Back in November – in amongst the chaos of NaNoWriMo – a very lovely thing happened that I’m only now getting chance to savour and respond to. I was nominated for a Blogger Recognition Award by the oh so lovely Maria over at The Southerner Blogs! 

I started blogging over four years ago now when I was really struggling with my mental health and wanted to create a positive space for myself. It’s been an interesting journey and Thrive In Chaos has gone through something of a metamorphosis: from originally sharing quotes and images I found on Pinterest, with the occasional rambling account of my own thoughts or random things I wanted to share, to now being a space where I share my own original creative writing and poetry, reflections of life, book reviews…all still interspersed – of course – with the occasional rambling account of my thoughts. This blog was never about the numbers for me. It truly was a space I set up for myself where I wanted to preserve and celebrate positivity. And yet, I will admit, there is a thrill every time someone likes, comments, follows or shares the things I have written. It is undoubtedly (and somewhat egotistically) one of the things that has driven my interest in and desire to be a writer. There is something strange and special in knowing you have created something that someone connected with. I have always loved books for that very reason – the feeling of connection. Being a creator of content that fosters connection is something I will continue to strive towards and I want to take a moment to thank you, dear readers, for the time you take to read and engage with Thrive In Chaos. It really means the world.

So apparently, there are some rules to this nomination….

Rules for the Blogger Recognition Award

• Write a post about your award
• Thank whoever nominated you, including a link to their blog
• Give a brief story of how your blog began
• Share some advice for new bloggers
• Nominate 10 other blogs you wish to give the award to – include this in your post and tag them on twitter
• Leave a comment on this blog post

Advice for New Bloggers

If you are setting out as a new blogger hoping to gain thousands of followers and high rates of engagement I’m probably not the person you want to be taking advice from! There are ways to do this and more successful bloggers than myself will surely share their ‘How To’s with you. If, however, you are a new blogger simply setting out to carve yourself a little corner fo the internet where you can just be whatever it is you want to be, then my advice would be this: don’t get hung up on the numbers; play with your blog until it feels like you; follow other bloggers whose content you find enriching and inspiring; be mindful of what you post – if it’s personal, are you happy with the world and his wife knowing about it? If it’s strongly opinionated, are you prepared to deal with the potentially negative response of those who believe differently? I don’t say these things to put you off posting anything personal or opinionated – on the contrary: that’s exactly what your blog should be for – but just to remind you that on the internet, as in the world, you should take care of yourself and others.

My Nominations

There are so many amazing blogs out there but these are just a few where you’re guaranteed to find interesting content and super friendly people:

Her Writing Haven

All Time Chelsea

Rebecca Ellis

Rarely Tidy Ramblings

Earth To Connie

Elysian Haze

Off Her Mocha

Life In The Happy

The Good The Human

Female Original

I will be tagging the above bloggers on Twitter too, where I can. Please feel free to follow me here and show them some love!

Thank you so much again to Maria for the nomination and to all you lovely people for helping Thrive in Chaos to…well…thrive.

J x