Changing my mind!

Just over five weeks ago I decided to create a schedule for this blog. It was a trial, because I'd seen other blogs work well with a schedule, and I saw a post about how it was the professional thing to do. But it didn't work for me - I haven't enjoyed it, so I'm not doing it anymore!

I've got interviews and guest posts scheduled for the next few Fridays, which I'll obviously still be posting, and I won't stop having guest posts and interviews, because that bit I've really enjoyed - it just won't be every week.

So, what went wrong?

• I don't normally schedule anything, apart from coffee with friends. I don't even have a regular day to wash the floors. I liked the A-Z Challenge (which is the reason I thought I'd enjoy having a schedule in the first place) but probably because it was a novelty, not because I had a sudden yearning to have my blogging week mapped out.
• I started focusing on the posts much more than I've done in the past. Rather than having an oh that would be good to write about thought, I was having what the heck can I write now thoughts. And that was quite stressful!
• I've wanted to write about things that haven't fitted with my general themes.
• I've wanted to write things on a Tuesday!
• Because I was posting so frequently, I thought it was only fair that I visited other blogs more. You can't post a lot and not visit anyone, can you? Therefore, I was either writing posts or reading posts or commenting on posts... and then it was time to write another post again.

So, there you have it, folks. Normal service is resumed. And to celebrate, I have no idea when my next post will be or what it will be about. I feel liberated!

So, how are you today?

(PS. What I do know is I'll be interviewing YA author Tony Talbot on Friday!)
 

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Did you know Stephen Tremp's novel Breakthrough: The Adventures of Chase Manhattan is available to download free from Amazon.com today and tomorrow? Go straight there, or stop off at Stephen's blog first.

Making changes

Being involved with the A-Z Challenge recently has made me realise I quite liked the structure of knowing what I needed to post next.

So far, this blog has been pretty ad hoc. Which I love. But I'm also aware that my followers (I gained 46 during the challege and another 7 afterwards - thank you so much!) might prefer a regular idea of what to expect. So I'm going to try for a... deep breath... schedule! (I'm already breaking out in a cold sweat - does that word remind you of school too?)

The reason I've avoided a schedule so far is that in an ideal world I would have no structure. I love being able to just write a random blog at four o'clock in the afternoon, or at midnight, about anything that happens to pop into my head. After the Challenge though, and having a firm idea of what my posts were going to be - and knowing what was expected of me - I'm at a bit of a loss to remember how my blog felt before April.

So here's my schedule:

Monday: Recommending books (and films). My theme for the challenge seemed quite popular, so I'm going to continue with that. I will highlight books I love, although they won't necessarily be new releases. These posts may contain books published in the last century, or even the one before that! They will be books that maybe you've overlooked, or have meant to read but never got around to it. I was really struck by how many people bumped up books on their TBR list because of one of my posts!

Wednesday: All about Me, Me, Me! A round-up of my writing, problems, progress on current WIPs, news about Cat and The Dreamer, and - hopefully - sharing new writing successes.

Friday: Interviews and guest posts. Yep, something new for me, and where I need your help. I've dabbled with interviews and really enjoyed it, so... if you'd like to be interviewed or have an idea for a guest post, please contact me: annalisacrawford [dot] writer [at] gmail [dot] com!

Having said that, next Monday - 14th May - I'll be taking part in the First Loves Blogfest, so I'm already breaking my schedule. And also, I currently have no one lined up for any Friday posts - because I literally made this up as I wrote - so I'll be winging that until I find people to fill it up!