writing Archives - Expat In Bacolod

Money Grows On Trees

Published by Stephen Bentley on July 19, 2016

“Money doesn’t grow on trees” is an expression I heard many times during my formative years. It is intended to send the message that reward comes through hard work and effort. This post combines many of my interests and/or my situation, namely: I write I am interested in self development I am a retiree who likes and needs to supplement a pension income I am an expat and a digital nomad I promote ethical affiliate links in order to supplement my income That introduction leads me to ask you to take a look at this book ‘Kindle Kash.’ As a writer who has had a book published on Kindle it grabbed my attention. I have checked it out and the author and content is 100%…

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Sixth Sense: A Work in Progress

Published by Stephen Bentley on July 15, 2016

My work in progress (WIP) is a debut novel. The provisional title is Sixth Sense. It is unsurprisingly based on my undercover days. In fact, the first few thousand words are based on a true incident while I was undercover. The incident described is taken from my memoir with a few things changed to suit the novel format. If you read my memoir, you will see that I write about an alternative theory about two of the real-life characters in my book. This novel is a fiction version of that alternative theory. The characters are fictional but based on real individuals, to a point. Then they develop into creations of my own imagination, as do the plot and story line. I am having fun with…

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Blog or Author Website?

Published by Stephen Bentley on February 25, 2016

The question in the title (blog or author website?) may seem a little cryptic to some. Most people understand what a blog is. It can be many things – a personal diary or orientated toward fashion, music, photography or a million and one other things. Some pose as blogs but are trying to sell you something. That’s fine as long as it’s all transparent (but many aren’t). Yes, I have affiliate links on my blog but that’s not trying to sell you something. It’s a gentle nudge that if you are in the market for the products and services that I endorse, then use my links as I may as well receive the small commission rather than someone else. That is one of the reasons…

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Why You May Miss Me

Published by Stephen Bentley on February 21, 2016

Miss me? I hope you do, at least, a little. Don’t worry if you are the worrying kind, I’m fine. It’s just that the blog may not be as active as usual for a couple of reasons. One, I’m changing hosting provider and that may result in some downtime but hopefully, it won’t be for long. Secondly, I’m so damn busy! Like all of us, I have to prioritise and unfortunately something has got to give. The thing that comes lowest on my list of priorities is this blog. Shock! Horror! It’s not that I don’t like chatting to and engaging with all you folks out there – I do enjoy it – but somethings pay the bills and this blog doesn’t fall into that category.…

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Busy as a Bee, Me

Busy as a Bee, Me

Published by Stephen Bentley on January 25, 2016

Busy is Good Right? Busy is better than nothing! I can assure you of that. When I first started as a freelance writer, I worried when the first client was going to appear. Click! It happened, and I have been busy for some time now. My writing is divided into categories – my own books, my blog here, and freelance article writing. It’s the latter that attracts immediate payment. The freelance article writing has now transformed into re-writing eBooks and ghostwriting an eBook from scratch. On top of that, I write my regular articles for an international website in addition to regular guest posts for Retiring to the Philippines. I don’t like to turn any work down. I have been described as a prolific writer, so that…

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Soul

Published by Stephen Bentley on January 22, 2016

The soul can mean many things. The word has connotations with music, for example. We have heard of soul food, soulmate, the life and soul of the party. In my writing, I strive to connect with my soul, an inner force. I feel that my best words derive from true feelings, a passion, my innermost convictions and beliefs. This connection cannot be switched on and off like a TV set. Nor is it easy to surf different channels with the remote until I find the “soul” channel. Rachel Toor recently wrote – “How do you help someone learn to write with “soul”? What does that even mean? What does it look like on the page? Pascal said, “When we see a natural style, we are astonished…

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9 “Smart” Words and Phrases That You’re Mispronouncing

Published by Stephen Bentley on January 6, 2016

9 “Smart” Words and Phrases That You’re Mispronouncing Mispronouncing or misusing smart words and phrases is something that most have us have been guilty of. Some realize that they are doing it; others carry on regardless! It can be funny in the right context. I recall one time when a detective in a surveillance briefing called the travelers at the train station computers when he meant to say commuters. The intention is to appear sharp, and intelligent. In many situations, this misuse is not important. If you are a writer, an author or simply writing a resume or a job application letter, then it is important. You * Your reader is likely to be uninterested in what you write if it is full of mistakes. Your writing…

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Writing Advice

Writing Advice

Published by Stephen Bentley on October 11, 2015

As you may be aware I recently published a first attempt at writing by a young man called NicNac. He contacted me again over this weekend and asked me for some advice about writing. He explained that his problem was that he had a collection of jumbled thoughts and had difficulty in organizing those thoughts on paper. Now at first I didn’t think too deeply about this request but as the day wore on I thought I really need to help him out. It’s flattering to think that he turned to me when there are so many resources out there on the web. That also got me to thinking about the plethora of writing resources. The truth is that most web sites offering help to wannabe…

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Blogger Recognition Award

Blogger Recognition Award

Published by Stephen Bentley on October 10, 2015

I received a pleasant surprise when I opened up my emails this morning. My good friend Carol had nominated my blog ExpatinBacolod.com for a “Blogger Recognition Award.” It must be said now that I have read and understood the rules that it strikes me as being a blogger version of the chain letter. Having said that, I do appreciate there is value in linking to other blogs and so I corrected my ‘attitude’ and thought why not? And I can’t be anti-social all my life! I regard Carol as a good friend although I have only known her for a short time. We have never met in person, maybe one day 🙂 Our paths crossed during the WordPress Blogging 201 Course. I really enjoy the…

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Writing is Fun

Writing is Fun

Published by Stephen Bentley on October 3, 2015

I recently made the acquaintance of a young Filipino man who left a ‘Like’ on my Facebook Page. His nickname is NicNac. It turned out we were both members of the same writers Facebook Page. One of those groups where people hang who have interests in common. I discovered that he also lived in Bacolod so he was a neighbor of mine. Through Facebook Messenger and emails I also found out that he loved to write but maybe he was lacking in confidence. I decided to reach out to him and asked him to write me 1000 words on any subject he cared about. This is what he sent to me – “Writing is Fun” Writing is a very fun thing to do…

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