Istas Blog

Dating is a pretty tricky proposition these days. There was a time when men were just happy that a girl allowed them to talk to her. It now appears that men have slightly more exacting standards. A male friend of mine recently told me that he didn't like women who wear nail varnish, women with long toenails (we are talking millimetres here), women who wear too much make up, women who don't wear any make up at all, tights with open toed shoes or indeed tights at all and, very importantly, bikini lines have to be porn star perfect. He said all of this with his gut hanging over his trousers, a three-day old beard (not designer) and a spot the size of Cuba on his chin. On speaking to other men, it seems he is not alone in his way of thinking.

What struck me, apart from being guilty of one or two things on the list, is that whilst women are preening before a big night out, some of that preening appears unnecessary and is sometimes downright detrimental to the cause. Whilst we think that ruby red nail varnish is sexy and alluring, your date may be thinking that you are as common as muck, no matter what women's glossies say about the colours of the season. On the other hand, he may not be at all impressed with your more relaxed approach to female body hair.

I was always under the impression, false it would seem, that men didn't take much notice of the specifics of beauty. They knew if you looked nice or not, if they were attracted to you or not but they didn't really realise the hard word that went on in the background. Unfortunately it would seem that they do notice when your eyebrows need some attention and your lip liner is a shade too dark. Scary. There also appears to be a fine line between well-groomed and over-groomed. Some men obviously prefer the more natural look. Unfortunately for us girls, the natural look actually takes longer to achieve than the polished look.

How did men get so fussy when, let's face it, most of them are just ordinary looking? Only a handful of men have faces like Brad Pitt and even fewer have the torso. I look around at my friends on a night out in their new outfits, painted nails, glossy hair and then look at their men who have obviously found it an effort to put on a different top over the jeans they have been wearing all day. Are there really so few men out there that they can demand perfect partners whilst being so much less than perfect themselves?

Of course there are exceptions. Notably another friend of mine who showers and changes his clothes at least three times a day and goes to the barbers once a week, where the obliging stylist merely waves the scissors over his head without cutting a strand of hair for three out of four visits. If your own grooming habits are as exacting as this then you are fully justified in expecting the same perfection in your mate. But let's be honest, when was the last time your man had any of his hairs ripped out at the root (on purpose) or spent an hour having hard skin sheared off his feet before feeling able to don his summer sandals?

Modern Man seems to be setting the bar so high that a girl has to be in a constant state of tweezer alert. And yet, what do we expect from them in return? To shower regularly, not to scratch their manly bits in polite company and not to dress like their dads. It hardly seems like equality to me. And how dare they complain when we spend so much time in the bathroom. The blame lies entirely with them. I would, of course, have pointed out the unfairness of the situation to my male friend but I had a fairly lengthy appointment at the beauty salon...

Audra McKellar is on a light-hearted mission to find out what men think in the Modern world about love and relationships. Join her and her friends on their journey of discovery.

This is my own theory one I've developed and produced myself. It reflects my own approach to writing and to the marketing of writing. I've seen other writers speak of some of the individual approaches I'm discussing here, but none to my knowledge have worked it into a formulation for success such as I use.

I call this the M.O.R.E. theory of writing successfully for money. I have used these four points of "attack" when writing for money in my own businesses, and without fail, the use of these have paid big dividends.

My approach stems from four distinct points that should be met in all our writing, no matter what market we're seeking to reach:

1. M: Motivation: Definition according to Webster's: The act of impelling. This simply means that when we see a subject that we feel needs writing about or addressing, we take the initiative and just write about it. At this point, I seldom worry about the market it will reach or even IF there is a market. I find that if I have "thought" of this others have as well, and therefore will welcome my "take" on a subject (eventually).

2. O: Origination: Definition according to Webster's: The act of bringing or coming into existence. This is the actual writing of the piece. This is the first time I take into consideration the actual market and I try to write "to" this perceived market throughout the piece.

3. R: Rejuvenation: Definition according to Webster's": The act of making as if young again. This is where I market the piece as if it were the only piece of its type in the world, even if it is not. I show great faith that others will accept that my "take" on things, if not entirely original and that they will consider something worth "purchasing" (my favorite part).

4. E: Exploitation: The act of utilizing or turning to one's own use. Let's face it, much of what we write is not accepted by the first publication or market we approach. I then market it to what I consider "lesser publications", or "lesser markets" or I use it myself, in my own publications, and sell reprint rights.

In a nutshell, I believe that any subject, at any time, has great possibilities. I also believe that some day, somewhere, no matter what I have written, eventually I will find an audience for it (a case in point is a report I did for a police department, which ended up YEARS later in a newspaper). I continually regurgitate my work, either into samples, into reprints, into rewrites, into anything and everything that sells.

Nothing is wasted with me, and nothing is ever considered "sub par" writing. Using the above formula has kept me on the track to monetary gains and I hope by sharing, it will help struggling writers everywhere.

M.O.R.E. power to everyone!

(c) Copyright: 2006 PL Rights Articles

Katheryn Labonsky and Ken Leatherman are professional writers for http://www.PLRRightsArticles.com & http://www.klr-marketing.com providing high quality original articles. See more articles here.