Why does my autocorrect think I'm typing that?

Good job on guessing I meant "before"
instead of "veggie" this time, Swype. For once.

I have Swype on my phone, and I've purposely turned off the thing where it autocorrects what you're typing, because — I don't need that stress, or that level of hilarity.

But, it still misinterprets what I Swype so, so much.

And I don't get it.

Wouldn't it learn that there are certain words you use more than others?

For instance, how often do I write "ashtray" over "already," Swype? How often? Huh? Here's the answer, Swype: I never mean "ashtray." Never.

As a parenting blogger, I write about my children a lot. But apparently Swype thinks I'm gaga about my "cistern." This is literally never the case.

I guess it could be worse
and people could think I'm obsessed with collagen?

Gmail Tap for Android

At the tail end of April 1, I just have to share one of Google's videos this year:

Putting your internet fame to work

Click image to see the comic bigger at its home on BasicInstructions.net.

copyright Basic Instructions

I wonder which blogger I read wants a Japanese toilet seat.

Lauren's link love: Keeping it real

This is me being a genuine weirdo.

Once again, I'm bringing you a Sunday Surf-like experience of the best recent links I've found for the bloggers and writers out there.

• "Social media interactions: How not to be an asshole" from This is Worthwhile: Your online space is your personal space. Everyone else can back off already. This was written to apply to Facebook, but I keep thinking of how it also applies to blogs and Twitter and so on as well. Jessica's saying, and I have to agree: If you don't like what someone's saying, why are you reading it? Don't get up in their face; just go away. What do you think about this perspective? (See also: The highly entertaining "post where I alienate people once again" at Scary Mommy. Assuming you don't mind the f-bomb used to hilarious effect.)
• "Blogging Basics: Where to Find Ad Buyers" from 3 Boys And A Dog: I thought looking to Facebook ads & other blogs' ads was such a clever idea for finding potential advertisers.
• "What Should Fiction Writers Blog About?" from There Are No Rules: On blogging topics as a novelist.
• "Manifesto: I Am Not a Brand" from MaureenJohnson on BlogHer: Be real.
• "The 8 Habits of Highly Effective Bloggers" from Annabel Candy on BlogHer: Yup.
• "Apostrophe's are for contraction's and possessive noun's, not plural's" from #!/usr/bin/mom: "Many people seem to find the proper use of apostrophes scary and confusing, but the concept is really quite simple: Apostrophes are for contractions and possessive nouns, not plurals. Remember that, and you'll likely use apostrophes correctly 99% of the time." My mother would love this article. She routinely writes letters and emails to the newspaper and advertisers about incorrect apostrophe usage, threatening to take away their apostrophe license.
• "My purse was stolen #bestthingthateverhappenedtome" from Dating After 40, Okay Hoping to Date After 40: Hilarious description of CSI overkill, and a clever way blogging can help promote a mystery (or any) novel.
• "How to Write a Query" from Agent Query, via Her Bad Mother on StumbleUpon: Thorough, step-by-step, and (thank goodness) encouraging list of exactly how to write a fiction query letter to an agent. I will be coming back to this when it's time to write mine!

Leave any recommended posts in the comments (yes, even your own — I'd love to take a look). Thanks for the great articles, all of the above, & happy reading!
Lauren

Iambic pentameter

via http://xkcd.com/79/



©xkcd {Creative Commons}

Lauren's link love

I've been participating in the Sunday Surf tradition over at Hobo Mama, as practiced by Authentic Parenting and Baby Dust Diaries. But sometimes I come across a link that has nothing to do with parenting but that I still want to share.

Finally, it occurred to me: The blogging- and writing-related ones can go right here!

Sometimes I do whole posts on articles that have been particularly helpful as a tutorial, but other times I've just enjoyed reading and learning from a post when I don't have anything specific to blog about in response (or not yet, anyway). So here's my chance to give a plug to those excellent articles I come across!

• "Being a professional blogger and respecting others" from I Like It Frantic: On how to deal professionally both with other bloggers and with PR reps. I've seen some questionable behavior out there in blogland recently, and I hope we can all learn from people like Holly to be mature and think before we speak something mean about another person or company. What I'd really like to see more of is people talking to bloggers or PR reps in private when there's a problem with them (or their company) rather than automatically resorting to public name-calling.
• "Blog Ego Armour (Why You Need It and How to Get It)" at How to Make My Blog, which is a guest post by Zoey of Good Goog: I seriously had never thought of sending out a bunch of guest posts as a strategy, but it's a great idea. Regardless of whether it's guest posts or manuscript submissions or agent queries, the writer's life is fraught with rejection. Here's a good way to bolster your own self-confidence so you can stick through all the nos and concentrate on the yeses!
• Hey, look, I have my own contributor's page on InkyGirl! For some reason, this amuses me. You know what else amuses me? Comics like this one.
• "Thoughts for a beginning biblio-blogger" from Common Places: Advice on the nitty-gritty of book blogging, from organizing books for review to finding books for free to channeling the oomph necessary to write, along with many helpful site recommendations to make the process easier
• "Dealing with Unpredictable Cash Flow" from Strocel.com: Great tips for dealing with a freelance or self-employed life
• "The 5 Big Hurdles Facing Bloggers On The Path To Revenue" from David Risley dot com: Point #1 especially. Shiny...
• "Printable CSS 3 Cheat Sheet" from Blogging with Amy: CSS hates me, and the feeling is mutual. I really should give myself a crash course through these links so I don't get so frustrated with my template.
• "How I Monetize My Blog (so far)" from Blogging with Amy: I love honesty about numbers!
• "How to Make the Most of Follow Friday" from carrie actually: #ff overwhelms me (so many lovely Twitterers to choose from!) so I usually enjoy being #ff'ed but skip out on passing along the love. I like this commonsense approach.
• "Blogging Basics: How to Get More Comments for Your Contests" from 3 Boys And A Dog: If you host giveaways, here are some tips. I thought it was an especially good idea to make an email list of people accepting email submissions for listings.

Let me know if you have any favorite posts or blogs to share! (Yes, it can be your own.) I'm always looking for good writers who blog about blogging or writing, either to subscribe to a feed or to follow on Twitter.

Thanks for the great articles, everyone, & happy reading!
Lauren

Photo courtesy channah on stock.xchng

NaNoWriMo distraction

[caption id="attachment_155" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="NaNoWriMo comic from PVP Online"][/caption]

©2009 "Write Fight" at Player vs. Player, by Scott R. Kurtz


In personal NaNoWriMo news, I am finally digging myself out of the Boring Hole I had put myself in.

I should really listen to myself more. I had created a female protagonist who was that most deadly of all sins in fiction: dull.

Dull and good. Ugh.

I have made her a Liar McLyingPants, and now all is much better. There is conflict, there is tension, there is motivation, there is...romance!

The words are flying. Except, you know, when I'm writing posts featuring NaNoWriMo comic strips or checking Twitter to see if anyone's mentioned me (have they?) or compiling coupon lists (why did I do that?? Oh, right, because I was procrastinating from NaNoWriMo. I don't even want to tell you how late I stayed up doing that, because it's just sad. I am so tired that I just spent precious minutes combing my desktop for a file I hadn't yet downloaded. And, also, this parenthetical note is way too long).

Only a few more days, kiddos, and I've finally broken 40,000 words. We're in it to win it! See you at the finish line.

NaNoWriMo Decision comic

As an addendum to my last post, check out this comic:

[caption id="attachment_125" align="aligncenter" width="730" caption="NaNoWriMo Decision comic -- Debbie Ohi"][/caption]

©2006 "NaNoWriMo Decision" at Will Write for Chocolate, by Debbie Ridpath Ohi, (cc)