What Christmas Means
December 23, 2008
Hello! I am starting to feel human again, and this new-fangled diet has my figure looking good! 
This is just a quick post to let you know I have a guest post up over at Writer Dad’s. You all know the address, I’m sure. Sean asked for a guest posting long before the flu hit, and I wanted to make sure I delivered. It’s not my best writing, but it still has heart.
I plan to post a full-length doozie for you tomorrow. So if you’re not to busy shopping, wrapping, cooking, and visiting, stop by for some warm Christmas cookies and coffee for a few. See you then. 
Out For Lunch. Be Back Soon
November 25, 2008
If you’re expecting a Blue Duck special today, we’re out to lunch. I’ve been invited over to have lunch with Sean Platt, otherwise known as the wildly popular Writer Dad. You can catch my guest post about parenting a couple of crazy kids there.
We’ll be back with coffee and doughnuts tomorrow, as usual.
Brain Picking Sean Platt, He’s Finally Up to Bat
November 13, 2008
Ok, that’s my pathetic attempt at rhyming for Sean’s sake. Sorry, it was painful for me, too.
Picking the Brain of Sean Platt, Writer Dad
Sean Platt (AKA Writer Dad) has taken Blogopolis by storm with his endearing prose and crisp cadences. His gentleness and love for his family and community shine through his writing in a world that often values brashness and looks out solely for number one. (To put it poetically, he’s a breath of fresh air, tinged with the scent of Daisies. Ok, I still suck at this prose stuff.) I was hooked the first time I read his words.
His blog caught fire like dry kindling and soon drew the attention of the “Big Bloggers”. Sean has had a few important guest posts and has several more scheduled at top secret big time websites that you won’t want to miss.
Getting to Know You, Getting to Know All About You
I’ve gotten to know Sean over the last few weeks (as much as email allows), and I can honestly say he’s a genuinely nice guy with huge amounts of natural talent. We are honored that he would agree to this interview. Sean was the first writer I approached, and the first to agree (in like 2.4 seconds).
We started this series because of a deep burning need to find out how top bloggers developed and improved their unique writing styles. Sean answered the same three questions as the other awesome bloggers to keep it consistent, short, and sweet. 
What writing habits do you practice daily?
Writing my posts is the most consistent writing I do, besides private journaling about my life and family. I’d love to pull far enough ahead to where I have a bank to pull from, but now that would be difficult. I pen my posts the night before, then publish first thing in the morning. Daily exercise was the impetus to start.
Right now, writing is stuck somewhere between calling and career. I carry a notebook wherever I go, and have them spread in every room in the house. I also have a small digital recorder that I carry. My children call this (aptly) the “Story Maker.” I’m constantly writing inside my head, and am always eager for the moments I have to drain my thoughts. Sometimes this just means transferring notes to relevant files on the computer. Large blocks of time are a rarity now, but in three months, I’ll be writing full time. I’d love you to ask me again then.
What is your process for improving your writing?
When I write, I don’t hold back. I never labor sentence by sentence. I let the words spill, then I bring a mop to the revision. I probably lose a third, but I write fast and never feel bad about what I lose. They’re words; I can always make more.
What books or blog posts have influenced the mechanics of your writing the most?
That’s difficult. Here’s three. Copyblogger’s always to the point with sensible advice. Zen Habits taught me that one speaker could gather a large following in a relatively short period of time. Men with Pens showed me swagger.
As far as books, all of them. I have no memory of learning to read. It was a gift given early. The first big book I remember reading was the Hobbit, at six. I’ve read thousands since, and they all gather together to render me into a better writer. The poorest among them probably had more to do with me picking up a pen than the good ones. About a year and a half back, I read a few rather mediocre children’s books. I found myself thinking, “I can do that.” I started writing soon after.
“I let the words spill, then I bring a mop to the revision.” Sean, you’ve written some of my favorite words on the Net. Anyone can teach, few can inspire. You inspire others to experience life and reach for their dreams with your prose. Thanks for taking the leap of faith into the world of blogging. It’s not so scary once you get used to the water.
Who Moved my Bed?
October 11, 2008
I’ve been up all night studying for a Psychology final, and most likely have NO business writing anything for the public, but since writing is a compulsion, I settled in front of the computer with 2 sugar cookies and a cup of coffee, all the while thinking, “I’m sure that Havi and her duck are not eating sugar cookies for breakfast.”
In fact, Havi and Slema most likely got up with the sun, told each other how much they are loved, ate a breakfast of green tea and sprouts, then headed out to twist their bodies into pretzels and breathe deeply. I want to be like Havi. Instead, I’m picking sprinkles out of my keyboard and wondering if I can crawl into bed for a hour before the fruit of my loins begin tearing the house down for the day. Welcome to a Saturday in the Simmerman house!
Rambling aside, there are a couple of things I wanted to post that were of significance for Blue Duck this week.
First, my fight with Comment Luv is over, thanks to a most gracious Andy Bailey.
I installed the pluggin, set my preferences, registered my website, logged out and…. nothing. So I would delete the pluggin, re-download, and start the process again. I changed settings, I disabled other pluggins…. still nothing. I wanted Comment Luv in the worst way, but it just was not feeling the relationship~ until Andy came along and beat it into submission for me. It seems the problem was the updated Ajax edit comments pluggin I was running. (It now lies lonely and broken in my recently active pluggins file.) A million thanks to Andy for his awesome Comment Luv pluggin and for helping me troubleshoot my broken blog. You are a true Internet warrior my friend.
Secondly, Sean Platt (Writer Dad) announced that the love of his life will begin blogging on Monday.
Daisy has put up a welcome post and let me tell you, I am instantly in love. The chickie can write and has a brain! (My favorite combination!) Her words flow with a lovely cadence and her descriptions pull you into her mind’s eye. Head on over to Namas Daisy for the sneak preview and leave a “Namasté Daisy” behind.
Thirdly, (I know I said only a couple, but my math abilities are the first to go after 27 hours of no sleep) Naomi Dunford recently suffered a horrific accident involving a bottle of booze, a crying baby, and a wall.
The same day her interview ran here on Blue Duck, she was nursing a shiner. A little Quasimoto-eye did not slow her down much~ she put up a moral of the story post detailing the incident, complete with a snazzy new header for Itty Biz. I’m loving the header, but can’t decide if the bombshell lazing on the Itty Biz title is holding a sticky note, or a tortilla chip. Heck, maybe it’s a parking ticket or a citation for indecent exposure. I took a poll, and we all love it.
Well, I’m off to cook lunch for the power crew camped out on the farm today. They are repairing damage left over from Hurricane Ike. Then I’m hoping to catch a nap, that is, if I can figure out who moved my bed.
