My Top Ten Tips for Blogging

My friend was asking me how I became a "famous" blogger. First of all, I am not famous. But I do really like to blog about Wizard101, and looking at the number of followers I have, people like to read my blog. Now I can't give you "get famous quick" answer, I don't think there is one, but I can give you some tips that I think make a really great blog.

1. Write about what you love. Nothing is more important.

2. Read other blogs. Reading makes you a better writer. You learn first hand the "Do's and Don'ts" of blogging.

3. Comment on other peoples blogs. Everyone loves getting comments. Spread the love.

4. Use lots of pictures! For my guide on how to take really nice ones click here!

5. Use spell check. There's no shame in using spell check! It won't always be right, but it will cut down on common mistakes.

6. Reply to comments on your blog. Encourage conversation.

7. Update your template. Not all the time, but a change every once and while is a lot of fun. Just make sure it's easy to read!

8. Be positive. Try to see possibilities <~ this is easier said than done, however and I am constantly reminding myself to "BE HAPPY OR SHUT UP!" (just kiddin' ;D)

9. Mention and link others. Linking is a great way of showing respect for your favorite blogs.

10. Relax. First and foremost you should be having fun!

Wash, rinse, repeat!
~Heather

P.S. Wanna know a secret? I have a blog pet-peeve. Music that automatically plays. I hate it! I can't read and listen to it at the same time.

Mr. Sandman

If you were at the meet and greet last night you may have noticed that I have a new pet.

I am very proud to present Mister Sandy the Sandman!

I was very excited about getting him, because he is my favorite colossus hybrid. Plus my friend got one too, so we match!

But the most awesome part? He goes smashingly (is that a word? it is now.) well with my Lawrence of Arabia togs.

Now you might not know that "Mister Sandman" is also the name of a song! Yes!

Here is the original recording, it's very sweet!

(Here's a bonus video. Why? Because it reminds me of Lawrence Welk. :D)

Bung, bung, bung, bung...

~Heather

All Star Meet and Greet

Wow. That was crazy!

I was glad for the tower protection.

Thank you very much John and Heather! It was very fun.

Oof. I need a nap...

~Heather

P.S. Heh, I was right. I'm not terribly famous, but as I have reminded myself, when people come to a meet and greet, or any blogger party, they want to meet friendly. DANG YOU FRIENDLY! Why do you have to be so cool? HUH? ;)

Paper Lantern

I adore paper lanterns.

One of my favorite housing items ever is "paper lantern".

It drops from Do-Daga in the Hamestu Village.

I would like to see a string of laterns that we could hang on the wall.

~Heather

Buggy Buggy

Let's talk about Celestia a bit.

It's underwater.

Which makes no sense, Celestia(l) should be in the heavens, you know stars and all that good stuff.

But okay underwater, which kinda works because Sailors use stars to navigate.

So then we are looking at the enemies in the pre-quests and they are BUGS! What in the heck? Not crustaceans, bugs. Bugs don't live underwater. They just don't.

What's up with KI? I know you guys want to be like Pixar but those were three different movies. Not all in the same one.

It's all starting to feel a bit Doctor Who.

Not that I have anything against Doctor Who! On the contrary, I love it! (But I highly doubt that David Tenant will be making an appearance in Celestia.) Plus this isn't a Sci-Fi MMO, it's fantasy! I think someone is starting to mix their genres.

And I am very confused and slightly grossed out. I don't like bugs. Nope. I'm starting to have an Indy moment, "Bugs. Why did it have to be bugs?"

~Heather

Well that was quick

Well because Sierra got it right off the bat and I am to excited too wait, I'll share with you now!

IT'S A GRIMZILLA!

Yesterday morning my death friend and Kestrel got together and they both got hybrids! Woot woot! I am so happy! Now I have a hybrid! :D

Sierra, your prize has been sent to you. Use it well!

So which hybrid should I go for next? Maybe Grimtooth or Jade Hound.

:)

~Heather

A little game to pass the time

Alright everybody, yesterday I got an egg. I am not going to show you what is in the egg, you have to guess. Whoever gets it right wins a Pet Energy Elixir! The contest will end when I reveal the pet at John's All Star Meet and Greet on the 29th. This is your clue:

Can you guess what's inside?

Comment and leave your answer! (You can make three guesses since this is a broad field. :))

Have fun and good luck!

~Heather

Meet the Stars

John LifeGlen and Heather EmeraldFlame are hosting a fabulous in John's new Watch Tower Hall (which I must say is spectacular,).

There will be loads of VIPs of the wizard101 blogger world there.

I know I can't wait to meet Abigail MythHammer! I bow down to the awesome-awesomeness of Myth Spent Youth.

I know most of these people and they are really awesome and I know they would love to meet you and chat with you!

I don't know why I'm up there with Friendly and Fallon. I'm really not that famous.

Anyway I'm sure it will be a smashing time!

I hope to see you there!

~Heather

Release the Petnome

As you may have heard by now, The Petnome Project is officially open to the public.

I would like to thank the petnome team. Heather Emeraldflame, Miguel Wildthorn and Kestrel Shadowthisle are just a few who have helped create this amazing/crazy project. And of course the man himself, Kevin Battleblood.

I also would like to say thank you to everyone who submited data, you are making this possible! Thank you and please don't stop now that we're live, as you can see we still need a lot of information.

~Heather

Very Pink

So I was reading the Boogie Woman's Babble (the friendly necromancer's daughter's blog,) and she was mentioning this game/site called "Cartoon Doll Emporium". She said she needed some friends so I went over and made a free account and started clicking around. AH! ITS ADDICTING! And pink. Very pink. So that's where I've been the last few days. I am trying to play it less, and wizards more. I need some thing that's not pink.

~Heather

P.S.
So if you become addicted too (or you already are,) you can add me as a friend! My username is "moonstarz"! :)

Recovery

This was in my inbox this afternoon:

Hello!


Good news!! Your named item(s) have been restored (please check your backpack (or your bank if the backpack was full))! As a thank you for your patience through this, we've applied an additional 10000 gold to your character as well.

Happy questing!
KingsIsle Support

I logged on checked my back pack and sure enough, there were my wings! Yay! Now I don't have to walk everywhere! And also another Orthrus.

Okay some things I notice off the bat are; a) Wrong name, but that can be easily fixed. b)Distract has been replaced by Big-Check, no big deal I wasn't really attached to distract anyway. c) He has no experience in the bars, that was a bummer. It's a lot of work to get them up. d) Pip Boost has been replaced with Pip O'Plenty. Not cool. Right now my Leprechaun gives me better power pips.

So I have my pet back, but it's totally not the same pet, and I didn't get really anything for compensation. 10,000 gold? I could sell all the junk I got lying around and get more. Last time people got crowns AND a firebat.

(I think what the might be trying to do is squelch the hooligans who are wishing they had lost something so they could get some crowns (I'm sure there are some who falsely reported missing items,). But that's not fair to the people who really did lose items and were inconvenienced by this.)

Wow. I am still in shock really. I was expecting either a happy ending or a tragic one.

Well... to be honest, I didn't expect that this would ever happen again. And I am very disappointed about the way they've handled this one.

Maybe people felt like this the last time too. Maybe this wouldn't have been such a rant-y post if I had only lost my wings. But the reality is I didn't.

As long as we're going for honesty here I might as well tell you that when things like this happen, it makes me want to take my money else where. Its a good thing I like this game. Because if I didn't love it as much as I do, I would be so outta there.

~Heather

Petnome to the Rescue!

So all y'all know I lost my Orthrus right? Well yesterday I got an email from KI. Here's what it said:

Dear Wizards &/or Parents,




As you know on 7/9, during the restart of the game after a short maintenance window, some items were lost that had been in use or equipped just prior to the shutdown. We sincerely apologize and we promise that all individual claims will be reviewed and addressed.


So that we can quickly get your account back to rights, we request your assistance. Please provide the following information (we know some of you already have, but the succinct reiteration will allow us to quickly target your account):


1. Account Username: (No passwords please!)


2. Character Name: (if you have more than one character with the same name, please add in the school/level)


3. Specific Item(s) Lost: (If you are missing a pet, please provide the talents/level)


4. Specific Item(s) Lost:


5. etc.


A few additional notes:
a. This ticket will NOT automatically close
b. Please respond only to this email for this topic. Opening new tickets will require more time by the support staff to link your tickets together (and thus slowing down our ability to get your items recovered). If you have questions unrelated to this issue, please just open a new ticket/email.


We anticipate the full recovery for all impacted players will take a few days. Your continued patience & understanding is greatly appreciated.


Sincerely,
KingsIsle Support

Provide a list of talents? Where could I get a list of my missing pet's talents? Well I entered them in Petnome so I can request a list of entries for my missing pet and BAM! Super Petnome!

~Heather

Surfin' Safari

This is my new Celestia look that I snagged at the bazaar.

 I feel rather "Jane". (you know, Tarzan.)

I like it but I am still holding out for goggles. I need that "Dr. Horrible" look. :)

~Heather

Missing

So you might have heard but I lost my wings and my Orthrus today.

I am very sad. And I hope very much that he will come back to me.

(But I am prepared for the worst.)

~Heather

Moderation

A question that has been beating around Wizard101 forever is, "Will they put in game mods?" I found this really nice thread on Central that asked this question to KI and here is their response:

Question 6: Mods




Will you ever have in game, moderators? If not why?


Answer 6:


Every single player age 13+ is a moderator. We’ve given our players the ability to report inappropriate chat or behavior, and we encourage you to act responsibly and use this tool. Each and every report is read by a real person, and acted upon accordingly. Egregious or repeated violations of the Terms of Use will result in a permanent account ban and deletion of your characters.


False reports are also not tolerated, and can result in sanctions against the players making the false reports.


We put the power of moderation in the hands of our players; you can make a difference in Wizard101.

They didn't answer the question. "You do it," is basically what they said.

But is it our job? I don't think so, we pay them to make sure that this game is safe, they should be taking care of it.

Now I think that being able to report someone is good and I wouldn't want that to go away, I would like to also have a task force of mods patrolling the commons' as well. I would also love to see some more clear rules about what you can and can not report, I find it very confusing, I don't want to false report anyone!

What do you think?

~Heather

Petnome Project Ad

ooooooooooo! Hey check it out! We have an ad now. :)



WOOT! Petnome for the win!
~Heather

Sorry

Hi everyone.

This is just a quick note to tell you that I'm sorry for having been away for a few weeks now. Today I'm going to try and catch up on everything that's been happening. I feel like a dork. Now to go work on Petnome. Poor Kevin. I deserted him. If I could I would send you cookies man. Okay to work now.

~Heather