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.

What’s New

I have big plans for the next few weeks. Blue Duck will be getting an overhaul, with a little help from a whole crew. Most changes will be behind the scenes, but some will inevitably leak out onto your screen.

Here are a few highlights of what’s been happening while I’ve been on blogging vacation:

Scott Hendison at Search Commander has been a tremendous help recently and we think he and the Search Commander crew are Blue Ribbon material.

James Chartrand of Men with Pens has suffered through my endless stream of emails and chatter over the lats few days, and has functioned as the logical half of my business brain this week. I would have been medicated with Thorazine and other anti-insanity drugs if it weren’t for James’ levelheadedness and focus this past week. He saved my butt….again.

Harry at Men with Pens has become enlightened to my sheer stupidity when it comes to imaging and graphics, and we seem to have worked out a common language beyond my senseless grunts and growls about logos and headers and such. He’s such a gem.

Sean Platt at Writer Dad has served as a sounding board and an eternal spring of encouragement and humor. His banter and chatter have helped keep me sane.

B J Keltz at Enriched by Words has added another exciting project to my heaping pile, and this one tends to float to the top. I’ll let you know more when it’s up and running, but this one has huge potential and value.

Naomi Dunford and I will be sitting down to pick her brain royally in January, after she gets all settled-in in England. Online Business School sparked a ton of ideas and 5 new projects for Blue Duck Copy, along with an idea on how to expand the Blue Duck’s services.

Dave Wright of Blogger Dad has provided advice and editing for a piece I am working on for the local newspaper. He has invaluable experience as a reporter and is generous beyond words.

My friend and soul-sister, Toni, has nudged me into finally writing that book I have outlined. I have the first 3 pages done, and think I may be able to finish it before school starts again.

A big, huge, bear hug goes out to each of these people, along with my sincere gratitude and prayers for blessing. Thanks.

Getting Personal

And on a personal note, my oldest son recited the entire Christmas story form Luke for the school play and gave the salvation invitation as the kids gathered around to reenact the nativity. He spoke with confidence and expression, and never missed a beat. He also looked very grow-up and handsome in his little shirt and tie. And yes, I cried.

I have been taken aback by the sheer need of people in my community this year. It seems that everyone is getting laid off, or having hours cut. Money is tight, and the local food banks and churches are exhausted. People are scared and hurting. They need prayer. If you are the praying kind, please pray for those hurting this Christmas Season.

If you find yourself in need, the Pen Men have started a wonderful program in their forums called Helpline Exchange, where you can hook up with someone who has what you need. I think it’s a fantabulous idea and shows just how big James, Harry, and Charlie’s hearts are.

That’s my rambling about my time away from the blog. Thanks for hanging in there till the end. We well resume a modified posting schedule this week, and get back to Blog Nirvana on Saturdays.

Merry Christmas to everyone and I hope and pray that God will meet your needs and provide you with joy and peace in the busy days to come.

Warning: this post is a shameless promotion for a collaborative effort of two of my favorite bloggers. Writer Dad and Blogger Dad have teamed up to offer a holiday gift that takes advantage of their combined super-hero-like talents. Standing alone, either of these talented bloggers can write (and sometimes draw) the pants off any ordinary website. Combined, they are a force to be reckoned with. (Are you excited yet, or is this corny drivel putting you to sleep?)

Pen and Ink

Now for the obligatory sales pitch:

The Spectacular Christmas Gift is officially termed Pen and Ink. It’s a custom created art project, perfect for that hard to buy for person on you holiday list. It’s also a heart warming gift for that special someone in your life. Heck, it would even be a great gift for yourself this year.

How It Works

Sean asks a few questions about what type of gift it will be, and pens a unique and beautiful snippet of prose, as only Writer Dad can. He then sends the cadenced creation off to Blogger Dad for a bit of custom artwork to accompany the prose. The result is a stunning one-of-a kind masterpiece.

I’ve already ordered mine. The poem is complete, and truly amazing. Sean worked in my boys’ names and more than a few references to all the things I love about Christmas on the farm. Dave is working on the artwork now and I’m all a-tingle with anticipation to see what he creates.

The Details

You can get your own Pen and Ink creation by contacting Sean or Dave directly, but the easiest way is to fill out the adorable contact form for Pen and Ink here.

The custom creation will cost you $50 for a digital file, and a little more if you want a print copy mailed to your home. For fun, you can also pay Sean an extra $10 and he’ll tell Dave repeatedly that the artwork is the wrong color, or the wrong size, or the wrong theme, and you can laugh with Sean as Dave pounds his head against the monitor and fixes it over and over and over.

For me, this is one of those special gifts that becomes an instant family heirloom.

I know money is tight for most of us this year, and $50 may as well be $500. If you love the idea, but can’t part with the cash right now, send Sean or Dave an email and tell them how much you like the idea anyways. I think it’s a great gift and if they get enough of a positive response, they may offer it again next year. Plus, they put a lot of brain power into this concept and would love to hear your praises for the idea. Everyone needs a little encouragement, even super heroes of the Blogopolis.

We’ll be back with coffee and doughnuts tomorrow, as usual.

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.

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.