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Blog Exercises: Where You Came From

December 6, 2013 – 4:54 am

Inspired by these blog exercises, Janet Williams of Janet’s Notebook has been taking her readers on a journey back through time and space, exploring her family’s Chinese heritage from her little corner of the south of England. Her “Letters from China” have evolved from a few posts to an entire series, and eventually, I hope, […]

By Lorelle VanFossen | Posted in Blog Exercises, Blogging, blogging tips, Writing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (2)

Blog Exercises: Blog Your Favorite Song

September 11, 2013 – 4:01 am

It all began the day I found That from my window I could only see A piece of sky. I stepped outside and looked around. I never dreamed it was so wide Or even half as high. The time had come to try my wings And even though it seemed at any moment I could […]

By Lorelle VanFossen | Posted in Blog Exercises, Blogging, blogging tips, Writing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (9)

Blog Exercises: What I Did This Summer

September 10, 2013 – 4:36 am

It’s September and many schools have started classes all over the world. Two weeks ago, I moved boxes from long-term storage out into my studio to start sorting through them, then deadlines and distracts won my attention, and there they sit, staring at me. Guilting me. With five minutes to wait for a program to […]

By Lorelle VanFossen | Posted in Blog Exercises, Blogging, blogging tips, Writing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

Blog Exercises: Debate Ethics

September 6, 2013 – 4:02 am

A premie baby is causing debates and controversy about medical research projects. A debate on plant ethics questions over the humane treatment of plants opposes yet is related to the debate on ethical treatment of animals as food sources. Advanced research on stem cells and human cloning is debatable on all sides, especially when news […]

By Lorelle VanFossen | Posted in Blog Exercises, Blogging, blogging tips, Writing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (14)

Blog Exercises: Before the Blog

August 23, 2013 – 4:48 am

While researching memes for one of these blog exercises, I discovered a fascinating meme called Before the Blog. Started by YA Litwit, and not updated by the author since 2011, it is a meme designed for writers inviting them to review and recommend books from their past, “books you’ve read and loved BEFORE you started […]

By Lorelle VanFossen | Posted in Blog Exercises, Blogging, blogging tips, Writing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (20)

Blog Exercises: What Story Would You Want to Hear Told?

August 1, 2013 – 4:13 am

I’m in a local writer’s group that meets once a week to test our mettle in creative writing. I have to share with you a prompt from last week that haunts me still. A prompt is a topic used to inspire creative writing. Anything can be a prompt, but a well-formed prompt in the right […]

By Lorelle VanFossen | Posted in Blog Exercises, Blogging, blogging tips, Writing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (7)

Blog Exercises: What Story Should I Share?

July 3, 2013 – 4:19 am

One of the challenges of family history blogging and many other narrative forms of blogging is to decide what story to tell and how to tell it on your blog. The same applies to the life story or tale you wish to share on your site. Let me take the example of one of my […]

By Lorelle VanFossen | Posted in Blog Exercises, Blogging, blogging tips, Writing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (21)

Blog Exercises: Memorial Moments

May 27, 2013 – 4:02 am

Today, the United States celebrates Memorial Day (not the movie). The day is dedicated to remembering those who died while serving in the United States military services. Originally known as “Decoration Day,” the holiday started after the American Civil War (1861-1865). While the dates are debated, the first Memorial Day observance as a holiday was […]

By Lorelle VanFossen | Posted in Blog Exercises, blogging tips, Writing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (5)

Blog Exercise: Inspired by Photography

May 22, 2013 – 4:01 am

We are all inspired by photography, a picture that motivates and inspires, that moves us, sometimes to the point of changing our perspective on a subject or on our life. With all of the power found in photography, over the next few weeks I will be offering Blog Exercises with the emphasis on getting you […]

By Lorelle VanFossen | Posted in Blog Exercises, Blogging, blogging tips | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (4)

Blog Exercises: Who Changed Your Life?

May 8, 2013 – 4:25 am

This is one of the special Blog Exercises this year, a chance to really celebrate who you are and those who helped make you. As we travel through life, people change our lives on a daily basis as well as for a lifetime. Today’s exercise is focused on those who stepped in your path and […]

By Lorelle VanFossen | Posted in Blog Exercises, Writing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (4)

Happy Anniversary WordPress: The Beginnings

January 23, 2013 – 8:55 pm

On August 16, 2005, Lorelle on WordPress became blog ID number 72 on the brand new WordPress.com. The first post was appropriately titled “Lorelle on WordPress” to introduce the site. Looking back, it’s amazing how true to form that I’ve kept the mission of this site all these years later as proposed in the first […]

By Lorelle VanFossen | Posted in Blog Babble, Blogging, WordPress, WordPress Events, WordPress News, WordPressDotCom | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (22)

Tips for Blogging September 11 Ten Years Later

September 9, 2011 – 10:45 pm

Over the past few weeks I’ve listened, read, watched, and pondered a quilt of stories around the World Trade Center attacks of September 11, 2001, as the world celebrates/honors/remembers the event 10 years later. There are first hand stories of those who were in the buildings, rescuing people or escaping; stories by watchers, waiters, victims, […]

By Lorelle VanFossen | Posted in Blogging, blogging tips, Writing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (12)

Stories of Our Journeys: The First Step Begins With You

December 23, 2010 – 3:10 pm

One of the projects I am most proud of being a part of is the brand new Stories of Our Journeys produced by Bitwire Media as part of the Making My Life Network. Working with the incredible Kym Huynh, Stories of Our Journeys is a dream come true. Two years ago, Kym and I talked […]

By Lorelle VanFossen | Posted in Blogging News | Tags: , , , , , , , | Comments (1)