NaBloPoMo: The Ripple Effect

I was curious, so clicked through and read Mel’s post introducing the theme and another that included prompts for each day.

This was not the time for me to be considering committing to post every day for a month, in the middle of summer, with my kids out of school. But I really liked the prompts and for some reason I just got it in my head that I wanted to do this.

I decided to sit on it for a while, as I had a few days to decide.

During that time I was in contact with a blogging friend who was looking for some writing inspiration. I mentioned that I *might* be doing NaBloPoMo if she was interested in joining me, we could do it together.

Another day or two passed and I almost forgot I had made that suggestion/offer, that is until I saw that not only had my friend gone and signed up to participate, she had commented that I had talked her into doing it!

I realized it was probably best not to let my friend know that up until that moment I had been leaning against doing NaBloPoMo, as it just seemed like too much for me at the time.

So with that I jumped in with both feet and my eyes wide open, committed to finishing what I started this month and supporting my friend and a few others who also decided to join us in posting once a day, every day this month.

I feel like my blog entires this time around we’re not nearly as inspired as some of mine were last November, when I tried NaBloPoMo for the first time. However, I learned a lot then and once again I have appreciated the experience of writing consistently here, even when I didn’t feel like it.

I also have loved witnessing what the experience has been like for two of my friends, Justine from A Half Baked Life and Jjraffe from Too Many Fish To Fry, who had not done NaBloPoMo before. They are two of my favorites writers/bloggers and being essentially forced to write and post everyday definitely seemed to challenge their comfort zones. But boy did they ever rise to the challenge! I loved reading and commenting on their daily posts, along with others written by those participating in NaBloPoMo this month.

Last November, when I did my first NaBloPoMo wrap up post, I shared my Top Ten Favorite Posts that I wrote during that month.

This time around I am going to share my own Top Three Favorite Posts, along with my Top Three Favorite Posts that each of my three NaBloPoMo partners in crime wrote this month, including Justine, Jjraffe and Kristin from Dragondreamer’s Liar (who tries to participate in NaBloPoMo at least once a year).

Two days from now I leave for my first visit to BlogHer’s Annual Conference in NYC and I can’t wait to get to meet Justine, Jjraffe and Kristin in person, along with many other new and old blogging friends, there!

In honor of the Summer Olympics currently underway in London, England I decided to award each of us Gold, Silver and Bronze medals for my favorites posts that we wrote during July’s NaBloPoMo. If you haven’t read these blog entries yet, I encourage you to click-through and check them out. I think they are truly medal worthy and I hope you enjoy that as much as I have.

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Kristin from Dragon Dreamer’s Liar:

Gold: My 6:30 Wake Up Call (July 17)
A beautiful and moving post in which Kristin processes her feelings about her oldest son growing up and getting ready to leave the nest. By the end the title she chose took on a whole new meaning for me, as I am sure she intended.

Silver: Things I’m Afraid to Tell You (July 12)
A brave and honest post in which Kristin talks about some of her fears. It was validating for me and others to read, as Kristin found out in the comment section, she is not alone in what she shared. Kristin also inspired Justine and Jjraffe to participate and write “Things I’m Afraid to Tell You” posts which were both also very candid, moving and validating to read.

Bronze: Gonna Be “BlogHer Bound” (July 29)
Love this post in which Kristin rewrites the lyrics to Simon and Garfunkel’s Homeward Bound in honor of her upcoming trip to NYC for BlogHer`12. I like to rewrite song lyrics and think she did such a great job with this. I can’t wait to be BlogHer Bound with Kristin in just two more days!

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Jjraffe from Too Many Fish to Fry:

Gold: Faces of Adoption/Loss/Infertility: The Den Mother (July 31)
The latest installment in Jjraffe’s awesome series profiling everyday people living with adoption/infertility/loss. This time she chose to tell veteran ALI blogger Kir’s story and did an outstanding job.

Silver: Is There an Echo, Echo, Echo in Here? (July 13)
This one really made me think about whether niche bloggers tend to write in echo chamber-like environments that keep us from being more in touch with reality. Like most great posts, for me at least, the discussion in the comment section is as interesting as the post itself, which speaks to Jjraffes ability to engage her readers and ask the right questions.

Bronze: Find Your Blog Voice (July 18)
A thoughtful post about what makes blogs interesting to read. Jjraffe talks about how she used to believe that niche writing made a blogger more relatable and successful, but now she thinks that having a consistent voice is more important. I agree that a blogger’s writing style, including their genuine and unique voice, is what keeps me coming back to read and comment.

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On a related note, in case you missed it, Mel from Stirrup Queens wrote a great post this month called Is Your Blog Holding You Back? about how we can be both niche bloggers and general diarists at the same time. It brought up and out some great things to consider when it comes to our writing and made me even more excited for the panel discussion that I am participating in as a speaker at BlogHer`12 this week: My Blog No Longer Fits Me: Blogging After Life Change on Saturday from 3:15 – 4:30 p.m.

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Justine from A Half Baked Life:

Gold: Things I’m Afraid to Tell You: A Food-Free Post (July 12)
Justine replaced food with intellectual porn in this post. She wrote what so many of us are thinking and covered how she feels about being a Stay at Home Mom, her personality, food and also added some “for fun” tidbits. I was impressed with what Justine shared and found that I could relate to so much of what she said.

Silver: The Sound of Silence: For Aurora (July 20)
A beautiful post about processing the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado. It was just what I and others needed to read that day.

Bronze: Are Bystanders Ever Innocent? Or, WTF Happened at Penn State? (July 14)
A very interesting post that asks thought-provoking questions encouraging us to think about our actions and intentions, especially when it comes to helping others.