Okay, y'know, there's a reason why my screen name is "Digigirl." I didn't just pick it - it was given to me by some friends because I'm always so, as they called it, "plugged in." What can I say? I'm a pasty-faced mole person.

Pasty-faced mole person:
n. Person who sits in front of a computer all day (and sometimes all night), having become pale and pasty due to the lack of actual sunlight, being bathed only in the glowing light of a monitor.

So anyway, being Digigirl, I surf lots of web sites and have geeky things on my reader. Today there is an article I thought y'all might enjoy. 30+ Tools for the Amateur Writer. Just a list of online things that might help you out. Enjoy!

http://mashable.com/2007/10/25/30-tools-amateur-writer/

Here's a great article featuring tips from Stephen King on how to become a better writer. Whether you're writing a novel or blogging, these tips definitely apply. And coming from Stephen King... well, whether you're a fan or not, I think most people will agree that he's doing something right!

http://www.positivityblog.com/index.php/2007/10/08/stephen-kings-top-7-tips-for-becoming-a-better-writer/

I'm not much of a writer, but I have had an idea lurking in my head for quite a while and have written a few things down here and there. Maybe someday I'll get it put together into a real book. In the meantime, the prologue for this book that I had already written seems to fit the October theme - On My Own. So, here it is.

Where does a person go when she has no name, no history, no driver’s license, no..anything?

She ran, knowing they would be coming after her just as soon as they realized she was missing. She glanced over her shoulder as she moved, relishing the sight of the lab getting smaller with distance. About 20 miles outside of Las Vegas conveniently put the place squarely in the middle of nowhere. Nobody to see her.

She ran steadily, knowing she had to put serious distance between herself and that lab as quickly as possible. Fortunately, running wasn’t a problem for her, as long as she avoided areas where she might be noticed. UN-fortunately, the long run gave her plenty of time to think. What would she do now? What could she do? She had no friends, no family. No one to turn to for help. She had to find a way to disappear.

It took 35 hours for her to reach Houston. She had chosen it randomly, hoping that would keep them from figuring out her destination. She slowed to a walk as she considered her next move. She wasn’t exactly inconspicuous. She needed a wig at the very least. She stopped while she was still in a rural area, and settled down behind some thick brush, waiting for dark. She didn’t want to, but the only thing she could do was break in somewhere and steal some clothes and a wig.

It was very easy, really. Her training ensured that. She disabled the alarm system without any problem, and expertly jimmied the lock. She was careful not to disturb anything more than absolutely necessary. She removed the dirty white jumpsuit and pulled on a blue cotton sundress, slipping her feet into a pair of cool sandals. Apparently transvestites weren’t interested in jeans and t-shirts, judging by the contents of the little cross—dressers’ shop she’d found. Skirts and dresses all the way. But they had what she really needed - wigs.

Winding her pale hair into a knot on top of her head, she tucked the stray hairs in as she slid a long, straight-haired wig over her head and checked herself in the mirror. As she’d hoped, the strawberry blond worked well with her pale coloring – she looked like she could be Irish, maybe, with the fair skin of the red-headed. Much better. Almost..normal.

Taking her discards with her, she reset the alarm as she left. Most likely, no one would ever even realize she had been there. Nonetheless, she noted the name and location of the store. She would repay them for these “purchases,” someday. She was done being the bad guy.

The question now was, what would she be?

Why do you blog? And what makes a good blogger? Heck, I don't know. There are so many out there now it's mind-boggling. I couldn't possibly keep up with all of the amazing writers I've found out there.

And what's humbling is that most of them aren't writers by profession. They're just writing for fun, telling about their lives, their hobbies or whatever. And yet, some of them are so compelling, I have to keep checking in.

Take www.Twas-Brillig.com, for instance. I stumbled across that blog a while back totally by accident. A link from another site maybe, or perhaps a chance Google result. I don't remember. What's amazing about it is that I have absolutely NOTHING in common with Brillig. I don't have kids (well, I help with my boyfriend's son, but that's a different story) and don't want any. I don't live in Utah, never have and almost certainly never will. I'm an atheist. She's not blogging about any of the things I'm normally interested in - computers, gadgets, books, or science fiction.

But for some reason, I MUST read her blog. Her style is clever, witty and engaging. She makes you feel like a close friend, just by reading her post. And her life just seems soooo interesting in comparison to mine. Is it really? Probably not. But how she tells it makes it so.

Maybe that's what makes a blogger great - style. If so, I'm in big trouble. I don't think I even have a style. I just write. I try to write right (he he), but even with that, I have no formal training other than high school. I read my own stuff and think "boorrriing."

And yet, I want to. I don't know why, I just do. Hopefully it will improve my skills. If not, maybe I'll at least make some friends.

If nothing else, I guess I'll just entertain myself. So here's my sign - "Will blog for fun!"