Keeping Kids Out of the Middle

My latest Huffington Post Divorce article came out last week.  I feel more strongly about this one than the others because it relates to kids dealing with divorce.  There is nothing more important than making sure your kids are as well-adjusted as they can be during this tough time.

To me, the most difficult and most important thing to do, especially in the beginning stages for separation and divorce is to put aside your own anger in front of your kids.  I am a big believer in leaving your kids out of your issues.  It is vital to their adjustment and keeping them out of the middle.

One thing I did not include in this article was NOT to vent on Facebook or Twitter.  These are private issues, and even if your kids are young or you don't think they have access, they will find out.  And whatever wrong you are venting will pale in comparison to the public venting in their minds.  You should never say or do something you wouldn't want your kids to see.  It's a good gauge for behavior in most situations.

Let me know what you think!

Getting Ready to Write Proposals

My next big step will be to write a proposal to agents to try and see if I can get represented.  Someone gave me a resource to help get me started.  Has anyone attempted this process yet?  I am reading up on it, and researching agents that look like they would be interested in what I have to say.  If only there were more hours in the day!

Writing a Great Online Dating Profile

Unfortunately I spent many years writing my own online dating profile as well as reading countless profiles of potential dates.  Writing one is like writing an ad for yourself.  Who wants to do that?  You have to find a balance between touting your good qualities without bragging and not revealing too much information too quickly.  And if writing isn't your thing (see Mr. Ultimate Run-on), it can be an inordinately difficult task.  Here is my latest post on my online dating blog, You Can't Make This Shit Up.  Have you written an online profile?  Have you read ones that are just hard to take?  Love to hear about it!

Another Blog...What am I thinking?

Have you ever had an idea?  An idea that seemed rather simple until you began to execute it and you realized there is no such thing as simple?  That is how my book idea began.  Write my stories in a blog, convert it to a book and try to get it published.  Difficult to do, but a straightforward plan.  Well, it seems it's not that simple.  The closer I have gotten to finishing my book, the more I realized that with readily accessible social media, online publishing forums, etc., there is a lot involved in getting yourself ready to find that elusive agent.

It seems that "having a platform" before you approach agents is a good idea.  Not required, but a good idea. So, I started twitter accounts.  Some exposure is a good idea.  So, I started submitting guest blog posts related to my book topic.  These things are going well, but they divide time devoted to actual book writing.  So now I have a time and directional management issue.  I have read guidelines about how much of your time should be devoted to writing versus time spent on social media and marketing.  Guidelines are great.  But when you factor in a job, five kids, a household and life in general, I usually feel like I am already in the negative.

So, I add another blog to the mix.  Smart, right?  Here is my thought.  This is a simplification, not a complication.  I think this blog will help give me a streamlined direction by having an "umbrella" blog, so-to-speak, where all of my writing can be found.  I can track posts, update links to things I have had published and share ideas and experiences about this process as I learn.  I can also direct anyone who may want to see my work to this site to find anything I have done.

So there it is.  It's not a crazy as it sounds, right?