Write What You Know or What You Want to Know More About

 I'm not much of a blogger any more.

I am mainly writing, posting on Facebook and posting on YouTube.

Stop by YouTube and see me. My goal is to get 1000 subscribers by the end of the year. Well, I've only got about 700 to go, so wish me luck.

My biggest passion is writing. It takes up a lot of my time, but I don't feel like it is wasted time. If I quit, my house would be a  lot neater. But for the moment I'd rather be writing than dusting.

Click here to check out my author page on Amazon and see what I've written. 

 My latest venture in writing is putting together a book about Betsy Ross. I'm really excited about it. You see, since around 2002 I've been dressing up as Betsy Ross and walking (or riding) in our hometown 4th of July Parade. It's a big thing where I live. We boast having the largest small town 4th of July Celebration in the country.

 

They say write what you know, so I figured it was time I found out a lot more about Betsy. And writing this book has brought this about. 

Some of you may not believe that she was the creator of the first flag, but I do.  Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But nevertheless, she was a courageous and  hard-working woman of the 1700s, when it was almost unheard of for women to have their own business.

The book I'm working on is a Picture Book. I've almost finished it. 

She was a woman of many names - being widowed and married three times.

My book is simply titled . . . 

Call Me Betsy

 

 

What have you been writing?

Storystorm! Jot the PB Ideas Down

Storystorm, formally PiBoIdMo is ready to start!

Click here to sign up at Tara's sight and get ready to weather the storm of ideas that are developing in your head.

I have joined. If you write picture books, I hope you do, too.

What can you lose?

You can't lose anything, but you can gain picture book ideas that may just be the one that an agent or publisher is looking for.

You can also gain (by writing down an idea every day during January) prizes which include professional consults, signed books, original art, writerly gadgets and gizmos.

Never won anything, you say. Don't ever say never. I have won prizes before and so can you. But more importantly we will win knowledge in the field of writing for children, and we all can benefit from that.

In January, Tara will have helpful posts on her blog daily by  professional authors, illustrators and experts in creativity.

 You have until January 7th to officially register on Tara's site. But don't delay, do it today.

Are you a picture book writer?
Do you want to be a picture book writer?

I would love to hear if you are going to enter or not. Let me know by commenting.

Even if you don't join StoryStorm, and you love to write for children, you can visit her site each day to read some wonderful and learning blog posts.

Happy writing in 2017!

Let the storm begin!

Picture Book Writing

I attended workshops over the weekend about writing picture books for children.

Marc Harshman - He is West Virginia's poet laureate and a picture book writer. And, he is a very nice person! Click here for his amazon page. Though I notice that there are a few books missing that he has written, including two of his latest, Mountain Christmas and One Big Family.

 Marc Harshman

Anna Egan Smucker - She is another West Virginia author who writes picture books. Click here for her Amazon page.

Ashley Teets - An illustrator from West Virginia. Click here for books on Amazon that she has illustrated.

One of Ashley's suggestions was to write with a lot of verbs.
We also did a drawing exercise where we closed our eyes and, with a crayon, made a doodle on a page. Open your eyes. Look at the picture from all angles. Draw a picture from your doodle. It just may be an inspiration for a new manuscript.

I drew a picture of a tortoise in a hurry. His head was stretched way out and he was really getting down the road. I see a picture book here. Harry, the Tortoise in a Hurry.  :o)

Anna, who always writes her first drafts in pencil, says to think in pictures.
Leave a space or draw a line when you think there will be a page turn.
Make sure enough happens in your story.
Try different ways to tell your story.


All of her books, except one, were sent out to publishers without using an agent!

I took the advantage of seeing these authors and got a few of my books autographed by them.

What am I going to do now?

I am going to go over my picture books - again.
I am going to make sure that my words (500 or less) provide enough opportunities for the illustrator to do his or her job.
And I am going to make sure there is enough going on in my story.

Hope you enjoyed my post.
Now get out your pencil and paper and write - or doodle.

Do you have any suggestions on writing picture books?

Editing a Picture Book

How do you edit a picture book?

Here are a few of my suggestions.

Read it and see if it fits into the age group you are shooting for.

Ask yourself ---

Does it have a plot?

Does it have a satisfying ending?
(I just read a middle grade novel. I was anxious to see how it ended, but when I turned and read the last page. I thought, What? Is this the end? I was very unsatisfied with the ending.) Don't let your readers down - have a good ending.

Does it use good word choices for a picture book?

Do you use repetition and alliteration to your advantage?

Does it pass the read aloud test? Word, rhythm and sound are important.

Can you visualize the illustrations?

Did you use the senses in your story?

Does each sentence move the story along?

Does it past the so what test?

I've been editing one of my picture books - again. This book has changed many, many times. I like the story and I really want it to go somewhere. So, lately I have been looking at it under a magnifying glass. I recently said to myself, so what. So what that this happened in the text, so what the character did this or that. I decided my story needed more substance. The character needed more incentive. The story just needed something else.  

 So, I went back and looked at it with a more critical eye. I changed it again. In this process I also took out some of my favorite lines, (my babies that I loved), because I realized the story didn't need them. And, you know what, removing those lines didn't hurt me or the story like I thought it would.

I also took it to my writing group again.  Among other minor changes, there was one word that they just did not like. They said they could not associate the verb with the noun I was using it with. One spoke up and said, "Now, Janet, listen to what we are saying. We all agree it doesn't fit. You need to change it."

So, after a little brainstorming we came up with the perfect word. And the best way to reword the two sentences.

So, my last suggestion is to put on your tough skin and get to work!

I end this blog post with this thought, all the above is easier said than done. It may be easy to see what is wrong with other manuscripts, but not easy to see what is wrong with 'your' manuscript. You are too close to it. So let other eyes see it, too.

But, if you love writing for children, don't give up. Be optimistic. Keep writing and improving and some day your dream of being published will come true.

picture books, picture books, picture books!

I've been reading a lot of picture books lately. . .

on line,
from my bookshelves,
and from the library bookshelves.

Why? To help me in writing picture books!

Here is a list of a few. I have put my comments in italics out from some of them.

Froggy Plays in the Band - Froggy's Sleepover - Froggy's Day with Dad - Froggy's Baby Sister
In the Froggy series of books I noticed the repeated phrase - more red in the face than green
 
Root Beer and Banana

Passing the Music Down - biographical - loved the language used in this one

 Bats at the Library - rhyming

Martha Doesn't Say Sorry - good

Oh, Daddy - very short 

Little Hoot - fun! Little owl wants to go to bed.

It's Not Fair - cute

Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site - rhyming - good one! 

What's Under the Bed? - simple rhyme

This Place in the Snow - loved the language and use of words!

A Silly Snowy Day - a ridiculously cute story about a young tortoise who wants to enjoy winter

the dot - a simple, but lovely picture book about a girl who thought she couldn't draw

 

Duck at the Door - very cute. About a household and how a little duck disrupts it - but they loved him anyways 

The Bumpy Little Pumpkin - a cute story about Little Nell, BIG Mama, BIG Sarah, BIG Lizzie and a bumpy little pumpkin her forest friends helped her carve. Like people, Jack-o-lanterns come in all shapes and sizes!

My Working Mom - Love it. The story, as written by the author, could have been about any working mom, but the illustrator did her magic. Have you read this? Do you know what her mom's job was?

I Took my Frog to the Library - cute. It is not just about a frog, but many other animals the girl brings to the library. They all wreck havoc, except for the elephant. But the elephant is so very, very big! So, she leaves her animals at home and the elephant reads to them.

The Lonely Scarecrow - I love books about scarecrows and have even written my own, which I hope some day will be published!

Owl Moon - One of my very favorites! I love the language in this one.

These are just a few of the many I have read in the last couple of weeks.
Are picture books just for kids?
Of course not, they are for the kid in all of us!

What are some of your favorites?


 

Revising!

Hi all.

Sometimes I seem to disappear from my blog. I don't mean to, but I get so involved in my writing that I forget I have a blog.

I have been revising this month - mainly my picture books.

Amazing Miss Gracie, my manuscript about a pretty scarecrow, has gone through a huge facelift! 

This was my first picture book manuscript. It has went through numerous title changes and edits. I love this manuscript, so I kept overlooking its big problem.

Well - no more! I won a critique from a professional picture book writer. She loved the story, but her comments about the ending made me finally realize what I knew all along, but didn't want to admit. I needed to take the plunge and make some major changes.

I took the 'new version' to my writing group yesterday and they liked the changes. Now, it goes back to the lady who critiqued it. Keeping my fingers crossed that she doesn't think I made it worse.
But, I think it is better now - the main character solves the problem. Oh, I also changed her name back to her original name she had in the very first draft - Maizie.

Now - I've found another one of my forgotten picture book manuscripts that needs work.  Currently, I am changing the POV of the story to see if that makes it better.

Is writing easy? No!
Is writing fun? Yes!
Especially when you see your story grow and develop.

You can spend hours picking out just the right word. Do crows huddle, rest or roost?
You can spend hours thinking of the perfect title or name.
You can spend hours deciding on the best POV.

But, most of all you need to pick the best story.- the story everyone is waiting to read!

*******************

A few weeks ago Inspiration for Writers had a holiday short story contest. I won! Go here to see my story and leave a comment if you like.

Revising Picture Books

Someone once asked me, "Why do you go back and make so many changes? If you are a good writer, your first draft should be good enough."

Well, those might not have been his exact words, but the gist of it was - why make so many changes? Why go over it again and again? Why, why, why?

Why? Because picture book writing is not as easy as non-writers think it is.

Sure, there are fewer words.
Sure, they are for young children.
But, younger readers are as important as older readers. Maybe, more important. We need to get children interested and excited about reading, so they will continue to read into adulthood.

I have been editing my latest picture book. I guess you could say it is fiction and non-fiction. I have a cute little story, with sidebar non-fiction information to go along with it. I had a bumpy start writing it, but I finally got past the problems and started to work on the words.

In picture books, every word counts. You search your mind, your thesaurus, your friends' minds and online sources for the best words. Picture book writing is one genre where I don't balk at using ing words. They can add to the flow and rhythm of the story. Instead of saying, they zoom, say zooming. Instead of saying, They dart everywhere, say Darting everywhere.

Use specific words.
Use great action words.
Use onomatopoeia (sound words)! 
I have found taking out the or replacing the with these makes a big difference. 
I have found replacing them and they with specific words makes a big difference.

Most importantly, I have found that going back over a manuscript that I thought was just right - makes a big difference. 

Do not be afraid to take suggestions from fellow writers. It will still be your story!

At the end of our writers' meeting a few weeks ago, a member made an almost inaudible remark and said you could say something like " --- ", and it was the perfect end to a stanza I was having problems with! (You notice I'm not telling the phrase. I don't want to give away what my story is about)

Do you have any suggestions to making the perfect picture book?

I (and my readers) are open to suggestions. 


By the way. I had a great time last week when my husband and I went to see Henry Winkler, co-author of the Hank Zipzer books!

Happy Writing!

Picture Books to Read Aloud

I am going to be reading to preschoolers next week at the library.
I only have fifteen minutes.

How do you decide what to read with so many wonderful picture books to choose from.

Do you have any suggestions?

I think children would like fun illustrations to hold their attention, repetitiveness so they can predict what will happen next, funny words or sounds they can repeat or say along with the reader,  good rhyming - all kids (and adults) love rhyming.

At the moment, I am considering these books:

I have even considered reading something I have written. That would be a good way to get a child's reaction to my work. But if I did that, I would have to get some illustrations to go along with my manuscript. Hmmm, I would have to work fast and maybe put pictures on a display board - what do you think? Any ideas?

I love the sparkle in a child's eyes and their laughter. Have you ever read to children before? 

Posted byJanet Smart  on Creative Writing in the Blackberry Patch.

I Beat the Deadline - And the Giveaway Winner!

I finally got my MG manuscript excerpts with their synopsis's and my PB manuscripts printed today and ready to mail to the WVWriter's Contest. 

Whew! Deadline is Friday.

I don't know why I always take this down to the wire every year, but I do.

Seems like I've been glued to the computer chair lately.

Why is a synopsis so hard to write?

I am so glad that I took them  to my writing group to be critiqued.
They were very helpful and pointed out things that needed to be in it and things that didn't need to be in it.

In celebration I cleaned up my desk (or should I say small table) and the kitchen table behind me. It has been loaded down with my papers and books for too many weeks. It's a good thing we don't eat on it or we would have been going hungry.

Okay, what you all have been waiting on.

We have a winner for Quinn's picture book.

It is Viji Chary! Congratulations to her and thank all of you who commented on the blog post.



Janet Smart   Creative Writing in the Blackberry Patch.

Author Interview and Giveaway!

How would you like  to win a copy of this just  released picture book?

Comment for a chance to win. For extra entries, tweet, post on your blog or share this post on Facebook.

My friend, Quinn Cole, has a new picture book out! It was just released on Monday!

In her book . . . 

Monster friends learn about the body (eardrum, tonsils), symptoms (fever, laryngitis), and treatments (cast, x-ray), while playing baseball, off on field trips, sunning at the beach, at home, and more!

Perfect for those days when parents get an unexpected call from a school or day care provider about a sudden fever, illness, or playground mishap.

The vivid and whimsical illustrations depict young, active monsters tackling everything from allergies, hiccups and nose bleeds to broken bones, immunizations and diabetes.



She took time to answer a few questions for me.

Tell me about your book. How did you come up with that idea?
I have four children and it’s rare when everyone is fully fine. Usually there is someone who has a smashed thumb or allergies or something.

When I started AP, I imagined creating a story that would lessen the stress of illness and medical treatment for children. At first I pictured robots as the main characters, since I love robots, but then I realized that monsters would serve the story better. Monsters are often seen as big and scary by children. I started wondering what would scare a monster. Would they be scared of shots or getting a nosebleed? What would a monster do if he got laryngitis and lost his voice? Did monsters get hiccups or diabetes?

Did you get any rejections on this book before it was accepted?
An agent told me when I first pitched the idea at a conference that combining medical terms in a picture book wouldn’t work. I thought it would. Comments like that just make me want to work harder. I also benefited from a beta test of the text (before there were illustrations) with three classes of students, grades 2-4^th. The teachers recorded the students comments and let me know what worked and what didn’t.

Are you working on anything else?
I have a number of stories in various stages of completion. Plus a few stories that are close, but no contract yet.

What advice would you give aspiring writers?
I know everyone says this, but don’t give up. I read a long time ago that most “instant successes” worked at their chosen project for 10 years before it was recognized.

And last, but not least. Where can we buy your book?
The print copy is available through all the major book sellers. The ebook version is just coming out on Kindle, Nook, and iPad.

Here is a link to the book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcloNv3v6nY

It is really neat, be sure and check it out.

Find Alphabet Puke  at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Remember, comment for  your chance  to win. If you post about  it, tweet it or share on your Facebook, let me know and you will get  extra entries for each one. I will have the drawing for the winner next Wednesday, check back to see if you have won!

Posted by Janet F. Smart on Creative Writing in the Blackberry Patch.

CONTEST CLOSED!

PPBF - Please Say Please!

Today I am posting about a book on manners.

It is a book with cute illustrations and a penguin hostess in a bow tie.

Please Say Please!

by Margery Cuyler

Illustrated by Will Hillenbrand

Scholastic 2004

 

Preschool - Grade 2

Theme: Manners

This would be a great read  aloud book.

First Lines: When friends are invited to Penguin's house for dinner, they should barge right in without knocking. LET'S EAT! Is that right?

synopsis: Learning Good Manners Can be Fun! Penguin's Guide to Manners. Hippo, chimpanzee, rhino, giraffe, parrot, pig, lion, elephant and bear come to eat at Penguin's house. They do everything wrong and the text asks, Is that right? On the next page, the text tells them, No, that's wrong, and tells them what they should do.

Why I like this book: This book shows a fun and un-preachy  way of teaching kids good manners.

Resources:

Here is a site listing 25 manners kids should know by age 9.
Here is a site listing many manner activities and games.

When my children were little there was a local cartoon show. At the end he would always ask what the three magic words were. The answer shouted back by the kids were: "Please, Thank You and You're welcome!"

Every Friday, bloggers post a favorite picture book.  To see what other people posted, please visit author Susanna Leonard Hill’s Perfect Picture Books. 

Posted by Janet F. Smart on Creative Writing in the Blackberry Patch.

PiBoIdMo 2012!

Okay, who wants to join in on the fun?

Go to Tara Lazar's site and sign in before November 4th! and take the pledge.
See the cute little link on the top right side of my blog?
Don't you think Ward Jenkins did a great job on their logo?


I did this last year and was able to come up with 30 ideas in 30 days.

Those who register and take the pledge will be eligible for great prizes, such as:

Feedback from literary agents
Original sketches by picture book illustrators
Picture Book critiques from published authors
Signed picture books
Jewelry
Other cool stuff

Over at Tara's site there will be blog posts EVERY DAY  by picture book authors, illustrators, editors and other kidlit professionals to help inspire us to success at completing the challenge.

So join in on the fun!
If you are a writer, I hope you get inspired and join one of the special events taking place in November.

Novelists have NaNoWriMo
Picture Book Writers have PiBoIdMo!

Want to give it a try? Click on the logo and sign up. Who knows you might come up with a winning idea that turns into a spectacular picture book!

Leave a comment and wish me luck and I'll send good luck wishes right back at you.

Ink on paper is as beautiful to me as flowers on the mountains; God composes, why shouldn't we?  ~Terri Guillemets


How about you? Do you have any words of wisdom to share with my blogging friends?

Posted by Janet F. Smart on Creative Writing in the Blackberry Patch.

Writing Picture Books

First off, a Big Happy Birthday to Rate Your Story! They are a great site for writers. They give out free critiques and this month they are celebrating and giving away weekly prizes. If you write for children, check them out. You won't be sorry.

Now, on to my post.
This is a test!

Writing a picture book is easy.   True or False
Writing a picture book can be done in a day. True or False
Anyone can write a picture book.  True or False

Okay, how did you answer?
Here are my answers:
I answer a definite False on the first question.
Writing a good picture book is just as hard as writing a good novel.

On the second question, I say True . . . but only the first draft.
But, your first draft is a long ways from being a finished manuscript.

On the third question, I say True. . . but not everyone can write a good picture book.

I have quite a few picture book manuscripts that I have written over the past few years.
I recently started working on one of them again. I thought this is a 'nice' bedtime story with counting thrown in to make it more interesting. But, it needed something else, I wasn't satisfied with it.

It needs to be a lot more than 'nice' to have a chance at getting published. There are, I am sure, lots of nice picture book manuscripts out there.

Yours has to shine, it has to be different, it has to pop!

I got feedback from critique partners and from a published children's writer.
The published children's writer kept pushing me to make it better and to make it more unique.
She mentioned other published picture books for me to look at and get ideas from.

I did and I changed it a little and I thought to myself, this is better.

She pushed me again and again, she said the ending is not right. I thought to myself, I like the ending, I don't know what else to do.
I thought about it some more, brought a newer version of it to my writing group, got more ideas, made more changes and thought, this is better, I really like this!

But, something was still missing. I still had to do something with the ending.
It came to me. . . the ending now has a twist! A small twist, but a twist.

Since I first wrote this manuscript over two years ago, it has went through three different titles and has been drastically changed. . . and it is much better!

I really, really like it now!

In order to write a good picture book, unless your first draft is fantastic, you can't be satisfied with a nice manuscript. You can't be satisfied with your first edit. You have to edit until it shines.

Keep pushing yourself until it is a great manuscript.

Now who wants to write a picture book?



Posted by Janet F. Smart on Creative Writing in the Blackberry Patch.

Fat Writers and Skinny Writers

Don't let the title fool you.

This is not about the physical attributes of a writer.  It is about the physical attributes of your manuscript.

Fat writers are writers who pour their heart onto the page and end up with page after page after page and when editing have to cut all the fluff that people usually skip when reading a book.

Skinny writers are writers who pour their heart onto the page and end up with what would seem like a glorified outline to those fat writers out there. When they edit, they add flesh to their manuscript.

I'm one of those skinny writers. This trait comes in handy when I'm writing Picture Books, but is not such a good trait when trying to write longer manuscripts.

But even when writing Picture Books you have to make sure every word is perfect. Every noun, verb and adjective is just the right one. The one that will jump out at the reader and make them love your story.

I am getting better with my longer manuscripts.

When writing and re-writing your words, some things you need to do are:

Make a character sheet. List all your characters - write down what they look like and what type of person they are. This is very helpful and will keep them from having black stubble on their face on one page and blonde hair on another.

Add Description. When I go back and reread, I find skinny places where  I need more description. Not in picture books, mind you, but Middle Grades. Make that scarey place in the woods where kids are told not to go, really scarey. Tell about the tall trees, boulders big as Volkswagens, dark shadows moving across the ground and strange howling in the tree tops. And even add a tall tale passed down through the generations that makes it a place where you don't want to visit.

Write about the minor characters. Give them quirky traits and names to add a little interest and humor to the story. I found that in my latest WIP I had not mentioned anything about the teachers. I think they deserved at least a mention, so I gave them interesting names and a description or two to add some interest. Kids like to read about a quirky or interesting teacher.

Give your main characters certain quirks or habits. This can add to the story in more places than one. These traits can be scattered throughout your story, adding words (calories) to your manuscript and making it more interesting, too.

But, don't add words just for the sake of adding words. Add words to make it more interesting and a better story.

My current Middle Grade WIP is almost finished. I have fattened it up and it is over 20,000 words. I have met my goal and made it more interesting in the process.

This picture book writer is learning.

How do you add 'fat' to your manuscript?

Posted by Janet F. Smart on Creative Writing in the Blackberry Patch

More Writing Workshop Info

RE POST FROM JUNE 2010

More Writing Workshop Info

I attended a picture book workshop conducted by children's author, Cheryl Ware. But if you are not a picture book writer, please read on, I think the information will help you with any genre of writing you choose to write.

Here is a group picture of the attendees of her workshop. Cheryl is the tall lady in the middle, I am in the pink shirt beside of her.



I thoroughly enjoyed this workshop. She came with a pile of picture books to share with us. She read a few of her favorites.

She told us something that I think is very hard to do. She said to find the holes in the market - find what hasn't been written. I think this applies to all genres of writing, don't you?

She showed us some books that she stated when she first saw them, she didn't think they were the greatest. But when she read them to small children, they loved them!

They shouted out answers when she read the text to them!
They became involved in the reading!
They wanted it read over and over again!

I think that is what we want to accomplish with any of our books. We want our reader to become involved with the story and for them to want to read it over and over again.

One of her favorite books : THE DOT
If you write picture books, but haven't read this one, go to the library and check it out.
It is so simple, yet so good!

Some very good advice from her:

Start your story on a day that something is different in their life.
Ending should be expected, but a surprise.

As you can see, I think you can take this information and apply it to whatever type of writing you do, whether it be for adults or children.

Some of Cheryl's published books are:

Flea Circus Summer,
Catty-Cornered,
Venola in Love, and
Venola the Vegetarian

Her stories introduce you to Venola May Cutright, a spunky 11 year old girl.

I hope you read something from this post that will help you with your writing.

 **********************************************

January 25th, 2012

Today when I went to the Thrift Store I found a copy of The Dot! 

Tweeting and Writing

The Erma Bombeck Writing Contest is open until Feb 14th. You can go here to read all about it and decide if you want to enter or not. Unfortunately, there is an entry fee this year. There are two categories - Human Interest and Humor. The winner in each category will receive a cash prize of $500.

I have entered this contest before and last year I was excited to receive an email after the contest was over. I didn't win, but competition coordinator emailed me to inform me about a comment one of the judges made about my story. She said she hoped the info would be helpful and constructive as I developed other stories. I thought this was very nice of her. I guess you could compare it to getting a nice rejection letter instead of a form rejection letter. 
 
I have not decided  if I will  enter this year or not since they added the entry fee. With only one cash winner in each category, I am not sure if I would have much of a chance.

I am still making changes to my new picture book manuscript. We had a writer's meeting and they liked the story and offered a few helpful suggestions. 

I have read a middle grade book titled, Turtle in Paradise, since I last blogged. It was recommended on another writer's blog site. It is a Newbery Honor Book and takes place in Key West, Florida in 1935. I love Jennifer Holm's style of writing. I love the characters in the book, especially the main character, Turtle. Here is a small snippet

     Folks have always told me that I look like Mama. My hair's brown, same as hers, but it's cut short in a bob with bangs, like a soup bowl turned upside down. Mama keeps hers long as a good dream,  because that's the way Archie likes it.
     Our eyes are different, though. I think the color of a person's eyes says a lot about them. Mama has soft blue eyes, and all she sees is kittens and roses. My eyes are gray as soot, and I see things for what they are. The mean boy on the porch has green eyes. Probably from all the snot in his nose.

 

In other news, I have joined Twitter. I am now able to Tweet!  

Click on the Twitter button on my side bar and follow me on Twitter.

As of yet, I have not Tweeted. 

Any of you out there have any suggestions on using Twitter?