Jesters and Fools. My Niche, But Not for Everyone.

The Court Jester by William Merritt Chase

That’s right. Jesters. Fools. Silly people with bells on their hats and marottes who tend to tell inappropriate jokes, make spectacles of themselves, and generally, well, act like fools. Just like the jesters in The Jester’s Joust painting by Mary Browning and The Court Jester by William Merritt Chase. The joke is that out of the 12 experts on jesters in the world, I’m number 13, but that’s only because I’ve read everything the other 12 experts have to say, so I owe it all to them.

Even though information about jesters can be scarce and hard to find, I’ve found several primary and secondary sources, and have done the usual online searches. Most of the Internet information can be repetitive and basic, which is fine if that’s all you’re looking for. If you want more details and a deeper analysis, definitely check out some of the other sources I recommend.

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September 19 Jenny

WordPress Plug-In AuthorSure Review

Update–As of November 2017, it has been two years since AuthorSure was updated, so although I still love WordPress, I can no longer recommend this plugin. 🙂

Have I mentioned before how much I love WordPress?

I love WordPress. Just in case.

I realized a few years ago that there is no privacy on the Internet, and rather than avoiding the Internet entirely as a way to keep my privacy, the more important part was to control my privacy. So I set up a Facebook account, I got a blog, I started tweeting. I was still nervous about putting myself out there. I liked it when someone found my blog, yet I wasn’t really ready to engage.

When John Ellis first started talking about authorship and proving your existence on Google+ and how everything is connected, I really only half-listened because it was more about engaging and letting people know who you are. (Sorry, John!)

But then I started seeing more and more how John is right. No fear. You may screw up, you may say or do something (lots of things) that people don’t like, and your SEO might be set up completely wrong, but it doesn’t matter. Communication can resolve a lot of problems. Google may be the benevolent dictator some of us love and some of us hate, but his point that Google wants real people on the Internet and not crazy s*ammy machines and h*ckers is a good one. Google is actually helping us to take that control over our privacy even further. We choose what goes out there and how.

September 12 Jenny

Willamette Writers Conference 2013 Review

Brew it up!

Having been to a total of four Willamette Writers Conferences now, I feel I have a little more insight into how this year’s conference played out. Granted, I didn’t have the benefit of being on the conference committee this year, so I didn’t stay at the hotel (which was more of a bummer than you might think); and I had other events going on that weekend and wasn’t able to attend every day, all day long… But I’m going to say it was a win.

From what I’ve heard from other attendees, the energy was even more positive than it’s been in previous years. One volunteer told me that it was as if the other years had given her the tools and skills to develop her writing, while this year showed her how to exploit and use those skills.

What are the reasons why the Willamette Writers Conference 2013 worked so well?

September 9 Jenny

Category Archives: Writing

What are the reasons why the Willamette Writers Conference 2013 worked so well?