Each week, the posts here will be a mash-up of interesting things I’ve found or learned from during the week.

Current (Pop) Culture Chattering

Whee!  This week has been a bounty of bliss for a pop culture addict like me.  Got five minutes to fry some brain cells?  Come along and click the links below.  Think all things celebrity are summoned from the depths of hell?  Then skip (fast) to Wicked Writing Wisdom.  🙂

 Here’s a quick what you may have missed highlight:

• Sunday’s show was the 28th Annual MTV Video Music Awards.  You can watch it on demand.
• We learned that Beyonce is pregnant.
• Then watched T.I. get early release from prison then tossed back in within a day.
• Chaz Bono will be on Dancing with the Stars. Yeah, there is backlash already.
• Mel Gibson (he’s baaacccckkkkk) finally settles out his feud with Oksana.
• Spice Girl Mel B had a baby girl.  Remember when they were the rage?
• The Jersey Shore gang won’t be getting stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
• The Jackson family continued their decades-long issues with Janet now refusing to support the MJ tribute concert in October.

Wicked Writing Wisdom

Some of my reading focus in the writing craft arena this week has been on novel writing 101 and revising boot camp.  I’m in the great (scary) place of beginning to develop an idea that I realize will need to be much longer than a short story, which tosses me out of my element (I’m seeing I can’t be a pantser with this).  Any tips/ref books you can share are welcome.  At the same time, I am kicking some tough love at the completed short pieces that need to be revised and then put onto the submissions train.

Be still my heart! I did a little shuffle dance when I saw On Your Mark. Get Set. Go! Writing the First Line of Your Novel. Great timely advice thanks to Janice Hardy.

Check out this fabulous list of 101 of the Best Fiction Writing Tips, Part III posted by Suzannah Windsor.  There is a reference tip for everyone and be sure to check out Parts I and II.

In Wealth Creation for Writers, Ruth Harris gives great tips on where to dig for unlimited story ideas (yea tabloids!).  She also mentions using traditional and technology notebooks (e.g., Evernote) as a means for capturing thoughts before they get away.  

Making Media Magic

What a great round up of tips and sources Jenny Hansen brings with Social Media and Your Author Brand posted on the Writers in the Storm blog.  I’ve added this to my “go to” reference list.

Check out Amber West’s Thursday Tweets – #Hashtaggin’! for some great tips for effective use of hashtags, Tweetiquette and a wicked funny picture of a Sesame Street mob.

In How to Get Your Blog Post on Google’s First Page, Keli Gwyn shares her success story of following the advice of Kristen Lamb, author of We Are Not Alone: The Writer’s Guide to Social Media, on the effective use of blog tags.

Speaking of Kristen, she provides great insight and directions on how to expand our reach and network as writers in The Secret to Selling Books Part I–Let’s Get Sticky. In Dr. Twuth–Are Writers Related to Ferrets? ADD and Social Media, she provides more tips on focusing and managing our social media platforms.

Frolicking Fun Finds 

Make sure you aren’t eating or drinking when you read Matthew Inman’s How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You.  Cat lovers will get an eerie “what if” feeling and cat haters will scream “told you so.” 

I thought I’d kicked my newbie addiction until I read Lili Tufel’s Top 10 Signs You’re Addicted to Twitter.  Raising my hand as guilty for spending way too much time eyeballing trending topics (see pop culture addiction mention above).

Imaginative, Insightful, Inspirational

“Do you make decisions without knowing why?” Linda Burke poses this question in Unconscious Decisions.  I noodled for a bit then nodded with understanding and agreement.  There is a “why” for who and how we are.  Sometimes it takes a little time to find it.

Terrell Mims’ Tuesday Thoughts: Living in the Dash is one of those posts that makes me thankful for the power to change and grow in life.  I “dashed to live” for 16 years with a self-imposed routine cocoon built on caution and safety.  Then I dug out and gave myself permission to slow down and experience versus hide from life.  Here’s to creating rocking epitaphs.   

Have you ever just felt the need for a good old-fashioned tear fest?  Here are Four Reasons to Have a Cry from Jess Ainscough.  Go ahead and release.  I’m wired as a never let’em see you sweat type of gal, but am all for tears in my secret vampire lair. 🙂

With Philanthropy Thursday – Blog McLoving, Jillian Dodd gave the opportunity to both promote our own blogs and shout out someone else.  Stop over and join in.