Top Ten Posts of 2021

Happy New Year!

Another has gone and passed so you know what that means. It’s time to review the top ten posts of 2021. 

Again it surprised me which blog posts had the most views. At least three of the posts have made the list again. One post had double the views from the previous year. And one post is making the list for the first time. Home/archives had a considerable amount of views but since it’s not a post there’s no point of adding it to the list.

So, from least to most views, here’s my top ten posts of 2021!:

10) IWSG & Favorite Guides

At 37 views, this post talks about my favorite writing guides. I always have these books close to hand when I’m working on my WIP. They’re a treasure hold of writerly advice on how to better show than tell. How to add depth to the plot, characters, etc. If you don’t have these guides on your shelves already then follow the link to Amazon. 

9) Did You Know…Beverly Hills 90210

Credit image: http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/best-teen-tv-dramas-of-all-time/beverly-hills-90210 ; Fox

At a close 38 views, this post covered the 27th anniversary of Beverly Hills 90210. It was my first teen drama and I wasn’t allowed to watch the show but when there’s a will there’s a way. But the show was a bit tame, especially when compared to Melrose Place which followed after it.  The drama didn’t hit the angst until they went off to college. Anyways BH opened up a whole new viewing pleasure besides sitcoms. And Saturday morning cartoons. After BH it was Dawson’s Creek, Felicity, Roswell and One Tree Hill. But I never got into Degrassi. Don’t ask me why. 

8) Writing Tools for NaNoWriMo

At 42 views, once tying at #10 at 63 views last year, this post covers the first two weeks of NaNoWriMo 2020. And again it also features my trusty writing guides mentioned in #10. 

7) Responsibility, a poem

At 60 views, this post shares a poem I wrote as a project from an online writing class I took. Though it’s making its first appearance in the top ten, the type of poem has made the list before. You’ve guessed it, it’s an erasure poem.

6) To Love Triangles or Not to Love Triangles?

At 69 views, coming again as #6 and making the list again for the fifth time. This post covers the romance trope of love triangles. You can either love it or hate it. Personally, I like it even though I know who the heroine will end up with. Or think they should end up with. Since this particular post is so popular, maybe I should blog about other romance tropes. My favorite trope is fake relationship/contract marriage. Another favorite is the boss-employee relationship. And the bickering enemies to lovers trope. What’s your favorite romance trope? PS Asian dramas do these particular tropes well. So far my favorite bickering enemies to lovers is Chinese drama The Brightest Star in the Sky.

5) How to Have a Successful #IWSGPit

At 129 views, and coming again at #5 this post covers the Insecure Writer’s Support Group first pitch event. This pitch party is coming back again for its fifth year on January 26, 2022. Winners of the seventh and 2021 annual anthology were announced on the IWSG site on January 5th! Follow the link to meet the winners.

4) Did You Know…Eyeshield 21

At 582 views, dropping from #3 to #4, this post covers another of my favorite manga and anime. And I’ve still yet to read and watch another sports manga and anime I’ve loved as much as Eyeshield 21. My youngest loves the sports anime Kabbadi. And both sons love Kuroko’s Basketball. But I can’t get into them. I would rather have a remake of Eyeshield 21, this time following the manga explicitly. Dirty jokes and all. Fullmetal Alchemist had a second anime adaptation. Even Shaman King has a remake. Besides, the original anime ended after Deimon Devilbats’ match with the Ojou White Knights. Then it forwards in time. To when main character Sena Kobayakawa is playing running back for the San Antonio Armadillos. And is facing his former captain Hiruma Yoichi playing for a different team. I want to see the rest of the tournament and manga animated. Okay, I’m ranting. But that’s how strongly I feel about it. 

3) Six Reasons Why You Should Read The Hunger Games – A Banned Book Review

At 653 views, this post is no stranger to making the top ten. I started reading the trilogy after the first movie was out. You know how sometimes it happens that way. You watch a movie that grasps you, find out it’s adapted from a book then you go out of your way to devour the books. I have all three books and have yet to get the prequel. The only thing seen and read in the books is how they have children battle against each other to the death. All the other reasons listed for why it’s banned and challenged I just don’t see. 

2) How to Write an Erasure Poem

At 760 views, this post has again come in second on the top then list. When I first wrote this post I never thought it’d receive so many views. Hey, maybe my next poetry chapbook should be a collection of erasure poems. 

AND DRUM ROLL PLEASE!

1) 5 Reasons Why Neville Longbottom is Just As Cool & Inspiring As Harry Potter

At 2,763 views, this is the third time this post has made the top ten. In 2019 it came at number four with 130 views. In 2020 it had 1,558 views? I’d wondered afterwards about what made this particular post that popular. Was it that even after 20 years the Harry Potter fandom was still going on strong? Was it listing Neville’s strengths which were no less or greater than Harry Potter? But then I started paying more attention to my Pinterest notifications. And to my surprise this post was one of my most popular pins. According to performance over time, in the last 180 days it already garnered 7.92k impressions, 538 clicks, 42 saves and 22 outbound clicks. Wow. Thank you Pinterest. 

There it is, my top ten of the year. I’ll be taking a mini break in January. Then starting next month I’ll return to working on either book one or two of my WIP fantasy series. Happy New Year! And may 2022 be better than 2021 and 2020. See you next month!

What were your favorite posts from 2021? What would you like to see more of on the blog this year? What are your plans for 2022?