50K Word Written in One Month?

I might be crazy and truthfully, I haven't made that ultimate committment plunge yet, but I am thinking this is a great way to bust some creative blocks. Have you heard of NaNoWriMo? It stands for National Novel Writing Month and folks call it Nano. Are you willing to take the plunge?

Amplify’d from www.creativity-portal.com

In Praise of NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month

NaNoWriMo is thirty days of all-out writing madness, and only the strong survive. What I love most about November is it gives regular people the chance to write a book — folks who don’t necessarily think of themselves as writers.

an insane task — write 50,000 words in thirty days.

That’s the true beauty of Nano, in my opinion — there’s no time to get in your own way. No time for writer’s block — no time for the Inner Editor to trip you up. You just go.

Don’t expect a whole novel to appear, fully fleshed out with all its parts intact, in thirty days. If you’re lucky, you’ll have the bare bones of a story, a few intriguing characters, and a strong start.

What’s the number one reason novels don’t get published? They don’t get started. What’s the number two reason? They don’t get finished

Think you’ve got what it takes to Nano? Check out their website at www.nanowrimo.org for all the juicy details. You’ll find plot bunnies, fascinating threads and forums, tips on surviving NaNoWriMo with your sanity intact, Nano-bling, a calendar of events for your region, and more. • Read more at www.creativity-portal.com

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Parenting Paranoia on Halloween

The author quoted below makes a case that Halloween is the safest day of the year. She backs it up with research tested logic. Never the less, I remain paranoid. How about you? Do you send your children out unattended on Halloween? Do you check your child's candy before they eat it. I confess I did and I still would. Share your thoughts on this by clicking the comment link below or posting us a comment on our ParentingToolbox Facebook Group page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=153708258000364

Amplify’d from www.wallstreetjournal.com

Halloween is the day when America market-tests parental paranoia. If a new fear flies on Halloween, it's probably going to catch on the rest of the year, too.

Take "stranger danger," the classic Halloween horror. Even when I was a kid, back in the "Bewitched" and "Brady Bunch" costume era, parents were already worried about neighbors poisoning candy. Sure, the folks down the street might smile and wave the rest of the year, but apparently they were just biding their time before stuffing us silly with strychnine-laced Smarties.

That was a wacky idea, but we bought it. We still buy it, even though Joel Best, a sociologist at the University of Delaware, has researched the topic and spends every October telling the press that there has never been a single case of any child being killed by a stranger's Halloween candy. (Oh, yes, he concedes, there was once a Texas boy poisoned by a Pixie Stix. But his dad did it for the insurance money. He was executed.)

Then along came new fears. Parents are warned annually not to let their children wear costumes that are too tight—those could seriously restrict breathing! But not too loose either—kids could trip! Fall! Die!

And now comes the latest Halloween terror: Across the country, cities and states are passing waves of laws preventing registered sex offenders from leaving their homes—or sometimes even turning on their lights—on Halloween.

We can kill off Halloween, or we can accept that it isn't dangerous and give it back to the kids. Then maybe we can start giving them back the rest of their childhoods, too. Read more at www.wallstreetjournal.com

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  Search Amazon.com for halloween decor

15 guidelines for trend watching...

clipped from trendwatching.com

Let's face it, the only thing that separates you—passionate CEO, marketer, entrepreneur—from being in the know, is the time that must be devoted to tracking and applying trend content.
And yet, when we ask professionals if and how they spot and apply trends, we're told they're still having a hard time getting a handle on the basics.
So here are 15 trend watching tips, some practical, some more contextual, for you to run with today:

1. Know why you're tracking trends

1. Don’t get your trends mixed up

1. Know a fad when you see (or smell) one

1. Be (very) curious

1. Don’t apply all trends to all people

1. Have a Point of View

1. Benefit from an unprecedented abundance of resources

1. Name your trends

1. Build your Trend Framework

1. Start a Trend Group (even if it’s just you)

1. Secure senior backing or be doomed

1. Don't worry about timing or life cycles or regional suitability or...

1. Apply, apply, apply

1. Have some fun

1. Let others do some of the work for you in 2011

  

3 Big Lies About Networking...

 OK, I don't know if these are really the three biggest lies or not but they are frequent excuses heard from myself and other people. What makes them not true or are they true? You tell me...click on the comment link or twitter me a reply @thirstyfishinfo

Amplify’d from www.entrepreneur.com

Think about the most successful people you know. What's one thing they have in common?

They have mastered the art and science of networking, and business flows to them almost as a matter of course.

Before you can commit yourself to the task of building a healthy network, you probably need to overcome at least one of these three major networking misconceptions.

1. "I can’t network if I'm not an outgoing person."

2. "Person-to-person referral business is old-fashioned."

3. "Networking is not a hard science. Its return on investment can’t be measured."Read more at www.entrepreneur.com

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Have you mentally challenged yourself?

We know that a child needs some mental stimulation to help them grow intellectually and emotionally. What about adults? Is it enough to just survive our days? Tell us what you do to challenge yourself on a consistent basis?

Amplify’d from www.nicabm.com

Which room would you prefer…

Or this:

Did you cringe at the thought of putting a child in the sterile room at the top? There’s nothing to interest or excite them in such a sterile environment.

Researchers Elizabeth Gould and Charlie Gross from the Department of Psychology at Princeton looked at the difference that habitats can make in brain structure.

have you mentally challenged yourself recently?

It’s so easy to keep to the same pattern of work, applying the same formula and seeing new but similar results. How about pushing that mental comfort zone, even a little?

what about social interaction?Read more at www.nicabm.com

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Social media "chicken and the egg". Which comes first?

I liked this post as it reminds us all that social media is fun and it is work. I get a lot of complaints that folks don't have the time or interest to get a twitter account. Well, you don't have to...unless you don't want an audience. Then there is that thing about saying something that someone actually wants to hear. That is where the real work (or the egg) comes in. Thirsty fish thoughts? Let's hear them.

Amplify’d from www.convinceandconvert.com

There are many ways social media differs from traditional marketing. It’s approachable and human. It’s a two-way dialog, rather than unilateral declarations. It treats the customer as a teammate, rather than a target.

But there’s another big difference. In social media, the audience comes after the message, not before.

Thus, there are really no shortcuts in social media

Nobody ever promised social media was easy, just that it was fun, and effective.Read more at www.convinceandconvert.com

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How much influence do you have?

Maybe a better question would be how do you get it but as you will read below, that is not an easy answer. Of course, measuring it isn't easy either. What we do know is that influence is essential for any type of leadership or business success. What about relationships, like the intimate kind?

Amplify’d from www.brasstackthinking.com

Influence is simple… which makes it complicated.

When we talk about influence, and particularly when we talk about measuring it, we have to define our terms…and know the limits.

Influence is contextual.

Someone writes a post. Someone else retweets it. Another person sees the retweet, reads the post, and writes a comment. Still another person finds the post on his own and then follows the commenter’s advice, to the benefit of hundreds of others.

Influence is the product of reach and authority.

To influence the actions of others, you have to have access to them—and they have to perceive you to have some level of authority, either over them or in an area of expertise they value

(Most) Influence is invisible. Read more at www.brasstackthinking.com

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