Fifteen Awesome Blogs!

So, last week I received an award from Angela Felsted over at My Poetry and Prose Place. 
Thanks so much Angela! I spent the weekend trying to find new blogs that I hadn't visited before so it took me a while. Here are fifteen blogs that I think deserve this Stylish Award.

Congratulations To The Following Winners! 

  ***I'd also like to challenge the winners to find 15 new blogs that deserve the Stylish Blogger award.  Happy clicking.***

Check out Beth's blog all about balance, one of my favorite words:
To The Fullest


 Over at Dark Angel, Sherry is just plain cool.

 Check out the Writing Fortress a group of published writers.  

Over at A Writers Reality Mellissa Cunningham shares her adventures in reading and writing.

Now if your looking for some motivation try Writing While The Rice Boils  where Debbie Allen gives great advice!

Cynthia Watson is another wonderful Canadian writer who writes YA paranormal fiction.

Then over at Still Writing  JEFritz is taking us on her writing journey.

Choices is always choosing the right words at Love To Teach.

Girl Unpublished is where Jessica Stanford shares her picture book writing adventure.  

Renee Miller is  Dangling on the Edge of Sanity and shares a major hottie.

At Brenda Drake Writes , Brenda lets us in on her latest coffee brew besides great blogging.   

Then hop over to DNA Writers where Brenda and her buddies are launching a new blog.  


Wendy Sparrow shares her adventures at Where The Ladybugs Roar.

Find out what Scobberlotch means (it's a verb) over at author, Karen Harrington's Blog.            

Take a hop to Sherrie Peterson's Write About Now  is a blog that is chuck full of great information.

My Favorite B Words

      I love words as does any writer. However, I have some words that are my absolute favorites, either because of how they sound when I say them, the feeling or picture they produce, or what they intuitively mean to me. 

     Today I thought I would share my three most favorite B words. These three words pretty much govern my philosophy of life. They provide a paradigm that I live by. Interestingly, I think they also apply to the writing life.

      Believe  A belief in yourself, a belief in the benevolence of others, and a belief that there is something larger than all of us. I'm not sure the specifics of what that is is as important as the belief that we are part of something greater, part of a power that governs the universe in which all living things play a vital role.

      Balance  Living and growing is a chaotic process. When we are in balance we see things clearer and make better choices. Our daily choices of how we spend our time are rarely between good and bad. They are about balancing our precious time between our families, our work and ourselves.

     Be     This is the hardest of the three. This is the word that tells us to slow down, stop and listen. To be is about learning to accept ourselves. Being allows us to stop the treadmill in order to hear our better self and appreciate who we are. It is about enjoying the moment. Being present in our lives.  

What are your favorite words?

Monday, Monday, I'm Not Cryin' But I Could Be

 Tweet    Monday's are sometimes tough for writers, at least they can be for me. This is when I plan my week. What I have to do, what I want to do and especially what is most important to do.

It is always easy to plan the have-to's,  they are usually scheduled appointments, things that have deadlines this week, people you have committed to. Done!

Similarly, want-to's are often easy simply because they don't even have to to written down and they still have a pretty good chance of happening. You know...read that book, eat that last piece of pie, call a friend, watch a movie...buy those boots you saw on sale... Done!

It's the most-important-to-do's that seem to have the hardest time finding space on the calendar. Now, let me clarify. I'm not talking necessarily about need-to's either. Need to's are like the laundry, changing a diaper, cooking a meal. They will happen and if they don't there are consequences: screaming baby, nothing to wear, starvation. What I'm talking about are the things like...cut calories and eat healthy, exercise, work on my WIP,  the things that no one is going to call you on if they don't happen.

So, how can I make this happen? Here is the hard part...schedule it just like an appointment.

You have to set aside a special time to actually do it. Even more important is you have to be specific. Exactly, what is going to happen during that time. What is this bite going to look like? This is where I often go wrong. I either plan way too huge a bite that I choke on it or I make it too vague and spend most of the time fumbling around without really accomplishing anything.

Is this easy?   Hell no!  Do I always succeed? Double hell no! Why do I keep trying? I try because I believe that is why we have new days, new hours, new minutes so we can try it again.

How is your Monday going? Sometimes I have to push my Monday to Tuesday, what about you?

On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!

     There is a sophisticated difference between sprinters and long distance runners. Their minds and bodies work differently together. While distance runners have a timed release of their energy, sprinters are able to bring all their energy into play in one great explosion on the track. Is one more valuable than the other? Of course not, when they finish successfully they are equally admired and rewarded. As writers, we also have different ways of getting our minds out onto the page.

     At the beginning, we start at the very same point. We get an idea and the sparks light up our brain, audio characters speak to us, visuals flood our mind and we are forced to spill it out onto the page. This is where we split into the pantsers and the plotters, the quick speed spiller or the slow thoughtful plodder. There are probably several degrees in between. Does it matter? Probably not. I believe however, we can learn a lot from one another and that is why blogging is such a valuable tool for us as writers.

     The valuable information, support and creative problem solving is incredible. What an exceptional resource we have as a writing community. For me, as I write alone in my office or in a cafe, I never feel alone. I feel that I have a group of cheerleaders urging me on and helping me to the finish!

Have you found that blogging has contributed to your success as a writer?