Wayne John wrote in June: “Well it’s been about 2 months since I’ve written my little ‘I’m back’ post, and not a day goes by that I don’t think about writing something here. I have, in fact, written a number of posts that I simply haven’t made public.”
Now he has a different, more monetary reason for some of the non-production. Still, many bloggers will relate to this:
There is one decision that I’m making though, and that is to stop being so damn hard on myself.
I haven’t posted anything because I have been striving for a level or quality that is simply not achievable on a consistent basis. With each post I write, I try to make it “Epic” or “value filled”, and while those are great marketing buzz words, I simply don’t have time to write a post of that nature each and every time.
I’m sure you don’t expect it either, so why have I been so damn stuck?
It’s all me. I strive for perfection. Add to that a healthy does of OCD and nothing gets done.
To some degree, that even happens to me, the guy who blogs day in, day out. I want every post to be “value-filled.”Don’t know how to explain that term except I know it when I feel it.
When I’m tired, or busy, or sick, or, in this moment, all three – a lingering chest cold has ruined my sleep – I need a cheat.
This brings me to Anita’s blog. She notes a bunch of stuff about the ROI (return on investment) of leaving comments. She does it because she wants to show she’s spent time and effort visiting the blog or wants to share feelings, give thanks, show love/hate, motivate, or ask questions, which is what most of us who aren’t lurkers do.
Yet, I don’t comment on every post I visit. It’s not that I don’t appreciate them; I may not have anything to say. I like Jaquandor’s Something for Thursday music or SamuraiFrog’s look at old Marvel comics; I just have no pithy retort. The exception is ABC Wednesday participants; I ALWAYS comment, though sometimes I struggle with something new and different to say to 70 people over three days, even when I enjoy the post, which I generally do.
This assumes that I don’t have trouble leaving comments. Occasionally, DISQUS, which Arthur@AmeriNZ uses, can be balky. And Blogspot’s word verification can be incomprehensible.
Anita also does things a bit differently than I. She’ll report errors in grammar/spelling and facts, on the blog. If possible, I tend to contact the blogger directly by e-mail, when I THINK the blogger will appreciate it. There’s a really good reason for that. When I was a new blogger, I’d see an error, make a comment correcting a grammar/spelling error on the blog, and expect to be appreciated; no such luck.
Bloggers are human, writing without an editor, generally, and they make mistakes; goodness knows I do. One of my terrestrial friends calls me a grammar Nazi, which I don’t think I am. I’m constantly frustrated by the goofs I make, which I never seem to see in draft, only after it’s published.
I AM convinced that when one makes a little mistake, some OTHERS will use that to disregard the value of the whole piece. Statements of error others make I note by e-mail as well, though it’s important/egregious enough, I may note it in the comments too. This is based on the theory that an error, uncorrected will glean more. (No, I’ve long given up “fixing the Internet”, just a small patch.)
Anita will inform people she’s mentioned them in her post. Occasionally I’ll do that, though if it’s a regular reader, I don’t. Frankly, I love the joy of going to someone’s page and finding my name. The Google Alert is helpful in this regard, too.
This post may or may not meet my Quality Control standards if I felt better. Didn’t I say this, or something like it, before? Today, however, it will do; it most certainly will do.
Besides, the way I write this blog, it’ll never capture the zeitgeist of the times. I’m just not a zeitgeisty kind of guy.
Heh! Every time I brush up against the zeitgeist, I have to stop and say, “Hey, what was that?” I am NEVER in touch…and I have to admit, I increasingly like it that way.
Oh, I find errors after I publish more times than not, probably. And when I see one, I fix it, no matter how old the post is. I also don’t correct others in comments, but through email—I probably got that from you, Roger, and I always appreciate your pointing out my mistakes (even though I often exclaim a Homer Simpson-like “DOH!” when I see it…).
I’d swear that something in the WordPress editor makes your errors look twice as obvious after you’ve hit the Publish button. Certainly seems that way to me.
I tried to write my blog in a light and quick manner but I just couldn’t do it. I discovered that I don’t want to make blatant factual errors and I don’t want to leave anything out. It’s even a struggle for me to keep comments on other people’s blogs simple. Like right now. I’m stopping myself from going on and on and on…
Oh, Roger, I understand the editing comments. “Editorial Comments”?
I, too, have taken to emailing, since I don’t want the blogger to be embarrassed in public. You have sent me a couple of missives in this regard, and though I am not one who cares where the info is posted, I always appreciate the keen eyes.
The idea that someone has read my poem carefully enough to question a line, the spelling of a word, or a bit of punctuation? To me, that is a wonderful comment. It shows you care.
Also, your friend’s whole guilt trip on him/herself? Yeah, I do that, when I am in one of my mental Yentl pretzelhead tripouts! But eventually, I’ve learned that I do not have to post every day. That;s best for me. And I find it hard to read something without leaving a comprehensive comment. Like you, I read every word! Love this one. Amy
This is true: I had two missing words in this blog post, pointed out by someone. Fortunately, the next day, he had one (these are NEVER caught by spell check!) and I could reciprocate.
Swings and roundabouts, Roger. Sort of like a blogging reciprocal trade agreement or something…
I ALWAYS see my mistakes after I hit the Publish button. But sometimes not before I get a nicely-worded email from you… 🙂 which, BTW, it always appreciated.