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WritersNotes.Net: Helping Writers Follow Their Dreams Through Information, Inspiration, and Encouragement!
Two Fantastic Sites That Are Hosting My Work
Just wanted to share with my Writer's Notes readers that I have two guest posts appearing so far during the month of June: one at Writing the Cyber Highway and one at Writer's Resource Center.
Writing the Cyber Highway: A Favor Returned
One guest post is already up at Michele Tune's blog, Writing the Cyber Highway.
Here's the link:
Motivation to Write: Is There a Magic Formula?
I've really enjoyed writing this post on motivation for Michele, who so kindly came to my rescue a while back when I was ill, penning a wonderful guest post here at Writer's Notes without even being asked to do it. That's just the kind of blogger--and person--Michele is! That's why I'm so happy to reciprocate. (See Michele's guest post here: That's What Bloggers Are For.)
If you ever have trouble motivating yourself to write, you might just want to follow the above link and check out the lessons I've learned about this topic that's so critical to the success of every writer. Hope you'll enjoy reading this piece as much as I've enjoyed writing it. And hope you'll get lots of new ideas about how to discover--or generate--new motivation for all your writing projects!
Writer's Resource Center (aka PoeWar): An Opportunity to Help Out
My second guest post is scheduled to run tomorrow, June 4th, at John Hewitt's Writer's Resource Center.
Update: It's now June 4th and the post is up, so here's the link:
7 Secrets to a Striking Essay
This post presents seven helpful essay-writing techniques that are applicable to many other types of writing, as well. I hope you'll enjoy it--and even more so that you'll get something of value from reading it.
I wrote this post in response to a request by John for enough guest posts to run through the month of June to help him take a much needed month-long vacation. I was honored that, in addition to his general call for guest posts, John also sent me an e-mail inviting me personally to submit a post. (How could I refuse?) Seriously, though, I'd already planned to submit a post but really appreciated John's reminder. It's definitely an honor to have my work appearing at John Hewitt's Writer's Resource Center!
WRC Post Involves a Contest With an Impressive Grand Prize!
What makes this WRC "gig" even more special, though, is that John is offering a $250 prize to the writer whose guest post receives the most traffic during the first week it graces his site! That's definitely a prize worth pursuing--even if I would have submitted a guest post anyway! So, I'd like to ask my readers to stop by WRC to check out my post--even if you aren't that interested in essay writing--though I promise that you will take home some helpful tips for other types of writing, as well. (And don't forget to tell your friends! I need all the help I can get! In fact, a Stumble wouldn't hurt, either (wink, wink), if you really like my article--or if you just want to be nice. I would be forever grateful. Certainly hope you will like my post, though.)
WRC Consolation Prize Is Generous, As Well
John is also offering a $50 prize in a random drawing he'll hold to determine which lucky guest blogger among all those who have responded to his call for vacation relief will receive the "consolation" prize. The two monetary prizes John is offering are more than generous and have certainly provided a wonderful incentive for bloggers to participate. It will definitely be fascinating to see who wins them! Of course, it would be even more fascinating to be who wins (one of) them! Time alone will tell who the two lucky winners will be!
Stay Tuned for John Hewitt's Guest Post Here at Writer's Notes
John has also graciously offered to write a reciprocal guest post here at Writer's Notes as soon as he's able--so we've all got a treat in store after John's vacation ends. I know he's a busy man, however, and certainly don't want to put any undue pressure on him. Though it's difficult to wait, I'm sure we can all be patient until John gets back into the swing of things in July and manages to find a bit of extra time to write a guest post especially for us! I know it will be well worth the wait!
Hope you'll visit my guest posts!
Jeanne
P.S. I haven't forgotten my comment recognition post this month, but have simply been so busy that I haven't gotten to it yet. (Would have posted it today, but wanted to announce my guest post at Writer's Resource Center, since it's set to go live tomorrow, as well as my guest post that went live yesterday at Writing the Cyber Highway. Hope everyone will forgive me for being so late with my thanks! I'll do my best to get that post up tomorrow. I'll also resume my Guide to Polished Writing series soon after. Thanks for your understanding!)
Did you enjoy this post? Have anything to add? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
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A New List of Links for Your Mother's Day (and Everyday) Reading Pleasure
Since Mother's Day is just about here, I thought I'd post some new links for writing moms, as well as linking to my two posts from last Mother's Day, which include more great mom/writing links. (I've checked these posts and removed the links that are no longer valid.)
Some of the newer links are specifically for moms who write, while others tend to be blogs where the blogger writes about motherhood. (Some of these do, however, discuss writing in some of their posts, along with mothering. These mommy bloggers are, after all, writers.) A few of the links provide resources for moms who write, and one even invites contributions from writing moms.
There's some fascinating stuff here for all you mom writers--so sit back and enjoy! And don't forget to visit these sites and bookmark your favorites. There should be something here for pretty much every writing mom.)
Links to Blogs/Sites Written By Moms About Writing and/or Motherhood
Work From Home Momma
Freelance Parent
Writer Mama
Lis Garrett ~ Silver-Tongued Writer
The Write at Home Parent
The Writing Mother
The Other Mother—for Moms Who Write
(The author invites you to tell your story.)
What About Mom?
5 Minutes for Mom
New Mom Central
The Mommy Diaries
Motherhood Incorporated
Mommy Life
Blog Mommas
The Mom Crowd
(Includes a post entitled,
Creative Writing Moms and Literary Magazines.)
Blonde Mom Blog
An Ordinary Mom
Work It, Mom!
(a blog for working moms)
At Home Mom Blog
More Writing Mom Links From My 2007 Mother's Day Posts
The following two links will take you to my Mother's Day 2007 writing mom link fests, which are chock full of other sites that appeal to moms who write--and even moms who don't:
It’s Mother’s Day! Some Helpful Links for Writing Moms
More Great Sites for Writing Moms
Hope you'll enjoy these.
And hope each and every mom out there--both writer and non-writer--has a truly happy Mother's Day!
Best wishes from a fellow writing mom,
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Know of any other great writing mom sites? Or simply feel like sharing something about writing and/or Mother's Day? I'd love to hear from you!
Please note: If the StumbleUpon and other social bookmarking buttons aren't visible, please click the "Add Comments" link beneath this post. Thanks!
Pillar Posts Link Helps You Locate Content Quickly
I'm not sure whether most of my readers have noticed it yet or not, but I've created a list of Pillar Posts to help you more easily find Writer's Notes' most beneficial content. You'll find a link in my Spotlight Posts list to Writer's Notes' Pillar Posts. This link will take you to a post in which I've listed my most helpful content, broken down into various categories.
Rather than simply listing them in reverse chronological order by month, as they are in my archives, I've decided that it would be far more helpful to you if I were to categorize this content. This should help you quickly find the topics you're interested in exploring or the tools and resources you'd like to use, rather than having to wade through all the posts on the list. (This will prove even more beneficial, no doubt, as the list grows through the addition of future content.) Hope you'll find this feature useful! Let me know what you think and whether you have any further suggestions for making it even more useful.
Other Spotlight Posts Links Point to Blog Carnival Feed and More
My Spotlight Posts list is also where a link to my About page is located, as well as links to Writer's Notes' Awards (given to me by various other bloggers), and my Blog Carnival Feed. Blog carnivals can be a fantastic way to get recognition, readers, and links to your site. So, check this feed often, visit the Blog Carnival website via the button in the Stats & Other Widgets section in my top left sidebar, and seriously consider submitting your blog posts to one or more carnivals. There are many carnivals on myriad topics, and the best part is that you may have already written content that's suitable for one or more of them. So, don't overlook a great opportunity to get exposure for your blog.
Sites for Writers Link List Points to Helpful Sites
Last, but not least, I'd like to remind my readers to make use of my Sites for Writers list (previously called "Helpful Sites for Writers") near the bottom of my left sidebar. (The links are still just as helpful, but I needed to shorten the title.) This is a comprehensive list of links to various websites which can be helpful to writers in one way or another.
Most are straight writing sites or blogs, some are sites to or through which to sell your work, and others offer various additional features beneficial to the writer/blogger: blog design, inspiration, wisdom about issues that affect writers/writing, both business and general life lessons that can be helpful to you in the craft or business of writing, etc. Be sure to use this list of links often--and try visiting some of the sites that are as yet unfamiliar to you. You'll find many gems in this list, and you may just discover one or more that really target your interests or needs. (How will you ever know if you don't check them out?)
Hope these additions to Writer's Notes' help to make your writing life, fuller, simpler, and more productive. And may they help contribute to your success!
From one writer to another,
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Find it helpful? Have any suggestions for improvement or other features you'd like to see? Please let me know in comments. I'd love to hear from you!
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A Nice Matters Award Version I Wasn't Aware Of
A little while back, I awarded the Nice Matters badge to a number of bloggers whom I considered to be some of the more friendly and kind bloggers I'd "met" during the past year that I've been blogging. (See my earlier post, Nice Matters Award: A Blogger's Gift.) At the time, I was aware of only one version of the award--the very feminine-looking version which I have in my blog's sidebar. I therefore made my apologies to the fellas and offered it to them anyway. However, I'm now happy to report that, thanks to Krissy Knox of Sometimes I Think, I now have the masculine version to offer the guys I nominated for the award back then.
The Guys' ReAward, If You Will
I'll repost the list of guys to whom I gave the award, so they can come on by and pick up the new (to me, at least) "Gentlemen's version" of the Nice Matters Award badge.
Here they are, in no particular order:
Dan, at dcr Blogs
Brad Shorr, at Word Sell, Inc.
Robert Hruzek, at Middle Zone Musings
Michael Martin, at Pro Blog Design
K-IntheHouse, at ShanKri-la
Raven, at Alaska Chronicle
Tom Colvin, at Becoming a Writer Seriously
The "New" Badge
Here's the new badge, fellas. Hope you'll like it better than the other one--and hopefully this will mean that those of you who didn't post it to your blogs because of the feminine style/color will be inclined to do so now that you've got a more gentlemanly version.
The Guys' Badge:
Here you go, guys!
A Note to My Readers
Be sure to check out the blogs of the above Nice Matters Award recipients. You'll find much to like there--not the least of which will be the bloggers themselves! Also, check out my original Nice Matters post, where you'll find links to the female bloggers to whom I presented this award, as well as those to whom I would have presented it, had they not already received it. Like the guys, these women will make you feel welcome whenever you visit--and also offer you a great deal of "food for thought" to make your visit a pleasant one.
Always remember: Nice Matters!
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Have anything to add? Know of any other similar awards? Have you received them? We'd love to hear about it!
A True Honor!
Liz Strauss, of Successful Blog has made it official: I'm an SOB! (See Thanks to Week 117 SOBs.)
Now, normally, when people call you an SOB, it isn't a compliment; but when Liz calls you that, you know that a very high honor has been bestowed; because at Successful Blog, SOB stands for Successful and Outstanding Blogger!
The SOB Award
You've no doubt already noticed the SOB badge in my sidebar. Nevertheless I'll reproduce it here, because, to be honest, you can never display this award too often!
Here it is:
You may have even been a bit curious about the newest badge to appear in my sidebar, if you aren't familiar with it or with Liz's blog. I'll let Liz herself explain the purpose of the SOB award in her own words.
A Few Words From Liz About the Award
Here are a few things Liz has to say about those bloggers who have, as she puts it, "earned this official badge of achievement":
They take the conversation to their readers, contribute great ideas, challenge us, make us better, and make our businesses stronger.
I thank all of our SOBs for thinking what we say is worth passing on. Good conversation shared can only improve the blogging community.
How I Shared Liz's Blog Conversation
My own manner of passing on Liz's blog conversation was through my post, My Journey to Becoming Positively Me, which I prepared back in November, 2007, in response to Liz's own Positively Me post.
I also flung this conversation a bit farther out into the blogosphere more recently by making it part of my What I Learned From 2007 post, which I entered into Robert Hruzek's Blogapalooza group writing project at Middle Zone Musings.
Do Yourself a Favor: Visit Successful Blog
If you've never visited Successful Blog--and even if you have--do yourself a favor and drop by. You'll be glad you did! (You'll find links in the first paragraph of this post and in my bottom left sidebar.) Liz's blog is loaded with helpful information to make your blog successful--amazing wisdom from a truly successful and highly respected blogger! This is one reason I'm truly honored to have received this award! (The other is that I'm definitely in good company! Liz's extensive list of SOB's is a veritable Who's Who of bloggers--and an excellent resource if you happen to be seeking some excellent blogs to read and learn from! Check out her SOB Hall of Fame--A-Z Directory.)
Happy reading!
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Care to share your thoughts? Have you checked out Successful Blog--or do you plan to? Please feel free to comment!
The Contest
Wanted to share a gift, of sorts, given to me by Dan at dcrBlogs. Actually it's more of a consolation prize for my non-winning entry to his recent What is This Blog All About? contest. In this contest, Dan asked his writer-readers to write a description of his blog and offered a $10 prize to the blogger whose description he chose as most accurate and well-written. (Entries were left in comments and may be read at the above post.)
The Winner
In a later post, What You Think This Blog is All About, Dan reveals his choice for the winning entry: the one submitted by my blogging friend, Lillie Ammann of A Writer's Words, An Editor's Eye. (Congrats, Lillie on a job well-done!)
The Consolation Prize
In the above post Dan generously offers the Good Buzzz Blog Award to the non-winners:
Good Buzzz Blog Award
This award is “for blogs that have generated a happy hum in the blogosphere. Whether it be for their blog in general, one outstanding, unusual or controversial post, or for something cool the blogger has done. Or even for recognizing some promising, brand-new blogs.” Dan received it back in November, and he's kindly decided to pass it on to us, because he considers our taking the time to submit our entries to the contest to be "cool."
Thanks, Dan!
I'd like to thank Dan for the consolation prize, as well as the lesson learned through my submission of an overly lengthy entry--despite what my intuition tried to tell me! Nevertheless, like Dan, I, too, love Lillie's description and readily concede that the best entry did indeed win! Many congratulations to Lillie Ammann on an excellent description of an excellent blog: dcrBlogs!
Till next time,
Jeanne
How much thought have you given to your blog's description? If your blog is listed on Technorati or anywhere else, that description represents your blog. Does it make people want to visit? Any thoughts to share about this topic?
The Perfect Group Writing Project to Cap 2007
I just had to get in on Robert Hruzek's end-of-year WILF (What I Learned From) group writing project, Blogapalooza: What I Learned From 2007. One reason was that I needed to make up for all the WILF's that I've missed over at Middle Zone Musings due to excessive busy-ness. I've felt bad about missing them, and I wanted to show Robert that I really do care. Another reason: This is a really fantastic project, bringing together the lessons learned by a whole spectrum of bloggers over the past year: What a wealth of wisdom is there for the taking for those who take the time to read this group of posts!
What Blogapalooza Is All About
The best way to explain to you what Blogapalooza is all about is to let Robert do it! So, without further ado...he-e-e-e-re's Robert!
Looking back at your archives for the year 2007, choose one post from every month you’ve been blogging that best represents a lesson learned. And you don’t have to use your old (should you *ahem* have any) WILF entries; it’s your choice (you can, of course; but you don’t have to).
So what was the most amazing, profound, surprising, whacky, etc. thing you learned in the month of March? How about July? Anything in October? Hey, you get to choose something different from each month! Now that’s a blogapalooza!
Here’s all you have to do (please notice the procedure is a bit different than usual):
1. Choose one post from every month you’ve been blogging in 2007. (For example, if you’ve been blogging all year, you get to choose up to 12; if only since July, choose up to 6. Got it?) Use whatever criteria you like: your favorite post, most commented upon, the funniest, most outrageous, or “what you thought was your best work but ended up being a huge flop”, etc.; hey, knock yourself out!
2. Write a sentence or two describing each post you’ve chosen and why. Don’t forget to include the post title and imbed a link to it (you may laugh at that instruction; but if I don’t spell it out, well…). Compile it all into a single article. Please (and if you want to) also include a few sentences about yourself and your blog (and again, don’t forget the link).
3. Choose how your entry gets posted (here’s where it gets fun!)
3.1. The Blogapalooza Way (sound of crowd cheering): Instead of posting it at your blog – allow me to host it for you right here at Middle ZoneMusings! Here’s how:
3.1.1. Send your post to me anytime (in .doc or .rtf format only – please don’t send a .pdf!) at rhruzek@sbcglobal.net right up until the end (operators are ‘standing by’) and I’ll post it here at the Zone, including all the links. (NOTE: I will edit if necessary, but as little as possible, and only to make you look better.)
3.1.2. So your readers know how to find your entry, post a notice (write a teaser, summary, whatever) at your blog and point to your entry here at Middle Zone Musings (I’ll provide the link for you).
OR -
3.2. The (ho-hum) Usual Way: Post your entry at your own blog and send me the link as usual. Please include the phrase “What I Learned From…” in your post title.
My Entry Added at the Eleventh Hour
Well, I barely made it into the project, e-mailing my entry at pretty near the eleventh hour! But, as they say, "Woo-hoo, I'm in!" (Do they really say that?) At any rate, if you'd like to read it, you'll find my entry, What I Learned From 2007--Jeanne Dininni, at the Zone. I highly recommend you check out the other entries, as well--and while you're at it, bookmark Robert's site, because it's definitely one you'll want to visit again and again. Why that rascal is already planning his next WILF project, which you won't want to miss. Maybe you might even decide to join in the next time around! If you do, I guarantee you'll have a ball!
Here's to learning!
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Sure hope so! Have you checked out Robert's Blogapalooza Extravaganza? (See, I told you it was fun!) We'd love to hear your thoughts about the project!
Developing Our Writing Goals for 2008 Is a Great Start
As we enter a new year, each of us has our own personal list of writing, blogging, and marketing goals which we hope will make 2008 even better than 2007 was. And this is a wonderful thing! Each new year is like a brand new beginning--like starting fresh. It can help inspire us and jump-start our enthusiasm for using our creative gifts in exciting new ways, for branching out into new areas of endeavor, for building our brand, for marketing ourselves and our work with renewed vigor, and perhaps most exciting of all, for increasing our writing income.
But Intellectual Exercise Isn't Enough
The above are all excellent goals to focus our energies on in the new year. Yet, as most of us would be quick to admit, while writing is one of the most rewarding of intellectual endeavors, it is precisely that: intellectual, which translates into many hours spent seated before our computers doing research, planning, writing, editing, rewriting, seeking markets for, and selling our work. In other words, as wonderful as writing is--and as wonderful as it is that we can sell so much of our work online from the comfort of our home offices--writing is definitely not an activity that contributes to our physical fitness; and it can, in fact, detract from it, if we don't find ways to counteract the often excessive amounts of time we spend in front of our computers.
A Blog to Help You Add Physical Fitness to Your List of 2008 Goals
One way that we can help motivate ourselves to add physical fitness to our list of New Year's resolutions this year--and make it a resolution that we actually keep--is by visiting the Simply Fitness Blog, where we'll find posts such as the following to help move us toward better fitness in 2008:
27 Ways to Get Fit for Free
Fitness Motivation: 6 Simple Steps to the Point of No Return
Fitness Success Tip 1: Have a Plan
These three posts, along with the others offered on this great blog, can help inspire us to make fitness happen for us this year.
More Information on Fitness and Fitness Gear on the Main Website
In addition to the great advice you'll find on the Simply Fitness Blog, you'll also discover a ton of other excellent fitness information on the main site, SimplyFitnessGear.com. This site presents comprehensive info on and reviews of the many different types and brands of fitness gear available and can help you decide which equipment is right for your fitness needs.
The Fitness Equipment Quiz offered at SimplyFitnessGear.com can also help you determine which type of fitness gear will give you the workout you need, based on your own current level of fitness.
Two Sites to Give You the Fitness Info You Need
Even if you aren't in the market for fitness equipment, you'll learn a great deal from both the blog and the main site. If you'd like to develop your own exercise regimen but don't know quite where to begin, definitely check out the blog for information, motivation, and inspiration. If your goal is to learn more about the equipment you may currently be using--or not using--either at home or at the gym, be sure to look over the main site.
Simply Fitness might just provide the push you need to help you balance your current regimen of intellectual exercise with a whole new physical fitness routine, making you healthier, happier, and more creative in the new year.
To a happy and healthy 2008!
Jeanne
This is not a sponsored post.
Know any other great fitness websites that can help us keep fit in the new year? We'd love to hear about them!
Belated Thanks for a Special Gift
I intended to write this post much sooner--ideally on Christmas Eve--but was unable to do so due to extreme holiday busy-ness combined with personal and family illness. So today, several days after Christmas, I'd like to publicly thank Dan at DCR Blogs, for his thoughtful holiday gift passed on to me in his Regifting Christmas Blog-Gifts post.
Dan's gift appears below:
Miss Stocking
An Honor Bestowed By a Respected Blogger
One reason I feel honored to receive this gift from Dan is because it was intended for “Blogs that encourage, year round, the same energetic and imaginative sense of wonder that is apparent throughout the Christmas season.” I consider his choosing me as one of its recipients to be one of the highest compliments he could pay me as a fellow blogger--particularly since Dan is himself one blogger I highly respect. That's why I didn't want to let the opportunity pass--even though Christmas has--of saying, "Thanks, Dan! I really appreciate your gift--even if it is a regift--because this is the kind of regift a blogger is proud to receive."
Hope you'll all visit Dan's blog and read his always fascinating--and entertaining--posts! Getting to know this great blogger will be an experience you won't regret. I promise.
Hope your holidays were bright!
Jeanne
This is not a sponsored post.
Did you enjoy this post? Have any special gifts to share that you've received this Christmas? Please feel free to comment!
A Nice Surprise!
You may have noticed the Nice Matters Award badge which appeared in my sidebar recently. I was very honored to be presented with this award by Lillie Ammann in her recent post, Nice Matters (12/7/07). This was a very sweet gesture on Lillie’s part, and I truly appreciate her very kind assessment of me!
Kindness Counts: It's as Critical as Content
As most bloggers know, creating a place where our readers feel welcome and appreciated--by doing such things as responding to comments and treating them with friendliness, kindness, and respect--goes a long way toward turning casual readers into loyal ones, making them want to return to our blogs again and again. Our readers are every bit as important as our ability to write engaging content or our expertise in our chosen niche; because, after all, it is they who make our blogs successful.
Bloggers Who Epitomize Kindness
Many bloggers have a real knack for making their readers feel appreciated, and I’d like to let you know who some of them are. My list is rather long; but there’s a reason for this: There are just so many wonderful people in the blogosphere! In fact, my list would have been even longer if several other bloggers to whom I would have presented the award hadn’t already received it. (They will be listed at the end of my post.)
My Nominees for the Nice Matters Award
My list of bloggers who fit the “especially nice” category—and therefore my list of those to whom I’d like to present the Nice Matters Award--follows, in no particular order:
Dan, at dcr Blogs
Brad Shorr, at Word Sell, Inc.
Robert Hruzek, at Middle Zone Musings
Michele Tune, at Writing the Cyber Highway
Lis Garrett, at A Writer’s Woolgatherings
Amy Derby, at Write from Home Blog
Michael Martin, at Pro Blog Design
K-IntheHouse, at ShanKri-la
Krissy Knox, at Sometimes I Think
Cindy Nichols, at Kaleidoscope
Danielle, at The BiPolar Diaries
Kerith Collins, at Freelancing, My Road Less Traveled
Sharon Hurley Hall, at Get Paid to Write Online
Courtney Ramirez, at Web Writing Info
Amy Huang, at Travel String
Raven, at Shifting Realities
Sylvia C, at Sylvia's Insight
Tom Colvin, at Becoming a Writer Seriously
To each of the above nominees: Feel free to grab the Nice Matters Award badge* before heading back over to your blog to do what you do best: engage your readers in your own inimitable way! Then, please consider carrying on this noble tradition by passing this award on to some of your favorite bloggers. (My apologies to the guys: This is not the most masculine-looking badge in the world! Nevertheless, I didn't want to leave you fellas out. You are, after all, some of the nicest bloggers I know.)
Bloggers I Would Have Nominated Had Someone Else Not Beaten Me To It
Bloggers to whom I would have presented the award, had they not already received it, follow:
Lillie Ammann, at A Writer’s Words, An Editor’s Eye
Laura Spencer, at Writing Thoughts
Yvonne Russell, at Grow Your Writing Business
Joanna Young, at Confident Writing
A Note To Those Who Are Also Worthy Of This Award
There are, of course, many other fantastic bloggers out there, in addition to these, who undoubtedly deserve this award—so please forgive me if I’ve left you out! But I can’t hog up all the best bloggers; I have to leave some of you for someone else to present the award to! However, let me say a hearty “Thanks” to each of you--You know who you are!--from all of us for being the kind of blogger who makes your readers feel at home and loved! I’m sure it will only be a matter of time before you, too, are nominated for this award!
A Note to All My Readers
Please take the time to visit these blogs, read their fascinating content, and show these excellent bloggers how much they are appreciated. Connect with them via comments. I can assure you that you won’t regret it!
And, once again, let me thank each of you for taking the time to visit Writer’s Notes, read my posts, and share your thoughts, ideas, and insights with us! You’re the best!
With gratitude,
Jeanne
* If you don't have enough room in your sidebar for the badge--or don't prefer to put it there for whatever reason--consider placing it inside the post in which you nominate your chosen bloggers for the award. Others have done this, but I've chosen to use my sidebar instead.
This is not a sponsored post.
Did you enjoy this post? Have anything to add? Please feel free to share in comments!
End-of-Year Assessment
As the New Year approaches, our thoughts turn to goals. We ponder the progress we’ve made over the past year. We assess our achievements…study our setbacks…and mull over the lessons we’ve learned from both. And we begin thinking about how we might turn those lessons into new and greater successes in the coming year.
Discover Your Deepest Aspirations
To inspire us to reach for lofty goals, I’d like to post a link to a list found on a very intriguing blog called To-Do List Blog, which posts scanned copies of actual handwritten to-do lists created by various people. This particular list might be considered more of a “to-accomplish list,” as it expresses the many and varied things its author hopes to achieve during the remainder of his life. My hope is that the enthusiastic optimism of its author will be contagious and that the refreshing spontaneity and almost wild abandon with which he approaches life will inspire you to search deep within yourself to discover who you really are and develop a new understanding of your true heart’s desires.
A Truly Inspiring List of Life Goals
Here’s a link to the list:
Things to do before I die . This is the enlarged version, which is the only one that's actually readable. If you'd like to see the list in its original post, though, you'll find it here: 110 Things To Do Before He Dies (written 1998).
Check it out. If this list of 115 items doesn’t spark your imagination and inspire you to reach for all that you’ve always wanted to do and be, nothing will!
As 2007 comes to a close, may you truly get in touch with the things that mean the most to you, and may your deepest aspirations be realized in 2008 and beyond!
To your future success!
Jeanne
P.S. #1: This list is part of To-Do List Blog's Craziest Lists Contest. (Details can be found on the blog.)
P.S. #2: Along the lines of our topic, To-Do List Blog has published a post called How to Take the Self-Flagellation Out of New Year's Resolutions, which makes some great points.
P.S. #3: Discovered To-Do List Blog while reading a post on another blog recently, but can't remember which blog it was. If you are the blogger who "referred" me to this most intriguing blog, please step forward and let me know so I can give credit where credit is due!
This is not a sponsored post.
Did you enjoy this post? Has it inspired you? Have any of your own inspirational thoughts to share? We'd love to hear them!
A Seriously Resourceful Site
Becoming a Writer Seriously is a blog written by Tom Colvin that's loaded with authoritative and helpful info, advice, and resources for writers. This is one blog you'll definitely want to bookmark for quick, easy access whenever you're in need of anything writing related or are simply curious to find out what the latest bit of writing wisdom from the authoritative T. Colvin camp happens to be.
At Becoming A Writer Seriously, you'll find info and advice about writing, blogging, document formatting (and de-formatting), HTML coding, website design, and technology as it relates to writing, publishing, and general productivity. You'll also find links to many, many other resources that can help you in so many different areas of writing/blogging/publishing that you'll soon begin thinking of this site as your one-stop source for anything writing-related.
Google Reader Shared Links: An Added Dimension
One section I found particularly fascinating was Colvin's Google Reader Shared Links, which provides articles on helpful sites, online tools, and products, and offers advice and instruction on a variety of topics that can make your writing life easier.
As alluded to in the previous paragraph, one tip (and link) Colvin shared, via his Google Reader Shared Links, explained how to easily remove the formatting from text when copying and pasting it into MS-Word, to avoid having to reformat it after pasting to make it fit into the document into which it's being inserted. While many may already know this technique, I'd venture to say that just as many probably don't. (I didn't.) It's practical tips such as this one that can really save a writer a great deal of time and trouble, making for a more productive writing session.
While I haven't tried this yet, I'm wondering whether this technique might not also work when copying and pasting info into G-mail. G-mail is notorious for doing very strange things with fonts when items--including entire articles--are copied and pasted into e-mails. So, this is one I definitely plan to experiment with!
Do yourself a huge favor and check out Becoming A Writer Seriously. You'll be very glad you did.
Seriously.
Till next time,
Jeanne
This is not a sponsored post.
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Grow Your Writing Business Writers Cafe Back in Business
I'm very happy to report that, after a few-week break due to family health issues, Yvonne Russell's Writers Cafe will be reopening this weekend at Grow Your Writing Business. (See Yvonne's post about the reopening, at the following link: |
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