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Writer's Notes - By Jeanne Dininni

 
WritersNotes.Net: Helping Writers Follow Their Dreams Through Information, Inspiration, and Encouragement!

AbleStable: An Inspiration to Writers and Other Creative Types

In keeping with the theme of my series, Inspiration, I'd like to introduce a website, which many of my readers may not have heard of, but which I think would prove a real inspiration to you in your creative endeavors. And if you happen to be an artistic type who expresses your creativity in a variety of different ways, other than just through writing, you'll like this site even more.


What Is AbleStable?

AbleStable is a unique website which brings together information, inspiration, and a wide variety of resources for creative individuals who work their magic in a number of different disciplines. Whether you choose to express your personal creativity through writing, music, visual art, acting, or more than one of a broad array of artistic modes, you'll find something on this website to interest, inspire, empower, and equip you for your specialty.



AbleStable Homepage Screenshot




What Does AbleStable Have to Offer?

From articles on a variety of creative topics to competitions and exhibitions featuring readers' work, there's something here for everyone. Helpful tools, e-books, freeware, a glossary of terminology used on the site, games, puzzles, and other activities make this a site with broad appeal for artistic personalities everywhere. In addition, the site provides a free listing service, where "creatives" can present their own services to the world.


Who Runs AbleStable?

Mike de Sousa, director of AbleStable and obviously himself a highly creative type, as can be seen by his About Us page, as well as his articles, is the personality behind the site. Mike has a great deal to offer the artistic visitor to his website. With a background in music, writing, art, photography, and both graphic and website design, he understands the differing needs of individuals involved in a variety of creative areas and can therefore provide on-target information, resources, inspiration, and encouragement to which each type of artist can relate.



AbleStable Tagline Logo



AbleStable Articles to Inspire You

Being a writer, myself, I enjoy reading Mike's articles about How To Be Creative, Emotion and Creativity, Finding Balance, and The Purpose of Art. I find that his articles also Inspire Me and encourage me to Write from the Heart. The foregoing are just a few examples of some of the fascinating articles you'll find in the archive of Mike's monthly feature, The Column. Mike's articles are engagingly written and will definitely appeal to your creative, contemplative side. Speaking as one artist to another, through The Column, Mike shares the considerable insights he's gleaned from his own creative--and not-so-creative--experiences.


Visit AbleStable and Be Inspired

Whatever your creative specialty, check out AbleStable. There's something for everyone on this fantastic site!


Enjoy your visit!
Jeanne


This is not a sponsored post.



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Your One-Stop Shop for Freelance Writing Info

FreelanceWriting.Com is simple, straightforward, yet attractively laid out--a site that packs a huge amount of helpful information into one convenient corner of cyberspace.


An Extensive Variety of Resources

You'll find newsletters covering everything from the craft of writing, the business of marketing your writing, and a wide variety of markets you can market your writing to. You'll find writing contests, writing articles, writing news and events, and even writer's guidelines--enough to keep you busy for quite some time. You'll also find free e-books and essays on various aspects of writing and publishing, author interviews, discussion forums, podcasts, videocasts, job feeds, RSS feeds, and freelance recruiter lists, as well as Private Label Rights producers to help you earn income. You name it; this site offers it.


Writing Success Awaits!

Visit FreelanceWriting.Com and take full advantage of all the tools it provides to move you closer to your writing goals. I believe you'll find it a useful addition to your present list of favorite writing resource sites. If you haven't got this one bookmarked yet, I'd highly recommend it. Its many resources could provide just the push you need to propel you forward toward writing success.


Hope they will!
Jeanne



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Freelancers' Holiday Visions

With both the holidays and the end of the tax year drawing nigh, freelancers tend to have a slightly different version of the line from the popular poem, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas on their minds. For us, Christmas is the time when "visions of tax returns dance in our heads"!


Some Helpful Links to Lighten Our Mental Load

So, to help take a load off our minds this Christmas, I've listed links to some really helpful info on filing taxes for freelance writers. Some are lists of links to other resources about income taxes, and others are discussions of tax-related topics of interest to freelancers. (You'll find some very slight overlap in these offerings.) My hope is that knowing we have these great resources at our fingertips will help us to have a merrier Christmas this year, as well as an easier job filing when tax time rolls around in just a few short months.


Excellent Online Tax-Time Guidance

Debbie Ridpath Ohi's Tax Tips and Resources for Freelance Writers

Write Stuff's Tax Tips for Writers

Freelance Factor Tax Tips for Freelance Writers - Articles by Julian Block

Deborah Ng's Weekend Discussion: Tax Tips for Freelance Writers

Amy Derby's Blog Post: Don’t Sweat the Audit Threat

Chris Bibey's Blog Post: Health Insurance for Freelance Writers and Other Self-Employed Professionals


A Great Head Start

No doubt there are many other great online tax resources for freelancers; but these links ought to give us an excellent start in preparing for tax day 2008!

If you know of any great tax-related resources for freelancers, please feel free to share them with us in comments!

Here's to smooth sailing at tax time!
Jeanne



This is not a sponsored post.







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Feed Rinse Cleans Up Your Feeds

K-IntheHouse, over at ShanKri-la, wrote an excellent blog post a while back (which I just discovered today) called How to Overcome RSS Feed Overload? Just thought I'd share this really comprehensive introduction to and explanation of a fantastic free online tool that can help you organize your feeds, selectively filtering out the items you aren't interested in and "filtering in" the ones you are! This powerhouse of an RSS-feed organizer--which can be thought of as a spam filter for RSS feeds--is called Feed Rinse.


Too Many Great Blogs!

I don't know about you, but I know that I, for one, have not yet gotten a handle on my feeds; simply because it seems as though I'm always too busy to keep up with them. Lately, it's all I can do to visit and comment on my favorite blogs, much less go through all the posts of the significant number of other great blogs I've subscribed to so I wouldn't lose track of them. If you tend to have this problem, you might want to check out this free resource. It can help make a difference. Haven't tried it myself, yet, but K-IntheHouse has, and he seems to feel it's worthwhile.

I'm certainly thinking of checking it out. How about you?

To cleaner RSS feeds!
Jeanne



This is not a sponsored post.







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A Great Article on How You Can Develop Confidence as a Business Writer

The following article was written by my friend and fellow blogger, Joanna Young, of Confident Writing. This article is offered for free distribution by EzineArticles.Com; so I thought I'd share it with my readers to help you become a more confident business writer, as well as to highlight the wonderful content you'll find on Joanna's blog. (Many of Joanna's tips and techniques also apply to other types of writing, as well; so bear that in mind as you read, and look for places in your own writing where you can practice these helpful principles.)


_____________________________


Business Writing with Confidence - An ABC Guide
By Joanna Young


Confident writing is an essential part of effective business communication. Most people would agree with this statement but how many of us have the skills or the confidence to put it into practice? Anxiety about grammar rules can leave people tongue tied. All too often business writing is seen as a barrier, a stumbling block rather than something that can add value to your contribution at work.

But here’s the thing: you don’t need to learn the rules of a grammar book to write with confidence at work. You just need to work on three basic elements of good business writing: authenticity, brevity and clarity. It’s what I call the ABC guide to confident writing at work.

Writing with authenticity

Writing with authenticity means being real, sounding human, sounding like yourself. It’s great for creating rapport with other people, whether that’s your colleagues, customers or potential clients. Most people want to do business with another human being and it’s even better if that’s someone they feel they can get to ‘know’ and trust.

To make your writing more authentic:

* Make use of plain, everyday words: go for short, simple words; avoid jargon and clichés; use everyday words rather than corporate or business speak

* Use a conversational style: this doesn’t mean slang – it does mean feeling free to use short sentences and contractions like “I’m” or “we’ll” or “let’s” (all great for the flow)

* Find your own words: spend a little bit of time jotting down your own words for the things that are most important to you (ideas, your business purpose, your values) and start to work them into your writing. This is a great way to sound like you really mean business!

Writing with brevity

Most people are drowning in information overload. So much for the paperless office – most of us are suffering from too much paper, a deluge of e-mails and more reports than we’ll ever have time to read. You’ll really start to win friends and influence people if you keep your writing short and to the point. Your readers will thank you for the time and effort saved, and you’ll also make your message more punchy, powerful and memorable.

To write with brevity:

* Keep each sentence short: aim for an average of 18 – 25 words a sentence. This is good writing practice and will get you into the habit of writing less

* Cut out excess words: go back and edit your work once you’ve written a draft. Cut out as many excess words as you can. Then do it again (and again till it’s done.) Enjoy seeing your message emerge more clearly!

* Write within limits : set yourself a word limit and practice working to it. It’ll improve your skills of writing with brevity and help you stick to the point

Writing with clarity

You’ve got something important to say so you want your writing to stand out. Clear writing makes it easier for people to read, follow and understand what you’re saying. Now this is the place where grammar does come into play because there are some rules – whether you like it or not – that are there to help us understand your meaning. You need to master these basic rules if you want your message to be clear and easily understood.

To write more clearly:

* Know your point : be clear what you’re trying to say, and why, before you start to write. Boil your message down to no more than 10 words. That’s your message: focus on that and it will shine through your writing

* Manage your writing: work out which grammar points are stopping you from writing with clarity (like use of apostrophes). Ask a colleague or friend to help identify them. Then take responsibility for learning and applying the rules. There are plenty of books, websites and writing coaches who can help with this

* Keep it simple: use short sentences, cut out excess words, use plain, everyday language

I don’t know if you noticed some common themes running through these writing tips. Keep it short, keep it simple, use plain language, know your point and stick to it. These are the fundamental rules of good business writing and if you apply them you will find it easy to write with authenticity, brevity and clarity. Effective business writing needn’t be hard – it can be as easy as ABC.

Joanna Young is a writing coach who helps people to write with confidence - to realise the power of their own words. You can find out how to work with Joanna or read more of her writing tips at Confident Writing.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com expert=Joanna Young

_____________________________


Hope you've enjoyed these great tips on confident writing by a very confident writer! Don't forget to visit Joanna's blog for more great content on writing confidently!

Happy writing!
Jeanne



Did you enjoy this post? Was it helpful? Have anything to add? If so, please feel free to comment!

And, while you're at it, why not visit Joanna' s blog and do the same?



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Remembering My Commenters

Last month, I started a tradition here at Writer's Notes of writing a post on the first of each month listing the names of all the previous month's commenters, complete with links to their blogs, and I want to welcome you to Volume 2!


September Link Love

It's that time again: time to send some link love out to everyone who commented at Writer's Notes during the month of September. Thanks, everyone! I truly appreciate your feedback!


Here's the list of September commenters, in no particular order:

Yvonne Russell, Grow Your Writing Business

Laura Spencer, Writing Thoughts

Lillie Ammann, A Writer's Words, An Editor's Eye

Calvin Warr, CalvinWarr.Com

James Rickard, Angling Fish

AmyHuang, Travel String

Louie, Climate Red

Jon, Tech News

Tracy, Movies and Life

Lilla, Enviro Warrior

Danielle, The Bipolar Diaries

Brad Shorr, Word Sell, Inc.

Bob, Every Every Minute

Michael Martin, Pro Blog Design

Sharon Hurley Hall, Get Paid to Write Online

Rosemary, Alpaca Notes

Julee Ann, Write of Passage

JoH, Persistent Parent

PetulaW, It's a Woman's World

AdTracker, AdSense Tracker


Keep Spreading Your Comments Far and Wide!

Thanks for your comments, everyone! Each one is greatly appreciated, and each has helped to make Writer's Notes just that much more interesting for its readers! You've all added so much to the Writer's Notes conversation, and your generosity in doing so is hereby recognized! Thanks again!

You're welcome at Writer's Notes anytime! So be sure to stop by again very soon! And remember to keep visiting as many other blogs as you can and passing along the comment-kindness--not to mention the link love! You'll enjoy it as much as the other blogger will!


Keep those comments coming!
Jeanne







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Join Yvonne and Other Fellow Writers for a Great Time of Sharing Each Weekend!

On Friday, September 7th, Yvonne Russell, at Grow Your Writing Business, kicked off her new Writers (and Bloggers) Cafe. In her own words, her purpose for instituting this writers' gathering every Friday through Sunday is to share "marvellous mini milestones and super successes," as well as links to writing- or blogging-related articles or websites that might be helpful to your fellow writers, your plans and goals for your writing/blogging--in short, anything relevant to writing or blogging.


For Further Info About the Cafe, Visit Grow Your Writing Business

You may read more about Yvonne's new weekend gathering in her Writers and Bloggers Cafe--Now Open at Grow Your Writing Business post. (Also, check out Share Your Marvellous Mini Milestones and Super Successes, the post in which she first introduces the Writers and Bloggers Cafe.) Sharing these small and large successes will be the focus of the Writers Cafe during the month of September.


Visit Yvonne's Site During the Week, As Well, for Other Helpful Writing-Related Content

There are many other reasons to visit Yvonne's blog, in addition to the Writers and Bloggers Cafe. At Grow Your Writing Business, Yvonne offers a great deal of valuable info and many helpful resources for writers and bloggers that can move you closer to the realization of your writing goals.


What Are You Doing This Weekend?

Why not drop by Grow Your Writing Business this weekend and check out the Writers and Bloggers Cafe? (It starts tomorrow, Friday.) Pull up a chair, grab a muffin and a cup of coffee, and enjoy a great time of fellowship with other likeminded creative people, as you share your own goals, aspirations, and accomplishments, relate to, celebrate, and learn from theirs.

I think you'll enjoy it!

See you there!
Jeanne







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A Write-from-Home Reminder

Write-from-home.com is a website that I've written about before. In my May 11th, 2007 post, Write-from-Home.Com: A New Site for Freelance Writers, I introduced this site to my readers, as the excellent resource that it is for writers.

Recently, Amy Derby, who runs the site, purchased a reprint of one of my articles, which appeared on my blog back in June and which she has just published in her September online e-zine. And, although this isn't really the reason I'm bringing her site up again (since my blog's readers have likely already read the post in question), it's as good a reason as any to remind everyone of a great site where writers will find helpful writing-related articles, writing markets and contest listings, and even a blog with some really great content.


The Write-from-Home Blog

With all the other helpful info on the site, it would be easy to overlook the Write-from-Home blog--but don't, because it's loaded with helpful tips, information, advice, and resources that can help you succeed. One post even contains a warning about a possible scam currently being advertised on Craigslist. So, check it out. I know you'll get a great deal out of this blog, as well as the rest of the site.

Some topics covered on the blog, in addition to the possible Craigslist scam, are these: dealing with stress as a freelance writer, the freelance workload "rollercoaster," setting up a home office on a budget, getting published as a new freelance writer, and freelance writing terms explained (quite a long list of them, too).


The Write-from-Home Market

So, if you've never been to Write-from-Home.Com--or haven't been there lately--drop by for a visit. You'll find a great deal of helpful information there.

And, if your forte just happens to be writing about selling your writing, you might just be able to sell some of your writing right there--since Amy buys both original articles and reprints for her Write-from-Home e-zine. (She pays $75 for unpublished articles and $30 for reprints.) Check out her Guidelines to find out what she's looking for.

Stop by Write-from-Home.Com--and give your freelance writing career a boost!

Happy reading!
Jeanne







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Love Thy Commenter

Mark, at ProBloggers Matrix, penned a post recently, which asked the following question:

How Do You REWARD Your COMMENTERS and Those Who Have BACKLINKED to Your Blog?


August Link Love

In the spirit of giving--and the spirit of Blog Day (which, as many of you may know, was yesterday)--I thought I'd designate today, September 1st, Comment Appreciation Day and send some link love out to everyone who commented at Writer's Notes during the month of August. Thanks, guys and gals! Love you all!

Here's the list of August commenters, in no particular order:

Yvonne Russel, Grow Your Writing Business

Laura Spencer, Writing Thoughts

Lillie Ammann, A Writer's Words, An Editor's Eye

John Doe, Film & TV on DVD

AmyHuang, Travel String

Kleonaptra, Kalikapsychosis

Fiar, Radioactive Liberty

BigMike, N.A.D.S.

Louie, Climate Red

Jon, Tech News

K-IntheHouse, ShanKri-la

Tracy, Movies and Life

Mandy, Pop! In the Name of Love

Charles Young, Top Site of the Day

Danielle, Musings of a Middle Aged Woman

David, Mind Orgasms

Phil, Contest Blogger

Chic Critique, Fashion.org.au

Brad Shorr, Word Sell, Inc.

Bob, Every Every Minute

Loz, Written Life

Joanna Young, Confident Writing

Chris Kitamura, Dude Check Out My Site

Sylvia C, Sylvia's Insight

Melissa Garrett, A Writer's Woolgatherings

Malathy, Blog Avenues

Lily, Ars Poetica

Ash, Australian Traveller

Faisca, Faisca's Corner

Michael Martin, Pro Blog Design

Sharon, Get Paid to Write Online

Mark-Blogger, ProBloggers Matrix

Mark Goodyear, Good Word Editing

Tavi Nemet, Loop 44

Rosemary, Alpaca Notes

Robert Hruzek, Middle Zone Musings


Keep Spreading the Magic!

Thanks so much for your comments, everyone! They've all been greatly appreciated; and they've helped make Writer's Notes a much more interesting--and far less lonely--place than it would have been otherwise!

Stop back by again to chat anytime! And remember to visit lots of other blogs and continue to pass on the comment-kindness! You'll get as much out of it as the other blogger will!


Keep those comments coming,
Jeanne







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Blog Day 2007 Badge - red


Blog Day 2007: Celebrating New Blogs Worldwide

Today is Blog Day 2007: A day to celebrate new blogs all over the world! In honor of Blog Day, bloggers have been asked to list, describe, and link to five new blogs--preferably representing a different country, culture, or focus than our own.

Here's what the Blog Day website has to say:

BlogDay was created with the belief that bloggers should have one day dedicated to getting to know other bloggers from other countries and areas of interest. On that day Bloggers will recommend other blogs to their blog visitors.

After writing our Blog Day posts, we are also asked to notify the bloggers we've chosen, which I plan to do via a comment on each one's blog.


Five Great New Blogs You Should Definitely Visit

Here are my choices (in no particular order) for five of the best new blogs from different parts of the U.S. and around the world. (Well...only one is currently outside the U.S: Confident Writing, which comes to us from Scotland; though one will soon be moving to Germany: Content Done Better. Yet, for some of you, the U.S. is on the other side of the world!) All these blogs are either only several months old or under new ownership.

I will let the bloggers who create the magic of the written word on their blogs speak for themselves, via quotes from their About pages and blog posts.


Pro Blog Design

Pro Blog Design. Michael Martin has this to say about his very helpful blog and also about blog post formatting:

I have been designing websites for a few years now, and enjoying every minute of it.

Over time, I’ve learnt a lot about working with blogs, and through Pro Blog Design I hope to share that knowledge with others. Content on a blog is of course, King, but does the King get the attention he deserves when draped in ragged garments? Of course not! In the same way that the grandeur of the King is crucial to his success, your blog’s design is crucial to yours. (from Michael's About page)

As bloggers, we write pages upon pages of content each week. We spend hours promoting the articles, choosing the right words and trying to get our point across as clearly as possible. How can formatting be used to further improve our posts?

There are a few basic tools that you will have heard mention of time and time again, such as bolding words. The first section re-explains their purpose, and the second will explain how to perfect your usage of them to achieve optimal formatting. (from Format Blog Posts for Readability and Legibility)


Confident Writing

Confident Writing. Joanna Young says the following about her quality site and about why she writes:

Hello I'm Joanna Young, The Confident Writing Coach...My aim is to get people writing with confidence. To realise the power of their words. How we work is partly up to you - but my approach is based on a blend of coaching, teaching, editing and writing - tailor made to your needs. (from Joanna's Welcome and Work With Me sections)

(Post Title: Why Do You Write?.) For me, it's something to do with the power of connection: the connections we can make with other people, the connections we develop between our own ideas, making sense of our experience, pulling together spaghetti strands of random thoughts and creating something new, connecting back to our roots and our selves and coming out with a stronger sense of who we are.

But then again maybe it's that thing I call realising: the sweet, slow dawning of realisation. Recognising the things that you always knew to be true. Recognising - with a jolt - your self in your words. Realising the power of your words, and taking responsibility for their power and impact: on yourself, on other people, on the world. Grounding yourself with the specificity of words. Validating your experience with words which are not real - but can make us feel that our experiences are. Allowing ourselves to be changed by the words that we write. (from Why Do You Write?)


ChrisBlogging

ChrisBlogging. Chris Bibey describes himself and his insightful blog and shares a few words of wisdom on freelancing:

For more than three years I have been earning a full-time income online. My main sources of income include a wide range of freelance writing projects, and of course, blogging.

But although I do not know the first thing about web design or coding, I still earn three times as much as I did as a corporate slave.

The goal of Chrisblogging.com is to show you how I make money, how you can join me, and much more! (from Chris's About page)

There is no denying that a few big jobs make up a large part of my monthly freelance writing income. But guess what? I also believe that smaller jobs are every bit as important. Sure, I would love to work on high paying jobs only, who wouldn’t? But the reality of the freelance writing industry (at least for me) is that this is not always possible. For this reason, I always think twice before I turn down any small jobs that I am offered. (from Don't Always Turn Down the Small Jobs)


ProBloggers Matrix

ProBloggers Matrix. Mark gives us this inviting welcome to his blog, and some great info about blogging (taken from one of his excellent posts):

Hello, I’m Mark.

Welcome to ProBloggers Matrix. I’ll be sharing blogging tips. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to post them in the comments. (from Mark's About page)

If you’re like me, you love to write, you love to publish great articles on your authoritative blog and you also enjoy reading excellent articles in many fantastic blogs. That can be very time-intensive, but you need to get out and exercise! Get the blood flowing! Get into The Zone! (from How to Stay in the Zone and Keep Wowing Your Readers with Spectacular Articles)


Content Done Better

Content Done Better. Michi Beck's blog has an intimate, inviting atmosphere, due to her personal, engaging writing style. Her Under New Ownership section tells us this about her background, followed by an apt quote from one of her posts:

During her career she has written many informative articles on various subjects including economics, technology, local happenings, and human interest stories.

In addition to the newspaper and Internet work, Michi has had poems published and is currently working on her first novel, of which the first draft is nearing completion. She enjoys both fiction and non-fiction writing, and often takes the time to write about the smaller things in life, as she believes those things have lessons behind them that most people do not realize. It is not only the big things that are important in our daily lives, and since she is often reminded of that it appears frequently in her particular style of writing. (from Michi's Under New Ownership page.)

(Post Title: When It Rains, It Pours.) Have you ever noticed that? You could be in a ‘dry spell’ in your work life and then all of a sudden things go crazy, and you’re left shaking your head and wondering how you’re going to get it all done.

I mention this because it happened to me, rather recently. I’m not sure whether to be overwhelmed and annoyed that everything showed up at once or happy because of the work and income. Hmmm
..I think I’ll go with “happy because of the work and income.” (from When It Rains, It Pours)


Five Great Blogs to Bookmark and Visit Again and Again!

Be sure to visit the above blogs soon--and often! And don't forget to give these hard-working and insightful bloggers a little link love! It will be more than worth your while, as you continually enjoy their latest words of writing wisdom.

Congratulations go out to these five new bloggers for making their blogs places where we can go to pick up the best info, tips, techniques, and advice, to make us all better, more responsive, and more productive bloggers!

Happy Blog Day!
Jeanne


Technorati Tag: Blog Day 2007


P.S. I realize I posted this a little late in the day--particularly for those of you on the opposite side of the world to the U.S., where I live! My apologies. But, I believe I did manage to post it in time--though barely! If I missed the deadline in anyone's time zone, Happy Belated Blog Day!







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Predict Your New Google Page Rank!

August 27th 2007 21:46

Are You Wondering What Your New Google Page Rank Will Be?

With the next Google Page Rank Update right around the corner--and, in fact, expected to occur any day now--perhaps you're wondering where your blog or website will place along the new ranking spectrum once the update takes place. I know I've been wondering about it, myself, quite a bit lately, with my blog's current Page Rank of 0! I know that Writer's Notes has a good number of inbound links, so I've had my fingers crossed that that fact would translate into a decent Page Rank once Google does the update.


Check out the iWebtool Google Page Rank Predictor!

Just today, I learned about a free online tool that can help give both you and me an idea of the Google Page Rank we can expect once the update occurs. I learned of it, compliments of K-IntheHouse at Blog About Your Blog, in his response to my comments to his 2 Great Ways to Check Your Blog Health post. Before replying to my comments, K-ItH very kindly plugged my blog's URL into the tool and later informed me that my own predicted G-PR is 5. (Thanks, K-IntheHouse! I definitely needed that confidence boost!)

Here's a link to this nifty tool: Google Page Rank Predictor. Check it out and find out what you can probably expect in the way of Google Page Rank for your website or blog after the upcoming--and imminent--Google PR Update.


Happy Google PR predicting!
Jeanne


By the way, don't forget to visit Blog About Your Blog--often! This site is packed with valuable information for bloggers. For your convenience, I placed a link to them, a while back, in my Helpful Sites for Writers list, near the bottom of my left sidebar. Now you'll have no excuse not to visit and do something good for your blog!

You might also want to visit K-IntheHouse's own blog, ShanKri-la, where you'll be able to keep up with all the latest tech info for daily life. And, when you visit either of the above sites, don't forget to comment!



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A Virtual Trip Around the Blogosphere

In my latest travels around the blogosphere, I've uncovered some excellent content that can truly be a boon to any writer interested in a fresh approach, a new inspiration--in short, any writer seeking the motivation to write with renewed vigor and vitality.


Confident Writing: Posts to Both Inspire and Get You Thinking

Please check out Joanna Young's excellent post, When Writing Means Spirit Spilling, at Confident Writing. This piece explores the process of writing from the deepest parts of ourselves and, through quoting the wisdom of several knowledgeable bloggers, links out to other blogs you'll find most helpful in your quest to grow your own writing.

Two of Joanna's other pieces, The Ingredients of Confident Writing, and How to Learn from Your Writing, are also insightful looks into the components that help make our writing fresh and engaging. They also link to other related posts on her own blog and/or elsewhere in the blogosphere.


The Golden Pencil: Pieces on Perfectionism, Freelancing Dos and Don'ts, and Marketing Your Work Objectively

Anne Wayman, at The Golden Pencil, has written a succinct, yet very helpful post called, Don't Worry About Perfection--Go for Effective, reminding us that perfectionism is a trap and wisely counseling us to let it go.

Anne has also posted two guest pieces that offer practical guidance to help writers more effectively run their writing business. Top Dos and Don'ts for Freelancers, by Lori Widmer, offers 14 basic tips to help writers "make a go of freelancing," and Sending Out Ships, by Charlotte Rains Dixon, counsels us to write personally but submit our work objectively.


Passionate Blogger: Giving and Receiving Series to Help You Reap the Same Recognition You Sow, and How to Avoid Information Overload in Research

Wild Bill, at Passionate Blogger, has posted the first two parts of his excellent and informative multi-part series on giving and receiving: Give and Receive Series - Part 1 - Technorati Favorites and Give and Receive Series - Part 2 - StumbleUpon. These two posts explore the importance of giving lavish recognition to other writers/bloggers and letting the "getting" take care of itself, specifically covering how to do so through Technorati Favorites and StumbleUpon. The upcoming third post in the series will explore how to do this using Alexa.

Another excellent post on Wild Bill's site, about avoiding information overload when researching and writing blog posts (and which could also apply to other types of writing), is Stop Cramming for a Post! This insightful piece is an apt reminder that focusing on what we do know (known, in blogging, as our niche), can help us steer clear of excessive and unnecessary r