wine

from flower bower 

then turns the hour

up a steep hill
some remain still

some things to grow
some to let go

rest in the vale
tell of the tale

sad winter time

crusted in tear-salt rime

gall bitter vine

blood red wine

mem'ry is song
singing along
verse and refrain
of lyric-ripe pain

sing to the dark
cling to the mark
libate the night

drink to the light

feel the days go
rain and then snow
fresh summer wine
rosemary and time

the trillium still bloom
in deep new-spring gloom
white as a maid
born in the shade

pine stands true
ever green-blue
withstanding the pain
shining the in the rain

warm autumn wine
golden twilight, thine
now is the time
for reason and rhyme
trillium and pine.

Big Lake Poems: Lily- Laced Walks

Lily-of-the-Valley grew along Grandpa's walk

Tiny white bell-blossoms with breath of heaven scent.

He pruned the yard but let the lilies engulf the path.

Sometimes you had to skirt them and walk on the grass.

Grandma had Lily-of the Valley in her wedding bouquet.

It cost twelve dollars for a dozen in 1935.

It was the Great Depression and that was a fortune

but she wanted them so he got them.

I have an old photo of her at the altar

It's a black and white, painted on the back for color.

they did things like that back then

She's holding the lovely lilies and she is lovelier 

I guess lily-of-the valley are weeds

I didn't know that. He told me so, my husband

They grew in the motor-oil soil of the alley behind his growing up house.

Some even snuck under the chain link fence and his mother would root them out.

 

I grew up with stories of

dollar a piece lilies in bridal bouquets.

I thought everyone felt that way about them. 

these wee white wedding bells

 There are ancient lily-of the-valley

 lining the crumbling walks of our now house

 Planted when the city was just a stop

 on the interurban to Grand Rapids.

Someone talked of digging them up when we moved in

"you won't want them, we feel sure"

I protested, let them grow and he agreed

One woman's weed is another's wedding bower

It's 20 years now.

Grandpa's lily laced walks 

have new people living within them

I dream I'm back there every night

The lily bride and her slender-pale groom

have been in their graves for nearly the same

their lives long and full

but no less painful the passing for the length of sojourn

My groom gathers our lilies in spring

and puts them in a vase 

that my grandmother gave me

how we miss those silly romantics who wasted two weeks pay on weeds

Halloween Haiku: Mind's Eye Halloween

Mind's Eye Halloween
Halloween Haiku; Haiku is the perfect poetry form for Halloween, Harvest, Autumn and fall. Haiku encompasses nature in little seed morsels. The rigor of writing in only 17 syllables makes the poet very choosy about her words. You will be seeing more Halloween Haiku from myself and other writers at Associated Content. And why not ask guests at your Halloween bash to jot down Haikus? Fun and creative party game.
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Twitter for Article Page Views

Twitter and Associated Content: Tweeting for Friends, Fun and Page Views
Twitter. Isn't that a cute name for a social website? Several friends who are new to the world of online social sites have asked me, 'just what is Twitter, anyway? Twitter. Is it like Facebook?' And I reply, 'yes and no'.
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Halloween Haiku: Craving

Craving: A Vampiric Halloween Haiku
A Halloween haiku for vampire fans.Brought to The Writer's Garden by Associated Content contributor Gabriel Gadfly
Click to read if you dare...

Autumn Flora and Fauna: Squirrels and Pumpkin Seeds

St. Spermophilus and the Pumpkin Seeds
Squirrels. Garden Militia. The backyard telegraph. Plant paparazzi. Weighing in at 1.5 pounds, one squirrel in pursuit of nest material is a whirling dervish. A regiment makes yard look like the epicenter of a hurricane.
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Halloween Haiku: Black Cat Moondance

Black Cat Moondance: A Halloween Haiku
This delightful haiku is just in time for Halloween, featuring black cats and a special witch's brew!Brought to The Writer's Garden from Lyn McCallister @ Associated Content.
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Halloween Haiku: Masquerade

Halloween Haiku Masquerade
Trick or treat haiku. Halloween candy in an eerie minor key, by Associated Content contributor Sylvia Branch.
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Halloween Haiku: Haunts from Beyond

Haunts from Beyond
A scary Halloween haiku, this one comes to us from Jennifer Amlie of Associated Content.
Read on if you dare...

Halloween Haiku: Trick-or-Treat Fun

Halloween Night: A Haiku Contest Entry
Halloween Night: A Haiku Contest Entry
Halloween Haiku fun from AC Kay Wittenhauer; read on...

Halloween Haiku: Candy Corn Smiles

Halloween Haiku - Candy Corn Smiles
Halloween means ghouls and goblins, scarecrows and pumpkins and of course, the traditional favorite - candy corn. This little Halloween Haiku captures it all. Shared courtesy of Marie-Anne St.Jean at Associated Content
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How to Get Readers, Subscribers and Page Views

How to Get Other Contributors to Read Your Articles, Favorite You and Subscribe to Your Work
There are some misconceptions about how to get other Associated Content contributors to read your articles, favorite you and subscribe to your work. Based on what I've learned, I'm going to attempt to set the record straight.
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How to Add Your Content to Your Blog

How to Embed Associated Content Articles on Google Blogger
You've worked hard to get those articles published. Now you need page views and readers. You can get those if you embed your Associated Content articles on your Blogger blog. Here's how to get readers and page views.
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Essay and Article Writing Guide

How to Write the Perfect Online Article
A neat, tidy writing lesson in bite-sized steps. Plenty of examples of how to plan, organize, write, edit and rewrite an article. Gives practical advice on how to keep the article on track and cohesive.
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No Fail Guide to Increase Readership and Page Views

No-Fail Guide to Increase Page Views on Associated Content
This guide is not going to boost your page views to 1 million overnight. There's no magic bean to grow an enchanted page view beanstalk. It takes time, patience, hard work and cooperation with AC editors and fellow writers.
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How to Start a Blogger Blog

How to Set Up a 'Blogger' or 'Blogspot' Blog
Google Adsense pays money when readers click ads on your blog. Linking articles to your blog increases page views. Here's a guide to set up a 'Blogger' or 'Blogspot' blog and make money with Google Adsense.
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