Tech challenged. That’s what I am and I’m frustrated. Call it minor boasting here but I’ve always had a quick grasp of processes. I’m usually able to read a complicated schematic and figure it out because my brain works very well with pictures. I built a webpage before what-you-see-is-what-you-get and understood the code well enough to do so with substance, hot buttons, and pages. I’ve used all manner of complicated software and even managed the WTF intricacies of my laptop’s Vista operating system (Bill, you should be ashamed for releasing this fiasco on the populace) I generally like problem solving.  So what’s frustrating the heck out me? This blog. It simply doesn’t do what I want it to do.

Last week I stopped by another author’s blog and it was absolutely stunning. What’s more,  it was on WordPress, the very same blog host I use. In the same manner women apply makeup to their faces, I wanted makeup for my internet face – my blog. Why? I plan to describe this adventure of mine in full detail as it unfolds.  I’d like writers just starting out to find it and see the possibility for their own journey by reading mine as I scuff and scrape and learn the ropes. I want people to come into my site and be visually comfortable. I want them to find it pleasing and interesting enough to want to stay and read. And I’ve met so many wonderful authors, I want an internet-popular place where I can showcase their work alongside mine. A little inquiry on my part eventually led me to software called Artisteer. Excited to begin, I bought the software at 10:30 Friday night and tried to play around with it until I noticed my hand making mouse clicks my brain was unaware of.  A clear message to go to sleep.

I scoured youtube for how-to videos and got a fairly good grasp of how this artsy program works. I created two new templates and lost them before I figured out how and where to save them. By lost them I do mean lost. They’re somewhere in the bowels of Vista (again I say Bill Gates, shame on you) Yesterday I made a lovely template – marine-blue silk for a background, my full header of Calliope the Muse, I added fluid buttons, and columns to add my author friends’ blog addresses and places to highlight their books next to mine. It’s really nice. Artisteer is reminiscent of MS Publisher and MS PowerPoint, two programs I am already familiar with. This project was the proverbial piece of cake.

So where is this flashy new painted face for Calliope’s Writing Tablet? Here sitting on my desktop. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to post it. I spent hours on it yesterday …hours!! This morning I took a different tack and found out (possibly) that wordpress.com hosts blogs, but wordpress.org might be the place to go to load the template to wordpress.com. If this is indeed the case, all I can say is this is asinine.  Jeeze folks we’re not all geeks ya know. A little ease of operation would be nice.

I’ve downloaded more information from wordpress.org and the little I’ve read appears beyond complicated. I know people are doing this…just how remains to be seen. So in my frustration, I’ll set aside my lovely new face for Calliope’s Writing Tablet and walk away for now. After I drink my morning coffee I’ll parlay that emotion into some serious writing today.  The new improved Calliope’s Writing Tablet is coming,  😦  but I’m not sure how long that will be. Hopefully before my next novel Dreamscape is published.