Remember This

I think I started writing lists and making sure I jotted every appointment down around the time I had my third child. Our family schedules looked like a spreadsheet by then. And how over twenty years later, I need those list and notes to myself. Today I'm going to share some of these with you.

*Dianna Gunn, promotions specialist with the now closed Musa Publishing, is our guest on the IWSG blog. She's talking about how working with a publisher has helped her own writing career. I know she's given me some good suggestions and insights into marketing.

*My post on Monday about blog housekeeping before the A to Z starts received lots of comments and some really great suggestions that I have to share in case you missed them. First off, my fellow A to Z co-host, John Holton, liked my suggestion about making sure any links in your post open in a new tab and don't carry people off of your blog. John is a clever guy and has constructed his posts so they appear on his Wordpress and Blogger sites at the same time. So John put together a 'how-to' post to make sure your links do as I suggested. And he gives concise instructions for both types of blogs. Visit his post if you don't know how to do this already.

*Maria Zannini, one of my blog time blogger friends, commented how she sometimes find interesting bloggers by what they say in the comments. That is so spot on. When you see someone leaving thoughtful and insightful remarks about a post, you just might want to check out that person's blog. Thanks, Maria, for that helpful idea.

Maria's post on Monday was about having friends. It really spoke to me. Since I've become a full time writer, I go days and days where I only leave the house to exercise (or shovel snow). I speak to no one except my husband and whichever of my children are around. And I don't even notice that I've been so isolated and I never feel lonely. Good or bad? I'm going to try and get out more, meet friends for lunch now and then if for no other reason than to wear some of those clothes hanging in my closet.

Don't forget if you're about tomorrow, there's a Twitter chat going on for the A to Z Challenge. Use the hash tags, #azchat or #atozchallenge. We'll meet on Twitter at 1 to 2 pm and again 8-9 pm EDST.

Do you keep lists or scribble notes to yourself? Have you found interesting bloggers through comments? Ever feel lonely when you haven't left the house for a while? What's the longest you ever spent without leaving your home? Did John's post help you?