I let this lapse for a few weeks because things were just nuts. Sorry about that, everyone.

Good websites and related blogs can easily go hand-in-hand. Most of my blogging experience is with Wordpress and Blogger. These are good options because they're free and have a large following of members.

In my experience, Blogger is better for business use, due to their Terms of Service. For Wordpress to be effective for a business, you'd have to host a copy of it on your own server. The server-side version doesn't really have good spam controls, IMO.

A blog can serve helpful purposes. One is to provide a way to interact with your visitors. Blog discussions can be quite lively at times, as I've learned from experience.

Blogs can also be good substitutes for newsletters and other mailing lists. Social media is more of a big deal today than email. Most blogging platforms offer good social media integration for sharing and updating.

AJtheIrishLass

I'm taking a "vacation" from writing about writing this weekend :) There were a few general observations I've made about spiritual abuse from what others have gone through and stuff I've read.

• Spiritual abuse seems to share a lot in common with other types of abuse. I've noticed that there are a lot of needless feelings of condemnation and the like with emotional abuse.
• Most spiritually abusive people, at least from what I've seem, appear to lack any real relationship with Christ.
• Spiritually abusive people also seem to want to try to control non-spiritual aspects of peoples' lives. I've often wondered if most people who commit acts of SA have a tendency to be abusive in general.

AJtheIrishLass

There are many different types of writing out there. From niche articles that require special experience to generalized articles that anyone can write with a little research, there are plenty of options to choose from.

Journalism
This is one of the things that comes to mind when most people think of writing. Jobs that involve covering news and events generally require an appropriate degree.

Authoring
People also think of writing books when writing comes to mind. Although it's difficult to get books published by major publishers, there are many reasonable self-publishing and e-book options available.

Academic Writing
This is one of the types of writing that involves the highest pay, but typically involves a degree and teaching credentials. These jobs typically include writing textbooks, study guides and other curriculum areas.

Copywriting
This is a type of writing that involves writing material, or "copy", for advertising purposes. You may be writing copy for brochures, reports, flyers or other material.

Web Copywriting
This type of copywriting involves writing material used on websites. This also includes blogging. In many cases, the writing is used for search engine optimization purposes (SEO).

The last one is the type of writing I do.

AJtheIrishLass

The answer to this is one I think that will please you guys: Yes, of course! Contrary to popular belief, anyone can learn to write if they make up their mind to it.

What Does It Really Take?

If you can express yourself, explain detailed instructions about something, or describe something that happened to you, you can write. It's a matter of having the ideas in your head and knowing how to put them into a written, instead of verbal, form.

How About Grammar and Spelling?

It's true that nobody can write professionally and have poor grammar and spelling that is uncorrected. This is even true of sites where articles are posted mainly for page views. However, there are numerous tools you can use to help improve both. See the following examples: Commonly mispelled words (comic format), Lots of helpful Grammar Girl tips (blog format)

Some Good Practice Tips

• If you use a journal or diary, write in it regularly. This is better practice than you may realize.
• Still have your HS or college English textbook? Try some of the writing exercises.
• Sign up with a few sites, such as Yahoo! Contributor Network, Helium, Triond or Infobarrel that allow you to write articles in exchange for revenue shares. You won't get rich, but you will have possible portfolio links.
• Consider signing up as a mystery shopper, compliance auditor or retail merchandiser (or all 3). All of these jobs involve writing brief reports about your experiences that will hone your skills. Volition.com lists some reputable options. Avoid sites that require you to pay a fee to be a shopper.

I hope these are some helpful starter tips. My next post will cover the different types of writing jobs you may find.

AJtheIrishLass

I really need to devote more attention to my blogs. I've been thinking of posting some material here that would be helpful for writers, especially from a Christian perspective.

Any ideas about posts you'd like to see covered are certainly welcome. I know a lot of people who are interested in writing have more than one "burning question" they'd like to see answered.

AJtheIrishLass