10 Favorite Blog Posts for September 2016

​©T.B. Cooper

Welcome back, to another 'edition' of my 10 Favorite Blog Posts from the previous Month.

This is quickly becoming one of my favorite-est posts, to do. There are so many excellent Bloggers I follow, who devote an incredible amount of time and effort, putting a plethora of priceless bits of knowledge out there, for us to learn from. Putting together these lists, not only speaks to the "List- Lover" in me, but it makes me feel connected to something bigger. I have always been one for being supportive, and shining a light on these folks is just one tiny way that I try to show my love.

If you've been keeping up, then you know that I've got a Blog Spotlight coming up soon, that I will do (my 3rd one, so far!), that is unsolicited, but is a token of my sincere appreciation.... This month's, will be on Writer's Write, a South African-based Blog, devoted to quality writing tips, a week-by-week series of articles to help you write a novel in a year, as well as tips on blogging and so much more!

Check out my 10 Favorites from September, below... and if you want to see their article, just click on their picture!

From An Oregon Cottage, September 13, 2016 "22+ Ways to Preserve Basil (and pesto isn't one of them)" written by Jami... What? Stop! Get outta here! I love basil. Smelling fresh cut or newly wetted basil, makes me all kinds of nostalgic for my childhood, nevermind the taste! Oh – but the taste… 22+ ways? Really? Yes! Really! My favorite? The – why didn't I think of it myself? – Basil butter… Mmmm!

From Helping Writers Become Authors, September 12, 2016 "The Only 5 Ingredients You Need for Story Subtext" written by K.M. Weiland… Yes, another K.M. Weiland post, what can I say? I picked this one because at first, maybe because I was tired at the time, I was like – WTH is subtext? Then I was like – oh yeah – whoops! Nevermind. Then I read the rest of the article… She mentioned an earlier article which I remember sharing on Pinterest over a year ago, that I loved, called "On the Nose Dialogue," And then provided her promised five steps – so helpful!

From Now Novel, September 1, 2016 "Manuscript Editing: Cutting a Novel That's Too Long" written by Guest Author: Janice Hardy from Fiction University... Ooo – I Really Liked This Post. If you have never noticed, I sometimes say a lot, and I babble. And sometimes – it creeps into my writing! Thank you, Janice and Bridget from Now Novel, I liked best that it was mathematically broken down into a sensible formula – perfect!

From She's Novel, September 19, 2016 "should You Include an Epigraph in Your Novel?" written by Kristen Kieffer... Okay – here's something new… I never even knew they were called epigraphs, but I for one, always loved them. Here, Kristen basically tells me why I did, and why they "might" work for some novels.

From Tablespoon, September 6, 2016 "Black Forest Cherry Waffle Cake" written by Girl Versus Dough... I'm a German chocolate kind of gal, but my brother is a total black forest junkie, the way folks are crazy about red velvet. Since he stays a weekend every month at my house, I thought this would be nice to try! We'll see!

From Helping Writers Become Authors, September 19, 2016 "The Secret to Writing Dynamic Characters: It's Always Their Fault" written by K.M. Weiland… To be mean or not to be mean (to your characters)? Is the question, that is not a simple yes or no answer. But don't worry – Ms. Weiland answers it in clear and perfect explanations.

From Better Novel Project, September 15, 2016 "INFOGRAPHIC: The Similarities of Star Wars: A New Hope and The Force Awakens" written by Christine Frazier... Aah! Being a Star Wars fan myself, I have been WAITING for this… I always knew Christine would hear me (and probably 1 million others) as we used our Jedi Mind Tricks to convince her to make this awesome comparison between episodes IV and VII… Very clever, she is!

From Woman's Day, September 13, 2016 "Miscarriage Is the Last Thing People Want to Talk About – I Want to Change That" written by Jamie Otis, as told to Maria Carter… Again, this is not something I'm going through. This was a relatable, heartbreaking article, that I feel compelled to share as well... In the hopes that the more awareness there is, the more people will be able to talk about it… And at the very minimum – be supportive for those going through it.

From Woman's Day, September 16, 2016 "I Suffer from Sexual Anorexia – It's Been Years since I've Even Tried to Be Intimate with Someone" written by Liz Jackson… So – I do NOT suffer from this affliction – at all – ever. But, my heart breaks and empathizes with women who do. I'm all about empowering other women, and being supportive. So when I saw this article… with Liz, baring her soul – I had to share this… Because it might just help someone out there.

From Reformation Acres, September 7, 2016 "Seven Reasons to Butcher Your Own Meat (plus Butchering Workshop)" written by Quinn... So, I am a farmer. For the same reasons as Quinn and many others are. I want to "live off the land." When we started out, we had the same dreams as most homesteaders do. Of course, life sometimes has other plans that you just have to roll with. Since moving on to our farm, we have butchered our own hogs, and every Thanksgiving we are fortunate enough to have 1 to 2 turkeys to bless our tables. My husband and I have always done it ourselves. But, we also have 6+ lambs that were supposed to go in the freezer a long time ago, but we never got a chance to do. And since I'm not going to send them out to be slaughtered by a stranger, I'm content to just watch them grow fat and happy and passed any age I've ever consider eating them at. And I thought I should add that one of my daughters is a vegan, but she supports "our" way of growing/nurturing/and butchering of our animals, because we do it humanely, and we do it with thankful hearts. The animals do not suffer.

I'd love to know what you think of the ones I chose to share... Some of them I did, simply because they needed to be shared....

Gotta go for now!

Talk to you soon!