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Helium is a unique site that offers amateur or aspiring writers the opportunity to voice their opinions, improve their writing skills, showcase their talents and maybe even earn a little extra cash in the process. However, before you start typing away, there are a few things that you should NOT do as Helium writers.

1. DON'T copy other writers' work. Whether you're copying another Helium writer, a Wikipedia entry or an excerpt from an Encyclopedia, plagiarism is the number one no-no in the world of writing. Helium is not the place to come if you're interested in making a huge sum of money on the Internet, so it's not worth it to try to increase your earnings by simply copying and pasting what others have toiled long and hard to create. Eventually, you will get caught and your articles will be removed.

2. DON'T forget to spell check. Helium couldn't make it any easier for you. They have a spell check option conveniently located at the bottom of the page every time you submit an article. So take the extra two seconds to check your work. You will look more professional, improve the quality of the site, rank better and give your articles more opportunity to earn rewards.

3. DON'T use offensive or hateful language. When you soil your writing with such language you only make yourself look like an idiot and are potentially putting the reputation of the site at risk. If you're having a bad day and looking to vent, put it in your personal journal or blog if you must, although you must remember that anything posted on the Internet has the potential to reach the eyes of very young and impressionable readers.

4. DON'T use all CAPITALS or all lowercase letters in your writing. Format your article just as you would if you were writing an article for a newspaper or even for class. There is a reason that you will never find a magazine article written entirely in capital letters - it is extremely difficult and irritating to try to read! It also makes you appear unprofessional. The only exception would be capitalizing a few words here and there to make a point or emphasis, such as at the beginning of this paragraph. The same goes for using all lowercase letters.

5. DON'T abbreviate excessively. This is not an IM, text message or your blog. Don't use abbreviations such as LOL or OMG. Once again your work will appear unprofessional and some not-so-savvy readers like myself will have no idea what you are even talking about.

6. DON'T attempt to write the next great American novel. Every

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