Another Halloween is nearly upon us. 

I’m not sure what it means that the most unholy day happens to fall on a Sunday this year.  And to celebrate, I’m bringing you a very special Halloween episode of this blog.  It’s pretty much on par with The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.  Okay, maybe not…but it’s at least twice as special as any Full House special, and that’s pretty good, because that entire show was “special”…in every sense of the word.

It seems a good idea with all the excitement in the air to take a moment and prepare so that you and your kids can have the best possible Halloween.

A guide to Halloween for protective parents…who are just negligent enough to let their kids participate in Halloween.

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Breaking news: an Australian church doesn’t like erections.

Okay, that isn’t quite the case, at least in some contexts.  The church would just prefer that men with Erectile Dysfunction remain that way than worship alongside the female star of an ED drug ad in their church.

Recently, a church in Australia gave a woman the boot who starred in an ad for an ED drug.  The woman has responded by acknowledging the ad was in poor taste and offensive, but she needed the money.  The church leaders have reported that they will welcome their dysfunctional member back with open hearts…just as soon as the ad is off the air. 

In a time when the conversation around churches is “acceptance,” and “tolerance,” the cherished age old practice of relentless ostracism and bloodthirsty witch hunts seems to be becoming less and less popular.

Did the Australian actress’ church have the right (or was it smart) to kick this woman out until the church leaders can walk this situation off, or should everyone be welcome in church at all times, no matter how embarrassing their behavior?

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Congratulations to Dave and Melanie for being randomly selected to win a free copy of Billy Coffey’s Snow Day!  Thanks to everyone for showing your support for Billy.

Okay, time to wrap up blog month.

I’ve spent the better part of this month doing what I can to help you bloggers improve your craft.  Today, I’ve got three final thoughts.  A lightning round, mashup, clip show blog post of bloggy goodness, if you will.  Even though Blog Month is over, I always enjoy helping people out.  If I haven’t discussed a question that’s on your mind, go ahead and drop me a note.  One of the points today was even inspired by an email question I recieved last week.

Three More Thoughts On Blogging: Haters, White Noise, and Obsessions

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You like free books, right?

Well I’ve got some more free books to hand out today.  About a year ago, I had a Q and A with one of my blog friends, Billy Coffey who was working hard at publishing his first book, Snow Day.  The book is finally in print, and Billy stands as the first blogger I’ve had the pleasure of featuring twice on my blog. 

To say that Billy is a first time author is a complete misnomer, since his blog posts all read like meticulously crafted mini-novels.  His blog is always charming and insightful in a simple and down to earth tone.  Billy’s like the one guy in the room full of loudmouths who speaks the least and with the quietest voice, but when he speaks, it always counts.  To have a complete novel from Billy feels like a hardbound, two-hundred page string of blog posts about a seemingly ordinary day when school is cancelled due to the weather, but ends up being much more significant in the life on one man.  Fiction lovers just can’t go wrong.

I’ve got a few questions for Billy about the book and his advice to aspiring authors, and then you can win a free copy of his book just by commenting or tweeting this post!

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Onward with Blog Month!

Last Monday, I talked about Blog Idols, the people who write the blogs we’re all jealous of, and what we can do rather than cry and get depressed because we don’t think our blogs are as good.

Step one was: write a better blog.

And today, I’m here to help you do just that.  Before we go on though, here’s a disclaimer.  A couple of people have written in, confirming my suspicions that you exist.  You claim to blog “for fun,” and have no aspirations to control the world through blogging.  Your blog is a personal diary, and you are content to share kitty pictures with just your friends and family.  You are not jealous of anyone else’s blog.

That’s great!  I’m not telling you that you should be jealous of anyone else, or cry yourself to sleep at night because you can’t push your visitor count a little higher.  But this still applies to you.  So stop taking pictures of your kitties for one minute and read on.

Five ways to write a better blog

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 Last Friday, I asked you who’s in your blog reader.

A lot of you shared a lot of blogs.  Blogs that make you laugh, cry, inspire you.  Even some blogs that you look up to as bloggers.

I call those the “Blog Idols.”

Those are the blogs you wish you were writing.  They give you something to look up to.  But looking up to blog idols often leads to blog envy, and then blog insecurity.  Suddenly, you’re not just enjoying a quality blog.  You’re cursing the heavens, wondering why you can’t write a blog as good as that one.  It’s really something everyone does whether they blog or not.  Why can’t I be as tall as that guy?  Why can’t I make as much money as that person?  Why can’t I have a body like hers?  Why can’t my wife have a body like hers?  Why can’t my kids be as above-average as those kids?  People are never happy with what they have.  So even if you don’t blog, listen up.

Speaking of blog idols, I just have to share with you one of my highlights at Catalyst was getting my copy of Anne Jackson’s Permission to Speak Freely autographed by Jon Acuff…and then Anne Jackson.  Opening bids on eBay are $375, with all of the proceeds benefiting me.

The idea of “blog idols” was brought up by commenter Sonny last Friday, and it’s something I know well.  For a long time, I read the “big boy” blogs, the blogs that everyone read.  It was depressing.  I’d come back to my humble blog and wish upon a shining pixel that Jeff, the patron saint of blogging, would sprinkle the same magick silicon fairy dust on my blog.  (Notice I spelled it ”magick,” to show you how serious I was.  None of that fake Disney Tinkerbell magic.)  Failing that, perhaps I could steal the identity of my favorite blogger, commandeer their online persona, and then I would be happy, and all will be right with the world.

But of course, neither of those things have happened…yet.  Rather than getting down on yourself for not writing a blog that’s as good as your favorite blog, here’s what I suggest.

Three Things for Blog Idolators to Do

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