Highlights from 2009

Here, in case you missed them, are some of my favorite posts from the year:

• Pulse Warmers: What little things help you through your day?

• Loot and Plunder: Do you follow through? Or do you leave people feeling like they’ve been pillaged?

• Let the Yeast Do the Work: Because writing is remarkably like baking bread.

• Anticipation: A rare appearance of a poem I actually wrote.

• Spinning Words: Because specialized vocabulary can be fun. (There were two more installments, here, and here.)

• Pet Names: Do you have pet phrases you keep nearby at all times? How well-trained are they?

• Right to Write Right: How important is correct grammar to you when you read?

• Why I Write: Because it’s the best fun around, that’s why!

• Four Reasons to Turn Off Your Computer: (This one should be pretty self-explanatory.)

• Is What You Write More Important than How You Write It?

• Putting Together the Pieces: Because my favorite part is seeing how all the plots, characters, and selling points all fit together.

• How NOT To Get Your Novel Published: Tongue-in-cheek, kind of, but if you don’t want your novel published, these can be important tips! Plus…

• How NOT To Get Hired as a Writer: The companion piece…

• Shoot for the Moon: Because there’s no dream too big.

• Where the Action Is: Are the best stories the ones where events drive the story? Or where the characters do? (Or both?)

• Wanted: Literary Agent of my Dreams: Because it never hurts to put out into the universe what you’re hoping to find.

• You Can Lead a Dog to a Story: Because sometimes what your readers take away is not what you thought you were giving them.

• It’s Puzzling: Building a plot is a lot like creating a puzzle–it’s a lot of backward engineering to make sure everything works.

• Writing Makes Everything Possible: Without it, we’d still be in caves, right?

• Let’s Not Forget Civility: Life is too short to let the DIPs (Delusionally-Important People) ruin it.

• Lost Your Train of Thought? What can you do when your train of thought left the station without you?

• 9 Things You Need on a Freelance Resume: Apparently even freelance writers need resumes, so it’s best to be prepared.

• 7 Reasons a Good Schedule Can Keep You on Track

• 5 Tips for Better Time Management

• Can a Game be a Story? Can an event that’s happening in front of you be defined as a story?

• Why a Copywriter Needs to Tell Stories: Because stories aren’t just important in fiction, they can be the best selling tool you have.

• I Am Woman, Hear Me Blog: Apparently the battle of the sexes isn’t over … not even on the internet.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this trip down memory lane. I know I have!