FAQ

Can I still join?

You are always welcome. You can join at any time.

How much of a commitment is participating?

It's entirely up to you. There is no pressure to participate. You can post once or every week. You can visit a few other blogs, all the other blogs or none. You can write a paragraph or an extended post. Whatever you are called to do is just right.

What's a direct link and how do I post it?

When adding your link to each week's secret, you want to use a direct link. A direct link is the address that takes you directly to the relevant post instead of to your blog generally. For example:

• Direct Link (okay to post): http://starshyneproductions.blogspot.com/2009/01/12-secrets-of-highly-creative-secret-1.html.
• General Link (don't post) : http://www.starshyneproductions.blogspot.com/

To get that url, click on the title of your post and see the new url that appears when you're looking directly at that post.

Scheduling

There’s no hard and fast rule about when to post. For 12 weeks, each Friday I will put up a post for a new secret. You’ll probably want to have your post up for the current secret before we move onto the next one. Everyone will find their own rhythm.

How do I put up a badge?

For Blogger

If you're using Blogger, the easiest thing to do is Add a Gadget in your Layout. Choose Picture. Add the address for the badge you want:

• Dark background: http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/oo243/next-chapter/nextchapter12dark.jpg
• Light background: http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/oo243/next-chapter/nextchapter12white.jpg
  

Then add the address: http://tnc-12secrets.blogspot.com/

For direct HTML

Please email me for the HTML code. I haven't yet figured out how to post it without it simply giving you the badge itself.

Can I get transcripts of the interviews?

At the end of this series, the interviews and the transcripts will be available for purchase. More details to come.

All the links are gone. What's up?

On occasion, Mr. Linky hiccups and for a time the links appear to disappear. It usually only lasts a short while and they are all back, intact and ready for more additions. If this happens, come back a bit later to check the status. If after a few hours it hasn't resolved, feel free to let me know, and I'll contact my hero, Mr. Linky.

Welcome!

Welcome to second session of The Next Chapter book blogging group. You are invited to join this journey through the 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women by Gail McMeekin. After the success of our Soul Coaching journey, I was inspired to start off 2009 with another exploration, this time with creativity as our focus. We will be starting Friday, January 9, 2009.

About The Next Chapter

The concept behind a book-blogging group is that a community of bloggers work their way through a book together, sharing their experiences by posting on their own blog and by reading what other participants are sharing. You can choose to share as much or as little as you like. This blog will be our homebase and will host the blog roll of participants. I will be sharing my own personal explorations through the book on my blog, Starshyne Productions.

About Our Second Book: The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women by Gail McMeekin

The first paragraph: "Your creative self is alive and waiting for your invitation to evolve! Dare to embrace your creative self and manifest your dreams. Recognizing your creativity leads you into a life of self-expression, fulfillment and contribution."

From Gail's website: "The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women: A Portable Mentor (Conari Press, 2000) is an inspirational guidebook that offers twelve practices that will increase your creative success and help you to achieve your goals, complete with interviews of Sarah Ban Breathnach, Barbara Sher, Shakti Gawain, Chris Madden, Sigrid Olsen, and 40 other highly creative women. "

To Join In:

• Email jamie (at) openthedoor (dot) ca to say that you'd like to join in. Please include your name and the address for the blog on which you'll be posting about this journey. Let me know if you'd prefer to be listed by your name or your blog name on the blog roll.
• You will need a copy of the book. You may get it from your library or you can purchase it here in Canada and here in the US.
• You will need a blog. If you don't have one yet, you can set one up quickly and for free on Blogger.
• You might also want a journal, to have somewhere private to record your thoughts and feelings.

Timing

This will be a weekly process with prompts appearing here on Fridays.

Each week we will explore one of the 12 secrets shared in the book. On Friday, January 9th I will put up the first post inviting you to begin the process and providing a space for you to include a link to your blog post once you've written about Chapter 1. Each Friday after that, I'll invite you to post about the next secret on the journey.

More Resources

If you're looking for another level of support for your creativity, if you have a creative project that you want to bring to life, even if it's just an idea at the moment, sign up for Circe's Circle and have both my support as a creative self-development coach and the support of other creative bloggers. A new group starts January 13th. For more information, click here. To read testimonials, click here. Groups are limited to 6 participants.

Badges

Put a badge on your blog to share that you're participating and to encourage others to join in. Thank you Suzie for creating these beauties. (If you need help with coding, send me an email and I'll send you the code)

Questions?

Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

Let's start 2009 creatively!