Saturday Edition – What We’re Writing and Reading

Welcome to this Saturday Edition of What We’re Writing and Reading.

We’re taking a little detour on the weekends now to share some of what we’re up to with our writing (when we’re not here) and what we’re into with our reading (around the web). We’ll also pull back the curtain a little to give you a behind-the-scenes look at what went into a piece.

We hope you enjoy this little diversion and encourage you to share your own posts and picks in the comments.

Happy writing! Happy reading! 

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Lisa J. Jackson

What I’m writing: I completed a company handbook and a draft of a non-profit’s strategy plan. I enjoy pulling back the curtain and learning how a business works. A friend of mine introduced me to her blog, Along the Way, and I’ve found a lot of inspiration from her personal observations of life. And another blog called Writing Whims by Patricia Zick is full of, well, talk about writing. Good stuff. For current, useful, real-world small business tips, especially involving social media, I’m reading Chris Brogan’s blog.

What I’m reading: I read Brett Battle’s “The Destroyed,” part of his Jonathan Quinn series, and the last of his books I’ll read for now. I needed to get caught up and I did. I finished Wm. Paul Young’s “The Shack,” and the ideas will stick with me for a while. I’m now on Don McNair’s “Editor-Proof Your Writing,” and find the tips and exercises useful, especially with a novel-in-progress that I can use (he recommends reading the book in tandem with using a current WIP).

Other fun today: Celebrating my birthday – for years now I haven’t looked at is a me getting older, but my parents’ getting older, which makes the smiles come easier. (We’re celebrating tomorrow after I complete a  2-mile St. Patrick’s Day-themed race.) This afternoon I’m getting together with some other New England mystery writers to read a portion of a work-in-progress. Looking forward to it, and definitely something I’ve never done on my birthday before!

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Jamie Wallace

First – happy birthday, Lisa!!! 🙂 I hope you have a great race.

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What I’m writing: 

This week was a little crazy since daughter, poor thing, got the flu and was couch-bound for the entire week. Since last Friday, I’ve been trapped in the house, doing my best Mama Nightingale while trying to tread water on client projects. It’s been less than fun. Thankfully, the peanut is feeling better now, but – like any writer – I couldn’t help turning our predicament into fodder for a post. Being trapped in the house and suffering from sleep deprivation (Did I mention we only got about three hours of sleep a night for the first four days of her illness?) transported me back to when my daughter was an infant and I was an inexperienced and desperate new mom. I was reminded of an embarrassing story that needed sharing, so I wrote it up and here it is.

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I also had the chance this week to guest blog for the lovely Stacey Pruim of System Serenity. Stacey is a systems expert who helps people and companies create the systems that make their businesses run smoothly and efficiently. Being a Type-A person myself, I was immediately fascinated by her work. I then had the pleasure of speaking with her and was completely charmed. My post is part of a SED (Systems Experts Discuss) guest series that she hosted to help people broaden their definition of “system.” If you’re overwhelmed by the idea of “marketing,” you might enjoy my post, Marketing – a practice where systems abound. I hope you’ll also check out the rest of her SED series.

What I’m reading:

Once again, I haven’t had much time for “real” reading, BUT I always find time to cram in a few blog posts here and there. These are a few of my favorite, writing-related pieces from the week. Enjoy!

• It’s Time for Writers to Stop Blogging by @llbarkat via @JaneFriedman – Interesting debate about the value of building an author platform at various stages of your career.
• I Love It When Jane Friedman Is Wrong by @thewritermama – A rebuttal (from a friend of Jane’s) that tries to make sure writers don’t misinterpret Jane’s statement.
• The One Conversational Tool That Will Make You Better At Absolutely Everything  by @shanesnow via @FastCompany – This is SO important for writers of all kinds.
• Why I Cut My List in Half  by @cjlyonswriter – Important (and sane) marketing advice from a successful author.
• The Writer’s Author Rank Cheat Sheet by @demianfarnworth via @copyblogger – This is still on my To Do list, but I’m loving the resources from Demian.