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author, book, bookblogwrimo, books, characters, fantasy, history of blog, NaNoWriMo, novel, read, reader, science fiction, scifi, writer, YA, young adult
No, I’m not talking gibberish. NaNoWriMo is a writing competition that takes place in November where writers try to write 50,000 words over the course of the month. See my post from last year all about it here.
I think I set a record with worst NaNo start ever. I wrote 248 words so far… My writing just isn’t working right now, and I know myself better than to force the writing, because when it’s not working I can’t write anything good, but I haven’t written in a few months and I want to. (Sorry for the babble)
I wish you luck if you’re doing NaNoWriMo this year. Try not stress out about it and just have fun writing. Don’t worry about word count, or even pay attention to it. Trying too hard last year only caused me to develop more writing bad habits, something I didn’t need, and I never wound up doing anything with my story anyway.
I don’t know if I’m going to keep trying with NaNo or just 
forget it and try to write every day on my own. I am going to participate in BookBlogWriMo though. It’s a spinoff of NaNo that just started this year and is hosted by Bookbumblings with blogging prompts for writing every day.
I’m just going to post once a week-ish (Yes, I’m cheating) since I don’t have enough to say about most of these topics for a whole post.
History of the Blog
I was always creating websites as a kid, but my interests waned quickly. (I had many embarrassing sites starting from the age of 14. Pokemon, Digimon, and whatever else I was currently into.)
When I started this blog it was mostly to placate my sister who insisted I make one. (She forced me onto Facebook too) I made my first post on Wednesday July 23rd 2013 to celebrate finishing my rough draft.
At first I just talked about my book occasionally, and then I posted writing tips for a few months. Then in April of this year I wrote my first book review and really loved it. It was so much more fun and easier to write, (Some of those writing tip posts would take me all week to do) and from then on I only wrote book reviews. 🙂
How You Read
All the ways! I never thought I’d like my Kindle, but he’s just so handy. I still prefer the real thing though. I always start the book taking notes for my reviews, then I forget once I get into it. I tune out the world and hear nothing while I read. (My mom hears everything, it’s just scary.) I rarely use real bookmarks, I just grab random objects that are on hand. (Which can make it rather awkward when I go to read in public and I’ve got a feminine pad bookmark…)
Where You Read
Wherever I can. The couch or my bed are my favorite spots, but I always carry a book for waiting rooms.
Why You Blog
For fun, to make friends. (Free books are a bonus)
Where You Blog
WordPress for now, but I’m debating on getting a .com
Favorite Childhood Book
I really liked the Alex Mack books, Goosebumps, and the first Narnia, but I think my favorite was the Hobbit.
Blog’s First Design
I’ve made quite a few headers for this blog, but they were pretty much the same as what I have now. This was my first one. (Yeah, it’s pretty bad.) I was trying to draw my characters, but I’m not good at coloring things on a computer. Then I added all of the stuff to the side in July in an attempt to spiffy things up around here.
Are you doing NaNoWriMo or BookBlogWriMo? What’s the history behind your blog? I always enjoy hearing about how everyone got started.
Also: The Last Changeling comes out on November 8th~! Since it was my first ARC I didn’t realize I was supposed to wait and post my review closer to when the book was released, so be sure to check it out.
I loved Goosebumps and Pokemon as a kid, haha. As for bookmarks, I either use my review notes or my phone. It’s just something that’s always handy!
I love that both of those things are still popular! (and not only because it doesn’t reveal my age) I haven’t played Pokemon in forever. Handy bookmarks are just handy. 😉 Better than bending down the page. *shudders*
Good luck. I don’t have time this year for Nano, but I wish I did.
Thank you. 🙂 You could do a mini NaNo with me, 200 words a day.
Don’t get discouraged yet, some days you’ll get in some good writing time and others you probably won’t find time to write at all. And there’s no really “bad” writing in NaNo, I find, or it’s really hard to judge the work when my goal is simply getting the words down on paper 🙂 It’s gonna be messy, it’s gonna be ugly, and I already know this…but that’s what edits and rewrites are for down the road. For now it’s just write write write for me! Good luck to you!
Thank you! I needed to hear that. I’ve been having a few bad writing months, so it’s easy to get discouraged. I’ll probably only write 200 words a day instead of close to 2,000, but any writing is better than none. 🙂 I wish you luck too. I hope you have a better writing day tomorrow.
I have never participated in NaNoWriMo, so I give you credit for trying! I can only imagine the stress of writing under pressure. Wishing you the best of luck! Just think- any writing you get done is a step in the right direction. 🙂
I loved hearing about your blog history! I am a big fan of the first Narnia book too.
Thanks. 🙂 Last year I was determined, but I’m a coward this year so I haven’t officially registered yet. Yeah, I don’t need stress so I’m just going to ignore the word count and attempt to write. Yes, any writing is better than none. Thanks, my blog just sort of happened. I was stuck on the Narnia book as a kid, I had my mom read it to me over and over.
Love this idea!! I have you beat: My current NaNo total is a resounding ZERO words. 0. None. Nada. I have written some, then backspaced the hell out of each one. Ugh. I don’t think it is going to end up working out for me at all. I hate failing to meet goals, so this is extra bad!
The history of my blog? Nothing too exciting really! I had been doing a personal blog for awhile, but it had been bugging me. And I loved playing around on Goodreads, but I wanted to be able to say MORE stuff, you know? So I made a book blog. Of course, it was a mess. It was called “Shannon Hearts Books” and it looked like a 5 year old playing with clip art made it. Good times. I don’t think I interacted with anyone else until four months after I started blogging! I changed my name, changed the site to make it look like someone literate might write it, and then ventured out to link up on a Top Ten Tuesday!
I LOVE the pad bookmarks, that is kind of the best bookmark I’ve ever heard of! Bonus points if some 15 year old boy who is terrified of pads stumbles upon you reading 😉 Also, do the .com! It is cheap, and easy. And then it is just easier to type your url, and easier for others to remember it! My favorite books were always The Baby-sitters Club!
I can’t obey the Nano rules of no deleting either, it just makes a mess when I try to edit. I know I’m not supposed to edit either, but I MUST!
I’m happy that you decided to make a book blog too! Yeah, my first attempt at art was pretty scary. I didn’t interact for like ten months! Which explains why no one ever came.
Yeah, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Not so much when I got to the doctors office and wanted to read. No one actually noticed me pulling it out, but I was mortified that someone would.
I might ask for the .com for Christmas, because my family keeps bugging me for what I want, but they insist they can’t buy me all books because that would be boring. I used to like the baby sitters club too!
This is such a good idea though! LOVE. I like blog challenges but I rarely stick to them because I’m scatter-brained and kind of lazy… >.> My bad. But these are super cool questions! My first blog design was…gosh. I can’t even remember. OH YES. It was like a notebook free blogging template. I don’t even think I took a picture. So far I’ve had 4 designs and I’m about to get my 5th when I change to Paper Fury. xD I love changing designs.
lol I’m scatter brained too. I know I’ll never remember it once a day, but there’s a chance I can do once a week. If you go to waybackmachine you can see the history of your blog. I love it when other blogs change their designs but I’m not so good at change myself. I can’t wait to see Paper Fury! 🙂
oh it’s so fun! It’s an interesting post to read and nice to learn more about you too by the way. I don’t participate to nano but I’m always impressed by everyone who is doing that and I wish them all good luck for this new year!
Thanks! 🙂 I always enjoy learning more about other blogs too. I did NaNo last year, but it was SO HARD.
I definitely recommend getting a .com! I love having a domain of my own. Makes the blog feel more “me.” That probably doesn’t make much sense.
Ah, NaNo. I started it and wrote ~4,000 words before realizing that I hated practically every single one of them. It was at that moment that I knew NaNo wasn’t for me this year. It really bums me out because I’ve done it 3 consecutive years, so to NOT do it is really upsetting. I like to stick to things, but I know that this year just isn’t a good year. I’m working, I have school, and I just don’t have the time right now. 😦
My interests in webdesign have ALWAYS come and gone. I once had a personal blog for 3 years, but then I stopped blogging because I felt there was nothing that I could really say anymore. I’m hoping that I continue with book blogging though because there’s a plethora of things to talk about!
I loved hearing your blog history and I look forward to more posts like this. ❤
That makes perfect sense. I’ll have to ask for a .com for Christmas since apparently asking for all books is boring.
I understand completely. Whenever I try to force myself to write it never turns out. Yeah Nano takes some serious time commitment. I’ve only done it once before, I’m impressed that you’ve managed to do it three times!
My interests in most things come and go, but I don’t think I could ever run out of things to say about books.
Thank you! 🙂
AW GOOD LUCK WITH NANO. You’re going to get the mojo back! There’s plenty of time 🙂 x
I’ve had several different blogs over the years and then there was the year I became a Luddite and just dropped off the face of the internet HAHA I began writing detailed, detailed reviews at the beginning of this year because of this major paper that I spent the year writing. I’ll drop a little hint and say YA and Dystopias and the only way I could gather research and remember it (my research being reading–super fun :P) was to write out these reviews and so I’d just post them to keep a log. But then it was so much fun and I just continued to write them for everything! I’d written a fare share on GR before I decided to cross post them onto a blog. It was also because I wanted to share a tad more about me because GRs can be quite impersonal.
A Pokemon website? Now I’m intrigued 😉
Thank you! I sure hope I get my writing mojo back, because it’s been way too long.
I like that it originally started out as work for you, but then became too much fun. 🙂 Yeah, there’s really not a lot of places on Goodreads to just chat. I’m a member of several groups, but most of them are too big and I get stage fright.
hehe yeah… I was fourteen it sounded cool at the time.
Never heard of BookBlogWriMo, but I look forward to your posts! And NaNo sure can be a pain some years!
I hadn’t heard of BookMo before either, but I saw some of my friend’s posts and it just looked like too much fun. I’ve only done NaNo once before, and it was really hard when my writing was working. So I know I won’t win, but I just want to get back into the habit of writing.
I never read Goosebumps, I was too scared haha
lol I’m surprised I was brave enough to read them, I was such a chicken as a kid. I loved the endings where something weird would happen, usually something bad.
I gave up already, I am horrid at this!
Yeah me too. I think I’ll do my own and aim for 200 words a day. Much more do-able.
I’m NaNo-ing but realized I really don’t like the book I’m writing so I’ve hit the breaks to re-evaluate. I did get 10k in…so I have a little wiggle room, if I’m going to be all official. End of one story and onto one that really makes me happy to write!
Good idea, if you’re not happy with it then there’s no point in continuing. I hope you come up with something that you like. 🙂 Wow, 10k… I’m so jealous!
I remember reading Goosebumps when I was younger, hehe! I don’t do the whole Nano-what-cha-ma-call-it as even more pressure isn’t up my alley. I’m glad to have found your blog through Aquileana 🙂
I’m surprised how many people have heard/read Goosebumps! Yeah, I did NaNo last year, but I’m thinking it’s not for me either. I don’t handle stress well. I’m glad you found my blog too. Aquileana? I don’t think I’ve heard of that (or I forgot)
Oh! My apologies as she sometimes sends me links to blogs and I may not have gotten the link from her. Not to worry as the main thing is I found your great blog! 🙂
No worries, no need to apologize, I was just curious if I was missing something. Thank you! 🙂
I haven’t done NaNo in a few years, and I really wanted to this year but I couldn’t think of any ideas to start (I’m wondering if I should just start writing and see where it gets me…?) I’m the sort of person who loves to plan, so writing without at least a vague outline is hard for me!
I had a few ideas, but I wasn’t really feeling any of them. I don’t need a plan (except for plot) but I do have to have some sort of idea. It should be interesting to see what you come up with if you just start writing. Good luck!
I’m being a rebel and not doing either NaNoWriMo or BookBlogWriMo. *lol* It’s too much stress to force time to write 1600+ words a day when I have a full-time job, other commitments, and the upcoming holidays. I’m content with my schedule the way it is for now, the constant flow of blog article ideas and writing time, and setting aside time on the weekends to work on my WIP. Would I love to have more time? Of course! But that’s just not doable right now.
I started my blog… maybe 4 or 5 years ago, just as a way to keep my freelance work organized and share music and book reviews. Nothing fancy or competitive, just my own little corner of the Internet to contribute what I wanted, whenever I wanted. 🙂
NaNo makes me stressed too, which is why I was going to try for the relaxed approach this year. One of my blogging friends wants to clone herself to get more time, I think it’s a great idea. Wow, you’ve been at this a while. I’m glad you’ve been able to keep it up. Are you sure you don’t have a clone?
I wish I had a clone! *lol* It would certainly make a lot of things much easier.
Good for you for taking a more relaxed approach that works for you. The most important thing for writers is to simply make time for their writing, however they choose to do it… without sacrificing health, sleep, nourishment, and sanity, of course. 🙂
Oh how I wish I’d get in that writing groove and forget things like food and sleep!
Oo I hadn’t heard of this blog version, hmmmmmm, maybe not this year, but next year!
I was a little late to the party, but I liked the idea of a month of blogging. 🙂 I hope she does it next year too.
I love the idea of the blog version of NaNo, but I’m too busy doing regular NaNo to do it!
I loved reading all your answers though, very entertaining! I hope you decide to continue with NaNo, but I totally understand the not wanting to push yourself, as I too get that way sometimes and it only leads to bad writing that you have to spend even more time re-writing or ignoring.
The history of my blog? It’s slightly boring. I started a random blog a couple years ago, where I posted the ocasional book review but mostly random posts. Then one day in early Janurary of this year I discovered the Top Ten Tuesday meme, and it was like “WOW there’s a community of book bloggers?” That quickly morphed to “wow these are my people”. And then BAM! Book blog! =)
Unfortunately I’m not busy doing normal Nano, but then I have time for this version. Thanks! I’m glad I could entertain. 🙂 I’m up to 750 words now…
That’s not boring. I know I didn’t realize how many book bloggers there were either. I only wish I’d thought of reviewing books earlier. I really should do the top ten Tuesday thing, but I always forget until I see them on Tuesday and then I tell myself I’m too late.
The Top Ten Tuesday site has a page that lists the topics well in advance so you can pre-blog your responses and schedule them if you like. That’s what I try to do… because I’d forget, too!
Thanks! I’ll have to have a look and try to do a couple. 🙂 I’m so not good at blogging ahead.
I would never in a million years want to participate in NaNoWriMo; the word count requirements alone are enough to give me nightmares. Plus, I just find that challenges are so… constricting. Now, BookBlogWriMo on the other hand is something I could get in to. Good luck!
Carmel @ Rabid Reads.
Yeah Nano is scary! I had fun doing it last year, but my writing wasn’t very good so I think stress + writing isn’t for me. I know, I couldn’t bring myself to not edit as I went and the whole no deleting thing drove me crazy. I agree BookMo is so more my style! 🙂