Many thanks to The Green Onion Blog for nominating me for The Blogger Recognition Award!

Here’s the link to his post, where I was nominated:

• Blogger Recognition Award

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The Rules:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
2. Write a post to show your award.
3. Give a brief story of how your blog started.
4. Give two pieces of advice to new bloggers.
5. Select other bloggers you want to give this award to.
6. Comment on each blog and let them know you have nominated them and provide the link to the post you created.

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How Hot Shot Headlines Started:

Thanks to Dr. Bill Stuart (Dr. B.) at Longwood University, I created my first blog through his Computer-Mediated Communication class. After a few years, different blogs that didn’t go very far, and a couple of platforms (Blogspot, WordPress, etc.), I landed here. I celebrate my blogaversary next month – It’s been three years since Hot Shot Headlines officially kicked off.

As for the name: “Hot Shot” is the nickname that my dad gave me years ago. We have no idea how it started, or exactly when it started, but it’s stuck. Since I was a Communication Studies, Mass Media major in college, I wanted to have a news-like angle to whatever blog I created. Thus, I found “Headlines” to be appropriate.

I ended up not going into the journalism field for my career, so I like to think that my blog is an extension, of sorts, of my university newspaper participation that I absolutely loved for eight semesters.

I’ve really enjoyed the last year or so in particular, where my horizons really started to expand. I’ve loved participating in different challenges and tags, writing about real issues, and exploring other items of interest (Books, different types of media, etc.). Plus, I’ve gained so many amazing followers, and friends!

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My Advice to New Bloggers:

1. Don’t put pressure on yourself to have a set schedule.
2. Always respond to comments!
3. Don’t be afraid to take “blogging breaks.”

For me, I agonized for a really long time about setting a schedule for my blog. I wanted to post regularly, but I didn’t know how to do so. I felt awkward with a ton of unfinished drafts.

When WordPress came out with the “Schedule” feature, that was a game-changer for me! Now, I can look at the calendar and figure out any day and time that I want to publish posts. It’s fantastic! If a certain post isn’t ready, I can easily change the date and time for publication.

I’m definitely a routine person. Example – I wanted to publish my “52 Weeks of Gratitude Challenge” posts on the same day every single week. I picked Wednesdays, and it’s worked beautifully. Now, I’m finding that I’m posting more frequently, and enjoying it!

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I try to respond to every single comment that’s made on my posts (unless it’s spam, of course). It’s a great way to connect with other bloggers and readers alike! I’ve made several blogging friends this way.

In addition, I try to comment on posts that really speak to me. It doesn’t have to be a long comment, but I enjoy reaching out to other bloggers in that way. Plus, if it’s a WordPress blog, the poster can find my blog that way! It’s a great networking tool/resource.

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Finally, don’t be afraid to take a “blogging break.” Everyone I know who writes, whether it’s a blogger, journalist, novelist, or poet, gets writer’s block. It sucks!

But, if you’ve found that you’ve hit a wall with your blog or your writing, it’s actually a good thing to take a break. Here’s a personal example – I found that I was absolutely burnt out in early 2015 for about a month or so. Outside of the blog, I was planning my wedding, work was crazy, and I was trying to keep up with my paralegal classes. I couldn’t juggle the blog with everything else. I went on complete hiatus for about two weeks. I felt bad, but those two weeks helped my brain catch up with everything else in my life. Plus, I had fresh material and new ideas for the blog. I came back to the blog recharged, and ready to write again!

Now, I find myself taking shorter breaks every so often – Sometimes a few weekdays, sometimes a whole weekend. It depends. When we travel to Al’s parents’ farm, I really try to hard to “unplug” completely when we’re there. It’s a nice break from technology, social media, etc.

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Nominations:

1. R.H. (Rusty) Foerger – Curriculum of the Spiritual Life
2. jennanicolee – Bookmark Your Life
3. Animal Planet Lover
4. Its Naly
5. martin houghton – DukkeHus
6. vinnieh
7. Panic At The Bookstore
8. Marie’s library
9. Cheila – Pink For Days
10. Suyog Chhatre – Positivity Unlimited
11. The Sporadic Scribbler
12. Alex Raphael

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Thanks for reading! I hope everyone has a terrific Thursday!

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Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂