More Housecleaning

Published on September 29, 2014 by Jean M. Cogdell

Let’s be honest, cleaning house is the worst.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve dreaded chores since Mom taught me to scrub that first toilet. Housekeeping never seem to end, unless you’re one of the lucky ten percent with live-in help.

When did you last cleanup your hard drive?

More often than not, I delay my digital chores until my computer begins to drag. Sunday I discovered another chore to add to my growing list.

Planning your digital afterlife.

In addition to laundry, dishes, grocery shopping, updating my software and defragging my computer, we must plan our digital afterlife.

What would happen to your on-line accounts, if God forbid, something happened to you?

Well, unless you take care of a few digital chores, you might not like the outcome. Ever thought about all your correspondence, photos and emails? Who would see them? Time to make sure the only people you trust can access your information.

If you don’t want to deal with this yourself, hire a service. Yes, like apps, there is a service for everything. Go figure, I never thought of offering such a service. Don’t believe me, Google it…

However, Google has a tool to get you started. Check out the Inactive Account Manager.

Facebook has a page on deleting or memorializing accounts.

Twitter will deactivate your account if contacted by your estate. That’s fine by me.

The website Modern Loss list the links to deactivate pages for family members such as PayPal, Instagram, and more.

You can read an in-depth article by Barbara Ortutay, The Associated Press.

That’s it for today. It’s Monday and the chores are piling up, need to get busy.

Inspiring Blogs for Writers

Published on September 13, 2014June 15, 2017 by Jean M. Cogdell9 Comments

Wow! Thanks so much Norah Colvin for thinking of me and my little ole blog. To say I’m surprised and delighted is an understatement. One of the wonderful things about blogging is connecting with other writers around the world. I humbly accept the award and pass on the prize to the 15 websites below.

Here are the rules of the award:

Thank and link to the person who nominated you.
List the rules and display the award.
Share seven facts about yourself.
Nominate 15 other amazing blogs and comment on their posts to let them know they have been nominated.
Optional: follow the blogger who nominated you, if you don’t already do so.

Seven facts about myself:

Last year, my oldest daughter with my 3 granddaughters move to Paris France.
I love vanilla ice cream. Prefer Blue Bell.
I have 5 grandchildren.
I love to travel but can’t travel a lot.
My mother died this year.
I have 5 siblings.
I married my high school sweetheart.

very-inspiring-blogger

Here, in no particular order are 15 amazing blogs. Selecting just 15, out of the many I read and follow, was not an easy task. However, I choose blogs that inspired me to be a better writer and in turn, I hope my readers find the information will inspire their muse and talent.

A to Z Challenge – Although, I haven’t taken the challenge, I do visit many of the blogs. I love the opportunity to visit so many people from all over the world with the click of my mouse.
Fiction University with Janice Hardy will take your writing to the next level with so much information many times I read a post twice.
Kill Zone – in 2013 and 2014 Writers Digest awarded the authors at this website the 101 Best Website for Writers Award. These amazing writers never fail to provide information or inspiration.
Fiction Notes with Darcy Pattison Tips and notes to help every writer is what you will find at Darcy’s website.
Kristen Lamb’s Blog, Warrior Writers, is one I re-blog and re-post more than any other blog.
Start Your Novel with John Bell has tips and story ideas to get your Muse juiced.
Kellie Elmore inspires with tips and her Free Write Friday prompts.
Lillie McFerrin Writes is one of my all time favorite blogs. I often participate in her Five Sentence Fiction. I find the FSF prompts jump-start my imagination and writing.
Jodie Llewellyn’s Blog is pure delight. Filled with writing tips, encouragement and reviews.
Copy Blogger is not the typical writers blog. Here I’ve learned how to reach my audience. This blog teaches how to create killer online content, which a writer can apply to any WIP.
Story Fix with Larry Brooks received the 2011 best Writers Digest 101 Best Website for Writers and 2011 Top Ten Blogs for Writers. Larry is a writer and coach who can help you get it written right.
Brainstorms & Bylines with Barbara A. Tyler provides information about contests, places to submit and various markets for writers. She also provides inspiration and prompts to help writers.
Julia’s Place and her 100 Word Challenge for Grown-Ups is another blog is love to participate in for quick inspiration.
One Wild Word with Carol Despeaux is where you can find a jolt of inspiration and a new way to practice your writing.
Story Dam is a community for writers come to for encouragement and support. At this blog writers will find weekly prompts and chat link.

Blog 2 Book in Minutes

Published on September 12, 2014 by Jean M. Cogdell4 Comments

Do you want to make a book?

Do you want to preserve your blogs?

Maybe I’m slower than molasses, because I’m sure everyone and their dog already knows how to do this, but I’m still super stoked. Today I discovered a great website. Blog2print!

For $7.95 I downloaded my blog in a digital book format. Does it look professional and ready to sell on Amazon? No, but now I have this little eBook of all my posts and writings tucked away safe. I mean who knows anything could happen. My blog could get deleted or God forbid the internet could disintegrate.

Their website has several options for soft and hardback books for a little more. You can upload pictures to put on the covers and select which posts to keep.

Check it out, Blog2Print works for WordPress, Blogspot, Tumblr and Typepad. Let me know what you think.

Kiss Your “As” Goodbye: A Simple Grammar Trick for Better Fiction

Published on September 11, 2014 by Jean M. Cogdell

I love gentle reminders and “Tricks” that make editing easier. Readers, I hope you enjoy Kristen Lamb’s Blog on how to kiss your “As” goodbye.

Kristen Lamb's Blog

Today, AWESOME W.A.N.A. International Instructor and author-editor-teacher-extraordinaire Marcy Kennedy is here to guest post about a dreaded topic—GASP—grammar. Yes, I admit it. I’m a Grammar Nazi. I remember correcting my eldest nephew when he was learning to talk. Steaks are good, people are well. Chickens are done, people are finished. We raise crops, and rear children.

This was being a good auntie.

Then he went off to first grade…

His teacher asked him if he was done, and he matter-of-factly replied, “Chickens are done, people are finished.”

So yes, I’ve had to learn to not be a jerk about grammar (and gently correct the kiddos even though I was cheering inside). But take heart, if a Grammar Nazi makes an error, we get 543 e-mails correcting us.

Even Grammar Nazis oops. We need refreshers and ALL need a fresh set of eyes on our work because a lot of…

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