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By Shawna, on May 3rd, 2013 
I stumbled on a little gem via Mama Jenn called iBlog: everything you need to know about blogging from 30 top bloggers.
Mama Jenn is a contributing author to the project, and she’s doing an iBlog The Book giveaway that runs through May 6th.
I couldn’t stand it; I went ahead and bought it myself, figuring with 38 chapters, and almost 400 pages, the $7.99 price works out to one heck of a lot of good info, really, REALLY cheap.
Answers to questions I’ve actively sought answers . . . → Read More: Everything You Need To Know About Blogging
By Shawna, on April 11th, 2013 
Salem Ridge Press is a publisher that reprints historical fiction from the late 1800s and the early 1900s. We’ve recently finished reading Leofwine the Monk, a tale of a young man who desires the peace and reflection of a monastery so that he can grow closer to God. The disruptions in the church lead to emotional turmoil for Leofwine, eventually sending him on a quest as far as the Middle East before he can regain his inner peace and find the wholeness of his faith.
Recommended for ages 12 and up, . . . → Read More: Review: Salem Ridge Press – Leofwine the Monk
By Shawna, on April 10th, 2013 
I couldn’t find Chris’ Alphasmart the other day when I was taking pics of Chey’s, but he unearthed it so I could today.
Not quite as fancy a paint job – and the paint we used probably wasn’t the best kind to use, we’re learning now – but it’s still customized to his requested colors, and certainly much more appealing than the drab gray/beige that was the original shade!
One thing we love about the Alphasmarts is how portable they are – and how sturdy! The kids can tote these anywhere with them, they can even be used . . . → Read More: One More Custom Word Machine
By Shawna, on April 6th, 2013 
Forgot to share of pic of Cheyenne’s ultra-personalized writing machine – an old Alphasmart Pro we picked up in an inexpensive lot on eBay. They work like a charm, are ultra-portable and sturdy, and last almost forever on two AA batteries… perfect for homeschoolers, except the originals are UGLY.
So… we modify. And this is Chey’s.
By Shawna, on April 2nd, 2013 
Cheyenne is in writer-girl mode at the moment, and is attempting Camp Nanowrimo this month with a goal of 10,000 words. She’s dragged me into it as well… we’ll see how far I get. I’m making no promises.
Is anyone else doing Nano this month?
By Shawna, on March 11th, 2013 
This is a GREAT program! I was one of the first students, years ago, and it has improved with every update since.
Holly Lisle has publicly released the first of 29 writing mini-workshops she’d doing for the How To Think Sideways ULTRA: Career Survival School for Writers course
If you’ve ever sat staring at the blinking cursor, trying to find the right, the perfect, the one and only way to start your story (or your chapter, or your day’s writing), trying to will words onto the page…
…Discover . . . → Read More: Struggling to write better books? Help is on the way…
By Shawna, on December 16th, 2012 If you struggle with keeping track of bookmarks in your household, and you’d like to try an easy, but thinking-outside-the-box project that the kids could 1) make themselves, and 2) hopefully not lose, because 3) they’re not just flat paper, and 4) they’re not paperclips, check out Lynn Viehl’s book loops.
Sometime after the first of the year – after we have money to spend on supplies, that is – we’ll be constructing some of our own, and share the results. If you try making some, let us know what you come up with, . . . → Read More: Bookmarks that last
By Shawna, on November 20th, 2012 
I read a lot of writer-blogs. One of my favorite is Genreality. Author Diane Peterfreund has a short post about The Tragedy of Unifinished [book] Series (in general) and her unfinished series (in particular) – and why those sometimes happen (unicorns? I love unicorns. Definitely going to have to look up her work…) but for me, the true tragedies are when the author dies.
I’ll be rereading the Wheel of Time in preparation for A Memory of Light to come out in January – I am so . . . → Read More: Without books.
By Shawna, on November 10th, 2012 
I know – I had every intention of doing Nanowrimo this year, and so did the kids – but life just plain got in the way again this year. Thankfully, it’s not the total house displacement of last year’s “our landlord got foreclosed on” mess, but it’s been busy and disorganized enough – family life and otherwise – that we just don’t realistically see it happening. We’re considering doing Jan-no-wri-mo, or winter-mo-wri-mo, or something – sometime when the weather keeps us in, but there’s not so many other things going on!
In the meantime, for the writers . . . → Read More: Nanowrimo Update
By Shawna, on September 30th, 2012 
One of my favorite authors, Lynn Viehl, had a contest over at her blog, Paperback Writer, recently – she was going to send out journals for a few lucky winners. She always awes me when she posts pics of some of her journals – there’s just SO MUCH there. We can only wish to leave so much of ourselves for those that come after us to know.
It really got me thinking, though – I used to love journaling. Anytime I needed to think something through, I didn’t talk about it with people, I . . . → Read More: Journal: reflection of yourself
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