My blog is dying...
And yet, I'm looking on, detached and only a little worried.
I'm sad because I've put three + years of work into this here thang, but I think I'm okay if I never write another post again.
I'll always be a writer - just not sure if I'm always going to be a blogger.
I'm a *horrible* return commenter, so I know I've lost a bunch of people due to my lack of support to their blogs, but I do have a few questions:
Have you ever lost the hunger to post?
How did you combat/fix the problem?
I'm curious to hear, if you have the time...
Thanks in advance :)
37 comments:
We have all lost bloggers due to lack of return comments, but its the way blogosphere works. Best is to cut down or reduce the number of blogging days.
Just this year I went through a bit of a funk and cut down on my posts. I think I only posted once in a month over the summer. But after the blogging vacation I found my drive again. But this time I'm only because I have meme's to post about or the occasional fest.
Take that break and when you decide to come back, we welcome you!
Dear Melvin, I don't think I've ever come across a blogger who didn't feel the same way. I know I've been in that same "funk" and I know I just can't always keep up with return commenting. It's tough when life demands so much of you. I think we bloggers should form a union for better wages! (or any wages would work, as well) :)
Hang in there!
Mort, we all go through a lull in the action. Maybe some new topics will excite you? Pretend blogging is like Twitter.
Yep, been there. I feel for you. My lull was for a good six months or so. I'm still struggling to get back into a routine. But yeah, like the others say, cut down on posts. Without the pressure of HAVING to publish something you might win that blogger lust back :)
I went through a slope where I didn't feel like posting, so I just didn't. I came back when I felt like it. lol
My brain is on overload almost every friggin' day and I have made my site more of looky-looky place. It could be considered lack of time and life kicking my right square in the junk, but it's lack of ideas.
I want to share this with you and you might not read it cause... well you know. I am the worst at response/http://thealliterativeallomorph.blogspot.gr/2014/10/the-artist-unleashed-who-murdered.html
Jeremy
Nothing wrong with taking a break or relaxing your blogging pace. Step away long enough to stop feeling the pressure, and then blog when you feel like you have something to say.
I hear you SO MUCH. Blogging has become a bit of a chore for me, and I feel like I now only blog when I have something to promote either for me or someone else. The thing is, all I do now is work, and I think people will get tired of me saying, "SO, I've been really busy!"
It's hard to be interesting all the time!
I don't want you to go. I feel that way about once per month. Then I go to the bookstore and sit in the cafe and brainstorm topics to last me a month. Having something to say gets me motivated. I would miss your humor so much.
We all go through those stages. But you're really good at blogging and your stories are fun to read. I think you should just do what makes you comfortable. We all understand that you don't always have time to return comments.
Yes, there are times when I just don't feel up to it. It's funny -- when I was working full time I seemed to have more commitment to it. I wrote my two posts over the weekend without fail and scheduled them. I visited other blogs over coffee before I went to work.
Now that I "write full time" -- I seem to have less time for it. Weird how that works.
If you're a "horrible" return commenter, then I am a "horrendous" one. Still looking for the steam to get back to it, but it'll come for us both. :)
Hi Mark .. sometimes I do - then I know I need to do this for me and giving myself something intelligent to work towards - just need to get the action going .. and create my books .. cheers Hilary
Answers to your questions ;)
Yes (obviously, since I only post when I want, even if that's months apart)
I don't let it get to me. I interact with my online buds on other sites. I get way more satisfaction out of it too.
Nooo… don't leave us, Mark!!!!!
I know what you mean… I pretty much just post when I NEED to express something… I think you can do that too. It's fine… I can't imagine you not blogging!!!
I've had a bit of a lull too, without as many (relatively speaking) hits and comments as I got a year or so ago. Right now I'm mostly hoping my posts will get picked up by search engines and get more views that way, as some of my older posts on The Decameron and some book reviews have become.
Hah! You are I are thinking alike today. Mostly I'd just rather be working on my books than writing a blog post :)
I think we all go through this sometimes. I don't write anything else so this is the only place I get to express my thoughts.
Well, we all go through ebbs and flows... for a while I was posting at LEAST once a week, and I would beat myself up if I missed posting...right now I make myself post for IWSG, and that's about all I do...I just keep telling myself it'll come back around when it's time. And I'm not worried...the blog is really for me, anyhow. The readers are a bonus and commenters are like icing on the cake!
Hi Mark! I hope you don't decide to leave forever. I enjoy your humor. But, if you do stop blogging, I hope you'll come back. I get it, it can be tough to post at times. I've taken a few months off at a time because I just didn't have the time or energy to post and then comment too. I came back because I missed it so much. So, maybe you could take a short break for a bit?
If I have nothing to blog, then I make and respond to comments, because for me it's the social thing.
Yes, I've lost the hunger to post. Forcing it and posting anyway always made it worse. I try not to look at the blog as a chore, I think of it as a play date with friends. If I have the time I do it, if not, no stress. That's helped me stay happy about blogging. It won't last forever, I'm already thinking of a time I might stop blogging, but for now I'm going to keep on. I'm horrible at return comments, too. I figure that people who only comment or come to my blog expecting a return comment probably aren't the ones I'm writing to.
I think it's happening to a lot of us--especially as we evaluate how much writing time is taken up with blogging. Those of us who are still blogging are doing it less often, at least in the circles I travel in. I'm still in it because I like writing in short form. But if I didn't, I'd have quit by now ;)
I know the feeling. Right now I'm just treading water with my "Where I Live and Why I Like It" series. I'm thankful I thought of this series, because it keeps me going, along with an occasional post of my own now and then. Good luck on finding a new groove for your blog.
Looks like you've hit a nerve here! Maybe the newness has worn off, or the rules just got to hard, or the subjects to similar? Something has changed, for me, for lots of folks, that's obvious. Life interfered and now I post when I feel like it, and although I try for at least once a week I don't stress if it's not. Sometimes I have something to say and sometimes I want to help a friend, but fighting for numbers - not playing that game - it's the writing that counts, and where I get the joy! Do what makes you happy! Although, I'll miss those lovely family posts - if only once a month - please keep us informed - you and those wonderful boys would be so missed!
I don't want to totally give it up. I enjoy it and I'd miss my friends. But I definitely have different priorities now that I'm published.
I took a lot of blog breaks over the last couple years. I started my new blog with the intent of blogging more, but differently. I'm with you, I've just lost the urge to write posts. I'm more into cruising other people's posts.
I've been feeling the blog pressure too. And that pressure kills some of the joy of posting. But I don't think I'd ever quit. It's like those tides you live next to, they come in and go out...and ebb and flow. It's natural!
I struggle to keep up with return comments too, Mark. Because of that, I started to let my blog die, posted less and less, and just felt disgruntled, out-of-sorts, and crummy about the whole thing - like I let myself down and like I was letting others down too.
Then, I had a bit of an "aha" moment the other day . . . the "aha, I miss blogging, I miss other blogger's posts, and I miss blogging more often."
I know that I'm a sporadic commenter. I think I might even put that at the top of each post somewhere, but I'm going to go back go blogging sporadically and enjoying the moment. I'm never going to be a super, perfect blogger - I'm just not that person.
But I can be as supportive as I can be while posting some short bits of content.
And, that's my new focus - starting sometime next week - short bits of content - like pics from the world around me, short quotes, and other bits of life that I'm thankful for . . . back to thinking a little more like Winnie the Pooh (Pooh's Thotful spot) and less like a "professional writer who posts on a blog" - blah.
Anyway, not sure any of this helps, but I have to say, Mark, that even if I am a terrible visitor, when I do visit - I love your blog posts.
I'm terrible at responding to comments on my blog, but I do always try to go to their blogs and leave a comment instead. Of course I don't have that many coming to my blog so I can keep up with that right now. I hope that will change in the future, but now it's manageable. I've decided that I post when I post and if people don't like that, then they can go follow someone else. I like to post for blog hops and find that keeps me motivated and I've taken on doing blog hops I can manage so don't feel overwhelmed. I can understand burn out and if the blog isn't "feeding" you and your creativity it is hard to keep it going.
Try posting less or take a break. We love you Mark and would hate to see you go.
The nice part about blogspot is being able to bank posts that publish later. I'm not always in the mood to blog, but when I do I make 4-5 posts and spread them out over a week or two by "Publishing" them at a later date. It helps keep the blog going for the readers while lining up with how I work.
I was thinking about giving up my blog but deciding to cut back instead. I realized the post I enjoyed doing the most was my Wednesday Hump Day Funnies. So I do that one every week and toss in an extra post on another day if I have something special I want to talk about. Try finding the type of post you really enjoy doing.
Think of it like a blogging diet!
Mark, I hope you don't totally give up on blogging. Sometimes a break can help you get through the funk. Perhaps cutting back on the number of posts might also help. Just a thought. Whatever you decide, know that your blogger friends are behind you.
what the? don't you ever die on me! I KNOW CPR!! not that you'd want that to happen. but it's true. get some new topics out there and have some fun!! big hula shake hugs!!
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