I'm on a vacation of sorts. I'm in GA with one of my daughters. She's about to have a baby, it's #2 for her, and I came down to help. But, I've been here a week and no baby yet. I have another week till I need to go home, so I'm hoping baby makes an appearance today or tomorrow so that I get some quality time with the new wee one. In the meantime, I'm not posting much since I'm spending my days with my daughter and her little girl, an active and delightful 2-year-old. But, I'm still writing! I've made written notes and made plans for future projects as I take a break from my normal routine. Also, I wrote a successful pitch this past week for an idea I've had floating around in my head for a few months. It was a successful pitch because it got enough attention where I sent it to garner a direct, personal response, which prompted a meeting. My first response was an automated response. My second, because I sent a second pitch to get their ...

Lately, I've noticed something I'm not super happy about on a few blogs I've been reading. Their links. Some links in some blogs have issues. I'm giving you two things to clear up these issues and I guarantee this will improve your blog for your readers and improve your readability and increase your reader numbers. Two Ways to Link Successfully in a Blog: When you link something in your blog, make sure it opens in a new window . It takes one second to click the box that opens links in a new window. As a blog reader, I get frustrated when I have to leave the current blog to click the blogger's links. Keep people on you page: have links open in a new window every single time. Use working links only! It's highly frustrating to click on a link in a blog only to get an error page. It really makes us look like we don't know what we're talking about. Using working links gives you validity and evokes your readers' confidence in you. There. Now you...

This morning, I stumbled upon this blog post from The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond. It's a few years old, but still very relevant to any and all bloggers. If you want to blog successfully, learn from successful bloggers. Happy Blogging! ~Tricia

In one single picture I took on my walk around our yard this morning, I found so many shades of green in our yard that I could not count them all. Some were made due to shadows, others from the sun. Some shades were light because they were new leaves, others were darker as they were older leaves. Some shades stood out, some were subtle. Take a walk. It will clear your head for writing and you will see shades you never knew existed. And that will make for better writing. I also took pictures of my two favorite trees on our property. The first one here is my favorite. These photos are un-retouched: Happy Writing! ~Tricia

This morning, while preparing some paperwork (a brochure) for an upcoming workshop I'm teaching on blogging, I had to stop working, set the work aside, and run an errand. While stopping work in the middle of a project may seem frustrating at the time, this turned out to be a great thing for me. When I came back to the project, I noticed a mistake I had missed before. Fresh eyes help us see things more clearly, things we might otherwise miss in our writing. So, advice for the day: Go away......but come back to a more productive experience. Happy Writing, ~Tricia

Yes, I know it's the day after Mother's Day, but that day in my house is very busy, mainly with me on the phone with my many children, so there was no time for blogging. It's so great to hear from them all in one day! The three still at home showered me with gifts and love and we enjoyed the day together. On another of my blogs, Tuesday Theology , I shared a story about a heart-wrenching experience that many moms will understand. I've had quite a bit of response to that blog post and I thought I'd share it here, too. In one of my Helpful Quotes for Writer s on TheTotalWriter.com , I tell my students to weave feelings into their writing. This featured blog post shows exactly what I mean by that. Write well today. ~Tricia

I love spring right now more than I ever have. Last year, we moved to a warmer climate and not only did I not experience the "winter dread" of Minnesota, I actually enjoyed winter much like I used to when I was younger. Yesterday, after three days of heavy rains (you can see how heavy here ), the sun was shining and the air smelled so fresh and clean that my teenage boys commented on how good it smelled when we opened a window. You know if teenage boys notice a fresh smell, it must really be fresh! In honor of spring and all things fresh, The Total Writer website has a whole new look! I can't say it was because of some spring-like desire to make things fresh. No, I changed it up because my web-hosting situation changed and I had to come up with a new design really fast. In celebration of this new, updated look, I'm running a special on my book on writing, Write, then Publish. Today ! The book is on sale for just 99¢ for a limited time! Take advantage of this of...