Pushy Bosses

Just when I thought switching from helpdesk support to corporate writing would eliminate the endless certification required in my career, my supervisor is now telling me to get certified for the same tests the helpdesk people are expected to take.

I have been in the information technology (IT) industry for more than 15 years with the first eight years in helpdesk technical support. As I grew sick of taking certification again and again, knowing there is no end to it, I decided to quit the line completely.

Now, although I am working in an IT corporation, I am merely a writer, and for the first five years, all was fine. With the recent transfer to write for HQ corporate marketing, however, my American supervisor based in Taiwan, with the backing of the fierce Taiwanese lady boss, is forcing me to get certified, constantly querying me on when I will sit for the test.

My supervisor made it clear that unless I get certified for several papers required by him, my year end assessment will be in jeopardy. My answer to his latest query is as follows …

Dear {supervisor}

In answer to your question, all I can say for now is [I'll take the test] when I am ready and prepared, if I get a chance to finish reading the wireless text, digest its content, commit it to memory, and put myself through some tests.

As of now, every time I get down to reading a chapter or two, I would be interrupted and tasked to do something else, so I can only get back to reading the text and jotting down some notes whenever time is available at hand.

Hope you can understand the difficulty.


Regards
{my name}

P.S. Writing takes time and requires extensive research, rethinking, redrafting and more.

Academic Writing Services

As a writer in the business of providing writing services, I frequently get requests by people who are willing to pay me to write their academic theses and assignments for them, which I of course refused. The reason is obvious—it is not only ethically wrong to cheat, but also against my professional principles.

The fact that it took me years of hard work studying part-time before I received my degree makes me abhor anyone who cheats or take a shortcut to get his or her certificate, diploma or degree. The value and worth of achieving one's own by one's own effort and knowledge is paramount to any future success. I have learned much through serious study, not pay someone else to write for me. In the real world, there is no way for anyone to be useful to the society if that someone paves the way to success through dishonesty.

While my belief is never to take up any paid academic writing assignments requests, I recently found out there are those who do the exact opposite and seize this as an opportunity for earning money. In fact, some even advertise to encourage students to pay them to write their essays and theses! An example of this is EssayProvider.com.

I am appalled by such practices! Although writing academic assignments for requestors can earn much, it questions the integrity of the achiever. It is no wonder some potential employers doubt the credibility of potential employees when they read résumés that state academic achievement through part-time courses. Such a practice can cause significant damage to many who have really studied, of whom I was one of them.

If you are a student seeking help for assignment writing or an academic writing service provider, I pray that you would quit such unethical practices. Students who need help should seek friends or others, share information and come up with their own ideas, not pay someone else to write for them. Academic writing service providers should consider other writing services rather than just writing ‘on behalf’ of students.

May we all agree to join hands to walk the straight path in building our own integrity and credibility!

Ellipsis and Em Dash

Ellipsis is represented in any piece of writing by a row of three periods or full stops (...). At times, it may overlap with the use of em dash (—).

Ellipsis is useful for omitting certain words in long speech writing, citations or quotations. When using ellipsis, however, the writer must be careful not to change the meaning of what the speaker is actually saying. This is a basic journalistic rule and ethical practice for any kind of writing. When ellipsis is used at the end of a sentence, it usually signifies something is 'to be continued ...'. If used somewhere between a sentence, it is considered an omission to shorten a sentence, often to remove words that are not critical to the objective point at hand. For example:

Before
Jane went about looking for the dog again and again, but was unable to find it.

After
Jane went about looking for the dog again ... but was unable to find it.

According to the MLA and AP style guideline, ellipsis should precede and proceed with a space for correct usage as shown above. There is a tendency for many writers to omit the space after a word, and this is not a correct usage following the standard style guides.

Em dash is represented by a longer dash (—), and should not be mistaken as figure dash (-) or en dash (–). Figure dash is used as a hyphen and en dash in a range, for example 'three to ten people' or 3–10 people.

Em dash is used in two ways, one as a break between a continuing sentence and the other at the end of sentence.

When used as a break between a continuing sentence, it sets off from the parenthetical information to indicate a break in character thought or speech. For example:

Every single thing we do—big or small—is significant in the sight of God.

When facing tough situations, the best thing to do is to first know God’s will through His word—the Bible.

When used at the end of a sentence, it usually refers to an aposiopesis—a sentence deliberately broken off and left unfinished which ending is supplied by your imagination or to give impression of unwillingness or inability to continue. For example:

"Get out, or else—!"

According to the MLA and AP style guideline, the em dash should not precede or proceed with a space for correct usage as shown above.

More Writings n Editorial Work

These days, besides performing official editorial tasks at work such as editing and writing, I am also regularly and unofficially writing devotionals. If you are interested in read my devotional writings, feel free to visit my other blog, Living Water.

Looking Forward and Back

When I was much younger, I aspired to be a writer, but was never given a chance to develop in that field of interest. I've since made up for my loss by joining an amateur's writing club some ten years back and attended a Bible college class on Creative Writing "for people who can't not write".

In recent years, I have the opportunity to write in the area of technology for print and digital media in magazines and on the web. I have also written extensively through blogging and participation in a Christian writers' web site.

As an amateur writer, I have been advised to do a lot of reading. My reading favourites are science fiction and fantasy books, although beyond that, I read other genres as well. My favourite authors are CS Lewis, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Alfred Hitchcock.

Growing up from a small town in a remote area where family harmony is seldom within the grasp of a child, my most joyous occasions were that of days spent with my mum in botanical gardens, to which nature walks are still my constant love these days. Walks like these are where I reflect and listen to the sounds of nature, gathering thoughts that inspire my writings.

Now, as my new school term begins, I will be doing an intensive study on 'Writing Techniques', which I hope to learn much to improve my writing skill, and to enjoy what interest me most; in the midst of the pains at work.

Unsocialable or Thinking Alone

Many people think I am unsocialable because I usually lunch out alone, but the truth is, lunch time is the time my mind is set free to think, relax, and rest, in order to do a better job later.

As a writer, I work better using the mind and writes better creatively when my mind is relaxed. Many time when I rush with time, I lose focus and in the end accomplish nothing. There are of course days when I have to gather all the information I need to write an article or a presentation instead when there is a creative block or a lack of inspiration. In such cases, I often do not achieve my goals and fail to get angle of the story through to my audience. Readers and audiences read a story only because there are points or a point to be made, rather than being flooded by tonnes of information.

On days when my mind is clear and ideas start falling together, I often accomplish the task much faster, usually half the time I spend on compiling information for writing, yet with the article or presentation standing out better than all the hours of pressured compiling and writing, reaching out to the audiences further than ever before. Such is the power of inspiration!

So, you who are reading this blog, the next time you encounter someone like me, don't just jump to conclusion that the person is being unsocialable. You'll never know the real reason why he or she declines lunching with you. Maybe, like me, the person is merely thinking of the next move.

Inspiration vs Hard Work

We usually think more creatively when we are relaxed. Unfortunately, many of us think at the worst of times and often under pressure, when we are forced to make decisions.

As a writer, I often have to muse and think over the subject before I write, and I write best when I am relaxed. I get inspired easily when walking through the woods or while taking long nature walks. Unfortunately, such luxury are seldom available when I am on an assignment, which often has short deadline, so I do the next best thing, similar to what everyone else do when they are pressured - research and compile, then write.

Research and compilation is common in most environments, and if you know the process of problem solving, you will probably know what I mean. In a corporate environment, problem solving means identifying, analysing, implementing, and evaluating. This is not dissimilar in any other environments.

First, research and gather as much information on the subject as possible. Next, sort out the useable from the unusable then select what goes into the story. Finally write in one's own words the story based on all the information gathered, re-reading it to edit and modify where necessary.

A story written based on hard work is seldom satisfactory to the author, but at least it gets the work done. In a perfect world, the author has a lot of time to think, and if one gets a chance to write a novel or a book, some inspiration will definitely be essential. However, if writing is a daily or periodical routine that makes up a high percentage of press news and factual content then option two will be more appropriate in solving the immediate problem.

Therefore, when writing becomes a pressure instead of pleasure, it is time to retreat and rediscover inspiration within nature.