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There Can Be Only One…

-rh sterling- · Jul 17, 2017 ·

There Can Be Only One…

“Here we are, Born to be kings, We’re the princes of the universe, Here we belong, Fighting to survive in a war with the darkest powers,” -Queen

Since the beginning of time, humanity has been locked in a death grip. Our nemesis is a Master of the dark arts. He works in concert with the most powerful nursemaids of death and destruction known to man.

Although few in number, they have immense power. They are fearless and have killed many millions. They are silent as ninjas and feared as the most deadly shinobi. Their blades are so sharp you never feel the cut.

These 8 assassins, skilled tacticians in the art of war. They use deception as their primary tool. When you think they are far, they are near. When you believe they are few, there are many.

When you think you know them, they change shape. And when you think they are a stranger, they tell you they are your friend.

The 8 handmaidens of our apocalypse?

Gula is her name. She is the Mistress of gluttony in all that we consume. It is through her power that you no longer eat to live, but instead live to eat. You will feel a hunger that never ends.
Luxuria is the goddess of lust and fornication. Her powers are so great that you will sell your soul as she consumes you with desire.
Avaritia is the beautiful goddess of avarice and greed. She consumes you with everything that glitters like Gollum. You will be left as hollow as a porcupine quill.
Superbia is the dark Goddess of pride and hubris. Once you fall into her charms you will forever occur.
Tristitia is the dark all-consuming handmaiden of sorrow and despair. She will chip away at your pride and shroud it with failure and gloom.
Her name is Ira. You’ve heard the old saying “Hell hath no fury like that of a woman scorned.” Haven’t you? Ira is her name. She may forgive you, but she will never forget your name. Suffering and eternal damnation are her game.
Vanagloria is the alchemist of vanity. Having excessive self-love or pride in your achievements and accomplishments is worthless. Vanity is narcissistic and serves no one other than oneself.
Acedia Is the queen of slothfulness. Acedia comes in many forms. She works hard at being the epitome of laziness. Embrace her with open arms and she will engulf your mind, body, and soul.

These are the nursemaids, who will relentlessly follow you from the cradle to the grave. There is no escape.

On a pale horse, he rides.

Who is the Leader, who controls these denizens of the dark arts that you cannot deny? It is he who yields the greatest of power of all.

His name is Self and it is on a pale horse that he rides.

How long you will survive depends completely on you. Will you be the one?

How to write like Ernest Hemingway…

-rh sterling- · Jul 16, 2017 ·

Poppa Hemingway was right when he said; there is no hunting like the hunting of a man. And those who have hunted armed men and liked it, never care for anything else ever after.

That quote is visceral.

It is written in bold, clear language.

There is no confusion.

You know exactly what he said

It’s not bloated with adverbs.

There is nothing passive about what he wrote.

It’s raw.

It reaches in and grabs you by your intestines and doesn’t let go.

When you write like Hemingway, you make a point.

When I read those couple of sentences, I visualize a hunter stalking his prey. The kind of man, Hemingway talks about is not a weekend warrior. He is not some guy skulking about forest trying to kill unarmed prey.

Hemingway was talking about hunting the most dangerous on the face of the planet – another man. I don’t hunt baby bunnies for other furry animals. I was never drawn to that. But I do know the kind of hunting, of which Hemingway speaks. I have done that and once you have nothing else like it, but that’s is a story for a different and time.

Earnest Hemingway wrote at a 4th-grade level

You may be asking yourself what this has to do with marketing. Hemingway’s style has a lot to do with writing effective copy. When Hemingway wrote, he was very direct and not flowery. Your copy should also be cut to the bone, meaning every word should have earned a place on the page.

Forget about the big words you used to impress your college professors. Your impressive vocabulary is not going to help you sell a damn thing. That is, of course, unless you are trying to sell to college professors.

Here are 9 facts about literacy that help me prove a point.

44 million adults are now unable to read a simple story to their children
50% of adults cannot read a book written at an eighth-grade level
45 million read below a 5th-grade level
44% of the American adults do not read a book in a year
6 out of 10 households do not buy a single book in a year
3 out of 4 people on welfare can’t read
20% of Americans read below the level needed to earn a living wage
50% of the unemployed between the ages of 16 and 21 cannot read well enough to be considered literate.
Between 46 and 51% of American adults are poor because they cannot read well enough to earn a living wage.

Stop trying to impress your readers with your outstanding vocabulary and create content and copy that is easy to read and understand.

These benefits are amazing.

Your readership will increase.
More people will connect and want to build a relationship with you.
You will be able to serve your clients better.
And the bonus is you will make more sales.

How do you write like a 5th grader and achieve all that?

Here’s a link to a useful little tool that will help you write like Hemingway.

You want to try this: http://www.hemingwayapp.com/desktop.html

It’s available for PC and Mac.

Don’t be afraid. This is not an affiliate link.

Literacy Source: http://literacyprojectfoundation.org/community/statistics/