My Top Ten Favorite Posts to Date (And the Giveaway Winner!)

It has been a joy to celebrate my four-year anniversary with all of you! Part of that celebration was, of course, the giveaway that started at the beginning of the month. The winner is…

Emily

Congratulations! I've emailed you about the details of your win. Now on to today's post.

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I have been blogging for four years. Which blows my mind a bit. And though I haven't been a steady, weekly blogger for those four years, I've amassed more posts than I would have expected. In looking back over my old posts, I decided to count down my top ten favorite posts for all of you.

10. Lessons Learned from the Deleted Scenes in Thor

I love Marvel movies, as I'm sure that I've mentioned before. Back in 2013, after watching Thor for the who-knows-what time, I found myself evaluating the deleted scenes from a writing perspective. What I discovered was quite informative for me.

9. Why I Prefer Mr. Knightley to Mr. Darcy

I love Marvel, but I also love Jane Austen, and I've always found it peculiar that Mr. Darcy, the hero of Pride and Prejudice, gets all the interest, while Mr. Knightley from Emma is often ignored. In this post, I explained why I thought that should be different.

8. Things to Consider When Worldbuilding

Over this last summer, I invested a huge amount of work into worldbuilding for my novel, Raiders' Rise, which helped me realize just how many things one has to think about when they're developing a world, whether made-up or not. This post lays out some of the things I considered most important to the process.

7. Don't Kill the Writer: The Art of Critiquing

Critiquing can be a very difficult process for both writer and critiquer alike. It's a delicate balance of sensitivity and honesty that can be overwhelming. Yet it's so necessary in order for stories to be made better. In this post, I wanted to mention some principles and tips for both sides of the process.

6. Add Another Dimension: Online Graphics

Graphics for blogging and other ventures can be tricky. I have, personally, found them to be very helpful, though. I had a lot of fun in this post from 2014, when I showed the process of making a graphic in Microsoft Publisher.

5. "Heroism is Dead" - A Flash Fiction Story

This is my entry from my most recent flash fiction challenge. It's my favorite of my own entries to date and sets a power showdown in the midst of a tech-fantasy world.

4. Surviving (And Thriving) In College: The First Few Semesters

College is no piece of cake. It's also a huge part of my life right now. So, I decided to share some lessons I've learned in hopes that I can make someone else's road a little smoother. This post is a list of getting started tips and covers things that often escape one's notice.

3. The Shield of Faith: Use it Like Cap Does

Yay, more Marvel! Captain America is, hands down, my favorite superhero. And, surprisingly, I learned a lot about the armor of God from him. I find myself continually inspired by the comparisons between the shield of faith and Cap's own shield.

2. Do You Love Your Story Enough to Commit to It?

This was a guest post that I wrote for Laura L. M. back in 2014, and it remains one of my favorite things that I have ever written. In it, I explore the idea that our relationships with the stories we write are much like our most serious personal relationships. They require commitment, and we have to evaluate whether we're willing to commit or not.

And my very favorite post to date is…

1. When It Hurts to Be Single

This is a fairly recent post; it's also one of the most personally applicable posts I've ever written. I struggle with being single. It's hard for me. It hurts sometimes. This post was written with the desire to speak truth into my own struggle and, hopefully, into someone else's. Even if no one else cared, it was a huge benefit to me personally and continues to be every time I read it.

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So there you have it! My top ten favorite posts to date. What's your favorite of my posts? When did you start following? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!