Tag: Blogging

Posted in Blogging

Free Pictures for Your Site

Posted on by Shaily Agrawal

It has been around eleven months since I started this blog. At 290 posts, it is a little less than a post a day. Most of these posts are accompanied with amazing free pictures from Unsplash.com.

What I never tell is that nearly half the times, the stories are photo-prompt.

A lot of times when I am struggling for an idea, I go and check the website, save some pictures with photographer credits. And let the idea stew…After, say a few seconds or may be a couple of months, I reopen the photo and bingo! I have a new story!

So, I wanted to thank Unsplash for the awe-inspiring and story-inspiring images. I would encourage all of you to use this website to make your site look even more amazing.

  • No payment is required.
  • Crediting the photographer is not required, but still I’d do that to encourage photographers.
  • You can download low resolution pictures from the download option to save site space.

Please note that I get no money from the site to advertise for them. But I can never thank them enough.

Posted in Blogging

Invitation for Guest Posts

Posted on by Shaily Agrawal

This is an invitation to all blog writers. If you love to write, or live to write, or write to live, or write for a living, please be my guest.

Working alone can get lonely sometimes.

I love company. Be my partner in crime.

My offer: My site gets 500+ views per month and a variety of readership from around 40+ countries, majorly from India, Australia, UK, Ireland, USA, Spain, Nigeria, Malta and Pakistan. The story with a link to your site is a chance to woo my 150+ followers to check and follow your site. 

Challenge: Write an engaging post:

  • In English.
  • In around 100 words (10 lines) and/or one picture.
  • In one of the following genres: Poetry; Story; Memoir; Random thought.

Rules:

  • The final verdict on whether the post will be published on my site lies with me. I am not very picky but I share only what I enjoy.
  • The piece must be something you wrote.
  • It could be fresh or already published on your site or another.
  • I will not edit it.
  • Do not share a graphic post. Using obscene language or theme is a strict “No”.

Modus Operandi:

  • Do not send a link to the post.
  • Write/Paste it on the email and send it to shailygrwl@gmail.com
  • Attach pics separately. Do not send more than 1 image.
  • Send the link to your website, if you wish.

Since I am a working mother, I may take around a week to respond. I will try to get back to you as soon as possible.

So, put on your writing cap. See you around, Partner.

Posted in Random Thoughts

150+ Followers, 250+ Stories

Posted on by Shaily Agrawal

I just wanted to celebrate a moment of small victories. Fish in the trees now has 150+ WordPress followers! 😁

Wooohoooooo!

I also crossed the mark of 250 stories a couple of weeks back. 😎 (My ‘poetry’ is simply ‘stories with rhytm’.)

To think that I had never written stories before, except for English language assignment, I would have considered this feat impossible 10 months back when I started this blog. 😊

It calls for a celebration. In the spirit of the worldwide lockdown, I am sharing food online (Vegetarian only). 😇

Take your pick.

🧀🍔🍟🍕🌮🌯🥙🥘🍲🥗🍿🍱

🍨🍩🎂🍰🍫🍬🍭🍧🍦🍮

Enjoy!

Posted in Random Thoughts

1000 Likes…Woohoo!

Posted on by Shaily Agrawal

New Year just got better! I was just notified that this blog has received 1000 likes!

I had never dreamt of reaching this goal when I started off. I had just hoped that someone somewhere might read it someday.

The best part is that there is a small but steady stream of people who read it, which is beautiful in itself.

I have also found some great friends, on WordPress and outside because of this blog. We critique each other’s work, share daily tales. I thank Almighty for bringing it all to me.

Thank you all for making it possible.

Posted in Random Thoughts

100 WordPress Followers!

Posted on by Shaily Agrawal

WOOHOOOOOO! 🥳

100 followers on WordPress! What a wonderful New Year present! I want to thank all my WordPress followers. 🤗

Our current stats stand at 2700+ views, 1100+ visitors, 197 posts, 19000+ words (average 97 words per post), 918 Likes, and 280 Comments—all in 7 months! Which is AWESOME! I bow down to you, O Mighty Reader! 🙇‍♂️

Why having you around means so much? Because you are not following me out of the obligation of being family or friends. You genuinely liked my post and decided that I was worth your time. So, thank you! 🤗

Just so that you know, my only follower at home is my two-year-old daughter. 😋

I also want to thank anyone who chose to read my posts, even if they decided that they were not good enough to follow. You give me a reason to improve. Feel free to critique my writing on comments section. You can challenge or discuss the issues I raise through my stories. Let me know if you don’t agree, and we can agree to disagree. 😉

I love hearing from you! 🥰

Thank God it’s Friday, so I am celebrating tonight! Wish to join? 🥂 There is Pizza 🍕, Tacos 🌮, Noodles 🍜, and Donuts 🍩 on the menu (so that I can cover several continents in one go, just like my readership 😉).

WOOHOO again!

Posted in Blogging

Free images on Unsplash

Posted on by Shaily Agrawal

I wanted to thank the team of Unsplash.com for the free images I have been using recently. They have turned the look of my posts around and I am forever grateful.

For all bloggers out there, please check out the site. It is free, effective and easy to use. Crediting is also not mandatory but helps show your appreciation for the wonderful photo artists out there.

Disclaimer: I am not getting anything for promoting this website except satisfaction.

Photo made available freely @unsplash by Fuu J 

Posted in Fiction

150 Posts Old!

Posted on by Shaily Agrawal

Yeeeeeeeee! When I started, I wondered if I will hit the 50 stories mark. My only hope was that if I can create one crazy story a day for my daughter, I can do the same for my blog too. Now I have 150+ posts! And I have 15 stories lined up in the drafts! Whew!

Thank you all for reading!

Thank you all for liking and commenting!

I would invite you to provide more comments to let me know what could have been better. If you want to read something specific or provide any blog-related advice, write to me at shailygrwl@gmail.com.

Let’s party! Well… I am on healthy veggie diet this month, so… dig in!

Menu

Fruit salad: 🍎 🍐 🍊  🍌 🍉 🍇 🍓 🍈 🍒 🍑 🍍 🥭 🥝 with a sprinkling of 🍋

Baked vegetable: 🍅 🥦 🥒 🥬 🌶 🌽 🥕 with a sprinkling of 🍋

Two flavor of soups: 🍵 🥣

Bread: 🍕 🥪 🥙 🌮 🌯 🥗 (because if a Pizza, sandwich, burritto, taco, roll or noodles are loaded with veggies, I consider it healthy too) 

Icecreams, cake, pastries and muffins: 🍧 🍨 🍦 🍰 🎂 🍮 (Come on! What’s a party without desserts?)

Again, let’s dig in! 😋

Posted in Fiction

Hurrrray! 500+ Likes

Posted on by Shaily Agrawal

It feels good to be liked for what I believe.

Thank you to all of you reading my posts. According to WordPress stats, I have 500+ Likes, 592 Visitors, 1600+ Views and 74 Followers.

Thank you to each one of you. Trust me, the fact that you visited my post is enough to make me happy. And letting me know that you liked it is a big deal for me.

I am unashamed to say that some of my posts did not get any Likes. But, it is all a process of learning. Honestly, until the month of June this year, I had 3 Likes in 8+ months and 0 Followers. So… The learning curve is definitely improving in the correct direction.

Let me know if there is anything I could do to improve further.

Now, where is that Pizza again! Cheers! 🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕