Has Your Blogging Gone as Well as You’d Hoped in 2017? Announcing Blog On
How’s 2017 been for you?
It’s been a mixed year for me: in some ways, I accomplished a lot more than I was expecting (I wrote a whole novella that I hadn’t even thought of back in January) … but inevitably, some of the projects I’d planned to do didn’t quite work out.
For the first year in a while, though, I’ve managed to keep up with weekly blog posts – and it’s been great to be back in the rhythm of writing regularly here on Aiventures.
I know that it can be very easy to lose momentum with a blog, though (I’ve definitely had my share of less than great years).
If your blogging hasn’t gone quite how you’d hoped over the past ten and a bit months, there’s still time to turn it around before the new year.
Announcing … Blog On
Blog On is an eight-week ecourse designed to help you write great posts for your blog, and get to grips with key pages, step by step. If you sometimes feel a bit overwhelmed by blogging, or find yourself procrastinating, this is the course for you!
I’ve been running Blog On, in various incarnations, since 2011 and I rewrote the whole course last year, for my Writers’ Huddle members.
Quite a few people have told me, though, that they’d like to take Blog On without having to have membership of Writers’ Huddle.
I completely understand that. I love the Huddle and the people in it, but I know a monthly membership site isn’t the right option for everyone.
So, for the first time in several years, I’m opening up Blog On to the general public. You don’t need to purchase a Writers’ Huddle membership to join – you can just buy the course itself.
You can get all the details (and join Blog On) here.
Note: If you’re a member of Writers’ Huddle, Blog On is half-price (or free for alumni members): just drop me an email at ali@aliventures.com if you want more information or need any help signing up.
If you’re not a member of Writers’ Huddle but would like to join and take part in Blog On … you can do that! 🙂 Just head over to the Blog On page for full details.
About Writers’ Huddle
Writers’ Huddle is my membership/community site for writers, and it’s been running since early 2012. Members pay a small monthly fee ($9.99 / £7.49) and get monthly seminars, weekly chats, private forums, mini-courses, and lots more … including the full archive of 60+ seminars.
In Writers’ Huddle, we cover blogging, along with a lot of other areas of writing: fiction, non-fiction, freelancing, self-publishing and more. So if you only blog, then it’s probably not a good fit for you. If you’re a blogger and an aspiring novelist, though, or a freelancing blogger, or a blogger who hopes to write a non-fiction book … check it out. You can find out all about it on the Writers’ Huddle home page (opens in a new tab so you don’t lose your place here).
What Could You Achieve With Your Blog in 2018?
Whether you’ve only just set up your first blog or you’ve been blogging for a few years without seeing the results you want, Blog On could be just what you need in order to get your blog into great shape for 2018.
You might want to make money from your blog, launch a freelancing career, build up a great portfolio of your writing, establish a strong readership base, or simply build a regular writing habit: whatever your goals, Blog On can help you.
There’s a full money-back guarantee, too: if the course isn’t for you, just email me before the end of the final week and I’ll be glad to refund you in full. I want you to be able to try out the whole course with confidence.
As well as the ecourse materials, you’ll have access to the Blog On members’ forum, where you can post any questions you have (whether they’re related to the course materials or not) – and where you can ask for feedback on anything you’ve written.
I’ve taken quite a few ecourses myself in the past, and I know how easy it is to start with enthusiasm … only to drop out after a week or two. To keep you on track with Blog On, I’ll be sending out email reminders each Monday and Thursday, and running a weekly prize draw for everyone who “checks in” on the forums. At the end of the eight weeks, I want you to have a blog that you can be justifiably proud of. J
If you think Blog On might be for you, just head here to get all the details.
Got any questions? You’re very welcome to pop a comment below, or if you’d like to contact me privately, just email ali@aliventures.com and I’ll be glad to help.
About
I’m Ali Luke, and I live in Leeds in the UK with my husband and two children.
Aliventures is where I help you master the art, craft and business of writing.
Start Here
If you're new, welcome! These posts are good ones to start with:
Can You Call Yourself a “Writer” if You’re Not Currently Writing?
The Three Stages of Editing (and Nine Handy Do-it-Yourself Tips)
My Novels
My contemporary fantasy trilogy is available from Amazon. The books follow on from one another, so read Lycopolis first.
You can buy them all from Amazon, or read them FREE in Kindle Unlimited.
Over the last few years, I have entered several. When I look back now some stories were pretty awful. However, I believe ( You would say that I hear you say!) a couple of stories stood up well against the eventual winners.
I also listened to the BBC short story competition entries from writers who have already published. Why this bar to new talent immerging, I do not know. Also, there may be nationality bias from the sponsors of the competition.
My thoughts about the process from reading the winner’s entries was that they often conform to a fairly close template and especially those involving a relational threesome. Presumably, the mindset of the people who do the sifting of entries to make shortlists is a key factor which militates against unusual writing.
As I have a very limited time budget for writing I decided a year ago to give short story competitions a miss.
All the points you make about working to a strict word and time scale are valid. Also the simple structure of a beginning, middle and end.
(Just a quick note for other commenters that Alexander’s comment is in response to https://www.aliventures.com/short-story-competitions/)
I’ve occasionally read the winner in a competition and thought “I could do better than that!” — but I suppose it shows just how subjective “good” writing is.
Some competitions do only allow published writers; many, though, are open to all. (I’ve also come across some that only allow *unpublished* writers.) So it’s worth digging around.
I think it’s perfectly reasonable to skip competitions if you’ve got limited writing time; they’re something you can always come back to if you’re between projects or if more time opens up.