It would appear that writing something inspirational is difficult to do when you’ve only had one hour of sleep.  Go figure.

Maybe I’ll return after a nap.

Or maybe not.

I leave you with cuteness and wishes for a good weekend.

Thanks to Angela Wallace, I get to spend a few this morning linking to…myself!

It’s not narcissistic if someone told me to, right?

Angela awarded me with a 7×7.  With the 7×7 award, the awardee selects seven previous blog posts that represent certain categories: Most Beautiful, Most Helpful, Most Popular, Most Controversial, Most Surprisingly Successful, Most Underrated, Most Prideworthy, and then passes it on to seven new recipients.

On a Monday morning when I have far too much to catch up on, this is a welcome excuse to whip up a quick blog post, and introduce some of the newer readers and subscribers to previous posts.

1) Most Beautiful – I would feel really weird telling you that anything I wrote is beautiful, so I’ll refer you to posts with pretty pictures, like this one, where I share my photos from a trip to Arizona, and this one, where you’ll be greeted by an adorable little turtle.

2) Most Helpful – Judging by the feedback I received in the comments, email, and on Twitter, my Google+ post, which contained a list of helpful links while the platform was still in beta, would be up there. But, I think my Hashtaggin’ post beat it out for the top spot.

3) Most Popular – Hands down, the most popular post was a recent one dealing with a writer outed for plagiarism, Beware of the Confidence Man.

4) Most Controversial – I tend to purposely blog in a manner that steers clear of controversy, yet based on some of the comments, I think The Expert may have unintentionally stirred some up. Interestingly enough, one of the incidents that moved me to write it is mentioned in the Most Popular post.

5) Most Surprisingly Successful – That one is easy. The self-interview series:  Getting to Know You…Er…Me and The A&W Chat Show.  I never thought so many people would want to “listen” to me talk to myself.  The third post in the series is coming soon – where I interview myself for a job. Submit your best job interview questions in the comments!

6) Most Underrated – This one is tough.  I always expect to log in and find that five people read my posts, so I think the response here is awesome. But, since I am doing this especially for those who are newer to the blog, check out The Dangers of the Internet, where I reveal the craziness that is the inside of my head.

7) Most Prideworthy – If I had to be proud of any of my posts, it would be the one that started the #GoWithout campaign.  More important than pride in the post, is the happy feeling I get when more bloggers join up.  I’m maintaining a list of them here.  Have you joined up yet?  Let me know and I’ll link you!

This is the point in this process that I should “tag” seven other bloggers, but instead, I encourage every person who comments today to choose any of the seven categories above and leave a link to that post in your comment.

And don’t forget to leave your interview questions and #GoWithout links!

NaNoWriMo begins very soon. For those of you who don’t know, NaNo (yeah, that’s right, I’m using a nickname ‘cause we are tight like that) is a time when writers spend the month of November cranking out 50,000 words in one month.

This number of words can mean writing an entire (or a solid chunk of a) novel in the span of one month. It also means that the writers who participate are committing themselves to sitting down and regularly doing what they should do: write.

There are a lot of great resources bouncing around the interwebs at the moment on how to prepare for NaNoWriMo. Plotting methods, character charts, graphs, diagrams; the list goes on. It’s good stuff, stuff I plan on compiling shortly.

However, I am what is often referred to as a pantser. I’d go as far as saying that I am a pantsless writer. I don’t have a pretty story board with color coordinated sticky notes (although that sounds like a lovely reason to spend some time at the office supply store…ahhh, the smell of fresh notebooks). I don’t always know where my story is going until I am there. For me, that is part of the fun.

Talk of planning makes me twitch. And maybe itch.

So, what is a pantsless writer like myself to do? I mean, if I am meant to crank out such a substantial amount of words in a short period, I should have some plan, right?

What follows is the Pantsless Plan for WriMos:

• Make a Schedule: No, not for writing, sillies. For all the stuff you need to get done. (see Creative Chores) It is easier to let the words flow if you don’t have a stack of dirty dishes threatening to topple behind you.

• Gather Sustenance: Your minutes are precious in November. Consider hitting up Coscto for the rain barrel of pretzels, ten pound bag of coffee, and three pound bag of chocolate covered acai berries. I’m watching out for your health by throwing the berries in there.

• Freeze Meals: Have a family? Large pans of lasagna and pots of stew can be made at the end of October, then frozen in the appropriate serving size.

• Creative Chores: Writing a book about pirates at sea? Envision the storm-like waves you are creating while scrubbing the toilet. Throw a Cheerio in there and picture the ship being tossed about. Make screaming sounds as you flush and the ship goes down in the whirlpool. Swordfight with the broom handle. Sneak around corners with the vacuum as if your life depended on your stealth.

• Change Voice Mail Message: Something like, “If this is an emergency, call over and over. Otherwise, I’ll talk to you in December.” If you use an email client that allows you to put an “Out of Office” message on, give that a go, too.

• Scout Locations: For the sake of your sanity, find spots other than that office chair that already has your butt groove in it where you can write comfortably. Preferably a few places out of the house, but close to home. The backyard, park, bookstore, or coffee shops are all acceptable choices.

• Print Out Cute Stuff: Everyone needs motivation. This will likely not come from real people around you, who think you are nuts, so try finding adorable animals to hang around your writing nook to encourage you instead.

The only editing you should do in November.

• Pre-Apologies: If you live with anyone, start apologizing now for the following: snapping at them when they interrupt you mid-scene, neglecting your chores (see Make a Schedule to avoid this), and the smell of coffee breath and body odor coming from your writing corner. Come to think of it…

• Hygiene: Just saying. Although, ‘tis better your body stinks than your words. Shakespeare said that one, right?

We can’t all be planners. But we can be prepared.

What are your plans for NaNoWriMo? Do they include pants?