Olympic Reading

Another Winter Olympics has come and gone. Four more years of training and sacrifice for those who will participate in 2010.

Unfortunately, I didn't see as much of the coverage as I would have liked. One thing and then another prevented me from plopping down in front of the tube for more than a few minutes at a time. So it goes. Next though, come the Summer Olympics in 2008 and maybe I'll be able to enjoy the majority of those games.

For you, which reading materials win the gold, silver and bronze medals?

For me:

Gold: Non-fiction (business, biography, spiritual, etc.)
Silver: Personal interest (outdoor journals, shooting, hunting, etc.)
Bronze: Western fiction and History of the American West.

Hobbies 'n Stuff

Yesterday, http://bernitaharris.blogspot.com put up a very interesting post regarding her observations on our various writing personalities. Good stuff, Bernita!

In addition, we see post-up's from time to time on personal reading interests, preferred story endings, preferences on use of profanity in our writings, personal viewpoints on the publishing industry and the like. Some of us even show our many faces http://sandrablabber.blogspot.com. Through these various topics and few pictures, we realize an opportunity to know each other better and beyond the profile we each choose to place at our individual blog home page. Unfortunately, almost all of us will never have the opportunity to meet and shake hands.

I have chosen for my post today to ask you to share with the rest of us your personal passion that is aside from writing. That being what it is you enjoy most, on a personal level, when you manage to dig up some free time that belongs to just you. Some examples might be that in your free time you are; a woodworker, an artist, a musician, a swimmer, a movie-goer, a stamp collector, an astronomer, a prospector....................

I'm an outdoors enthusiast. My recreational enjoyment comes from camping, hunting and fishing. When harsh weather confines me to the indoors, I hand-load my own ammo for hunting or make my own little artificial bugs for fishing. My ammo never bags much game and my bugs never catch many fish but, that ain't the point.

You?

What's Under the Help Icon?

A relative newbie on the block in the community of blog, I'm curious as to what a newbie's expectations should be for general help with writing product.

I have already discovered the blogs of the myriad of writers here to be educational for sure. In addition, I often find answers to questions that concern industry specific information, organization techniques for plot development, contract considerations, marketing and the like. What I have not found much discussion about, however, is what one should, or should not, post-up of work product which is intended by the writer for eventual publication. So, today I'll ask.

1). Is it appropriate to post work product generally that is intended for eventual publication?

2). If yes, is it appropriate to do so on a regular basis---once or more per week for example?

3). Should a writer post his/her material with the expectation of "free" editing and scene improvement suggestions from other writers in the blog community?

Thank you.

Songs

My all time favorite song, Moonlight Serenade, just played on the radio. Made me think about all the women I never got to love.

What's yours?

To the Ladies I Admire

To all of you wonderful blogland ladies who have become so dear, I wish for you the very best of Valentine's Days with hugs abound wherever you may be today.

Your visits here bring into my life warmth, humor, guidance, knowledge, compassion, confidence and enthusiasm. The sharing of your minds is my found pot of gold.

Be well today, continue to do good work today and know You Are My Special Valentines.

Always yours,
Erik

The Real World Returns, Again

Several months ago, I gritted my teeth and sucked in my gut as I watched what had been a couple of very promising business deals head south with unexpected rapidity and on to oblivion. As they disappeared into the abyss, there I stood, empty hands and naked on the corner.

While in the process of trying to suture the resultant deep wounds, my wife, in her dual role as my mate and best friend, approached me with her recommendation that I turn the misfortune into a presented opportunity to write my book. Her recommendation included an analysis that with the combination of her income, our remaining but meager savings and a little "plastic" here and there we would be able to pay the bills for at least a few months so I should go-for-it. With high enthusiasm, I wound down my few remaining business projects and embarked upon my non-paying writing career.

About ten days ago, in mid-week, I arrived home after an enjoyable day of writing and blogging to find my wife's vehicle parked in the driveway. Although an unusual event during the work week, since she worked about 200 miles away, I was excited about her being home and only hoped it was not because of an illness. I went into the house, found Barbara seated at the kitchen table and said to her; "Wow, what a wonderful surprise! Did you decide to take a long weekend?"

"No" she replied, "I was 'downsized' today. I no longer have a job."

BOOM! The penny hit the floor.

What to say? But I said all that would come to my pea-sized brain; "I am really glad your are home! Let's enjoy that for a few days then we'll make a plan."

Well, it's planning time. With both my wife and I on the sunset side of our productive years, as far as the marketplace is concerned, it will not be an easy process. If I don't stop by your blog on a regular basis it is only because I'm out looking for a way to make some money. After all, that's what it's all about----is it not?

Value Received by Blogging

The post-up of Sandra Ruttan in the wee hours of this morning titled: Traffic Signs & Corporate Lessons........ at sandrablabber.blogspot.com (highly recommended blog reading), where she discusses the value of structuring blogposts to include key internet search terms/words to increase your blog's traffic, caused me to think about any value that I may receive from blogging generally and which thoughts led to this post here.

During the brief period of my blogging experiences, I have come across several posts and comments concerning the topic "why we write" in one form or another. Today, I am curious about the various reasons of why we blog.

As most of us are well aware, blogging activity can consume large quantities of time that could otherwise be dedicated to our potentially paying work of writing articles, books, short stories and the like. I know for me, it has become far too time consuming if I expect to accomplish my writing goals within the time-line that I originally set. The forming addiction (for lack of a better phrase), is causing me to wonder if I might be better served by "backing off" substantially my blogging activities and diverting that time back to my writing toward a publishable work-product.

On the other hand, I have come to consider my blogging activities as the being involved with the activities of a viable community of people all traveling the same path toward the destination of a successful writing career. In addition, I find personal enjoyment from the communication and interaction among individuals, I find doors opened to new ideas and different methodologies utilized to bring those ideas to fruition, I find worthy news specific to the writing profession and of significant importance, I learn from others the guidelines and specific instructions on how to be a better writer.

QUESTION(S): How do you balance your time between blogging and actual work-product efforts? And, what benefit(s) do you seek to realize from you blogging activities?

Thank you.

Blogging Etiquette

Within the small community of blogsites in which I travel, my perception is the writers posting on them are doing so for reasons to not only enhance their individual skills, but also to share information of potential value to the skills of their writer colleagues.

Each day's visits to the blogging community create for me inspiration, a heightened deterrmination to write better and often, a sense of awe. The intellectual capabilities demonstrated by fellow bloggers are nothing short of intimidating to me.

It is typical for me, along the way of my blog travels, to happen upon a posted topic or a posted comment of particular personal professional interest and about which I am curious to learn more. A question will form in my mind as to whether or not it is within good blogging etiquette to extract subject material from such postings or comments for the purpose of creating a post-up topic for my own blogsite.

QUESTION: Is it appropriate to extract subject matter from the posting or comments of fellow bloggers which, appear on the blogsites of others, to create a new post-up topic for one's own blogsite?

Placemat Crumbs - "Done-been-ate"

Well, my placemat and I have been eaten. Can't speak for the placemat, but I sure didn't experience any erotic pleasures during the past couple of days!

It certainly must have been a wild weekend for good ole Blogger though; with Sandra thrown flat on her back--legs flung.........., Bernita bounced back and forth between the Barman and the Acne lad, M.G. floating off into the fantasy land of Bitch-lit............... Oh well, what is it that Dana says: "Re-????"

Only one thing to do now. Start over with the posting of the adventures of Eric and the 5 Bunions on Lost Island.