Discussion Post: Who are You? Finding Your Voice as a Blogger
Who are You? Finding Your Voice as a Blogger
I’m celebrating my 2nd Blogoversary this week (I’ll be hosting a giveaway soon to celebrate that, by the way, so stay tuned!) and as I start my third year, it really has me thinking about how far I’ve come and what some of my biggest challenges were starting out as a newbie.
I think where I struggled most, aside from the actual mechanics of setting up a blog and getting started, was figuring out who I am as a blogger – finding my voice, so to speak. When I first joined the community, I was easily intimidated because there are just so many bloggers out there with these confident, energetic personalities who have amassed tons of followers. All I could think was “Who is going to pay attention to shy, awkward little me when there are all of these amazing and vibrant personalities out there?”
Credit: theodysseyonline.com
Now, that said, while I know it may be tempting to try to model your blogging voice after bloggers like that, if I could offer one piece of advice to new bloggers, it would be this…don’t do it.
Why? Here are my thoughts on the subject as they have evolved over the past two years, every time I have doubted myself and felt like maybe I should do something differently:
- Even the biggest blogger started out small and had to find his or her way as well. Maybe they now have thousands of followers but chances are, it has taken them years to build that kind of following. It doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with personality. It’s all about putting in the work to make your blog and online following grow.
- If you model yourself too closely after a “big” blogger, eventually someone is going to notice and probably say something and, ugh, who needs that kind of stress and awkwardness in their life? Not to mention if what you’re trying to do doesn’t really reflect who you are as a blogger, are you really going to be able to keep it up long-term? Or want to, for that matter?
- Why would you want your blog to reflect someone else’s personality and style when you have a personality and style of your own?
- Wouldn’t the blogging community be boring if we all sounded exactly alike?
When I think about the bloggers I enjoy interacting with the most, it’s not necessarily the bloggers with the most effervescent personalities that I’m most drawn to. Yes, of course I enjoy those vibrant and energetic bloggers too, but the ones that reel me in and keep me coming back are those blogs, big or small, where I feel like I’m getting to know the blogger a bit each time I visit and read their posts. Whatever their personality happens to be, it comes shining through and I feel like I’m making a real connection with someone. And I honestly don’t think I’m alone in this. Aren’t many of us in the blogging community trying to make connections with people we think we’ll like and share interests with?
So, that said, the point of my post is that even when we’re having doubts about whether we’re good enough, we should still strive to be ourselves, no matter what. If you’re a bubbly, energetic person, then by all means, make your posts reflect that, but if you’re quieter and more subtle, that’s cool too. And if you’re a ranter, rant away! In short, you be you and your confidence as a blogger will grow, and, best of all, your tribe will find you. ♥
Credit: quotespictures.com
Top Ten Tuesday – MY TOP 10 FAVORITE READS SET OUTSIDE OF THE U.S.
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!
This week’s TTT topic is Top Ten Books That Take Place In Another Country. I live in the U.S. and I love to read books that are set in other countries. Not only is a great way to learn about other cultures, etc, but It also helps to somewhat satisfy my wanderlust because reading these books is like traveling without a passport. That said, here are some of my favorite reads that have non-U.S. settings.
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MY TOP 10 FAVORITE READS SET OUTSIDE OF THE U.S.
1. ON THE JELLICOE ROAD by Melina Marchetta (Set in AUSTRALIA)
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2. WARCROSS by Marie Lu (Set primarily in TOKYO, JAPAN)
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3. HOMEGOING by Yaa Gyasi (Set primarily in AFRICA)
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4. MY LADY JANE by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, & Brodi Ashton (Set in ENGLAND)
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5. ANGELS & DEMONS by Dan Brown (Set in ROME, ITALY, VATICAN CITY, & SWITZERLAND)
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6. HARRY POTTER SERIES by J. K. Rowling (SET IN LONDON/HOGWARTS)
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7. A TALE FOR THE TIME BEING by Ruth Ozeki (Set in TOKYO, JAPAN & BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA)
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8. THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak (Set in GERMANY)
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9. THE KITE RUNNER by Khaled Hosseini (Set primarily in AFGHANISTAN)
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10. ANNA KARENINA by Leo Tolstoy (Set primarily in RUSSIA)
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Question: What are some of your favorite reads set outside of the U.S.?
Review: I WAS ANASTASIA by Ariel Lawhon
I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon Also by this author: Code Name Hélène
Published by Doubleday Books on March 27th 2018
Genres: Historical Fiction
Pages: 352
Source: Netgalley
Amazon
Goodreads
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
MY REVIEW:
Most of us are at least somewhat familiar with the subject matter of Ariel Lawhon’s I Was Anastasia. One half of the novel chronicles the imprisonment and subsequent assassination of Tsar Nicholas II and his entire royal family following the Bolshevik Revolution. Even if you don’t know all of the details, you’ve probably at least heard the name Anastasia Romanov, who was one of Tsar Nicholas’s daughters and who was rumored to have survived the assassination attempt. Whether or not Anastasia survived is the focus of the other half of I Was Anastasia, as we follow a woman named Anna Anderson who claimed to be Anastasia for 50 years until her death in 1970.
Is it possible that Anastasia survived? If Anna isn’t really Anastasia, what would lead her to so desperately claim that she is for so many years?
Even though those of us who are familiar with the Anna/Anastasia story know how it ends, it’s still quite compelling to see how it all unfolds in this incredibly well researched retelling.
What fascinated me most about this novel is the way Lawhon captured both Anna and Anastasia. Whether they are one in the same or two different people, I was completely invested in both journeys I was reading about. Anastasia’s story of course immediately had me sympathetic, just knowing the history of how her family suffered at the hands of first, Alexander Kerensky after he forced her father to abdicate, then later the Bolsheviks after they overthrew Kerenksy’s provisional government. Lawhon chronicles these painful events in great detail, making the reader want, all the more, for someone from the Romanov family to have survived the brutal massacre.
Anna’s story, however, was equally compelling as Lawhon shows how she spent much of those 50 years trying to prove her identity — being shuffled from place to place, having no real home or financial security of her own. Some are sympathetic to her cause and believe she truly is Anastasia and want to help her prove her case in a court of law, while others don’t care who she is but just want a piece of the spotlight that is bound to come from being associated with possible royalty. And still others pursue her relentlessly, trying to do everything they can to prove that there’s no way she can be Anastasia.
Even though I was already familiar enough with the story to know how it all ends, what I loved about I Was Anastasia is that the author focuses more on showing us how the story began and she does this using a unique dual timeline structure where she alternates the chapters between Anna’s story and Anastasia’s, presenting Anastasia’s timeline in chronological order, while presenting Anna’s timeline in reverse chronological order. It was fascinating to watch these two timelines on a collision course and I couldn’t wait to see how the author would have them crash into one another to give us the truth about whether Anna Anderson and Anastasia Romanov are one in the same.
Even though it was fascinating watching each of the timelines unfold and waiting to see how the author would merge them in the end, I have to admit that I found Anna’s timeline much more difficult to follow than Anastasia’s. Where Anastasia’s is a straight forward chronological rendering of events in the months leading up to the Romanov family facing a firing squad in 1918, Anna’s journey is actually presented in reverse chronological order, working backwards from 1970 to 1918. That wouldn’t have been an issue in itself, but the way her story unfolded it meant that sometimes she would be referring to someone in earlier chapters but who that person is and how they came to be connected to Anna and her cause isn’t really revealed until later chapters as we continue to travel back in time. It took me a few chapters to get used to this structure and slowed me down a few times throughout my reading as I tried to remember what I had read about a certain character in later years now that I was meeting him for the first time as I continued to journey back in time.
If you’re not at all familiar with Anastasia Romanov and Anna Anderson, I’d definitely recommend reading I Was Anastasia. Lawhon has crafted together a suspenseful mystery that will keep you guessing as to whether or not Anna is Anastasia, and at the same time, will have you hoping against hope that she really is. And even if you do know the story, as I did, I’d still recommend it because it is a powerful and emotional retelling and because the journey to 1918 and the “birth” of Anna Anderson makes for an engaging read.
GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:
Countless others have rendered their verdict. Now it is your turn.
Russia, July 17, 1918 Under direct orders from Vladimir Lenin, Bolshevik secret police force Anastasia Romanov, along with the entire imperial family, into a damp basement in Siberia where they face a merciless firing squad. None survive. At least that is what the executioners have always claimed.
Germany, February 17, 1920 A young woman bearing an uncanny resemblance to Anastasia Romanov is pulled shivering and senseless from a canal in Berlin. Refusing to explain her presence in the freezing water, she is taken to the hospital where an examination reveals that her body is riddled with countless, horrific scars. When she finally does speak, this frightened, mysterious woman claims to be the Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia.
Her detractors, convinced that the young woman is only after the immense Romanov fortune, insist on calling her by a different name: Anna Anderson.
As rumors begin to circulate through European society that the youngest Romanov daughter has survived the massacre, old enemies and new threats are awakened.
About Ariel Lawhon
Ariel Lawhon is the critically acclaimed author of THE WIFE, THE MAID, AND THE MISTRESS, FLIGHT OF DREAMS, and I WAS ANASTASIA. Her books have been translated into numerous languages and have been Library Reads, One Book One County, and Book of the Month Club selections. She is the co-founder of SheReads.org and lives in the rolling hills outside Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband, four sons, and black Lab—who is, thankfully, a girl.