Reflection on a Year of Blogging

Hey Lovelies!

Wow! I cannot believe that it has been a year since I started writing this blog. Okay it’s been a bit over a year – my first post was on December 29th, 2016 (That Awkward First Post). A lot has happened since then.

I was really nervous to get started and I had little to no idea of what to talk about – believe it or not. My dad has been pushing me for years to start up my own blog and showcase my work on it, which I haven’t entirely done as of yet (only two short story posts). I did a lot of research into what made a successful blog and how to start one up. At the end of all of that, I just really needed something to help keep me busy.

I graduated in June 2016 from University. I did not find a job right away and I still don’t have that career job that I’m looking for. I was really missing my English classes and writing group because we got to talk about literature and writing. It was amazing and I needed to start talking about that once again. So, here we are reading my 61st post for this blog. I finally got over my fear, signed up, and got writing.

If you haven’t noticed over this past year, I like to do research. When I first was doing my research into writing the perfect blog, one of the main suggestions is to post frequently and consistently, which I have found to be true for a lot of the bloggers that I have followed over the past year. It’s also why I, for the most part, will always post something on a Thursday night at 5:30 PM Mountain Standard Time. So, over the next year I have decided to post twice a week on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s at the same time I have been posting at for the past year.

Speaking of research…. I want to thank everyone for the comments on how nicely written some of my posts were this year. Mostly, my characterization posts, horror as a genre, and editing. I do put in a lot of effort into making sure the posts are informative. Depending upon the post, I do a minimum of two hours research. Most of those posts I listed above, are eight hours or more of research. This isn’t about me going “look at me I’m so great for doing research”, though there is a little bit of that I will admit, but to really emphasize that research will help your writing and people do appreciate it.

I have to say that there have been a lot of times over the past couple months especially that I have wanted to just quit writing the blog. “I’m too ….” whatever the excuse was. It’s that commitment to me and the other bloggers on here that made me pick up my laptop and start writing and to do that research.

I was also surprised with myself for overcoming my writer’s block. I definitely hit a patch of it in June and November. Those months weren’t my best months of writing, but I did manage to put some good ideas and posts out there to read.

And I really want to say thank you to everyone who checks in and reads my post for the week. I wouldn’t have a blog without you guys and I can’t wait to see what this next year will bring and what you guys have to say about it.

So in summary, here is what you can expect from me in the next year:

• Two posts a week! Tuesdays and Thursdays at the regular time.
• A bit of panic within the next few months as I am going to be moving out to Vancouver sometime before May. The boyfriend is going to UBC starting in May and I will be going with him.
• January is going to be about copy right laws, publishing, literary agents and editors. I will be keeping up with some themed months.
• I’m also going to publish more short stories this year. (Maybe.)
• I’m also going to try my hand at reading some more of the “classics” (aka canonized literature) and do some reviews on them.
• I’m also going to either start up a Twitter feed or Instagram feed for this blog. So keep an eye out for that and please follow me there too!

There you have it! Those are my grand plans for the year.

Happy New Years! I hope you all have a great new year ahead of you!

Until Tuesday!

Cheers,

Danielle