Tag Archives: blogging

Meanderings…

Chimpanzee
“Life can be so complex.”

Digital thoughts…

What the hey?! Even though they have backyards for convenient placement of those unsightly beasts-on-wheels, since when did homeowners find it attractive to leave their trash/recycling/yard waste barrels out for weeks on end? [Yeah, sounds ‘get off my lawn-ish’, doesn’t it?]

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Which logically leads to my concerns about fortune cookies…

The other night, I had three of them lined up for late night consumption with [product placement alert!] Yogi ginger tea. Could I enjoy them? Nope. Haunted by the following…

  • Is it bad juju to break and eat the cookie before reading the fortune?
  • Am I doomed if the cookie breaks before I even remove it from the wrapper?
  • Does the exact opposite fate await me if I break protocol?
  • Worse yet, is it bad form to eat all three cookies and then read all three fortunes?
  • And should I read them in the same order as the order in which I ate the cookies?
  • Is there a proper technique to break open the cookie?
fortune cookies on a dish
Aren’t you wondering what the rest of that fortune says?

Image by Gundula Vogel from Pixabay

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And speaking of questionable juju…

In Hallmark Channel’s Garage Sale Mysteries, Lori Laughlin has a daughter attending college. Did that fictional daughter also get accepted based on false pretenses?

bubble gum on sidewalk sticking to the sole of a boot
Image by Ryan McGuire from Pixabay

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Back to blogging…

newyear-3664197_1280

It’s been awhile.

I didn’t reach 50,000 words in National Novel Writing Month. I don’t care. It started me on a project that I’m sticking to.

I found the 50K goal to be more distracting that inspiring. And for some reason, it took me off my blogging game. Weird.

I won’t do another NANOWRIMO. This year’s effort took the fun out of writing. Kind of an opposite of the intended result. Shrug.

And part of me questioned the value of creating another tome that would–knowing me–just collect dust. [Maybe that was just a loser’s mentality…but it made sense to me.]

In the meantime, I’ll be revisiting some of my favorite blogs that I was following before. Hello, Virginia, Cristian, and Little Fears, among others.

But in the dark of winter, I might even stop in mid-sentence if I sense the approach of sunshine. Post-Christmas through mid-January…Not a favorite time, climate-wise.

Hey, I just hit over 110 words. Not bad. For me.

And over on retirerenew.com, I’m leaning on photos to build a little momentum.

Finally, I like this post entitled 5 Ways to Get Back to Blogging After a Long Break.

Nothing to write about? I don’t think soooooo….

One of my favorite pages from Austin Kleon‘s book Show Your Work ** encourages creators to become ‘documentarians of what you do’.

Whether you share it or not, documenting and recording your process as you go along has its own rewards: You’ll start to see the work you’re doing more clearly and feel like you’re making progress. And when you’re ready to share, you’ll have a surplus of material to choose from.

  1. Research
  2. Reference
  3. Drawings
  4. Plans
  5. Sketches
  6. Interviews
  7. Audio
  8. Photos
  9. Video
  10. Pinboards
  11. Journals
  12. Drafts
  13. Prototypes
  14. Demos
  15. Diagrams
  16. Notes
  17. Inspiration
  18. Scrapbooks
  19. Stories
  20. Collections

**Not an affiliate link. ;-]

Excerpts from an interview with writer Joan Wickersham

I came across this interview on one of my favorite writing websites. A few of the lines spoke clearly to me…

Enjoy.

  • “When I am home I tend to become preoccupied with laundry.”
  • “But that boggy, ploddy, stage of blah writing or no writing is just about unbearable while it’s going on.”
  • What’s your advice to new writers?
    “Keep going, and one day you’ll be an old writer.”

http://www.advicetowriters.com/interviews/2015/3/17/joan-wickersham.html

Curation Saturday: Gems from other blogs

1. Alex Markovich shares the products of his photography skills.

alex markovich

https://illustration.art.blog/2018/06/19/illustration-1/
https://illustration.art.blog/2018/06/21/illustration-2/
https://illustration.art.blog/2018/06/30/illustration-3/

2. Virginia puts life in perspective with her Roses in the Rubble.
Quote: “What does it take to stop you? There are all sorts of crutches that keep us from moving forward after our spills (splat) on the pavement of life: bruised egos and empty pockets, tears and fears, maybe sprained hearts too hurt to love anew.”

https://rosesintherubble.com/2018/07/19/character-muscles-crutches/

3. Shape Shifter Fitness keeps me on the culinary straight-and-narrow. Well, he tries to.
Quote [about turmeric]: “The difference it’s made in the quality of Stella’s life by adding it to her dog food has been amazing, and I’ll always be a huge proponent of its benefits for that alone.”

https://shapeshiftpt.wordpress.com/2018/03/21/top-5-new-eat-clean-foods/

4. Cristian Mihai shares his views and expertise on blogging.
Quote: “Accept that you have to add value.”

https://artofblogging.net/2018/07/20/how-to-stop-being-the-invisible-blogger/

Saturday Twitter Gems

twitter-3319619_1280

Here’s a funny one:

Jon Winokur 
How do you know if your child is a writer? Your obstetrician holds his stethoscope to your abdomen and only hears excuses.
FRAN LEBOWITZ
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A scene feels purposeful when you give the character that stars in it an intention, or a goal to pursue. #makeAscene

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Hemingway’s advice on writing: In any art you’re allowed to steal anything if you can make it better.”