Tag Archives: Blog Business

December 30, 2019 · 1:00 am

My 20 Most Popular Posts of 2019

Every December I catalogue my most popular posts of the year. This is something I first began doing in 2017 with a roundup of my 10 most popular posts. Last year, I decided to double that number in response to my blogging buddies Terry Tyler and Tom Williams doing the same thing.

I was surprised by how popular my reviews of various Youtube workout videos were this year. When they were first published, they didn’t get as many hits as I was expecting, but that changed quite a bit over the longterm. Look for some more reviews of free online workouts in 2020.

Interviews with readers and writers of science fiction were well-represented in this round-up, too. I’d love to do more of them in 2020 if anyone is interested. The informational link on how to sign up is included below.

On a silly note, I thought it was interesting to see how many posts that had stock photos with orange or yellow hues made it onto this year’s list. Maybe my readers really love those colours. Ha!

Woman using a cellphone

20. Put Down Your Phone and Pay Attention

Carved and lit Halloween pumpkin sitting next to a calendar that says October 31

19. My Best Halloween Memories

The personification of spring. She's sitting on a swing that's adorned with pink roses.

18. An Exclusive Interview with Spring 

two front doors in a duplex. One door is blue and the other one is yellow

17. 5 Tips to Beat Writer’s Block 

Couple cuddling a dog

16. 3 Fictional Families I’d Want to Spend Family Day With 

Books covered in a thick layer of cobwebs and dust

15. Why I Prefer E-Books Over Physical Books 

Woman stretching over to touch her toes before a run.

14. What to Do If You Missed a Week of Working Out 

Poster for the film The House with a Clock in Its Walls. The three main characters from that film are smiling and looking straight ahead in it. One is holding a book and the other holds a light.

13. My Review of The House with a Clock in Its Walls 

Woman doing an upper body workout.

12. My Review of Fitness Blender’s Toned, Lean Arms Workout 

Athletes laughing and jumping.

11. 4 Things I Love About Fitness Culture 

Science Fiction fan Tammy Schoch posing by the grand canyon

10. Interview with Tammy Schoch 

Stack of books sitting next to a vase of yellow flowers

9. Why Taking Reading Breaks Can Be a Good Idea 

Photo of Berthold Gambrel

8. Interview with Berthold Gambrel 

Woman dancing while using headphones and iPhone

7. 4 Games You Can Play While Listening to Audiobooks

Grapefruit Slice Lying with Lemon Slices

6. Blogging Advice: Finding and Using Visual Images for Your Site 

Photo of author M.H. Thaung

5. Interview with M.H. Thaung 

Group of people networking with their cellphones

4. Blogging Advice: Social Media and Networking 

Person blogging about coffee on a WordPress blog

3. Blogging Advice: Brainstorming and Idea Management 

Blue and Red Galaxy Painting

2. If You Love Speculative Fiction, I Want to Interview You

Woman Performing Deadlifts

1. My Review of Fitness Blender’s Brutal Butt and Thigh Workout 

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December 26, 2019 · 1:00 am

Search Engine Questions from 2019

Every year I take the last two week of December off from serious blogging, so here’s a lighthearted topic for today that I’ve been slowly compiling since last winter.

The phrases and sentences in bold are the funniest, most interesting queries that have sent new readers to this site over the last year. My responses are below them.

Will we ever run out of new music

Only when we run out of people. Even then, I wouldn’t be surprised if we didn’t leave behind a few machines that knew how to make music and continued to churn out new songs.

How popular is the name lydia

It was #85 on the top 100 list for baby girl names in 2017. I love my name and hope it becomes more widely used someday.

How much do gym teachers make

According to this site, it’s about $51,000 a year for elementary gym teachers and $53,000 for middle/high school gym teachers in the United States. Depending on your years of experience and where you live, the salary can be as low as $35,000 or as high as $80,000.

teleport lydia to me
how to teleport lydia to me

If this is a Star Trek thing, sign me up! I’d love to explore your ship, have a few minor health issues fixed in your medical bay, eat replicator meals, and visit all of the cool holodeck programs.

achoo gif

Your wish is my command.

Gif description: a man sneezing repeatedly into a handkerchief.

What is gender treachery in the handmaid’s tale

Having a physical and/or romantic relationship with someone of the same gender. LGBT+ people didn’t fare well in Gilead at all. We’d  give it 0 out of 10 stars.

compliments that begin with t

  • Talented
  • Tough
  • Tenacious
  • Terrific
  • Thoughtful

how to summon Lydia

Other than teleportation, you could offer me dairy-free chocolate and an engrossing story. Or, you know, text me and say you want to get together for tea or something.

Is The Magicians worth watching?

Yes. I found the first season a little slow in the beginning, but the storylines become really good once you get to the end of that season and the start of the second one.

wtf facts about silent people

Sometimes we have top secret meetings about talkative people. The ones that think it’s funny to ask us why we’re so quiet or treat our temperaments like they’re a character flaw get added to the naughty list. Everyone else gets fresh, homemade cookies (unless they don’t want cookies).

I’d say more, but I don’t know that the Silent People Board of Elders ™ would approve. 😉

How do I get to Mordor

Just about any other destination in Arda would be a safer place to visit. I’d much rather visit The Shire, Rivendell, or Treebeard’s Hill. If you insist on going to Mordor anyway, I’d suggest flagging down a Nazgul or wandering into Orc territory. 

I’d follow you into the Mists of Avalon

Thank you. I’d lead you into the Mists of Avalon if I knew where to find it and that I could get us home safe again. Ideally, we’d use your teleporter and be back home again before anyone missed us.

Is Jean M. Auel dead?

Not so far as I can tell. She’s in her 80s now and isn’t particularly interested in spending much time online from what I’ve heard, so I suspect any future notices about her health will come from one of her children.

How to make lembas bread

I blogged about a recipe that’s the closest thing us mortals will ever get to true lembas bread. It’s pretty delicious, but it has yet to give me superhuman endurance.

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September 9, 2019 · 1:00 am

Should I Bring Back the Reader Questions Series?

Years ago, I occasionally answered reader questions about all sorts of topics. This is something I originally began doing because a friend of mine started doing it first.

The post that began this series on his site as well as some of the entries in it are no longer online so far as I can tell, but reading his answers to all of the questions people have sent in over the years has been fascinating.

My friend blogs about all sorts of topics: his chronic health issues, raising a (now-adult) child who has Down syndrome, photography, memories of his youth, U.S. politics, and the many theological and other changes his family has been through over the decades. The questions his followers send to him generally fit into one of these buckets, although sometimes people throw wild cards into the mix that probe parts of his mind he generally doesn’t share with the world.

Reason #1

One of the things I really like about my friend is how open he is to discussing just about anything with his readers. While I completely respect the wishes of some bloggers to stick to specific topics or to keep a firm line drawn between their online and offline selves, I think it’s interesting when they’re willing to open up to their audiences and talk about random things occasionally.  This is the first reason why I’m considering answering questions again.

Reason #2

This site has grown and changed so much since the last question in my series was published in 2015.

I know that most of my current readers weren’t following this site four years ago. With all of the new followers who have shown up over the last six months to a year, answering questions you come up with instead of what I think my readers are most interested in checking out might be a fun way for you to get to know me a little better.

What could we talk about?

  • Meditation (and how not to fall asleep during it)
  • Reading habits
  • Genres I love like science fiction
  • Genres I generally avoid and why
  • Stories from my life as a preacher’s kid
  • Life as an immigrant and dual-citizen
  • The writing process
  • Self-publishing
  • Demisexuality
  • Bisexuality
  • Polyamory
  • Fitness for people who aren’t athletic or good at team sports

Or anything else you’ve wondered about while reading my posts.

I’m a little nervous about sharing the link to some of my old reader question posts because of how much my writing style and choice of topics have evolved over the years, but click here or do a search for the term mailbag if you want to look through what people have asked in the past.

Reason #3

Change can be a good thing. As much as I want to go back and revamp some of my old posts, I’m proud of how willing I’ve always been to try new things and see what works. There have been times when certain types of posts flopped when I expected them to succeed. At other times, a post I didn’t think would do well still continues to draw in readers years later.

The Internet can be an unpredictable place at times. I’m ready to roll the dice again and see who is interested in reviving this series with me.

Respond

If you have questions, I’ll have answers. Leave them as a response to this post, fill out the contact form, or email them to interviews AT lydiaschoch DOT com.

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August 15, 2019 · 1:00 am

I’ll Tell You About My Drafts Folder If You’ll Tell Me About Yours

Robot fingers gently touching human fingersEdited in August 2020 to include links to finished posts. 

It’s been a long time since this blog published a lighthearted writing post, so let’s change that.  Lately, I’ve been gently poking my drafts folder and trying to decide which posts in there, if any, are ready to finish and share with the world.

On a related note, finding an appropriate stock image photo for this post was tricky. It turns out that there is not a lot of demand out there for picture of draft folders!

I’d like to think that if draft posts literally had hands, they’d have five digits just like people do. Yes, I anthropomorphize everything. It makes life more interesting, and also gives me a better reason for using a photo of a robot and a human gently touching each other’s fingers.

But before I get too off track here, let’s talk about draft folders. Most of the time, I have half a dozen or so finished posts sitting in the queue waiting to be published. I also have dozens more posts in various stages of completion. Some of them might consist of a couple of words thrown into my list of ideas. Others have grown large enough to warrant a draft post in the backend of my blog.

Not everything on my ideas list becomes a post, story, or book, but their chances of being written into their final form jumps once I create a draft post for them. This can happen because I need to publish that post at a specific time of the year, or finish reading a book for it (in the case of reviews or recommendations), or have some other experience that would enrich my words.

I thought it would be entertaining to give all of you a peek into my drafts folder for my blog. There are fourteen posts there in various stages of completion or contemplation.

 

1. Title: What It Means to be Human: A Review of Chesya Burke’s “Let’s Play White”

Publication Date: September 5

Why: Earlier this year, Apex Magazine asked for volunteers to participate in a huge blogging bash that’s happening in September. I chose to review this book as my contribution to that bash.

 

2. Title: Autumn Worlds I’d Like to Visit

Publication Date: September 23

Why: This is the final part of a short series of posts I’ve done on books that remind me of specific seasons. It feels right to wait until autumn has officially began to publish it.

 

3. Title: Characters I’d Never Invite to Thanksgiving Dinner

Publication Date: October 14

Why: The idea for this post came from reading my search engine log. I thought it would be great for Thanksgiving (which happens in October in Canada).

 

4. Title: Mindfulness and Difficult People

Publication Date: December 2

Why: It’s a great topic, but I think it would have an even bigger impact during a time of the year when some of us may be spending time with folks we may not normally associate with.

 

5. Title: Fitness and the Holidays

Publication Date: December 16 (tentative)

Why: This is one of those ideas I’ve been playing around with for years. Maybe 2019 will be the year I actually publish it? Every December, I take a two week blogging break. I generally write lighthearted roundup or similar posts well ahead of time for that break, so you’ll see a lot of entries from late December and early January on today’s list.

 

6. Title: Search Engine Questions from 2019

Publication Date: December 26

Why: I need to wait until as late as possible in the year in order to make this post as funny and as accurate as possible.

 

7. Title: My 20 Most Popular Posts of 2019

Publication Date: December 30

Why: Obviously, this is a post I can’t put together or publish until the end of the year.

 

8. Title: What I Read in 2019

Publication Date: January 2, 2020.

Why: It’s not January yet. Unless someone has a crystal ball, I don’t see how I can write a post about what I’ve read ahead of time.

9. Title: 5 Places You Should Visit on a Trip to Ontario for Canada Day

Publication Date: Unknown.

Why: As I was writing it, I realized that my answers were very Toronto-based because I spend so little time outside of my city. I think I need more experience visiting other parts of this province before I can say for sure where everyone should go.

 

10. Title: Modern Classics Series (tentative title)

Publication Date: Unknown.

Why: Eventually, I hope to start recommending science fiction and fantasy books written in the last 20 years that I believe will be considered classics in the future. I need to do a lot more reading before beginning this series, though!

11. Title: 3 Benefits of Taking a Yoga Class

Publication Date: Unknown.

Why: Earlier this week, I had originally planned on taking a yoga class and then blogging about it. I woke up with a sore, spasming muscle that morning and decided it was better to rest my body and try again at a different time. Maybe someday you’ll see this post go live!

 

12. Title: How to Find Your Way Home in Minecraft

Publication Date: Unknown

Why: I’m an intermediate Minecraft player, so I’m still deciding if the Internet needs another post about how to get un-lost in that game.

 

13. Title: Mindfulness Exercises for a Bad Mood

Publication Date: August 3, 2020

Why: People keep finding my blog with phrases like this one. Eventually, I do hope to write a full post about it once I’ve tried enough exercises.

14. Title: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Harry Potter Characters and Socks

Publication Date: September 2

Why: I’ve gotten multiple hits on my blog about Harry Potter characters wearing socks, Harry Potter characters who won’t wear socks, socks that feature Harry Potter characters, fuzzy socks, hand-knit socks, and just about any other sock-related query you can think of that so much as glances in the direction of the Potterverse. I am so tempted to write a full-length post on this topic. Would you write it?

 

Okay, you’ve seen my long list of drafts. I’m editing this post to include links to other people’s draft lists as they share them with me.

Patrick Prescott’s Work on Hold.

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May 6, 2019 · 1:00 am

If You Love Speculative Fiction, I Want to Interview You

I’ve decided to try something new on my site. This was loosely inspired by what Downright Dystopian started doing with her interviews earlier this spring. I’m hoping I’ll be able to tap into a new audience since I’m focusing my questions on people who like speculative fiction and have multiple social circles that don’t seem to overlap much with Krystianna’s sphere of influence at all.

What do I mean by speculative fiction? Well, if you read about, watch, listen to, or write about:

  • Fantasy
  • Science Fiction
  • Fables, Fairy Tales, and/or Folklore
  • Alternate History
  • Superheroes
  • Myths
  • Horror
  • Monster Movies
  • Utopians
  • Dystopians
  • Magical Realism
  • Supernatural/Paranormal Tales

Or any combination of these types of stories, I want to hear from you.

Yes, this includes people who prefer, say, paranormal romances that only have the slightest touch of fantasy added to them or mysteries that are pretty hardboiled until the final scene when the audience discovers the killer was an 900-year-old vampire. TV shows and films count, too, especially if they are in any way tied to a book or graphic novel.

Everyone is welcome.

If you’re interested in being interviewed, I’ll need the following things from you:

 Answers to the Following Questions

  1. What was the first speculative story you ever remember reading?
  2. Who is your favourite author? Why?
  3. What do you like most about the genre(s) you read?
  4. More and more authors seem to be writing cross-genre stories these days. How do you feel about this trend?
  5. If you could name a pet after one character, which character would you choose? Why?
  6. What fictional world would you never want to visit?
  7. What fictional world would you want to visit?
  8. Sharing spoilers with people who haven’t read the book or seen the film/show is a hot topic on Twitter and across many fandoms. How do you feel about sharing or overhearing spoilers?
  9. Which series do you think should be made into a TV show or film next?
  10. Which TV show or film do you think should be turned into a book?

If you are an author or other creative person, feel free to substitute some of these questions for a few of the ones above or answer them all for extra credit:

  1. What is the most unusual or interesting way you’ve come up with an idea for one of your creative works?
  2. Sometimes characters don’t do what their creators want them to do. If this has ever happened to you, how did you deal with it?
  3. What is your favourite trope?
  4. What tropes do you try to avoid in your stories?


A Short Biography 

Tell us who you are in a few sentences. Feel free to drop links to your website/blog, social media accounts, or similar pages if you’d like to.

A Photo 

Send a photo of yourself, the cover of a book you’ve written (if applicable), the logo from your site, or any other bookish subject matter.

Submit your answers through the contact form on this site.

This post was edited on September 24, 2019 to change the submission instructions. The email address I had originally provided for this purpose has been inundated by spammers and shady marketers, so I’m trying a different approach now.

There is no time limit on this offer. I will share your submissions once they begin to arrive and continue on for as long as there continues to be interest in this project.

These interviews have tentatively been assigned to Thursdays, although this may change depending on how many of them are sent in.

I’m looking forward to seeing what you all come up with!

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March 7, 2019 · 1:00 am

Questions That Have Recently Brought New Readers to This Site

This blog has seen a surge in visits over the past two months. Welcome, new readers! It’s nice to meet all of you. I thought I’d answer some of the questions that some people typed into search engines in order to find this site. Hopefully, the things you might have been wondering about will be included in the list below. If not, feel free to leave a comment below and I’ll answer you directly.

Lydia Schoch Toronto

Yes, that is my name and I do live in Toronto. I’ve never met anyone else with this name, so the probability that you’ve found the correct Lydia is quite high.

Lydia Schoch Universalist

No, I am not a Universalist. I’m an Apatheist/Atheist who takes a strong live and let live approach to life, so it’s rare for me to mention it at all. As long as someone isn’t using their beliefs – or lack thereof – to harm others, it doesn’t matter to me what label they apply to themselves. Genuinely good, kind people can be found everywhere.

I’d much rather discuss more interesting things like:

  • Alphabetizing and why it makes lists, and life itself, so much better
  • Anthropology
  • Astronomy
  • Books, especially non-fiction and science fiction
  • Fitness
  • How to properly pronounce the word gif
  • Mindfulness
  • Nutrition
  • Rabbits
  • Reboots and what people think of this entertainment industry trend in general
  • Social justice
  • Writing

Aunt Lydia

I am an aunt, but if you’re a fan of The Handmaid’s Tale I am not and never will be that Aunt Lydia. Based on the fact that I’m also bisexual, the Republic of Gilead would either turn me into a Handmaid or do away with me entirely if they spread into Canada.

Bruce Gerencser

Bruce is a prolific blogger and old family friend.

If you enjoy discussing politics, religion, or photography, his blog might be right up your alley. He’s a talented writer and a good egg.

The ethics of museums

Y’all, I wrote one post about this topic almost nine years ago. I never broached it again, and yet I keep getting hits from people wanting to know if museums should store mummies in them or what these institutions should do when they find out that some of their prize artifacts were stolen from other cultures.

At this point, I’m wondering if I should write a whole series of posts on the topic? People really seem to like it.

The ethics of consuming animal products

This is probably happening as a result of a post I wrote eight years ago about animal products. Once again, it was the only thing I ever wrote on the topic, and I still have all sorts of mixed feelings about what I should or shouldn’t eat.

(I have no opinions about what others do or don’t eat. It’s hard enough to figure out my own diet, so you’ll get no judgement or advice from me!)

While I’m definitely not nutritionally organized enough to claim any sort of label, I do often finding myself choosing bean dishes over meat ones for health reasons.

Beans are full of all sorts of vitamins and minerals that many of us don’t get enough of. Since I have a few food allergies and intolerances to work around when planning meals, this is a nice way to make sure I’m getting all of the calcium and other nutrients I need.

What kind of places are noisy and crowded

  • Anyplace you need to visit quickly to buy or pick up that one thing when you’re already running late
  • Big, urban malls
  • Concerts
  • Emergency rooms, walk-in clinics, hospitals, and medical waiting rooms in general
  • Parades, festivals, and food fairs
  • Service Canada Centres (where Canadians go to renew their health cards, passports, etc.)
  • Some people’s innermost thoughts
  • Sporting events

Is Mama Imelda alive?

This site is spoiler-free, so you’ll have to watch Coco for yourself if you want the answer to that question.

If you’re also a blogger who pays attention to the analytics of your website, what is the funniest or most interesting search term that someone has used to find it recently?

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January 5, 2019 · 1:00 am

Blog Hops I’ll Be Participating In

A blog hop is a weekly prompt in which group of bloggers all write posts about the same, pre-determined subject. The person or site that came up with that topic provides a space for everyone to share links to their own responses and read what others had to say about it as well . This gives everyone a chance to attract new readers, find out how other people responded to the same subject, and discover blogs that might be right up their alley.

Blog hops are sometimes called link parties or link-up parties.

However you refer to them, I’ll be participating in two of these things in 2019. Today I wanted to tell you about them in advance so my readers know what is happening when these posts begin popping up here in the next week or so.

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010. In January of 2018, it moved to That Artsy Reader Girl. As per That Artsy Reader Girl, “it was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.”

This is what Top Ten Tuesday participants will be talking about over the next two months. New topics are generally announced  1-3 months in advance for this blog hop, so be sure to check That Artsy Reader Girl in the future to find out what the rest of her prompts will be for this year if you’re hoping to join in or wondering what I might be discussing here.

January 8: Most Anticipated Releases for the First Half of 2019
January 15: New-to-Me Authors I Read In 2018
January 22: Books I Meant to Read In 2018 but Didn’t Get To
January 29: The Ten Most Recent Additions to My To-Read List
February 5: Upcoming Releases I’m On the Fence About (these are the books you need help deciding if they’re worth adding to your TBR or not.)
February 12: Favorite Couples In Books
February 19: Books I LOVED with Fewer than 2,000 Ratings on Goodreads
February 26: Places Mentioned In Books That I’d Like to Visit (submitted by Georgia @justreadthemm)
March 5: Characters I’d Like To Switch Places With (submitted by Sara @ A Gingerly Review)
March 12: Standalone Books That Need a Sequel
March 19: Books On My Spring 2019 TBR
March 26: Audiobook Freebie

This probably isn’t something you’ll see me writing about every single Tuesday. My goal is to write about the prompts that speak to me in any particular month, whether that is none, some, or all of them.

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge

The Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge was created by Long and Short Reviews in January of 2019. Their first blog hop will happen on January 8.

This is what they will be discussing in 2019. Unlike Top Ten Tuesday, they’ve released all of the topics for this year simultaneously. I find that really helpful from the perspective of someone who likes planning ahead!

January 9: Books That Need a Prequel
January 16: What I Would Do with a Million Dollars
January 23: Favorite Things to Do in the Winter
January 30: Characters I’d Name a Baby After
February 6: Favorite Movies of All Time and Why
February 13: Most Romantic Memory
February 20: What to Read To Learn About X
February 27: Fictional Worlds I’d Rather Not Visit
March 6:  Favorite Hobby and Why
March 13: A Day in My Life
March 20: Characters I Want to Meet
March 27: Favorite Websites/Podcasts/Blogs
April 3: Favorite Comfort Foods & Why (& Recipes)
April 10: Characters I Never Want to Meet
April 17: 10 Unusual Things About Me
April 24: Books I Discovered on Social Media
May 1: X Things I Wish More Books Talked About
May 8: Books I Want Youth to Discover
May 15: Favorite TV Shows and Why
May 22: Books I Love That Became Films or TV Shows
May 29: Lessons I Learned from a Book Character
June 5: Books That Need a Sequel
June 12: Favorite Books Covers & Why
June 19: Favorite Things to Do in the Summer
June 26: Humorous Book Titles
July 3: Books That Should Be Made into a Movie and Why
July 10: Favorite Authors in X Genre
July 17: Fictional Worlds I’d Love to Visit
July 24: My Favorite Quotes from Books
July 31: Favorie Food and How I Use (+ Recipe)
August 7: Books I Loved But Never Wrote Reviews For
August 14: Books I Had to Read in School and Didn’t Like
August 21: What I Read When I’m Not Feeling Well
August 28: Books I Had to Read in School and Liked
September 4: Books That Deal Well with Tough Topics
September 11: Books I Keep Meaning to Read (But Haven’t)
September 18: What Is My Superpower?
September 25: Authors I Wish More People Knew About
October 2: What I’d Want on a Deserted Island
October 9: Books That Did a Great Job of Explaining X
October 16: Popular/Famous Books I Don’t Plan to Read
October 23: Books I Read on Someone’s Recommendation
October 30: Things That Scare Me
November 6: Books I’ve Recommended & Why
November 13: A Strange or Useless Talent I Have
November 20: Things I’m Thankful For
November 27: Books That Influenced My Life
December 4: Book Boyfriends or Girlfriends
December 11: My Earliest Memory
December 18: 10 Gifts for People Who Love X

My goal for this one is to participate every single week. Some of their prompts aren’t things I’d normally blog about, so you’ll be learning stuff about me that you otherwise wouldn’t know.

If any of my readers are also  interested in joining these blog hops, I’d love to read your responses!

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December 31, 2018 · 1:00 am

My 20 Most Popular Posts of 2018

Wow, this year flew by! Just like I did for 2017, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at the most popular posts I published on this blog over the last year.

At the end of 2017, I talked about how surprising it was to see which posts ended up being the most popular on my site. Once again, there was a healthy representation of all of the topicsI talk about, but my posts about blogging and writing tended to dominate the top of the list.

I have no idea what prompted this change, but it’s going to be interesting to see if it continues in 2019.

If you’d like to read other people’s lists, my friends Terry Tyler and Tom Williams both recently blogged about their 20 most popular posts as well. The first year I did this, I made it a top 10 list. This year I doubled that number to match what they did. Terry and Tom, you’re good influences! If anyone else blogged about this topic, I’d love to link to your site as well. Just leave a note in the comment section with a link to your post.

20. A Peek at My Never-Ending List of Sci-fi and Fantasy Films to Watch 

19. 4 Reasons Why You Should Attend Nuit Blanche

18. 5 Reasons Why You Should Become a Reviewer for Long and Short Reviews

17. Why Do Library Holds Arrive Simultaneously (And Other Questions I Wish I Had Answers To)

16. Characters Who Need a Date 

15. 6 Things I Wish My Gym Teachers Had Done Differently 

14. 4 Things I Want to Accomplish This Autumn 

13. Why Walking In the Rain Is Underrated

12. What Is the Perfect Reading Spot? 

11. Science Fiction and Fantasy Rules That Shouldn’t Be Broken 

10. I Love the Fuzzy Edges of Science Fiction 

9. The World Needs More Blogging 

8. Blogging Changes I’m Making This Winter 

7. 10 Things That I Won’t Read About 

6. Why HALT Is One of My Favourite Mindfulness Exercises

5. Why Negative Reviews Can Be a Positive Thing

4. Families Are Forever: A Review of Pixar’s Coco

3. 15 Things I’ve Learned from 15 Years of Blogging

2. Is It a Good Idea to Take a Blogging Break? 

1. Why Creative Writers Should Read History Books

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December 6, 2018 · 1:00 am

Blogging Changes I’m Making This Winter

Every time one of my favourite blogs shares a post with a title similar to this one, I get a little nervous about them shutting down or going on hiatius. If you’re the same way, don’t worry! lydiaschoch.com isn’t going anywhere.

I have and will be making some changes to this site that I wanted to let my readers know about, though.

All of these changes are being done in hopes of driving more traffic to this site. I’m confident about my writing abilities, but in 2019 I’d like to become better at marketing the things I create so that new audiences can discover my blog and my stories.

Marketing is something that I honestly struggle a bit with, so if you have any advice I’d sure like to hear it. Comment on this post or send me a DM on Twitter if you’re interested.

In the meantime, here are the things that have, will, or may be changing on this site in the near future. Not everything is set in stone yet, but this is the direction I’m thinking about taking in the new year.

Comments on Old Posts

As of earlier this week, I’ve opened up comments on all of my old posts. I’ve received some messages from people who were disappointed to find comments closed on posts that were shared more than 10 days ago. Originally, I’d set them to close after that amount of time to combat spam that was overwhelming my inbox.

The spam has been much more manageable this time, so let’s see if I can make this a permanent change. If your comment doesn’t show up right away, it probably got caught in my spam filter. I do my best to release those posts as soon as possible, but do feel free to nudge me if it’s been a few days and you don’t see anything yet.

Reader Questions

At the end of this month, I’ll be blogging about a question that a reader asked me in the comment section of a post recently. Her question was so big that it might take more than one post to fully respond to. Stay tuned for that post. It’s going to be a fun one.

I’d love to make this a recurring feature if or when other readers ask me questions, so fire away if you have any!

Book Blog Memes

From talking to other writers and bloggers, I get the impression that participating in weekly book blog memes like Top Ten Tuesday can be an excellent way to drive new traffic to your site.

I’m still looking into which ones would be best for me to participate in, and that list is one of several online that I’ll need to go through between now and January. Top Ten Tuesday is extremely popular, but I’m also curious to see if I can find something that’s specifically related to sci-fi/fantasy, mindfulness, or fitness. Whatever I pick, I will only be doing one or two of these a week at the most.

Suggestion Saturday

As much as I enjoy doing Suggestion Saturday posts, they are having less and less of an impact on drawing new visitors to this site with every passing month. They also require an investment of my time that I’m wondering might be better spent writing other types of posts.

I have not yet decided if I’ll keep doing this in 2019. I need more time to think about it.

Guest Posts from Others on This Site

Yes, I will continue to offer other bloggers the chance to write guest posts on this site if they contact me first. I’ve seen some bloggers become pushy on this topic, and that’s not something I’m comfortable doing at all. This is something I only want to do with people who are enthusiastic about it.

With that being said, I will be on the lookout for sites that list guest post opportunities to see if I can sign my site up for such a thing. It would be interesting to introduce you all to other bloggers who write about the same sorts of stuff I do.

Guest Posts from Me on Other Sites

If I find such a site, I may also be signing up as a guest blogger there. You all will receive links to any posts I write for other blogs, although I’ll have to come up with a creative way to do that if I put an end to Suggestion Saturday.

How Do You Attract New Traffic to Your Blog?

Please let me know in the comment section! I’d love to hear your tips.

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August 2, 2018 · 1:00 am

What Should I Write About Next?

Once or twice a year I like to check in with my readers.

What fitness, mindfulness/meditation, and scifi/fantasy topics would you like to see me blog about here?

I haven’t been writing many meditation posts over the last several months because, frankly, my foray into unguided mediation hasn’t been going well. Even guided meditation has been challenging for me. Normally, I like to hold off on posts about stuff that isn’t working for me until I find some kind of solution for it.  Would you rather read about someone who is currently struggling or who used to struggle and then found a way to make it better?

Writing reviews of sci-fi and speculative films has been a true source of joy for me this year. It was originally something I started doing because of how much I enjoyed my friend Alexandria’s movie and TV reviews. She’s introduced me to some  stories I probably wouldn’t have picked up on my own but ended up liking quite a bit.

I also love the process of analyzing the plot and discussing what I did and didn’t enjoy about it. Do you all find this kind of content useful? What films would you recommend watching next?

My workout schedule has remained pretty uneventful this summer. Everything is good on that front, although I’m not entirely sure how to blog about something that hasn’t brought any new or unusual challenges to my life lately. Maybe it’s time to try something new?

I do have a list of ideas for future blog posts that I’ll continue to drawn on, but I always enjoy hearing your thoughts as well.

What kinds of posts do you find most enjoyable here? Do you have any ideas for me?

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