Hey everyone!!
Welcome back and we are now on day 10!! *cheers for no reason but it feels like an accomplishment*
Today I thought I would reflect on my posts over the past year and like in ‘A Christmas Carol’ look at my past, present and future of my blog (see it links to Christmas and books)
I thought this would be fun and I would love to hear your opinion on all of this as I’m interested to seeing what your favourite types of posts are!!
THE PAST
Favourite Posts to Write:
I think my favourite posts to write are wraps up as they include so many different things and I like reflecting on my month. Also I really like writing discussions as I like coming up with the idea and writing all my thoughts down. Plus I love discussing it with everyone in the comments.
Where Do You Get Ideas Coming From?
Every time I have an idea I write it down even if it is stupid because it might inspire a great idea next time and then you have a big list of ideas to look down on and think ‘I can’t do all of this’. Also I get inspiration from other bloggers that I see but I always make sure to give credit to them if that is the case. Tags and reviews are classics and are perfect for when you are not feeling the inspiration.
Reviews
Reviews sometimes take ages to write and definitely are the least popular posts in terms of views but I still really like writing them and trying to group all my thoughts together about the book. It makes me think about books differently and I think it helps me become a better writer. Plus it allows me to say everything I think about a book so it is nice to have a space where I can gush about it, hopefully spreading the word or talking to people who loved the book as well. Some of my reviews are better than other but some I am really proud of and I like looking back on them to see my thoughts (plus it can be so useful when there are sequels involved as reviews jog my memory).
Favourite Review: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Discussions
As I mentioned I love discussion, I think it is a great way to interact with others and be like GURLLL YES or GURLLL NO (I promise you I don’t say GURRLLL in real life…. that much). Plus they are so fun to read and you get to talk about things that you are really passionate about.
Favourite Discussions:
My Thoughts On Star Ratings!! I liked this one as I was interested in the topic. Plus I liked the way I wrote this (I hope this doesn’t sound arrogant) because I wrote it in one go so I think it flowed better than some of my other posts. (fun fact: I accidentally deleted it and had to rewrite this post so it was my second time writing it)
Why I Love Fantasy? I loved this topic because I got to gush about my favourite genre and it is one I would want to read which is a good sign.
Tags
I do tags quite a lot as they are fun to do and allow you to talk about many different books so it allows me to share more about my book tastes. But I do think too many can be bad as they can be a bit repetitive and honestly sometimes it is hard to get books to fill out every section. I think I did too many of them at one point I do like them but I think it is better to spread them out a bit. They are also ideal for when you are struggling for ideas.
Favourite Tags:
The Mid-Year Freak Out Tag is my favourite tag as you get to talk about your favourite reads of the year so far.
The Pancake Book Tag was such a fun tag to do and I loved the graphics for it. Plus it involves pancakes which I absolutely adore.
Writing Posts
I love doing writing posts as it is an activity I am passionate about and it is great to share it with you all. It inspires me to write when I talk about it as well which is always a bonus and it can be a lonely activity so getting to talk to people about it is wonderful, thank you for the internet. Plus I think it makes you think about writing more and different techniques which makes me become a better writer. I haven’t done too many yet but I want to do one every month next year. *fingers crossed*
Favourite Writing Post:
World-Building: All The Questions You Need To Answer!! I like the one because I find it a useful resource so I will always go back to it when world building so I was proud of it in that sense.
THE PRESENT
What are you currently doing for your blog?
Blogmas!! And it is taking me a lot of time but I am enjoying it and I’m really excited about sharing all the posts. I try to blog hop and reply to my comments regularly but I do seem to struggle with this lately. Just the usual stuff really. I have been thinking about future posts and when I can write them as thinking ahead is so useful.
How far in advance do you write your posts?
I try to stay a month in advance but sometimes it is the same day if I am being honest. I need to get better at planning ahead but I do try and I am getting better to be fair, even if it is slowly.
THE FUTURE
What blog posts do you want to write more of?
I would love to write more discussions that I am really passionate about, I have some ideas which I am really excited for. Also to do more writing posts as I want to write more and I like discussion progress and habits etc. So more discussions and writing posts in the future, yay!!
Also my sister might have more posts in the new year which is so exciting, we have to organise it a bit yet but it will definitely be happening.
What do you want to improve on?
Organisation, blog hopping and balancing blogging with life. This year I wanted to prioritise blogging but I would put it lower on my list so I have more time for writing and being social (scary, I know). Organisation is something I will definitely get better at as I want to buy a year planner and get my life together.
What do you think about writing posts?
I like writing and I really enjoy it as a hobby. I think it is rewarding (although sometimes it is stressful) and obviously I am talking about books which I am very passionate so I love that. If I didn’t love writing the posts, I think I would stop.
Do you think you will always be blogging?
I think my blogging will change a lot as I grow up as it got to fit in with my life and I don’t think I will always be blogging but definitely for the foreseeable future. I think next year it will be different as I will be blogging less maybe 4 posts a month as a maximum and instead of doing the top 40% of my idea, I will do the top 10% so I am really passionate about the posts which will hopefully make my quality better and give me more time for other things.
What are your favourite posts? How you keep getting new ideas? Do you think you will always be blogging?
Me & Ink 
I have a lot of your posts that I love especially discussion posts that I don’t remember about because I love most of it!
I’m sure that I’d always be blogging albeit might not be as frequent as I was before because of work and stuff but I hope I can do this for the next 20 years!
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Thank you so much!! That’s so sweet!! 💕
Aw.. that’s so nice that blogging is something you want to continue with as one great thing about blogging is how flexible it can be!! So it can fit into your life more!! 💛
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I agree with every single post on this list!! And the fantasy-worldbuilding one was especially helpful. I think I’ll be blogging in the near future (like at least another year or two) minimum but I would love to continue it for much longer! ❤
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Aw.. thank you so, so much Aditi!! ❤
Yay I'm so glad it could be helpful! I think I love it as it will help me when I finally get the courage to finish my worldbuilding 😂
Yay I'm glad you want to keep blogging! I hope you do forever!! At least blogging can evolve with your life in a way!! 🙂
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No problem! ❤ Ahah me toooo!
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❤ ❤ ❤
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Ahh, Sophie, don’t feel bad about your blog hopping! It’ll always be miles better than mine, and one of my favorite parts of uploading a post is getting to see ur comment on it (if you have time to), no joke!
I think the way you and I plan, write, and view posts is very similar! My favorite posts to do are always wrap-ups as well because I love talking about my real life in it (that sounds really narcissistic, haha). I do like writing discussion posts though. Yes, they bring a lot of views to my blog, but I also love the engagement I get on them and being able to talk with a lot of people, because those are the posts I get the most comments on.
I agree that tags are fun to do, but always doing them is not good. I feel like I recycle the same three books whenever I do them. The Mid-Year Book Freak-out tag is a god-tier tag though, and I will always love that tag.
Ahh, I respect anyone who can write posts months or even weeks in advance! I almost always write posts on the day itself, because each posts take me hours to do. Seriously, how does one pre-write posts? Hahaha
Great post, Sophie! I really loved reading it ❤ I'm sad that you'll be lowering the number of posts you put out (especially bc I'm enjoying the daily blogging you've been doing for Blogmas), but always do what makes you happy ❤
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Aw.. thank you so much Caitlin!! You are great at blog hopping, you always leave the best comments!! ❤ That's so sweet and makes me so happy!! I always love reading your posts and commenting!! ❤
Ohh.. I love that we are similar!! Wrap-ups are so fun because you get to reflect about things that we're important to you and yes talking about you life can be very therapeutic in a weird way!! 😂
Exactly on discussion posts I loved getting to see everyone's view on the topic in the comments, it is so interesting and is just wonderful!! They are the posts I get the most comments on too!! 😂
That's the problem I have with tags because I talk about the same books all the time so I try to spread them out 😂 Yes the Mid-Year Freak Out Tag is amazing, it is definitely one of my favourites!!
Wow writing them on the day is intense. I do sometimes do that with reviews though. I agree that posts take a while to write. I tend to start writing it early a month ahead, I try to plan all the posts out then pick which one I need to do soon etc. Sometimes I've only half written it then I go back to it and realise I have a lot more to do the day before 😂
Thank you so, so much Caitlin, that means so much!! ❤ Aw.. to be fair in January I think it will be like usual but then I will slow down the amount of posts!! It is going to weird quite to not be posting daily now 😂 Thank you, your support is always so wonderful and I really appreciate it all!! ❤
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Wonderful idea for a post 💕 I loved reading this (: and I try to plan ahead too but I totally went overboard and did the framework for a whole year…hence me falling so far behind as I neglected the present for the future 🙈 that’s why I need a break once I’ve finished catching up. I still have a few start of year posts to write first though and ideally I’d like to catch up on everybody else’s posts first too. No idea why I got so carried away with next year. So basically I really need to work on the whole balance thing and learn not to do absolutely everything at once.
I look forward to reading your discussions and writing posts in the future (: and im loving your Blogmas posts 💕
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Thank you so much!! It was fun to reflect!! 💕
Wow doing a framework for the whole year is impressive!! I look forward to seeing all your posts!! I do find it hard to get the balance between planning and staying up to date with everything 😂
Yeah I really need to write some of my January posts too!! Haha well sounds like you’ve being doing a lot. It is exciting to come up with new ideas though. I hope you get a balance that works for you soon!! 💛
Thank you so much!! That means so much. And thank you for reading them all and commenting, it is so unbelievably sweet and I really appreciate it!! 💛
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Yeah I don’t think I’ll do it next year, it took so long and I burnt myself out on blogging 😂 thank you (: January is super busy but then it’s going to be quieter most likely. Although I still want to do some retelling posts when I’ve read a fair number of them.
Good luck getting them sorted out, I look forward to reading them (: thank you. I did kind of have one where I’d catch up on comments whenever I wrote a review and try to read a few posts a day then I went overboard with planning and lost it.
It’s ok, I love reading your posts, they’re always so interesting 💕
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Yeah you can definitely get a burnout on blogging! 😂 I think that will be the same for me, January will be busy then it will calm down!!
Oh that sounds exciting!! ❤
Thank you so much!! Haha yeah it is like I'll just do one more then I'll just do another and it spirals like that 😂
Thank you so, so much Charlotte, that means a lot!! ❤
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Yeah, especially if you try to do too much at once. That’s where I go wrong – I try to do everything at the same time and stop doing other things /: which is why I’m going to try and catch up gradually when I return from my hiatus.
Yeah it does :L then it gets hard to stop.
❤❤❤
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