Writing Forward’s milestones and top posts of 2012.
Every year brings new readers and old friends to Writing Forward, and I am both honored and grateful to be a part of the wonderful online writing community.
Our readers (and fellow writers) have come a long way in the five years since I started this blog. Some of us have discovered the joy of writing for the first time and set out on a path to write as hobby or to pursue a professional career in writing. Some of us have launched blogs, gotten our work published, or self-published. We’ve worked to improve our writing and have reached out to connect with readers and the greater writing community.
I hope that writers all around the world will take some time at the end of the year to reflect on what we’ve each accomplished and to look ahead in considering our goals for the future, both as writers and as human beings.
2012 Milestones
Writing Forward reached a few exciting milestones this year:
- For the second time, Writing Forward was named one of the “101 Best Websites for Writers” by Writer’s Digest.
- I published the first book in the Adventures in Writing series: 101 Creative Writing Exercises.
- Finally, Writing Forward reached a huge milestone in traffic. We’re now seeing 100,000 visits per month, which feels to me like a rather huge audience!
Top Posts of 2012
Three All-Time Favorite Evergreen Posts:
Writing Forward is fortunate to have a lot of evergreen posts. These are older posts from the archives that still get a lot of traffic, tweets, and shares. The three most-visited evergreen posts this year were “25 Creative Writing Prompts,” “20 Creative Writing Careers,” and “12 Essential Writing Habits for Strengthening Your Skills.” All of these evergreen posts were published prior to 2012.
The Best of 2012:
Here are the most popular posts that were published this year on Writing Forward:
- 12 Character Writing Tips for Fiction Writers
- Homophones, Homonyms, and Homographs
- The Characteristics of Good Writing
- 10 Grammar Rules and Best Writing Practices That Every Writer Should Know
- Writing Tips: Show Don’t Tell
- 20 Fun and Inspiring Character Writing Ideas
- Essay Writing Ideas, Topics, and Publishing Tips
- Guide to Descriptive Writing
- Five Things I Learned in Creative Writing Class
In with the New…
It’s been another great year here at Writing Forward. I’m eternally grateful to all of our readers, especially those who engage in discussion by leaving comments and who share their favorite posts on social media networks. It’s an honor to be a member of a writing community that is so warm and supportive.
But now, let’s talk about you. Was 2012 a good writing year for you? Did you make progress on or complete any significant writing projects? What are your writing goals for next year? Share your thoughts and experiences by leaving a comment. And keep writing!
I didn’t write that much in 2012, but I did write a sketch that was performed on stage. I was the main performer / puppeteer, so that was sort of like self publishing, I guess. It was good to get live feedback.
I also wrote scripts that were turned into videos (by me) for various occasions like my friend’s wedding, Christmas, etc. I didn’t really write much that’s just meant to be read, and not performed.
I did, however, chew through The Count of Monte Cristo, which my great uncle recommended to me more than 15 years ago. He probably meant for me to read the abridged Chinese translation. I sure had no idea that I would be reading the unabridged English translation instead many years later.
Congrats on your fabulous 2012. Here’s to another year!
I started an unabridged version of a novel at the end of 2011 and have yet to finish it. I thought I was honoring the author by choosing a version that was 1500 pages instead of 300. Huge mistake! There’s a reason the editors cut all that stuff! I’m still trying to decide whether to slog through the thing for the next few years or to simply pick up the abridged version instead.
Congratulations on everything you achieved in 2012, Kelvin! By the way, I adored your Christmas video. It was so sweet. Happy New Year! I wish you all the best in 2013.
Ironically, almost ALL my writing this year has been fanfiction because (1) I couldn’t help myself and (2) it became so much more fun than, you know, writing MY stuff. Kind of pathetic, really (grin). Though, on the other hand, it made me actually want to write for fun again, and gave me the opportunity to play with short stories, which have never really been my favorite thing–I prefer long-form fiction to short. So … I’m considering this a learning experience and blaming BBC’s Sherlock and just moving along (grin).
I’d love to try fan fiction, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet (other than thinking about it without writing anything down). Do what you love — you never know where it will lead.