Writability Turns Four!

Photo credit: billerickson on Flickr

So technically Writability’s fourth birthday was on Wednesday (May 6th), but I’m writing about it today because I’d already scheduled Wednesday’s post when I realized what day it was. Which is fine. This is close enough. 

Writability has hit a ton of milestones over the last four years, which has been really incredible to see. This blog has taken off way beyond any expectations I had when I first nervously posted four years ago, and I’ve met and connected with so many people because of it, and all in all it’s just been a really wonderful experience. 

So I have you guys to thank for that. Whether this is the first post of mine you’re reading, or the 696th, thank you. 

I’m currently in the process of setting up something really great for you guys that I think you’ll like. The details will be up Monday, and I’m pretty excited about it.  

In the meantime, I’m just going to leave this short post saying thank you. Writability’s success would not have happened without your amazing comments, lovely RTs and shares and inspiring suggestions. 

Without your support, Writability wouldn’t exist. So thank you, thank you, thank you.

Critique Giveaway Winner!

Photo credit: Eva Blue on Flickr

Short post today. 

First and foremost, I’d like to thank all of you who entered for making the giveaway a success! We had over 250 entries, which is very exciting (at least, to me), and it was pretty fantastic to see how many people were psyched about the giveaway. So thank you! 

Now for the news that you really came here for. 

Are you ready? I don’t think you’re ready. 

*drumroll* 

I’m really not very good at dragging these things out. 

The winner is…

JEN DONOHUE! 

Yay! Congratulations, Jen! I’ll e-mail you shortly with details about your prize. 

To all other who entered, there is good news! Because this giveaway was such a success, I’ve decided to do more giveaways like this in the future. So yay! Keep a weather eye out. Or ear out. Or something. 

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and thanks again for supporting Writability and being amazing! 

Half a Million Page View Giveaway

Photo credit: Selbe B on Flickr

Those of you who follow me on Twitter or like me on Facebook probably have heard that Writability passed a major milestone over the weekend. That’s right—500,000 page views.

Whaaaaaat? 

Even though I’d been watching the numbers climb steadily to the big half-mil mark, it still felt pretty surreal to break the 500,000-view milestone. I am humbled and truly thankful for each and every one of my wonderful supporters. 

Yes, that means you. Reading the post right now. Thank you. 

Rather than go on for a few hundred words about how amazing you guys are (which hopefully you already know) and how grateful I am (which I am), I’d like to show you my gratitude by giving a little something back. And thus, the giveaway. 

I like critiquing. I’ve done a pretty decent share of it, from full-length works to samples, to queries and pitches, and I like to think that my feedback is at least somewhat helpful. Every pair of eyes helps, right? 

As the large majority of you lovely people are writers, I’ve decided to offer a critique of the first ten pages of your WIP. It doesn’t have to be polished, or even from a finished manuscript—the only requirements are that the first ten pages are complete and there isn’t any erotic material in those first ten pages because that’s not my thing. 

The last thing I’ll say is that I will actually critique your work. I’ve had friends and family ask me to edit something for them, then look horrified when I hand it back dripping in red ink, so if you enter the giveaway, please make sure you’re actually ready to receive a critique. There’s no harm in holding off if you’re not sure you’re at a stage prepared for that. 

This giveaway will be open for seven days and will close at midnight on August 1st. Good luck to all who enter (via the rafflecopter below), and thanks again for being awesome! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blogging, a Year Later: Thank You

Photo credit: yanyanyanyanyan on Flickr

Roughly a year ago (on May 6^th 2011, to be exact), I did this thing where I started a blog. It was very tan and red then, and the banner wasn’t half as attractive (think: block of red with white text on it) and there was a hugenormous picture of books in the background because I like books.

Roughly a year ago I put up my very first post ever, in which I rambled a lot and might have said something about tying the metaphorical manifestation of writing to a chair and shoving Ritalin down her throat and I might have mentioned brownies a couple of times. I’ll admit it was a strange first post.

I bring this up because a year ago when I launched Writability, I never imagined that twelve months later I’d have over 100,000 pageviews and so many amazing followers. And I’m not saying that to brag—I just want to thank you guys, because after putting up my first post I thought, well, if one person reads this and likes it, it’ll be worth it, and well…you’ve made this experience more than worth it.

I’ve learned so much from this blog, from the fantastic discussions with you amazing commenters, from forcing myself to think up three posts a week, even when I was sure I wouldn’t be able to think of anything.

If you’re new to this blog, then I want to welcome you and say thanks for stopping by. I hope you stick around enjoy interacting with the Writability community here as much as I do.

If you’ve been a follower and you’ve joined the discussion, then I want to thank you for your wonderful support. Your input, advice and opinions have made this experience an incredible one. An extra thanks to Daniel Swensen, Jennifer Bennett, Susan Sipal, Matthew Rowe and Jeremy Feijten for being such awesome and active community members.

If you’ve been a follower and you haven’t really commented before, I want to thank you for your silent support, and I hope that you’ll join the discussion someday soon.

In short if you’re here, reading my words, then you have my gratitude. All of you are amazing, so thank you. Thank you.

In celebration of Writability’s first birthday I’d like to share with you the top five most popular posts thus far, as chosen by your fantastic support:

1. Why Writers Must Read
2. 5 Writing Myths
3. What Makes a Great First Sentence?
4. Writing Quickly: A Secret Strategy
5. How to Finish Writing a Novel

I couldn’t have done it without you guys. Thank you, thank you, thank you. 

On Giving Thanks

Photo credit: mtsofan on Flickr

It’s Thankgiving in the States tomorrow, so a lot of people remember to be thankful this time of year as it’s the focus of the holiday (besides too much turkey and stuffing and delicious desserts and all of those goodies), but I think it’s important that we remember to give thanks year round.

You see, Thanksgiving reminds us to have a positive attitude—to focus on the things that we do have, on the wonderful events and surprises and achievements we’ve had this year and forget about the bad. It’s a day when we’re permitted to forget about the stress and rainy-less-thank-wonderful-days and overstuff ourselves with turkey while sharing smiles and stories about what has made this year wonderful.

But really, it’s got me thinking this year—why wait until Thanksgiving to give thanks?

Maybe instead of waiting until turkey day, we should take the time to be thankful about something every day. I think we might be surprised what the change in our outlook could do for us.

So I’m aware it’s not New Years (yet) and now’s not the time to be making resolutions, but I’m going to make a point of trying to be more thankful. Even if it’s just something small in our lives—like a sunny day or a beautiful sunset, I think we could all find one thing to be thankful about daily.

And you never know—a positive start to the day might make the rest of the day feel that much better.

So what am I thankful for?

I’m thankful for the quiet—the soft morning moments when I can sit and write and everything is just so still and wonderful and the birds are calling outside and I just slip into the zone and spill virtual ink all over the page.

I’m thankful for the Creator, because regardless of what you believe, we live in a beautiful world with incredible people and no it’s not perfect but wow, some days you just step outside and the sun is rising just right and the air is crisp and cool and it feels as if every leaf was placed intentionally and it’s just incredible.

I’m thankful for my family, my friends, my real life supporters who put up with my eccentricities and get excited for me even when they have no idea what I’m so happy about.

And finally, I’m thankful for you, my readers. You guys are my support group, the ones who keep me writing even when I don’t think I’ll be able to manage, the ones who make me smile and remind me why this whole blogging thing is worth it. I never imagined this blog would get half the attention it has, and none of it would be possible without you. You guys have no idea how much you impact my day with your comments and smiles and for that I thank you.

You’re amazing and wonderful. Don’t ever stop being you.

Thank you.

I’m aware that not everyone reading this is celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow, but regardless—what are YOU thankful for?