I adore words. I think most writers do. We thrill to the sound of a new one and instinctively store it away for use at a later date, like a dog with a bone. Long ago I promised myself I would always look up words I didn’t recognize. I’ve pretty much adhered to that dictum ever since. For many years that meant keeping a dictionary nearby; and later, as my writing ambition grew, I added a thesaurus. But with the advances in technology during the past decade, my word-finding tools have evolved, sadly turning my treasured reference books into dusty relics of a bygone era - dinosaurs in a digital world/Mary Jane Honegger, Writing North Idaho. More here. (Courtesy photo: Writing North Idaho)

Question: Do you enjoy looking up unknown words in a dictionary or its online equivalent?

In the age of Facebook and Twitter, it will be interesting to see if the family Christmas* letter—the impersonal kind that's printed in quantity and mailed with (or in place of) greeting cards—will begin to fade away as a tradition. I hope not. Which may be surprising, coming from someone who has been known to refer to such letters as “Brag-o-Grams.” Jokingly, of course. Usually. I guess I should confess up front that I rarely write them. My husband and I lead a fairly quiet life and figure that those who are truly interested in the details pretty much know them already. Individual, personal letters take care of the rest—no need for a mass mailing. The exception to this was the year we moved from the suburbs of Illinois to the mountains of Idaho. That year, it took a mass-produced letter to notify people of our new address, share photos of the place, and reassure loved ones that we hadn't completely taken leave of our senses/Jennifer Lamont Leo, Writing North Idaho. More here.

• Also: Tips for writing stand-out holiday letter/Jennifer Rova, Writing North Idaho

Question: Do you enjoy getting/receiving Christmas newsletters?

New Blog: Launched in September 2010, the Writing North Idaho blog is written by a group of six North Idaho writers made up of authors and freelance writers, including a copywriter and a screenwriter. They include: Nancy Owens Barnes of Priest River, Mary Jane Honegger of Post Falls, Jennifer Lamont Leo of Cocolalla, Jennifer Rova of Hayden, Kathy Cooney Dobbs of Worley, and Elizabeth Brinton of Coeur d'Alene. Oh…and we also have mysterious writer Norm de Ploom who lives somewhere up north and pops in on occasion to give us keen advice on grammar, punctuation and language trends. Our intent with Writing North Idaho is to provide a place for writers of all skill levels in the North Idaho area to connect and share their encouragement, inspiration, and knowledge about the craft of writing, the business of writing and the writing life. We also highlight writing-related events happening in the area. We post three times each week and welcome posts from guest writers/Nancy Owens Barnes, Writing North Idaho. Blog site here.

• Politics of job creation/Arch Druid
• Thank you for following me/Bay Views
• Seems SIRI suggests more than just food places to eat/Blush Response
• Disorganized organization, and: ADD or toilet paper roll syndrome?/Simple Mind
• Sunset/Live, Love, Laugh, Hope
• The rumors of my death/Nuts & Nonsense
• All I know is what I read on Facebook, and: Jeans Pool/Slight Detour
• How to fix Congress/Stebbijo's Place
• Your writer's voice: Let your thoughts shine/Writing North Idaho

HucksOnline numbers (for Tuesday): 8584/5316, and: (for Wednesday): 8868/5208