tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15272093902619209302024-02-08T03:19:05.932-08:00Writers WriteLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286929297833328170noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527209390261920930.post-9432185261969602792010-04-27T12:17:00.000-07:002010-04-27T12:17:00.513-07:00Breaking the vicious cycleSo, how do you deal with the following situation?<br />
<br />
You want to write an article, freelance, but don't heave a regular gig anywhere. So you need to put together something really strong in order to pitch it... but without having a publication backing you, potential sources are less likely to take the time to help you.<br />
<br />
Thoughts? Advice?<br />
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</script></span></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286929297833328170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527209390261920930.post-73182140338116371612009-12-10T14:38:00.000-08:002011-04-10T18:30:09.243-07:00The cliche of writer's blockIt's kind of a cliche, really.<br />
<br />
You finally get the time, and the space, and, hell, the <i>permission</i> to just sit down and write.<br />
<br />
And nothing happens.<br />
<br />
You stare at your list of prompts and to-dos, and you just can't care about them. This one is stupid. That one is hard.<br />
<br />
You open up something you got halfway through, and you can't for the life of you remember where you were going with it.<br />
<br />
You get defeatist. No one is going to read it anyway. No one reads it now. Why bother?<br />
<br />
You get nervous. The plan was to work on your writing, and then do something else. Something else? Not getting done. Because you can't write.<br />
<br />
<i>You can't write.</i><br />
<br />
And hell, if you could do anything else -- if you wanted to do anything else -- well, you'd have a <a class="zem_slink freebase/en/day_job" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_job" rel="wikipedia" title="Day job">day job</a> like a <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f80000000005e25aa" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normality_%28behavior%29" rel="wikipedia" title="Normality (behavior)">normal person</a>, wouldn't you?<br />
<br />
Self-worth comes into question. The Depression monster -- which already finds you to be delectable prey -- starts creeping around the edges of your territory. You can see it, hear it, smell its breath. Its teeth are sharp, and wet; its mouth is watering.<br />
<br />
It will devour you if you don't fight.<br />
<br />
Better to whine about having to fight than to be eaten for not fighting, you decide.<br />
<br />
So you hammer out the kind of essay writers have been writing when they lack better ideas, pretty much since there have been both writers and ideas.<br />
<br />
It's kind of a cliche, really.<br />
<br />
<br />
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</script></span></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286929297833328170noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527209390261920930.post-83058526531347989612009-11-02T18:40:00.000-08:002009-11-02T18:40:00.195-08:00In which I seek a Blogging Buddy<i>Crossposted from Life is (not) Boring [link]</i><br />
<br />
Darren Rowse at Problogger did his 31 Days to Build a Better Blog program a while back. I'm not doing so well at the 31 days part, but Looking at it as 31 steps has been immensely helpful.<br />
<br />
Day 15's (<a href="http://www.problogger.net/archives/2009/04/20/find-a-blog-buddy/">http://www.problogger.net/archives/2009/04/20/find-a-blog-buddy/</a>) task is to find a Blog Buddy -- a fellow blogger with about the same level of success as you who will share resrouces, trade guest posts, give feedback, link each other back and forth, and so on. Ideally, this partnership would elevate the talent -- andreadership -- of both bloggers. <br />
<br />
So, my personal ad:<br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote>Small- to mid-size blogger seeks same for Blogging Buddy. Review, writing, and day-in-the-life bloges preferred, (as that's what I do), as well as personals finance, green, happiness, and dog blogs (Which I enjoy reading, but don't really write about as much), but not mandatory, although I prefer your topic be something of which I have at least a vague understanding. Buddy should read my blog(s) regularly and allow me to do the same, and comment regularly and expect me to do the same. Links should be exchanged, particularly when we write things relevant to each other.<br />
<br />
I'm willing to guest post for you with sufficient notice, and I would likely be calling on you for the same. Proper credit and links would be given, of course, and I'd expect the same in return.<br />
<br />
Blunt feedback is welcome, although kindly-phrased feedback is even better. I want someone who will kick me in the pants when I slack off, so while I'm willing to do the same for you, if you're not serious about this, don't bother.<br />
<br />
In return, I'm willing to provide the types of feedback requested (although not fine-tooth-comb proofreading or copy-editing -- that's very time-intensive and I charge for that!). Your blog will end up on my blogrolls on the sidebars fo my blogs (and I'd hope for the same).<br />
</blockquote><br />
<br />
Any takers? Preference would be given to people I know IRL, but it's not a <em>strong</em> preference, and there's no rule saying I -- or you -- can't have more than one Buddy!Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286929297833328170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527209390261920930.post-84310522297964826402009-10-16T19:44:00.000-07:002009-10-25T21:06:41.790-07:00NaNoWriMo: PrepOk, National Novel Writer's Month starts on November 1, and once again I'm going to participate. This year, I'm actually hoping to finish, even. <br />
<br />
But, as usual, I can't decide what to wrote about. I'm hoping you can help. I was going to describe the ideas I had, but in my experience, the more I talk about my <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f80000000000406ea" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writing" rel="wikipedia" title="Writing">writing</a> projects, the less likely I am to finish them. So, without any actual information, please help me decide:<br />
<br />
<embed allowScriptAccess="never" saveEmbedTags="true" quality="high" wmode="transparent" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="beta3" salign="tl" scale="autoscale" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" FlashVars="p=2113980" src="http://i.polldaddy.com/poll.swf" width="252" height="500"></embed><br />
<br />
The poll closes on October 31, so I can jump right in November 1.<br />
<br />
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<br />
Whenever I come up with an idea for a <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f800000000004119b" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog" rel="wikipedia" title="Blog">blog post</a>, I break that idea down into basic parts, then add each part to my <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f800000000003d095" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_management" rel="wikipedia" title="Time management">to-do list</a> on Google Calendar. Then, I just pull the next task in, write it up, and if I finish a post ahead of time, awesome: I just pre-schedule it for another day.<br />
<br />
I've never been ahead of myself like this before. It's pretty sweet!<br />
<br />
What do you do to keep on top of your game with blogging or other writing?<br />
<br />
<br />
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I love the idea, so I am heretofor going to rip her off.</div><div class="para-reblog" jquery1250865641939="18"><blockquote>Prolific communicator with endless opinions seeks same for penpal relationship. Let's keep the centuries-old tradition alive and count among the last great correspondants.<br />Topics unlimited. I am not easily offended, but be sure you are likewise and can take what you give. Sample topics might include books recently read, life lessons learned from daily tasks, updates on major milestones, progress towards goals, and explorations on topics not discussed in polite society.<br /><br />Regualr correspondence is a must, although "regular" may be defined as anything from a short note once a week to an encyclopedic<button class="zem-type wikipedia" style="WIDTH: 16px; HEIGHT: 16px" jquery1250865641939="12"></button><a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f800000000002420f zem_commontag" title="Letter (message)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_(message)" rel="wikipedia" jquery1250865641939="10">missive</a> twice a year. I tend toward the latter but am flexible. Ideally, holiday and birthday greetings would be inlcuded in the correspondence (but would not count toward the "twice a year missive").<br /><br />The ideal candidate already has my home address, as I do not give it out online. I begin all replies immediately after receiving a letter; long repsonses will take longer to finish.<br /><br />No dabblers, please. Apply by post; I have sent letter that have recevied no repsonse, and would like to weed out such candidates.</blockquote></div><br /><fieldset class="zemanta-related"><legend class="zemanta-related-title">Related articles by Zemanta</legend><br /><ul class="zemanta-article-ul"><li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://artofmanliness.com/2009/07/10/the-art-of-letter-writing-stationery/">The Art of Letter Writing: Stationery</a> (artofmanliness.com)</li></ul></fieldset> <div class="zemanta-pixie" style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px; HEIGHT: 15px" jquery1250865641939="3"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/d86d4078-f229-47cf-b8e0-b0db7eca5896/"><img class="zemanta-pixie-img" style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; FLOAT: right; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=d86d4078-f229-47cf-b8e0-b0db7eca5896" /></a><span class="zem-script more-info pretty-attribution paragraph-reblog"><script class="zem-processed" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" type="text/javascript"></script><br /><br /></span></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286929297833328170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527209390261920930.post-63502037761523495242009-07-08T18:30:00.000-07:002010-09-28T17:54:13.527-07:00Prayer Intentions<span class="zemanta-img separator" style="clear: right;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Regoce1.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Assumption of Our Lord Jesus Christ Cathol..." height="400" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Regoce1.jpg/300px-Regoce1.jpg" style="border: medium none; font-size: 0.8em;" width="300" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="clear: both; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 300px;">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Regoce1.jpg">Wikipedia</a></span></span>So I had mentioned <a href="http://lauraprocrastinates.blogspot.com/2008/06/prayer-intentions-1-for-church.html">ages ago</a> that I wanted to write the <a class="zem_slink freebase/en/prayer" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer" rel="wikipedia" title="Prayer">prayer</a> intentions for my <a class="zem_slink freebase/en/wedding" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding" rel="wikipedia" title="Wedding">wedding</a>. Well, I finally finished them and got them approved, so I thought you might want to take a look:<br />
<blockquote><ul><li>For all the <a class="zem_slink freebase/en/roman_catholic_church" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church" rel="wikipedia" title="Catholic Church">Church</a> in the world, that we may come together, not in dispute over our differences, but in love and devotion to our <a class="zem_slink freebase/en/jesus" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus" rel="wikipedia" title="Jesus">Lord Jesus Christ</a>.</li>
<li>For all people of faith, and all those who seek meaning, that they may find Truth.</li>
<li>For all <a class="zem_slink freebase/en/deacon" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deacon" rel="wikipedia" title="Deacon">deacons</a> and ordered <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f8000000000032b55" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion" rel="wikipedia" title="Religion">religious</a>, all <a class="zem_slink freebase/en/priest" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priest" rel="wikipedia" title="Priest">priests</a> and ministers, all bishops and conference chairs, all Popes and Patriarchs, and for all men and women who are called to be shepherds, that they may lead their flocks in Christ's example.</li>
<li>For all parishioners of N----- Church, and for the former congregation of F----- Church, that the values and love they have passed on to Chris and Laura may continue to guide them and those their lives touch.</li>
<li>For Barack our president, D---- and E----- our governors, and all elected and appointed officials, that they may lead and serve their people with love, courage, and compassion.</li>
<li>For peace in our world, and comfort in those regions suffering turmoil.</li>
<li>For our men and women in uniform, both stateside and overseas, who serve justice, protect our freedoms, and keep our lives safe.</li>
<li>For all those who wish to marry before the Lord, that their unions be blessed.</li>
<li>For all those who work with the <a class="zem_slink freebase/guid/9202a8c04000641f8000000000023947" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law" rel="wikipedia" title="Law">law</a>, that they may act with justice and mercy, guided by the Law handed down <a class="zem_slink freebase/en/moses" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses" rel="wikipedia" title="Moses">Moses</a> and realized by Christ.</li>
<li>For all those who work with the written word, that their pens and their hearts may be guided by the Word made flesh.</li>
<li>For all members of the H-----, Grow, O-----, and Nyberg families, that <a class="zem_slink freebase/en/god" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God" rel="wikipedia" title="God">God</a>'s blessings on them and on all families may continue.</li>
<li>For friendships, the families we choose, that we may strengthen one another in times of difficulty, and celebrate together in times of joy as we do today.</li>
<li>For all who are sick or injured, whether physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually, that they may find strength in their suffering, comfort in this life, and eternal peace in the next.</li>
<li>For all of our loved ones who have passed from this life, that we may celebrate with them in the next.</li>
</ul></blockquote><div class="zemanta-related"><h6 class="zemanta-related-title" style="font-size: 1em; margin: 1em 0pt 0pt;">Related articles by Zemanta</h6><ul class="zemanta-article-ul"><li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/09/12/meditation-prayer-and-personal-finance/">Meditation, Prayer, and Personal Finance</a> (thesimpledollar.com)</li>
<li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.fluentself.com/blog/stuff/nothing-is-wasted/">Nothing is wasted.</a> (fluentself.com)</li>
<li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.problogger.net/archives/2010/08/02/crazy-stuff-i%25e2%2580%2599ve-done-as-a-blogger-and-what-i%25e2%2580%2599ve-learned-from-it-all/">Crazy Stuff I've Done as a Blogger, and What I've Learned From It All</a> (problogger.net)</li>
</ul></div><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_a.png?x-id=f43d0e48-3718-4c86-b8fd-89f5631fa014" style="border: medium none; float: right;" /></a><span class="zem-script more-info pretty-attribution paragraph-reblog"><script defer="defer" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" type="text/javascript">
</script></span></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286929297833328170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527209390261920930.post-39542973626910395212009-06-11T22:13:00.000-07:002010-10-07T16:54:23.533-07:00Elevator PitchI'm a little late in the game, but I'm going to be working (slowly, no doubt) on <a href="http://www.problogger.net/31-days-to-build-a-better-blog-join-9100-other-bloggers-today/">ProBlogger</a>'s most recent version of the <i>31 Days To Build a Better Blog Challenge</i>.<br />
<br />
Now, I'm not going to be working on this blog -- I might, eventually, if the Challenge works out, but not yet. My primary blog is <a href="http://reviewingwhatever.blogspot.com/">Reviewing Whatever</a>, so I'll be concentrating on that.<br />
<br />
Day One's challenge is to <a href="http://www.problogger.net/archives/2009/04/06/write-an-elevator-pitch-for-your-blog-day-1-31dbbb/">Write and Elevator Pitch For Your Blog</a>.<br />
<blockquote>You can get reviews of the newest and hottest books, movies, and restaurants anywhere, but where do you go to hear about <a class="zem_slink freebase/en/chain_store" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_store" rel="wikipedia" title="Chain store">chain restaurants</a>, library finds, several-year-old <a class="zem_slink freebase/en/dvd" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD" rel="wikipedia" title="DVD">DVDs</a>, or even <a class="zem_slink freebase/en/tourist_trap" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourist_trap" rel="wikipedia" title="Tourist trap">tourist traps</a>? Just because it's old or ever-present doesn't mean it's not new to you -- and you deserve to read the reviews in advance even then. So if it's new to <i>me</i>, I'll tell you what I think.</blockquote>Thoughts? What's your elevator pitch?<br />
<div class="zemanta-related"><h6 class="zemanta-related-title" style="font-size: 1em; margin: 1em 0pt 0pt;">Related articles by Zemanta</h6><ul class="zemanta-article-ul"><li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.problogger.net/archives/2010/09/23/the-5-cs-of-blogging-what-ive-learned-over-6-years-at-problogger/">The 5 C's of Blogging (What I've Learned Over 6 Years at ProBlogger)</a> (problogger.net)</li>
<li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.fluentself.com/blog/stuff/fewer-than-33-things-that-you-might-already-know-but-possibly-not-about-me/">Fewer than 33 things. That you might already know. But possibly not. About me.</a> (fluentself.com)</li>
</ul></div><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_a.png?x-id=de136aba-daec-4b6e-9ba3-238596213135" style="border: medium none; float: right;" /></a><span class="zem-script more-info pretty-attribution paragraph-reblog"><script defer="defer" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" type="text/javascript">
</script></span></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286929297833328170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527209390261920930.post-3753552362419891912009-06-08T22:17:00.000-07:002009-06-08T22:17:00.475-07:00Writing For Happiness<div>So since I've been in a mood-slump lately (partially explaining, but in no way excusing, my long absence), I decided to start my own <a href="http://www.happiness-project.com/">Happiness Project</a>. I don't want to get into it too much at this point, but one of my goals/plans for the Project is to recreationally (no work, no forums, no emails) write at least one paragraph daily. This counts!<br />
<br />
Does forcing yourself to write increase your happiness, or just increase your stress? Or both?! </div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286929297833328170noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527209390261920930.post-88747789759546783012008-11-10T10:14:00.000-08:002008-11-10T10:14:01.152-08:00NaNoWriMoHow's your novel going? I really don't know how mine is, because I'm writing most of it out longhand. I need to do a massive round of typing.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286929297833328170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527209390261920930.post-84357117525973718712008-11-08T09:59:00.000-08:002010-10-09T20:21:54.980-07:00Ethical question<span class="zemanta-img separator" style="clear: right;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:GSAS.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Coat of arms of the Graduate School of Arts an..." height="253" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/GSAS.jpg" style="border: medium none; font-size: 0.8em;" width="211" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="clear: both; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 211px;">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:GSAS.jpg">Wikipedia</a></span></span>I <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graduate_school" rel="wikipedia" title="Graduate school">grad school</a>, I wrote several stories, including a few profiles of intereting people. These never got published, and since a few years have passed, it doesn't seem likely that they would without massive overhauls. Assuming that I add a <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disclaimer" rel="wikipedia" title="Disclaimer">disclaimer</a> about possible out-of-date concerns, are there any ethical problems with posting these to my <a href="http://linboring.blogspot.com/">other blog</a>?<br />
<div class="zemanta-related"><h6 class="zemanta-related-title" style="font-size: 1em; margin: 1em 0pt 0pt;">Related articles</h6><ul class="zemanta-article-ul"><li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.wisebread.com/the-ethics-of-free-is-it-wrong-to-get-free-stuff">The Ethics of Free: Is it Wrong to Get Free Stuff?</a> (wisebread.com)</li>
<li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/09/01/yard-sale-ethics-is-the-sticker-price-the-end-of-the-story/">Yard Sale Ethics: Is the Sticker Price the End of the Story?</a> (thesimpledollar.com)</li>
</ul></div><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_a.png?x-id=5959514a-6da4-469a-ae71-5d8827f629b0" style="border: medium none; float: right;" /></a><span class="zem-script more-info pretty-attribution paragraph-reblog"><script defer="defer" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" type="text/javascript">
</script></span></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286929297833328170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527209390261920930.post-43830858880593957622008-09-21T11:47:00.000-07:002011-01-03T09:31:08.871-08:00Self-Promotion<div>Wow, this is sad, isn't it? I'm in... not a rut, so much as a ditch, really.<br />
<br />
</div><div></div><div>One thing that's got me stuck: Say I want to pitch a story, or apply for a writing or <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copy_editing" rel="wikipedia" title="Copy editing">copy-editing</a> job. My weak point is <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promotion_%28marketing%29" rel="wikipedia" title="Promotion (marketing)">self-promotion</a>. How do I convince potential employers that I am better than everyone else they're sorting through, when all I know about everyone else is that they are at least as qualified as I am, or they wouldn't <i>be</i> my competition. How do I figure out what I, and no one else, has to offer, that makes me better for the job than anyone else? (Besides the fact that I'll work cheap -- I don't want to advertise that too much!)</div><div><br />
</div><div>How do you figure it out? Do you have any helpful hints?<br />
<br />
<br />
</div><div></div><fieldset class="zemanta-related">legend class="zemanta-related-title">Related articles by Zemanta</legend><br />
<ul class="zemanta-article-ul"><li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.problogger.net/archives/2010/11/12/7-self-doubts-new-bloggers-can-beat/">7 Self-doubts New Bloggers Can Beat</a> (problogger.net)</li>
<li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.problogger.net/archives/2008/09/16/13-ways-to-promote-your-next-blog-post/">13 Ways to Promote Your Next Blog Post</a> (problogger.net)</li>
<li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://reviewingwhatever.blogspot.com/2010/11/quickie-round-up-self-help-edition.html">Quickie Round-Up: Self-Help edition</a> (reviewingwhatever.blogspot.com)</li>
</ul></fieldset><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_a.png?x-id=e0747329-93b1-4375-afff-e8b359b17665" style="border: medium none; float: right;" /></a><span class="zem-script more-info pretty-attribution paragraph-reblog"><script defer="defer" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" type="text/javascript">
</script></span></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286929297833328170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527209390261920930.post-84059520689542993822008-08-09T20:36:00.000-07:002008-08-09T20:37:37.076-07:00Exquisite corpse<span class="zemanta-img" style="margin: 1em; float: right; display: block;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/97402056@N00/2088035944"><img alt="RISD Corpse 2" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2338/2088035944_c3d4e0bc4e_m.jpg" style="border: medium none ; display: block;" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="margin: 1em 0pt 0pt; display: block;">Image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/97402056@N00/2088035944">aperryz302</a> via Flickr</span></span><span id="n26c4" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span id="n26c5" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Lately, I've needed quite a kick in the rear to get to writing. You'll notice that I didn't post my goals -- or much of anything -- for July. And considering it's the 9th already and I've got a bunch of booked weekends in a row, I'm not sure I should post goals for August, either. But I do need to get my momentum back.<br id="zm9v0" /> </span></span> <br />
<div id="n26c6"></div><div id="n26c9"><span id="n26c10" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span id="n26c11" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Who wants to write an <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exquisite_corpse" rel="wikipedia" title="Exquisite corpse">exquisite corpse</a>? If you play, I'd send you a line of poetry with no context, and you would write the next line. Around and around through several people until we have something that's bizarre, surreal, and/or eerily profound.<br id="fqfq" /> <br id="fqfq0" /> Any takers? Sign up in comments.</span></span></div><br />
<div class="zemanta-pixie" style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/4c337cb1-f10d-4205-8156-a2c446497e0f/" title="Zemified by Zemanta"><img alt="Zemanta Pixie" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=4c337cb1-f10d-4205-8156-a2c446497e0f" style="border: medium none ; float: right;" /></a></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286929297833328170noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527209390261920930.post-66393837715733686682008-06-24T20:30:00.000-07:002010-11-07T08:59:42.405-08:00Inconvenient Inspiration<span class="zemanta-img" style="display: block; float: right; margin: 1em;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Francesco_Salviati_004.jpg"><img alt="King David, naked but for the priestly ephod, dancing in ecstasy before the Ark of the Covenant" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Francesco_Salviati_004.jpg/202px-Francesco_Salviati_004.jpg" style="border: medium none; display: block;" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="display: block; margin: 1em 0pt 0pt;">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Francesco_Salviati_004.jpg" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a></span></span>Oddly, I get a ton of <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artistic_inspiration" rel="wikipedia" title="Artistic inspiration">inspiration</a> during church. It's unfortunate, because I can't do anything about it at the time, and I feel terribly guilty about not concentrating on the service. And then I get home and 90% of the inspiration is gone.<br />
<br />
How do you retain inspiration that comes at a time when you can't even take notes?<br />
<div class="zemanta-related"><h6 class="zemanta-related-title" style="font-size: 1em; margin: 1em 0pt 0pt;">Related articles</h6><ul class="zemanta-article-ul"><li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.problogger.net/archives/2010/10/06/7-ways-to-find-inspiration-think-outside-the-blog/">7 Ways to Find Inspiration: Think Outside the Blog</a> (problogger.net)</li>
</ul></div><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_a.png?x-id=8f2dde24-97e6-49ce-b1fb-4e42a0bded84" style="border: medium none; float: right;" /></a><span class="zem-script more-info pretty-attribution paragraph-reblog"><script defer="defer" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" type="text/javascript">
</script></span></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286929297833328170noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527209390261920930.post-66654512807689355242008-06-21T20:30:00.000-07:002010-10-07T17:03:17.018-07:00Thank you notes<span class="zemanta-img separator" style="clear: right;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Marguerite_Gerard_-_Gift.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Gift (oil on canvas)" height="376" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Marguerite_Gerard_-_Gift.jpg/300px-Marguerite_Gerard_-_Gift.jpg" style="border: medium none; font-size: 0.8em;" width="300" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="clear: both; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 300px;">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Marguerite_Gerard_-_Gift.jpg">Wikipedia</a></span></span>It looks like I've touched off a bit of debate over at <a href="http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2008/06/16/how-to-write-an-effective-thank-you-note-for-any-occasion/#comments">The Simple Dollar</a>. Trent gives a really great how-to breakdown, but I disagree with him on one point: he was taught you always cite the amount of a monetary gift, I was taught you never do -- don't even say that it was money, just that it was a "generous gift."<br />
What are your thoughts?<br />
Do you hate writing thank you notes? I've worked out a really easy template:<br />
<blockquote>Dear [name],<br />
Thank you ["so"/"very"] much for the [gift/"generous gift"]. [Specify why you like it and/or how you will use it and/or something, anything positive you can think of. Even if the sweater looks like something the dog vomited, say how warm it is!]<br />
More importantly, thank you for ["remembering"/"attending"/"recognizing" event]. Your continued ["love"/"support"/"mentorship"/etc., pick 2] has meant so much to me over the ["years"/"past few months"/etc.]<br />
Again, thank you.<br />
Sincerely,<br />
[Your name]</blockquote>Obviously, it changes a bit when the thank you is in reference to a <a class="zem_slink freebase/en/job_interview" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job_interview" rel="wikipedia" title="Job interview">job interview</a>, but this should at least get you started.<br />
<div class="zemanta-related"><h6 class="zemanta-related-title" style="font-size: 1em; margin: 1em 0pt 0pt;">Related articles by Zemanta</h6><ul class="zemanta-article-ul"><li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/09/24/homemade-gift-series-2-homemade-soap/">Homemade Gift Series #2: Homemade Soap</a> (thesimpledollar.com)</li>
</ul></div><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_a.png?x-id=d69be2a8-06a5-4932-a8a2-4684ec32d464" style="border: medium none; float: right;" /></a><span class="zem-script more-info pretty-attribution paragraph-reblog"><script defer="defer" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" type="text/javascript">
</script></span></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286929297833328170noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527209390261920930.post-42700539280661345812008-06-19T20:30:00.000-07:002009-07-07T14:03:01.207-07:00Prayer Intentions #1 -- For the ChurchI'm planning on writing the General Intercessions for my wedding next year. I'm actually really enjoying the process, and I have a lot of ideas. De-politicizing my actual intentions is quite a challenge -- give it a try!<br /><br />Also, what should I be including? Bear in mind that this is a Catholic service (not a Mass), and I am... technically Methodist, although realistically more of a semi-Episcopalian, Catholic-influenced general Protestant (long story...).<br /><br />Here's part one: praying for the church.<br /><br /><blockquote>For all the Church in the world, that we may come together, not in hatred over our differences, but in love and devotion to our Lord Jesus Christ.<br /><br />For all people of faith, and all those who seek meaning, that they may find Truth.<br /><br />For all deacons and ordered religious, all priests and ministers, all bishops and conference chairs, all Popes and Patriarchs, and for all men and women who are called to be shepherds, that they may lead their flocks in Christ's example.<br /><br />For all parishioners of N----- Church, and for the former congregation of F-----Church, that the values and love they have passed on to Chris and Laura may continue to guide them and those their lives touch.</blockquote><br /><br />Suggestions? Additions?<br /><br />According to the <i><a href="http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/">Book of Common Prayer</a></i>, the General Intercessions should include:<br />The Universal Church, its members, and its mission<br />The Nation and all in authority<br />The welfare of the world<br />The concerns of the local community<br />Those who suffer and those in any trouble<br />The departed (with commemoration of a saint when appropriate)Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286929297833328170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527209390261920930.post-77077211813739676332008-06-13T20:30:00.000-07:002008-06-13T20:31:11.671-07:00DisclaimersThe views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed.<br /><br />Some links on this site may be routed through the Amazon Associates program.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=reviewwhatev-20&o=1&p=40&l=ur1&category=home&banner=0B3WYHFXMBHX5YFNETR2&f=ifr" border="0" marginwidth="0" style="border: medium none ;" scrolling="no" width="120" frameborder="0" height="60"></iframe></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286929297833328170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527209390261920930.post-30299695662443920932008-06-10T20:30:00.000-07:002008-06-11T20:53:27.095-07:00My six-word memoir<p id="z-qr12"><span id="z-qr13" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span id="z-qr14" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><blockquote>Someday, I <i>will</i> be good enough.</blockquote></span></span></p><p></p><p id="z-qr18"><br /><span id="z-qr19" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span id="z-qr20" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">What's yours?</span></span></p>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286929297833328170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527209390261920930.post-5903580752383946152008-06-07T20:30:00.000-07:002008-06-25T09:15:29.007-07:00Goals for June<ul id="mp4a0"><li id="mp4a1"><div id="mp4a2">Get 2 entries ahead on myself on <a href="http://reviewingwhatever.blogspot.com/">Reviewing Whatever</a>,</div></li><li id="mp4a3"><div id="mp4a4"><del>get a proper template for <a href="http://linboring.blogspot.com/">Life is (not) Boring</a>,</del></div></li><li id="mp4a5"><div id="mp4a6">write a <a class="zem_slink" title="Total relation" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_relation" rel="wikipedia">total</a> of 500 words of <a class="zem_slink" title="Fiction" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiction" rel="wikipedia">fiction</a> (in any combination on two stories), </div></li><li id="mp4a7"><div id="mp4a8"><del>quietly roll out this writing blog here, </del></div></li><li id="mp4a9"><div id="mp4a10">send my fiance an honest-to-goodness <a class="zem_slink" title="Snail mail" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snail_mail" rel="wikipedia">snail mail</a> <a class="zem_slink" title="Letter" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter" rel="wikipedia">letter</a>.</div></li></ul>What are your goals this month?<br /><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px; HEIGHT: 15px"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" title="Zemified by Zemanta" href="http://www.zemanta.com/"><img class="zemanta-pixie-img" style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; FLOAT: right; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" alt="Zemanta Pixie" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_a.png?x-id=d1b66eae-9a46-4a51-b850-c5a7e3e96442" /></a></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286929297833328170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527209390261920930.post-91822256844293736562008-06-05T20:30:00.000-07:002008-06-11T20:51:36.377-07:00About<p id="emdj1">Well, clearly the last thing I need to do is start <i>another</i> blog. But this one is not designed for regularity and publicity and all that. This is the combination creative writing/self-motivation blog. This is the one I do for me, whenever I feel like it, however I feel like it. </p><p id="qy7k0">So, how much you want to bet this is the one that gets a following? That's always the way.<br /></p><p id="en7d0">It makes sense, though. On the one hand, everyone wants to be a <a class="zem_slink" title="Writer" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writer" rel="wikipedia">writer</a>. I'm hoping you'll follow my journey and share yours, as well.<br /></p><p id="ydsg0">On the other hand... everyone wants to be a writer. And not all of us will, and those of us who try have a lot of competition.<br /></p><p id="ydsg1">So what do I have to offer? Well, let's see...<br /></p><p id="ydsg2"></p><ul id="hzyp0"><li id="hzyp1"><div id="ydsg3">A head full of ideas.</div></li><li id="hzyp2"><div id="ydsg4">Three dismal failures at <a class="zem_slink" title="NaNoWriMo" href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/" rel="wikipedia">NaNoWriMo</a>.</div></li><li id="hzyp3"><div id="ydsg5">A ton of poetry, some published, but very little recent.</div></li><li id="hzyp4"><div id="f1f60">A notebook full of story elements that I intended to turn into a novel, until it fizzled. It's a decent character bible, though, and I intend to steal elements from it.</div></li><li id="hzyp5"><div id="r67l0">A couple dozen half-finished, or half-started, stories.</div></li><li id="hzyp6"><div id="k4q60">Quite a few decent <a class="zem_slink" title="Essay" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essay" rel="wikipedia">essays</a> that I intend to post in another <a href="http://linboring.blogspot.com/">blog</a>.</div></li><li id="hzyp7"><div id="k4q61">A thin portfolio of news articles, none recent.</div></li><li id="hzyp8"><div id="hzyp9">Three blogs, including this one.</div></li></ul><p id="hzyp10"></p><p id="hzyp11">Actually, let me amend that last. Technically, I have ten blogs. An old personal blog you're unlikely to find, a current personal blog that you can probably find if you're willing to put in the effort (no, I won't be helping), a blog about customer service I'd abandoned a few years ago but may be cannibalizing for ideas, a <a href="http://journalism.fas.nyu.edu/pubzone/pressethic/blog/3">Press Ethics blog</a> for school one semester, a single entry at <a href="http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/05/04/074818.php">BlogCritics</a> (yes, I do plan to follow up there... eventually), a blog full of <a href="http://reviewingwhatever.blogspot.com/">reviews</a>, one full of <a class="zem_slink" title="Anecdote" href="http://linboring.blogspot.com/" rel="wikipedia">anecdotes</a>, the <a href="http://www.google.com/reader/shared/08164628101025064957">"share" link on Google Reader</a>, and this one. But more on them another day.</p><p id="hzyp11"> </p>Well. As the title says, Writers Write! And as the <a class="zem_slink" title="Uniform Resource Locator" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Resource_Locator" rel="wikipedia">URL</a> suggests, Laura (being me) Procrastinates. So here I will keep myself accountable to the world -- as if the world cares -- about my effort and progress. If you're out there, enjoy! <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/" title="Zemified by Zemanta"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_a.png?x-id=e19a7789-c664-49ab-b224-3b13ef01d073" alt="Zemanta Pixie" /></a></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286929297833328170noreply@blogger.com0