Blogger Recognition Award

Is it weird that this feels a little like a nomination for a class office? Or maybe it’s like the nickname in the yearbook “class clown” or “most likely to succeed.” Yeah, it’s a viral marketing thing – so what? There’s still a little Sally Field inside me going, “You like me! You really like me!”

So, thank you, Grace Anne, for nominating me for the Blogger Recognition Award.

Explain how my blog started:

Hmm… that’s kind of hard. For twytte, I had the url, and I wanted to do something where I was writing fiction, poetry, etc. The experiment part (writing something new every day for a year) was more or less a spur of the moment thing, and here I am rounding the curve to my 12th month on it (why, I’m not entirely sure. Stubbornness, perhaps?).

Words & Deeds was a bit more straightforward. I wanted to try out blogging some articles and thought, Hmmm. What do I know well enough to write about? Well, I write about English grammar and writing for a living. That could work. It’s evolved a lot since then and will probably keep evolving (anything you want to read about specifically?).

Give two bits of advice to new bloggers.

Eep! Umm, do I know something about blogging worth telling other people to do? What have I learned? *Deep breath* Here goes.

1. Just because no one reads your post today doesn’t mean that no one will read it tomorrow. Your daily traffic will build up over time, and a lot of that comes from using SEO correctly. Although I’m obviously not a pro at any of that, I really think the biggest value of writing every day is that you have more on your site for search engines to find. Once you write a post, it’s out there. People will read it as they find it. Keep writing, and you’ll see those older posts start to build up traffic.

2. Don’t be afraid to try new things. Mix it up. Blogs need room to grow and change with the writer and the audience. Writing on a topic out of the norm and using different tags can help you reach new people. Plus, it’s fun and keeps you from getting too stuck into a rut (I have a feeling Words & Deeds needs some shaking up soon).

Select 15 other blogs you want to give the award to…

I wasn’t sure I’d be able to make it to 15 (I’m not as involved in the blogging community as I should be), but I actually did: No Talent for Certainty, dMarie, Untying Knots, unusually tall stories, creative talents unleashed, Bizarre Ramblings of a Would-Be Author, Notes to Self, scribblesandshakespeare, Readers + Writers Journal, Ana Spoke, Patrick W Marsh Author, businessinrhyme, evantpickering, robertokaji, and unbolt.

And like any good chain letter, each of you is expected to…

1. Write a post to show your award, thank whoever nominated you, and provide a link to that person’s blog
2. Give a brief story of how your blog started
3.  Give two pieces of advice to new bloggers
4.  Select 15 other blogs you want to give the award to

But you don’t have to if you don’t want to. I often avoid anything that requires me to repost it or pass it on, so I will definitely understand if you don’t.

For anyone reading, I tried to pick sites with interesting writing, useful information, or both. Click a few, and (I hope) you might find another site worth following or a few interesting reads.

Thanks again for the recognition, Grace Anne, and thanks to everyone else for reading!