One criticism I have had about my website is that it doesn't reveal that much about me as a person. I was hoping my blog would help on that score, but this award nomination has gone even further and forced me to reveal more (avert your eyes now, I'm showing an ankle!).
So, to start with, I want to thank fellow writers Missy Frye and Katheryn Lane for my nomination. It's an honour to be nominated and in your top blogs list, so thank you very much. They're lovely ladies, so do take a look at their blogs and Twitter feeds sometime!
Here are my nominations – 15 blogs that you should definitely check out:
1. MISTAKES WRITERS MAKE (AND HOW TO PUT THEM RIGHT) - the first writing flavoured blog I followed and it remains one of my favourites. I enjoy and have learned to much from this guy, you should definitely take a look!
2. BOOK COVER CAFE - voted 'best website for authors' and I can see why. Great job, guys!
3. JEFF GOINS - always varied, very nicely laid out, encourages me to keep checking back for more writerly goodness. Plus, I love his cover picture.
4. FREELANCE WRITING TIPS - a sporadic blog, but the podcasts are a great resource.
5. MOODY WRITING - I particualrly enjoyed this post on WRITING WEBSITES I'D LIKE TO SEE. Good headlines, interesting, and the content is both thought and creativity provoking.
6. WRITERLY LIFE - A more serious blog, but has some inspiring and considered posts. Best use of inspirational 'photo of the week' I have seen for a while.
7. Jan Moran Neill and her BOX OF BLOGS - great name, and the first place I saw Technorati being used.
8. THE CREATIVE PENN - all about publishing, marketing, and of course, writing. I definitely recommend you sign up to their newsletter. It's FAB!
9. SOCIAL MEDIA MAVEN - helping small businesses and individuals navigate the ever-changing world of social media. This blog had a pivotal role in convincing me to get Tweeting.
10. BLURB IS A VERB - This one shouldn't be so down the list I suppose, as it's in my top 3 favourite blogs. It caught my eye with the great title, but the blogging is creative, useful and insightful.
**All of the above can be followed using Google Reader. That technology has changed my life! Not sure if the next few can be done that way - if they can I have yet to work it out!**
11. THREE HUNDRED AND SIXTY FIVE STORIES - One brave soul writing a short story every day. An impressive power house of production!
12. IN THE WRITING GROOVE - and this blogger certainly is in the groove! Regular blogging on writerly bits.
13. TONYA KAPPES - a prolific and unseful resource for writers, strongly supported by her great Twitter presence. She's full of great tips for aspiring and prolific writers alike.
14. JODY HEDLUND - really good insight and tips here - have referenced this website quite a bit having featured it over a week or so on my Facebook page. Well done Jody!
15. And lastly, this is the most recent blog I have discovered: THE STUFF OF LEDGE. It's not about writing, but it's a great read by a friend of mine.
So, to start with, I want to thank fellow writers Missy Frye and Katheryn Lane for my nomination. It's an honour to be nominated and in your top blogs list, so thank you very much. They're lovely ladies, so do take a look at their blogs and Twitter feeds sometime!
Here are my nominations – 15 blogs that you should definitely check out:
1. MISTAKES WRITERS MAKE (AND HOW TO PUT THEM RIGHT) - the first writing flavoured blog I followed and it remains one of my favourites. I enjoy and have learned to much from this guy, you should definitely take a look!
2. BOOK COVER CAFE - voted 'best website for authors' and I can see why. Great job, guys!
3. JEFF GOINS - always varied, very nicely laid out, encourages me to keep checking back for more writerly goodness. Plus, I love his cover picture.
4. FREELANCE WRITING TIPS - a sporadic blog, but the podcasts are a great resource.
5. MOODY WRITING - I particualrly enjoyed this post on WRITING WEBSITES I'D LIKE TO SEE. Good headlines, interesting, and the content is both thought and creativity provoking.
6. WRITERLY LIFE - A more serious blog, but has some inspiring and considered posts. Best use of inspirational 'photo of the week' I have seen for a while.
7. Jan Moran Neill and her BOX OF BLOGS - great name, and the first place I saw Technorati being used.
8. THE CREATIVE PENN - all about publishing, marketing, and of course, writing. I definitely recommend you sign up to their newsletter. It's FAB!
9. SOCIAL MEDIA MAVEN - helping small businesses and individuals navigate the ever-changing world of social media. This blog had a pivotal role in convincing me to get Tweeting.
10. BLURB IS A VERB - This one shouldn't be so down the list I suppose, as it's in my top 3 favourite blogs. It caught my eye with the great title, but the blogging is creative, useful and insightful.
**All of the above can be followed using Google Reader. That technology has changed my life! Not sure if the next few can be done that way - if they can I have yet to work it out!**
11. THREE HUNDRED AND SIXTY FIVE STORIES - One brave soul writing a short story every day. An impressive power house of production!
12. IN THE WRITING GROOVE - and this blogger certainly is in the groove! Regular blogging on writerly bits.
13. TONYA KAPPES - a prolific and unseful resource for writers, strongly supported by her great Twitter presence. She's full of great tips for aspiring and prolific writers alike.
14. JODY HEDLUND - really good insight and tips here - have referenced this website quite a bit having featured it over a week or so on my Facebook page. Well done Jody!
15. And lastly, this is the most recent blog I have discovered: THE STUFF OF LEDGE. It's not about writing, but it's a great read by a friend of mine.
There are more fantastic blogs I could mention, but I'm only allowed 15. Save them for another day maybe.
Now as a nominee for the Versatile Blogger Award, I have to reveal seven things about myself. Here goes...
1. I am going to Costa Rica this summer to work for Raleigh International. I'll be there for 8 weeks working on community and environmental projects with a whole pack of young volunteers who want to make a difference. I have been fundraising like mad and now comes the real challenge - packing. Just kidding, I am so excited for the expedition, to see a part of the world I have wanted to visit since I was a kid, and to get stuck in with some lasting, sustainable, good work and karma.
2. If I could wake up one day and be Olympic standard at any sport, I would pick ice skating. I can't skate very well at all, but I would love to be able to spin and jump to impress crowds of people.
3. I have been collecting postcards and sugar sachets since I was small. I have shoeboxes full of them! Postcards, yes, kind of understandable given my travels and travelling friends and family, but sugar packets? I can't remember how that started, but trust me, it's addictive.
4. My biggest fear is bring trapped in a burning car. I cannot imagine a more horrific way to panic!
5. I get most of my 'books to read' recommendations from my mum. She knows what I like to get absorbed into better than I do!
Now as a nominee for the Versatile Blogger Award, I have to reveal seven things about myself. Here goes...
1. I am going to Costa Rica this summer to work for Raleigh International. I'll be there for 8 weeks working on community and environmental projects with a whole pack of young volunteers who want to make a difference. I have been fundraising like mad and now comes the real challenge - packing. Just kidding, I am so excited for the expedition, to see a part of the world I have wanted to visit since I was a kid, and to get stuck in with some lasting, sustainable, good work and karma.
2. If I could wake up one day and be Olympic standard at any sport, I would pick ice skating. I can't skate very well at all, but I would love to be able to spin and jump to impress crowds of people.
3. I have been collecting postcards and sugar sachets since I was small. I have shoeboxes full of them! Postcards, yes, kind of understandable given my travels and travelling friends and family, but sugar packets? I can't remember how that started, but trust me, it's addictive.
4. My biggest fear is bring trapped in a burning car. I cannot imagine a more horrific way to panic!
5. I get most of my 'books to read' recommendations from my mum. She knows what I like to get absorbed into better than I do!
6. Flying runs in the family, as my brother, uncle, dad and great uncle are/were all pilots. I guess that's where the travel bug comes from!
7. My first love was Jason Donovan, and I have no shame! We all have our secrets... I still own all his albums (on tape of course!)from when I was eight years old, or there abouts. I had to wait until I was 19 to see him perform live though, in a crummy bar in Swindon. He only did 3 songs, and one of them was the Home & Away theme!
And we're done! Phew! Now I'm blushing. Thanks again for the nomination, keep writing!
Lou x
7. My first love was Jason Donovan, and I have no shame! We all have our secrets... I still own all his albums (on tape of course!)from when I was eight years old, or there abouts. I had to wait until I was 19 to see him perform live though, in a crummy bar in Swindon. He only did 3 songs, and one of them was the Home & Away theme!
And we're done! Phew! Now I'm blushing. Thanks again for the nomination, keep writing!
Lou x
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