Writability: Top 5

Photo credit: derekskey on Flickr

It's 2016! Except I ran out of post days to post this annual tradition, so I'm squeezing it in here, on the first day of the new year. YAY 2016!

So here we go! My top fives of 2015. :)

Top 5 Most Popular Posts (On Writability)

As per usual, these are calculated with blogger’s page view counts. Like last year, the list is the same as the year before, with a little rearranging.

*Technically this is more than five but it was close-ish so I added a bonus post. Because kissing.

Top 5 Most Active Commenters

As explained every year, I use Disqus’s very nice widget on my sidebar to keep track of how many comments every lovely commenter makes. The system isn’t perfect and only keeps track of accounts, so if you comment on multiple accounts, it thinks you’re more than one person, but regardless, these five fabulous readers are the most active commenters of the Writability community—thank you!

Note: Those with two asterisks have been on the top five list for two years, and those with three asterisks were on the top five list the year before that! All the thank yous!

Top 5 Favorite (Writerly) Tumblr Blogs of the Year

Over time, tumblr has become one of my favorite social media sites. I’ve learned a ridiculous amount from the incredible finds posted there, and I’ve also really enjoyed the nerdy randomness that frequently appears on my feed.

These are my top five favorite writerly/bookish tumblr blogs, as calculated by tumblr based off which blogs get the most reblogs and likes from me.

Corinne Duyvis
Bibliogato
YA Highway
English Major Humor
VESchwab, LBardugo, It's a Writer Thing & Nimble's Notebooks (4-way tie)

Top 5 Favorite Books of the Year

So in previous years, this used to be favorite blogs, but I really haven't been keeping up with my blogs this year, so I decided to do books instead. Not-so coincidentally I reviewed all of these or in the case of the 2016 books, I have reviews on the way. :) So! Here are my favorite reads of the year, in no particular order:

Focus on Me by Megan Erickson (Review)
I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson (Review)
Half Wild by Sally Green (Review)
Burning Glass by Kathryn Purdie
The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

Top 5 Favorite Twitter Accounts

Twitter remains my favorite favorite. And these Twitter peoples are amazing, uplifting, and insightful in topics like writing, marginalizations, publishing and more. (Again, in no particular order):

So those are my top fives of 2015—do you have any favorites of the year you’d like to share?

Also, Happy New Year, everyone!

Writer @Ava_Jae shares her top fives of 2015—what are some of your favorite writing resources of last year? (Click to tweet)

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:

1. Why Writers Must Read

2. Klout: Why I Stopped Caring About My Score

3. 5 Reasons You Should Be Blogging

4. 10 Writing Truths (Part 1)

5. How to Write Quickly

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!

1. Daniel Swensen

2. Jennifer Bennett

3. Susan Sipal

4. Dasia

5. Tina Moss

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).

1. Jeff Goins, Writer

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.

2. Tahereh Mafi’s Blog

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.

3. Michael Hyatt’s Blog

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.

4. Nathan Bransford’s Blog

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.

5. Write for Your Life

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).

1. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

2. Across the Universe by Beth Revis

3. Divergent by Veronica Roth

4. The Priest’s Graveyard by Ted Dekker

5. The Fire in Fiction by Donald Maass

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

1. Ira Glass on Storytelling

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.

3. DON’T BE AFRAID TO WRITE A BAD BOOK by Tahereh Mafi

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?

Writability

End of Year Countdown: 5 Top Fives of 2015

End of Year Countdown: 5 Top Fives