12 Hours...

until October, which means twelve hours til NaBloWriMo!  Woohoo!  Break it down!  (Pause for a celebratory dance around the office while I trip over River, who is crouching on the floor sneaking the crumbs out of her bag of Cheetos.)

BTW, YES--you can still sign up.  I mean, it isn't October yet is it?  Wait.  Is it?  Have I missed a day already?  (I kid.)

The irony here is that tomorrow, on the first day of NaBloWriMo, a day which I should devote to writing a blog so fine that it glitters in the sun like RobPat AND reading your glittery blogs, I'll be on a bus with a bunch of UberSmart Children heading toward Dahlonega.  Which means that I'll be writing my inaugural post tonight after I've finished my chores.

Which leads me to a few things:

•  I've added a page up above (in the tabs above the posts...do you see them) with some tips and pointers and whatnot.  If you have a tip to add, please share it with us and I'll add it.  I do plan on posting a prompt every day.
• Don't beat yourself up if you can't post every day.  Are you a human being?  Okay, so stuff happens and sometimes you can't make all your goals.  DON'T let one missed day ruin the whole thing for you so that you sink into a Pit of Despair and refuse to write any more posts for the rest of the month because you RUINED it.  Just write a post the next day, okay?
• All that said, Blogger has a function by which you can write a post and schedule it to be posted later.  That's what I'll do tonight, in fact.  If you have problems figuring out how to do this, email me and I'll help you out.  I'm not sure if the other blogging hosts have these options, but it's definitely worth exploring.
• Please take the time to read your fellow bloggers' work.  I wasn't lying when I said I've met some amaaaazing people through this.  Just pick a few to read here and there and leave a comment if you feel so moved.  We all love comments, right?
• Drink lots of water.  Hydration is important to brain function.
• Leave your chair occasionally.  I mean, seriously.  Nobody wants blood clots due to blogging.
• Floss.  
• I'm not sure why flossing is important in blogging, but there must be a connection somewhere.

Looking forward to writing and reading with you in the next few weeks.  We rock.

A Blog Post Idea

Hello, duckies!  (It's raining here, so it just seems appropriate, ya know?)  Today over at I'm Not Hannah, I posted one of my favorite poems ("Sestina" by Elizabeth Bishop) plus a few quick paragraphs about it.  This is always one of my go-to "I can't think of a post" post-generators.  It isn't always a poem, of course.  I could write about a favorite book, television show, celebrity...the list goes on.  The great thing about this kind of post is that it draws your readers in...it teaches them something about you and offers a way for them to connect with you. Yay, connection!

I've been thrilled with the responses we've gotten so for for NaBloWriMo.  Once again, it appears we've got a great mix of bloggers.  I'm looking forward to writing with you in--gulp--six days.  If you haven't already, please grab a button (and let me know if you need a different color, mkay?) and use it on your blog.  Spread the word!  Huzzah!  UPDATED TO ADD:  It seems a few folks aren't on the list who thought they were.  Please check the sidebar and if your blog isn't showing up, let me know.  Just putting the button on your own blog doesn't register you--I have to add you via a comment or an email to nothannah @ comsouth.net.  *Note to self:  make registering easier next year...Thanks, y'all.

(It's possible I've had too much chai this morning...)

A Very Exciting Update

I'm so excited that so many folks from last year have signed on...and tickled pink at the newbies who are joining us. 

Some folks are expressing hesitation or anxiety or downright coldsweatFEAR about not being able to post every day, to which I want to say...it's okay, pumpkins.  No pressure here.  Plus, I'm thinking of adding a page of prompts or ideas for those days when you sit down at the computer and say, "Meh." 

Because, you know, "Meh" isn't very exciting.  I mean, it would be a blog post--TECHNICALLY--but it probably wouldn't set anybody's world on fire.

Not that you HAVE to set the world on fire with every blog post. 

As I have clearly just demonstrated.  Yay, me.

A Little Inspiration

My music collection is very diverse:  I love everything from Patsy Cline to Jane's Addiction to the Allman Brothers to Outkast to George Winston.  My blog list is the same:  I read Mommy Blogs and Travel Blogs and Political Blogs and Pagan Blogs and Crafty Blogs and pretty much every variation in between.  Thus, it shouldn't really surprise folks that one of my favorites is The Pioneer Woman.  If you're a blogger, you probably have heard of Ree Drummond and the insane success of her blog.  But there's a reason why she's successful.  Or rather, several reasons.  She laid them out for us the other day in this helpful post, but my favorite tip was the first one:

"1. Be yourself.

Write in your own voice.
Write as if you’re talking to your sister.
Unless you don’t get along with your sister.
Or don’t have a sister."

You see what she did there?  She showed us what she was talking about.  Developing your own voice is tough as a blogger, but here's an idea:  why don't you use October as a time to work on doing just that?

Tap! Tap! Is This Thing On?

Hey, folks!  NotHannah here.  In just a few weeks, it will be October...and you know what that means!  (Gorging oneself on Halloween candy before Halloween?  Taking the kids on multiple trips to the fair and cursing the inventor of caramel apples?  Yelling at Hell-Mart employees when the Christmas decorations start going up before the first frost?)

THAT'S RIGHT!  NaBloWriMo!

The skinny for those of you who haven't joined us before:  you sign up and you pledge to write a blog post a day for the month of October.  That's it.  There's no word limit or expectation, so...technically...one supposes you could write "This is my blog post for October 13th" on October 13th and we would all cheer roundly.  Yay!

If you're interested, shoot me a quick email at nothannah at comsouth dot net (squish it all together and add appropriate symbols.)  I'll add you to our list and away we'll go.

I've been doing NaBloWriMo for three years now and have met many wonderful folks while doing so.  I was so PLEASED when the incredibly busy and wonderfully awesome Amy agreed to let me continue the process while she worked her fingers to the bone.  In the upcoming weeks, I'll be working on buttons for you to add to your blogs and a new layout for this one.

I look forward to reading your stuff in October!

Yay!  (Couldn't help myself.)