Tag: Writing

Monthly Recaps

June Monthly Recap

floraj5604

Happy Saturday, friends! I hope you are having just as great a weekend as I am! Today I’m going to give you a review of my month, and hopefully I will get some feedback on yours!

Books

This month I have been in the process of rereading the Keeper of the Lost Cities series along with many other Keeper fans. Shannon Messenger, the author of the series, is doing a Keeper-Read-Along, where each week, we read one of the books in the series. I’ve already gotten through the first two books, Keeper of the Lost Cities and Exile. I’m almost finished with the third book, Everblaze. I’m really enjoying it so far!

I’m still reading the other series I was working on as well, The Mitford Years. I’m on the fifth book, called A New Song, and still loving it!

I will probably finish A New Song and Everblaze tomorrow, which means I will have completed my goal of five books this month! Yay!

Writing

I regret to say I didn’t get much writing done this month. I was really focused on reading. I’ve made a new writing goal for July, and I’m confident I’m going to do better.

Blogging

This month did not go very well in the blogging area for me. I only got three posts out, and I didn’t get very many views. But I know I will do better next month.

Bullet Journal

Yay! This was the area I excelled in! I got a lot done in my bullet journal this month, and I am really excited to show you the pictures of next month! I worked very hard on them, and I think I did really well!

The picture you saw at the top of the post was my title page, and if you can’t tell, the two themes for this month are watermelons and patriotic colors. I found the watermelon idea on Pinterest, and I decided to also do some red, white (or in this case, gray), and blue since July fourth is coming up. The picture above is my monthly overview. On the left page, I have my calendar, notes section (to mark down special events), goals section, and a quote (also found on Pinterest). On the right page, I have my books section (where I write down what books I’ve read), memories section (where I jot down special things I want to remember), sleep tracker, writing section (where I record how much time I spend writing each week), and blogging section.

This is my mood tracker, and I came up with this idea on my own (amazing, right?). I am not the best artist, but I’m working on it. I combined all the moods I could think of into three categories, and then I can choose a color according to the moods I felt most and color in the correct section of the watermelon rind.

I did use Pinterest for this page. I was tired of using the same layout and wanted to try something new. For each habit, when I’ve completed it, I’ll color in the date with a colored pencil. Hopefully, I’ll like this layout better than the last.

Well, that’s it! How did June go for you? Have you enjoyed your summer break? Are you a Keeper fan? Are you looking forward to July? Let me know in the comments! Have a great weekend!

Thanks for reading! Happy writing!

He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints (Proverbs 2:7-8 ESV).

blogging

Blogging: My Tips and Tricks

floraj5604

Hello, fellow book-readers and writers! Sorry it has been so long since my last post! I’ve had a busy summer so far! Today, I am going to talk to you about what I have learned about blogging, and a few tips.

How I Got Started

I know I’ve probably told you this before, but in case you haven’t heard the story, I’m doing it now so you can either re-read it or read it for the first time.

I decided to start a blog when my mom and dad started their blog. They have a coffee shop in Chattanooga (Sourdough Cuppa Joe), and they decided to start a blog about what they had learned. That was when my dad told me that I would be a great blogger, since I had already been writing. I took the words to heart, and now I have been blogging for eight months! Wow, has it really been that long? I can’t believe it! Anyway, I decided to start a blog about my two favorite things to do: reading and writing.

Tips

And now, I will share a few helpful hints on blogging.

  1. When writing a post, try to do it in one sitting. This keeps your mind on the same subject, which keeps your creative juices flowing.
  2. Don’t worry about the amount of likes and comments you get on each post. I still struggle with this, but I’m learning. Trust me, you don’t need to worry about it. It will only add stress to your life.
  3. Write from your heart. Write whatever comes to your mind about your topic.
  4. Try to plan out your posts. Since I do about one post a week, whenever I write a post, I go ahead and decide on the topic for the next one.

Writing a Post

Now I’ll go over the steps I go through when writing a post.

  1. Come up with a topic. This is not always easy, so do something to help you get thinking. You could go for a quick run, take a shower, or even eat a snack.
  2. Introduce your topic. Tell everyone what you’ll be writing about, and maybe even define your main points.
  3. If you haven’t already, come up with your main points. You can write your outline in a notebook, or even just do it in your head.
  4. Write! Do anything you can to keep your thoughts going easily (I’ll talk more about that next week).
  5. Conclude your post. I give my topic for my next post, and ask a few questions that might provoke everyone to give a comment. I have a phrase I always end with (thanks for reading, happy writing), and then I finish with a Bible verse.
  6. Finally, come up with a title. This should be pretty easy since you’ve already written the post. Try to come up with something that will attract readers and sound interesting to read.

Six easy steps! Could it be any easier? That’s really all there is to it.

Well, that’s it for today. For my next post, I’ll give you some tips on how to get your creative juices flowing. Was today’s post helpful? Do you have any tips that you could share?

Thanks for reading! Happy writing!

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8).