Blog 2012

It's the season when the tradition of getting nostaligic for the past year and/or ambitious for the following year really comes into its own. Any half-decent writer will be writing a pithy, poignant and insightful blog post, perhaps with a nice little quotation at the end to inspire their readers to move onwards and upwards into the coming year.

I'm not going to do that. I suppose I'm not feeling particularly pithy right now. So instead,I've made lists. I love lists. A well-made list is a loyal friend. Here are some fun blog facts and a few links to conversations you might have missed on this blog (not too late to join in!) and to other blogs that rock:

Most commented blog posts of 2012:

1.  That Would Be Myself - our grammar hang-ups and difficulties
2. An Agent - my good news moment of the year
3. Fancy Fonts - deciding which font to use next
4. Morality in Fiction - do we have double standards when it comes to reading and writing?

Most viewed blog posts of 2012 (in addition to the posts given above):

1. The Shortest Story Ever Told - celebrating flash fiction
2. On Losing the Plot - my struggles with the first draft of my novel, The Art of Letting Go
3. Do I Need to Become a Twit  - deciding whether I should join Twitter (I did! Join me - @ChloeTellsTales)
4. Collective Nouns - a discussion of our favourite... well... collective nouns.
5. An Interview with... Alasdair Firth - talking to the MD of a new independent publisher

Weirdest Google searches that have brought people to my blog:

1. 'i so totally want to drink'
2. 'the heavens and touch them' (19 page views!)
3. 'and or think leads to student' (14 page views!)
4. 'angry people'
5. 'to avoid the mud' 

I am upset that this is how people find me, when Freya has people turning up on her blog by searching for 'cool writer'!

Some blogs I've read in 2012 that you should read too:

1. Write, Edit, Seek Literary Agent - from the fabulous Writer's Workshop, a must for any writer who intends to do these three things.
2. Mammalingo - a witty, lively insight into the world of parenting. (I'm not a parent but find it hilarious.) Melissa writes for various American publications and even re-blogged one of my comments on her blog recently. She's a lovely lady.
3. Literary Engineer - Suzi is a YA writer who has been doing a fabulous series of posts on extraneous words that sneak into our writing. Go and search for 'sloppy writing 101' on the blog whenever you're editing your own work. I promise it'll help!
4. From Sand to Glass - Martin makes every Friday extra-fun by posting a list of pictures from the internet that have made him chuckle. I look forward to it every week!
5. Chronic Introvert - Alice is new to the world of blogging so I'm going to encourage you to go and say hello to her! She is 18 and out to prove that you don't have to be old to be good at writing. Having read her opening YA novel chapter (yes, she's written a novel already!) I was stunned at the maturity of her writing. She could do with a team of other writers of all ages to welcome her into the blogging community and share some tips - couldn't we all? Go on, make her day :)

Some non-writing blogs I've been enjoying this year: Bottom of the Pecking Order, Science and The Sacred, Becoming Raje, Joanna Lucy Illustrates. And of course, I have loved catching up with all my writing friends on their personal blogs too. Hooray for community!

If you run a blog, please leave a comment with a link to your favourite post from this year and if I haven't already read it - I will!  (If you don't run a blog but have a favourite post from somebody else's blog, feel free to post that instead!)

I haven't made lists of goal and resolutions for 2013, but as my far-flung ambition to get an agent in 2012 actually came about in a startling and surreal manner, I'm going to go all out and say I'm hoping for a publishing deal this year! What are you hoping for from the writing pixies?

As this will probably be my last blog post this year... Have a blessed Christmas, and a Merry New Year to you all!

"I always have a quotation for everything - it saves original thinking." - Dorothy L. Sayers