Dan Brown replies to MMDA Chair Tolentino's Open Letter re: Manila as 'Gates of Hell'

So finally, Dan Brown replies to MMDA Chair Francis Tolentino's open letter cum invitation to come to Manila, "the gates of hell." Or did he?

When news of Dan Brown's mention of Manila in his latest novel Inferno came out, there wasn't much rejoicing in some parts of the Philippines as some overly- patriotic Filipinos took to the streets of cyberspace and voiced out their anger at Brown's reference to the capital city as "the gates of hell." On the other camp, there also are the Filipinos who viewed this simply as what it is-- a work of fiction, which tells the truth of what Manila really is-- and something that should be considered as an eye-opened to Filipino citizens and lawmakers alike.

Dan Brown refers to Manila as 'Gates of Hell'

Brown, author of the controversial yet bestselling novels Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, among others, says of Manila:

“When the group settled in among the throngs in the city of Manila—the most densely populated city on earth—Sienna could only gape in horror. She had never seen poverty on this scale.” "[Kids] with desolate eyes,” “six-hour traffic jams, suffocating pollution, and a horrifying sex trade, whose workers consisted primarily of young children, many of whom had been sold to pimps by parents who took solace in knowing that at least their children would be fed.” “a kind of shantytown—a city made of pieces of corrugated metal and cardboard propped up and held together” with “wails of crying babies and the stench of human excrement” "[The character has] run through the gates of hell.”

MMDA Chair Tolentino writes Open Letter to Dan Brown

Among the many who just felt the need to defend the honor of Manila is Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairperson Francis Tolentino. The dear gentlemen just had to write an open letter to Dan Brown himself.

Parts of this letter say:

"While we are aware that yours is a work of fiction, we are greatly disappointed by your inaccurate portrayal of our beloved metropolis. We are displeased of how you have used Manila as a venue and source of a character's breakdown and trauma, much more her disillusionment in humanity.. [Manila is] a center of Filipino spirit, faith and hope. Our faith in God binds us as a nation and we believe that Manila citizens are more than capable of exemplifying good character and compassion towards each other, something that your novel has failed to acknowledge. Truly, our place is an entry to heaven."

The actual letter.

What do you think? The nerd (I mean nerve, sorry)! As if Dan Brown will ever reply to our ever dearest MMDA chair Tolentino.

I'm not saying that Dan Brown is an author that we all should believe in, especially with his radical ideas of the Catholic faith and everything, although you got to admit, his books are awesome! So, remove the fact that I've always loved Dan Brown's work, it would still be safe to say that our dear MMDA chairman seems to have missed the fact that the book is a work of fiction, and that even if it is, it tells the truth about his 'beloved metropolis.' Bewildered reactions came from all over cyberspace about the chairman's move. Some were keen to bet that our dear chairmen never even had the chance to experience what Dan Brown was talking about in Inferno.

Fortunately for Tolentino, there were also quite a bunch of Filipinos (that same bunch who preferred a work-from home 20-year OJT mama over an accomplished lady lawyer with a lot of achievements under her belt to be part of our esteemed Philippine senate) who supported his views, posting angry comments on Dan Brown's Facebook page.

Dan Brown replies to Tolentino's Open Letter

Mr. Brown up to now didn't look like he cares much about what people are saying. So far, Tolentino's stunt had been nothing but a whine from a kid with ADD. But hmm.. Looks like Mr. Brown can spare a minute for a short reply--

Ha! But wish as I hard as I want, this isn't from Dan Brown. This is the oh-so-awesome STFU post from the Professional Heckler.

So Dan Brown didn't really reply to Tolentino. Just my thoughts. But one thing remains clear, there are a lot of Filipinos who ooze with over-nationalism and who are willing to fight for trivial things such as a work of fiction, but not for their more vital rights such as the right to have a deserving city mayor and vote-worthy senators. Instead of getting butthurt and angry at what people of other races call our country and our people, we Filipinos should start owning up to our responsibilities as citizens of our country. Maybe we can do better next election. This should be a good start of proving Dan Brown wrong.

5 Tips Newbie Online Article Writers Need to Learn

Although there aren't any surefire tips that newbie online article writers need to learn in order to produce top quality articles and impress new clients, I have gathered five important things to remember when writing articles for clients.

Many website owners and private companies rely on outsourced freelance writers and copywriters to write about their online posts, product descriptions and press releases among other content. These employers find it more convenient to commission freelance article writers than to hire their own in-house copywriter. Most of the time, they are in the look out for writers not only with the best writing experience and potential, but also somebody who can write articles for an affordable rate and who has a quick turnaround time (who can turn over finished articles fast).

For freelance article writers, here are those five online article writing tips that you can follow to make sure that you not only get paid nicely, but you can also establish your integrity and good reputation as a freelance writer.

1. Be discriminate in your job applications/ bids

There are some clients who makes it clear in their job postings that they indeed are badly in need of the skills of online article writers-- you can barely make out what it is they want because of poorly written sentences, lack of details, ambiguous requests. Thus, you might need to be discriminate in choosing the job postings that you would like to apply to.

A post that says "Need editor at 10$" is not only incomplete, but may even be misleading. For all you know, 10$ is for editing a hundred articles. Look for posts that are not only complete with details, but also gives you a clear view of what the client's working attitude is like.

2. Make sure the instructions are clear

Before everything else, make sure that you completely and clearly understand what it is that you are supposed to write. Read and understand your client's instructions. Make sure that the following are well defined:

• keyword and/or topic
• number of words
• deadline
• rate

Once you have established contact with the client, whether this is for an initial interview or you've already agreed to work with each other, you and the client need to be on the same page about these specifics.

3. Make sure you understand and know what to do with the keywords/ topics

Usually keywords that are given are too broad. When this happens, you can do one or both of two options:

a.) You can ask the client if he has a specific content in mind that he wants to be written, and if the client failed to give you a proper response as to what to do, it would be safe to do the other option yourself, which is to...
b.)  Delimit the topic into something specific -- ex: fitness exercise bikes. this may sound specific, but if you look the keyword up, you will find that the results would vary from bikes for sale, to fitness instructors, to news about exercise bike injuries, to workout tutorials, among others. As long as you have the keywords laid out exactly as specified, delimiting your writing to a more specific topic is a safe diversion. But then, it is always better if you and your client can openly communicate.

4. Make notes

Starting from when you first signed up for the job, have a notepad (either on your computer or an actual one plus a pen beside you) ready. Although I would recommend the use of the one in your PC, as you can copy and paste as you wish.

PC notepad or actual notebook, it pays for you to take note, starting with the keywords, in numbered form. And then you can cross them out, as you finish one after another. You can also copy and paste the URLs and links that you need to include in your article after the numbered keywords, so that way you will not miss any.

5. Make an outline first

If you're just like me who started out as a distracted perfectionist who just couldn't seem to choose which angle to follow or which catchy novelty introduction to try, I suggest that before you start rambling and find yourself talking about irrelevant things, please do yourself the favor of making an outline.

An 'outline,' my dear brothers and sisters in the-business-of-trying-to-make-a-living-online, is a sketch or a brief plan indicating only the main features of something, as in a book, for example. Like say, the Twilight saga can be outlined this way: silly girl meets vampire boy - they fell in love - the world is against them - stupid girl leaves family for boy - everything still seemed to fall into place. Totally cheap material, if you ask me. Well anyway, that's what an outline is.

Well, alright! For a more professional example, say you will write about dating, or since I've already told you that you have to be specific about a topic, then say, "how to impress a hot geek" would be better. So, you can outline it this way: Allusion to a Star Wars film or a Game of Thrones episode as your intro - Why dating a geek is fun and an attractive alternative to jocks/cheerleaders - Steps on how to impress a geek - Summary - A quote, perhaps from Star Wars or Game of Thrones, or whatever you choose to quote.

And, that's it. That, for me, are the five top tips that I would advise to newbie online article writers/ bloggers. Keep the content and the traffic coming, guys! Good luck!

*Repost from http://maeconserva.blogspot.com/2013/05/5-tips-newbie-online-article-writers.html