Beneath the Surface of Blogging with Rhys from Thirst for Fiction

Today's Beneath the Surface of Book Blogging post is coming from the lovely Rhys at Thirst For Fiction.

Rhys has been blogging since 2009/2010 loves books, reading and producing theatre. He hopes to have a career in publishing but in the mean time is loving reviewing for Thirst For Fiction. Thank you so much Rhys for taking the time out to come and talk to us over here!

How did you start blogging, were there any blogs you followed that got you thinking this was something you wanted to do?

I started blogging at the end of 2009, though "officially" I consider myself to have been blogging from 2010, which is when I started to take it seriously and found myself at ThirstForFiction - prior to that, I had spent a few months on a different name. Initially, I wasn't aware there was even such a thing as a UK book blogging community; back then it was pretty niche. It took me until late 2010 to discover it.

What do you hope you achieve through your blogging?

First and foremost I do it because I like doing it. But I also love meeting authors, publicists, editors and other book bloggers, so I definitely do it for those reasons too. Finally, I want to share my enthusiasm for books with as many people as possible!

What are the most rewarding parts of it for you?

Meeting authors, publishers and other bloggers. Definitely. I have a few stories I could tell ;)

And the most frustrating?

I don't get frustrated easily. I get really annoyed about people who think that good characters are likeable characters, which is completely wrong. Otherwise not much!

Have you had reading slumps/insecurities/times when you felt you weren't good enough and wanted to quit, and how did you pull yourself out of them?

I've never really had insecurities about myself, but I've definitely had reading slumps where I just haven't wanted to read. And that's okay. I used to get frustrated about this, but I've since come to realise that that doesn't help, so I just take some time off reading and do whatever else I want to do (Netflix!). Eventually, I'll be desperate to pick up a book again - and it's a great feeling to look forward to reading.

Have you taken a break from blogging at any point and if so how did you get back into it?

Not officially. There have been large gaps where I've been on holiday without internet, but I wouldn't really call that an intentional break. I still read a lot, I just didn't update my blog.

Any tips for dealing with the self imposed guilt that comes with a blogging and reading slump?

DON'T FEEL GUILTY! It's perfectly okay and normal to not want to read or blog. 

How do you manage to juggle life outside books and blogging?

I dunno. It all works out! I'm not a planner, I tend to just wing things. So last year, when I was studying and doing my A Levels, I was also blogging and producing a school play AND preparing to produce a student play. I didn't get super-duper grades (which I could have done), but hey, I had an AWESOME time. I guess it all depends where your priorities lie.

The blogging world is constantly evolving, any changes you'd like to see start to happen?

It's always hard to predict where things will go so I won't even try. I just hope we all stick together and have as much fun as possible!

Any advice for new and old bloggers alive, particularly if they are going through a down slump at the moment?

Do what you want, how you want to. Don't give a damn what anyone else says (unless you are plagiarizing or something stupid - then, seriously, stop!). Do what you enjoy and do it for yourself. And as for those slumps - well, we all get them and at some point, they all come to an end!

Don't forget to check out Thirst For Fiction
And follow Rhys on Twitter