It does, doesn’t it? Have its rewards, I mean. Sure, it’s not always easy to find the time to blog and we don’t always feel like cranking out a post. Sometimes our blogs go neglected until they’re collecting cyber cobwebs and our faithful readers e-mail and tell us something like: “hey, you haven’t updated in a week/month! When are we going to get a new post?” And so we feel guilty that we’ve let life get in the way of our passion for the blogosphere…

If only there were more hours in the day we could spend loads of time writing blog posts, visiting and commenting on other fantabulous blogs, and even discover new ones we never knew about. But life is busy and hectic and crazy and sometimes it has to come first, regardless.

I know you wonder where all my rambling is going. It’s going somewhere, I promise. This Arte Y Pico award, the one you see in this post, was presented to me by Grandy, over at Functional Shmunctional. This lady is amazing. Since the first time I visited her blog, I knew I’d have to return again and again. Her posts are like Pringles–you can’t have just one! I love this lady. She’s brilliant and her posts reflect her colorful personality beautifully. There’s never a dull moment with her and I’m just so honored to have crossed cyber paths with her.

When she presented this award to me, here’s what she had to say:

Michele over at Writing the Cyber Highway ~ This lady can really make you think, and feel. Isn’t that what writers do? Well, Michele will make you put the words into a sentence and push you to get the words written. She is quite a mentor and cheerleader to me. Thank you sweets!

Ah… *wipes tears*

Thanks so much, Grandy! Even as a creative writer, I can’t find the right words to express my gratitude and appreciation. Thanks, blogging buddy. You’ve made my day!

I can pretty much guarantee (if you like hilarious entertainment) that you’ll want to subscribe to her feed. She doesn’t have a lot of confidence in her writing abilities yet, but I personally think she’s quite talented and knows how to captivate her readers. She’ll keep you hanging on every syllable ’till the very end of the post and you just have to jump right in and comment. She responds to every single comment she gets–and they’re usually always in the double digits!

One of the rules is to give this award to five other bloggers. Since I try to keep up with about a gazillion blogs and I’m not quite sure who already has it, feel free to grab it up and post that I gave it to you. Just be sure to come by and leave a link to your post in the comments so I can check it out! And to anyone who has given me an award and I haven’t posted about it, my sincerest apologies. I’m not the best at remembering and posting about these things. But this one grabbed my heart. I knew I had to accept this award because Grandy’s words about me were just so sweet and touching.

Here’s to awards for writing the cyber highway!

Photo Credit: Me

Ah, this is the life!

What’s better than a laptop and a good cup of coffee? Ok, maybe a good cup of coffee, a book, and a comfy chair, but that’s beside the point! (Isn’t that cup cute? It’s one of my favorites!)

It’s easy to be inspired to write when you have a nice laptop and cheerful cup of warm bliss, isn’t it?

Freelance writing and blogging are both hard to do, but there’s so much gratification all along the way. We’re not always on the forefront, though, getting that byline to show off to friends and family.

Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of “behind the scenes” writing and my name isn’t going to be displayed with the work. It’s on topics I’m passionate about and have endless inspiration for, so I’m pleased with the finished products–even though I can’t shout the published clips to the world. Sometimes the best things in life happen behind the scenes.

Do you write behind the scenes? Or do you always prefer to see your name? Have you ever used a pseudonym? Do you enjoy using a pseudonym or would you try using one? Share your opinions and experiences in the comments. Can’t wait to hear (ahem, read) what you have to say!

Hope you’re busy writing the cyber highway–behind the scenes, or not!

By

Michele L. Tune

Warning: This is pretty much an uninteresting post about where I’ve been and what I’ve been doing, so if this type of stuff bores you to tears, remember you’ve been warned…

Photo Credit: Me

Ah, at last I return. So, where have I been? Writing, of course! Where? I’ll share a few of the places with you.

• Squidoo - I’ve wondered what all the rave is about with Squidoo Lenses. Now I know! I’m having a blast at Squidoo.com. So far, I’ve only created one lens: How to Make People Smile. It’s much like blogging, and it’s great fun–wonderful way to express your creativity!

• HubPages - Again, pretty much blogging and is an awesome way to share information you’re interested in, but maybe doesn’t fit within your blog’s theme. I have three “hubs” so far: Tea Tree Oil for Head Lice (no, I don’t have it! hehe), Brussel Sprouts: Sweet and Delish, and Pumpkin Pie… Yogurt.

I’ve shied away from sites like this for a long time, but I finally caved in and decided to just give them a try. I’m so glad I did!

I also wrote a piece for my local newspaper recently and finished a 1,500 word article that I’ll hopefully be able to let you know a link to soon.

So, lots of stuff going on... I’ve also been working on a fresh design and content for my freelance website. Heather, at Goofy Girl Designs, has been working hard on the design part and I’ve been working to write the content to really reflect the creative, inspiring person I am.

In other news… I’m getting a lot better about actually following up with my queries and submissions. I should have done this a long time ago. If you don’t follow up, it’s something you should really consider doing. Sometimes editors honestly are interested in what you submitted or queried about, or at least your writing style, but the e-mail gets lost or forgotten about. If you follow up, you’ll refresh their memory and possibly make that sale–or hopefully many sales!

Did you enjoy this post and my friendly, girl-next-door writing voice? Would you like to read more? Gobble up my feed - Entries RSS OR Comments RSS OR if you prefer updates to your inbox, Via E-mail - so you’ll always know when I have something to say! And get ready, this site will be podcasting soon. Imagine that - you’ll get to hear my southern accent. Ya’ll come back now, ya hear?!

Well, that’s pretty much what I’ve been doing–as far as writing is concerned anyway. What have you been up to? Do you write Squidoo Lenses? Are you a Hubber who loves writing HubPages? Do you write for your local newspaper? Have you thought of giving your freelance website a fresh design and content? Let us know what you’ve been doing lately!

By

Michele L. Tune

I borrowed the word “woo hoo” from Renie (thanks, Renie!). I must say “woo hoo!” is the perfect title for this post and this day. What, you want details? Oh, ok!

First thing this morning, I found an email from my editor informing me that my essay, One Last Good-bye, will be published October 29th. This will be the second story for me on MedHunters. They’ve bought a third but it will be published a little closer to the holidays as it relates to the season. So, that was an exciting thing to discover first thing in the morning, eh?

Then, the mail ran. What else did I receive besides a contract from Fate Magazine! Yes, indeed, they want to publish my story, Smokin’ Ghost! Oddly enough both of these stories I mention are pretty much in the paranormal theme. Considering I write inspirational, that’s hilarious…. But exciting!

Then, I received a phone call from another editor! But, I’m going to save this news for another day and you’ll find out why soon enough!

So, that’s why today was a “woo hoo” day. Lots of good news for me. And, I managed to submit a few things as well!

Remember, it doesn’t happen overnight and it doesn’t happen by wishing to be a writer. You have to write and you HAVE to submit! It takes a lot of patience and waiting but it’s sure worth it on the “woo hoo” days!

I hope you have a great week with lots of “woo hoo” days ahead while writing the cyber highway!

By

Michele L. Tune

Photo Credit: gundamkira

For the last few months, I’ve been planning a Website. I thought I’d go with one place, then I changed my mind and switched to another. I wasn’t happy with the template options (although the customer service of this particular place was stellar!), so I tried vistaprint.com.

More than business cards are available through this company. They have a variety of Website options, beautiful themed templates that you can make your own, and it’s all pretty simple!

If you’d like to browse around and ponder the possibility of building your own Website through vistaprint.com, you’ll be glad you did.

Now, for those of you who are curious about my feeble attempt to create my Website, here’s the link:

www.michele-tune.com

Have a great weekend writing the cyber highway!