"The Basics of Money" Financial Tips

2 of 6 Stages to the Economic Cycle

There are six stages to the economic cycle and each stage boasts an economy to best sustain certain stocks and bonds making your gains substantial.

2. Initial Rebound - After the recession, the economy slowly begins to build again.  In this stage, cyclical stocks do well.  At this point, you look into utility, financial and consumer stocks.

1. Recession – The argument is, are we in a recession or not. Investors and brokers say yes, while the government says no. An official recession is when the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) has two or more
consecutive quarters of decline. In this stage, bonds are usually the best bet due to rates and inflation.

Writing Tips

DESCRIBING THE SCENE!
Descriptions can make or break a good book.  However, this is a fine line a writer must balance.

Have you ever read a book and you couldn't really place yourself there with the characters because you couldn't see the scene?  Or, have you read a book and the author was SO over-descriptive that it took away from the flow of the story and a simple scene has now taken you 5 pages to read???  This is the think line authors must navigate.

A story will have peaks and valleys, slow and rapid points.  Descriptions are at leisure when made during those slow points or where the author must describe an area or person to enhance the mood of the scene.  Descriptions are also short and precise during action sequences; enough to place the reader in the scene without interrupting the pace of the story.


Describing the Scene exercise #1

Take several snapshots of places/people throughout the day:

  • Look out your window in the morning and detail the scene.
  • Look out the same window at night and detail the scene. (note the differences)
  • At a stoplight, describe in short detail the action taking place around you.
  • While out and about, complete a 360 degree detail of your surrounding.  If there's action, pick up the pace.  If it's laid back, slow it down and get articulate with the scene!