Reorganizing My Website

For those of you who noticed a dramatic redesign of my website in the past few months, this post is long overdue. For those who haven’t noticed, well, now is as good a time as any to explain these changes.

As I began to update my blog more frequently, I slowly realized its old structure just wasn’t working anymore. I needed posts to be easier to find, and at the same time get organized in a way that both made sense and encompassed the wide variety of subjects I wrote about.

I decided to organize my posts around general themes, the majority of which would fall under “About” (for announcements, personal appearances, etc.), “Musings” (for my reviews and commentary), and “Explore” (for my travelogues). I retained separate categories for my fiction and photography, which really don’t fall under anything else.

Here’s a short explanation of my website’s new organization (click “more…” to expand the list):

About

• Announcements – Pretty self explanatory; a category for news about upcoming events, changes to my website, and new releases.
• Appearances – Video or articles about a public appearance, presentation, or interview.
• Press – Similar to “appearances,” but for everything else: articles written about me and/or my books and writing, or that I’ve been quoted in.

Musings

• Commentary – Opinion pieces about whatever topic interests me that day, usually politics but also news media and the film industry.
• Reviews – Reviews of books or movies, especially if they are historically based or about folklore and ghosts or other subjects that interest me.
• Saudade – “Saudade” is a Portuguese word meaning a feeling of longing, melancholy, or nostalgia. It’s a new category I’m experimenting with, particularly for my reminisces, genealogy, or things of a personal nature.

Explore

• Historic America – Travelogues and photography of historic sites, battlefields, forts, museums, and other places related to American history (America in the broadest sense).
• Mysterious America – Travelogues and photography of allegedly haunted places, and also includes reviews of horror movies or books related to strange and unusual aspects of America.
• Roadside America – Travelogues and photography of diners, roadside attractions, neon and vintage signs, or anything related to road tripping not included in the other two categories.

I also drastically reduced the number of tags, from over a thousand to under a hundred. Only subjects that apply to multiple posts deserve a tag. This should make it easier to find similar posts.

I hope this new organization makes sense and makes my blog more fun and enjoyable – and educational! Feel free to leave a comment with any suggestions.