That's What (S)he said: Weekly Round-Up

Here's the stuff I found this week that I want to pass along:

You may have seen the post by The Bloggess about the metal chicken since it went viral (or "bacterial," as she suggests), but you must check it out if you missed it. It's not often I'm laughing so hard I'm crying while reading a blog post.

Here's a great contest to pass along to teachers and librarians: in author Caroline Starr Rose's book club kit giveaway, one lucky school or reading group will win a kit containing ten copies of her debut novel MAY B., a discussion guide, lesson ideas, bookmarks, a Skype visit, and more. Everyone who enters will get a set of bookmarks, and the giveaway ends November 1st.

If you're wondering what should be on your author website, see agent Kathleen Ortiz's post, Author Websites: The Basics.

Other cool things I found about social media and websites and such:
If you like the new floating share button I have now on the left side of the page, you can go to these step-by-step instructions from Howbler to get one for your own Blogspot blog. There are several colors to choose from, and it took almost no time to add it.

I have a new email signature I love, with little icons people can click on for the different places I can be found online, and it updates with a link to my most recent blog post. Here, I'll show you:

Nice, isn't it? It's also really easy to set up (otherwise I wouldn't do it). You can make your own with Wisestamp, and customize different signatures for work and personal emails if you'd like, too. I found Wisestamp from this article on the Biztips Blog.

Wonder what you tweeted way back in 2007? Galleycat had an article this week about the TweetScan backup, which lets you archive your old Tweets.

Some good posts about writing:

Chuck Wendig's Terribleminds blog is educational and hilarious, so it's one worth bookmarking. They have a "25 Things" series for writers, which includes articles like "25 Things You Should Know About Character (AKA Anatomy of a Character)."

Yesterday's post from Veronica Roth was about why you should stop listening to advice. But listen to her, 'cause she's awesome and smart.

Fun stuff:
Whatever you're doing, it's not so important that you can't stop to watch penguins jumping on and off an iceberg.

See more funny videos and TBT at Todays Big Thing.

And did everyone love The Voice as much as I did? All the finalists were so good, I'd have been happy with whoever won. Actually I felt like that the whole season-- I hated to see anyone go home. Here's one of my favorite performances, the coaches singing "Under Pressure." For one scary moment I thought it was going to be "Ice, Ice, Baby."



Have a safe and happy 4th of July weekend!

7 Life Lessons From a Bulldog

After reading 10 Things I've Learned About Writing by Walking My Dog on the Tartan Ink blog, I was inspired to write down some things I learned growing up with my dog Spike. You'll see, he was really smart.

Other than the obvious "When someone's trying to take your toy, clamp down and don't let go no matter what," here are a few other lessons from Spike:

Spike's "school picture"

1. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't succeed. Dogs can't climb trees, but Spike didn't now that. When I was playing in the tree house and Spike wanted up there, pretty soon I'd see him climbing up. I'm not sure why he wanted up there so badly, since he'd just sit there while I played spaceship or Nancy Drew, but that's what he wanted, so he found a way. You may have to work harder than others who seem to achieve their goals faster and with less effort (like cats), but you can get there.

2. But accept help when you need it. He wasn't able to climb down the tree, so someone would have to carry him down. He knew he'd fall if he tried it himself. Don't try to be so independent that you hurtle to the ground and land on your face.

3. People can tell you're not being sincere. If Spike wanted sympathy, he'd start this fake panting thing like he was suddenly exhausted. Be authentic in everything you do, so you'll never have to hear, "Cut it out, faker. You've been chewing on a rubber hot dog and napping all day."

Just look at the joy on his face. You can't fake that.

4. Be optimistic, but accept that there will be storms. When Spike saw rain out the front door, he'd turn around and run to the back door to see if it was raining out there too. Then he'd go hide under the bed. It's good to hope for the best, but we're all going to have things happen that make us want to crawl under the bed sometimes.

5. We can see you. He also hid when it was bath time. He wasn't hard to find, since we could see his butt sticking out from under the bed. Be yourself, but be aware that people can see what you're doing and that the Internet is a public place. Don't show your butt. Figuratively speaking. Also literally speaking.

5. Celebrate the small things. If Spike heard the word "walk," he'd grab his leash and dance around with it until we could catch him and put the leash on him to go out. He'd do quite a dance if given a piece of bacon, too. Be sure to stop and do the bacon dance.

6. Take care of your friends. Spike knew how to comfort someone who needed it. Especially my sister Lisa, who's the youngest. Like if she was crying because someone told her that her name used to be Gruselda and that our parents found her in the street, for example, Spike would go sit next to her and lick her face. (I can't believe he took her side. That was pretty damn funny.) You don't have to crawl onto your friends' laps and lick their faces, but you get the idea. Take care of each other, and reach out to someone who needs a friend.

7. Take naps. No explanation needed.