#atozchallenge #roadtrip -- Stormy needs to stop for supplies!

 Hi!

It's ME!

Stormy the Weather Gnome!

We're changing things up a bit so you don't get bored.

Don't worry, we're still on the road to nowhere, still can't drive 55, AND still running against the wind.

***

Just a quick side-trip note while Stormy picks up some much needed personal gnome travel items.


One of the co-hosts of the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge, Alex J. Cavanaugh, has some special news to share today.

As you may know, he founded the Insecure Writer's Support Group, which started out with just a few bloggers and now tips the scales at 268 members, has it's own website, Facebook page, Facebook critique circle and now...

...has its own published book!

From Alex:

Which is available NOW!!!

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group Guide to Publishing and Beyond

Tapping into the expertise of over a hundred talented authors from around the globe, The IWSG Guide to Publishing and Beyond contains something for every writer. Whether you are starting out and need tips on the craft of writing, looking for encouragement as an already established author, taking the plunge into self-publishing, or seeking innovative ways to market and promote your work, this guide is a useful tool. Compiled into three key areas of writing, publishing, and marketing, this valuable resource offers inspirational articles, helpful anecdotes, and excellent advice on dos and don'ts that we all wish we knew when we first started out on this writing journey.

ISBN 9781939844088
235 pages, FREE
IWSG sites – website, Facebook, and Facebook Critique Circle
Find the book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Smashwords, Goodreads.

Thanks to everyone who contributed and to my IWSG Admins who worked so hard to put it together. This was a huge project, but we wanted to celebrate three years of the IWSG right and highlight its blog and Facebook members in the process. We hope you’ll find some great information within the pages and spread the word about this awesome book.

You guys rock!

You need to go check this out!

***

Hey, FYI, it's December.

Sign-ups for the 2015 Challenge start in January.

It's time to start thinking about your April theme!

Thankful Today

Black Friday is finding me at home just as it has for the past decade. No crowd fighting, traffic jams or parking lot cursing for me. This day is more restful for me than the actual day of Thanksgiving. With six children in our family, we have a good-sized gathering at our house. I make everything. I get help with cleanup  but mostly the day is massive work for me. But today, I'm not fixing any meals. Good turkey sandwiches for breakfast, lunch and dinner while mom rests.

I'm sure I'll be working on some writing projects but I wanted to take a moment to share what I'm thankful beyond just my wonderful family and comfortable home.

*I'm part of wonderful writing groups both online and local. I can find the answer to almost any question I have about this business and I learn from them.

*Beyond questions, these groups offer endless moral support.

*With the world in shambles in many ways, I'm glad I can search out facts from a variety of sources online and form my won opinions. I always suspect bias when I read or watch traditional media like newspapers and TV.

*Along the same lines, I'm thankful that where I live the government never tries to shut down or block twitter or other social media expressions.

*And I'm thrilled with the invention of online shopping. I'll probably get more Christmas shopping down from my office than most of those people standing in long lines at stores. And now that my children are grown, I don't have to search out any 'toy of the season' like I did when my boys were into The Power Rangers all those years ago.

*I'm absurdly grateful when readers take the time to review my books.

Hopefully, you have today as a holiday after yesterday's indulgence. Or if you're not from the USA, I hope you know that we're thankful to have friends across the globe.

Anything besides family, home and hearth, you're thankful for today? Do any digital shopping today or did you venture out into the malls of bedlam? Any special online support you're grateful to have?

Susan Gourley writes epic fantasy and also romance as Susan Kelley. She's the author of the bestselling Recon Marines Series and The Warriors of Gaviron Series. Her blog is Susan Says.

When You Don’t Know What to Blog About…

The internet can seem like a scary place for bloggers who are experiencing a bit of writer’s block. After all, you have followers who visit regularly to read the latest pondering on your topic of choice. Who knows what’s going to happen if they arrive and there’s nothing new on the horizon? Do you even really want to find that out? Here are a few ways to get through those periods when your creativity engine has halted and you don’t know what to blog about.

Post a picture because images are nice to look at. It’s an easy way to deliver one thousand words to your blog readers without having to write a single sentence.

Tell a story because people relate to each other through shared experiences and intrigue. You’ll probably get return visitors if it’s funny, empathy from readers if it’s sad or hate mail if it’s controversial enough to make someone uncomfortable.

Ask a question because you’ve been dying to know something. Maybe you want to know if it’s just you who does that unspeakable thing sometimes in the middle of the night. Maybe you’re curious to find out where other people stand on a particular subject. Maybe you want options to troubleshoot a problem you’re having. Or maybe…just maybe…you want to outsource the need for having to come up with blogging ideas on your own. Whatever the reason for asking is…just ask.

Link to someone else’s blog because he or she has already done the work and beat you to it. Ugh. Don’t those prolific bastards just make you sick?! Yeah. They’re blogging it up while you’re staring at the keyboard and a blank page on the computer screen. Don’t hate them. Congratulate these bloggers instead by telling your readers to go check out the good blog post they recently put up. It will make you look good to your blog visitors because you’re helping them find other cool blogs to read and it will also save you from having to put up your own post…at least for now.

Respond to a current event because everybody has an opinion about the latest stories being reported on by the media. Whether it’s Dunkin Donuts’ new Cronut, “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay,” Ebola, Immigration, Olivia Pope’s outfits on the last episode of ABC’s “Scandal,” Martha Stewart’s recipe for pumpkin soup, there’s something in the news that you surely can comment on in 400-500 words or more. Do that.

Review a product, service or event because that new thingamajig you recently bought or ate or participated in has exceeded your expectations. That is, unless it fell short of what you thought you were getting into, for one reason or another. Either way, blog about whether you are happy with your purchase or experience. The information could possibly be very helpful to another person who is considering buying/reading/eating/using/doing the very thing you already bought/read/ate/used/did.

What do YOU do when you don’t know what to blog about?

A-to-Z Challenge Co-Host Nicole Ayers blogs at The Madlab Post and she is an official ambassador of the 2014 Couch Fest Films Festival. Connect with her @MadlabPost on Twitter.