Up and Running.

I finally got my personal laptop back in the game.  It's running faster than ever thanks to some simple advice from the great guy at the computer fix-em-up shop.  I wish I could tell his boss t give him a raise.

After a few days of using my slow desktop, I really came to understand how irritating word verification can be when visiting blogs.  It's just one more step, but that one more step cuts into the time I've set aside to visit blogs.

On the other side of the coin, I've heard lots of chatter lately about malware and spam finding its way unto blogs and disrupting or even destroying lots of work.  I guess having the word verification can help prevent some of that.

I use Norton protection on my personal computer, but the guy at the fix-em place told me it does really slow down a computer.  He gave me some advice on what to use instead when my subscription expires.  It's amazing what talking face to face with an expert can do for understanding something that usually causes me lots of confusion.  In the world of writing, we call that networking.

I wish I had the time to network a little this fall by attending a big writers' conference.  But I have neither the money nor the time.  Face to face can really help clear the fog of confusion at times. 

At least I still have all my bloggy friends to network with online.  They've helped me so much by answering questions and providing links to even more information.  And now that I have my laptop back, I'll be cruising along at high speed to visit them more often.

What was the last memorable face to face networking opportunity you had for your writing?

The Week That Was

The first week of my blog tour celebrating the release of book #2 in The Futhark Chronicles, Beyond the Gate has been a blast. I hope you had a chance to join me on some of my stops around the blogosphere.

On Monday I visited Alex Cavanaugh with a short post about world building. You can still check it out here.

Tuesday I visited The Susquehanna Writers group blog and shared a brief opinion on creating interesting characters. Add your take here.

Wednesday found me guesting at Jon Sprunk's blog, Fear of the Dark, where I shared some secrets on how I name those unique characters I create. You can find some great ideas visitors shared with their comments right here.

Thursday Megan Hart interviewed me on her blog. She's a very funny, creative writer and you can tell by the questions she asked. Read her quirky interview here.

I finished Friday on my blog with some advice on getting past a rough spot. You can still comment.

Blog tours are meant to promote a book but on my tour I'm trying to share some of what I've learned and start discussions on said subjects. There have been so many clever comments I think I've learned more than the visitors to my posts. Thank you to everyone.

My tour will continue into the beginning of next week. More on that tomorrow. I've made this my first ever blog tour a short one of only nine stops. I wasn't sure if I could handle the time demands of a longer one. I only had a few days of stress but for the most part I handled it with ease. If I do another one it will be during the summer months when I'm not teaching.

How much time do you spend on social networking? How many blogs do you visit each day? Do you consider the time well-spent?