The Cryton Chronicles

While Blog Hops are similar to Blog Series and may take place on any and/or all of the blogs featured on The Cryton Chronicles, they are not exclusive to the site. Blog Hops consist of a host creating a blogging event/series, which anyone wishing to participate in may do so. The name derives from the fact that everyone within the community of said series/prompt tries to visit, read, and comment on each others posts. The rules, subject matter, and scheduling of a Blog Hop differs greatly from host to host.

These are a great way to meet many of the other writers out there in the Blogosphere! If lucky, sometimes you can even create long-lasting relationships which extend beyond the world of the internet. At the very least, it makes for great networking.

I will be listing the Blog Hops I've participated in throughout the years and giving a brief explanation of what each entailed. I'll also try to cite the ones that are still active, just in case you would like to explore them yourself!

10 Things of thankful
(I, Jak)

Life can really suck sometimes. We all experience the trials and hardships the Universe throws our way and it can be very commonplace to get dragged down into the muck. Being negative is easy. 10 Things of Thankful, however, was designed to help appreciate the positive and to express gratitude for the things many of us take for granted.

Created by Lizzi of Considerings, this blog hop is an excellent exercise in identifying and being Thankful for what you have in life. It's important to remember to do this even when things look grim. Maybe even more so than when things are going well. It can really change your perception! I believe this blog hop is still active, even though over the months (or years) I've drifted away from it. Not from disinterest, mind you. Check it out and you may well find that you have much more to be Thankful for than you realize!

a to z challenge
(all blogs)

The A to Z Challenge is an annual blogging challenge — and blog hop — in which participants attempt to write a blog post every day in April (except Sundays), each day featuring a topic corresponding to a letter in the alphabet, starting with A and ending at Z. I don't know much about the creator of the challenge, Arlee Bird, but I do know it always brings me back to the Blogosphere!

While I have generally only done the challenge on my I, Jak blog, this year [2016] I went all out and participated on all four of my blogs (Generation Jak, Dreams in the Shade of Ink, Meta MTG). Having a theme helps a lot for the challenge and I may utilize that technique going forward, because it can get really stressful, really fast, if you don't have a game plan. Despite this, I'd recommend checking it out, especially if a blogger, as it is a great way to potentially network with a lot of people!

blog every day in may challenge
(i, jak)

Blog Every Day in May (BEDiM or BEDM) was a random blog hop challenge I learned about from a fellow blogger. It was the first year it went live and although a brutal engagement after just completing the A to Z Challenge, I dove right in. It is organized by a blogger named Elizabeth (weird, I thought it was Jennifer or something) over at her blog Rosalilium. I honestly haven't followed the blog beyond the blog hop, but it looks to be focused on lifestyle. Elizabeth would post writing prompts for each day, which participants would follow, so there was always a theme for every entry.

It was a lot of fun and I met a handful of bloggers throughout the event! I was going to mark this blog hop challenge as defunct, because I swore when looking to participate again in 2014 (the first being in 2013), I couldn't find any relevant information. It appeared to have been a one-hit wonder. I decided to double check as writing this, however, and lo and behold it was still in business! Color me shocked. So read up on it and see if it's a challenge you'd like to participate in! I may have to do the same next year.

Just to clarify, upon further investigation (and reading my own entries), there are multiple Blog Every Day in May Challenges (or were). The one that I participated in was at Story of My Life (The Blog), which seems to be no longer active, so credit definitely goes to that site for my introduction. However, the information above still pertains as it is an active blog hosting the challenge! This was also a lifestyle blog and may address the additional confusion over the years trying to participate again!

Twisted Mix-Tape Tuesday
(i, Jak)

Twisted Mix-Tape Tuesday was hosted by a blogger named Jen over at her blog My Skewed View, which seems to be a journal blog, sharing her day to day experiences, challenges, and triumphs. I only participated in this blog hop once or twice, but I wanted to highlight it both because it was a lot of fun and because I love music.

I believe each entry had a different prompt and/or theme attached to it revolving around music, so there was always the high probability that you would stumble upon a song and/or artist you may have otherwise never heard of. It was a great way to be introduced into the newly discovered (to you) material and learn just how passionate the individuals participating in the blog hop were about their selections. Unfortunately, I believe Twisted Mix-Tape Tuesday is no longer active, but I definitely thought it was worthwhile mentioning!

Keep checking back for more information about Blog Hops that become added over time! If you see one you think you may enjoy, I highly recommend checking it out and joining its community!