Wow! I want to thank Michael J. Fite for honoring me with this award. He said in his accepting of the award: “Regardless of whether it is your first, second, or 100th award, you always appreciate the recognition because it reminds you of how important your readers and followers are.” And it’s 100% true.

I am still in awe of how great this community is, accepting and supporting. It’s like some of the best people have convened to share their talents with other appreciative people and not just their talents, but their comments and their time. It’s really amazing!

And, in addition to thanking Michael, I also want to thank you all. Blogging has been a really great experience for me and it wouldn’t be without you. Cheers!

What are the rules for the Blogger Recognition Award?

For all the nominees, here are the rules if you choose to accept:

1. Write a post to show your award
2. Give a brief story of how your blog started
3. Give two pieces of advice to new bloggers
4. Thank whoever nominated you, and provide a link to their blog
5. Select 15 other blogs you want to give the award to.

How Did I Start Blogging?

I have written about my LCE (life changing experience) before so I’ll tell you a little more about after I decided to start blogging.

As a voracious reader, I thought it would be a great way to share some of my reading experiences with like-minded people. So, I figured I’d be a book blogger, especially since the reviews you find on Amazon can’t always be trusted. (ha!) In my mind, if you’re going to buy a book, you shouldn’t be misled by 5 star reviews for a 2 star book and vice versa. I figure if you decide that our tastes are at all similar, you will be able to trust my reviews…or do the complete opposite. 😉

But then, because I wanted to start adventures, I thought I’d write about those and add pictures because I really wanted to get back into photography.

Well, the book blogging worked out, but then the inner writer decided that she wanted to let loose, and instead of adventures, she started making stuff up (some people call it fiction) and putting it on the blog. Anarchy!

But fun anarchy because it’s let me share myself in ways that I haven’t been comfortable doing in quite a while.

Advice to New Bloggers

1. Interact with your followers. If someone “likes” your post, try to reciprocate. By now, I realize that it’s not always possible to do it immediately. But do allot time for that and/or commenting as often as you can.
2. Pay attention to format and readability. (I know that this is a bit dryer than the advice I offered before, but it’s nonetheless essential.) Break up huge paragraphs. WordPress provides you with a nifty little “proofread writing” tool. It’s shown in this image:

It’s that highlighted box with the ABC and check mark. If you click on that before publishing, there’s a good chance you won’t publish anything misspelled. Unfortunately, as I can tell you, it doesn’t add the words that you forget if you type too fast. And it doesn’t correct crazy wording, for which I can also attest. 😉

Blogs I Nominate

Please accept this award, but know that you don’t have to. However, I appreciate the support that you’ve shown to me. Many thanks. (And, yes, here I go again breaking rules….or you can pretend that I can’t count.)

1. Speaking Up for Myself
2. El Colleccionista Hipnotico
3. Unbolt
4. On Turning Pages
5. Ayoka
6. Devil Doll Musings