Articles for Week 2!

This week has gone a lot smoother than last week did. I caught up with everything I had to do this past week except for my housework. Here it is Monday, and I have several projects to finish today. Today was the last day of my critical thinking class. I think I did okay. I hope I did okay, lol.

In case you missed last week's articles online.

     I started off the week with:

The Plight of Being Lukewarm

On Monday, I continued my series on the Past Presidential Elections. I continued with:

John Adams' Presidential Election

Tuesday, we discovered what it would be like if  we lived in 1800 and someone came to visit:

When Visitors came to call in 1800

On Wednesday, we came back to the present and learned how to make pear butter:

Making Pear Butter

Thursday's article showed us some of the advantages of an Online college education

The Advantages of an online Education

The article on Friday brought us to thinking about our health and water's role and potential role in our health:

 Keeping Hydrated for Health

And finally on Saturday we looked at reasons for starting a home business:

Why start a Home Business?

You would think that having spent so much time writing articles that I would have had no time to work on my novel, but that is not the case at all. I made a lot of progress on rewriting Soldiers Don't Cry. I am almost done with the second draft, then it's back to the drawing board to look for how to make Soldiers Don't Cry the best novel I have written yet.

If you like the articles written here, and you would like to get my articles directly into your email inbox FOR FREE, how about signing up for Cygnet's Newsletter by clicking here. It's easy and it won't cost you a thing.

The First of my 366 Articles have been Written!

This past week has certainly been a busy one for me. I said on Facebook that I was going to start of the New Year running, and in many respects, I did. My husband however made a joke, and said that I'd better not run, otherwise I'd hurt myself. I told him that I wasn't going to run, but that a good walk would probably do me some good. This week I discovered that not only was walking good for me physically but was also good for my writing. I walked four days last week. I already walked today as well. Enjoy my article:

Writing for Creativity

Have you broken your New Year's Resolutions already? Have no fear, you can start all over again. You can start over everyday if you want. In fact, you should. Read:

Happy New Day!

This year is an election year. Learn how things were during George Washington's Election

George Washington's Election

This is the coldest time of the Year. Here's a recipe from my pantry:

From the Pantry: Broccoli Potato Soup

It's cold outside, and the kids are bored. Get some work done, and enjoy a movie with your kids. Just don't forget to what the special features. They can teach you something about your writing.

Use Movies on DVD to Show You How to Improve Your Novel

In my writing I do research, and sometimes I discover something interesting that I can't include in my novels, so I write an article. Here's a history lesson for you:

Whatever Happened to the Erie Indians

Not everything has gone smoothly all week, though. Last Saturday, the last day of the year, my freezer broke. Fortunately for me, it gave me something else to write about.

What I did When My Freezer Failed

If you liked any of my articles, and don't want to miss any articles of my "366 Articles in a Year", sign up for my Newsletter: "Cygnet's Newsletter". The first issue comes out January 10, 2012. Not only will every article be available, but also I offer updates concerning my upcoming new novel in The Locket Saga: Soldiers Don't Cry. Available: June 30, 2012.

Sneak Peek of Soldiers Don't Cry

My newsletter is coming out in one week! In it I am compiling the 7 articles that I will have published the past week in various article venues around the internet. You can sign up for it today and have access to every one of them without having to look them up yourself. I have been spending a lot of my time lately working on my novel: Soldiers Don’t Cry. I’ve been working on the edits, trying to get the book up to the length that I want it to be, as well as get some of the major aspects of each of the scenes how I want them to be. One of the things I am working on is what some call “my elevator speech”. You know, it’s what you tell someone when they ask you what you do and you tell them you’re a novelist. You know what they always ask next is “what’s your book about?” That’s where the elevator speech comes in. I have been following Author Kristen Lamb’s Blog http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/. One of the things that she says is imperative is that a writer writes what the novel is about in one sentence. The sentence must provide an active goal for the main characters. As the birth pangs of the American revolution intensify, patriot smuggler and spy Elizabeth Thorton is caught between her loyalty to her countrymen and the love of her life— Philip Randolph, a British Army officer who equally dedicated to his work of bringing the American colonists back under subjection to the king. Does this sound like a plot that moves you to want to know more? I’ve also been working on the blurb for the back of the book. Here’s what I’ve got so far. When parliament closes Boston’s port in the summer of 1774, Yankee smuggler and spy, Elizabeth Thorton is caught between her loyalty to her countrymen and the love of her life—Philip Randolph, a boy she knew when she was a child, returns to Elizabeth’s life as a British Officer in the King’s Own. Philip Randolph, who was, as a boy, so traumatized by an ambush by Seneca warriors where he was left a sole survivor that he is left without any memory of anything that happened before or during the event, now returns as a British Officer in the King’s Own—the enemy of the liberty-seeking Colonists. Can Elizabeth keep from getting caught as a Yankee traitor? How does the loss of Philip’s memory of that traumatic experience affect who he is in 1775 Boston? Is there any hope for their love for one another, or will the threat of war forever keep them apart? I would love to hear your feedback! Don’t be afraid to be critical, either. I would love your honest opinion. Remember to sign up for my newsletter. The premiere edition is coming out next week.