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irelise · 4 years ago

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Who is your favorite character - Alex or Yassen? And how do you feel this informs your characterization of one or both of them?

Thanks for this ask Valaks, just the type of meta I like!

I will say Yassen is my favourite hands down because I have a Type and Yassen’s character archetype hits all my guilty pleasures. Even before RR and all the delicious whump, Yassen already felt like a character with layers from what little we saw of him - a stone-cold professional but also one with a sense of humour; someone at the top of his field who also doesn’t particularly like his job or his employers and is just thinking of retirement; a hired killer who is purely, unabashedly in it for the money, no complex motives, no dithering over morals - yet he still had enough humanity to speak of love for a man fourteen years dead who had betrayed him, and have compassion and love for Alex who was thrown into the world of espionage far too young. That “I love you” at the end of Eagle Strike gets me every time ;_;

Then came RR: I really enjoy stories about agency (or lack thereof) and Yassen is a fascinating study of that, so a lot of my fic tends to place him in situations where he’s not entirely in control. Canon-wise, It’s easy to say that RR is the story of how he got whumped into being an assassin against his will and on some level that’s true - but he chose to join Malagosto; maybe at first he wanted to simply learn enough skills to survive, but by the time of his graduation assignment he was ready to kill, and it was only down to chance that he got cold feet at the last second. At the end of RR he consciously chose to become an assassin out of spite - (I have my own thoughts about how much sense that makes), but regardless, by that point I don’t think it’s fair to say that Yassen is purely a victim of circumstances with no agency of his own. By the time the main Alex Rider canon rolls around he’s done many unforgivable, irredeemable things under his own will.

...Having said that, I do still think that even as a fully-fledged Scorpia operative Yassen is still bound in a lot of ways, which is such a delightful contrast for me because of the way his lethality is emphasised. Here we’ve got Yassen, the most dangerous person in the room, capable of killing someone a hundred different ways without even needing a conventional weapon, but when we get a glimpse of his introspection in present-day Stormbreaker when faced with Alex, this is what we see:

“The two of them looked at each other, both of them trapped in different ways, on opposite sides of the glass.”

It’s tragic in a way that hits all my buttons - Yassen sacrifices all his morals, betrays his parents’ memory, turns his back on his own happiness (let’s not forget one of the last times when he felt pure happiness was when he decided not to complete his graduation assignment in New York and he felt like he won a battle against his own darker impulses) - and what does he get in return? A never-ending fight to prove himself the best at a profession he doesn’t even like, a lonely life destined for an premature ending, and all with Scorpia’s watchful, controlling eye in the background.

Oh dear god this reply is getting away from me. Um. I’ll leave the Eagle Strike meta for another day and just say that Yassen’s a character of very sharp contrasts - just look at the sheer range of his characterisations in fic and general fanon - and it’s interesting to poke at that. The aspect of his characterisation that rises to the forefront of each story can be completely different depending on his age, who he’s interacting with, the setting of the story, or even just what I’m in the mood to write. Canon-based AUs are particularly interesting for me just because there’s so much potential for the course of Yassen’s life - and the core of his personality - to shift completely if certain key events had changed; someday I still really want to write that MI6!Yassen fic...

Characterisation-wise I think I tend to focus on the contrast between how Yassen presents himself (controlled and graceful, deadly competence, dubious morals), with some sort of vulnerability below the surface, whether it’s something in the plot/setting (eg his precarious situation in Scorpia - I do adore your headcanon that he’s a tool Scorpia is slowly but surely trying to dispose of while wringing as much use out of him as they can), or an emotional weak spot (Alex).

Speaking of Alex, since this is already way too long, putting discussion of Alex below cut!

Alex, by contrast, I used to not be terribly interested in. Maybe it was because I was very young when I read the books, or maybe because of AH’s own writing which tends to focus more on the action and gadgets and plot than take time exploring the nuances in Alex’s characterisation. Compared to Yassen, Alex has several very strong key traits that tend to stay relatively constant when I write him: leans more to the serious side most of the time rather than pure unbridled chaos; smart mouth that he cannot and will not keep shut especially when some idiot is monologuing at him; independent and resourceful but somewhat impulsive; understimulated by “normal” life ever since Stormbreaker - which leads him into trouble, especially when combined with the fact that I do headcanon Alex as someone with a strong drive to do good and who refuses to turn a blind eye when there’s someone he can help or something he can make right.

Of course, since he’s fourteen, sometimes Alex’s intervention just makes things worse...

It’s only more recently thanks to the lovely writers and meta from the fandom that I started taking more of an interest in Alex - specifically, what happens as Alex gets older? I enjoy coming of age fic with Alex: those times where he suddenly realises he’s no longer a child spy, or the times he realises the moral views he held when he was fourteen are insufficient for navigating the murky world of intelligence - those situations where there’s no clear “bad guy”, or those times when strategic sacrifices need to be made...

I also very much enjoy adult Alex fics - just how does MI6 deal with an agent like Alex? Alex, who has a distrust of authority (MI6 in particular), who’s perfectly willing to disregard all mission parameters if he decides the circumstances call for it, who nevertheless is so effective that Jones makes the decision to keep using him - but will all of that backfire one day?

And what about Alex himself, working in intelligence without a patriotic bone in his body, with the black mark of Scorpia on his record? Alex who’s now an adult with adult coworkers and had hopes for finally fitting into a proper social circle again, only it turns out he still can’t connect with them and is as lonely as he was at fourteen? Alex, who keeps finding himself being compared to John and Ian Rider, the family that he had never really known yet condemned him to this life with no input from Alex himself?

Basically I think there’s bits and pieces of Alex’s characterisation I’m more interested in over others - and the main thing I find interesting about him is the circumstances he’s in: the government-sanctioned abuse and blackmail, the way he grows up a child in an adult’s world. So correspondingly my fic tends to focus on that rather than, say, light-hearted slice of life shenanigans around London or anything to do with Brooklands or family fic, although I’ll gladly read those from other writers! And since Yassen is my favourite over Alex, I think it would be rare indeed that I write an Alex-centric fic where Yassen doesn’t play a role at all.

#asks #meta #meta meta meta #alex rider #yassen gregorovich

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uchihasakurawrites · 4 years ago

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Manifest (1)

Rating: T for language & depictions of violence

Summary: Their soulmate bond is borne of blood. With war on the horizon and tensions rising in Konoha, Itachi and Sakura try to navigate their newfound connection while balancing the growing demands of their own worlds. [Non-Massacre AU; Soulmate AU; ItaSaku]

Word Count: 3,394

Warning: This chapter contains somewhat graphic depictions of violence, so please wait until chapter 2 if that's difficult for you to read.

Note: Itachi doesn’t actually appear in this chapter. Chapter 2 will focus more on Itachi’s POV while the events of this chapter are happening - if you’re looking for ItaSaku interactions right away, please wait until I post the next part before you start reading!

(Also, heads up that I’m studying for graduate school & changing positions at work right now, so my updates on any multi-chapter fics will be slow this spring/summer. Thanks to everyone who’s still sticking with me!)

Cross-posted on Ao3 and Fanfiction.net

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Two careless hand signals from her captain telling the team to scatter and engage bring Sakura’s pristine ANBU record crashing down in blood-soaked shards.

Every logical fiber of her being had screamed at the silent command, her near-decade of experience with Team 7 having seared the importance of teamwork into her mind. If not for the rogue nin on their heels, Sakura would have pressed the issue, arguing for a tactical retreat with the information they had gathered on the budding Iwa-Ame alliance.

Not that her rookie captain - a Hyūga with a superiority complex that could have easily topped Sasuke’s during his genin days - would have listened.

Staying together was the only way they stood a chance. Their mismatched ANBU squad was as well-balanced as Tsunade could manage with the current strain on Konoha’s ANBU forces. Impending war stretched ANBU thin, and those who weren’t assigned to diplomatic security details were saddled with near back-to-back missions; in the past six months alone, Sakura had almost doubled the number of missions she had completed in her entire first year with ANBU.

Intel of a meeting between Ame and Iwa leadership reached Tsunade’s desk when most of her veteran ANBU had already been dispatched. Amegakure, which had never fully recovered from the previous war, had remained neutral despite increasing tensions between the five great nations, and it was imperative that they remain so.

Losing neutral territory that bordered both Suna and Konoha would provide the enemy a staging area far too close to home, so Tsunade scraped together the best reconnaissance team she could with the resources she had left. Sakura knew from the grim look in her mentor’s eyes as she explained the parameters of the mission that she was assigned to this team for the sole purpose of dragging them all back home alive, as was usually the case any time she was assigned outside of her unit.

Sakura counted herself lucky that there happened to be a Hyūga and an Aburame available for the mission to make infiltrating the meeting undetected easier.

Out of her four-man cell, Sakura had the most field experience with just over ninety successful ANBU missions under her belt. The Hyūga had only recently been promoted to captain, and she could read his need to prove his worth in the way he carried himself: nose held a touch too high in the air, a smirk twisting his lips, and an arrogant sway to his hips as he strutted into the Hokage’s office.

A small part of her mind, the one that kept her entertained on particularly mind-numbing missions, absently wondered if punting him halfway to Suna would fix both his ego and his stride.

Pride had no place in ANBU.

The Aburame and the boy who looked as though he had been promoted three years to young were tolerable enough. She’d seen finer control of the Aburame Clan techniques during her occasional work with Shino, but Tetsuya still managed to get the job done and relayed enough information back for Sakura to record in a sealed scroll that she would deliver to Tsunade upon their return.

Kaito, who she discovered had joined ANBU less than a month prior, had surprised her with his fine-tuned tweaks to the strategy she had laid out once she’d managed to get their captain to shut the hell up for two seconds and listen to input from his team. Sakura became rather fond of the younger boy during their two-week mission, perhaps because his personality reminded her of a teenage Naruto.

When she witnessed Kaito’s chakra control firsthand, she’d proposed the idea of recruiting him into the ANBU medical program. She could hear the grin behind his mask through the string of eager questions he endlessly chattered about as they sprinted home. With a laugh, she promised to file the request with Tsunade as soon as they got back to Konoha.

What she didn’t expect was for him to be slaughtered as they crossed the border into Grass.

With the odds stacked against her team 3:1, Sakura decides retreat is the cleanest option for their team and turns towards her captain, expecting him to reach the same conclusion and give the order.

His two hand signals and the team’s immediate obedience lock her muscles in disbelief; sure, taking a prisoner from this situation could provide another well of information, but that was only if her team somehow managed to win the fight.

Reporting back that their team had been pursued by Grass nin would have been enough information for Tsunade to work with. A different team could have been assembled to follow up, and Konoha would have at least been warned.

Her team is at a severe disadvantage fighting on unfamiliar terrain after a full day of running at top-speed to clear Earth’s border. Torrential rain means that they will have to fight almost blind, and the Hyūga seems to have forgotten that the rest of his team doesn’t have the same benefit of a dōjutsu.

Sakura won’t even be able to provide adequate medical support for her team if they scatter, as summoning Katsuyu would both expose her identity and require more chakra than she should expend with how much further they have left to go to reach home.

Well aware that her actions could give her captain adequate grounds to write her up for insubordination on the off chance they survive, Sakura takes off in the same direction as Kaito. He’s the most likely to accept her assistance, and the faster Sakura can drag him back to regroup with their teammates, the faster they can leave.

The third rule for all medical nin rings clearly in her mind: No medic shall ever die until they are the last of their platoon.

Sakura has yet to lose a teammate on a mission, and she’ll be damned if the Hyūga’s reckless call changes that.

She catches up to Kaito quickly, calling out a quick Doton: Doryu Heki to throw up a fifteen foot mud wall between him and an enemy lunging at his back. She adjusts the flow of chakra to her feet to use the slickness of the ground to her advantage, releasing some of her traction on the mud to slide underneath the swing of a sword and slash chakra scalpels across the assailant’s heels. In a single fluid motion, Sakura thrusts herself up from her crouched position and follows through with a fist into the man’s back.

The sensation of muscle and bone snapping underneath her knuckles is so familiar that she doesn’t falter when the ANBU’s spine snapps clean in half. At some point, she’d lost count of the number of shinobi she’d broken with her hands alone.

Sakura doesn’t have time to check their surroundings further, opting instead to shunshin to Kaito’s right and weave her chakra into a Doton: Iwa no Doomu jutsu. It’s a strategic move to conserve chakra, building on her last jutsu as she wrenches additional walls from the ground to enclose them in a rock-solid dome.

She grabs Kaito’s wrist before the chokutō he jabs in her direction can make contact.

Kaito’s emotions are again an open book, even with his cloak and mask still intact. She can read the fear in the trembling left hand that clutches his shoulder, where a katon has seared his uniform into his skin.

His hoarse “S-Sakura-senpai!” instead of her codename broadcasts his inexperience; it’s pure luck that none of the Grass ANBU have gotten close enough to guess her identity. They don’t need the bounty on her head further complicating the situation.

Sakura makes a mental note to personally track down whoever gave this kid the green light for ANBU. He’s talented but clearly needs more field experience before he’s ready for ANBU-caliber missions and the heightened risks that come with them.

They have just under thirty seconds before she needs to release her hold on the dome. The Grass nins’ lightning jutsu grate at the threads of her earth-natured chakra, and there are already too many negative strategic implications for staying in one place as long as they have.

“Monkey,” Sakura speaks in code in hopes that hearing it will snap Kaito back to his senses. “I’m going to cast a genjutsu over the surrounding ten square meters. Escape underground, and get to Ant. Regroup with taichou and retreat. Move!”

She punctuates the command with a chakra laden smack to Kaito’s uninjured shoulder, just forceful enough to startle him out of the daze he had slipped into. With a shaky nod, Kaito snaps through the signs for the Earth jutsu and vanishes into the ground. Sakura drapes her genjutsu over the area just outside the dome and follows right behind.

Tetsuya is spread across the ground in pieces when they arrive at his position.

Choking down the bile that rises in her throat at the gruesome display - most field kills are more clean-cut, partly for efficiency and partly out of respect, even for an enemy shinobi - Sakura forces herself to focus on nothing but strategy and the enemies fully prepared to kill her next.

The rate she’s been burning through jutsu isn’t sustainable, but there are too many enemies left for her to engage in close-combat, and the ground is too wet to shatter. She’s already having to direct additional chakra to both her eyes for visibility and her cardiovascular system to maintain body heat.

She and Kaito are going to have to make a stand here, at least until they can thin the enemy’s numbers enough to create an opening to their team leader. With what little she’s seen of his abilities, their captain should be able to hold on for another few minutes.

Sakura is painfully reminded of why she prefers to work with her regular team when Kaito dives toward the nearest ANBU, the faint glow of lightning-natured chakra humming down his blade.

Team 7’s battle formations were second nature; they discussed mission-specific strategy setting out, but their battles were almost wordless. In this situation, Sasuke and Naruto would have taken on the long-range fighters as Kakashi drove the mid-range fighters into close-range combat with Sakura. Sai would have provided aerial support focused on mid-range fighters if Sakura had her hands full at close-range.

She resolves to never complain about her teammates’ penchant for turning every fight into a damn competition again - even with their dramatics, she’s never once doubted that her team will be there at the exact moment she needs them.

She’s yet to feel that level of synchrony with any other team, and she certainly doesn’t feel it now.

Sakura keeps Kaito in her peripheral vision as she catches a blade with her kunai and tries to fit his style into one of ANBU’s standard formations. New ANBU squads typically operate on variations of a standardized set of battle formations, as the sets allow for more flexibility between teams.

Kaito’s style, however, is erratic, driven by fear as his eyes stray towards every piece of his teammate he manages to spot on the ground. His stilted movements are more focused on keeping the enemies closest to him back than coordinating an attack with her.

Sakura adds yet another resolution to her increasingly long list, but she’s viciously stubborn that she’ll get back to Konoha and check every one of them off. She’ll need to speak to Tsunade about integrating more teamwork scenarios into ANBU’s training regimen.

Lashing out alone is the fastest way to die in the field.

Sakura sweeps her thumb along the seals on the underside of her left wrist-guard and launches a set of poisoned senbon at the three ANBU closest to her. She doesn’t actually expect the senbon to hit, and they don’t as the ANBU either dodge or deflect. Instead, Sakura takes advantage of the split second distraction to shunt chakra into her feet and drive close enough to an ANBU to trace a chakra scalpel neatly across their jugular.

The body hasn’t hit the ground before Sakura has the ANBU’s katana out of its scabbard and moves towards the next target.

She manages to hold her own for several more minutes, exchanging blows and countering a handful of A- and B-rank elemental jutsu with her own, until a scream cuts through the air. It’s the desperation in the scream - a wet, terrified noise almost ripped from Kaito’s throat - that draws Sakura’s attention from her own fight.

Time seems to slow as she realizes she’s not fast enough to stop what’s about to happen. She can almost hear Sasuke’s constant harping for her to work on her speed over the rushing sound in her ears.

Kaito stands frozen, mask shattered to pieces on the ground, as he locks gazes with one of the Grass shinobi. Before Kaito even has the chance to realize he’s ensnared in a genjutsu, the Grass nin’s companion brings his sword down on the boy’s neck.

Desperation immediately overshadows any grief Sakura might have felt over Kaito’s death as she finds herself surrounded by seven of the original twelve ANBU. Her natural chakra reserves are just over a third full, enough to push out a few elemental jutsu with her level of chakra control, and most of the wounds she’s sustained are minor sans the two-inch deep gash in her thigh. Her eyes burn from the strain of the chakra she continues to circulate through them, and she can feel the rain leeching warmth from her body.

She’s not hopeless, not yet. Not until long after she’s tapped out her byakugō and the scrolls at her waist. She’s got plenty of hell left to give.

That same desperation begins to give way to mounting anger at the brutal way her teammates have been killed, but she shoves it back in hopes of finding her captain in this mess and getting out. If they can lose the Grass ANBU even for a few seconds, she can use one of her personal genjutsu to hide their presence until they can work out a safe route to Konoha.

Her strategy is promptly dropped when the same man who captured Kaito in a genjutsu motions to one of his own teammates. Hyūga Ryota’s body drops unceremoniously to the muddy ground, at the best angle for Sakura to see that his eyes have been taken.

She’s only slightly relieved to notice the weak rise and fall of his chest.

As the pieces click into place, Sakura realizes that the attack with this large of an ANBU force was too well-timed to be a coincidence. If Grass had known there would be a Hyūga on their squad, this was an inside job.

A Leaf traitor had cost her two teammates.

It’s all Sakura can do to keep her breathing under control and steel herself against the steady voice in her mind that calls for blood. She gives Ryota a quick once over and decides that he may not survive long enough for her to retrieve the Byakugan and get them somewhere she can provide proper medical treatment.

Kakashi’s first lesson to her team - that those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum - runs through her head to damn the decision she comes to, but this is war, and she’s confident she can accomplish both objectives if she plays this smart enough. Her mind is already running through every possible scenario in which she can find the eyes in time to get Ryota out of there.

Sakura shifts into a defensive stance and surveys the ANBU who form a staggered circle around her, but curiously have yet to move against her. She promptly discards that observation, as she’ll gladly take the first move. She doesn’t even try to pretend she has a chance against all of them at once, so she prioritizes.

She’ll start with the ANBU who had been carrying Ryota and work her way through the masks she doesn’t recognize from her and Kaito’s earlier fights if that one doesn’t have the eyes.

A low laugh catches her just as she makes her way into the signs of a suiton jutsu she’d intended to use to capitalize on the relentless rain. Again, the voice is there, edging closer to the forefront of Sakura’s mind and clamoring for her to make the man who finds this amusing bleed.

She’s not sure how much energy she cares to spend continuing to stifle that voice.

“Haruno Sakura - the Tsuchikage requests your presence back in Iwagakure. Come quietly, and I’ll have the Hyūga boy dropped safely back in the Land of Fire near a well-traveled trail so he’ll be picked up soon.”

Sakura slowly drops her hands back to her sides, one with an active chakra scalpel and the other resting on top of her kunai pouch, as she unpacks that one statement. It’s evidence that Grass has joined the long list of smaller countries aligning with the enemy and that the contact in Konoha is privy to sensitive information beyond ANBU, who don’t use those regular trails.

She also notes the implications of how the Grass shinobi, who she pegs as the leader, phrased his statement - the Tsuchikage seemed to want her alive, most likely to lure the rest of Team 7 into enemy territory. It gives her a bit more leeway, since she’ll be the only one fighting to kill.

Baring her teeth, Sakura bites out a tart response:

“You can tell the Tsuchikage to go to fucking hell. Keep each other company once I take you out, asshole.”

Another laugh. The circle of ANBU take a step closer. Red tinges Sakura’s vision as the leader twists his sword into Ryota’s palm, earning a broken whimper she can still hear clearly through the rain.

Sakura’s moving with a speed even Sasuke would have been proud of in the next moment, her kunai bearing down on the man’s throat. She meets his gaze head-on, wanting to see the life drain out of them, and instead sees the world melt into an inverted grey-scale before she can even nick his skin.

The lead Grass nin is a fucking Uchiha. A shinobi from one of the Leaf’s most powerful clans turned rogue.

“You traitorous bastard.”

Sakura’s low growl is met with a louder, clearer version of the laugh she’d just heard seconds before that echoes in the empty space around her.

“Just say the word when you’re ready to come willingly, Sa-ku-ra-chan. Or don’t.”

The world around her goes dark. It’s an empty, infinite blackness without the sharply defined edges that come with shadows in reality. This is a formless, all-encompassing sort of darkness that threatens to steal the air from her lungs and breathes a chill of terror down the back of her neck.

It’s a genjutsu. Focus, Sakura.

Over the course of what feels like days stretched into weeks stretched into years, Sakura watches as her friends, family, and comrades are taken apart piece by piece. She feels the phantom pain as Sasuke’s Sharingan bright eyes are torn from their sockets, all while he rages at her for being the same annoying, useless, pathetic girl she was as a child.

Escape, Sakura. Focus.

She feels the slicing and tearing of a hundred swords piercing every inch of her body as she watches the same happen to Kakashi until he bleeds out, all while he spits venom about having ever been assigned to teach such a useless little girl who has no business playing kunoichi. Dead weight, he calls her.

She screams through the torture of having her skin flayed from her bones as Naruto is stripped of his. The image of his bright smile faltering into a silent scream follows her even as she tries to close her eyes.

Lee. Neji. Shikamaru. Kankuro. Hinata. Chouji. Tenten. Shizune. Sai. Ino. Tsunade. Okaa-san. Otou-san. On and on and on.

Sakura snaps. Black lines twist out from her seal, etching themselves down her cheeks and arms. She doesn’t even notice as the force of her chakra and rage shatters the genjutsu around her, the mantra of kill kill kill ringing through her mind as she lunges to the first sign of movement.

Soaked to the bone in blood, Sakura doesn’t notice the red string that knots itself around her wrist as her hand plunges through the chest of her enemy.

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A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I was a little hesitant to post this since another one of my works starts with a fight scene as well, but hopefully I was able to convey the emotional difference between the two. A Lesson in Practicality will be a Time Travel AU (eventually), while this one is obviously a Soulmate AU! I've also never written ItaSaku, so fingers crossed.

Please let me know your thoughts if you have the time. Your feedback means the world to me. ^_^

#itasaku #itachi uchiha #sakura haruno #naruto fanfiction #naruto fanfic #itasaku fanfic #itasaku romance #soulmate au #itasaku soulmate au #anbu sakura

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thehappynerd19 · 3 years ago

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How to study in less time

You mean you don’t have hours to sit at your desk and study, right?

Maybe you moved to a new city and getting from home to school takes forever by train or bus.

Maybe you’re a student with a part-time job.

Maybe you’re a student who is also raising a small child.

Maybe there’s so much going on in your life right now that sitting and studying for 5–6 hours each day seems like a luxury.

Either way, it’s still OK. Because studying doesn’t have to be a 12-hour ordeal.

The solution is to get strategic about studying. Which means:

Being smarter about your time and what you need to do with it

Not waiting until one week before exam time to open your textbook

Being proactive about reaching your study goals every single day

How does this look on a day-to-day basis?

If you follow these 5 strategies, you’ll see that it’s actually doable.

Strategy #1. Finish your most difficult study tasks early.

Why? Because you take full advantage of your circadian rhythm — your biological clock. For most people, the brain’s peak performance happens 2-4 hours after you wake up: if you get up at 8, the peak time is 10–12. This is the time when your analytical brain takes over and you can focus better on absorbing new material.

What are the benefits? Doing your hard work early in the day allows your brain to focus fully on the material in front of you with fewer distractions, less inputs from your environment, and with more energy that you've gained from a restful night.

What about distractions? When you’re in learning mode, turn off your phone or at least the volume setting, avoid responding to calls and text messages, and ignore other distractions such as emails, reading the news or what’s in your social media feed. You’ll notice a big difference in the way and the speed at which you can absorb new material.

Strategy #2. Use a timer so you don’t waste time.

Why? Reading for hours on end is probably the worst approach you can take when studying. It will zap your energy, decrease your motivation, and negatively impact your focus on what’s in front of you. Instead, use a timer to allow your brain to focus in a more targeted and effective way. Here’s how.

How to review study material? Set the timer to 30-60 minute increments to maximize concentration; or, you can also try the Pomodoro technique which consists of 25 minute blocks of time, followed by 5 minute breaks.

How to prep for exams? Use your timer to simulate an exam. First, start by reading the review questions in your textbook or those provided your professor. Or, you can create your own questions based on the most important concepts from each chapter. Write the questions on a sheet of paper in a list format. Set your timer to the Pomodoro technique to give yourself only a short time to answer the questions, and go down the list until you’ve covered them all.

How to make sure you remember it? Write an outline of the basic points and then say each point out loud. You can take it a step further: tell a friend, family member or even your dog what you’ve just learned and why you thought it was interesting and important. This help you review, recall, and retain what you’ve learned in a much better way than just silently looking over the material and writing it out.

Strategy #3. Take notes as you read your textbook.

Why? Taking notes is a valuable skill to learn not just for the sake of giving your reading experience more structure. It’s also really good for your brain because it helps to amplify your focus and concentration, makes retaining and recalling information easier, boosts your cognitive skills, strengthens memory, and engages your critical thinking skills.

How?

Dedicate a notebook to your reading. Then, as you read through articles and books, start a note on each one by writing the title, author’s name, and date when you read it, which can be an added memory boost when you look at your notes later.

Focus on key concepts, ideas, and topics. Don’t make it a goal to write down every little thing you read. That will take forever and you won’t benefit from your notes. Instead, boost your critical thinking skills by identifying what is relevant to the topic. If you’re not sure how to begin, try the Cornell Method.

Write everything in list format. This saves time, enables you to skim the material when you need it, helps you locate information faster, and makes the review process easier.

Get creative with drawing and color. Use markers or highlighters to prioritize concepts (use one color to mark those that are top priority, and a second color for second level priority items). This helps important information stand out and makes it easier to find later.

#study #studyblr #studyaccount #studentblogger #studentblog #studytips #studygram #studytechniques #studyblog #studyblogpost #studymotivation

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n1ght5h4d3-24 · 3 years ago

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Timeless (XV)

A/N: Timeless is inspired by @just-dreaming-marvel 's Out Of Time series. Likes, comments and reblogs are appreciated. Italic paragraphs are memories.

(Previously On...)

During the flight, the young girl uses the time to read through the manila folder she had been given. Cerulean eyes darted over the black words on the white papers, Anthony "Tony" Stark had gone missing in Afghanistan three months ago after a weapons demonstration went sideways. Her mission, was to protect him as his personal security detail and find out what had happened to him during those three months. Before the plane landed, Olivia made sure she was well equipped and that her pantsuit wasn't too wrinkled. Agent Coulson had informed her that once the plane landed, they were to meet Tony in the airport but, when they arrived, they were informed that Tony had requested a press conference to be held at Stark Industries headquarters. The duo made their way to Stark Industries HQ and had arrived before the young inventor did.

"So, are you nervous?" Coulson wonders.

They were being lead to the room where the press conference was going to be held.

"I don't think nervous even begins to describe how I feel in this moment." Olivia confessed.

"You know, this could be a long mission. This is your final opportunity to back out." he tells her.

The now brunette haired girl shook her head, "No, no. I can do this, Phil. It's just Howard's son...I've got it."

Before Agent Coulson could say anything more, people began to go wild. The duo turned their attention to the window and watched as Tony's car pulled up. They waited patiently for the man of the hour to enter and make his way up onto the stage before making a move. Phil and Olivia took noticed of the sling that Tony's right arm was in and the wounds on his face. From where she was standing, Olivia could tell that the inventor had seen things over the months he had been missing. Phil left her side briefly to speak with Pepper Potts, Tony's personal assistant. The young girl turned her head to watch the two interact.

"Miss Potts?" Phil calls out to the strawberry blonde.

"Yes?" she responds.

"May I speak with you for a moment?" he inquires.

"Oh, I'm not a part of the press conference but, it's about to begin right now." she tells him.

"I'm not a reporter. I'm Agent Phil Coulson, with the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division." he introduces himself.

"That's quite a mouthful." Pepper comments.

Olivia chuckles from her place in the room. The woman was right, they should really start introducing themselves as SHIELD instead of what they stood for.

"I know, we're working on it." he informs her, handing her a business card.

Pepper takes the card from him, "You know, we've been approached already by the DOD, the FBI, the CIA..."

"We're a separate division with a more specific focus. We need to debrief Mr. Stark about the circumstances of his escape." Phil tells her.

"I'll put something in the book, shall I?" Pepper says.

"Thank you," was Phil's response.

Olivia was about to make her way over and introduce herself to Pepper when the press conference began. Obadiah Stane, who ran the company next to Tony, stood behind the podium while Tony sat on the ground in front of it, eating a burger. As Agent Rogers took in Obadiah, she began to have an off feeling about him. She couldn't put a finger on the feeling, but she knew that it wasn't a good feeling.

"Okay, well...lets get this started. Uhh..." Obadiah began, although he had no idea how to go about starting the conference.

"Hey, would it be all right if everyone sat down?" Tony piped up from his place on his floor. "Why don't you just sit down? That way you can see me, and I can...A little less formal and..."

Everyone did as Tony asked, taking a seat on the floor in front of the man of the hour. Tony took a minute for himself. Olivia overheard a conversation from behind her.

"What's up with the love-in?" a male voice asked.

"Don't look at me." she heard Pepper respond. "I don't know what he's up to."

"I never got to say goodbye to my father." Tony says, gaining Olivia's full attention.

Her mind flashed back to when Peggy had told her about the accident. The pain and anguish she felt that day, washed over her once more.

"There's questions I would have liked to ask him. I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did. If he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the newsreels." Olivia's attention was drawn back to Tony, when he continued speaking.

"I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountable." Tony finished.

"Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark!" the reporters all called out.

"Hey Ben," Tony greets one of the reporters.

"What happened over there?" Ben asked him.

"I had my eyes opened," Tony tells him. "I came to realize that I have more to offer to this world than just making things blow up. And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark International..." he had gotten up to stand behind the podium.

All the reporters started to clamor, getting up from the ground and asking questions all at once.

"Until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be." he finishes his statement.

Obadiah got up and stood beside Tony, attempting to calm down the press. Olivia turned to look at Coulson who gave her a nod, it was time for her to begin her assignment. She composed herself before getting up off the floor and made her way over to Pepper and Tony's friend, Colonel James Rhodes.

"Pardon me," she spoke up, gaining their attention.

When the two of them looked in her direction, she held her hand out towards the strawberry-blonde female.

"Ms. Potts, my name is Olivia Coulson. You and Stark Industries hired me to be Tony's personal body guard." the young girl introduces herself.

Pepper grasped her outstretched hand and shook it, looking over the girl.

"Wow...you um...you're a lot younger than I imagined you'd be." she comments.

Olivia gave her a smile, "It makes me good at my job. More unsuspecting this way." she tells her.

Pepper released the young girl's hand and both of them let their arms return to their sides.

"Well, you already know my name. This is Tony's friend, Colonel James Rhodes." she introduces the man beside her.

"Colonel," Olivia greets, holding her hand out to him this time.

"Ms. Coulson." James returned the handshake. "Do Happy and Tony know that you've arrived?" he wonders.

"Happy is aware. I was going to let Tony know about her arrival and about her place at the hospital but, to no surprise, things didn't go as planned." Pepper answers.

As they spoke, Olivia had been observing the room when she spotted Tony walking out of the building. She watched a male exit after him before turning her attention back to Pepper and James.

"I believe Mr. Stark just exited the building and I'm assuming Mr. Hogan followed out behind him. I should go catch up with them and introduce myself." she tells them before excusing herself and headed for the exit.

When she walked out of the building, she pulled out her baseball cap and put it on before also sliding on a pair Wayfarer sunglasses. She tailed the men all the way over to another building, watching as Tony walked in but, Happy remained outside. He leaned against a car and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it. She approaches the man, stopping beside him.

"Mr. Hogan, I'm Olivia Coulson." she introduces herself to him.

"You're the new personal guard?" he wonders, taking in the young girl.

"I am." she agrees.

"You uh...you look..." Happy trails off, unsure how to word what he wanted to say.

"Yes, I am aware." Olivia inputted.

She then looks at the building that Tony had entered, "How come you didn't follow Mr. Stark inside?" she inquires.

"He asked to be alone." was Happy's response.

She turns her attention back to Happy, tilting her head slightly. "I don't think he should be alone right now, do you?" she wonders.

Happy lowers the sunglasses he had on, down the bridge of his nose, looking at the young girl over the top rims of the glasses.

"Look, listen to me, kid. If Tony wants to be alone, then you've gotta just leave him be. It's just a word of advice." he tells her before pushing his sunglasses back up his face.

"Thanks for that, but as his new personal body guard and new head of security, I'll leave him be when I decide to do so. This is not going to be then." Olivia tells him before approaching the building.

She opened the door and walked in. Upon entering, she took off her sunglasses before taking note of a giant machine in the center of the floor. She was in awe of the machine and was curious about what it could do.

"Hey Howard, whatcha working on?" Olivia asked him in curiosity.

"The Stark Gravatic Reversion technology." came Howard's answer.

"The same technology from your Stark Expo?" she wonders.

"The same one. It's not working out the way I want it to." Howard tells her.

"Well, maybe I can help you. Show me the blueprints and we can work together on it. It'll give me something to do while..." she trails off.

Howard took a look at the young girl beside him before setting his tools down.

"Alright, I don't see why not. The blueprints are over here." he tells her.

Olivia shook her head, ridding her conscious of the memory. She had a mission to focus on. She turned her attention away from the machine in the room and set her attention on Tony. She made her way over to him.

"Mr. Stark," she called out to the man.

The inventor turned around to face the girl, "What can I do for you, kid? Want an autograph or a selfie?" he asks her.

"No, sir. My name is Olivia Coulson and I'm your new body guard." she informs him.

Tony looks at her incredulously, "You, my new body guard? Funny story, kid. Look, just tell me what you're really after, all right." he tells her.

The young girl lets out a sigh, she knew this mission was going to be hard to sell on.

"Mr. Stark, I really am you're new body guard. Ms. Potts and your company, Stark Industries, hired me once they were aware of your return. Everyone is concerned for your safety, and its understandable given the information we've gathered on you." she informs him.

"You're just a kid. They're expecting me to put my life in the hands of a child?" Tony asks.

Olivia smirked, "So you're agreeing to a body guard?"

"No, of course not. I'm just trying to figure out what kind of government sends a kid into the field." Tony tells her.

"Sir, I've passed every agency test with flying colors, falling into the top percentile and holding the records. The rest of my resume is on your desk, or I believe that your AI, JARVIS, has the details of it. The fact that I look young means that I'm unsuspecting towards anyone who would target you." She says.

She was growing tired of the fact that she kept hitting a wall with him. She was aware that she looked like a child, having been sleeping in ice kept her young. She watched as Tony looked her up and down before nodding his head.

"All right, fine. For the sake of Ms. Potts, you can stay." he tells her.

Olivia let out a sigh of relief, glad that he had finally given in. She gave him a nod.

"Great. Don't worry, I won't get in your way." she said.

Tony turned his attention back to the machine and Olivia scanned the room, mentally noting the many exits and windows that were on the current floor. When the sound of a door being opened echoed into the room, she reacted quickly, her hand going to the gun tucked away in her waistband. Her stature relaxed only slightly when she realized it was Obadiah Stane who had entered. Her hand fell away from her waistband before she gave the man a nod, him giving one in return. Her Cerulean eyes followed his form over to Tony before she turned her attention to elsewhere in the room.

"Well, that uh...that went over well." Obadiah comments.

"What's with the kid?" he then asks, jerking a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the young girl standing in the background.

"Don't mind her." Tony tells him.

He then thinks about how the press conference went, "Did I just paint a target on the back of my head?" he wonders.

"Your head? What about my head?" Obadiah asks him. "What do you think the over-under on the stock drop is going to be tomorrow?"

"Uhh...optimistically? 40 points." was Tony's answer.

"At minimum." Obadiah says.

"Yup." Tony agrees.

"Tony, we're a weapons manufacturer." Obadiah reminds him.

"Obie, I just don't want body count to be our only legacy." Tony tells him.

Olivia observed the two men, listening in on their conversation after she had moved a bit closer to hear them better. That off feeling about Obadiah was becoming stronger as she listened to the men talk.

"That's what we do. We're iron mongers. We make weapons." Obadiah says.

"It's my name on the side of the building." Tony reminds him.

"And what we do keeps the world from falling into chaos." Obadiah tries to change the young inventor's mind.

"Not based on what I saw." Tony tells him. "We're not doing a good enough job. We can do better. We're going to do something else."

Olivia didn't appreciate how Obadiah couldn't seem to understand where Tony was coming from. He kept pushing for the inventor to keep making weapons when it was clear to her that, that wasn't what he wanted to do anymore.

"Like what? You want us to make baby bottles?" Obadiah asks incredulously.

"I think we should take another look into the arc reactor technology." Tony tells him.

"Aw, come on. The arc reactor? That's a publicity stunt!" Obadiah tells him. "Tony, come on. We built that thing to shut the hippies up!"

"It works." Tony stated.

"Yeah, as a science project." Obadiah commented. "The arc was never cost effective. We knew that before we built it. Arc reactor technology, that's a dead end...right?"

"Maybe." Tony replied.

"Huh? Am I right? We haven't had a breakthrough in what? Thirty years?" Obadiah inquires.

Tony turned around to face Obadiah then, as his business partner had walked behind him.

"That's what they say." he comments.

Olivia continues to observe the two men from where she stood, watching as Tony seemed to study Obadiah's face before he said anything more.

"Could you have a lousier poker face?" Tony wonders. "Just tell me, who told you?"

"Never mind who told me. Show me." Obadiah tells him.

"Rhodey or Pepper? It's Rhodey or Pepper."

"I want to see it."

"Okay, so Rhodey."

Tony pulls his arm out of his sling before he goes about unbuttoning his shirt. The two men look around the room, taking note that it was still only the young girl in the room. The young inventor opens up his shirt to show a metallic, circular plate that was partially sticking out of his chest.

"Okay," Obadiah takes it in before looking around the room again.

He then buttons up Tony's shirt for him.

"Okay? It works." Tony tells him.

"Listen to me, Tony." Obadiah swings an arm around Tony's shoulders. "We're a team, you understand? There's nothing we can't do if we stick together, like your father and I."

Olivia turned her focus to the older man, he worked with Howard? Then clearly Howard had lost his sense of people as time progressed because, she had a feeling that Obadiah had a hidden agenda.

"I'm sorry I didn't give you a heads-up, okay? But if I had..."

"Tony." Obadiah interrupts him.

"Tony, no more of this "Ready, aim, fire" business. You understand me?" he inquires.

"That was Dad's line." Tony commented quietly.

Obadiah pulls his arm back and settles with placing his hand on Tony's shoulder this time.

"You've got to let me handle this. We're going to have to play a whole different kind of ball now." he states.

Tony gathers his jacket and the two of them began to walk away from the machine.

"We're going to have to take a lot of heat. I want you to promise me that you're going to lay low." Obadiah tells him.

Tony gives him a nod before heading for the door. Obadiah stops to stand beside Olivia, looking her over.

"Who are you, kid?" he asks.

Olivia just stares at the man for a moment before she slides her sunglasses back on. He became uncomfortable with her staring at him and decided to just leave. Her Cerulean eyes tracked his leaving form, yeah...there's definitely something off about him. She sighs to herself before heading for the doors, exiting the building and joined Tony in the car that Happy was chauffeuring.

(Next Time On...)

#Timeless #Marvel Imagine #Marvel Fanfiction #Marvel Imagines #Olivia Rogers #Iron Man #Tony Stark Imagine #Iron Man imagine #Tony Stark Imagines #Iron Man imagines #Happy Hogan #Pepper Potts #Colonel James Rhodes #Obadiah Stane #Phil Coulson #SHIELD #platonic!Tony Stark x OC #Olivia Coulson

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shantamm · 3 years ago

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A Complete Guide to Google My Business

https://www.digitalsandipacademy.com/a-complete-guide-to-google-my-business/What is Google My Business?

Google My Business (GMB) is a free Google product that allows business owners to control how their listings appear in Google search results and on Google Maps. You may use it to claim your free Google local business listing and add information such as your contact information, business hours, photographs, services, and more. Because the information you contribute to your listing can display in a variety of places on the search engine, including the knowledge panel, the local pack, and maps,

it is a platform that every local business owner should be aware of and use. To put it another way, more than 60% of consumers who look for businesses on Google are ready to buy. This guide was written to help you get these customers through your doors. You can master GMB, take advantage of all of its capabilities, and attract the most clients with it.

Why is Google My Business Important?Keep track of your data

Manage the information that users find when they search for your company or the products and services you provide on Google. People may see information like your hours, website, and street address when they search for your business on Google Maps and Search. Google My Business can provide you with information into your business that you wouldn’t be able to receive from other platforms, and it can also assist you in making strategic decisions. The following are some of these observations:

The number of people who have seen your profile, images, and posts.

The keywords and phrases that consumers use to find your company.

A demographic profile of your target market (age groups, gender, and countries).

The number of internet visits, phone calls, and questions about directions.

Interact with clients

You can read and comment on customer evaluations. Post images of yourself doing what you do. Businesses with photographs in their Business Profiles receive 42% more requests for directions on Google Maps and 35% more clicks through to their websites than those without.

Recognize and expand your presence

Learn how clients look for your business and where they come from by gathering data. In Search and Maps, you can also find out how often people call your business straight from the phone number listed on local search results. You may develop and track the performance of Smart campaigns to spread the word about what you have to offer.

The Ability to Gather and Display Reviews

You can collect client reviews and demonstrate the quality of your products or services to potential customers by using Google My Business. Searchers are increasingly looking for social proof that a company is deserving of its business, and online evaluations will be one of the most powerful tools in 2021. A 5-star review stands out, and implementing a strategy to inspire your consumers to rate your service or product will help you attract new customers.

Appointment Tool

Google My Business’s Book an Appointment tool makes it easy for customers to receive what they need from your listing. This can be a very beneficial feature for beauty salons, spas, dentists, and other appointment-taking businesses, as it saves both the searcher and the business time. Simplifying the customer journey with technologies like these will only result in happier customers, which should lead to happier businesses.

How Do I Get My Business Listed On Google and Set Up Google My Business?Step 1- Please go to the following page

Go to Google and enter in “google my business” or go to https://www.google.com/business/.

Step 2- Select Manage Now from the drop-down menu

It will prompt you to sign in if you are not currently logged into a Google account.

Step 3- Choosing a Name for Your Company

If you haven’t already done so, it will prompt you to input the name of your business once you’ve logged in. Feel free to type it in. You should see your listing appear if someone has already listed you on Google (which isn’t uncommon).

Step 4- Make a company with this name

Otherwise, if your business appears (like it does in the example below), click it.

Step 5- Choosing a Location

Whether you operate a shop or a service area, the way you set up your site will be different. How to Hide Your Address If you already have a listing and wish to hide your address from Google, you may do so via your GMB dashboard’s data settings; we’ve covered how to hide your Google My Business location from Google Maps here.

Step 6- Sort Your Company Into Categories

This is a vital step as well, so don’t skip it. Take your time and do things correctly. You’ll be able to set both primary and secondary categories when you set up your “categories.” If you want to appear on Google’s results page when potential customers search for a product or service you provide, you must get this step right.

Step 7- Choose which contact information to display to your customers

It is optional to include this information in your Google listing, however, I strongly advise it. The obvious benefit of adding your website is that it may drive a customer to your site, where you can more quickly convert them to a lead. Customers will be able to contact you directly if you include your phone number.

Step 8- Complete and double-check your business

Don’t get too worked up. You haven’t finished yet. After that, you’ll need to validate your firm, which could take a few days. In the interim, you can work on optimizing your listing. Google may provide you with a different option for verifying your business, but for the most part, you’ll have to wait for a postcard from Google with a verification number to arrive in the mail.

Step 9- How to Check the Status of Your Google My Business Listing

You may have a few alternatives for verifying your business depending on the type of business listing you’re intending to create (or manage):

Check by mail (postcard), Verify over the phone, please confirm by email, Instantaneous confirmation, Verification in bulk.

Step 10- How to enter the 5 digit code

When your postcard arrives, go back to google.com/mybusiness, select Verify Location from the menu or the Verify Now option if it’s accessible, and then input the 5-digit code from your postcard. And that’s all there is to it.

Selecting the Most Appropriate Google My Business Category

If you’re not sure which category is right for your firm, do a Google search for your industry and check which categories other competitors choose. If you want to see a current list of categories accessible, we also have a searchable list of Google My Business categories. If you notice a pattern among them all, you can generally guess which category you should go with.

How to Make Your Google My Business Listing More Effective?

You can go further to improve and enhance your GMB listing once you’ve set up and completed as much of it as possible. There are a plethora of excellent publications available to assist you in improving your local SEO, many of which contain helpful tips on how to enhance your Google My Business listing.

Create a business profile for yourself.

Fill out all of the fields on your Google My Business account.

When it comes to contact information, be thorough.

Primary and secondary categories should be chosen.

Make a checkbox for any properties that apply.

Create a detailed “from the standpoint of the company” description.

Weekly Google posts should be published.

Weekly new photos will be uploaded.

Respond to the questions.

Gather feedback and reply to it.

Add your goods and/or services to the mix.

Create a messaging system.

Keep your company profile up to date

Managing your Google Business Account?

Managing your Google My Business account…

Google My Business allows you to add or change your hours.

Customers may find out when your business is open by using Google My Business. To add or alter your Google business hours, follow these steps:

Look for the “Add hours” options or the section that shows your current opening hours on your Info page.

Select the Hours icon, which looks like a clock. Select the days when your business is available to the public.

Select the opening and closing hours for each day that you are open.

Apply the hours to complete the task.

App for Google My Business on Mobile

You may also use the Google My Business app for iOS and Android to view and manage your GMB account. You can do the following with the Google My Business app: In the “Profile” tab, update your listing information. Create events and publish information and photos using the “Post” button. In the “Customers” area, respond to customer feedback or make special offers. Check out customer insights on where people are looking for you and how many people are looking for you. Set up a notification system for when customers talk about your company.

You now know (nearly) all there is to know about the marvelous tool that is Google My Business, from why it is so important to local search to the capabilities it offers and how to use them.

As we previously stated, the journey does not end here, but with all of this information at your disposal, you’re well on your way to becoming a Google My Business superstar.

https://www.digitalsandipacademy.com/a-complete-guide-to-google-my-business/

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bbq-hawks-wings · 5 years ago

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BBQ gripes about fanon Hawks

Not even gonna put this in the character tags aside from the spoiler one I use just for the anime-onlies on my blog. I'm salty. I just wanna vent. I want to keep the general character tags fun because it was awful when I went looking for new content and found so much Not Fun material a while back; and I don’t want to become what I hate. Basic point - my blog, my vent, and unless it’s reblogged (which you are welcome to if you like) this post dies here.

Please know this isn't a callout post or me claiming that others are being fans of Hawks "wrong" because they disagree with me. I am a huge proponent that (with very few exceptions) fiction and fandom should be free to be enjoyed, reinterpreted, or otherwise indulged in however the individual fan prefers; and if I don't like it, I let them have their space and go do my thing elsewhere and leave them alone (hence why this not going in character tags). I just have been annoyed with the rampant mangling of Hawks' canon personality/characterization - that is, confusing common fanon interpretations of him with how he’s actually written/portrayed and then getting angry (like, actually-angry-spilling-into-publicly-dragging-real-people, not just disappointed) when he acts like canon Hawks in canon. Non-canon is open season and by and large has my blessing, it’s just frustrating when it gets dragged into discussions about the manga.

This has been going on a long time, but I just want to get it out of my system in my personal space. All this is, is my "Overthinking Tumblr blogger Shakes Fist at Cloud" moment.

#1 Hawks is a sociopath/unempathetic.

I just... I... You can't be reading the same manga I am if you genuinely come to this conclusion about who he is in canon. A man with nothing to gain by looking like this when considering the depths of the suffering inflicted on others that he bears some amount of responsibility in...

...cannot be called unempathetic.

"But he killed Twice and Best Jeanist!"

Twofold counterargument to this one, starting with BJ - we don't actually know he's dead. There's a body, there's a disappearance, and we have no idea wtf happened, but we also don't know wtf happened. It's drastically ooc for Hawks to murder someone in cold blood. For someone who places emphasis on speed specifically "because when two sides keep fighting and won’t give up, someone eventually has to die" it makes no sense for him to not have had a plan and simply ambush a man in his own home - this goes doubly since he was in contact with the HSPC and had time to "premeditate" anyway.

And as for Twice: Hawks ran out of options. He wanted to detain Twice and keep him from escaping and helping the MLA. He was able to do so when alone, but the moment Dabi cornered him Hawks had a choice to make - probably die in the fight and let Jin go or make absolute certain he can’t and still probably end up dying because he's in bad shape and still probably won't make it out of this, regardless. I don't need to harp on this - it's been said a couple different times now by several people. Even in 266 when Dabi initially ambushes Hawks, Hawks thinks to himself that he’ll carry Jin out of the building to keep himself and Jin safe before Twice retaliated and Dabi literally forces Hawks into a corner.

Jin's loss was a blow, but the chips on the table being wagered are human lives, not feelings. Up until that point, Hawks did everything he could despite the weight of his decision. Human life is human life, and Jin’s life isn’t more important than the may more who will be saved by quashing the MLA’s revolution. Simply equating “could kill someone” with “unempathetic” is fundamentally flawed, and mistaking someone who is pushed to kill despite every attempt to avoid it as unempathetic and even sociopathic has missed the point to the extreme - the mere fact he avoided lethal force for so long alone proves he possesses empathy.

#2 Hawks is a compulsive liar.

He is a good liar, but he does not like lying. He does twist the truth, but always when forced to keep a secret. Even then, his lies are predominantly spun from truth and omitted details instead of outright fabrications. He doesn’t gaslight, and he doesn’t make up stories/details if he can help it.

When Hawks told Endeavor his dreams for the future, that was the truth. When he told him he thought he was cool at the hero billboards, that was the truth. When he tells Tokoyami to focus on his strengths instead of merely covering his weaknesses to be a better hero, that was the truth. When Tokoyami asks Hawks for his weakness and even why he took him on as an intern in the beginning just to ignore him, he tells him the truth. When he tells Jin he "doesn't belong in a cage" and that he considers him a good person, that was the truth. When he recognizes he’s profoundly wounded Jin for deceiving him for months, he tells Jin the truth. When confronted by Dabi and he doesn’t need to lie anymore in this fight to the death, he tells him the truth despite not actually needing to in hopes to learn the truth behind Dabi and Shigaraki.

I don't have a better segue, so I'll just mention that a lot of folks who believe this also believe the next point.

#3 Hawks is unapologetically emotionally manipulative.

The context makes a huge difference and we need to look at when and why he manipulates others as well as the fact that he does.

At the hero billboards, Hawks plays the heroes on stage as well as the crowd. He's trying to shift the mindset of, "oh yeah, just another hero ranking" to "wake up, mf's, things are changing and you better be ready to change, too!" Rocking the boat is a huge no-no in Japan. Despite being part of his “persona” there is still real social risk involved with this move but one that he deems necessary to turn heads and get gears turning. This is not just an elaborate ploy to get under Endeavor’s skin, but an effort to reach a wider audience while he has them captive.

He does use the public crowd around him and Endeavor before the Hood fight as an excuse for its appearance, but the original intent was to mentally prepare Endeavor for what was potentially (and proved to be) the fight of his life without outright telling him so he could maintain his undercover status. When he realizes he’s part of the reason for Endeavor’s permanent scar and life-threatening injuries, he feels remorse.

He lies to Jin to get information out of him, but linking back to #2, when calls Jin a good person and offers him a way out, he’s telling the truth. He does feel guilt for having to manipulate an otherwise well-meaning person and betraying them, especially given his long-running history of being used and the ongoing issues he suffers from because of it.

When he meets up again with Endeavor to drop his clues about the League’s movements, he squirms when he realizes the interns don’t know him well enough to know he’s blowing smoke because he does NOT want these kids to actually buy what he’s selling. This espionage mission is hard to navigate, and he has to tread carefully lest he setup the dominoes in the wrong places.

This is all to make the point that Hawks is more than capable of emotionally manipulating people, but it’s not in his nature or something he does to any and every person he comes across just because. We haven’t had much opportunity to see him operate outside of the HSPC’s orders which is where the bulk of the instances of his manipulation comes from - those orders requiring him to operate covertly and thus, by nature, necessitate lying, manipulation, and strategically withholding information.

If anything, when he’s making an appeal to someone else as his own person - not as a hero on a mission- we actually see a level of vulnerability and transparency we don’t otherwise catch.

Though it’s technically canon-adjacent and not necessarily canon in and of itself, in My Hero Academia: Team Up Mission where he works with Bakugo and Midoriya he operates on a level of transparency with them we’re not used to seeing; and my theory is he took it as an opportunity to operate without ulterior motives and build report instead of bucking back against “training up the next generation of heroes” like he initially did with Tokoyami.

Which now actually segues better into the next point.

#4 Hawks never lets people get close to him.

There’s a surprising amount of evidence that Hawks wants the ability to be an open book. Back at Team Up Mission, the restaurant staff note he regularly takes people he likes to their establishment - so we’re basically told outright this is a special place to him reserved for enjoying himself and only people he likes get to share it with him - so we already know what that says about how he sees those two despite their sparse interactions. We already know he’s taken Endeavor there when Endeavor made no move to input as to where he wanted to have the lunch meeting.

Though he kept Tokoyami at arm’s length initially, we have at least three canon instances of him sharing personal interactions with him with other canon-adjacent indications he cares for and values his intern. We’ve readily established that while Endeavor may not consider himself close to Hawks, Hawks does hold Endeavor as near and dear to his heart. While his only mission regarding Twice was to get information out of him, he still made a genuine effort to help and save him because he wanted to and considered him a friend despite the circumstances.

We still don’t know very much of Hawk’s past, his personal relationships outside of work, etc.; but despite the HPSC’s extensive efforts to strip him of his identity he not only possesses a faceted, complicated personality but seems to want to share that with others readily when and in the ways he’s able. Getting into the truly squishy, vulnerable parts of him may take a while, but on a scale of closed to open, he seems to lean towards open.

#5 Hawks is hopelessly in love with Dabi and will abandon everything up to this point for him.

This isn't to throw general DabiHawks shippers under the bus. Most of them know VERY well at this point that canon has sunk that ship, and they're just having fun with it at this point - and you know what, power to you! They look great together! In another life, the character chemistry could have been incredible. There’s a lot of great DabiHawks shipping content I thoroughly enjoy despite not shipping it myself.

It just isn't canon. It never was and never came close. Even now, with the Endeavor reveal being very much imminent, Hawks' view of Dabi is one of a lying, malicious, callous, murderer. Though he’ll likely be crushed at the revelation of what Endeavor’s done, that doesn’t equate to him defecting (especially not immediately) and falling into Dabi’s arms.

And Dabi hates Hawks just as much.

Again, this is not anything against the ship or the shippers - just an annoyance I have with some who were so wrapped up in the ship they were genuinely mad when the ship sank and they dragged that frustration out into the real world against real people when canon didn’t align with fanon.

Ships are some of the most stupid things to rail against creators and fans over, and the amount of harassment they receive now over shipping has me ripping my hair out when I know it’s a mere fraction of the total pool of shippers who are frothing at the mouth while the rest are super cool and happy doing their own thing and keeping to themselves.

Ship what you want, regardless of “validating evidence” and have fun. Don’t make it others’ problem when it isn’t canonically validated.

#6 Hawks is a dirty cop.

Only half upset with this one because it comes down to the nuance and lack of precise definition of this phrase I have a problem with. Lots of people hate cops for very real, legitimate reasons. Police forces - being a voluntary, government-employed force enforcing government rule - are notoriously prone to corruption of every kind.

It's implied the HPSC is itself corrupt, though to what extent we don't know. (Granted, buying a young child from his family to raise as your personal puppet is pretty high up there.) By continuing to follow orders from the HPSC and not vehemently fighting back, many see him as reinforcing a corrupt institution and at least partially liable for their continued hold on society.

Fair enough, but... The issue I have with this is it reduces Hawks to his job.

I believe a huge chunk of this take comes from my experience as an armed service member spouse, but it's easy for me to empathize with a guy

Who was promised the moon for himself and his family in exchange for his service not realizing what was actually being asked of him

Is praised outside the organization for "being a hero" and "upholding this country's core values" while first-hand witnessing the corruption of it when inside

Is viewed as a cog valuable only in services rendered instead of being treated like a human by said organization and worked into the ground because of it

Is frustrated by the insistence to keep the status quo instead of improving procedure/infrastructure/environment because egos need to be padded over real, human problems being solved

Has his autonomy or otherwise ability to operate under his own judgement restricted in favor of maintaining organizational control at the cost of effective action

Has DEPENDENTS who rely on his continued work to provide for them and is thus unable to refuse an order, even when it's morally reprehensible and even outright illegal

Whose cries, both those calculated and desperate, to the organization (who have placed themselves as the sole resource he can turn to) for help (even for his own body/mind) fall on deaf ears until he breaks to the point of becoming unusable or dangerous - and even then minimal effort/responsibility is taken in favor of keeping him functioning in the organization as long as possible.

Hawks fights back against the HPSC constantly. He raised concerns over letting civilians suffer to get him in with the League of Villains and then still defied orders by reducing casualties to zero. Despite orders to keep his mission top secret, he's informed Endeavor of his motives/movements independently from the rest of the heroes. He had long refused to take an intern (read: fresh meat for the machine) to train until this year, and even then sought to minimize his encouragement of Tokoyami for as long as possible until he realized Tokoyami was made of the real mettle people needed in a hero and not just another youngster endangering himself on a pipe dream.

He even takes initiative to keep his personal to-do list from the HPSC to a minimum by squashing problems before they come knocking asking him to fix it for them. He knew of the League of Villains and anticipated the escalation of their movements immediately after the USJ incident as well as has a network of informants and connections with local police forces to stay in the know.

His methods for apprehension of criminals are, and continue to be, to react and detain them so quickly they can't retaliate or endanger others in the struggle, thus minimizing human loss and injury despite the insinuation the HPSC has told him that gloves are off in the current situation.

He might be "a cop" depending on the definition we go with, but he isn't a dirty cop. He doesn't plant evidence. He doesn't shoot first and ask questions later. He doesn't blindly take orders. He largely doesn't see "villains" as dirt under his shoe but as people pushed to extremes. He's a morally convicted individual trying to rebel within the system instead of tearing it down outright. He may be wrong in the assumption, but he genuinely believes he can do more on the inside of the system than outside.

#7 Hawks is a manwhore.

Ok, this one is not serious and actually just to end this all on a lighter note after ranting until I'm blue in the face.

I'm 100% guilty of this myself. Something about that chicken makes me and many others salivate - either for themselves or to watch him with someone else. We love dressing him up slutty, portray him as flirting unashamedly, and placing him in as many overtly sexual scenarios possible.

The best part about all of it, though, is that it’s almost the exact opposite of how he dresses/conducts himself in canon. His clothes are loose fitting and high-coverage. He’s personable, but never gives any indication he’s romantically/sexually involved or interested in anyone. The asscourse is real only because we cannot confirm either way due to his baggy clothes. His overall figure/body shape has been hinted at, but only recently confirmed; and his jacket had to be literally be burned off to get a good look at the pattern of his shirt under it!

~~~~~~~

And with that, I release the frustration and move on.

Enjoy fanon as much as you like - even I do! Just be aware of where canon and fanon diverge, and definitely don’t take the difference out on real people. Please also be aware of how others hold their favorite characters dear before flooding the general tags with negativity and creating a hostile environment for them. People latch onto their “comfort characters” for a plethora of reasons, and when they lose that character to the plot, the fandom, or otherwise, they should still be allowed to grieve and celebrate what they had in a safe environment.

Retaliation in response to others coming against your favorite is also not acceptable behavior. It sucks, but the most mature thing to do is step away from the general fandom, stick to blogs/spaces you know are safe, and let the storm blow over. Comfort characters do not justify mistreating real people no matter how much they may mean to you.

When “canon gets it wrong” is where fanfiction and pockets of the fandom community comes into play. Leave those people alone and let them be. For those who aligned themselves with canon, they are not free game to take personal frustrations out on. Leave those people alone and let them be. Unfollow the people/tags you need to for your own sake and others’, and the fandom will be a better place all around over time. Venting belongs in controlled spaces away from the rest of the fandom and with enough warning for those who not only don’t want to endure it but who for their own safety shouldn’t.

Fandom is a community, and healthy communities do not endorse members lashing out when they don’t get their way.

#spoiler!hawks #let's talk hawks

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ikeepbookkeeping · 3 years ago

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Duties of a Bookkeeper

A bookkeeper is a person who records and tracks the financial transactions of a business. What are their duties? What does a bookkeeper do in an average day? What tools do they use? These questions will be answered in this article, so read on to find out more!

What does a Bookkeeper do?

A Bookkeeper provides important services to businesses by recording and processing financial transactions and producing statements. Some bookkeepers are tasked with maintaining the accounts for an entire organisation, referred to as the general ledger. In contrast, others function as accounting clerks, managing particular duties as part of a team. They verify receipts, prepare bank deposits, send payments and monitor overdue accounts. In many cases, a Bookkeeper will also be responsible for the preparation and lodgement of Business Activity Statements (BAS).

Data entry

The tasks of your bookkeeper will be to enter all financial transactions into the system regularly and accurately, allocate them correctly for each account with their respective accounting software (which may include monthly or weekly reports), making sure this information is accurate so you have reliable data on what's happening within your business.

Expense tracking

Expense tracking is a key role of any business. Your bookkeeper will be responsible for recording and reconciling all your expenses, including petty cash purchases as well as those made with credit cards or invoice discounts that could potentially lead to unnecessary costs if not monitored properly by the company owner(executive).

Brandishing this information can help you pinpoint potential excess expenditures so they don't go unnoticed when it comes time for tax season!

Invoicing and receipts management

As a key cash flow driver of every small business, your bookkeeping skills will help ensure that invoices are sent promptly and late payments managed. Your ability to manage all incoming funds into the company is crucial for its success as well!

Payroll processing

It's a daunting task to pay your staff, especially when you have many of them. Paying for the hours they've worked can involve checking timesheets and allocating any commission payable as well as calculating payroll tax or superannuation contributions - not to mention keeping accurate employee records that include bank account details that need input from both accounting systems but also through each worker themselves! If this isn't done weekly/fortnightly then hiring an experienced bookkeeper will save time in processing their invoices before the payment goes out on Fridays morning so there are no issues later down the track

Banking

In the age of technology, accounting software is becoming more and more accessible. Some packages now link directly to your business bank account so you can download banking information into their system right away without any hassle or delay - this way all transactions are accounted for!

Compliance

When you need to prepare your books and records in compliance with the Australian Tax Office, they must be prepared by an RBA-registered BAS Agent. Your bookkeeper will be able not only can do this but also to have all payroll tax reports ready for any business loans or other areas where regular reporting of transactions may be necessary as well.

Financial reporting

Your bookkeeper will provide regular financial reports that give you all the information needed to improve your company's performance. They can guide on what areas need improving and those which are performing well, preparing a report tailored just for you! Assisting with annual profit and loss and balance sheet reports.

Business strategizing

Your bookkeeper should also be a strategic thinker, coming up with ways to improve your business and maximize profits. They can help you develop budgets, cash flow forecasts, and other planning tools to keep your business on track.

Outsourcing bookkeeping services is a great way to get all of the benefits of having a dedicated bookkeeper without spending too much money on staff.

If you are looking to hire a bookkeeper, you can speak to one of our qualified staff members by calling today!

#bookkeeping services #bookkeeping #bookkeeper

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gta5apkz · 4 years ago

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Epic Games Store Is Supplying Gta 5 To Free This Week

You could say there are too many features to list, but we are going to get it anyway - and - provide guides about the way to ace all these game mechanics also. If you were ever thinking about the way to do something in GTA 5 or the way to do it better, we will be able for this below. From the game, there's an animation for when the player gets trapped beneath a car, but it's practically never used. The cartoon is used in the event the participant is stuck beneath a truck, however, when the participant is stuck under a vehicle, they will just teleport beside the vehicle. Grand Theft Auto V is the very first game in the franchise to incorporate in-game music. This guide or section describes"improved version" articles from the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC renditions of both Grand Theft Auto V or Grand Theft Auto Online, which is based on the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 variations. Read More Grand Theft Auto

The developers of Cyberpunk 2077 found this past year when they needed to shield an in-game picture of a trans model who appeared together with the phrases, "mix it up" in ancient advertising and marketing materials. The scene described above is more clear and primitive. Imagine there is a marquee game coming out next year from among the trendiest AAA video game studios in the world, and its original form of advertising has just gone live. You are seeing a Twitch streamer play parts of this game in early accessibility, displaying superbly detailed real-world preferences and NPCs living regular lives in a bustling town. Recent reports indicated that the game will probably be smaller than V on release and enlarged later, to prevent the notorious'crunch' functioning culture the gaming business is now known for.

GTA Online Player Farms Gta$ 60 Million In 24 Hours

Should you prefer to create your pleasure in GTA 5, then there are lots of scenic and concealed paths through the huge map which are interesting to research and create for beautiful photos. If you are one for off-roading, there are lots of lesser-known paths around the north of the map - some of those could be practical for sneaky, indirect approaches towards goals in certain assignments. In story mode, vehicles normally matter just up to your tastes are involved. If a mission desires a particular automobile, it's probably supplied, or you went about obtaining it at an earlier mission. With enough cash in your pockets - and we will get to this later - you will have the ability to purchase any car you fancy getting if you are just cruising around the open world, and it is also possible to steal them.

VideoGamer.com's Simon Miller believed it"the greatest swansong with this console cycle" that could"cast a very long shadow over another". Three days following its release, the game ranked second on IGN's"Top 25 Xbox 360 Games" list. Read More GTA 5 Can Be Headed To Ps5, Xbox Series X In 2021

They did not have a significant DLC release until December 2020 either because their summertime was largely revisions to existing material and a couple of brand-new cars. Completing the story missions alone ought to take you about 30 hours and the experience does not have to finish there.

Additionally, as a result of Reddit users /u/SIMBO and /u/enarth I found out that forcing a customized resolution in commandline.txt, rather than just putting it into settings.xml, retains GTA V from reverting to 800x600 each time that a graphics option is transformed. Including automobile wheels, suspended wires, clouds, and shadows. Additionally, there are a few circumstances once the game will take charge of the camera, which signifies your mind, and will allow it to do anything it goddamn pleases without heeding your input. Perhaps above all, the two NOLF2 and GTA V were constructed and designed with conventional FPS aiming in your mind. Fixed in space, rather than rotating following your mind with some delay or inertia, a trick used by a few games which I find quite distracting and essentially impossible to get right. I advise that you start from a fresh installation of this game, upgraded to the present version (1.0.2245.0), without any additional mods present.

Leading to Endless Possibilities To Play Or Create Your Preferred Gamemode! Plus you can get new vehicles and strategic weapons, adventure new social spaces to dance and celebration in together with your friends, and fresh world-class guest DJs, and listen to new radio channels together with over 100 new tunes. Oh, and a very big, very flexible, and very heavily armed submarine HQ having lots of other surprises.

Giving people the middle finger is just another new feature that the player can utilize while in a car or truck.

Most larger DLCs introduced entirely new game styles, mechanics, features, and characters, demanding technical guides for every, and we sent them.

On February 9, 2021, Grand Theft Auto V had sold over 140 million copies of this game, with new players detecting its hours of entertainment every year.

Combining the absolute scale of these surroundings with the superb physics engine, these escapades throw everything in you, from rural bank-heists into jet-ski chases, to working huge industrial machines.

They mentioned its enhanced driving and shooting mechanisms over its predecessors and believed the numerous protagonist layout"a welcome change of pace" which may develop into an eighth-generation gaming standard.

Grand Theft Auto V received numerous nominations and awards from gaming books. Before release, it won the Most Anticipated Game in the 2012 Spike Video Game Awards. The game has been review by aggregators Metacritic and GameRankings' highest-rated for the year 2013. It was called the Best Xbox Game by Canada.com, GameSpot, and IGN, and also the Very Best Multiplatform Game by Destructoid.

GTA 5 Cheat Codes

This free Capture Mode also brings a plethora of new tasks to GTA Online, reachable through the open world and directly through your cell phone. Grand Theft Auto 5 is currently coming to Xbox Game Pass this April, using formerly been made accessible between January and May 2020. This time, however, it has attracted a friend in the kind of cloud support, allowing players to go through the game in their Android telephone or tablet computer of choice, given they are contributors to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Plante observed the game could"bridge involving games' present and the future", and declared that it"the closing of this creation, and the grade for another".

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dreamsoft4usa · 4 years ago

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A Guide On Custom Healthcare Software Development

Healthcare organizations and professionals need software systems that not only streamline the delivery of care but also speed up their routines and eventually increase patient outcomes in an age where cutting-edge technology is changing virtually every area of human life. Healthcare software will cover a wide range of kinds of applications. Here we’ll know about the what is Custom Healthcare Software Development, its benefits and How to develop a healthcare app?

The global demand for the production of healthcare applications is now huge, with analysts saying that by 2025, the industry will expand at a CAGR of 5.8% to hit $19.3 billion.

One of the most increasingly significant variables in the healthcare sector is efficiency. Technological development faces more problems than ever before. Customers expect evidence and process accountability. As a result, the healthcare sector is moving towards transforming patient care and experience through a patient-centered approach.

What Is Healthcare Software?

Healthcare software development will cover a wide range of kinds of applications. In general, however, it is described as the development of knowledge-based IT services that provide decision support and advice, assistance, and input to healthcare professionals.

These systems streamline and optimize the management side of operations and provide patients with a greater level of treatment.

It is necessary to remember that the development of healthcare technologies should not aim to take decisions out of the hands of qualified human practitioners. It will, however, go a long way towards supplying certain human decision-makers with real-time assistance, taking repetitive activities off the docket, and streamlining patient care as well as administrative management.

Types of healthcare apps

Healthcare applications can be classified into two different categories: patient healthcare apps and medical specialist healthcare apps.

1. Healthcare apps for Patients:

Fitness apps

Medication apps

Diet and nutrition apps

Mental health apps

Diabetes management apps

Diagnosis apps

Appointment scheduling

2. Healthcare apps for medical Doctors:

Telemedicine

Patient health tracking

Professional networking

Clinical assistance

Electronic medical records

Electronic prescription

Read Also: What kinds of Features, telemedicine app should have?

Feature List for a Medical App

A medical app’s must-have features include:

In order to take advantage of the application, it asks users for certain information such as mobile phone, email address to register them. The purpose of this feature is to monitor visits to your applications.

Tracking

Tracking, as a central feature of health apps, helps streamline consumer usage and capture app use frequency and is important for surveillance in fitness apps and applications related to recovery.

Appointments and Scheduling

This role helps consumers to get drug intake updates and reserved appointments. In specific, booking has several built-in options to allow consumers to plan flexibly and to promote contact between users and providers of healthcare.

Payment

Given that consumers love features that save time, it is important to provide a payment feature as it ensures that users can quickly order it expecting prompt delivery of the service.

Push Notifications

Reminding the users or patients about their upcoming appointments is definitely a smart thing. When it comes to online video consultations, the feature ‘push alerts’ is helpful. It is possible to send alerts to the customer 5-10 minutes before contact.

Real-time chatting

This functionality helps users to view text exchanges and promote contact with patients in real-time. In addition, it offers rich data collection that allows for enhanced alerts.

Ratings and reviews

Searching for trustworthy physicians or clinics for modern users is closely related to noticeable appraisal in ratings and reading feedback from actual co-users, making this a must-have item on the list.

Geo-location

Integrating the app with Google Maps or other third-party map providers will save the life of the user, in addition to optimizing the user interface, since it helps a healthcare worker to locate a patient’s location in emergency situations.

Read Also: Benefits of Telemedicine for Patient and Providers

Benefits of Custom Healthcare Software Development

Below are a few key advantages of healthcare software development for the healthcare industry?

• Advanced Diagnosis

In order to provide better operations management and, at the same time, innovative diagnosis, software development, and technologies have the potential to revamp the healthcare sector.

• Costs reduction

It lowers prices and lets patients optimize all spending as patients can talk with doctors without the need to see them directly. In comparison, healthcare applications do not require a significant volume of manual labor.

• Increase in patient expectations

The secret to every industry’s growth is the greatest patient service. The introduction of technology is raising the demand from healthcare providers for better service and treatment from patients.

• Data Security & Privacy

Every day, the healthcare industry produces a huge chunk of data and is customer-sensitive. And data protection is also a key concern in this field. Hybrid apps aim to protect the data of patients from any malware threats or data breaches. In such a personalized program, patients feel safe when sharing their personal details.

Each cloud, email service provider, search engine, chatbot, website, and framework are now with HIPAA compliant to provide maximum data protection.

• No boundaries

No matter how far from a patient or doctor is. Communicating with each other is still possible; an Internet connection is the only thing required. There will still be remote care treatment open.

• An Integrated and Multi platform System

The custom healthcare software integrates the different workflows run on a regular basis by the healthcare industry. Custom applications can synchronize many basic and complicated processes in one location, including human resources, banking, OPD, inventory, etc.

How to develop a healthcare app?

1. Identify a Problem

In the industry, there is an explosion of mobile healthcare apps. How is yours going to add some added benefit to end clients and set you apart from the rest? To find holes your product can address and challenges it can theoretically fix, you need to perform comprehensive market and industry analysis.

Read Also: How to develop a Telemedicine App

Talking to physicians, nurses, hospital management personnel, patients, and other main audiences can give you an insight into how to make a truly useful, functional product.

2. Get to Know your TA

75% of the US hospitals wanted to deliver the healthcare app without its target user’s preliminary analysis; in fact, only 2% of all patients used the service.

The industry and climate where the MVP healthcare software is introduced is another critical factor to examine. In a nation that you are targeting, the most critical factor is following all the mobile healthcare legislation.

3. Choose your app features

When you know what product you want to create, who’s going to use it, and for what reason, you’re able to begin narrowing down your app’s functionality. For example, applications for technical assistance may require a dashboard that visualizes various data in one location, but may not need one at all for a lifestyle app.

4. Test & Receive Feedback

The primary aim of the development of healthcare mobile applications is to release the initial edition of an app to the public as quickly as possible. Based on customer reviews and your strategic strategy, any subsequent version should be revised. This will help you prevent huge failures and financial risks that will arise if the entire package is released all at once.

Beta reviews, distribution tests, user feedback, and client reviews all provide invaluable evidence on the current project plan.

5. Widespread Distribution

App delivery is solely based on its intent. Those created for a particular community of users can be accessed from a connection that is generated. It’s advisable to build a private business app store for a broader audience within a single company. This will include access to analytics for app developers to allow them to focus on potential updates.

What are some different forms of applications in healthcare?

Healthcare software is a wide field, ranging from practice management solutions to 3D medical model rendering software (DICOM). Some popular custom healthcare tech solutions are illustrated in the list below. Although they don’t cover any form of technology relevant to healthcare, they’re a decent place to start.

Read Also: Benefits of Healthcare Software Development from Enterprise Mobility

1. Electronic Health Record (EHR)

An Electronic Health Record is the easiest way for care practitioners to keep track of patient records (also sometimes called an electronic medical record or EMR). Real-time, patient-centered records from EHRs allow information accessible to registered users quickly and safely. Which contains medical history information, diagnosis, prescription, recovery plans, dates of immunization, allergies, pictures of radiology, and findings of laboratory and research?

2. Telemedicine

Telemedicine is a growing problem that is ideal for personalized software solutions, particularly in the era of lock-downs, quarantines, and reducing the vulnerability of at-risk patients. Telemedicine is expected to cross a market size of $64 billion in the United States alone by 2025.

Instead of forcing the patient to drive all the way to the hospital, certain physicians provide the option to visit a video meeting online. For people who are very ill or unwilling to go to the hospital, this may be a huge help. These devices must be capable of delivering face-to-face conferencing, screen sharing, and the transfer of photographs safely.

3. Pharmacy

A pharmacy is fundamentally a diverse shopping environment. Stock inflow, wholesale arrangements, inventory, case care, and prescription lists are required for management. There are also restrictions on controlled drugs and the privacy of patients. Customized pharmacy apps will help pharmacies track patients and drugs, streamline practices, and keep them in accordance with the legislation.

In addition, healthcare providers require a reliable means of delivering electronic prescriptions to pharmacies safely. This is also combined with the EHR so that only one software needs to be used by the practitioner.

4. Hospital management systems

Designing healthcare applications to take care of any part of hospital operations, including laboratories, staffing, and reception, is as it looks like. It manages all hospital administrative functions, including hospital billing, insurance collection, and management of patient records, medical administration, and information management for clinicians.

Read Also: How does the Hospital Information Management System work?

5. Revenue cycle management software

Although medical treatment and maintenance come first, healthcare services are also entities and thus have funds to worry about. To have an overall fiscal outlook, medical workers need a clear way to check benefits, submit bills, follow up on receipts, process claims, and evaluate results.

As they make an appointment or send a paperless bill with an easy online payment portal, a device that is combined with a patient portal can do things such as verify the insurance status of a patient automatically.

Last Words…

DreamSoft4u is a Healthcare Software Development Company helps enterprises and startups globally. We do have more than 15 years of extensive experience in Healthcare IT industry including technology and industry domains.

We work with our customers; mostly the enterprises and startups to support them to grow their business and turn them into successful and high-performance organizations.

Want to reach us then contact us: (+1)-949-340-7490 | Mail at [email protected]

#software development #healthcare software development #custom healthcare software development #custom software development

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familyvisionis2020 · 5 years ago

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Day 4 - Athens (2 of 2)

I was able to sleep blissfully, majestically, and woke up around 10 feeling drowsy but refreshed. I sit up in bed and the first thing I see is Kabir’s smiling face, he says ‘Rise and Grind’ like he always does and Royal says ‘let’s get this bread’ and the day has started. In the daylight the giant purple house we’re staying in is even more whimsical and palatial seeming. There are rocking horses on top of the shelves in the house, hanging decorative bulbs and a campy chandalier and ornate decorations in a transom in the hallway and wrought iron fixtures with silver perforated globes mounted like torches outside the front door and a complicated antique triple-bell thing for a door bell and more chrome globes hanging from the porch ceiling that look like metal lace and whose purpose is unclear to me, stained glass and a 6 foot, ten=-tubed windchime, several hanging swings on the porch, iron patio furniture and a rusty gate and a giant log of pine driftwood suspended from cables and an enormous rusted bell that still dongs and a trellis of ivy and a big boat propeller and something that looks like a 12 foot long abbacus and a half a purple wagon wheel and a huge white vase that looks like white China with blue coi and aquarium scene decorations, a big stone dragon head with highly detailed scales and a cove in the back of its head that allows you to put a middle size candle inside of the head such that when you light it its eyes will appear to flicker from the front, several of those shiny reflective globe spheres, one patterned in swirls like a bowling ball, and tons of plants and small trees andshards of sculpture concrete and folk kitschworks and little benches and birds everywhere and a bicycle wheel weathervane and pinwheel and just generally kooky stuff and its so so homey and lush and expansive and calm here. There are two cats whose name I dont know who live here and a dog whose name is Cocoa but who Royal calls Stanly for no apparant reason which is his humor which I love.

I take a bird bath and we head across the street to the coffee shop, Donderos’ which is architectuarlly quite similar to the house we are staying in actually, its a big old victorian house, pale-rufous salmon-coral siding with dull cream accents, a high gable and new black roofing, and rather than eing surrounded by an enormous wraparoudn porch like our place, it’s surrounded by an asphalt parking lot that itself is surrounded by a stone block retaining wall and hearty wild rosemary. We set up camp inside the cafe for the first part of the day, we all order food, people get grits and a thing called a gritboat and fried potatoes that are like homefries except perfect little rectangular prisms rather than cubes and different sorts of eggs, lots of coffee, I drink yerba mate again instead. I plug in my phone and laptop, check my law school statuses using an automated aggregator and find out that my application to University of Florida Law has gone under its second review which is neither a good nor a bad sign necessarily, just means it’s being actively reviewed, I add this data point to a website to collect law school admissions data points and then eat breakfast. I put so much butter and raspberry jam in my grits that I almost feel like I overdid it.

Kabir and Jeremy are thinking through the status of the tour out loud; in light of the extreme emergency situation that Covid is turning out to be, in light of the pressure Kabir feels from the women in his family to not tour, in light of the handful of venues and bands that have cancelled or dropped from bills on our tour, and in light of the cost-benefit analysis of traveling another 1600 miles through the midwest and back again, in light of the possibility of being cancelled if we continue to heedlessly transmit ourselves like vectors (I have been jokingly calling the band ‘Family Vector’ rather than Family Vision) perhaps healthy or at least symptomless but mobile pathogens, in light of all this there’s just a preponderance of reasons not to keep the full tour on, and between Jeremy and Kabir with some input from John, the decision to severely truncate/abridge the tour solidifies like jello in a sad fridge. I’m actually careful not to give much input in the decision making process here, I have mixed feelings about the ethics of continuing to tour but am honestly not bothered as much from a principled public health standpoint as I am from like selfishly wanting to just have free time in my apartment in Chapel Hill to lay around and maybe read and write and walk around and do yoga and be alone and enjoy quality quarantine quarantime at home and maybe even spend time in person with someone I like who I mostly only ever email whose hand I want to hold who I want to watch scary movies with and talk about feelings with, talk about feelings in a way that for all the lovely blissful amazing things my friends in the band are to me, we don’t hardly talk about feeings much at all. Or actually more likely just don’t talk about feelings in this one particular intense vulnerable type of way that I honesty avoid lost of the time but also like crave to do around someone I feel tender and safe when they’re nearby. Anyways. So I am intentionally passive in the decision making and I think all the reasons they factor in are germane and their reasoning sound and accede to the decision to cut the tour short, the plan now is to play again tonight in Athens at the same place, Buvez, then head out to Huntsville Alabama tomorrow, take a break in Nashville for a day, then play our final show in Louisville Kentucky before driving the van back to Chapel Hill. I offer to give Jeremy a ride back to Ridgewood Queens from NY in an effort to be kind and of service and of use and to share a resource in a situation where, mercifully but somewhat troublingly I have very little asked of me and very little to offer: Kabir and Jeremy have done the lion’s share of the planning, have volunteered to do the driving (and are very good at doing the driving), and so the sort of soft imperative in my life to find a way to be helpful, to be of service, as a mechanism of maintaining sanity and spiritual fitness feels a bit atrophied. So it makes me happy when Jeremy says he will take me up on that offer, and I am glad I am the type of person nowadays to offer a thing like that.

After the logistics are tamped down and tidied we breakdown our various electronics and head to the park which is maybe 300 feet down the street, which is outfitted with polished granite chessboards, baggies of pieces stowed in ziplocks in a small compartment nearby, and also outfitted with a massive polished granite slab made to be a ping pong table, with a metal divider rather than a net. Kabir wants to play me in chess and I almost say no, worrying that the ugly part of my competitive spirit may take over, but I decide to say yes and we play, and the game goes quick, standard queen’s pawn opening but then an early blunder by Kabir puts me on the offensive and rather than try to maneuver back into control of the center and winning chances, which I’m absolutely sure he could’ve done, he just concedes after about 5 minutes and that’s that. I have language for chess even though I haven’t played more than 10 games in the last 10 years because for awhile in 2016-2018 I would put on lectures by chess grandmasters on youtube to calm me down and to fall asleep. I think I picked up some general strategic understanding too. Kabir tells me one time he scholar’s mated his dad and his dad got so furious he almost flipped the table. Kabir will remark later that his dad, a published author and consummate professional writer who logs a minimum of 1,000 words a day, that he is learning the only thing that can shake his dad is a global pandemic, that he’s never seen his dad this worried. Me and John play chess next, it’s a very close game and John stays ahead in material the entire game although I put him on the backfoot early and kept momentum with a string of nuisance checks that I think demoralizes him a little and although he won’t resign and fights tooth and nail until checkmate he keeps saying he should have resigned. I don’t actually know how to checkmate him properly so I use a passed pawn and only with two queens can manage to finish the game. We play a second time, for a long time, and it’s very close again, and I manage to eke out a win, and John is done. And Kabir comes over with his book of The Best of Wednesday New York Times Crosswords edited by Will Shortz and explains that these are medium-difficult and that Saturday, not Sunday is the most difficult, Sunday is Thursday difficulty, just longer. He lays the puzzle down on the chessboard, I notice the crossword puzzle and chessboard are the same shapes and pattern more or less, and I make a joke in a loud Brooklyn-style accent that all I need is black and white squares on a grid and I’m happy. I get a laugh and that makes me feel good and I feel like a smart winner also and I feel smarter looking for clues together with John and Kabir and the weather is breezy and warm and I’m extremely happy just playing and relaxing, glad Kabir wants to play things with me, delighted to see not every game turns me into a monster.

We meet up with Noah, the person whose house we are staying at, and we all pile in the big maroon van and head to the State Botanical Gardens of Georgia. Noah without prompting assumes the role of tour guide, takes the reins and play acts that we are tourists following him, chides us for straggling, tells us to stay with the group, curates our experience. I love this, Kabir can be like this too, a man making decisions in a way that does not feel constricting or cruel or vindictive or violent, just a gentle assertion to let some expert knowledge shine through, which Noah has a lot of; I will learn later today that he is in the process of composing a thesis or dissertation about 19th century literature which focuses on the description of plants as a lens through which to assess and survey that literature, so his knowledge of plants is vaster than I knew. He takes us through the indoor greenhouse garden at first which is dense with lush tropical plants and hundreds of orchids. He explains how orchids used to be rare and expensive commodities, I mention how orchi- is the prefix for testicles and that orchids are named their name because the unflowered bulbs resemble testes. Kabir points at Noah and says ‘FACTS.’ We see a cacao plant, a coffee plant, a vanilla plant, dozens of fragrant flowers which each of the boys stops and politely smells, one by one, so adorable, a very tender stroll. We get a band picture together which Kabir explains will be captioned with a notification that our tour will be canceled. Noah continues to usher us through the verdant corridors, we see a banana plant with leaves taller than me up on a balcony, I think it’s the biggest leaves on a plant I’ve ever seen. There’s muscodine grapes on the ground, i split one open for the boys to smell, they put their faces close to my hand and trust me not to fuck with them, which I don’t. We are in super high spirits, everyone is enjoying themselves. Noah collects us and guides us outside where we enter the massive sylvan grounds of the Botanical Garden proper. Everyone is doing bits about the different plants. I see Spathiphyllums and mention to Noah Swingin’ Spathiphyllums from Mort Garson’s Plantasia, and in response he just hums the tune of the song, which I love. Royal goes and lays on a gigantic rock. We read the placards, tease out etymologies, reference colonial plant histories, see the real life versions of plants like Gingko Biloba and Agave and probably 40 varieties of thyme in the Physic plant section and honey garlic and rosemary and tarragon and lavender and ginger and turmeric and acer palmatum and quercus alba and nephroleptis exaltata, all scientific names I remember from high school horticulture, and so so many other kinds of plants it’s hard to remember them all.

I looked up a list and I’m putting of the ones I remember of them here because to me their name is so beautfiul Anise Hyssop, Arkansas Blue Star, Summer Snapdragon, Buttefly Weed, Rain Lily, Wild Indigo, Crossvine, Million Bells, Athens Sweetshrub, Begonias, American Hornbeam, Japanese Plum Yew, Forest Pansy, Lavender Redbud, Fringetree, Old Man’s Beard, Summersweet Clethra, Coleus, Dogwood, Bath’s Pink Dianthus, Spurge, Mt. Airy Fothergilla, Hardy Geranium, Lenten Rose, Coral Bells, Swamp Hibiscus, Hydrangeas, Inkberry, Ornamental Sweet Potato, Crape Myrtles, Pink Loropetalum, Little Gem Magnolia, Dawn Redwood, Blackgum, Firespike, Fragrant Tea Olive, Phlox, Plectranthus Variegated Japanese Solomons’ Seal, Overcup Oak. Admiral Semmes Azalea, Sacred Lily, Drift Roses, Creeping Raspberry, Three Lobed Coneflower, Double Daffodils, Lady in Red Salvia, Blue Anise Sage, Bald Cypress, Confederate Jasmine, Georgia Blue Veronica, Snowball Viburnum, Chastetree, Amethyst Falls Wisteria.

We find a massive terraced zone with close-cropped fescue like a carpet and a long stone staircase, rectangular hedges capping bluffs of each 8 foot drop, a single concrete obelisk, some statuary, polished stainless steel gate structures, millions of flowers and plants arranged in tidy geometric grids. More than one person, and not just from the boys in the band, mentions that this place reminds them of the film Midsommar, and I agree, the light is bright but not saturated yet the way it gets in summer, so it has a similar sickly kalediscopic sheen to the movie’s colorscape. Noah traipses down the many staircases to a stone stage at the central of the terraced court and starts doing a bizarre interpretative dance that is a little balletic and a little frenetic, eventually he kind of stage dives into a shrub and falls before loping back to us, which we and other tourists respond to with polite applause. He then bounces up and down with me such that our heads are just popping up into the line of sigh tof the boys at the higher level, and we do that for a few minutes and it’s silly and fun. I suggest to Noah that we do yoga on the lawn and he immediately takes his socks off and starts corraling the wililng among the bands to do yoga, it ends up being me Kabir and John, Noah has the right lilt and cadence in his voice to make for a very plausible yoga teacher and he knows a few flows and postures and leads us in a pretty decent 25-ish minute session. Mostly I’m quiet and avoid making jokes and do my best to enjoy the physical benefits of the yoga, but at one point I say “my kundalini energy is through the roof right now’ in a thick mock southern accent which I think is hilarious and Kabir too. Kabir does a bit later where he says ‘come to find out, you simulated your love for me!’ in his thick syrupy southern joke drawl which is a quote from a 1982 song by french coldwave duo Deux which is exceedingly funny to me when I hear it. The sun is hot and someone, I think Paul from Tired Frontier, says ‘first sweat of 2020.’ It does feel like spring switched on the minute I left town, which is such a warm and lovely feeling.

We finish up yoga, gather the boys and Noah suggests we go to the grocery store to get a giant can of beans, some tomatoes, a red onion, a ripe avocado, two jalapenos, and a bunch of cilantro, and two bags of tortilla chips, and make a raw, unpureed bean dip and feast together, which is exactly what we do. I dust bits of dried grass off Kabir’s back that he picked up doing yoga. I do something very close to brunois on both the red onions and jalapenos, not quite the 1/8th inch industry standard but not far off, Noah praises my knife skills. We all devour the huge bowl of dip super quick and between me Jeremy Kabir John and Noah eat all those chips and all the dip in about 10 minutes, and we work further on the crossword puzzle. Jeremy eats a $1 tin of sardines and then goes to take a nap. We just sit out on the porch in the sun and vibe for a couple hours, idle conversation, i nearly fall asleep, but then rally and manage to type a ton on my computer and feel happy to be consistent blogging.

We make it to the venue, Buvez again, and the rest of the night is basically identical to the night before, except this time Polly’s Gone is their usual selves, Surface to Air Missive, they sound almost exactly like The Shins, they play a short set. Jeremy talks to the lead guy, Taylor, and tells me Taylor said ‘yeah we’re just trying to be The Shins,’ Kabir says ‘that guitarist is incredible’ which is saying a lot because I think he’s incredible and has tons of techinical and theoretical and practical expertise. We play second instead of third this time, play a smaller set too, don’t do any joke songs, play to basically an empty room save the guys in the other bands, it’s fine, super breezy, zero pressure, fun, inconsequential. Tired Frontier plays, does some funny Covid-related banter, their set is basically identical to the set the night before. We all hang out on the picnic tables outside the cafe, all ten guys in all three bands, they share stories about getting caught smoking weed as a teenager and epic house parties and getting grounded and dumb stuff like that, and this time I’m happy to sit and put my feet up right in the middle of the conversation, shoulder to shoulder with Royal who is drinking a beer from a rocks glass and Kabir who’s smoking a Turkish Silver, looking at Taylor who yesterday I kind of thought was maybe too cool for us but who now has a kind of reluctant smile in this cute way that reminds me of how my dad smiles, a man used to being austere and stoic and foreboding belied by a cheerful time. The venue people bring out $60 in cash and Taylor tells us and Tired Frontier to split it between ourselves, a very classy move from the leadman of the hometown band, Kabir says if you ever need a show in the Triangle hit me up I got you. Taylor goes home, the Buvez people are bringing in the outdoor furniture again, we breakdown and load out together, everybody helps with everything (like not just drummer gets drums bassist gets bass and bass amp, rather everybody just gets everything) and that feels kind, I love how easy being decent comes to the boys in this band, I feel like every shred of decency and kindness I can muster feels sourced politically or has had been inserted in me only after being pryed open by the crowbar of desperation or like postulated but not fully embodied during therapy or the result of very direct counter-intuitve habit building and coaching and mentoring and although that’s hard for me, materially right now I am matching them, I’m decent too, I am a decent person among decent people, I can live without constantly lying and shoplifting and fantasizing about the next petty crime or act of vandalism I will execute to vindicate an image of elegant, thoughtfully erratic antipathy for authority I was always trying to curate and cultivate in the eyes of my peers. Anyways, everything’s fine, Royal suggests we go to a bar and Kabir uses his casual power as frontman to say no which is something I know he’s doing for him and for me and I deeply appreciate that.

We go downtown in Athens and look for a chinese spot that ends up being closed and then wander into a diner where there’s kids in prom outfits settling up their bills with the hostess as we get seated. John marvels at this weird coca cola ad thing that has a big bottle tilted down with a rotating helictical metal piece the color of coke that makes a pretty plausible optical illusion of liquid pouring into a cup below. Kabir tells stories about his old bands, Sister David, Docking, Reynolds, a bit they used to due during live shows where they’d mix in ‘I’ve Got a Feeling’ by Black Eyed Peas to their spartan angular No-Wave set which we all agree is brilliant, wish we could’ve seen that. I scarf the huge plate of fries i order and basically drink the extra cup of ranch i ordered, it’s fantastic, I love how hungry i feel after playing shows, I share my fries with Jeremy. The Tired Frontier guys show up last minute and we rendezvous briefly before heading home. Not much else happens other than me spending like 15 minutes with the dog Cocoa gaining its trust and comforting it for the purpose of getting her to stop barking, which works and is very calming. I eat an apple and peanut butter out the jar by myself in the kitchen and I do not feel the need to be reading or looking at my phone while i do it, which is rare and very special. I take my medicine, plug in my headphones, and go to sleep.

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thankyoufinnick · 7 years ago

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Commentary on the latest Mags’ War installment.

No matter how evil I am to my characters, I maintain that I’m nicer than Suzanne Collins. The most noticeable improvements in this chapter are 1) Cashmere’s survived! 2) Because of this, Finnick’s not going to go semi-catatonic.

It’s another one of those cases where plot and characterization dovetail: I’ve got plans for Finnick, and so he needs to be rather more functional, but also, a support system is like the number one most important thing you can have with PTSD. Now, Katniss is the furthest thing from being responsible for Finnick’s mental health, but I’ve always believed that if she’d had a completely different personality and been willing to go to him for help with her suffering, it would have helped him with his.

Well, Cashmere has a completely different personality than Katniss. She’s not in a position to help Finnick directly, advise him, comfort him, etc., but her not pushing him away gives him a human connection that makes all the difference to him. My Finnick suffers most when people push him away. You’ll see this theme reflected again and again throughout this series. Most notably, this is why Annie needing to be alone on some of her bad days is infinitely more difficult for him than when she wants him around on her bad days.

So, Cashmere and Finnick are there together, and they’re both better off for it. Though it’s going to be a long time before either of them is in a good place.

Somebody left a comment saying that “The character development that Mags had in this series makes her death even harder to handle!” Now, this delights my evil writer’s heart to no end, because it means I was successful in bringing her to life.

But what I wanted to talk about was how I chose to depict Mags’ death, and the Quarter Quell in general.

I am not a fan of authors trying to rewrite the same scenes from a different POV. In most cases, it just comes across as unoriginal. And repeated dialogue is usually extremely boring to me. I’ve seen it done well exactly once, by Cynthia Voigt in the Tillerman series, which is all around excellent and I can’t recommend it enough.

This is the main reason part 2 of Mags’ War avoids interactions with Katniss as much as humanly possible, focusing on Johanna before the tributes enter the arena, and Cashmere once they’re inside the arena. The scene where Finnick and Johanna and Mags talk about Katniss’s refusal to team up with them, and where they plan their arena strategy, is just about the closest I come to overlapping with the events in Catching Fire, and it’s still not my favorite scene.

In all other cases, I made a point of speeding past anything that would have repeated dialogue and blow-by-blow action too closely. For instance, writing Cashmere’s defection at the Cornucopia was unavoidable. That scene couldn’t be skipped. But Cashmere is deliberately focused on wildly different events than Katniss. In the middle of combat, she doesn’t even register that Gloss kills Wiress. She notices the arrow going in, and then by the time she’s processing sensory input again, we’ve diverged from canon: Finnick gets to her before Johanna.

At that point, it’s a completely different scene, and the reader should be engaged in seeing what’s different (quite a lot). The dialogue then becomes extremely different.

By assuming the reader is familiar with canon, I deliberately omit certain events, such as the jabberjays, and only allude to them in passing later. I assume knowledge of Beetee’s plan, and throw into relief events that aren’t highlighted in canon, like the moment when Cashmere watches her brother’s face in the sky. Other than that, she’s by and large focused on grieving her brother, strategizing a way to stay alive long enough to kill Katniss, and justifying her defection (I feel like I may have handled her constant agonizing over this decision a little heavy-handedly, but I had to stop editing and post at some point). That chapter was all about Cashmere’s mental state, not the events of the arena.

I avoided repeating dialogue again by having Cashmere so focused on killing Katniss that she misses what Finnick says to Katniss (”Remember who the real enemy is”). Btw, the events of the Quarter Quell are extremely heavily movie-inspired.

With the very important exception of Mags’ death! You should assume Finnick carrying Peeta and Katniss carrying Mags for that one. The next chapter will open with Finnick dreaming about that, and that is a case where I’m rewriting an event from canon from a different POV. But, because it’s a dream after the fact, it’s not a step-by-step march through the events, and it’s again extremely focused on Finnick’s mental state, and the history of his relationship with Mags. It’s also got a bit of foreshadowing that I won’t spoil.

Another event that I sped past in this chapter was Katniss finding out about the revolution.

As if to prove his point, she barges in with an energy that Finnick, still sluggish, could envy if he didn't know that she's in more pain than he is. At least I signed up for this, he tries reminding himself after she's carried away, unconscious.

He wouldn't have sedated her without at least the nominal consent Cashmere gave, but everything happened faster than he could process. He's left staring after her, trying to think of one reason Johanna won't hate him as much as Katniss after this.

Aaaand...that’s it. That whole scene, condensed into a couple dialogue-free sentences, completely with foreshadowing in the last sentence there.

Ditto when Finnick tries talking to Katniss after he goes to lie down.

Katniss doesn't feel like talking, and Finnick can't blame her. He doesn't have much comfort to offer.

This assumes you’ve read the scene in the book (yes, I’m skipping back and forth between book and movie-canon, sorry).

“Katniss. Katniss, I’m sorry.” Finnick’s voice comes from the bed next to me and slips into my consciousness. Perhaps because we’re in the same kind of pain. “I wanted to go back for him and Johanna, but I couldn’t move.”

I don’t answer. Finnick Odair’s good intentions mean less than nothing.

And that, of course, is what I mean that if Katniss had a competely different personality, that scene could have played out very differently. Cashmere’s a lot more willing to interact with him, hear his explanation:

“You're out of the arena, and you're never going back. I couldn't tell you, but I was trying to get as many of us out alive as I could. That's why I wanted you with us.”

“I didn't know,” she whispers in horror.

Finnick remembers that Gloss is dead.

“I'm sorry I couldn't save your brother. I only ended up getting you, me, Katniss, and Beetee out alive and free. Johanna, Peeta, and Enobaria are prisoners of the Capitol. Everyone else is dead.”

“I thought you were going to kill me.” Cashmere is dazed. “I only thought you'd be quicker about it than Brutus.”

“I'm sorry I couldn't tell you. There's no way we could have saved anyone if word had gotten out.”

“But even if I knew,” and here she grows more agitated, “I couldn't have left my brother alone in the pack!”

“I know. You're incredibly loyal and brave. I'm sorry. I will say that until I die. I'm sorry I couldn't do more."

He strokes her hair and murmurs apologies until she relaxes a bit

[Discussion of arena strategy.]

“I'm sorry we couldn't tell you. I really am. But you're safe here now.”

Encouraged, Cashmere shifts enough to look at him. She doesn't ask, but there's a question in her eyes.

“If you ask Plutarch,” he answers, “you're on parole as long as you're with me. If you ask me, you're under my protection. Stay with me, and I'll keep you safe.”

She nods. “I'll do whatever you tell me to. I'll stay with you.”

And this is where a lot of canon-divergence begins. Stay tuned!

#mags-verse extended edition

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onlinemarketinghelp · 6 years ago

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Ecommerce Roadmap: How To Start A Successful Ecommerce Business http://bit.ly/2UaRej8

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How To Start A Successful Ecommerce Business

When asked how to start an ecommerce business that will succeed, the following factors probably come to mind:

Great website design

Top-notch customer support

A high-quality product images

Unique selling proposition

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Remember the wise words of LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman who famously said, “if you’re not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.”

This certainly applies to ecommerce businesses as well. The key is to launch quickly and start thinking of ways to generate sales through ecommerce marketing. This will eventually breed opportunity to improve other things along the way.

And once you’ve started your ecommerce business, use this handy checklist to ensure you covered all the right steps:

Finding Ecommerce Products

If you’re totally new to the world of ecommerce you might be wondering just what exactly you should be selling. In fact, getting stuck on this is a big reason why people never take the plunge in starting their own ecommerce businesses. In actuality, you have to be strategic in identifying a set of products or a niche that trendy, or not so easy to find in stores or on popular ecommerce websites like Amazon. That’s why going the generic route and opting to sell books or jewelry will likely lead to a dead end. There are already lots of major players out there meeting those demands.

Instead, you’ll want to go with more specific items that appeal to a particular audience. We suggest starting by making a list of potential products you might like to sell in your store. Think about things that you, your friends, coworkers, or family would be interested in. Also explore social selling sites like Pinterest, Etsy, or even Instagram for more input on what to sell.

There really is inspiration everywhere once you start looking, and you can always verify whether your product ideas are any good by searching for them on Google trends. For more specific information about how to decide what to sell, check out this step-by-step guide.

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Researching Other Small Online Businesses

Research is integral to the success of your ecommerce store. Once you have chosen your products look at competitors and what they are doing. What are the barriers and the cost of entry? Do competitors invest heavily in ads or are they slow to become more digital? Knowing how much work and money that you need to invest in a startup can change your motivation to sell certain products. Research can lead you to identify better products to sell and give you a great understanding of how to start a successful small online business.

Building Online Stores

Starting an ecommerce business from scratch is not an easy thing so researching what others have done in order to achieve success is a great start. Here are a few things to pay attention to when researching competitors to make sure you take everything you can into account when it comes to ecommerce business success.

How many products do they offer their customers

What is their business model

What social media channels do they utilize

Who is their target market

How do they push sales (e.g. paid social, PPC, SEO, email, etc)

How engaged and loyal are their audience

Building Your Online Store Ecommerce Business

Once you have chosen your products and done your competitor research the next thing to do is build your store. Choosing ecommerce CMS tools like Shopify can make setting up your store easy. They have lots to templates to start with and an easy to integrate ecommerce platform that doesn’t need development support. Choose a theme that suits your target audience and prices that reflect the success you envision. Naming your ecommerce business something memorable will guarantee that people will remember your name. This goes for your logo also which can be as colorful or creative as you want it to be.

When your website is ready to start taking orders remember to try a test order yourself to make sure the process is smooth for the customer. Alleviate any additional steps needed to buy something online and only ask for information that is necessary for the check out process.

After you’ve launched your store, concentrate on ecommerce marketing 110%. Anything else can wait until you’re sure you can generate traffic and reach potential customers. The secret to ecommerce marketing is to find the right channel for your products, and then to perfect your marketing strategy until bringing in one new customer costs less than what you earn from a sale.

You want to aim for that infinite loop where you spend less than you earn each day.

Also, make sure you reinvest all of your profits into your ads. This isn’t the time to pocket all your earnings. Keep a close eye on the relationship between profits earned and money spent on ecommerce marketing by checking your advertising ROI twice a week at minimum. Ideally, do it daily.

Sell products that have high enough markups to cover your marketing expenses on a consistent basis. Since ecommerce marketing can cost a lot of money, make sure you price your products well. A $100 investment should bring you at least $101 dollars in sales so that you can reuse it on advertising again.

Only once you get to this point you can begin to optimize your store design, invest in creating a great brand, and look for ways to generate more money. You can’t optimize a store if you don’t have any customers to test different features on first. Thus, ecommerce marketing is really essential to standing out from your competitors and generating sales.

A great ecommerce business plan does require some investment. Putting money into your advertising tactics should ultimately convert to sales, which you need. Unless you have a bigger budget, you should exclude long-term ideas like SEO or email marketing for now.

With direct advertising through Facebook or Adwords, you can get more sales immediately. It’s best not only to learn how to run your first ecommerce marketing campaign on Facebook but also how to optimize them.

Alternatively, read how others are approaching Instagram marketing or the latest trends in advertising on Snapchat. With this knowledge and inspiration, you can apply new strategies to your own ecommerce business.

When it comes to assessing the performance of your ecommerce marketing efforts, test your advertising campaigns instead of your product pages. This will keep you from getting bogged down trying to analyze and change all of the small details of your store. Just focus on advertising and marketing, not the ‘buy’ button on the product page.

While much of the advice about how to start an ecommerce business seems easier said than done, it certainly helps to have a clear idea of the first steps including launching a simple store and dedicating your energies to ecommerce marketing.

Succeeding in Ecommerce: What’s Next?

Once you’ve validated your store idea and secured a steady stream of sales, make sure that you keep up with optimizing your ecommerce marketing as you go. Here are a few additional ecommerce business tips that you may want to consider as you devise your ecommerce business plan.

Customer Service/Self-Help Content

Around 45% of US consumers will abandon an online transaction if their questions or concerns are not addressed quickly. Exceptional customer service is critical to your business’s long term success. Create self-service content and a detailed FAQs page, offer live chat support, incentivize product reviews, and build trust with your customers. All of this will give your store valuable social proof and create repeat customers, which are five times cheaper to acquire than new ones.

Conversion Optimization

On average, 69% of your website visitors will leave your site without going through with a purchase. How much would your revenues increase if you were capturing those sales instead of losing them? Optimize your customer journey. Create limited-time offers. Launch a cart abandonment email campaign. You can even set up a retargeting campaign. Test out a bunch of different tactics and try to understand which one works best for your business.

Store Optimization

Take note that 44% of online shoppers will tell their friends about a bad experience online. Once you’ve laid down the foundations for your ecommerce business, the next important step is to optimize your website. Improve your website speed. Create an intuitive navigation bar. Focus on creating great product pages. Display related items. Optimize your store search. Lastly, check how your store looks on mobile devices.

Inventory

Best selling products tend to quickly fade away, that is why inventory is very important. Constantly look for new product ideas that could keep the traffic coming to your store. Do not rely on just a few products to drive all your sales. Rather, offer new arrivals to your existing customers and frequently test new product ideas based on Google trends.

Conclusion

I know there are people who have had success focusing most of their attention on a unique niche product or exceptional customer service. That said, up to 50% of Shopify stores never receive a single sale. Even though that may seem like a very low number of ecommerce businesses which actually get off the ground, if you compare it against success rates of businesses in general (10%), it’s a promising figure.

To summarize a few key takeaways from this guide as you develop your own ecommerce business plan, start lean and set all other things aside to focus on sales. Don’t worry about having the perfect product or the best looking web design for your store in the beginning. Jump in and learn by doing. Use the sales aspect of your ecommerce business as your lighthouse because it is the driving force behind any successful store. Once you begin turning a profit, invest the funds into an ecommerce marketing plan to continue growing your business. Only then should you start to hone in on other important details like optimizing your store.

Hopefully, this article has helped you to understand how to start an ecommerce business. You’ve got everything you need at your fingertips to make this the year your store takes off, and we at Oberlo are happy to help you every step of the way in meeting this goal.

Want to Learn More?

Business Name Generator

30 Amazing Startup Business Ideas

20 Trending Products to Sell

[EBOOK] 10 Online Stores to Use as Inspiration for Your First Store

What’s your ecommerce business plan? Share your experiences or ask for advice in the comments below!

The post Ecommerce Roadmap: How To Start A Successful Ecommerce Business appeared first on Oberlo.

from Oberlo

How To Start A Successful Ecommerce Business

When asked how to start an ecommerce business that will succeed, the following factors probably come to mind:

Great website design

Top-notch customer support

A high-quality product images

Unique selling proposition

If you can’t make sales, you’re finished before you’ve even really got started.

Starting an Ecommerce Business

For starters, you really need a simple online medium to sell your products. A basic store template on a reputable platform like Shopify serves this purpose perfectly well.

Remember the wise words of LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman who famously said, “if you’re not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.”

And once you’ve started your ecommerce business, use this handy checklist to ensure you covered all the right steps:

Finding Ecommerce Products

At this point, you might also be wondering how exactly to source your products, and that’s where dropshipping might come in as a viable option for your ecommerce business plan.

Researching Other Small Online Businesses

Building Online Stores

How many products do they offer their customers

What is their business model

What social media channels do they utilize

Who is their target market

How do they push sales (e.g. paid social, PPC, SEO, email, etc)

How engaged and loyal are their audience

Building Your Online Store Ecommerce Business

You want to aim for that infinite loop where you spend less than you earn each day.

Succeeding in Ecommerce: What’s Next?

Customer Service/Self-Help Content

Conversion Optimization

Store Optimization

Inventory

Conclusion

Want to Learn More?

Business Name Generator

30 Amazing Startup Business Ideas

20 Trending Products to Sell

[EBOOK] 10 Online Stores to Use as Inspiration for Your First Store

What’s your ecommerce business plan? Share your experiences or ask for advice in the comments below!

The post Ecommerce Roadmap: How To Start A Successful Ecommerce Business appeared first on Oberlo.

http://bit.ly/2My1I9D January 24, 2019 at 10:46AM http://bit.ly/2xh4ieR

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gamebird · 7 years ago

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Me, too! That is also what I want to see happen.

And I’m glad you address the contradiction regarding the claim of nepotism. I’ve struggled with that in my fics, because I read the timeline and although I couldn’t find a definite year, Brendol’s death seems to be something that happened years ago, perhaps before Snoke came onto the scene. Best I can determine, Snoke came around six years ago, roughly coincident with Ben’s turn to the dark/burning the Jedi Academy. If I’m right on that, then I assume the two events are linked - Snoke pulled strings to make the disaster at Luke’s academy happen (sending a vision to Luke that set him off, and/or increasing the dark in Ben or at least increasing the impression of it); and Snoke did this either as a precondition to gaining control of the FO, or a direct result of it.

Regardless of Snoke’s motivations, if Brendol’s death pre-dates Snoke’s control of the Order, then it means he’s been dead six or more years. It can’t be too long ago due to the events in the Phasma book. I’m listening to the audiobook now. Hux was an adult and in a high-ranking position when Brendol died. But for Armitage to have kept that position for years under Snoke (and possibly secured his final promotion(s) under Snoke), then he had to have some unique usefulness to Snoke. Like you, I prefer not to see Snoke as the sort who tolerated incompetence in his subordinates.

In my fics, I’d decided the claims of nepotism were primarily nasty rumors by Armitage’s political rivals. And that mainly, he got to his position by long hours of grueling work - two shifts a day, every day, taking time off only to keep himself fit and trained so as to better continue his work. It’s the sort of thing that puts you ahead and makes many resentful of you, but will gain you a lot of respect. Strategic genius? Not really, just tends to run simulation after simulation to predict battle outcomes, plus does extensive research on enemy capabilities. Brilliant leader? Not really, just calls in subordinate after subordinate to consult on those simulations and plans, letting them poke holes in your strategy, give their input, and valuing their experiences enough to incorporate them into your plans. Plus, finding out subordinate’s skills and letting them be put to use. Letting the whole team win and feel they contributed. Scientific prodigy? Nope. Just got put in charge of the Starkiller project because he’s such a good project manager, for all the reasons why he’s seen as a strategic genius or brilliant leader - he pulls in everyone’s input and spends inhumanly long hours going over all the details to make sure those who really are scientific prodigies are getting the resources they need to get things done. Master of child psychology? No. He lived through Brendol’s grooming/training programs. Of course he has some opinions on how they can be improved! Plus, per the books, he draws heavily on the input of others who have similar backgrounds in training/recruiting/inspiring people - Phasma and Cardinal are mentioned a lot.

Essentially, Armitage’s strength as I see it is as a leader willing and able to coordinate with others and let them do the work they’re good at, while he makes sure they’re able to do it.

Juxtapose that with Kylo Ren, who is reflexively secretive and doesn’t seem to work effectively with anyone, not even when tied to them with a fucking Force bond! Kylo has immense *personal* power, whereas Armitage is well-versed in getting out of the way and letting the organization work for him.

On the other hand, Star Wars has a history of not understanding what makes a good leader, so I can’t tell if Armitage’s position has anything to do with his ability. If the writers imagined someone could hold such a position for YEARS under a telepath who was highly motivated to have the most able people possible working for him, then ... well, Armitage Hux could be an empty suit.

But I hope not.

Hux’s competency and the future of the Order

After reading tlj-novelization, what strikes me most about Hux is the sharp contrast between how the characters around him describe him and what we actually see him do.

Yago, Peavy, Finn, Snoke,… They all describe him as hot-headed, emotional, angry, mad… But how do we actually see Hux act? - In the TFA novelization, there is a strong insistence on describing Hux as not displaying any emotions (”he wears his mask on the inside” and similar descriptions. -In the same book, during the attack on Starkiller, It says Hux is frustrated and angry and wants to scream at his officers, but refrains from doing so because he realises that it would not make them work harder. -When one of his life projects is destroyed and the ground he stands on is literally about to blow up he is described as having some difficulty keeping his composure. Can you imagine? any normal person would be panicking. He does what is expected of him, goes to Snoke, and then gets Kylo, without any signs of being particularly emotional.

This trend continues in TLJ -When Rose bites him, his initial instinct is to have her tortured for her insolence, but he immediately reassesses and sticks to his initial plan of having her executed. - When the Supremacy is destroyed and Hux sees the Supreme Leader dead there is again a complete absence of emotion, on the contrary, he evaluates the situation and reaches the conclusion that he should kill Kylo. -Half an hour after Kylo stages his coup and almost kills him, he is standing next to him, relaying his order, playing the part of the loyal subordinate. In the book, even more than in the movie, I find, there is a very clear contrast between Kylo’s emotional responses and Hux’s controlled ones.

So when do we see him display strong emotions? The main example is, of course, his speech on Starkiller base. But this is a controlled exercise in pathos. He lets his emotions run free (or freer) because he knows that is the way to appeal to his audience ( we know from “before the awakening” that Hux’s speeches are popular with the troops). The only uncontrolled outbursts are when he slams his fist on the console in response to Poe’s mocking and when he raises his voice to Kylo when he the knight questions the worth of his troopers.

What we see of Hux’s behavior does not justify how he gets described by the people around him. So what are we supposed to believe? That Jason Fry is such an incompetent writer that he intends to portray Hux as unstable, but only relies on descriptions not on actions to show his intention, going against one of the maxims of writing (show, don’t tell)? or is his intention something else?

Let’s look at the people who describe Hux as deranged. Finn has never been in Hux’s presence, all he knows about him is what he has seen during the speeches. It is not so strange, although rather naïve, that he believes that Hux acts like that all the time. But Peavy and Yago and Canary should know better, there is no reason to believe that Hux’s actions during the two movies are more controlled than he normally would be, on the contrary, given what is at stake, you’d expect him to be more so. Peavy, in particular, should be familiar with this by now. So why don’t they?

What these three men have in common is the fact that they are older than Hux, by several decades, yet they serve under him. Must be quite a blow to the ego. Here they are experienced Imperial officers, yet for some reason, Snoke and the rest of High Command promote this boy who is half their age above them. Now are these self-reflecting men, willing to consider the possibility that maybe they aren’t as good as they think they are? Well no, much easier to convince themselves that Hux is incompetent and only got there through nepotism (even though Hux’s father has been dead for years). It’s not to hard to imagine them sitting around a cantina complaining about him and making fun of his speeches. Peavy even has convinced himself that Hux takes him along because he knows he needs the captain’s expertise, even though we never actually see Peavy council Hux or Hux ask for it.

It is interesting that Kylo’s interpretation of Hux is quite different. He want’s to impress and show Hux that he is capable, he distrusts him so much that he insists on taking him with him to Crait. Keeps him around even though he loathes him.

Simply put, if Hux was the way the Imperial officers describe him, he wouldn’t be where he was now. Snoke wouldn’t keep him around, neither would Kylo. All Hux’s roles involve command and strategy, if his talents lay somewhere else (designing programs, technology) that would be where Snoke would have placed him.

So what is the point? Peavy, Yago and Canary’s assessment remind me more about old people ranting about millennials than accurate analysis. And maybe that is the point? Maybe we are supposed to see the generational rift that runs along the First Order.It’s not just Hux they criticise, Canary also calls his younger crew members unprofessional, even though the only sign we see of this is when his second questions Canary’s orders for being contrary to Hux’s. On Hux’s part, he considers the Imperials obsolete and cumbersome and expects to be rid of them before the end, just as they expect of him.

What is particularly interesting, I find, is that The First Order’s younger generation fire and devotion, which the imperials so heavily criticize, is the direct result of their abuse and manipulation. They took vulnerable children from all over the galaxy and trained them to be a ruthless killing machine, devoted to the Order. And now to their great dismay, that is exactly what they became. And like anyone who gets what they wished for, they find they don’t want it at all. But instead of trying to do something about it (get rid of Hux, change the programming, attempt to influence their younger crew) they are happy to just hang on and convince themselves that Hux will self-destruct and everything will turn out fine. Historically not a good plan.

I would love to see this come to its fruition by the younger generation of the FO killing of the older one. The victims getting their revenge on their abusers, the way Hux got his revenge on his father and Kylo on Snoke.

#armitage hux #star wars

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selfpublishingnews · 8 years ago

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Solid and comprehensive advice - by Beth Bacon for DBW Daily.

If you’re a self-published author, in addition to writing and producing your books, you must take on the responsibility of marketing them. The most successful author-marketers foster strong relationships with their audiences. Blogging, whether through written weblogs or verbal audio blogs (podcasts) is one of the best ways to build and maintain a fan base of interested readers.

The problem, however, is that there are thousands of blogs and podcasts out there. In order to build a following, it’s important to create a resource that’s both valuable and interesting enough for your readers or listeners to come back to again and again.

Concerning the technical aspects of podcasting, there are many resources available online. But you are the only person who can create the strategy behind your blog.

So how do you determine what’s valuable and interesting? Here’s a four-step process to guide your thinking.

Step 1: Know What Else Is Out There—and What’s Not

Before you determine the subject matter of your own blog or podcast, spend some time—at least a month, maybe longer—subscribing to a whole bunch of blogs or podcasts in your genre. Get a feel for what’s being said and what the audience seems to be responding to. Ask yourself what is not being said that should be. What unique point of view is missing?

It’s extremely important to give yourself a little time to understand the overall ecology of your genre. Your listeners have expectations and biases. For example, if you’re a children’s book author and your market is composed of teachers and librarians, be sensitive to the fact that there’s a range of opinions about whether or not ebooks and screen time are appropriate for young readers. If you’re a fantasy writer, understand that cosplay and reader participation is a big part of the experience.

Ask yourself what the topics of conversation are that you seem to hear frequently. For example, these days the concept of cultural appropriation is an important issue. Do you want to contribute to this discussion or avoid it? What ideas do the people in your ideal audience have about the topic? Once you feel that you have a good sense for the market you’re participating in, you can move on to the next question.

Step 2: Define What Your Books Are Really About

Sometimes it’s difficult to define the things that are closest to us, especially our own artistic output. After all, many writers say their books come from a place we’re not fully conscious of. The reality is, no matter where your writing comes from, if you’re an author-marketer, you need to be able to define them specifically.

Try to see your books with fresh eyes, the way your audience sees them. Take an objective look at your work. Of course your books are part of a genre (or a couple of genres). But beyond those overall categories, take a moment to determine the following:

● What do people get out of your books? This can be a specific lesson or set of facts (in the case of non-fiction), or a feeling or emotional response (in the case of fiction.) ● Can you define what your writing stands for? What values are implied in your storyline or message? ● Are there any “lessons learned” in your books? What are they? ● What does your audience love about your book? What complaints have you heard? ● If you have a series or more than one book, in what ways are each of your titles similar or different?

These questions may seem daunting to answer on your own. If so, ask a trusted friend to interview you. Have that person read the list above, or genially ask you about your books’ themes. Think about the questions as if you’re being interviewed by a reporter and answer as honestly as possible. Write down your answers. On another day, after taking a bit of a break, go back and look at your answers. They will contain words that represent what your books are really about.

Step 3: Determine What Fascinates You as a Person

Popular blogs don’t happen overnight. Successful blogs start small, gain momentum and endure. That’s why it’s important that you find a niche that you can stick with. The area you blog about must be intriguing enough that it can generate a range of discussion topics, and fascinating enough to you personally that you won’t get bored. You need to find something you’ll be able to talk about over the long haul.

To do this, you must turn your vision inward. Take a look at yourself. What topics captivate you? Which ones anger you? It matters less whether the ideas are old or new, or popular or narrow—what matters most is that you have a passion for topic.

Here are some questions to consider at this stage:

● Are there ideas in your books that are conflicting with each other? For example, does your book include a character who mistrusts authority yet is in a position of authority? Is your book both funny and heartbreaking? Do your characters have a love-hate relationship? Or, for example, if you’re a chick-lit writer who writes about young singles in the city, but you really live on a farm and have been married for 20 years, this could be a really fun theme for a blog. In the case of non-fiction, does your book bring up an irony or paradox? Conflict offers a wellspring of ideas to talk about. ● Is there a philosophy in your books that’s controversial in today’s culture? For example, do your books take a contrarian view of an established opinion? If so, your blog may generate excitement from both supporters and detractors. Hey, visitors are visitors, right? (If you choose a controversial topic, be sure the have a thick skin!)

When it comes to the “voice” of your blog, take a look at the tone of your books. Do you tend to communicate using a particular quality or tone. For example do you have a snarky, wry, serious or highly literary spirit? Funny, thoughtful, intellectual, sensual or suspenseful? There’s no correct answer here, other than being faithful to your own true voice. Again, a blog is a long-term commitment, so select the tone that feels right to you so that you can ease into it week after week.

Step 4: Brainstorm the Intersection of the Above Three Steps

If you’ve taken the above steps, you now know a little bit about the three factors that go into any author’s blog: the audience, the books and the author’s own passions. A blog that’s sustainable resides at the intersection of those three elements. Your blog’s concept must be appealing to the audience, but unique enough that it’s not already covered by someone else; it must be faithful to the true experience that arises from the books themselves; and finally, it must be interesting enough for you to generate new ideas again and again.

Finding this sweet spot is a creative step and should be fun for you. Toss around a bunch of ideas until you find the one that makes you laugh, makes you angry or makes you excited. Remember, it’s got to have a connection to your book and your own life experiences, and be a unique beacon on the horizon compared to the current the blog- or pod-o-sphere.

Oh, and start narrow! Do not try to go broad—that is, don’t try to be everything to everyone. Choose a niche element that combines your books, your own experiences, and your audience’s needs. If your interest is World War II submarines, for example perhaps your blog should just talk about the living conditions on submarines, or the weapons systems, or select only one country’s submarines and stay focused on that. Eventually your postings can get broader, but if you try to tackle a broad or general topic at first, you may risk sounding like other, more established blogs. Being narrow gives you a point of differentiation.

When it comes to blogging and podcasting, your goal is to gain superfans in a very specific area. Then those superfans will use their network to help you grow to a wider audience. Also, narrow blogs are easier to advertise.

Go for It—Start Your Blog or Podcast

Take the time to do the four steps of this strategic exercise before you begin your blog, but don’t let this work paralyze you. Just pick what feels good and go for it.

Just start. Don’t worry about messing up. Your audience will be really small at first, so only a few people will cringe! You can always course-correct along the way.

Ask for responses from your audience (even if your audience is tiny at first). Be sure to build into your blog or podcast a method that allows people to easily respond. Read or listen to their comments, respond, and adjust your content to their input.

A Way to Connect Between Books

The most successful self-published authors build strong relationships with their audience. Your blog or podcast can be a great way to offer valuable information in the months (or years) between your book launches. They are also a great way to get to know what excites your fans. If you’ve been thinking about creating a blog but don’t know where to start, follow these steps then dive into your first post!

#self-publishing #self publish #self publishing #books #blogs #authors #indie author #hybrid author #book marketing #podcasts #podcasting #blogging #book publishing

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