Jerry D. Russell dot Com

My goal in this installment is to show how you can use the World Wide Web as an idea tool for your stories, blog entries or whatever else you happen to be writing.  Everyone knows that you can use the Internet to play games, view pictures, chat or check the weather.  Most writers know how powerful it can be as a research tool as well.  There are a myriad of helpful web sites available, regardless of the genre you write in, or your topic of the moment.

Can you use the web as a brainstorming catalyst?  Yes, if you use the right tools.

The tool I use as a brainstorming inspirational medium is StumbleUpon.  StumbleUpon is a social bookmarking service, much like digg or Technorati.  All of these tools allow you to add sites that you like to a list of favorites, keep track of the sites that are most popular with their subscribers and browse through the hot topics of the day, but StumbleUpon has a distinct advantage in the realm of brainstorming, they call it Stumbling.

Once you’ve signed up for a free StumbleUpon account, then fill in your interests in your profile.  Then you’ve got the option to install their toolbar in either IE or Firefox.  Install it, then click on the “Stumble!” button.   This will take you to a website that your preferences suggest you’ll be interested in.  If so, click the “thubms up” button to save it to your StumbleUpon favorites and click “Stumble” again.

Each time you give a site a Thumbs up or thumbs down, StumbleUpon refines the sites that it guides you to, which gives you the opportunity to view places and gather new ideas and inspiration.  As a plus, if you give a site a “thumbs Up”, you’re letting other people know that you liked the site and giving them the opportunity to visit it as well.

As an example, My interests are writing, recipes, cooking, guitars and humor. I click the “Stumble” button in my toolbar and:

• The first site is of no interest to me whatsoever, Thumbs Down
• The next is a blog entry titled “I’m too poor for Bisquick Biscuits“  that I think isinteresting and a bit funny, thumbs Up!
• The next site is called “Writer’s Resources and Links For Writers” Thumbs up, they’ve got some good information here, and I’ll probably be blogging about it soon, so it’s good to have it in my favorites.

My interests are pretty varied, so I end up with quite a variety, but I think you’ll see the value here.  If you focus your interests on just those topics that really inspire you, StumbleUpon can be incredibly useful in generating ideas, inspiration, adn occasionlly just a good laugh.  Give it a shot, I think you’ll be surprised.

Jerry Helpful Resources, Observations

Sidebar Widgets have become an integral part of most WordPress blogs by now. Widgets allow a blog owner to quickly arrange elements in his or her sidebar(s) in the order they like, without having to actually code anything, a huge plus for non-designers and non-coders.

Widgets definitely enhanced what you could do with WordPress, but in my and more than a few other’s opinions, they just don’t quite do enough. Layout options are limited.  Configuring such sidebar staples as the category tree can be a bit of a nightmare, if it’s even possible, and trying to get your CSS just right for everything can be a killer.

Enter the Nybble’s Sidebar Modules Plugin.  While still not perfect, Sidebar Modules give a lot more control over what can be done with your widgets, including the ability to control which pages they are displayed on. (handy if you’re running a two column theme with only one sidebar included.)

For my money, it’s a 7 out of 10.

Jerry WordPress

Sadly, the decision has been made to let Spunpuppy Web Works fade away. The reasons are varied, butin the end, it is simply that time.

Over the years, Spunpuppy has gone through several incarnations, each a bit less fruitful. With other full-time projects, and a general sense of burnout, I’m letting it go.

This blog will remain in place. It will be used to give out little tips, tricks and insights to the world of web design and specifically, to blogging platforms and what you can do with them, with a focus on my platform of choice, WordPress. I’ll highlight plugins, ways to turn a profit and other little tidbits, as well as perhaps give back to the community with a few little widgets of my own.

Don’t worry, oh users of blogspot or whatever-other-service. I’ll try to oke around and keep up with what’s happening there as well.

The Puppy is dead! Long live the Puppy!

Jerry Uncategorized

Can magazine writing help you as a writer? I’ve always thought so, especially if you write nonfiction. Apparently W. Terry Whalin thinks so too. His article on right-writing.com titled Magazine Writing Leads to Book Publishing covers the topic in an informative and no-nonsense way that I’m sure will benefit a lot of writers out there.

While you’re there, be sure to look over some of Mr. Whalin’s other articles, and take the time to check his research materials.  Everything is incredibly well thought out and definitely worth the read.

Jerry Must Reads, Observations, Writing Tips

The Winners of Brenda Novak’s Third Annual On-Line Auction for Juvenile Diabetes Research have been announced, and We’re proud to announce the three people who won services from Spunpuppy Web Works.

Robin D. Owens was the highest bidder for a complete SEO and site optimization evaluation package. robin is the Rita Award Winning Author of Fantasy and Futuristic Romance.

Caren Helms was the highest bidder for a complete custom blog template by the staff at Spunpuppy.

Darlene Rosesilzer was high bidder for a complete custom website design package.

We’d like to take a moment to thank all of our winners for their participation, together we raised several hundred dollars for Juvenile Diabetes Research. We couldn’t have done it without you!

If you are one of the winners, you’ll be receiving an email from us within the next two hours.

Jerry News and Events