{blissdom final re-cap.. sniff sniff…}

Ensure you’re delivering a consistent message over time.

• Guide the reader so they know how to breathe.
  
• Pace your reader.. Deliberately… 
  
• 95 % blog readers spend 5 seconds or less on your site.
  
• Add audio blog to your posts…Pacing, structure, read your words out loud
  
• What rules are important to keep and what rules are important to break?
  
• Stretch yourself to do something different, tighter and more directly.
  
• Check for repetition. Your verbs can be very powerful.

KeyNote: ReDiscovering Play – Bringing Fun and Passion to Your Work..and Life – Kevin Carroll @kckatalyst

AmAZINg…Still has my mind thinking about how the lines between work and play are no longer blurred for me and how they need to be.  Oh, how they need to be.  For a creative mind to flourish..they need to be.  Loved him to pieces.  Check out Alli's post on Kevin.  She said it all.

You Should Know Better – Susan Getgood @sgetgood, Liza Barry-Kessler @lizawashere, Kristen Berman

WAY OVER MY head.  Know the rules.  Blog with integrity.  Really.  Disclosure is really important.

Personal Branding – Shelly Kramer @shellykramer, Liz Strauss @lizstrauss, Alli Worthington @alliworthington

One of the most important statements made: If you are writing on a blog and you are not who you are, then why?

Be who you are and see who stays.. What is your message?  What do you believe in?  What can you deliver?  Who are you and why do you matter?  OWN IT and go with it!  Keep it real.  

Striking A Balance – Christine Koh @bostonmamas, Deb Rox @debontherocks, Megan Jordan @velveteenmind, Arianne Segermann @ToThink, Carmen Stacier @mttsm

I was so mesmerized by their sharing that I didn't take notes.  Focus, goals, schedule, play, family, work… it's gotta balance.

Blogging With the Stars – Holly Buchanan @hollybuchanan, Dana Loesch @DLoesch, Melissa Michaels @theinspiredroom, Michelle Mitchell @scribbit, Tsh Oxenreider @simplemom

Content is king (or is the King the content.. I added that.. 🙂 )  Write about what inspires you today.  Make it conversational, like you are talking to your best girl friend.

Getting Published – Erin Chase @5dollardinners, Tsh Oxenrider @simplemom, Sharyn Rosenblum @sharynrosenblum, Kristen Welch @wearethatfamily, Alicia Ybarbo @todaysmoms

Lots of great information about book proposals, literary agents, perseverance and not underselling yourself. Bloggers who want a book deal need to keep blogging.  That IS your platform.  Your readers ARE your audience. (All four of mine)

Content is Queen – Emily Freeman @emilychats, Amber Haines @amberrunsamuck, Isabel Kallman @isabelkallman, Deb Rox @debontherocks

Use an authentic voice, truth telling means that you have developed a voice.  Write often.  You don't have a voice until you work it out.  Quality writing means living life.  Read good writers.

Amber has great writing resources on her website: therunamuck

Memoir Writing – Catherine Connors @herbadmother, Megan Jordan @velveteenmind, Tanis Miller @redneckmommy, Michelle Mitchell @scribbit

• What makes a memoir different?

  
  

• Length – short

  
  

• Point of view – 1st person

  
  

• Expanse – snippet, a short scene, symbolism, irony

  
  

• Structure and Elements

  
  

• Resolution – is there any?

  
  

• Honesty – how did this story really happen?

  
  

• Posts are crafted to tell a story, for the most part. 🙂

  
  

So there you have it sweet reader.  I learned ALOT.  These notes are just a snippet of the wisdom from these amazing panels.  When the dates of Blissdom 2011 are released.. RUN, don't walk, RUN and register.  I didn't even tell you how wonderfully we were treated/taken care of.. ahh, the bliss of it all.

Most of all.. thank you Alli Worthington, Barbara Jones & Paula Bruno you have set the bar high.. and I for one, am sold.