In my other life I’m a freelance writer.

It’s not an easy thing to claim to be a writer. Brady, in his blog Hunting the Muse, did a great job of writing about this feeling. The ever inadequate feeling of being someone who writes versus a writer.

When I was still a kid, a young teenaged human versus a young goat (just in case the thought occurred to you), my Uncle told me no one under the age of 40 could be a real writer. Anyone under 40 hasn’t experienced enough life to write about it. This really discouraged me for years. I think it still does even though I will be 45 this December. I understand his feelings yet he really was so very wrong. Life happens from the time you are in the womb until the time you leave the planet. No point in the path should be glossed over as not important or worth writing about.

Anyway, I still find it hard to believe in myself as a writer. I love to write. I love the words. I love hearing the sound of myself writing. At times I even talk out loud when I read my words back to myself. I like the audience of one however. I can laugh at my own words, find the humour in them cause I know it will be there right where I left it. Someone else might laugh at the wrong parts.

Writing was easier when I was doing more of it. That much I have learned from my experience. If you learn anything today, learn that from me. When you are in the world of writing (even if it’s not for greater publications) you are involved, you are active and your brain is in gear. You feel the words in your mind and they flow much faster and simpler. There is more confidence in your ability when you are using it.

Anyway, if I could arrange my life the way I would like it (like playing a simulation game on the computer) I would be writing a weekly column for newspapers, syndicated all over the places. I like writing short pieces. I can find a beginning, a middle and an end for them. Longer work has too much middle. I get lost in there and don’t know if I really can write my way to the end of it all. I’m going to try though. I’ve come up with a plan and they say that is how it starts.

Do you feel you are a writer? Do you feel sure about yourself if you tell someone else you are a writer? If not, what would it take for you to feel you are a writer? What kind of success do you need? How can you get there? Maybe you can try something today, take some steps to walk into that bigger picture.

Win some M&M's from A Quad Mom Named Suz Tell her about your day of indulgence. What would you do if you could do anything and everything in the world, your one day of self indulgence?

This is my day of indulgence:

My day would start with a handsome and charming chauffeur coming to my door very early in the morning. I'd direct him to several places where there are abandoned farmhouses in the area. I'd take all the photos I could, until I was too cold to do any more and the light was fading. In between there would be stops for coffee and a nice lunch somewhere in some little town. I'd have a book to read over lunch, or chat up the chauffeur if he could carry a conversation. At the end of the day, when it was too dark for photos I'd go to the big bookstore for a latte and a book shopping. Then the chauffeur drives me to a nice motel so I can have a hot shower with delicious smelling body soap and shampoo. I spend the night reading snuggled up in bed. The beach is there in the morning, so even though my day is over I can zip out for an early morning of beach combing and sandcastle building before I have to get back to the real world and regular scheduled life.

I would have added more to that if I had thought about it first. Like shopping at the Body Shop for the most luxurious scented shampoo and soap for my shower at the motel. I really like showering at night, when the house is quiet and no one else is awake. It's so quiet and I feel at peace for at least awhile.

You can also try for the M&Ms at Michelle Woo's blog.

What makes you melt?

I wrote:

My nephew’s real laugh. He’s 13 now, the start of so many changes and so much growing up. Though I haven’t had children of my own he is like my own son. I’ve helped raise him through my sister’s divorce and my own. He is a lovely boy turning into a young man and his laughs don’t come so easily as they did when he was a little boy. They are a treasure now and I melt when I think of all that has been and all that is yet ahead of him. I’m so glad to be someone he counts on and so glad to still be someone who can make him laugh and feel better when things are not always so easy in his life.

Say something relevant to the post itself. Come up with a comment more interesting than “I agree” or “Me too”. It’s not that tough to stretch out a thought beyond two words. Why do you agree with the post? What was your own experience? Most blog comments are on the short side. Find a bit more to say and make yours longer to stand out. A longer comment also gives the feeling you are interested in the post and the blogger and able to string together ideas yourself. Others are more likely to click on the link to your blog if you seem to be someone who can write and write well.

A blog post looking for advice or answers is a great time to get noticed. If you know of a resource, have an opinion, or experience that would help leave that in comments. Give a link to the resource if it is online, even if it is your own site. However, if it is your own site make that clear. That way the blog owner and readers will know you aren’t just spamming your URL, it’s posted for a valid reason.

On the other side of giving information, ask a question yourself. What would you like to know more about? What detail or information might have been left out of the post? Think of a real question, not fluff just to leave a comment.

Be supportive and uplifting and sincere. Everyone is glad to have a comment that spreads good cheer and brightens their day. You can’t smile at others through your comment but you can send a smile in text. If you can’t be uplifting don’t be a wet blanket and do not be obnoxious. That should not even need to be said.

Write with personality, passion and humour. Don’t leave a bland comment that could have been written by half a million other bloggers. Come up with something uniquely you. Maybe a different turn of phrase. How about a funny anecdote. Maybe part of a quote relevant to the post if you really just don’t have a personality of your own. (But I know you do!)

Don’t post a comment at all if you really have nothing to say or if you are posting just to create controversy. A flame war may get you traffic and it will get you noticed but is that really how you want to be known? Besides, that kind of attention is short lived. No one really wants to watch a flame war except the two people in the middle who can’t seem to let go.

Last of all, proofread your comments before you click to post them. Spelling errors are one thing but typos just look clutzy. You can try to avoid them or just not bother and give the impression that you don’t care. Also, don’t leave a comment that is a solid block of text. It is easier to read a long comment if it is broken up into individual thoughts/ ideas.

Happy commenting. Let me know if you have other great commenting ideas.

Meanwhile consider using CoComment. Your comments from other blogs are posted to your own blog in a widget. Nice way to show that you actually do make comments and give links to the blogs you read. Although it is too late for the 31 Day Comment Challenge which utilizes CoComment too.

You can join up IComLeavWe for July, join before the 21st.

IComLeavWe - International Comment Leaving Week Blogging is a conversation and comments are honoured and encouraged. I like to say that comments are the new hug–a way of saying hello, giving comfort, leaving congratulations.

I used to have a recipe for buttermilk pancakes that were made the night before. It was from my Aunt Emma in Kelowna, BC. But I don't know where it ended up, too much moving around. So tonight I am looking for something like it I can make and add blueberries too.

Overnight Refrigerator Pancakes

• 1 T. active dry yeast
• 1/4 c. warm water
• 4 c. all purpose flour (we prefer Prairie Gold) (it's whole grain)
• 2T. baking powder
• 2T. baking soda
• 1t. salt
• 1T. honey
• 4c. buttermilk
• 6 large eggs
• 1/4 c. veg. oil

Directions

1. Combine yeast and water in small bowl
2. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
3. Mix eggs, oil, buttermilk, and honey in seperate bowl.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry, add yeast mixture, stir till moistened.
5. Let batter set in fridge for at least 8 hours before using.
6. Batter will keep in fridge for up to one week.
7. Preheat griddle to 350.
8. Cook pancakes till they bubble on one side then flip.
9. I like to add chopped nuts to the batter and serve with chopped fresh fruit and pure maple syrup.

This one (below) sounds more like my old recipe. But everything was put together the night before.

OVERNIGHT PANCAKES

NIGHT BEFORE:

• 2 c. flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 2 c. buttermilk

NEXT MORNING:

1 tsp. baking soda 2 tsp. hot water

Mix all ingredients in first list and let stand at room temperature overnight. Next morning, add remaining ingredients and cook on greased griddle.

One thing I do know about drawing a comic is that it can't be too detailed if you hope to get them out there on a regular basis. Maybe it's different for those who aren't hand drawing each one.