It can be so important to reflect every now and then. I am taking a moment to look back on the top Lightning Droplets blog posts of 2021. These are the posts that were most popular last year. Maybe you will find them useful as well?
Enjoy!
Most Popular Blog Posts of 2021
- Planning and Goal Setting for Writers: A blog post that takes a look at Sarra Canon’s HB90 Planning Method, which is designed especially for writers but can work for any kind of creative entrepreneur. The method walks you through the process of visualizing your ideal life, outlining specific goals, and making a plan to see them through each quarter. This way of planning has been a game changer for me!
- Dangerous Plants: A Writing Prompt for Character Development: A unique writing prompt paired with craft advice about developing characters. It includes instructions for the prompt, the three most important to ask any character, and an explanation of why this prompt works. If you do this prompt, definitely share it with me. I would love to see what you come up with. This was my personal favorite blog post to write in 2021. I would love to create more posts like this, so if you like it, let me know!
- Seen Like the Sea: A poem for my daughter’s third birthday. This was the only bit of poetry that I shared this year, and it was a hit. If you’re a parent or love the ocean, check this poem out. You might like it!
- Writing Roulette: Plot Generators to Spice up Your Literary Life: This is one of the oldest prompts I posted (2014!), and it’s still a favorite. A round-up of several online plot generators to get your creative juices flowing. Sometimes inspiration out of nowhere can really get the juices flowing in new directions. Also, you can see my own response to this prompt here.
- How to Design a Writing Life: This blog post looks at Publish and Thrive, a course by Heart Breathings that is designed to give indie writers all the info they need to launch their career, or develop their skills even further. It is a five-week course that encompasses the process of developing your ideas into publishable books, marketing those books, and building a writing life that will bring more than money (but also money!). This course really changed the way I think about my writing and the possibilities of a writing life.
- What Counts?: NaNoWriMo Days 16-18: A possibly-controversial blog post about how to decide what to include in your word counts for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). I did a whole series of blog posts for NaNoWriMo this year and this one was the most popular.
- Falling off the Horse, A Haiku for NaNoWriMo Days 9-12: An ode to all those who are trying to grab the reins of their goals and still sometimes fall behind.
- 20,000 Word Reward: A blog post about the importance of celebrating your wins, even when you are behind, and about appreciating and loving your cheerleaders. All progress on that novel is something to celebrate. Don’t forget that!
- Novel Excerpt from the WIP: A small snippet of The Snow Witch, my current work in progress. It’s a surreal scene in which the main character falls into a tree well. Did you that’s something that’s possible? I love the places novel research can take you.
- It’s November!: NaNoWriMo Day 1: Another post from the NaNoWriMo series. An announcement about my intention to blog every day during November, which I turned out to be a very inspiring goal. This post got lots of love, which ultimately inspired me to keep going later in the month. I so appreciated that.
Looking back, you do really learn a lot just looking at what readers responded to most over the course of the year. I know January 2022 is mostly over already, but the Mercury Retrograde has been calling me to look back and reflect, and sometimes, that’s the most useful way to move forward.
Thank you for reading!
I think of all those I most remember the 20,000 words goal. It’s so important that we choose our own terms for what constitutes success, rather than letting others decide whether we’ve done enough.
Thanks for that feedback, Deborah! It can be so surprising what resonates with people. I totally agree about making our own terms for success, and also that we need to recognize our progress. Hope you are well!