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The Mother of Communication? – lessons on writing, talking, and connection

Yesterday, at Balticon, I had the honor of sitting on a panel that discussed how to adapt fiction to stage or screen. One of the questions the moderator asked was to define the nuts and bolts of doing that sort of adaptation. One of the other panel members said that you needed to only the…

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On being a thick-skinned artist

When you create, sensitivity is a must. But when you are trying to sell what you’ve created, it can be downright dangerous. This is what has me thinking this morning before I head out to another day at Balticon (The Baltimore Science Fiction Convention at which I am a presenter/participant this year). I’m about to…

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It turns out I like the flurry – tending to stay in motion

Yesterday was a crazy day in my life. I had to complete two vastly different projects. First, I was presenting my “Let’s Talk Clouds” workshop at a local middle school. As the Earth Lady, I work with schools to help students jump-start their interest in science, specifically Earth Science. Then, I switched gears and released…

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Course Correcting: Changing Dreams Call For Changing Goals

Tonight, I will be creating a brand new vision board. For those who don’t know what one is, it is a focusing tool, usually some sort of paper, that you create to clarify your goals and foci. A physical board can be a piece of paper on which you draw or glue pictures of your…

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Read like a writer? Not when you're a judge

Here’s something that’s making me go, “hmmm.” I am a judge in a writing contest. Yesterday, I finally had time to read through the entries and send in my evaluations. The process of judging catalyzed me into a realization I hadn’t foreseen. I spent the better part of all my education years doing some form…

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Relatively pain-free mobile-friendly website redirects instructions

I spent last night figuring out how to optimize my various websites for mobile devices. Per google’s new rules (http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/google-algorithm-change-mobile-friendly), priority is now given to websites that are mobile-device friendly. If you are tech savvy, here’s a website with the java script for redirecting your pages. (I send big thanks to the person who wrote…

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Voice-to-Text, a primer

I love Voice-to-text (V-t-T). As the technology improves, conducting business via V-t-T becomes  easier and more accessible. Business and communication become more portable and that creates more flexibility in how and where we manage our affairs. For example, I can now write emails and texts while walking my dog. I can give quick answers to…

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Speak Your Words, part 1 – Bring Your Written Work to Audible Life!

In addition to narrating and voicing products for NASA, the National Geographic Society, and others, I have recorded a few audiobooks in the past few months. This has prompted me to ponder why any author would want to read his or her work out loud and how they would approach such a project.What vocal, acting,…

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The Writing Road is full of cul de sacs, bumps, and superhighways

I’ve released two books. One is non-fiction and the other is fiction. The first “Life Elements,” I released back in 2008. It’s done well, and I periodically still do workshops and other marketing to boost sales. What hadn’t I done until yesterday? For whatever reason, I waited and waited and waited until more than five…