Turning

I don’t know about you guys, but I am kind of the worst when it comes to comparing myself to other people. I’ll read a fabulous post from someone about their mad organizational skills, or their on point bookstagram, or how they are morning people (what even is this sorcery, Tanya!?) and I think “man, I wish I was X”, or “I wish I did Z better!”. But I was thinking about it and frankly, then I wouldn’t be me. And you didn’t come here for someone who gets up at 6am 😉

So, let’s turn some of the “negatives” into positives, shall we?

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In real life, I am pretty much zero percent spontaneous, so this is a good thing. Maybe it’s my very own character growth? Who knows. But the point is, at pretty much any given time, I can post anything, because I am not exactly upsetting some kind of great schedule. If someone needs me in a pinch? I can be there! Sure, there are exceptions like blog tours and stuff, but for the most part, I am free as a bird to do whatever I wish! This is also good if there is a current blogging brouhaha abound that I feel I can’t keep my mouth shut about (which is rare, but shh), no posts need to be preempted for me to provide you with word vomit!

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love being able to say to people “I’m good with anything!”, because again, in real life I am sort of a high maintenance mess of a human.  But on the blog? I’m good with whatever. It’s chill at Shannon’s Blog! You want to comment with weird names like Val? Please feel free! You want to curse, or not; be funny, be serious, be sad? You do you. It’s all great around here. We fly by the seat of our pants- though I am usually not wearing pants. (Calm down, I have pajama shorts on, get your minds out of the gutter.)

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I get to talk to friends from all time zones! Would I be able to be such great friends with people from around the world if I was awake exclusively during US time zones? I think not. Being awake at all the weird times keeps me in touch with the world!

lemons4 (1) Look, I freak out from time to time about my blog, my stats, my comments, and if you people still give any fucks about what nonsense I have to spew forth. And yeah, maybe sometimes it is unhealthy-level, but most of the time… isn’t it nice to have something that you really enjoy enough to care if it succeeds?

(Though please, take into account that this is coming from a person who competes with her 5 year old- and doesn’t let her win- so I may have a bit of a competitive issue?)

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I have mentioned all these things before. Apparently, I like to talk about this? ::Shrugs:: But we know I am indecisive. We know I probably request too much- though I have actually become quite reformed, I should note. (Or maybe more picky? Probably more picky.) Anyway, I am nothing without a reading schedule. I have to let my friends pick my books, and while that is fun every so often, I am sure they’re sick of picking all the non-review books I read. Plus, I like knowing what is being released! Before blogging, I had no idea. Now, I have basically all the release dates etched in my brain. Good times! 

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Yeah, maybe I am a little more lenient than the average person with ratings. But… meh. I like stuff. Liking stuff makes me happy. And if you’ve ever read a negative review from me, you can be damn sure that I have no problems holding back my feelings. Ever.

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I don’t proofread. I assume this is some kind of sin to writing anything, right? I mean, sure, if it’s something that’s supposed to be professional-ish I’ll give it a once-over. But if I start dissecting my words, there’s no coming back from that. I get too obsessed, and I learned long, long ago to type, press post, and be done. Of course if I see a typo, I will correct it, or edit some mistake if I catch it, but that’s as far as it goes. Fun fact: in school, I was always that jerk who handed in their test first- because I took it, turned it in, and was done with it. Anything else is anxiety-provoking. 

Your turn! Which of your blogging lemons do you think can be turned into lemonade? 

Posted July 15, 2016 by Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight in Discussion, Discussion Challenge / 75 Comments

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75 responses to “Turning Blogging Lemons Into Lemonade

  1. This post is proof that you can turn what is thought of as a negative thing to a positive thing, woo! 😀 For me, a blogging lemon would be having too many books, so much that they can’t fit on my shelves anymore…but the lemonade I could make from that is MORE BOOKS TO READ!

  2. I LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS SO MUCH SHANNON OMG. This is actually a really epically wonderful post and I think ALL we bloggers should do this!! Negatives don’t even have to be that negative. :’) And I actually envy your ability to be flexible with schedules and stay up late and being spontaneous. :’) YOU ARE AN INSPIRATION TO US ALL ACTUALLY.

    Also, um, I am an early riser too.? 5:00am in summer, but only 5:45am in winter because IT’s FREAKING DARK. The problem is I go running at that time so…running in the dark is quite the adventure. I’ll probably be murdered one of these days but I’m practising running really really fast so YEAH. But early mornings ftw. <3

    OKAY OKAY A LEMONADE FOR ME…I'm always behind on ARC reviews.? But at least that means when I get to them I can re-spark the interest in them that's died down, right?! *self five*

    • FIVE AM??!!! Cait, that is my BEDTIME ?? Oops? Please don’t get murdered, by the way. Think of all the books you’d leave behind! (And ermmm family and friends and such.)

      And YES, you totally renew interest that way! In complete seriousness, I think it’s just as helpful, if not more so!

  3. I love this post Shannon! I love focusing on the positive. I don’t like hearing people say that you need a schedule and you need to post x number of times a week, I don’t need anything except to be myself.

  4. Love! I am a reluctant morning person. My little ones think 5 am is the best time to get up so I have no choice in the matter. Night owl I am not. But big yes to no proofreading. I mean I have grammarly for a reason. Honestly I just don’t have time to. Oops. I know I am probably too lenient with rating too. But I am with you – I like liking things. It makes me happy. I have lots of blogging lemons but I just ignore them and let them sit in their little blogging fruit basket. Oh well!

    • They get up at 5!??! I… I am SO SORRY, Grace. I mean, wow. And good for you for being able to just ignore them! Honestly, that is the best way to go! Because if you are happy, that is all that matters- plus your blog is awesome as is, I wouldn’t want you to ever change!

  5. This is an amazing post! Instead of fretting over the negatives, you look at the bright side. I’m 100% a night owl (but I’m too awkward to talk to people for an extended period of time), I’m also lenient on rating books because I have this weird thing of forcing myself to like every book I read. Well, not exactly forcing, but I tend to focus on the good things about the book. And more stars make me happy! 😀

  6. “what is this sorcery Tanya?” LOL I died reading that comment! I love Tanya she is a doll! I wish i was a morning person though! It takes me at least a good hour to become fully functioning!
    I love this post! This is the first one I have read and I love the concept! I think my biggest problem is over-ARCing right now and being too lenient with a blogging schedule because I’ve been so overwhlemed these last few months. At the end of the day though, blogging is just a really fun hobby for me and if I don’t get a consistent schedule up every week, I need to stop beating myself up about it!
    Great post Shannon!

    • Aww thank yoU! I agree, Tanya is awesome! I am the same, I am just BAD when it is time to get up- like unless it is 5pm, I want to crawl back into bed hahah. And I feel you about being overwhelmed. I have been SO overwhelmed lately, I am not a fan. But like you said, we need to not beat ourselves up- even though I know I still do, on the regular ? I promise I am trying to stop hahaha!

  7. Aww, I love this post. It’s so positive! I also stress out about a lot of these things. I gave up on trying to make graphics because it’s hard for me, and I’d rather put my energy into writing the post. My blog isn’t as pretty as other people’s, but not obsessing over graphics makes my writing better.

    • Aw thanks! And good for you!! Not everyone needs to have elaborate graphics, honestly! I used to stress about them, but then when I calmed down, I realized I actually kind of *liked* making them, which is why I still try- but if I didn’t, you can bet I’d be done with it- because like you said, you need to focus on what you WANT to do with your blog- and your writing IS awesome!

  8. This is such a great post. We always make things to be negative, but you turned things into a positive.
    I know I stress about followers a lot. But it kinda makes me feel better if there’s a positive. Haha.

    • Aw thank you!! I know what you mean, I do the SAME thing- but there is a positive! We are just passionate about what we do! (Or that is what we will keep telling ourselves haha- I am a negative thinker by nature, but I am trying to rebel against my mind 😉 )

  9. I really love the idea of this post! Turning negatives into positives is just a nice way of looking at things. I’m pretty bad at scheduling myself, but from now on I’ll just think of myself as spontaneous 🙂
    I unfortunately am an obsessive proofreader – I go over and over everything I write switching things about and switching them back, and it’s totally exhausting! I would probably be a lot calmer too if I chilled out about it a bit (although maybe I could turn that into a positive and just say I’m particular? Or is that a bad thing?). Awesome post anyway! 🙂

    • Aw thanks!! 😀 And yes, you are just spontaneous! I cannot imagine how exhausting proofreading would be- it’s why I can’t let myself go down that rabbit hole. I am afraid I’d NEVER be satisfied. But YES- you are just thorough! Being thorough is GOOD!

  10. I was ALWAYS the first one done with tests in school and my friends would freak out haha. I’m like you, I cannot look at it again afterwards. What’s done is done 😛

    I agree about the high ratings too. I have no issue with liking things and being excited. It’s way more fun that way. Another benefit of frequent high ratings means you’re good at picking out books you know you’ll like! As we blog and read more books it becomes super obvious which books/plots/authors are going to work and which ones aren’t. EXPERIENCE!

    • Bwhahahha mine would too! I get the looks and whispers and just shrug (and then READ, which probably prompted my rushing too 😉 ) And you have SUCH a good point- I am much more likely to spot a book I won’t like and remove it from my TBR BEFORE I can hate it/rate it low, so that is a huge positive!!

  11. YES TO ALL OF THE ABOVE. This post basically summed me up. I always feel like I am too generous with my ratings but the way I see it, I only read between 30-40 books a year and I want those books to be ones I am likely to enjoy. I know what I like and I’m usually a good judge of character haha. If I don’t like a book I will be brutally honest about it as well. I am definitely a Night Owl but my nights are usually spent binge watching my TV shows and falling asleep without knowing what happens in the end. 😛

  12. I love this post so much Shannon! So much positivity here. It’s great to see how you’ve managed to take so many negatives and turn them into positives – I’m definitely going to have to try echoing that mindset. Thanks for sharing and, as always, fabulous post! <3

  13. I love the idea of this post and yes sometimes it’s a good idea to focus on the good parts instead of the bad. I always plan ahead and schedule posts, but I feel that my post lack spontaneity sometimes and you only see the posts I write now days or even weeks from now. I also am a nightowl and always joke it’s better for my job and blogging as a lot people I know live in the US.
    It’s interesting to think about how every trait has it’s good and it’s bad things. And being organized seems great, but for me it also means I am very set in my ways sometimes and stress when things change or go out of routine. And I like the GIF’s you picked for this post, they all fit so well with the point you’re making! Great post 🙂

    • Awww thank you so much Lola! I think there are definitely positives to both- and I won’t lie, I totally envy your organization sometimes! But then I realized that like, it wouldn’t be ME if I were to stick to a schedule- just like you wouldn’t be YOU if you just decided to wing it all the time. That’s the best part to me- that we are all so different and have these awesome personalities and traits to share 😀

  14. I love all of these lol, but definitely yes to the stressing out thing! I hate being told to calm down because the whole reason I get stressed or freak out about certain things is because I *care*. I’d rather actually be passionate about things and get stressed over them sometimes than just not be passionate about anything.

    Also, this isn’t book blogging related, but it works perfectly that I am also a night owl because one of my good friends lives across the globe and we have literally a 12 hour time difference lol.

    And if you like stuff, then you should be able to just like it without feeling bad about it! Never apologize for liking stuff! (Unless it’s, like, murdering people that you like, or something.)

    • Aw thanks! And YESSSS- telling someone to calm down DOES. NOT. HELP. Ever. Like, that makes me MORE anxious, people! It is so nice that you and your friend can still talk because of your night owlness 😉 (Also, DYING at the thought of someone being like “but… but I LOVE murdering” ?)

  15. Okay, I definitely, absolutely, totally need to remember ALL OF THESE – and start using your alternatives instead of the ‘originals’. “Aren’t we spontaneous and flexible this month, Natalie,” said Lexie to her co-blogger, after a month of late-posts, haphazard schedule and missed opportunities. 😉

    I think my biggest blogging lemonade is that I suck at daily interaction so much! ALL THE SOCIAL MEDIA AND ALL THE LOVELY BLOGS I FOLLOW ARE JUST TOO MUCH AWESOME FOR ME TO HANDLE. Which, um, is kind of a positive? Or, let’s go with… it gives me more to binge-read once I get around to replying to everything and visiting all the blogs I love? Um, sure. Let’s put it that way.

    I loooooove this philosophy. And also, you’re not the only one who likes to LIKE things and therefore be lenient with ratings. But until right now, I thought I was all alone in that in the bookish blogosphere.

    • BWHAHA I LOVE THIS! You do need to say that to each other, please! ? And dude- I feel you about the daily stuff. I have such a struggle, because YES, everyone’s stuff is amazing, and I want to read ALL THE THINGS and reply to all the fabulous people who comment here, and like… if someone could just throw a couple extra hours a day my way, I would be SET. And I am glad that you enjoy flailing too- it’s MUCH more fun that way 😀

  16. This is such a wonderful post! It makes me happy to see how you can turn your self-criticisms into compliments. I’ve been really bogged down after coming back from an extended hiatus, and I think roots is an exercise I need to do too.

  17. This post is fantastic. This post should be emailed out to bloggers regularly just to remind ourselves to stop stressing and look at our flaws in a positive light. We are all different and there are things some of us suck at and rather than getting ourselves down about let’s make freaking lemonade with them. I am unorganised. I am the worst at scheduling posts. I will always, always, always have about ten unfinished posts in my drafts because I have a short attention span. I am way too lenient with my ratings. I will forever be buying too many books. And I am the worst when it comes to reading ARCs. These could all be really negative things but you know what? I am totally going to be positive about it. I am just a girl who has a lot of potential posts, unlimited options for reading to suit every mood, and who is flexible.

    Thank you for reminding me to be positive. This post is essentially like that moment in job interviews when you’re asked what your biggest flaw is and where you’re meant to spin it to be a good thing so they’ll still hire you even though you’re a failure at time keeping who only wants someone to give them money regular for procrastinating whilst looking busy.

    • Also totally not my twitter name put backspace and enter are way to close on my keyboard so I’m rolling with it. Bad typist can totally spun as enthusiastic person whose brain works faster than their fingers, right?

    • Thank you SO much! That is so sweet of you! And that is the best part, we ARE different, so we have different things to bring to the table, which is wonderful! I’d get bored of reading the same exact post over and over!

      I LOVE how you spun these, too! And yes- you are SO right, it is like those interview questions, we should remember this when job hunting! (And for the record, procrastinating while looking busy is a talent I hold in high regard ?)

      I think “bad typist” definitely just equals “good thinker”. Or “advanced brain”. Either way, it’s a good thing 😉

  18. I agree with you that being a morning person has to involve some sort of sorcery because it just isn’t me, but other then that we may as well be polar opposites! I’m organized to a T and I have a schedule that in my mind I ‘must’ keep up with, which can get very annoying most of the time. Also proofreading is very important to me. It also doesn’t help that I’m such a grammar nerd. If I read one of my reviews and find an obscene grammar issue I feel SO guilty =]

    • Aww! I think if it is something that you value, then it is awesome to proofread, and be proud of how you stick to a schedule! I am impressed, frankly! Try not to feel guilty about the grammar though- happens to the best of us. We can all just blame our keyboards 😉

  19. Shannon! Thanks so much for an amazing post! <3 I quite enjoyed reading through this post and seeing how you write all these down! This is so positive. I used to stress about not posting frequently (I remember flipping out in my first few weeks when I had not posted something in 2 days HAHA). The frequency of your posts surely doesn't define you as a blogger 🙂 Having a fixed schedule sucks because there should be room for more spontaneity and better content instead of posts that were forced to be written out of sheer pressure.

    • Aw thank you SO much! I have freaked out a LOT about the posting thing, but I had to like, calm down before I went insane hahah. And you are 100% right- frequency means basically nothing! Your posts are awesome whether they come once a week, once a month, or once a day!

  20. Hahah, I love this post so much! It’s a great way at looking at things, genuinely. I’m actually the lemon on most of these: I’m pretty organized and I hate over ARCing. While I don’t like having a schedule, I do keep in mind how long it’s been since I posted a review or have done a discussion. A lemon for me would be going on social media a lot –> interacting with a lot of people!

    Jess @ POB!

  21. You know that I’m your twin in most of these things . The only difference is that I’m disorganized and unscheduled IRL as well. My husband and I went on a three week vacation to Europe the day after he graduated college. And when he got home we hadn’t packed anything yet. (Plus we took some time out to do other things when we finally got around to packing – it’s a wonder we had anything at all with us when we left! (And it was really good that his sister got him luggage for graduation because otherwise I’m not sure what we would have packed his stuff in.)

    BUT we have often said that our utter disorganization and lack of scheduling does lead to way greater flexibility. We once took in a little girl from Haiti who needed emergency spina bifida surgery here in the US with two days notice. (I had two very little children at home and had to spend LOTS of time at the hospital with her.) We joked that for anyone else that would have been completely overwhelming, but for us it was just like, “Eh, par for the course. It’s not like we would have planned that well upfront anyway.” Our personalities came in very handy for that experience!

    • Girl. I am just as much of a mess IRL. I am just like… not spontaneous hahahha. Now, I am a ridiculous packer, like, I am going to start packing for ALAMW soon so that isn’t normal. But my house? OMG, it is the biggest disorganized mess of EVER.

      Also, Nicole, I LOVE YOU. To do that for that little girl, I have tears in my eyes. You are such an awesome person, and I don’t tell you that enough. And I understand it too- like, with Sam’s surgical stuff, people would be like, in shock that Lena was hanging out with my parents til midnight or whatever, but it just didn’t matter, because we had no such schedule to worry about!

  22. I’m a night owl too which is great when it comes to talking to a lot of different bloggers. Granted, if I get a normal 9-5 type of job that will ultimately change, which is a bummer…but we’ll see what comes of it I suppose! I love this post though. Every blogger is different. You just have to see the bright side in what you deem to be “failures.” It’s your blog, you can’t really fail at it.

    • Ugh, who invented the 9-5!? It is EVIL. I think really all work days should be… well, Idk, maybe we should have more choices 😉 And thank you SO much- I agree with you 100%, if you’re doing what makes you happy, you’re succeeding!

  23. I love this.
    <- Morning person

    One of the things I dislike about my need for scheduling is how there is so little room for spontanious ideas. I have to go through the dance of shuffling around posts. So annoying, haha.

    • Aw thanks! That is what I am so glad about with being a scheduling mess, I am free whenever! I love when I’m in contact with someone and they ask me which dates work and I can say “literally anything”- and mean it! BUT there are totally times when scheduling comes in VERY handy too!

  24. Love this! Look at you being all positive and optimistic turning those lemons into lemonade. Go Shannon! (Oh, and calling me out for my morning person ways. LMAO) Me and you? Right there with the lack of scheduling. my friend. Although now I will just consider my spontaneous. And probably too lenient with ratings/reviews… *raises hand sheepishly* But I never feel bad about that. I figure, I’m not grading a paper here… I’m sharing *my opinion* so I can’t be wrong. So there.

    • AW thanks! I am so NOT positive or optimistic, which is probably the biggest success of this post tbh ? SUCH a good point about sharing opinions and them not being wrong! Because they AREN’T! Especially since I will even specify like “there may be problems with this book, I just don’t care” 😉

  25. “When life gives you lemons, don’t make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back! Get mad! I don’t want your damn lemons, what the hell am I supposed to do with these? Demand to see life’s manager! Make life rue the day it thought it could give [Shannon and Val] lemons!”

    Of course, that above is a quote from a video game. Just thought I would post that here before I actually read your post because lemons.

    LEMONS. Okay anyways. THIS IS SUCH A GREAT POST LOOK AT YOU WITH ALL YOUR IDEAS. Definitely agree about staying up late. You guys actually have given me a REASON to stay up later and later. Sure this needs to stop when I start classes but it’s ok now I suppose. Yeah over-ARCing yeah! It gives me a reading schedule too! And yeah I never proofread either, but actually I’ve noticed that I’ve become a better writer so whoopee!

    Though I wouldn’t mind having a schedule. I think it would be good for me, especially when it comes to stressing out about the blog and commenting. mAyBE if I GIVE MYSELF an HOUR A DaY, or even an hour a week TO comment back??? I just play way too many video games to balance my life whoops.

    Omg I’m mentioned again YEAH

    • I have made you a Night Vowl. (That’s a Val-Owl hybrid.) And what on earth shall you do when class starts?! We will never SEE YOU! Because we are ALL night owls around here, let’s be real bwhaha. YAY for becoming a better writer- I think you are a fabulous writer for sure!

      An hour a WEEK to comment back? Man… I have been doing this for 3 solid hours and I am only done with THIS ONE POST. GAH.

      ALSO. I am not surprised that this is from a video game. At all. And please, you’re always mentioned ?

  26. The first two points you described are exactly me Shannon! I just can never approach blogging with an attitude like planning and scheduling posts. I NEED this to be fun and in real life I’m totally all about being organized and having shit planned (you kind of have to with kids) so I need blogging to be the opposite for me.

    • See, I am an unorganized mom mess too, so… ? I worry for when the kids go to real school. I think teachers will hate me. But yeah, I agree it needs to be fun for me too, especially when I am stressing about it, I can’t have the pressure of a schedule too!

  27. This is truly the best list! Those are all of my lemons and I love — and thank you — that you’ve managed to make me feel really good about them all!

  28. I don’t proof read either! And… You know, the rest of the list. When I’m REALLY blogging, I try to do all of the “things you’re supposed to do.” But when I’m not? I typically end up convincing myself that’s ok for all of the reasons you give above! Great post! 🙂

  29. I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again, I LOVED THIS POST!! I loved how you turned these negatives into positives. So much yessss to spontaneity when you have no schedule. (Though sometimes that hurts me when I literally have nothing to post). But honestly, I love being chill and flexible about my schedule and doing whatever the fuck I want. IT IS FREEING. But I’m too much of a mood reader to go with an ARC schedule. :p And omg yesss to being able to talk to the INT people! I love that I get to chat with them on Twitter when I’m up late. I wish I could be chill about proofreading, but I am a ridiculous perfectionist when it comes to my writing. Also why some discussion/personal posts take months to actually get published on the blog. ahahaha.

    I could do without the stressing though, even though it DOES mean I care so much about this. 😉 LOVELY POST, YOU LOVELY LADY!

  30. I am totally the kind of person who doesn’t proofread. I will read through my post once just to check for typos or grammar errors, but then I’m done. I hear some people talk about how it takes them 45 minutes to write a review and I’m over here like 25 minutes I’m done. I just write what I want to say and don’t second guess. I used to be very schedule driven on my blog, but now I’m a lot more laid back. Mostly because I don’t have the time I used to to churn out 4 posts a week. I’m lucky if I get one up now.

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