Where have I been? Nowhere, really. You all know I'm a lackadaisical blogger at best, and my Writing Mojo just sort of wandered off and stayed gone. Summertime is Lake Season, so I spent every weekend at the lakehouse, on the boat, hanging with family, and doing Lake Stuff. When I wasn't there, I was at home, where it felt busy all the time.
What have I been doing? Nothing exciting. I put up some pickles and some pickled jalapenos and giardiniera. I made a lot of pesto. I knitted a baby blanket. I provide care for my mother one week a month at my house, and I shuttle her around to her various doctor appointments. With football season here, we meet up with the boys and their lovely ladies at the local brewery for Football Sunday Pregame, then go to either Sam's or Jared's for the game(s). And now that basketball is underway as well, I've picked my fantasy team and won the first week.
Why am I back here--writing--now? I'm going to see if I like it or not anymore. November is traditionally the Old School daily posting month. I'm not joining in with all the worky NaBlo...stuff, but I'm determined to try to post daily. I'll see if I need Theme Days or whatever to help me (I do like Structure) as I go. Right now, I'm simply saying Hello. If it all starts to feel like a chore, then it may be time for me to say Goodbye to the Dept. It may have already served its purpose. I suppose I'll find out.
So! For right now, I'm Back. Tell me: What time of day do you write your blogposts? When your Inspiration wanders off, how do you get it back? And have you ever wondered about quitting your blog? Chat me up in Comments.
I usually write in the afternoon when I sit down for tea. Sometimes I wander off for awhile and I sometimes do think about quitting. So far I haven't quit. Welcome back.
ReplyDeleteI write in the afternoons as well. Part of my problem, I think, is that it takes me forever. (It's the Perfectionist in me.) I'm glad you haven't quit. And thank you.
DeleteWell hello right back at you! I write my posts first thing in the morning and then hit publish (after I make a half-hearted attempt to proof read. I'm not concerned about whether they look fancy or anything. Sometimes I'm wordy and sometimes not. I don't post every day (and don't want to), but sometimes I make it to 5 days a week. Depends on what's happening. I have not thought of quitting...but then I have not been blogging as long as you have (or Dee). I enjoy it and I prefer blog posts to IG posts. Also, I'm glad you are back. I don't post while on vacatioin and maybe you can look at your summer of lake time as a long, extended vacation.
ReplyDeleteVera--Thank you. I wonder if I might start writing first thing in the morning. That's usually when I have the most unbroken time. I still get up quite early, and the most strenuous thing I do at that time is feed the cats and the blue jays.
DeleteI'm glad you're still with me.
Pretty well any time that inspiration strikes and I am not doing something else - like reading. See today's post. As you know, inspiration has been on struck, oops, strike a lot lately. And, yes, I contemplate quitting, especially when I am writing something else. (That having been book reports, an analysis of a year of teaching ESL, newspaper articles and, sob, minutes.
ReplyDeleteDon't you dare quit on me. When I saw your byline come up just now, I raced to see what you had posted. In spite of the washer and dryer both making noises at me, as well as JG. Yeah.
Giardiniara? Kindly explicate.
Grammarly wants 'despite' instead of 'In spite of' and tsks at me for clarity. Snort.
Mary--I love that you're always my Biggest Fan. Giardiniera is a fancy term for mixed pickled vegetables with spices. I make it primarily for my mother. Actually, I make all the pickled stuff for other people. I'm not a fan of pickles anymore. But pesto--I eat that stuff like it's my job.
DeleteYour relationship with Grammarly sounds like my relationship with my GPS. I actively argue with it often, aloud, and when my mother is in the car, she thoroughly enjoys it. Sometimes she even takes its side.
It sounds like an interesting condiment - I looked up some recipes. May try them, even. And I argue with the GPS too. We named ours Effie (as in Efficient) and ignore it when it tries to take us through cities instead of around them. Or otherwise. I have a GPS story, might make a blog.
DeleteAnd yeah, I would start a fan club if I weren't so lazy.
Yay, you're back! I am also a lackadaisical blogger, as you might have noticed. But despite that I've never felt the urge to quit. I just blog whenever inspiration strikes, or I have something to say, or the guilt gets to me. But if any of those things happen, I usually write in the evening because work expects me to do actual work during work hours for some ridiculous reason.
ReplyDeleteGigi--Oh, thank you. I do so like to be Yay!ed. Ah, the Work Thing. It really does cut into one's free time. I always hated that. Back when I was teaching, I used to go into my office at home in the evening after dinner and sit at my desktop computer two or three times a week. The kids would wander in and say, "Are you blogging?" When I'd answer yes, they would leave and bother their father instead.
DeleteI totally get the Guilt Thing. I'd been feeling it for a month or so. (I was raised Catholic, you know.)
Helloooo!!! I was so glad to see a post from you!
ReplyDeleteAs you know, I'm down to posting once per week with my pictures from the week. Really the only inspiration I need is something to say at the beginning & at the end - & that is hit or miss. So I'm not sure I count those posts as "blogging" - it's more bullet journaling out in public. I usually write them on Sunday afternoons when I get home from church/lunch at my dad's. Which is a TERRIBLE time, I'm very logy and uninspired. Don't recommend it.
Bug--Oh, thank you. Once a week is vastly more than I had been doing for...well, years, I think. You've been consistently consistent.
DeleteI think whatever you put on your blog is technically blogging. So, you're good.
I usually write at night, but sometimes I have an idea during the day and will open blogger to make some notes. At times in my life I've been a practically everyday blogger, and other times, like now, things are too busy and I just don't get to it as often. I enjoy getting comments and starting conversations, but I feel like my blogging is primarily for me, so I don't usually feel guilty when I don't get to it.
ReplyDeleteccr--I like your philosophy that your blog is primarily for you, so whatever you do is fine. I do have a tendency to get Overly Worky about, well, almost everything. Maybe I need to adopt a more laissez-faire attitude about the whole thing. Thanks for this perspective.
DeleteHello back at you! When I started blogging it was daily twenty years ago then I settled on twice a week for many years. Life changes and so did my reasons and need for contact with the outside world. This year I'm doing a post once a week and find that a very good/easy pace for me to maintain. I usually write in the morning with coffee but I will also write then an inspiration strikes me. I like having a record of the highlights and low-lights of my life.
ReplyDeleteJean--It's true that the Reason To Blog can change. Mine certainly has. And my blog has evolved as well. Your comment just made me realize that I missed my blog anniversary in August. I've been writing here almost as long as you have--18 years!
DeleteHi Nance! I sometimes draft blogs when my young charges are napping. I often finish things up in the evenings. Occasionally I carve out some time on the weekend to get a few posts written. I HAVE thought about quitting the blog. I'm really trying to focus on completing the first draft of my memoir and blogging sometimes takes up more time than I want to allot to it. I just finished a chapter for my book to submit to my writing group, so I decided to give NoBloPoMo a go since I won't have another chapter dur for awhile. I think I would miss the contact with blog friends. Running a daycare can be slightly isolating and I do like chatting with adults in my mornings or midday. I enjoy seeing what everyone else is up to, etc. And I really like the support for when life is running off the rails.
ReplyDeleteTime spent at your lake house sounds dreamy.
Ernie--You remind me of the saying, "If you want something done, ask a busy person"! Conversely for me, when I've got a lot going on (either emotionally, mentally, or physically), that makes it tough for me to write here. I don't often write very intimately about my life; I feel better saving that for my journaling.
DeleteYou're right that the blog community is very supportive. And I always like the dialogue in Comments. Thanks for being here.
I write my blog posts whenever I can find the time. Sometimes that's during a quiet ten minutes at work (Shhhh...don't tell), sometimes it's in the brief window between dinner and winding down for the night. Most of the time it's on the weekends where I give myself hours to just write out posts for the upcoming week. If I'm really struggling with a post, I just look at my recent photos and write about one of them. It's not the most exciting way to do it, but it's what I've got!
ReplyDeleteNGS--I can't imagine writing several posts at once. Perhaps I should try that at least one time and see if it jolts my writing muscle into productivity. I know on days when I have to be busy early, I find that I have the energy to pack a lot of things into the day. Maybe the same sort of drive will take hold with writing.
DeleteYay! So great to see you back! I write whenever the muse strikes, usually in the afternoon. I always post at 4:23 am, have done that in honor of my mom (April 23rd was her birthday) since she died.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you've had a wonderful summer so far. I hope you keep up your blog, even if it's sporadic. But of course if you have lost all interest, that's fair. I've wondered before whether I want to do it anymore as well.
J--Oh, thanks so much. That's a sweet way to honour your mom, who was a prolific blogger in her own right.
DeleteI had a pretty good summer, all told. I always feel as if I should have done more: more outdoorsy things; more yard stuff; more boat stuff; more yada yada yada, but I think most people do.
Here's to hoping our muses strike more often than not.
I'm with everyone else. It's wonderful to see you here again, Nance!
ReplyDeleteI love that you had endless weekends on the lake this summer. I had to look up giardinieria. It didn't sound like it was going to be something pleasant (LOL) so I was relieved to see what it actually meant. I'm not a fan of pickled foods either but it's sweet that you make them mostly for your mom. And I'm with you the pesto. I don't eat nearly enough of it.
You know how sporadic I am about my own blogging. I did think of stopping multiple times several years ago but as I've shared with you, my blog now seems like part of my salvation being home alone, so to speak. It gives me an ongoing mission and feels good/right.
I will never have some master plan or master schedule though. Every time I have tried to go that route, I have truly wanted to stop blogging! I don't want to be told what to do, you know? What's the point of being retired if you can't go with the flow and attend to life as needed. I do much better blogging when life allows and inspiration hits--both as far as subject matter and time of day for the latter. That works best for me. That said, when I do my annual March event on my blog, I'm working with other bloggers and have my readers waiting for every post so I do adhere to a schedule then. Mostly a 24/7 schedule other than sleeping because the event requires daily posting and is a whole lot of work. I always look forward to it though, and so do my readers and fellow bloggers. So that's all good.
Shirley
Shirley--Oh, thank you, dear friend.
DeleteI feel the same way you do about being bossed. I had enough of that when I was working and it felt like everyone was my boss. Retirement felt like paradise; I finally was on my OWN schedule for a change. I'm going to take all these perspectives in and do some thinking. And I'll try posting about every day or so this month to see how that feels. And then I'll reevaluate.
Thanks for being here and for your encouragement. And so much more.
What time of day do you write your blogposts? Write in the morning, edit in the late afternoon.
ReplyDeleteWhen your Inspiration wanders off, how do you get it back? I take a break, announce it if it'll be a month, just disappear if it's for a few days.
And have you ever wondered about quitting your blog? ALL THE TIME. Every post I publish is me overcoming my introverted desire to not share... yet I show up to keep my brain clicking and my heart open for yet another week.
Ally--Thanks for the insights. I'm like you in that I don't like to share some parts of me/my life, but I do like the sense of community afforded by writing here. And I like the connection as well. It's a line.
DeleteYAY. You're back.
ReplyDeleteIf you quit, I will hunt you down and make you purchase overpriced fruit. Bananas, specifically.
Your lake time sounds fabulous!
I have no rhyme or reason when/why I post. If I have time and feel like writing, but have nothing to write I will check my drafts. If there's nothing inspiring, I'll check my photo album to spur my remembrance that if anything fun, exciting, silly happened that I could share.
The daily posting seems like WORK to me, so I'd never even try it. But, you do you and see how it goes. Welcome back! (Now I have the theme song from Welcome Back, Kotter in my brain)
BB Suz--Yay, you're commenting!
DeleteThanks for encouraging me to stick around. So far, so good. I'm a few posts in.
Lake time is so gratifying. We completely relax and just take it moment by moment. When the kids show up, it's absolutely wonderful.
I like the idea of browsing the photo album to see if it provides inspiration. Thanks, and I'll keep that in mind. So helpful!
Daily posting is a bit worky, but sometimes I need a challenge. It appeals to my sense of routine and order. I'm not usually competitive, but I do like to keep my word, even to myself.
Sorry for the musical earworm, especially that one. It's not very good. How about Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen? That's a fun, jazzy one.