Saturday

20 Ways To Spread Blogging Positivity

Hello everyone! Positivity is easy to spread, you can create happiness in the simplest of ways. Of course, the blogging community is one of the most positive and kind communities out there, but who doesn't need another reason to smile? I've compiled a list of 20 things you can say or do for bloggers to make their day :D



1 - look at their blog and leave a comment about what you think of it overall.

2 - tell your friends about their blog or talk about their blog on your blog.

3 - tag them in one of those blog awards.

4 - put them as your "favorite reads" on a favorite blogs page.

5 - drop them a sweet, from the heart email.



6 - make a positive quote your comment signature. (what you put at the end whenever you comment)

7 - make a post dedicated to all your favorite bloggers.

8 - do a post like this.

9 - try to be positive in your posts and comments and emails, etc.

10 - think of all the bloggers who have been nice to you, and be nice to them back.

11 - whenever you see a blogger in distress, help them in any way possible.

12 - try to write more positive posts often.

13 - eliminate the number of negative things you say about people on social media.

14 - initiate friendship with another blogger.

15 - introduce a blogger to another blogger.

16 - remember posts you enjoyed and maybe talk about them later.

17 - if a blogger is doing a contest or something cool, tell your readers about it.

18 - tell a blogger how awesome you think they are,

19 - send an email full of positive gifs to a blogger.

if misha tells you that you are the best, you are the best. 

20 - write a positive poem to someone.


*throws confetti* POSITIVITY !! *hands out cake* IS !! *opens window* VERY !! *screams* IMPORTANT !!

let's be positive. try to do all these things in the month of June, because I will. 

Thanks for reading,
Noor

be positive friends

Thursday

The Intimidating Task of Making Friends (Online)

Hello everyone! friends friends friends friends friends. great to have around, great to keep, hard to get. Even more hard to get online. let's make some friends, and skip horrible post intros because I'm pretty sure I know how to do one and have no clue how to do the other okay let's go.



before we begin, I'd like to clarify:


EVERYONE LIKES TO MAKE FRIENDS. or pretty much, i suppose, okay erm

ALMOST EVERYONE LIKES TO MAKE FRIENDS. so basically the first step, because of this fact, is don't be shy. You can always take the boring and lonely route and wait for someone to approach you with conversation or a cookie or you can take your cookies and conversation and meet someone new, the brave yet fulfilling route.

And the wonderful thing about online friendships is that you don't have to have a witty response right away, and you don't have to be awkward. It's a wonderful journey.


"i have friends though,  i don't need online friends???" shush yes you do and here's why


- they will understand you. see the thing is, you can be browsing blogs and find someone who you relate to, shoot them an email, and you'll have a relatable, amazing friend who you can talk to about anything.

- it's not awkward. I covered this above but you can actually take your time with responses to your online friend, it doesn't have to be this quick thing, which always causes anxiety for me and I freak out and mess up and that doesn't happen on the internet. 

- if you don't want to interact IRL, you can interact online. you get your social interaction in without leaving the comfort of your own bed. it's a beautiful thing, really.

- you can help each other out. now hush, i'm not saying you should make online friends JUST to do this but it's a real help. stuck on blog post ideas? they got you. need advice? they got you. just had a bad day and want to talk about it? they got you.

they're like irl friends, but online and they're always there with a send of an email.

now how to make internet friends, a great question with a simple answer: approach them. how to approach them? how to begin? well.

step one: find someone. browse those blogs, look at posts, look at about me's or just find a favorite blogger that you think would be hilarious or amazing to talk to.

                - and remember: no one in the blogging universe is too good for you, we're all amazing and                   we're all worthy of each other's time. yeah they might have way more followers than you,                   but so what, that doesn't mean they wouldn't want to talk to you. don't take them as                               intimidating, because they're probably an introverted bookworm like you.

step two: find a way to talk to them. whether it's over email, a social media or maybe they have a contact box. you should have a way to go back and forth with conversation. I personally like email or Google Hangouts, it's easy and i can do it with my phone too.

step three: approach. say hi, introduce yourself, say why you want to talk to them. a good reference can be using your about me to find things to say. and don't worry if it's awkward, it'll probably always be. just don't be shy, talk as if you were talking to your best friend.

step four: wait for the wonderful person to respond and begin your new friendship. whoop.


- it will be awkward at first. making friends isn't an automatic connection, it'll take time to really get comfortable and to understand each other. 

- keeping an online friendship can be difficult. with irl friends you see them a lot, at school, and other places. but with online friendships, you really have to take your time and work to talk to them, with time differences and other responsibilities as well. but if you're willing to stay friends, then good, do it.

- it's fine to be shy, in the beginning. but as you talk more you'll need to get comfortable and open up, otherwise there's no room for friendship. that just contradicted what I said earlier yikes okay

- don't leave a comment saying "hey can we be friends" and then don't act on it. seriously that is annoying, like comment sure, but then email or something k



Like said before, it will be awkward. You won't find things to talk about. So here are some conversation starters, questions, and not odd things that you can talk about. 

1) Your top 5 ____ (TV show, bands, etc)
2) Your skills. 
3) Ask each other life questions, advice, etc. 
4) Why did you become friends? Talk about the reason?
5) Blogging, or however you met. 
6) Your aesthetic
7) Conspiracy theories?
8) Something you've always been curious about.
9) Something weird you've done. 
10) Maybe discuss a blog post of their's that you related to.


This isn't much of a disclaimer but I am not an expert on making friends?? In fact I barely know how, I'm more feeding you what I've learned, like the ropes. I'm an awkward mess when it comes to interaction, maybe you shouldn't be taking tips from me.. oKAY bYe

And this isn't a disclaimer either but if you ever want a friend I want to be your friend I love friends, friends are wonderful. I would love it. You can like email me or comment or something I don't know cool yeah I'd love to be friends, in short. 



I HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND IF MY RAMBLES AND STUFF HELPED !!



tell me if you have any friends here in the internet world and maybe how you met them? or maybe a blogger who you'd love to be friends with! 


Thanks for reading,
Noor

(previewing this I realize how massive this post is I'm sorry)

Tuesday

Characters Book Tag

Hello everyone! I'm horrible at intros so we're just going to save that awkwardness. Basically I found this tag on one of my favorite booktuber's (Youtubers that talk about books, fairly self explanatory) channels, the Characters Tag! It looked simple, and looked fun, and was about book characters, so why not. Onto the questions.

This tag was originally created by MariaMuses on Youtube. Check her out, she's amazing :D






Yikes this one is hard, I feel like I have to go with my fave, Isabelle Lightwood just because she never lets me down with how strong and brave she is. This choice is really simple because most of the people I know have read TMI and it may be kind of lame and there are so so many other characters but I feel like Isabelle takes the cake honestly she is fAvE 


Again, a hard one because I feel like somewhere in a book, every single character can get on my nerves but sigh. 

i'm kidding this was not hard, KAVINSKI FROM THE RAVEN CYCLE. I swear, every single part that he was in made me want to shoot myself he was so. annoying. EVERYTHING THAT I COULD HATE ABOUT A CHARACTER COULD BE SMASHED INTO KAVINSKI. 

Drugs? Check. BEING ANNOYING TO THE MAX? check. Abusing his powers? Check. Betraying everybody? Check. Basically almost not helping at all? Check. Being a word I can't say for various reasons but I hope you know what I'm talking about? Check. 

For real, the only reason I could stand this guy is because he had a dragon okay cool. 


which character would i date? that's like choosing between my children what. It's like a tie between 2 people honestly like there's that one character in each book who I'd love to date but sigh here goes. 

Draco Malfoy - Harry Potter: i mean, obviously like, ??? where's the explanation? I don't need one.
Jem Carstairs - The Infernal Devices: yikeyikeyikeyike I'm still on the last book but I love Jem so much so so so much like please he is SO sweet and is just the best I love him marry me and I swear Tessa is going to break his heart and I'm going to cry no

i thought there would be more but really I ship people more with other people than with myself bye


I wanted to choose a different character but there's one character that's just stuck on my mind that I can't pick a different person and that's Clary from the Mortal Instruments. she made. so. many. bad. decisions. Especially in City of Ashes like girl do you not have consideration for anyone around you?? 

It's not that I hate Clary, no, she's fine honestly, moreso in the last two books but in the beginning she was so annoying and just a bad main character for a while. She got her head straight, after like 4 books. 


you know i had to put a lunar chronicles thing on here somewhere. I'm choosing Levana from TLC because I DESPISED HER LIKE 100%. I hated her more than Voldemort. She was horrible I mean everything about her. 

But I loved hating her, I could actually stand her but I loved laughing when she failed and yelling at her through the book series i loved it and I'm not going to lie, she was a great villain, just a horrible one.


MAL FROM THE GRISHA SERIES I REPEAT MAL MAL MAL MAL MAL MAL MAL MAL. ahem. I LOVED HIM he was so great and even though at the end he got a little bit shaky and serious, Alina always brought out the best in him and Mal always got Alina back on track, especially when the Darkling was like dragging her in. 

Romantic or not, the friendship between Mal and Alina will always be fave especially because i just lOVE Mal and I can't 100% explain why IJUSTLOVEHIM 



oh great now what. you expect me to choose my favorite romantic relationship? are you sure? 

*takes in breath* *opens window* *screams* SIZZY SIZZY SIZZY (simon and isabelle - TMI) *gasp* JESSA JESSA JESSA (jem and tessa - TID) *double gasp* KAIDER KAIDER KAIDER (cinder and kai - TLC) 



if you love characters and tags, this tag is for you, therefore i tag you woohoo. 

I hope you excuse the mess of caps locks I created with answers to all of these questions, i kind of let it all out. 

I'll probably come back and cringe at this in a couple months. or in a couple hours.


Thanks for reading,
Noor

Sunday

Beautiful People - May

Hello everyone! Today I'm linking up with Cait @ Paper Fury and Sky @ Further Up and Further In for Beautiful People, a monthly link-up for writers to answer questions about their characters and books. I've truly always wanted to try this out, hopefully not fail because I have barely finished planning my WIP but nonetheless, let us begin.

Today's post is featuring my personal favorite character, Jeanna. It's about time you got to meet her, and her, how do I put this, fiery (?) personality. She's a secondary character, the main character's best friend. And she is a master, basically take Isabelle Lightwood and add Hermione Granger's wits and you've got Jeanna.



How often do they smile? Would they smile at a stranger?
Jeanna rarely smiles, she maintains a "I don't really care whatsoever" face 24/7. She takes pride in this, for she truly does not care whatsoever. Once in a blue moon, you can catch her with a smirk after a ruthless battle, but the only person who can actually make her smile is Vert (main character) . And Jeanna does not take pride in this. Smiling at a stranger? That's funny. Jeanna wouldn't show any emotion whatsoever around a stranger, who cares how she's feeling, and why should they care? Nothing but sass around strangers, maybe the occasional smirk, once again. But never anything more. Heck, she never smiles around her friends, much less a stranger.

What is the cruelest thing they’ve ever been told? And what was their reaction?
Jeanna's life is sadly a web of cruelty, she was abandoned, left in the outer skirts to stay, fend for herself. The saddest thing perhaps, is her mother's last words to her, telling Jeanna to never come find them, that she will stay away from them, the center of the web of cruelty. Her reaction, as a 7 year old, was of course, tears. As a 16 year old, depression. Jeanna is not an emotional person, on the outside. But words, actions, hit her like rocks, ripping her apart in many ways, but of course, she'd never show it. The only thing she can tell herself to do is listen to her mother, and never go back to them, no matter how much her heart aches to do so.

What is the kindest thing they’ve ever been told? And what was their reaction?
She really doesn't know, although, most likely every word Vert has said to her. No one is necessarily kind to her, they're more intimidated by her, and because of this, they avoid speaking to her. Vert was always different, he found a way to say something kind to her every day.  

She never had a reaction, maybe a roll of the eyes, or a shake of the head. Inside, however, was like a
geyser, exploding of emotions. She always loved hearing compliments for him, it was always a boost to her self-esteem, making her feel good. A bad day went away from hearing his voice, his daily "Looking great in your gear!" or "New eyeliner?". And he never forgot, the best part of it all. He never forgot to make her happy.

What is one strong memory that has stuck with your character from childhood? Why is it so powerful and lasting?
Pretty much the day Jeanna's parents left her. It was unforgettable, it was the day her life changed, she took on a different personality, a different life. In some ways, it was good for her, she learned how to be strong. But she would never recover from the loss, she didn't know whether her parents were alive or not, or how they were doing without her, or why they even left her. The memory left a black splotch on her life, something that could not be removed easily, or maybe ever.

What book (a real actual published book!) do you think your character would benefit from reading?
Oh gosh, this is a hard question. I feel like she's already a fairly strong character, and I don't think a whole book in general, but just the part of HP and the Deathly Hallows where Hermione has to leave her parents so they would be safe? I feel like she could learn a lot from that, and realize that perhaps her parents left her to save her.

Have they ever been seriously injured? How severely? How did they react?
Jeanna gets injured fairly often on Hunts and during training, although once she did receive a giant gash to the foot, via a long sword, and delivered by a training rival. In any normal case, that would have been a reason to amputate her foot, but in Jeanna's case, she healed it within days, somehow. Once again, almost no reaction, a couple loud cries, and sharp inhaling because of pain. No tears however, it seems as if she lost the ability to cry years ago.

Do they like and get along with their neighbours?
Jeanna doesn't like anyone but Felix (another side character) and Vert. Literally. If anyone else even tries to interact with her, they get the ultimate sass machine.

On a scale from 1 to 10 (1 being easy and 10 being difficult) how easy are they to get along with?
Is 11 an option? Jeanna is an extremely bitter person and unless you're strong and like her, or you're Felix or Vert, she couldn't care less about you. She often compares herself to coffee. The strong kind.

If they could travel anywhere in the world, where would they go?
She says Mount Glory, to cleanse herself and possibly find renewal. But deep down inside, she would choose wherever her parents were, even when considering her mother's warning.

Who was the last person they held hands with?
*laughs*  INTERACTION WITH OTHERS? yeah no.



That was Jeanna for you, what a character. (badum tiss) I (hopefull) did not fail, it's quite difficult to tap into your character's brain and figure out what they would say, especially when you're still getting to know them.

*sighs* back to plotting.

Thanks for reading,
Noor

Tuesday

Reading Slumps - The Downfall of My TBR



Hello everyone! I am currently in a crisis, a TBR crisis. And not just any old TBR crisis, the casual "too-many-books-to-read" crisis, no. This is a "I don't have many books on my TBR but I can't get through this one darned book" crisis.

I mean, don't get me wrong, I love the current book I'm reading. It's thrilling and wonderful, and I'm in love with this series and all the characters in it. I can't just get into it. I'm not really pushing myself to pick up the book and read it, it's like I just can't bring myself to read anything??

Do I have a final reason why? Absolutely not. But what do you do when you can't come up with a reason? You make a list! Or maybe I'm just a list making freak. Nonetheless, I'm going to make a list, because why not. I am 110% horrible at introducing lists I'm literally cringing but I can't change it.

I literally just finished an amazing series.

I decided to get back into the Infernal Devices series right after I finished the Raven King, aka the last book in one of my favorite books of all time. And I was literally emotionally dead after reading it, the way it ended and all of the things and the fact that it was over, killed me inside. 

Getting connected with new characters (somewhat) and a new plot, etc is always difficult after being so attached to a whole series. You just find yourself wanting to go back to that other series and you can't get into this whole new series/book. Some may call it a "book hangover", basically you are still living in the other book's world. 



I want to read so many other books as well.

THERE ARE SO MANY BOOKS I WANT TO READ. I went on a book haul (an enormous book haul) and bought too. many. books. But they're all amazing books that I just really want to read and it kills me. I stare at those books throughout the day, and they're sitting there, fresh pages, waiting for me to read them and (hopefully) thoroughly enjoy them. But I also really want to finish Clockwork Angel and the rest of the Infernal Devices before I dive into these books like ???

Books are intimidating, and when you realize that you have a lot of books to read, it also becomes intimidating. And exciting, And stressful. Being a bookworm takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions. There's too many wonderful, gorgeous books to read and how do I read them all?


me looking at my TBR


The world is against me.

The universe does not want to me to read this book. I am not joking, this book is like a positive magnet and so am I and same sides do not attract. I left the book at home 5 times which means I couldn't read at school. I also left it on the bus a couple times. I have had NO time to read these past few days and it is the tenth day of May and I have not finished a single book yet. This is the downfall of my TBR. 

Do you ever want to read a lot, but you have absolutely no time? Like you want to pick up that book so bad but you have other commitments, yeah that's 100% me right now. 



In conclusion, reading slumps - s u c k. how will I ever get through this. I'm gonna go read now. 


How often do you have reading slumps? What are your reasons for reading slumps? And for the benefit of all of us, how do you get through reading slumps?


Thanks for reading,
Noor

Sunday

The Sunday Sunshine #3 - Reading Slumps + New WIP

Hello everyone! And happy Mother's Day to my American friends, of course, I woke up at 5 am to get my mom breakfast in bed so I am crazy tired.

But happy Sunday as well, and since it is Sunday and I haven't done one of these since March, why not put together a little Sunday Sunshine. Or just a week wrap-up if you'd like.

- TATINOF WAS THIS WEEKEND? I mean not yesterday a week from today BUT tHAT cOunTS RIGHT. It was so great I was crying and screaming. I was also dead Monday morning but it was all worth the emotional damage and jerk in my sleeping schedule..

- I was not dead this week, I went places, I actually didn't sit there and play the Sims all day. (okay somewhat but not completely)

- Of course, today is Mother's Day but I'm 98% sure that everyone is asleep so we still got a long way to go until we go out today.
- Let's see: what have been I reading this week? Nothing! LITERALLY IN SUCH A GINORMOUS READING SLUMP SINCE THE RAVEN KING IT'S SO HARD. 

I can't bring myself to pick up Clockwork Angel and I need to because I have way too many books to read ugh, I really need help. 

- In other news, I brought myself to write a review for the Raven King on Goodreads, I'll probably put it up on the blog within the next couple weeks but you can find it here.

- I want to finish Clockwork Angel this week and maybe try for another book as well. 
- I started writing my WIP this week! And I got two whole chapters done :))) yay. 

Only two chapters? Yes, because halfway through writing the third one, I realized that maybe some planning might need to be done. Gr. 

So I'm planning on planning (hah.) this week, just a bit, you know, basic outlines for each chapter, maybe starting up a Pinterest board or something. As you can see, I don't have much experience with planning. That's most likely the reason why my last two WIPs have failed. Yes this is probably a good idea.
- yikes.. two posts this week, could've done better but that's alright, I'll figure it out. Hopefully.

- I ALSO HIT 150 FOLLOWERS !! Thank you guys ahh I'm so happy, highlight of the week so far.

- I also suck at commenting like I almost never comment which is sad and I really need to do it and stop being lazy I apologize I'm horrible

I POSTED THIS WEEK 


FAVORITE POSTS OF THE WEEK

- The Raven King Review from Kynndra @ Diva Booknerd 
- 6 Things I Wish Non-Writers Would Stop Saying To Me from Imogen @ Gossiping with Dragons
- How Can I Feel Good About My Writing? from Abbie @ Abbiee 
- 5 Essentials You Need for Efficient Studying from Catalina @ The Lunar Descent 

- - - -


This was short, but nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed. 


How has your week been? What were the highlights? What are some of your tricks for getting over those dreaded reading slumps? Help me. 

Thanks for reading,
Noor

Friday

smells like mysteries

it's funny how it smells like mysteries, 
waiting to be solved.

in fact, the whole thing in itself is a mystery isn't it?
i don't think it ever will be solved.

i don't think it wants to be solved. 
i don't think that i want to solve it. 

i'll keep it my own mystery. 
smelling like a mystery, feeling like a mystery.

i'll live it like a mystery. 

or maybe it's a secret, that will never be told.
a secret that will never need to be told. 

people don't have to know about mysteries, and they don't always have to be solved, do they?

it's funny how this mystery. this enigma. this secret feels strangely like, home.

~Noor

in fact this whole thing was a mystery, what is this? no one will know. where did it come from? again, no one will know. 
maybe i'll just keep that my own little secret. have a great weekend guys :)

Monday

May, I've Missed You

Hello everyone! And happy May! I love May, it's just a pleasant spring month, flowers, almost the end of school, and it's just a warm, sweet month. except for bugs. *shudders* Anyway, as usual I will be doing my May Goals and not so intimidating TBR. 

You know, last month I learned something about creating TBRs. Don't make them too big. My TBR last month consisted of 5 books, and I read all of them and 3 more. Having a smaller TBR gives you more freedom in reading, so you will most likely read more books, and that's always fantastic. 

watch me read like 3 books this month.



Read everything on my TBR - I did this last month, so I can do it this month, right? It's not too much and I have 4/5 of the books on my list. If I cannot do this, I will seriously shame myself.

Have 150 friends! - Not in real life of course, imagine 150 friends I mean how would you handle that? How would you keep in contact with all of those friends? How would you "entertain" them all? (literally how I feel with the blog) 

But 150 GFC followers which I am so close to I could s c r e a m. It feels like yesterday that I hit 100. time flies. I mean MAY OF 2016? It'll be 2017 before we know it. wow. 

Write 10,000 words - To some people, like all those productive, amazing writers that I follow, this won't seem like a lot. But I procrastinate, a lot. 10k during a non-NaNo month will be a great achievement for me. 

I'm just really scared that I'm going to lose my plot, like I did with the other two WIPs I have. Where did the plot go? Oh, somewhere in the wind, never to be seen again. 

*cries*

DON'T BE SO LAZY - in April my life was: do homework, eat, play sims, repeat. why didn't I do anything? I'm too lazy and skdkffifflgkdgjdgg. This month I will practice violin everyday, go to every practice, exercise more, write a lot, etc. yes. I can do it. 

i really love Mulan, what about you


I've decided to not put my TBR in posts because it's on my sidebar, i don't know, it might change but for now I've decided not to. cool. not really cool what am i doing okay i'm gonna go. 


Let me know what your May Goals are and what you want to read this month! 


Thanks for reading,
Noor