Blogtober {follow-up}
Blogtober was a full month, including...
Blog updates. I'm taking inspirations and information from The Influence Conference (see below) and applying it to my design and my "brand." It's a work-in-progress, and just might always be. The pages are new and will continue to be updated. I'm aiming for a simple, classic, minimal layout, that leaves room for the posts to add color, character and life. More about this in the months to come... it has a lot to do with my goals for 2013.
31 Days Series. 31 Days of Letting Your Lil Light Shine was a success in every way. All 31 posts got written, even with a few days off for Sabbaths and the conference. I learned so much about shining from the contributions of friends and family and diving into this topic for a month. (Well, longer, because I've been planning the series since July.) I also discovered a little more about my writing voice, setting and meeting goals, and planning ahead to fit everything in.
Influence {blog} Conference. You can find my 7 key lessons + 5 conference tips here and the heart- and life-change here. Reading various bloggers' experiences, attending conferences seemed to be a huge part in changing the course of their blogging "careers." I looked forward to that possibility, but mostly hoped to find God's purpose for me. This Christian community focused on our influence through God seemed to the perfect setting. And it was. I met some great people, but that wasn't exactly the feature it could have been. Instead, I walked away with direction and purpose for so much more than my blog. Mission accomplished.
Birthday Celebration. I'm now 26, and celebrated with the yearly tradition of pumpkin cake. Happy fall!
October Book-of-the-Month
How to Have Your Cake and Eat it Too by Mandi Ehman
Knock-it-out November {preview}
While October was a very active month on the frontlines of the blog with daily posts, November will be equally active, but more so behind-the-scenes.
4 simple goals. In September, I set 4 simple goals to get me through 2012. I'm revisiting this, and posting on one each week in November.
Less blogging, more writing. I am a writer, and that is why I blog. But this blog is not the only place I write. This month will be the start of me putting more effort and intention into my writing as a whole. On the blog, this ultimately means less frequent posts (an average of 2-3 each week) to reserve writing energy for other writing projects. But you, as the reader, are really the one that benefits from this. (See below.)
December Prep. December's resolution to do an Advent Calendar (my first ever), will take a little planning and preparation before December 1. I will complete that process this month, and plan to share some ideas in the next couple weeks.
Wrap up to 2012, plan for 2013. In exchange for posting less, {1} I will let you know what's on the schedule as much as a month in advance (I have a fun idea in mind for doing this); {2} I will write more intentional and quality posts; and {3} I will offer e-mail sign up so you can receive weekly or monthly updates to read in your own time.
All of this will take a lot of planning, so I am getting a jumpstart this month to start getting November + December posts written, then work on the layout/design/plan of how this blog will be run at the start of 2013. I will also keep you in the loop in the process. There will be survey for you to fill out, Q&A on why anything has to change and what will be changing, and a sneak peek of what's in store for 2013. Get excited!
