End of Year Countdown: 5 Top Fives

Photo credit: Rampant. Gaffer
With 2011 nearly over and 2012 around the corner, this is a time when many people pause to reflect on the last 365 days. I thought for a while about how I wanted to reflect without rehashing everything I said in my Celebrating 100 Posts post, and I think I’ve come up with a fun way of doing it.

The end of the year is a great time to share things that made this year special, and in terms of blogging I’d like to share with you five top five lists that basically sums up my blogging, writing and reading experience of 2011.

So! Here we go!

Top 5 Most Popular Posts (on Writability)

As determined by pageviews, these are my most popular posts of the year:



Top 5 Most Active Commenters

I actually have a little widget on the side of the blog that keeps track of my most active commenters on Writability, and these amazing people are my top five of the year. I’m relatively sure you have to have a Disqus account in order for the commenting system to keep track of how many comments you’ve made (so for those of you who comment and don't have a Disqus account, you rock too, so thank you), but nevertheless these five people have consistently contributed to the community and for that they deserve a little recognition. Thank you! 

4. Dasia


Top 5 Favorite Blogs This Year (in no particular order)

This is purely subjective of course, but over the last twelve months I’ve found these blogs to be incredibly useful, inspirational and timely. If you haven’t checked them out before, I highly recommend them (and it’s not a bad idea to stalk them on Twitter, as well).

I think what attracted me to Jeff’s blog is his constant positivity. His blog is upbeat, inspirational and has some really fantastic tips with consistently great posts.

I’ve mentioned before why I love Tahereh’s blog so much, but I think her writing was best described by Lisa Gail Green in the comments not too long ago—honest.

As the Chairman of Thomas Nelson Publishers and a motivational speaker, it’s not surprising that his posts are insightful and inspirational. Similar to Jeff Goins’ blog, I really love the constant positive message in his posts and the fantastic community he’s built there.

Nathan Bransford’s blog has been a source of fantastic insight for years and this year was no different. Even though he’s no longer an agent, his take on the publishing industry is insightful and interesting.

Iain Broome’s blog is yet another fantastic resource for writers. He provides both links to great posts he comes across around the web and original posts that make you pause and think. A great addition to anyone’s morning blog read.


Top 5 Favorite Books I Read This Year (in no particular order)

So I’ll admit I haven’t read a huge amount of books this year, however that doesn’t diminish how awesome these five books are. I highly recommend each and every one of them and hope you’ll check them out (links lead to my reviews).



Top 5 Favorite Posts I Read (or Watched) This Year (in no particular order)

So I know this technically isn’t a post, per say, but it’s still a fantastic video nonetheless and I’m sure most of you have seen. But just in case you haven’t seen it, you should definitely watch it. It’s a fantastically inspirational video for writers.

2. ON BEING A REAL WRITER by Tahereh Mafi
This post is so beautiful, I don’t even know what to say. Every time I re-read it, it brings a smile to my face. It’s honest, inspirational and a prime example of why I love Tahereh’s blog so much.

So maybe it’s cheating to include two posts from the same blog in my countdown but really guys, I just love the posts that much. And I think her message here is really important for writers.

4. We Just Decided to Go by Amanda Hocking
Short post with a great message spurred by a wonderful quote. A nice inspirational read.

5. Writing Worksheets and Other Tools by Elizabeth S. Craig
Elizabeth always gives fantastic resources and this is no different. The worksheets she links to are really fantastic, particularly the Novel Notebook. Definitely check them out. 


So those are my five top five! Hope everyone has a wonderful new year!

What were your favorite five posts, blogs or books this year?

6 comments:

Lori Lopez said...

My favorite blogs I follow are Chuck Wendig 
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/, Jeff Holler 
http://www.jeffreyhollar.com/, Cyndi Pauwels 
http://cpatlarge.blogspot.com/, Jeff Goins 
http://goinswriter.com/, I don't have a favorite posts on any of them. My favorite books of the year are Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich, the Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly, and the PenMonkey books by Chuck Wendig, also an unpublished book by Cyndi Pauwels. 
I also enjoy your blog or I wouldn't be here

Ava Jae said...

Thanks Lori! I've seen Chuck's blog before--also a great resource. I'll have to check out the other two. Thanks for the links! :)

J. A. Bennett said...

I'm only #2 on comments! I gotta fix that...

Ava Jae said...

You've been a great part of this community. Thanks for everything! :)

Susan Sipal said...

Yeah! I made a list. And to cement it, I will comment again. :-)

But, I don't have a Disqus account...at least I don't think I do.

Happy New Year Ava!

Ava Jae said...

You don't have a Disqus account? Hmm...interesting. Maybe Disqus automatically makes general profiles? I'm not sure. Regardless though, I appreciate how much you've contributed to the community. Thank you! 

Have a wonderful New Year! 

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