Category: Blogging

Blogging, Novel Writing

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

Mandy Webster
Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Mists of Avalon and similar works by the late Marion Zimmer Bradley have inspired my writing since my high school years. | (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I recently downloaded the Google Reader app to my phone and have been catching up on a ton of awesome blogs that I otherwise wouldn’t have the time to even glance at. One of my favorites is by author Charlotte Rains Dixon who shares tons of writing exercises that I can’t wait to try out. Last week, Charlotte answered a few questions about her current book via The Next Best Thing Blog Hop. I wanted to answer the same questions on my blog, so I asked Charlotte how I could get involved, and here I am today!

As part of the Blog Hop, I get to tag 3 – 5 other bloggers who will hopefully play along. (But I’m okay with them if they don’t, as I know how busy they all are.) Even if they don’t answer the questions, please check out their blogs anyway, as they are some of my personal favorites. I have listed their links at the end of this blog post. Continue reading “The Next Big Thing Blog Hop” →

Blogging

Do you wanna write a guest post for my blog?

Mandy Webster
Do you wanna write a guest blog post for my writing blog?
Do I look busy to you? Nah, it’s nothing. Really.

I’m teaching six courses this semester and writing a thesis. So yeah, I’m a little busy right now. I want to keep my blog going too, so I’m wondering: Would any of my writer friends and readers be interested in writing a guest blog post or two this semester?

I’m a starving artist (well, not literally, I just stuffed myself on Chinese food at dinner tonight,) so I can’t afford to pay you. But, if I publish your guest post on my blog, you’ll get a by-line and a link to your blog from mine. So, that’s something, right?

Anyway, if you’re interested, Continue reading “Do you wanna write a guest post for my blog?” →

Blogging

What does your nightstand say about you?

Mandy Webster

My writer friend over at SlimeGreen recently shared a post where she discussed how you can tell a lot about a person from what’s on their nightstand. She shared a pic of her end table, along with an analysis of what her end table says about her. I love this idea, so I’m stealing it. Anyway, here’s a picture of my nightstand. I’m opening myself up to my readers. Please tell me (in the comments below,) what do you think my nightstand says about me?

nighstand
What does my nightstand say about me?

Continue reading “What does your nightstand say about you?” →

As Found on Pinterest, Blogging, Digital Marketing

Proper Pinning: How not to irritate your followers on Pinterest

Mandy Webster
Pinterest featue in Metro - 27th February 2012
Pinterest featue in Metro – 27th February 2012 (Photo credit: Great British Chefs)

In case you haven’t figured it out by now, I kinda love Pinterest. I have tried a ton of new DIY projects and even make my own homemade laundry detergent now on a regular basis. But Pinterest can be as annoying as it is helpful when pinners fail to pin properly. To combat this problem, I have compiled a short quick-list of tips for properly sharing articles on Pinterest to avoid irritating your followers:

1.  Link to the individual blog post, not the blog’s index page.  Continue reading “Proper Pinning: How not to irritate your followers on Pinterest” →

Blogging, Writing Prompts

Writing prompt: Pick an object

Mandy Webster
The side tables have convenient drawers and ma...
You never know when the inspiration for your next great story might lurk somewhere in the depths of a random drawer. | (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you’re a teacher or student (or both, like me,) your head is probably about to explode from all of the recent end-of-year academic activities. So, for today’s Wednesday Writing Prompt, I thought it might be appropriate to pick something fun and light to write about. Of course, if you’re in the mood for deep and dark, you could probably take it that way too. Here goes:

Without looking, reach into a drawer, any drawer, in the room in which you are right this moment. (If you’re in a public place or someone else’s home, you may want to ask for permission first.) Pull out the first item you can get your hands on. Remember, don’t look in the drawer or look for a particular item. Instead, I want you to grab one random item Continue reading “Writing prompt: Pick an object” →

Blogging

Write On the World Presents: Top 7 Spam Comments

Mandy Webster
viagra is a commercial produced medicine conta...
Dear Spammer, I am not interested in buying Viagra or advertising it for you in my blog comments. | viagra is a commercial produced medicine containing Sildenafil citrate, which is used to treat male erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you have a blog, you’ve probably gotten at least one ridiculous spam comment on one of your posts. You know what I’m talking about… those comments that were obviously written by some online Viagra salesperson in Southeast Asia who is sitting at a laptop filtering their spammy comments through Yahoo Babelfish before posting. And what about those comments that have absolutely nothing to do with the post you’ve written? Do these spammers really think we’re this stupid?

Luckily, I use Akismet on my blog, so I don’t have to read too many of those spammy comments. The ones that do occasionally slip through the spam filter are generally pretty funny. Check out this list of the top 7 ridiculous spam comments received on my blog, and you’ll see what I mean:  Continue reading “Write On the World Presents: Top 7 Spam Comments” →

As Found on Pinterest, Blogging, Digital Marketing

4 Tips for writing a “Pinworthy” DIY blog post

Mandy Webster
My latest DIY Pinterest project: Crocheted Handbag by Mandy Webster
This is my latest DIY project: a crocheted handbag recreated from a picture I found on Pinterest.

Has this ever happened to you? You find an interesting recipe or craft project on Pinterest that you want to check out only to click through and find the blog post is missing one or more essential elements required for you to actually be able to bake the goody or make the craft yourself. Or maybe everything is there, but it’s so disorganized, you immediately give up figuring it out and move on. You return to Pinterest without repinning the post. And that blogger just lost an excellent opportunity to see her blog post “go viral.”

If you’re like me, it probably only takes you a few seconds to look over a blog post and decide if you want to repin it. A few minutes ago, I found a blog post on making a “relax bottle” (aka “mind jar“) for counting down a child’s timeout minutes. I love the idea, the pictures are great… but I got to the blog post and couldn’t immediately figure out if the bottles are made using supplies I might already have on hand. And, where are the instructions? There are tons of great pictures, but the how-to part is all over the place. I still wanted to do this project, but I had to go look elsewhere for better instructions. Continue reading “4 Tips for writing a “Pinworthy” DIY blog post” →

Blogging, Communication Technologies

Can you do me a huge favor?

Mandy Webster
Blog survey poll
Would you mind taking a quick survey about a blog?

Earlier this semester, I wrote a blog post about the new blogs that my Communication Technologies students were creating. Well, they’ve been hard at work blogging all semester, and now they are looking for some feedback on their blogs. Each student has created an online survey asking for feedback on their individual blogs, and we are looking for willing respondents to take a look at one or more of the blogs and then take the survey. Continue reading “Can you do me a huge favor?” →

Blogging, Communication Technologies

What went down on Wednesday?

Mandy Webster
A WordPress weblog with the TwentyTen theme, a...
Image via Wikipedia

Seriously cheesy title today. Seriously. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. I won’t let it happen again.

Well, I’m not making any promises.

OK, “So, what did go down on Wednesday anyway?” you’re probably wondering. (Or maybe not, maybe I’ve already lost you.) I teach 2 courses on Wednesdays; Communication Technologies and Business Communication. And, I thought Comm Tech was fun yesterday. I mean, sure it could have gone a bit more smoothly, but this is the first time I’m teaching this course, and I still have a lot of kinks to work out.  Continue reading “What went down on Wednesday?” →

Blogging, Random Writing Rants

Too busy to blog

Mandy Webster
Endless grading of term papers
Endless grading of term papers (Photo credit: joguldi)

It happens to the best of us. We want to write more often, but life somehow gets in the way. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got so many different projects in the works, I can’t seem to focus on any of them. And, I’m spending so much time worrying about getting my final project and paper written for one course, and my mid-term paper written for another, I have very little time left to write something I actually want to write.

Yes, here I am, complaining once again. *sigh* Continue reading “Too busy to blog” →