Jon’s Creator Showcase, August Edition, the final post!

Hi everyone! It’s the end of August, and after a full month of reading posts, we have reached the final and I guess what everyone was waiting for! First off I have to say that I already knew we have some talented people on WordPress, but after this month I am impressed even more. That said, I have had an enormous amount of entries to process, and that made making the decision to see who was going to be featured in this final post incredibly hard. Even if your post hasn’t made it here, just know that it’s only because it would be impossible for me to have every entry featured (that would mean a post of maybe more than ten thousand words, not exactly fun to read anymore). But rest assured everyone who entered a post this month totally showed their A-game. So, before we start let’s first see again what the showcase is all about. And let’s not forget to thank Jon who started this whole project in the first place!

The Goals:

• Give exposure to both the host & creators who submit content to the showcase.
• Highlight a wide variety of content including written word, art, video, audio, etc…
• Allow for all creators, regardless of skill or current recognition, to participate and share their creations.
• Encourage involvement from creators across all platforms.
• Offer a fun and interactive way for people to discover new and interesting creations.
• Inspire growth and exploration for both the host and creators.

This project has really grown into something incredible, and it’s truly amazing to see how much everyone has embraced it. Next month the Creator Showcase will be hosted by Fueledbysmiling so everyone look forward to that!. Now, let’s get to the good stuff! I decided to feature twenty posts in total here, and trust me, it was a really, really tough challenge to select the ones to be featured here. I have purposefully decided to mix things up here instead of just categorising them, as they simply all deserve a read! So..withou further ado, let’s get started.

Blogging is Hard!- Arthifis’ Place

1. I think it’s very safe to say, that we all have trouble with blogging at times. As much fun as it is (and let’s face it, we all would not be here if it wasn’t), there are times when you just wonder why you do it in the first place. Your stats might be dropping, or you find other reasons to just make it harder for you. Arthifis has written a fantastic post for this subject, while at the same time motivating us all to keep going at it. Truly a post that everyone, new bloggers or veterans alike, should read.

Possibly Unknown Free Streaming Services

2. We all live in different parts of the world, and not everyone might have as much access to anime, as some other people do. So, that’s where Scott’s post comes in. It offers some great help in finding some new, and free streaming sites, that not everyone might have yet heard from. I for one hardly knew any of them and I think that anyone who loves anime and has trouble finding where to watch it, should truly check out this amazing post!

My One-Hundred Eleven Favorite Games!

3. Ah…nostalgia! I think everyone, well at the very least pretty much all of you, has at some point or another encountered video games. And as in most things, there will be games that you truly loved, and others that you truly hated. TheWellredmage has put together an absolutely amazing list of games that should contain something for everyone. I loved the amount of work and love that was put into this list, and it really brought back some great memories for me, from the time when I played videogames. This is truly a wonderful post, which everyone that has some love for videogames, should check out.

Bioshock Infinite

4. Speaking of computergames, Bioshock was a gameseries that back in the day I enjoyed quite a lot. In fact Bioshock Infinite was one of the final games I played before I quit gaming. Now, I did not choose Red Metal’s post on it, because I loved the game. No, I chose it because it’s one of the most comprehensive, well researched and quite frankly best reviews I have ever read on a game. Period. The amount of details and background this post has is absolutely astounding, and it really shows of the talent that this blogger has.

Free Bookish Blogger Templates For Scheduling and Statistics

5. Now, for those of you that know me, you know that I pretty much have no blogging schedule whatsoever. With my job it would just add to much pressure, and I know that I would not be able to stick to it anyway. But I also know that a lot of you do love to keep order, statistics and stuff like that and that’s where Kaleena’s fantastic post comes in. It offers free and easy to use spreadsheets to keep track of your blogging schedule, books you have read, and statistics on them. While it focusses on books, they can be adapted to be used for pretty much anything and I really think this will be a great help to a lot of you out there!

Review: Girl Made of Stars

6. Writing a review for something is hard. As my own blog mainly deals with reviews, I think I can safely say that the hardest thing about reviews is making it a good read and at the same provide the reader with what to expect from whatever you are reviewing. The Bookish chick wrote a review for the novel Girl made of Stars, that almost read like a book. It really was that good. This novel deals with some very tough subjects, but the way she presents her review for it, and her writing style is just very engaging. So, go ahead and check it out already!

Spending an Afternoon Following a Trust

7. Sometimes a blogger surprises you, and then there are bloggers that always surprise you. We all know Irina from her terrific posts about anime, but this is an entirely different post than that we are used to from her. It is a review for a book and a very well written review at that. This was an important post for her, and it shows, as it really has a lot of heart in it. At the end of the post she asks us: “ So, how did I do for a first time?” (As this is her first book review). Really? Did she even have to ask?

Fraggle-Reports St. Albans Cathedral-May 2018

8. There are a lot of wonderful places to visit in the world, and a lot that also contain a very rich history. The way to discover these places is by reading up on them. Pictures work well too of course. So why not combine the both of them and make it even more engaging?  Fraggle does just that, by giving us a post that describes in great detail (and also with a touch of wonderful humor) the history of St. Albans Cathedral. The finishing touch however is provided by her incredible photography skills. I so want to head over there now!

In Defense of Crunkcore Music

9. So, we almost did not get this post because Lethargic Ramblings was convinced he did not write anything worth showcasing. Luckily both Jon and myself managed to persuade him to enter this one as it’s totally terrific. I don’t listen to music much anymore these days, but this post brings us a genre of music that I myself had never heard of. Even though I admitted that I don’t really care for this style, it’s still a post that is a truly engaging read, and a it shows that a lot of time and effort went into creating this post. And who knows? It might even introduce you to a style of music that you end up liking very much!

Gaming-People’s Reactions and Actions

10. As much fun as gaming can be, there are times when it can have a negative effect on some people. And it becomes even worse when people get hurt in the process. Leave it up to Lina to once again provide us with a post that touches upon a subject that has been the source of debate for a long time. And write a post that is not only very well written, which should not really be a real surprise anymore, but it also provides us with a lot of food for thought in the process.

Why Book Blurbs are important

11. So you know that old saying, “you can’t judge a book by it’s cover?” That is so true. I guess we have all been tempted once in a while by a beautiful cover on a novel and went out to buy, without even knowing what the book is about. Which is why Charvi wrote a post about why it’s so important for a book to have a blurb. You know one of those things that just provide a short synopsis of what a book is about. She writes a convincing, and also quite funny post about it, and I really had a blast reading this one.

While you were sleeping// K-drama review

12. More and more people are (luckily) discovering the world of K-dramas. It’s a truly fantastic world to enter as well, as it contains something for everyone. Even though my own love for these dramas is well known, that’s not the reason that I have included Sumedha’s post on the Korean drama series While you were sleeping. No, I have decided to feature this one on the showcase because it really is more than just a review. It offers us things about the story itself, the characters, but also points out plotholes and even includes some music clips. All in all, it’s a very fun, and just great read.

“Know Yourself” A Reflection on Arthifis’ Post on Personality

13. Okay, officially I should not have allowed this entry, as it’s a post that was published on the 1st of August, and thus is not from July. As we are talking about only one day, and considering the fact that it’s such a good post I decided to include CuriouslyDeadCat’s post anyway. It shows exactly what blogging is all about, by taking advice from fellow blogger Arthifis, the original post is taken one step further. It provides us with a gread read on why it’s so important to be yourself on your blog, and CuriouslyDeadCat’s own take on that. I love the fact that it’s one of those posts that really make you think, while at the same time letting you grow as blogger.

The tale of a broken friendship between a Monkey and a Crow

14. I think that one of the best things in this world is a good friendship. And I don’t think anyone would ever disagree with that (and the ones that do, probably have no heart lol). Mel wrote a truly beautiful post about the (broken) friendship between Fushimi and Yate from the manga Lost Small World which is part of the K-Project. I havent’ read the manga myself, nor have I seen the anime, but after having read this, I truly regret that. It’s a powerful post, and one that totally explores a lot of the facets that truly define the words friendship.

Terry Pratchett Read-a-thon: Book 1-The Colour of Magic

15. We all know that reading books is fun. But how much more fun is reading books with other people! We all know about Watch-a-longs, but Read-a-thon’s is something that I haven’t heard much of. Leave it up to the wonderful Nicole to start up a read-a-thon for a whopping 41 book series by author Terry Pratchett. This is the first review for that book, and as usual it is expertly written with the trademark humor Nicole is famous for. I liked the entire idea behind this read-a-thon as it’s another great example of how much fun blogging can be, when you are joined by other people. And the great thing is: you can still join in at any time for this one!

Assortment of Confusing Manga Titles

16. Sometimes you just need a fun post to read as well, and this is certainly one of them. Magicconan14 (Aria) gives us, as the title suggests an Assortment of Confusing Manga Titles. And they are confusing indeed: what do you think about: Dead Dead Demons Dededede Destruction??? Confused yet?? I really enjoyed reading this one, and had a blast to make sense of some of the titles. (And totally failing of course) But let’s not forget to say that this post was put together really well!

Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms

17. Movies can be very powerful things. Whether they are animated or live-action, they can often evoke emotional responses that are just as strong as the ones you have in real life. Ayano gives us an amazing post about a film, that because of this post I very much want to see. Her writing is able to strike a chord that immediately gives the reader a very vivid picture of what this film is all about. Which apparently is take you on an emotional rollercoaster. And when a post is already able to give you that feeling, I guess that really tells you a lot about the skill with which this post was written.

Lostorage Conflated WIXOSS Review & Series Retrospective

 

18. Sometimes it is hard to get in anime series when it’s been running for a while. Especially when it has had multiple seasons/versions. As is well known by those of you that know me, I haven’t had a good track record of keeping up with anime, and the Wixoss series is one of those shows that I have been wanting to check out for a while now. Leave it up to Jon (yes THAT Jon) to write a post that not only reviews the latest incarnation, but also gives us a great overview of the entire franchise as whole. This fantastic post is a great starting point for anyone who ever wanted to start with this series.

YA is Maturing & It’s Good!

19. One of the more popular genres in books these days is the Young Adult (YA) genre. But as is quite common when things are popular, there are also people that when it tries to take things into a perfectly natural direction, they seem determined to find it morally objectionable. Amber’s wonderful post gives us a clear and wonderful depiction of why it’s perfectly normal to have things like cursing and sex in these kind of books. I love it when a post tackles a much talked about subject, and isn’t afraid to stand up for it too. Amber’s post simply succeeds on all points!

Friday’s Feature: The Truth About Blogging

20. The last post for this month’s showcase, but certainly not the least is written by someone who need no introduction: Karandi. In this post, Karandi let’s us know exactly how to raise your blog, and care for it. It might sound strange, but for many of us, myself included, our blogs are very important to us. Just like a pet, it needs care, and loving to keep it going. This wonderful post that should be read by everyone that has a blog, or is considering to maybe start one. It really is a truly terrific read, that let’s us know that blogging is hard work…and I guess in a roundabout way, looking a the first post in this feature, that brings us full circle.

If you have made it down to the end: thank you so much for being with me troughout this post! I have had enormous fun putting it together and I hope that you will enjoy checking all of these posts out!