Well, you guys…. we did it.
30 blog posts in 30 days. I absolutely loved it, and I’m absolutely exhausted. It was SO MUCH WORK. Not just publishing my own posts, but reading and commenting on all the other blogs this month, as well as answering comments. I really tried, but I didn’t get to everyone’s blog posts every single day, and I’m sorry about that. I plan to go back and visit all the NaBloPoMo blogs in a more leisurely fashion, once the dust has settled.
This was my second year doing NaBloPoMo, and one thing I love about it is how it makes November a “short-long” month. This is a term my son has coined to describe those periods of time where you’re so busy, the days seem to whiz past- but when you look back on it, it seems very, very long because of all the different things you did (this is definitely preferable to a long-short, which is the opposite phenomenon.)
It seems like a hundred years ago that I sat in Starbucks writing a NaBloPoMo post and watching them unpack the holiday cups. So much happened this month, and writing a blog post every day seemed to make each day distinctive, instead of passing in a blur.
Congratulations to everyone who participated, and of course a huge THANK YOU to San, our fearless leader. We couldn’t have done it without her.
When I started NaBloPoMo last year I thought “This month is awfully busy. Couldn’t we do this in June?” But actually, I think November is the perfect month for it. Now NaBloPoMo seems linked to the busyness and excitement of this time of year… and I already can’t wait to do it again next November.
30 Responses
Yay!! It was so fun reading along 🙂
Thank you Sarah- and I enjoyed discovering your blog!
Great job, Jenny!
Thank you SO MUCH for reading and commenting all month, Nicole!
great job. I enjoyed reading your post each day.
I struggle having something to say 3x a week.
Thank you Darlene! I really appreciate it. And I’ll be happy to go back to 3x week.
Great Job! I enjoyed reading your post each day!
I struggle having something to say 3x a week.
Congrats! Even in my hay day of blogging when I was posting 3-5 times/week, I never did this challenge! I have enjoyed reading along and learned a lot about you!! I tried to keep up with commenting but probably missed a few posts from people here and there, especially around Thanksgiving when I wasn’t sitting at a computer at all!
I’m very impressed with the people (i.e., you) who weren’t officially participating but read and commented so faithfully. I really appreciate it!
Congrats!!
I initially had no intention of doing NaBloPoMo, specifically because November is so busy already. But I think you’re right — it really did make the month more fun and exciting instead of just stressful.
I know you didn’t originally plan to do it- but you did amazing!!! I think the best strategy is to jump right in and not overthink it.
Congrats on making it through! I’m going to miss everyone’s daily posts, but I’m excited to be able to catch a break from my feed reader always bursting at the seams!
Yes, I’m torn between being sad it’s over, and needing a break as well.
Jazz hands!!
The blogs were all SO wonderful and there is so much rich, wonderful, fun (you name it, we’ve seen it this month) information to digest. I am also tired.
I’ve loved your blog since I discovered it (maybe last NaBloPoMo?), and love it even more after this year of getting my daily fix of Jenny.
Does anyone else feel slightly deflated we can’t all squeeze into a restaurant together somewhere and celebrate reaching the finish line together in person?!
Yes! I does seem like we should all be together to celebrate. And I think we did discover each other’s blogs last November- just like I found more new ones this year. It was a great month!
A blog post every day is impressive and I understand you’re exhausted. Did you have a plan beforehand, for topics? I could never do it! I did the April A-Z challenge once, and made it fun by having a theme, a tune a day. I recorded videos of myself playing the tunes and this is years ago, before I even was close to being good at my instrument! But I had fun doing it. However, lots of the people doing the challenge didn’t blog for months afterwards and I found that a bit sad, and perhaps then it isn’t worth it.
Anyway, I enjoyed reading your posts, and perhaps doing it in a busy month, there’s more to write about.
Thank you for reading and commenting, Susanne! To answer your question… I didn’t have a big, overall plan going into the month. I had a list of ideas, but ended up getting ideas as the month went on. I think you could do it if you wanted to- you kind of have to just jump in. But I can also understand how you wouldn’t want to- it really was a big project.
I am glad to have met you online thanks to NaBloPoMo! Thanks for following along, too! Part of me feels the same way about the November timing but because my extended family lives so far away I am always a little melancholy this time of year. NaBloPoMo really helped me through that stretch.
That’s good to hear! Keeping busy and making new connections definitely helps.
Congrats. It has certainly been a fun ride.
Yes, it was really fun this year!!! Congratulations to you as well.
Back when I first did NaBloPoMo, years ago, it was a lot easier. Because there were hundreds of participants, you didn’t even try to read and comment on all of the blogs, let alone every day. It was too much. With a more reasonable group of participants, though, and such a lovely, tight community, it is wonderful to put in the effort to do more than just post, but also read and comment.
One thing that has really impressed me, as a new comer to this group, is how thoughtful and nuanced the blog posts are. Everyone really put a lot of work into their posts. It reminded me so much of the earlier days of blogging. I’m looking forward to keeping up with everyone now.
I need to figure out a blog reader of some sort. I’m so old school, I just use my blogroll and click and see if there are updates. Silly.
Me too! I have to find a better way to keep up with everyone.
“short-long” love it. Nails it. Feel the same.
And I agree. I can hardly believe some of the things I talked about happened in the past 30 days. Seems so long ago.
So fun to follow along your life for this snapshot in time. It is very different from my and I like that I get glimpses in other life concepts. Thank you for. sharing that.
Yes, that’s one thing I loved this year- so many different people, living in difference places, with different lives! It was fun to follow along.
Same with being able to keep up with all the blogs. I tried but didn’t have enough time and was just skimming which wasn’t fair to the bloggers. I had to cut back to just the blogs that I was already reading. Now that the pressure is off I can go back and get to know new peeps.
Big hugs that we did it!!!
Yes- I felt like I was reading blogs but not enjoying it because I felt rushed. There were a bunch of good ones and I want to go back and do them justice.
Yay Jenny, congratulations for completing another NaBloPoMo – you’re a real pro by now and I love what you said about the long-short month. It’s absolutely true. I know it seems like we’re doing it at a time when everybody is really busy, but it also gives you a bit of purpose (and hopefully lots to write about). I am so glad you’re part of the annual crew now! <3
Congrats on finishing the challenge! It was so fun to meet you during last year’s NaBloPoMo and now we’re these grizzled veterans with two years on our belts! Hehe.
Yes, most of my favorite blogs now are ones I’ve found through NaBloPoMo (and I added a couple more this year!) It was a challenge, but so worth it.