Hey I’ll tell ya, it’s never a dull moment around here. After choosing the topic this month about colorful characters, it seems like there’s one around every corner! And it kinda makes you think, too: maybe bein’ colorful is ‘waaay more interesting that you thought?

Anyhoo – a big ol’ Yeehaw! is in order for the participants in this month’s groupwrite project: What I Learned From Colorful Characters. In fact, we had 10 entries this time around! (sound of crowd cheering enthusiastically)

So take a look at the list below, in which all the entries are listed in the order in which I found ‘em. Do yourself a favor and drop by each writers’ site and start a conversation, why don’cha? You’ll be glad you did.

• Eccentrics With Allergies: My Aunt Lu, by Monique Attinger at BeAllergyWise
• What you see is not always what you get, by Deb Brown at Need A Little Advice?
• Colorful People Rock, by Todd Jordan at The Broad Brush
• Introduction to Creative Infrastructure 2.0, by Mark Dykeman at Broadcasting Brain
• My Mission in Life, by Becky McCray via Twitter
• What I Learned From a Colorful Character: Eliminate This Word, by Lillie Ammann at A Writer’s Words, an Editor’s Eye
• What I’ve Learned From… Colorful Characters, by Geoffrey Philp at Geoffrey Philp’s Blogspot
• Do you have to be bad to be noticed? by Jackie Cameron at Jackie Cameron
• Musing About Colorful Characters, by Brad Shorr at Word Sell Inc.

And of course, here’s a few more from yours truly:

• A Bubba Named Hollis , by Robert Hruzek at Middle Zone Musings

I’d like to thank all those who participated this month, and hope you enjoy some of the wild, weird, and sometimes even whacky stuff that goes on here at the Zone. Don’t forget to drop by next month for another exciting episode of As The World Turns What I Learned From….

And of course, a big ol’ tip o’ the hat to ya!

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Wow, what a great topic, y’all! Who, I ask you, hasn’t learned something from the smaller-sized versions of ourselves? Even if you don’t have kids of your own, there’s plenty to learn from when we were kids ourselves, right?

Anyhoo – a big ol’ Yeehaw! is in order for the participants in this month’s groupwrite project: What I Learned From Children. In fact, we had [updated again] 19 entries this time around! (sound of crowd cheering enthusiastically)

So take a look at the list below, in which all the entries are listed in the order in which I found ‘em. Do yourself a favor and drop by each writers’ site and start a conversation, why don’cha? You’ll be glad you did.

• What I Learned From Children, by Stephen Smith at …words
• Join the Action! by Kevin Martineau at Shooting the Breeze
• Six Lessons Learned From Children, by Deb Brown at Need a Little Advice?
• What I learned from children, by Todd Jordan at The Broad Brush
• Why – the Most Valuable Word in Business, by Brad Shorr at Word Sell, Inc.
• The tale of the bird, the boy and the big brave steps, by Emma Newman at Post-Apocalyptic Publishing
• What I Learned from My Children: Simplicity, by Meryl at Meryl.net
• What I learned from children, by Paul Merrill at Shiny Bits of Life
• Write, Produce and Direct Your Own Destiny Program(ming), by Jeanne Male at Job Life Architect
• Living Here and Now, by Ulla Hennig at Ulla Hennig’s Weblog
• What I Learned From Children, by Geoffrey Philp at Geoffrey Philp’s Blogspot
• What I Learned From Children, by George Angus at Tumblemoose.com
• What I Learned From MY Children, by Karen Hanarahan at Best of Mother Earth
• What I Learned From… Children, by Stephen Smith at …words
• 5 Elastic Bands and a Shoebox, by Anthony Bibby at Through the Window

And of course, here’s a few more from yours truly:

• Getting the Wrong Impression, by Robert Hruzek at Middle Zone Musings
• Christmas Day, 2009, by Robert Hruzek at Middle Zone Musings
• Jump With Joy! by Robert Hruzek at Middle Zone Musings
• The Day I Went Flying, by Robert Hruzek at Middle Zone Musings

I’d like to thank all those who participated this month, and hope you enjoy some of the wild, weird, and sometimes even whacky stuff that goes on here at the Zone. Don’t forget to drop by next month for another exciting episode of As The World Turns What I Learned From….

And of course, a big ol’ tip o’ the hat to ya!

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Hey, a tip o’ the hat, y’all! Today is the first Monday of October, and you know what that means, don’t ya? Yep, it’s time for the next What I Learned From… groupwrite project! (sound of crowd cheering enthusiasticaly)

So to kick us off, I have a question for ya:

Have you ever been toolin’ along, minding your own business, when WHAM! you ran straight into a barrier of some kind?

Yup; notwithstanding the lump on my forehead, I’ve done the same thing now and then.

I’ll tell ya, it’s downright aggravating, ain’t it? You really want to get where you’re going, or accomplish that thing you’ve set your heart (or possibly even your future financial fortune) on, or whatever it is you’re aiming for – and then some danged fool has gone and shackled you with some kind of limitation or two! Augh! Drat! Grrr!

Maybe it’s a road sign (“No Entry Beyond This Point”) or a length of chain (“Do not enter. Prosecutors will be violated.”), or even something less tangible (“I’m sorry, but we don’t service those anymore. You’ll have to call the manufacturer directly. Uh, if they still exist. And good luck with that.”) No matter what it is, it represents something you’re going to have to figure out what do about, right? And thus… you learn something!

So to celebrate, I’m naming this as the topic of the month for our What I Learned From… groupwrite project!

Now, you are invited to join us as usual this month and share something you’ve learned when circumstances are conspiring to derail you. And don’t hold back, y’all; give it to us straight! All you have to do is write a post and send me the link OR you can link to an already written post about something you learned from your experience. (By the way, you don’t have to stop at one – more is definitely encouraged.)

What to Do

OK, once again, all you have to do is either write something new and send me the link, or you can send me the link to something you’ve already written. It doesn’t matter how far back the link goes – just send it to me!

The project is open from now thru Sunday, October 11, at midnight (that’s midnight to me, which is GMT-5 time), so write your post(s) (yes, you can enter more than once!), and send me the links! I’ll post the entire list of entries on Monday, October 12.

And let’s not forget the details…

1. Write a new post (or link to an existing one) on your blog with a link to THIS POST (uh, the one you’re reading now). As I said, feel free to be as eloquent (or concise) as you like. C’mon; show off for us!
2. Send me an email (rhruzek@sbcglobal.net) containing your name, the title of your post, and the permalink of the post. (To make sure I don’t miss it.)

That’s all there is to it! Next Monday, October 12, I will post the entire list of entries right here at the Middle Zone, so be sure and drop by to check ‘em all out.

As always, we have just two simple rules around here:

• For the sake of the general blogging audience, please keep it G-Rated. (Also please note: this is a request, not a demand, since after all it’s your blog and you can do what you want. Fair warning: I can choose to link to you or not.)
• Be nice.

All right, ladies and gentlemen; you know what to do! Grab the writing instrument of your choice and start writing!

[Note from the Proprietor - I realize it takes a little time to write your entries, but would you mind too terribly not waiting until midnight on Sunday night, September 13 to notify me? Sometimes it can be difficult to get them all compiled by Monday's 6 am post time! I surely thank you, and as a token of my appreciation - have yourself a cookie!]

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Howdy, y’all!

Hey, in case you dropped by for the kickoff to this month’s “What I Learned From…” groupwrite project, well, you came to the right place! I just, er, plumb forgot today was a holiday! (It’s Labor Day in the U.S.)

So I’ve moved the kickoff to tomorrow. Be sure to drop by tomorrow, same time, same place, ‘K?

Thanks, and a tip o’ the hat to ya for bein’ so understandin’, y’all! Have a great holiday!

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Photo: Oops! by ktpupp

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Yeehaw! Waahoo! And what the heck; a big ol’ tip o’ the topper, too, for all the fine entries in this month’s What I Learned From the World of Plants groupwrite project! And what an interesting topic it turned out to be, wasn’t it?

There were 16 entries this month! (sound of crowd cheering enthusiastically) And I’ll tell ya, we covered the gamut of content here, folks: funny, serious, ironic… you name it – there’s a post that fits. (In fact, one enterprising participant changed the meaning of the word, “plants”, and wrote about something completely different. Way to think outside the box, there, Bubba!)

Anyhoo; take a gander at the list of entries below, won’t you? In fact, why not do them the honor of leaving a comment – or even starting a conversation? You’ll be glad ya did! They’re in no particular order except it’s how I found ‘em.

• Talking Dirty, by Steve Woodruff at Steve’s Leaves
• What I Learned From the Plant World, by Patrizia at VOIP
• Two Important Lessons From Plants, by Deb Brown at Deb Works
• What I Learned From the Death of My Bosai, by Ulla Hennig at Ulla Hennig’s Weblog
• It May Look Easy, by Paul Merrill at Shiny Bits of Life
• What I Learned From the Plant World, by Nancy Kourmoulis at Treasures of Darkness
• 8 Things I Learned About Sales From the Plant World, by Brad Shorr at Word Sell, Inc.
• The Art of Paying Attention, by Joanna Young at Confident Writing
• What I Learned From the Plant World, by Lillie Ammann at A Writer’s Words, and Editor’s Eye
• What I Learned From a Bunch of Spinach, by Luke Gedeon at Luke Gedeon
• What I Learned From the Plant World – Restoration, by Elizabeth Spitter at Made for Something Greater
• Cold Comfort, by Sam at Future Nostalgic
• What I Learned From the Plant World, by Meryl Evans, at meryl.net
• And the Day Came When… by Amy Palko at Less Ordinary

And last, but hopefully not in the least, er, least, here’s a couple of entries from yours truly:

• Bloom Where You Can, by Robert Hruzek at Confident Writing (published as a guest post over at Joanna Young’s place, Confident Writing, while coincidentally fitting into her own theme this month: Possibilities. What can I say? I’m such an efficient fellah!)
• Constrictor, by Robert Hruzek at Middle Zone Musings

Y’all give yourselves a big hand, my friends; once again you’ve outdone yourselves! And as always, a big ol’ tip o’ the hat to ya! Plan to join us next month for the next What I Learned From… project.

What’s the topic going to be, you ask? Well, now… that would be tellin’!

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