what do you do?

i know i was (am?) having a hiatus (i’m still feeling a bit rough to be honest, also: grumpy) but the site wasn’t supposed to totally freaking disappear!

after two days, i got in touch with my blog host, and it transpired they had changed some of their settings (why? why?) and made my blog go ‘way as a result.

so i had to go and change my settings with the company i bought dianeshipley.com from, where it was a dark world of ‘nameserver this’ and ‘DNS settings that’ and ‘this is not the email address you registered with’ and ‘please log in again’ until i nearly tore my hair out.

but i made it back!

and if you missed it, while the site was down i got another blasting in wrote another piece for the guardian: don’t bite the hand that feeds the inner you.

is there a good self-help book for dealing with criticism and blog disappearances, do you know?

i’m going to let you in on a little secret: i’ve been hard at work on a lot of things lately, not all of them profitable, but top of the list is [drumroll please…] a whole new blog.

not as a replacement for this one, but as a more commercial venture (i.e. i’d like to make some money at it one day) and of a much less personal nature.

but still funny, weird and interesting, of course. (what do i mean, ’still’?)

if you’re curious, clicky here to find out more.

for some reason i just can’t seem to get into reading lately. i’ve only finished three books this year - and i started one of those in 2007. i know that’s not bad, but it’s way less than usual, and i have piles of started-but-not-finished books that are interesting enough but i haven’t been able to focus on.

maybe it’s because i’m going through a lot of inner changes that are TIRING, and i’m thinking a lot about BIG LIFE STUFF.

or maybe it’s because i’m writing a lot more, including a book.

yes!

not for commission or anything (yet…) just my own fulfillment and eventual publication (*crosses fingers*). i’ve been doodling bits and bobs for a while now but this year i’m committing to spending at least 20 mins a week (baby steps) on it. if you’ve been watching my sidebar like a hawk you’ll see i’m closing in on 17,000 words (of about 80K or so). not bad, but still a lot more to do! (it’s not a novel, if you were wondering…)

anyhoo, i may not have been reading much, but i did read this, and it’s fan-tastic, uplifting, inspiring and reminded me why i love to write [all those rejections, yay! i kid. mostly]. 

i also have a whole pile’o christmas/birthday books to enjoy, and some more to buy with a lovely amazon voucher (thanks jas!)

and i realised i never filled you in on my new york book-buying adventures: what i bought, and why… so buckle up and let’s get going!

at the airport, i picked up picklehead by rohan caldappa, because i thought his autobiography of a one year old was hi-larious. this is more personal and actually autobiographical, but i’m sure will be just as funny. i hope.

my BIG book buying spree was at the strand, a landmark new york store (thanks keris for the top tip!) which i just AD-ORED. the basement is filled with bargains: unwanted, often perfect-condition review copies, many of them hardback (oops). i got:

(more…)

i know you’re an intelligent bunch who like words and reading and book learnin’, so i’m picking your brains for a new project i’m (very very slowly) putting together… (all being well).

do you have any favourite language/word-related sites, blogs or podcasts to recommend? anything to do with how we use words and language (including slang, writing and non-verbal communication) welcome. i have a few ideas, but would like more resources, so if you can think of any, please let me have them! (self-promoters OK).

un-congratulations, you’re pregnant.

in work news (don’t yawn!), i have been sending out pitches like mad, dead keen on getting in lots of lovely lucrative and interesting writing to do. yes peeps, the sabbatical is officially OV-ER… send yer (lovely lucrative and interesting writing) work my way, and be quick about it!

and you can see my new, improved, pimped up and ready-to-rock work website (which i made myself, just like a proper person!) at:

www.dianeshipley.co.uk.

also, i’ve signed up for a photoshop course.

dorkily, i’m very excited about it. it’s a two-day introductory thingy, in february. which is good ‘cos i know not one thing about photoshop and i think i need to. fabbily, i got 40% off the price! (i don’t know how i qualified for that, it was all v. secretive, but somehow i did.)

i want to expand my “skills portfolio” by getting to grips with graphic design at least a little bit and then i’ll conquer stuff like CMS, CSS and HTML so i can take over the internet and be reech beyond compare do more.

finally, i got the BEST business cards from moo. after dilly-dallying with picture cards, i finally went for some text cards (i got aqua, black, pink and red) with ‘DIANE SHIPLEY. FREELANCE JOURNALIST’ on the front in a cool font, with a stripey print background. that sounds gaudy; but they’re just funky. and small! (cute). i love them and will be finding all kinds of excuses to give them to people.

i have other work-related news involving spreadsheets and the like, but even i have to draw the line somewhere…

i’ve written a new piece for the guardian blog about romance fiction and how male and female authors write about love in different ways. see what you think.

and i’m in woman’s weekly this week, if you’re so inclined. go on, buy it, i dare you.

you may have noticed that i’ve added a li’l icon to my sidebar to show my support of the hollywood writers’ strike. this isn’t something that people over here are too riled about - yet - perhaps because it won’t affect our favourite US-made TV shows for a few months. but when i was in the US it was BIG news, and i wholeheartedly support the campaign, and really really hope it can be resolved at the next round of negotiations next week.

in the meantime, i want to encourage everyone to do a couple of things to support the striking writers:

1. sign the petition

2. send a box of pencils to a media mogul

i’ve just done both (the internet makes collective bargaining so easy!)

just in case this whole thing has bypassed you completely, here’s an excellent video showing what the strike is all about. (more…)

unexpectedly - nobody tells me anything! - my opinion piece about the university application form is on guardian unlimited today (YAY!) [can you print it out at work, please mum?]:

Very bad form

While universities claim to encourage applicants from different backgrounds, the Ucas form fails to allow for diversity, writes Diane Shipley

Ten years ago, I started university for the first time, but soon became too ill to continue. I always wanted to reapply, and now feel well enough to do so - if the Ucas form doesn’t finish me off first, that is.

I know the application form is daunting for everyone, but when you’re no longer 18, have spent several years out of education, have long-term health problems and find that almost every question on the form doesn’t apply to you, it’s even trickier…  read more.

i’m also answering a tech question in my guise as “diane shipley, technology expert” in this week’s woman’s weekly, and every two weeks from now on. this is my third time in the mag, and i’ll scan them all in soon. (for people like helen TM who are too cool to buy it…)

hmm. the title of this blog post would be much more relevant if i had another publication to add, but i don’t. (i am on sabbatical, you know.)