Blogocentric Formulations

Day 5: Weekly Recap

*Written as part of the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" 

Day 5 Prompt: Blog. Tell us about your week. Include your favorite blog entry from your fellow challengers from the preceding week and, most importantly, why.

It feels really, really good to be writing again. The "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS"  has been a great way to make sure I write a little something every day and put some words on the page (or screen, as the case may be). All in all, in addition to these blog entries, it's been a pretty busy week.

On Writing.Com, I finished compiling data for the "Short Story Contests Survey"  and created a PDF with charts and graphics: "Short Story Contests Survey - Results" . I also started the Winter Blogging Challenge for "Blog Harbor" . I had no idea this blogging challenge existed when I came up with the idea, nor that they would be running concurrently. But it's been really cool to see so many people participate, especially those competing in both challenges because it gives me a chance to read their perspectives on two different prompts every day! This week also involved me driving the The StoryMaster crazy by whining about and futilely trying to help with the Google Chrome bug... and I put the finishing touches on both the latest issue of the "Unofficial Erotica Newsletter Group"  newsletter and my official Comedy Newsletter that's due next week. I also did some reviews and have been helping FlashWally22 develop his new group.

At work, it was surprisingly quiet. I expected it to be a little busier, but was thankful that the first couple of days after the new year were more relaxed. It gave me a chance to get caught up on everything so that I can hit the ground running on Monday. This is shaping up to be a super-busy year, and I expect things are going to get real hectic, real quick.

At home, my wife and I made the exciting discovery of not one, but two fantastic used bookstores within a half hour of our apartment. The best part is that each one has a different philosophy, and a different set of treasures to find. One of them is massive; it's taken over three storefronts in a shopping mall and has just as many books as any Borders or Barnes & Noble I've ever been to. It's also meticulously organized; every section is clearly labeled and in perfect alphabetical order. You can walk in, walk right to a section, find an author, and immediately grab what you're looking for. The other store was a little smaller, a little less organized (still pretty good alphabetizing and section labels, but had tons of stacks on the floor and overflow bins), but had a better selection. I overheard a conversation between the proprietor and another customer who were actually talking about the other bookstore we had been to; this one prided itself on having a greater variety rather than volume. And in comparing the two, it was absolutely true. The first had maybe 100 Stephen King books, but only about 15 unique titles. The second store had maybe 50 Stephen King books, but about 30 unique titles. More than anything, my wife and I are just thrilled to have two places to go find cheap used books... there's nothing quite like exploring through the dusty stacks of a used bookstore to find unknown treasures.

As far as other participants' blogs go, I think my favorite entry of the week was "Jan. 3rd, Blog x 3" . I'm going to cheat a little and say that the reason I picked it is because it was written for both this challenge and my Blog Harbor challenge (and a THIRD challenge!), and I thought all the entries were exceptionally well written. The tattoo prompt for Blog Harbor was excellent, and her reporter's perspective on her own blog entries from last year made me laugh. All in all Lyn's a Witchy Woman gets my vote for favorite blog entry of the week.