As most of you have noticed, I haven’t been spending much time on here over the past few months. The easiest explaination is because life has gotten in the way and caused me to rearrange the things I can juggle with the free time I have available. In plain English, my husband and I are expanding our family and that has taken a toll on my blogging and writing. I am hoping to reconcile all of my commitments as time goes on, and will keep you posted. Thank you for your loyalty, patience and understand. Happy writing!

Well it’s nearly time to pack up and say goodbye to 2008 and welcome the uncertainties of 2009 with open arms (what other choice is there?). But before launching ahead, let’s take a quick look back at the past year and share some of the best moments.

What has been the best writing-centric accomplishment for you in the past year?

What have you learned about your career in the past year that will help you to re-focus your goals for 2009?

Any funny or memorable moments?

Here is my “best of” collection for the past year:

**These are all articles that I’ve written on Suite101 that have earned me an editor’s choice award and I’m quite proud of this accomplishment**

Freelance Job Bidding Sites

All About PLR Articles

Back to School Books for Adults

An Overview of Epistolary Novels

Politics in Literature: 2008 Presidential Memoirs

Starting a Book Club: The Basics

The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent

All About Book Club Discussions

Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin

Ok, While I may have jumped ship early on during Nano month, how successful were you? I’d love to hear stories about those who actively participated throughout the month (whether or not you hit the 50k mark).

So I bit the bullet, sent off my $36 and applied for membership to the SPJ and my local chapter, Press Club of Long Island. I’d really like to hear from other members and see how to make this membership work best for me. Also looking for any Long Islanders who are members who can give me some info about the meetings and such.

Don’t forget to vote today!

I am really sad to see the demise of RADAR magazine. This was a mag that I enjoyed reading. I found it to be fresh, fun and snarky while covering the realm of pop culture. Let’s all mourn the latest casualty of the print journalism die-off.

Here’s the catch: If you are a full-time college student who maintains a blog you can and should apply for this blogging scholarship. Unfortunately I can’t because 1) I am not currently enrolled (I won’t start classes until Jan ‘09) and 2) I am not a full-time student (though I am considering it since I want to graduate before I turn 35!).

Let me know if you apply so I can live vicariously through you. And hurry because the deadline is October 30, 2008

Good luck all you blogging college students!

Open question: Do any of you belong to your local press club? If so, what are the benefits? Do you think that it is a helpful for freelancers to become members?

I don’t know how dilligent I will be about this, but for the time being I am very excited. While what I plan to write is not a novel per se, I am still going to challenge myself to do some writing every day and refrain from editing any of what I write until December. I’m curious to see what I can do when I have some support from fellow writers in a creative capacity.

Is anyone else going to participate? Let me know and we can keep each other on track and share tips, progress, etc.

If anyone needs more info, here’s the link.

My article Politics in Literature: 2008 Presidential Memoirs has been awarded an Editor’s Choice Award on Suite101. Read it and chime in if you’d like.

CosmoGirl magazine just folded. The latest casualty in the print media mass die-off. I am thanking my lucky stars that I am not a journalism major, as I have no idea what kinds of jobs would await me upon graduation. For all the panic re: print media’s demise, it seems only the staff writers/editors are the ones who will feel the pinch. From a freelance POV, print or web writing is still strong and essential, not to mention abundant with possibilities.

In light of the shift in publishing, from print to web-based, how (if any) have you as a freelancer been affected?