[A BLOGGER’S LIFE] Things I still NEED to learn

Apart from possessing the ability to churn out fresh content by the week, responding to comments on a timely basis, blog-hopping consistently, and of course, spreading love in the community, there are a few other things that a blogger needs to understand and I seem to lack in those.

I used to think that I was a kick-ass blogger. I don’t now.

Why?

Well, let’s find out:

🌸The Power of Habit

I made a post last year – titled – “What makes a Good Blogger” 

I followed every single point I made in it. But THEN, because of JUST A LITTLE BIT OF DIFFICULTY – I let it all go down the drain – MONTHS OF HARD WORK – all went away! Just like that.

Ugh. Me and my hypocrite self.

The point is, when I had that accident and decided to take a little break from blogging, I didn’t know what effect it would have on my habit of writing every day, one that I had had a LOT of difficulties cultivating in the first place.

We fickle human beings fail to recognize a little fact – our mind is ALWAYS trying to find ways to go back to being a lazy-ass dump of nerves. You can’t argue with that! 🤣

And when you decide to take those – unplanned breaks – you give it THE PERFECT AMMUNITION TO LIGHT THE FIRE IN YOU LIFE – burning the good habits (that you took a LOT of time to form) to the ground. 

Well, do you disagree?! DO YA?!

But hey, that’s not to say that we can never take breaks. It’s just that there is an art to it, one that needs learning.

🌸The Art of Taking Breaks

WITHOUT ruining your habits, I should add.

As I said, the mind is a lazy-ass fuck who keeps yearning to go back to his old ways of procrastination and laziness.

And we need to find a way to tread that sensitive ground with care. Think Katniss trying to hop her way around those mines to blow up all the ammunition. 🤷🏻‍♀️

So, it all comes down to this: Finding time to make sure you are engaging in writing at least a few minutes EVERY DAY – it can be just a little paragraph – but you do it daily. 

When you’ll do it every day, going back to blogging won’t seem THAT MUCH OF A MONSTER TASK – because you’ll have tidbits of content at your fingertips – ready to be converted into full-blown posts should you feel the need.

And that’s EXACTLY what I need to learn as well. Boop.

🌸Visit Your Blog Regularly

Yes. Okay, I know, I know. This one seems irrelevant. But, hear me out, alright? 

Whatever’s in front of your eyes on a regular basis becomes the dominant thought of your mind, doesn’t it?

Well, that’s the principle that will be activated when you form the habit of regularly visiting your blog – yes, even on hiatuses. 

Just visit it. Don’t interact with anyone if you don’t want to. Don’t reply to comments yet, if you don’t feel like it. Don’t comment on others’ posts if you’d rather wait until you are officially back.

BUT, visit your blog regularly nonetheless. Because by doing that:

•  You’ll keep reminding yourself what absolute fun blogging actually is and how much you love it.

•  You’ll also be reminded of how much effort you’ve put into it so far and what a waste it would be if you were to abandon it all of a sudden.

And both of those realizations will keep you from falling into laziness and inactivity. 

They surely would have helped me had I visited my blog regularly. And I am sure it’ll help you as well. 

 

🌸Never Forget

Okay, this is an extension of the last point but I think it’s too important not to repeat:

You must NEVER – under ANY circumstance – forget all the hard work that goes into maintaining the blog. 

You put other things on hold to make your blog the prettiest, the coolest, the wittiest, the BESTEST! 

And all that work goes to waste if you stop giving attention to it all of a sudden. I mean, it’s like a house. A house becomes a home when you clean it every day, decorate it in your likeness, make sure that it reflects YOUR personality, your likes, and dislikes, YOUR habits.

BUT that same cozy and comfortable home turns into a cold and unwelcoming structure of bricks when you stop living in it, stop giving attention to it – doesn’t it?

Well, the same thing happens with our blog as well. It needs a similar kind of nurture and care – and that too REGULARLY.

🌸Keep in mind the people that you leave behind.

It isn’t only about writing and getting comments, is it? Blogging is also about the wonderful and welcoming community – those friends that you make, that confidence that you build with them, their faith in you, and your faith in yourself.

Remember how much time it took you to form that?

Well, don’t leave THEM behind just because you couldn’t keep your wandering mind under a leash. THEY are the ones who make your blogging experience so fucking wholesome and fulfilling. 

And you’d do well to remember that before you decide to leave your blog – a child of your mind – unattended the next time.

Yes, I AM TALKING TO YOU RAIN! ️ I swear to god you can be so fucking difficult sometimes. UGH! 

Well, I hope that these few points will help you as I am sure they’d have helped ME as well before I decided to fall into that same cycle of procrastination.

Until next time,

RAIN 

[A BLOGGER’S LIFE] The Mayfly Effect //Surviving the After-Effects of a Viral Post//

You are sitting behind your computer screen, practically jamming the keys – not stopping for food or drink. NO. ALL THAT’S JUST SUPERFICIAL STUFF. You have FINALLY found your muse and YOU GUYS ARE CLICKING TOGETHER.

You are in LOVE – with everything. Ideas seem to flow off your mind and onto the paper like water. You will NOT be stopped. YOU ARE THE KIND OF THE WORLD. YOU CAN CONQUER ANYTHING. This is the moment you have been waiting for. Your heart is bubbling with excitement. With each word you type, your confidence grows tenfold. It keeps on growing and growing and growing until it EXPLODES. 

You hit publish.

For the first time in your writing life, you feel confident – ACTUALLY FUCKING CONFIDENT – about your skills. You just know, deep in your heart, that people are going to adore your post. And so you sit back, relax, and watch notifications pop up on the screen every five minutes – people are liking it, commenting on it, sharing it. YOUR BABY IS FAMOUS. OH SO FAMOUS. 

You hadn’t tasted success before this moment but now that you have, it feels like the most natural thing in the world, doesn’t it? The fame, the glory – ALL OF IT. It feels like you were born to this, like you are a natural. And let’s face it, you ARE! You are PRETTY FUCKING AWESOME! And the obvious popularity of your written word is proof of it. 

So, for the next 24 hours, you receive hundreds of compliments saying how absolutely talented you are and how they love the way you write. YOU ARE AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD AND YOU LIKE IT HERE. You don’t wanna leave. E V E R.

You go to bed feeling all giddy, entertaining hopes of an even more exciting tomorrow. Your dreams – full of contentment. You are finally where you’d always dreamt of being. YOU ARE HAPPY. And so you should be.

But the following day brings with it a promise of disappointment. No notifications now. If your phone chimes, it’s because your mumma wants to know whether you are still coming home for Sunday dinner, not because people are raving about your gorgeous writing skills. 

Your long-face and saddened eyes display every step of the breaking of your heart. You don’t understand how this could happen. Everything was going great yesterday, wasn’t it? People were in love with what you wrote and that gave you hope that MAYBE now they’ll discover your other writings too, that they’ll come to know how prolific you actually are and then THEY’LL NEVER WANNA LEAVE YOU. But they did, didn’t they? They liked what you wrote in a moment of utmost creativity and they moved on.

Ain’t nobody’s got time for your previous writing and stuff!! PFTTT!!

But you take it wayyy too seriously and now all your focus is on feeling that way again – THE STARDOM, THE IMPORTANCE!! You will go to harrow hell to bring that feeling home again. It’s become your drug now. YOUR OBSESSION. And you think that forcing yourself to write something EXACTLY the same way that got you in the spotlight is the way to do that.

But creativity doesn’t work that way. You used to know that when your mind was a humble being but it’s gotten too big for its own good in the last 24 hours and now it won’t listen to ANYTHING but it’s own ego.

Well, THAT’S NOT GONNA END UP WELL NOW, IS IT?
And it doesn’t!

Now, you are stuck in a rut – not being able to create ANYTHING because now you have this idea of how your posts are supposed to be INSTEAD OF LISTENING TO WHAT YOUR HEART IS TELLING YOU. 

That’s where it all goes downhill from, guys!

Going viral is all well and good and SO MUCH FUN but it creates totally unrealistic expectations in your mind – such that it’s not yet able to fulfill, and ESPECIALLY NOT IN THE STATE OF SO MUCH PRESSURE! And that’s the cue for creativity to go AWOL on you.

You must understand that although it was fun while it lasted, you need to focus on being yourself ALL THE TIME if you are to have a shot at being a most loved writer in the blogosphere. Know that your readers don’t want their minds blown away every single time you post something, they just want constancy – a steady stream of content to chew on. As long as you are doing that, IT IS ALL GOING TO BE JUST FINE, ALRIGHT?

BE YOURSELF GUYS, EVEN IN THE FACE OF ALL THE STARDOM – that’s what’s going to set you apart and bring you the audience of your dreams. ❤

This has been my personal experience, you know! When my first ever post got MORE VIEWS AND COMMENTS THAN I’D EVER IMAGINED POSSIBLE, I went CRAAZZZYYY!!!

And I shouldn’t have. It’s all about the moment and as long as you enjoy what you are creating and doing all that you do with passion, people are going to adore it, no matter what!

DO YOU AGREEE!??? ❤
Have you experienced this before?

[A BLOGGER’S LIFE] Are Your Posts Good Enough?// COMMITMENT AND LACK THEREOF//

If you are asking this then chances are they are NOT. 

The constant little voice in your mind that keeps nudging you that you need to do better is usually correct in its assessment. You see, the thing is that once you start asking yourself ”AM I DOING GOOD ENOUGH?’‘, one of the two things can happen:

🌸You fall into a well of depression because although you agree with what your inner self is trying to tell you, you are directionless about what to do to fix it.

🌸You take the challenge head-on, work night and day, day and night to make sure that this voice never annoys you again.

If you fall into the first category, you need to ask for help. IMMEDIATELY. Don’t be ashamed. Everyone, at one point or the other, has gone through the problem you are facing right now. But the ones that got out of it are those who ASKED. Who didn’t care what people might think. THOSE are the ones that won.

They didn’t let the failure stick.
They did something about it.
THEY GOT BACK UP AGAIN!

The second one, however, is a CONSTANT battle. Because once you make sure that what you are doing RIGHT NOW is perfect according to your standards, you will be faced with new challenges. And you have to be ready when they arrive.

Blogging is no different from any other thing in life.

You have GOT to be committed to it, even when it sucks.

You have GOT to MAKE time for it. We all have the same number of hours guys. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US. The most proficient bloggers out there, killing it at everything every area of their lives, don’t have A SINGLE FUCKIN SECOND MORE than what’s been given to us.

It’s all about PRIORITY. 

THEY MAKE IT THEIR PRIORITY TO DO EVERYTHING TO THE BEST OF THEIR ABILITIES. OR THEY DON’T DO IT ALL. 

I could tell you that having fun is what matters. And it does. Absolutely. BUT those of you out there who want to take your blogs out of the ”hobby” phase and ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING WITH IT have to let go of that mindset. That ”I won’t do it today because I don’t feel like it” attitude.

IT WILL DRAIN YOUR POTENTIAL. It will ingrain your mind with a defeatist approach and little by little this thinking will seep into every area of your life. IT WILL BECOME A HABIT.

I know because I have struggled with it for as long as I can remember and only very recently have been able to win against all that negativity and sluggishness. 

Persistence is something that all of us at some point in our lives struggle with. Some of us even have a record of not sticking with ANYTHING we try. 

NOT A SINGLE THING.

We give up too easily sometimes, guys. TOO FUCKING EASILY. But we need to CONSTANTLY remind ourselves that even hobbies have to be taken out of that FUN phase and exposed to hard-work – EVEN WHEN IT SUCKS – if we want to get something out of them.

Hey, I am not saying there’s anything wrong with just having fun. But what I have a problem is that people confuse having fun with a lack of persistence, of commitment.

Does being committing to something mean it’s not fun anymore? DOES IT?

NO. FUCKING NO.

It just means that we have just entered the phase WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO BE A ROUGH RIDE to ensure that whatever comes after that, whatever uncomfortable circumstances we may face in the future, WE ARE READY FOR IT.

IT IS SUPPOSED TO GET VERY FUCKING DIFFICULT BEFORE YOU REACH THAT AUTO-PILOT PHASE WHERE CREATIVITY BECOMES YOUR BEST FRIEND. Where it becomes FUN again. 

So keep pushing. Don’t give up just yet, you beautiful people. Stop being okay with just doing GOOD ENOUGH! Because —

‘‘The thing about good-enough is that you don’t know if it’s enough.” – Greg Pitt

AND WOULD YOU WANT TO TAKE THAT CHANCE? Because sure as hell wouldn’t! NOT AGAIN. I have had my fill of inconsistency and I AM DONE. YOU SHOULD BE TOO.

Take your blogs out of the hobby phase. COMMIT TO BETTER YOUR WRITING EVERY SINGLE DAY. 

Not for fame.
Not for the stats.
JUST FOR YOURSELF.

[A BLOGGER’S LIFE] A RAT RACE // Surviving in a World Where EVERYONE Wants to be THE BEST//

I don’t remember the last time I felt pure joy while reading a beautifully written blog post. I sure felt enchanted BUT my heart was impaired, just a little bit. With a hint of envy.

How are they writing such gorgeous things?

Why can’t I too?

Such were the background thoughts that kept me troubled. And the sad thing is that I lost the chance of learning a thing or two from those amazing writers because I was too invested in my jealousy, that awful feeling clutching my mind in its trap – making me feel like I was doing something wrong.

The blogging world is as harsh as it is friendly. Sure you will find some awesome people here, writing beautiful things but you will also feel your heart getting corrupt as you will grudge them their talent. And then, you will try twice as hard to reach their level.

Now imagine that there are hundreds of bloggers going through this exact same process, thinking the exact same thoughts, taking the exact same steps. 

EVERYONE is in the race to become perfect. Doing their best. And then some. To reach the top.

When this realization strikes your mind, you become ruthless in your efforts, not even stopping to take notice of what you are missing out of in the process. 

My view, however, is a bit different now.

I like to imagine the world to be much more generous. I believe that THAT PEDESTAL AT THE TOP is wide enough for all of us to stand together and enjoy that unparalleled feeling of accomplishment.

And as far as I have seen, that’s the only way to survive. If you start getting too competitive and forget to be kind, then you trample the dreams of others and trust me, building your own castles on the graveyard of someone else’s hopes and wishes is no way to live grandly. You will not be happy because there will always be a sneaking fear that someone might come from behind and knock you off. 

But if instead of being nasty, you lend a helping hand to your fellow bloggers and friends, provide them with resources and advise them on the things that might help THEIR blog grow as well, then it won’t just be beneficial for them but for you as well.

No man is an island.

Together is the only way forward. We grow by helping others. And the road to success is wide enough to accommodate everyone. Then why not make some friends, help them grow and enjoy the trip?

Why make becoming successful a  tedious task when it can be so much fun instead?

Don’t you adore that feeling when someone you generously helped succeeds in their endeavor? The fact that you contributed to their success makes you feel lovely, doesn’t it? So why not support all those wonderful blogs – help them instead of being envious?  It doesn’t cost you anything. And it CERTAINLY WON’T AFFECT YOUR OWN SUCCESS! It will, however, add a hundred times to your personal satisfaction. DONT YOU WANT THAT? Don’t you want to feel lovely? Generous? Kind? Good? Beautiful? 

We are drowning in our dream of BEING THE BEST. The water is soo far up our heads that it has made our thinking all fuzzy. We have forgotten the very simple fact –

“THE BEST” isn’t a title that can only be awarded to one person. Hell, EVERYONE CAN BE THE BEST! And it’s when all of us are helping each other realize each other’s dreams that we become THE BEST VERSION OF OURSELVES.

Every single of us is trying our hardest to succeed, feeling exhilarated that we finally made it, but if we reach there with a rope made of twisted and broken dreams, our excitement will be short-lived because believe it or not, even at the top of the world, you need someone to share the view with you otherwise it’s just a hollow accomplishment.

You’ll soon become lonely and ultimately lose the passion that kept the flame burning because the reason behind that passion was a corrupt one – ENVY AND A DESIRE TO OVERTAKE SOMEONE ELSE’S SUCCESS. Such a hunger eventually subsides, leaving you aimless and devoid of hope.

Why condemn yourself to go through that?

[A BLOGGER’S LIFE] What does it take to be a better blogger? //E V E R Y T H I N G//

There are thousands of blogs out there. Thousands of people doing EXACTLY what you are doing. Punching words, copy-pasting pics, hitting publish. JUST THAT. But for some reason, their blogs are doing better than yours. WAYYYY BETTER.

How?

I have been thinking about it a lot lately. Observing other blogs. The behaviors of the minds behind them. All the best ones that I have come across till now have some things in common. WHAT ARE THEY?

It’s not like they have cosmic powers or anything like that! OR DOOOO THEYYY??? *gasps*

LET’S FIND OUT!

THEY ARE CONSISTENT

I started this blog in 2017. In September, to be precise. I was having so much fun meeting new people, making friends, sharing my opinions. But due to some reason I had to take a year off (as some of you already know).

Looking back at that time, if I am being honest, I didn’t really need to take a complete break. I realize now that even during that year, I had more than enough time to keep posting once or twice a week. But I sought the easy way out and shut my blog off completely.

I ask myself today, WAS THAT A GOOD MOVE? Needless to say, it wasn’t.

Had I stayed consistent even when it got a bit difficult, had I stayed the course and tried a bit harder, I would be in a better place than I am now.

IT’S NOT JUST A HOBBY WITH THEM

Now, I know some of you who have read my last post might think I am being a bit contrary here but I am not. Just hear me out.

Of course, the first and foremost rule of blogging is to do it for fun, to take pleasure in it.

But, in my experience, there comes a phase every once in a while when even the things you REALLY love lose their charm.

And when that happens, there are two courses of action before you:

•  You can either just go to the extreme and decide that maybe it wasn’t for you.

•  Or you can keep doing it for a little while more, hoping that it’ll pass (although you might have to work twice as hard for it.)

The first one is a very defeatist approach. You must never throw in the towel at the first hints of a struggle. Really, if anyone of you is a runner here then you know how fucking hard those first couple of miles are! But once your body adjusts to this new activity, it feels like you are flying, your lungs are on fire and you feel like you could just keep running till the end of your days!

Yes, that’s it. That rule applies to everything in life, including blogging.

Push through the proverbial pain. It WILL get better. And before you know it, you will be doing your best! And that’s all that REALLY counts, isn’t it?

So please, don’t fall down just yet. Hold it, for a little bit longer.

THEY COMMENT BACK

Do you have any idea how absolutely rude it is for you to just leave all the comments unliked and unreplied? (is that a word?)

Reading a post and then leaving a thoughtful comment TAKES TIME. And if your lovely readers can take precious time out of their schedules to comment on your posts, the LEAST you can do is fucking reply! I am sorry but I feel really strongly about this one.

DON’T TAKE THIS PERSONALLY!!! xDxDxD

And hey, I totally understand that commenting back feels like a full-time job sometimes.

So what?

Blogging is not ALL FUN AND GAMES. It takes ACTUAL WORK (as you already know) And who’s asking you to comment back immediately anyway? Set a day aside and engage with all the comments on your posts on then. Readers are not easily offended. If you apologize for taking a bit of time to reply, they will understand. But they WILL get pissed off when weeks go by, you have put more posts out there and still, their thoughts go unacknowledged.

The best bloggers out there always take this rule to heart. They may be late in replying sometimes but they NEVER forget it.

That said, while I was on my unannounced hiatus, some totally awesome people commented on my posts but since I was away, I didn’t know about it and I just discovered that I had unapproved ones and I FEELL SOO FUCKING GUILTY NOW! So yeah AGAIN learn from all the messed up examples (a k a ME) before you and DONT COMMIT SUCH BLOGGING SINS.

THEY RECOGNIZE THE VALUE OF FRIENDS

Believe it or not, it’s always friends who will give you the acknowledgment you deserve and desire.

Every blog has those readers who like/comment on a couple of posts and then don’t come back for an eternity! 🤣🤣 And hey, that’s fine! They have their charm too.

But it’s only those who you have really connected to and made friends with who will always encourage you on every single one of your posts.

They will like them, comment on them, give you shout outs. ALL of these things are very important in the blogging community. And if you are thinking that you can survive without them, then you are so fucking wrong. Because without people reading what you write, you may as well stop blogging and go write in a fucking notebook.

But if you want genuine appreciation and support, then you better climb off that high horse and start being nice to people.

LIFE’S BETTER WITH FRIENDS and SO IS BLOGGING!

THEY GIVE BACK

When you visit a blog, like the posts, comment on them, the blogger isn’t automatically required to reciprocate it. There is no rule that says that.

BUT the best ones out there know the value of a community enough to not just be a taker. They give back TEN TIMES the love you offer them. Whenever and however their time allows.

They know that every single one of us is struggling out here and trying our hardest and they make sure that we know how much they appreciate our support. That’s a trait everyone of us should learn if we want to be loved in this community.

Listen, the ONLY way you move upwards in ANY area of life is by helping others, taking them with you.  And don’t you fear that if they get better, you might lose your place.

THERE IS MORE THAN ENOUGH FOR EVERY ONE OF US IN THIS BEAUTIFUL WORLD.

Do you agree? Or not? Do you have any other tips to add to the list? Let us all know in the comments! ❤️

[A BLOGGER’S LIFE] Beyond Comments, Likes & Followers// HOW TO SHAKE THE POPULARITY COMPLEX//

Blogging comes with its own set of anxieties. You start a blog, you write that first post – which you think is immaculately written, by the way – you hit publish, and then NADA. You may as well be screaming into the void!

No one comments back.
No one likes your post.
No one even visits your blog.

And then you start to feel let down by your own genius – “Maybe my thoughts aren’t worth that much.”

Now, it’s only natural to want people to read your content. We crave comments not because they make us seem popular but because they validate our ideas, our thoughts and that’s something even the most talented and seemingly indifferent writers want.

But what makes them different from YOU is that although they WANT that, they don’t necessarily construct their content around that desire!!

Face it, we see a popular blog writing amazing posts and people commenting back and forth and WE WANT THAT. We all want that. AND THAT’S GOOOOOOD!!

I believe you actually should take steps to promote your blog, to make friends in the blogging community to ensure that your content is being read BUT what we fail to realize is that when this necessity becomes an obsession, that’s when the quality of our writing starts degrading. Because then we just write whatever will get us comments, whatever gets us reblogs and mentions and all sorts. Now, all that is fun and should be participated in WITHOUT IT REACHING THE POINT WHERE IT BECOMES YOUR SOLE PURPOSE BEHIND WRITING.

And I am totally speaking from personal experience.

Before starting this little beauty I wrote on a different platform, still a blog of sorts. It was my first experience of watching other people engaged in meaningful and deep conversations and I wanted that badly.
So I would do research on the most famous blogs and would write in accordance with what they were preaching, what their ideas were. I didn’t realize that they were saying what was on THEIR MINDS! It was their personal opinion. It was something that THEY felt really STRONGLY about. AND THAT’S WHAT GAVE THEIR POSTS SUCH MEANING AND POWER!

I, on the other hand, was just faking an interest in similar topics and needless to say, THE QUALITY OF MY POSTS WAS ABSOLUTE TRASH. Well, okay not TRASH, but it wasn’t something that even I myself would want to read. Because I didn’t feel THAT strongly about it. AND THE READERS MUST HAVE BEEN LIKE – 

I still kept on doing it (I don’t know what THE FUCK I was even hoping for) until there came a time when I ultimately tired my mind of forcing it to write on topics that just weren’t my forte. I wasn’t well opinionated about them and naturally, that led to a decline of that blog.

I started this one, however, with a pledge that I will only write what I REALLY WANT to write about and I will not let myself be WRONGLY influenced by the popularity in the blogosphere. Don’t misunderstand me, some posts are so immaculately written that they force me to think, form opinions of my own on that topic, and ultimately generate ideas related to it. Now THAT’S healthy. But writing something just for the sake of popularity is a race that would never win you accolades and certainly not loyal and happy followers.

That’s my promise to you!

The blogging community is rich with beautiful and well-structured ideas and you will always find something to inspire you, to actually make you THINK. And that’s what good content should inevitably do. It should either entertain you, make you feel happy, or it should make you think hard and true about something, or sometimes both.

But you should NEVER sway from your preferred path and change the whole identity of your thought system just for the sake of experiencing the thrill of being someone who writes about topics that, even though are totally out of your area of expertise or opinions, gets you comments or followers.

That being said, I would still like to encourage each and every one of you to go out there and introduce yourself to all these other absolutely lovely human beings and their beautiful blogs because every writer, even someone who has a HUGE bank of knowledge and genius that would fade Mark Twain in comparison, needs readers who can make sense of what he writes. Because in the end, a post, although a piece of mind of the writer, is worth what readers make of it, and what they get out of it. Could be more than that but it’s CERTAINLY NOTHING LESS!

So, GO WRITE POSTS THAT YOU WANT TO WRITE, ON THINGS THAT YOU KNOW ABOUT! Be inspired by other people. Think hard and true and THEN go and promote what you write and it’s my promise to you that there will be many, many readers who will resonate with what you wrote.

LOOK AT THIS HANDSOME BASTARD!!! ❤ ❤  *heart eyes*

Attract YOUR kind of audience by writing YOUR kind of posts. THAT’S the way to win those loyal followers and commenters. 😉

THE WITHERING WELL// September Wrap-Up

Honestly, I was not sure I’d still be able to pull book-blogging off after a YEAR long break but HEY, IT SEEMS I HAVE! CONFETTI ALL AROUND!!!

My blog during this month was like a newborn child and I needed to make sure I was attentive enough, nurturing enough because coming back from a hiatus can be a NIGHTMARE ESPECIALLY if you have been in a reading slump during your break, which was definitely the case for me.

But anyway, since the month has come to an end and I am still behind my computer typing away a wrap-up post is a success in and of itself!

MY INCOHERENT POSTS OVER THE MONTH

 

//REVIEWS//

🖤 I started by reviewing one of THE BEST books I have read the whole year. Frederick Backman was a stranger to me before AMAZON (my babyyyyy  ) suggested me US AGAINST YOU. And I am SOO FUCKING GLAD that it did because..my, oh my..I FELL IN LOVE with the residents of Beartown – their bravery, their stubbornness, their ability to love unconditionally – it was all just too much! And that line :

We’ll stand tall if you stand tall.

🖤 It seems like when my books saw me swooning over Us Against You and crying by the end, they started plotting to see which one can break my little heart even more and a series of events led me to pick out WHEN GOD WAS A RABBIT from a dusty corner of my bookshelf. And I FELL IN LOVE A SECOND TIME!!  (And it wasn’t even the last ;))

🖤 By the time I had finished reading When God Was A Rabbit, I was hooked on the sweet solace of quiet tears and an even quieter sadness. And as though reading my mind, my JARVIS-like brainy bookshelf prompted me in the direction of  THE CELLIST OF SARAJEVO  and words are NOT ENOUGH to describe how STRONGLY I feel about this gem of a book by Steven Galloway who is now MY FAVORITE AUTHOR!! (Look, I am a fickle human being okay? I tend to fall in love 30 times a day. SO WHAT? Like YOU are any better, huh! *judging you*)

//A READER’S LIFE//

🖤 Having to take a break from blogging was bad enough and then came along that dreaded READING SLUMP. WHY DID GOD HAVE TO PLAGUE ME WITH THIS TOO???

But since I had to deal with this horrible affliction, it was only fitting that I give you my tips on how to overcome it. And you can read all about it and benefit from my post titled – Beware the SLUMP //Treating the most-feared READER’S disease//

🖤 I also talked about some of the weird habits I have developed ever since I started reading. And hey I warn you that some of them are QUITE weird and hella extreme but hey, to quote Oscar Wilde,

Moderation is fatal. Nothing succeeds like excess. 😉

 

//DISCUSSIONS//

🖤 Lastly, having read a sort of a heated debate about whether it is better to read challenging novels or entertaining ones, I decided to do a post about it by the title – Challenging or Entertaining – Which Ones Should You Be Reading?

I came to the conclusion that you cannot just decide which ones are ‘‘better’‘ as easily. There are many factors that come into play while choosing a book to read and that choice is really quite personal. That being said, I still do believe that a healthy combination of both should be a general aim while trying to expand your horizons.

ALL DOLLED UP Award

Beautiful blogs NEED to be appreciated.

A LOT of effort goes into making a website look aesthetically pleasing. And I created this award to make sure that these bloggers know that their effort has not gone unnoticed. Now, I usually do a separate post about it but from this month on, I am going to include it in my monthly wrap-ups.

So, I thought HARD & TRUE about this month’s award and THE ONLY ANSWER THAT CAME TO MIND WAS our very own, super talented MARIE and her cute-as-a-button blog DRIZZLE AND HURRICANE BOOKS ❤

I mean HAVE YOU LOOKED AT THE FUCKING AESTHETIC OF HER BLOG??? Downright G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S. So here you are hon, THE ULTIMATE APPRECIATION for your blog’s NEVER-ENDING BEAUTY!!

Just a token of appreciation. Hope you liked it.

AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE

(Since I didn’t have the time to make a separate post about my favorite posts in the second half of the month, I am just going to include them in here.)

🖤 Lashaan from Bookidote is here to teach you THE ART OF ABANDONING BOOKS and you better listen to him because most of us readers absolutely SUCK at DNFing. Thus we end up wasting a whole lot of time in reading even the books that belong more in a garbage can than our precious little hands! (Kidding..I could NEVER do that! )

🖤 Having completed 5 YEARS OF BLOGGING, Marie talks about what to expect when you embark on this thrilling journey. She is here to spill the truth so go and read her absolutely fantastic post titled – 8 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BOOK-BLOGGING

🖤 Our favorite – The Orangutan Librarian – goes about her business, writing the most AMAZING posts. EVERY TIME. And her recent one – IN DEFENCE OF CLASSICS, AGAIN – is no different. I FUCKING LOVE IT. So go and check it out.

🖤 Kelly from A Book In The Wall brings you probably one of the most important posts you will read this year. HOW TO TAKE OFF THOSE GOD-AWFUL STICKERS FROM YOUR BOOKS.

🖤 If I had known about her website sooner, I’d have done an even better job at coming back from my break. But since now I know about it, YOU SHOULD READ Elizabeth from Redgal Musings’ awesome post titled – HOW TO CREATIVELY END A HIATUS WELL

BOOKS I WANT TO READ

JANE EYRE LAID BARE by Charlotte Bronte & Eve Sinclair

SUITE FRANCAISE by Irène Némirovsky

THE BIRTH OF VENUS by Sarah Dunant

THE LITTLE FRIEND by Donna Tart

JANE EYRE by Charlotte Bronte

THE SLAP by Christos Tsiolkas

Phew…It was QUITE A MONTH, HUH!! Still, I enjoyed September. I always do.

AND WHAT ABOUT YOUUU???

How was your September? Any complaints? 
What books are on YOUR TBR? What was your favorite read this month?

TELL MEE ALLL ABOUT IT! ❤

[AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE] Top 5 posts I read this week

These are some of the BEST posts I came across this week. A few here are the blogs I recently discovered and my only regret? WHY THE FUCK DIDN’T I KNOW ABOUT THEM BEFORE?? ALL OF THEM ARE SIMPLY AMAZING! And so I thought that it’s unfair to keep them just to myself (as much as I would like to *pouts*).

So here are some of their AWESOME posts which I think you guys should definitely check out.

THE NERDY LION

6 REASON YOUR BLOG SUCKS AND HOW TO FIX IT

The title is pretty much self-explanatory, right? In this post, the king of the blogoshere himself is going to impart you some knowledge with which you can revive your dying blog and the ones whose ”business’ is BLOOMING, can take their blogs to new heights.

WHO WOULDN’T WANT TO READ THAT?

 

THE ROOKERY

I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT THIS IS

With his amazing artwork and the ability of his words to play tricks on the reader’s mind, the writer behind this blog paints a surreal picture of Insomnia and its effects. I AM TELLING YOU I WAS IN LOVE BY THE TIME I HAD FINISHED READING IT!

YOU HAVE GOT TO READ IT.  YOU’LL REGRET IT IF YOU DON’T.

 

URBAN VYASS

MONOMANIA AND LITERATURE

This is one of the blogs that I discovered this week and I am so glad I did! This post talks about something that we rarely acknowledge, that we romanticise – the harm that an obsession (even as innocent as reading) can do to a mind. The importance of a balanced approach is vital and this post talks about the same with far more eloquence and insistence.

THIS IS THE KIND OF WRITING THAT YOU DEFINITELY SHOULD MAKE A HABIT OF READING, in my humble opinion, of course. 😉

 

BITCHIN’ IN THE KITCHEN

MAMMA MIA 2: THE OBITUARY

I recently came across this pink, fluffy blog and I LOVE IT WITH ALL MY HEART! One of the first posts I read was a review of the new Mamma Mia movie and her writing style was soo engaging that I NEVER WANNA WATCH IT NOW! EVER! xD xD
Really though, she is fun, quick and sarcastic where it counts – the essentials for any good writer. 😉

GO AHEAD AND GIVE HER BLOG A VISIT. YOU’LL LOVE IT! ❤

 

FOR BOOK LOVERS AND RANDOM PEOPLE

FOCUS ON CRIME FICTION

What makes for a good crime fiction?What are the necessary elements without which any story of this genre appears kind of deflated and sloppy? The face behind this blog – stargazer – talks about it all + there are some great recommendations too!

I’d say crime-fiction lovers better check this one out!

 

Coming across a well-thought, a well-written blog post is one of the best things and YOU GUYS MADE MY WEEK! ❤ ❤ Thank you soo much for making the effort to write such amazing content. YOU GUYS ARE MOST APPRECIATED.

HAVE A FANTASTIC WEEK. I LOVE YOU ALL! ❤ ❤

[A READER’S LIFE] Beware the SLUMP //Treating a READER’S most-feared disease//

Reading. Reading some more. More reading.
Reading is fun.
Reading is life.
Reading is DOPE. (do people still use that word. though?)

READING ALSO BECOMES A PAIN IN THE ASS SOMETIMES! 

Don’t get me wrong. There is NOTHING I love more than waking up to a box full books just arrived from Amazon but
BUT
BUTTTT…

What to do when you JUST CANNOT MAKE IT WORK?

Well, I have successfully overcome this. Sure it took me a LOOONGGG time but hey, what matters is that I DID IT! And so I am PERFECTLY qualified to share my amazing tips with you as well.

So let’s get to it then!

TOO FUNNY TO NOT USE!!!! XDXDXDXDXD

[ON MY BEST BEHAVIOUR] Interviewing the genius minds behind Unbolt, Tati & Tony *cheering in the background*

This is a post that I have been wanting to put up for FAAAAAAAAAAAR TOOOOOOOO long but never got around to actually doing it due to….well…my absolutely UNNECESSARY break!

But now, I want to take this opportunity to share with you, my gorgeous readers, my conversation with Tatiana Aleksina and Tony Single, the heart and mind of my favourite blog ON THE WHOLE INTERNET, UNBOLT.ME 

YOU ARE GOING TO LOOOOVE THEM! Their answers were absolutely hilarious and so well thought that I felt like crying when I got them! They were very enthusiastic about it and I SWEAR TO GOD, I feel so glad that I had the opportunity to interact with them.

Both of them are terrific writers, kind and helpful and SUCH FUN TO TALK TO!