Tag Archives: blogging

January 10, 2011 · 9:58 am

Layinda’s Blog Turns One

Yesterday was the first anniversary of Layinda’s Blog. (Just for the record, I would have come up with a snappier title, but I didn’t realize when creating it that the title is the one thing in the format that can’t be changed later.) (Unless there’s something I don’t know about, which is entirely possible.)

I have nothing but good things to say about writing a blog, and can highly recommend it. Over the course of this year, I have figured out how to insert images, how to link to other sites, and how to use “keywords” effectively. I started out posting Monday through Friday, but when real life intervened, I realized that I wrote better posts if I did them as inspired, rather than on demand. I also think that writing on a regular basis has helped me to become a better and more efficient writer. In short, I’ve grown.

Thanks to EVERYONE who has visited, and special thanks to those who have left comments. If there are any particular topics anyone would like me to address in the coming year, or if there are any things I already do that you’d like to see more of, feel free to mention that in today’s comments, and I will do my best.

At the end of 2010, WordPress sent out each blog’s statistics for the year, and I thought I’d share a few of mine (below). I suspect that they give all the new blogs a “wow” rating, but I never look a gift horse in the mouth. (Hmmm, just thought of a new idea for a post…)

Thanks again, everybody, for making Layinda’s Blog such a pleasure to produce. I couldn’t have done it without you. 🙂

Here are the stats:

Happy New Year from WordPress.com! To kick off the year, we’d like to share with you data on how your blog has been doing. Here’s a high level summary of your overall blog health:

Blog-Health-o-Meter Wow

Blog-Health-o-Meter™

We think you did great!

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 3,900 times in 2010. That’s about 9 full 747s.
(Author’s Note: The official anniversary number was 3997 – I’d hoped it would hit 4000 in time for the big day, but that was close enough for me! 😉 )

In 2010, you wrote 133 new posts, not bad for the first year! You uploaded 7pictures, taking up a total of 7mb.

Your busiest day of the year was June 1st with76 views. The most popular post that day wasGreat Guy, Great Book, Great Advice: Part 1.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were twitter.com,facebook.com, blogger.com,jemifraser.blogspot.com, andcatwoods.wordpress.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly forsmiling hurts, books for young advanced readers, blogs for parents of advanced readers, age appropriate book lists, and ty roth author.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010. You can see all of the year’s most-viewed posts and pages in your Site Stats.

1

Great Guy, Great Book, Great Advice: Part 1April 2010
1 comment

2

Young Advanced Readers: An Age Appropriate Book List for Puzzled ParentsApril 2010
1 comment

3

About
1 comment

4

Ghost from the Past: Elements of the Modern NovelMay 2010
4 comments

5
To Critique or Not to CritiqueApril 2010
6 comments
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September 4, 2010 · 10:20 am

Blog BBQ This Weekend

Karen Jones Gowen is having a Blog BBQ this weekend. As you can tell from the comments on my previous post, I have already enjoyed a lot of new visitors from it, and can definitely recommend attending.

If you’re interested in participating, it continues through Labor Day, the more the merrier.

Here’s how:

Go to Karen’s blog (Coming Down the Mountain: From Reclusive Writer to Published Author) and “follow” her. Then leave a comment about what food you’d like to bring, mention the content/url of your blog, and invite others to come visit you. Go to the blogs of three other people who have also commented, say hi, and watch the visitors to your own blog pour in.

I’ve discovered several interesting blogs so far, and am heading back to the festivities as soon as I’ve posted this. Maybe I’ll see you there?

Have a great weekend!

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July 12, 2010 · 10:21 am

And the Liar Is…

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Whew! I had just gotten my breath back from all of the work involved with accepting The Versatile Blogger Award, when I was gifted with another one! With more conditions. (Where are all those awards that only require you to sit back and say ‘thank you?’ I want one of those.)

Lesa’s Bald Faced Liar “Creative Writer” Blogger Award was given to me by my friend Cat Woods from over at “Words From the Woods.”

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The conditions to accepting the “Creative Writer” Award:

1. Thank the person who gave me the award and link to her.
Thank you, Ms. Woods. It was fun to discern your lie from your truths, and I hope that am as successful at confounding people as you were.

2. Add the award to my blog.
See above.

3. Tell six outrageous lies about myself and one truth OR tell six truths and one outrageous lie. YOU get to guess which I chose, as well as which statement is the truth or the lie. (Mwa ha ha.)
See below.

4. Nominate six creative liars writers and post links to them.
See tomorrow’s post.

5. Let the nominees know they have been nominated.
Ditto.

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Here are my seven statements – mostly truths, or mostly lies? You decide:

1. I wrote my first manuscript when I was seven. It was a mystery, entitled, “The Adventures of Powder Puff Pig.” I made a nice little booklet and drew a rather straggly pig with a fluffy back on the cover. I couldn’t think of anything to say past the first page.

2. I used to love selling Girl Scout cookies door to door (when I was little, you could still do that relatively safely). People were always giving me extra money, but instead of putting it into the troop fund, I would use it to buy more cookies, for myself.

3. I am the proud owner of an Australian shepherd, three cats and a gerbil. The Gerbil’s name is Hank. The dog is Max, and the cats are Sam, Henry, and Sally. The next pet I have my eye on is a chinchilla, so that I can use it as a lap warmer for those cold nights in front of the TV. When it dies of old age, I can have a hat made out of it, and not feel guilty.

4. I love 3-D movies. Give me a pair of those glasses, and I am in another world for ninety minutes. I can’t wait until they start selling the new 3-D televisions, and I’ll be able to watch everything that way.

5. I only wear skirts or dresses. I am so manly looking that whenever I wear pants, I am frequently mistaken for George Stephanopolous.

6. I was such a fast swimmer in high school that I went all the way to the State Championships when I was a junior. I almost won first place in freestyle, but right before I touched the wall, someone’s little sister jumped from the deck into my lane and landed right on my head. My coach actually had to jump in and save both of us. They declared the heat invalid, but it affected me so badly that I didn’t even place when we reswam it.

7. One of my old boyfriends is a famous movie star, but I won’t mention who, to protect his anonymity. Let’s just say that Demi wasn’t his first cougar.

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One is true, or one is a lie. Let me know your guesses in the comments, and I’ll post the answers tomorrow, along with the nominees. (Accepting the award is optional, of course – it’s just for fun.) 🙂

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May 3, 2010 · 11:34 am

Keeping Up the Good Work (or) Reflections on My 75th Post

The “stats” graph for Layinda’s Blog tends to look like the screen on the heart monitor of a distressed patient. I write to several related audiences: Writers (who want people to read their writing), Teachers/Parents of Gifted Kids (who read), and Points of General Interest (to readers and writers). I use Twitter hashtags to advertise to whichever audience each day’s post is predominantly aimed at. As a result, some days have a higher number of visitors than others.

A week or so after I started blogging (mid January), I had a day where not one person looked at it. The previous day, I had written a slightly controversial post (in which I dissed LOST), and it occurred to me that I might have alienated all of my fledgling readers. Instead of panic, though, I was surprised to feel a certain freedom. I realized that if no one read it, I was unencumbered by the need to please.

The next day, the numbers were right back to where they’d been before, but the seed had been planted. I have stayed true to writing whatever I’ve wanted to, and fortunately, my readership has continued to grow. I used to be excited if thirteen people viewed a post, then it was twenty-nine, and now forty-five seems small. 

As the peaks have gotten consistently higher, I have noticed an impressive level of internal pressure to produce quality posts, which take more time to write than the lame ones. The other thing I have noticed is that my “real writing” is suffering from neglect. 

In an effort to remedy both issues, I have decided to officially switch from posting Monday through Friday, to Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

In the words of Theodore Roosevelt, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” Good advice for blogging, in my opinion.

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