Thursday, January 2, 2014

Blogging 101: It was the best of times, It was ... too long!

I'm going to ease back into this blog posting trap we set for ourselves, much like an exhausted Sasquatch would ease into a leaky roofed barn looking for a nice dry bed of hay to sleep upon.


(Hey, that's as good an opening sentence as I've written, even if the visual tends to be a little on the imaginative side!)

I took a much needed break from the Blogosphere.  Hiding, some might say.  I was drying up and becoming much too cynical in my outlooks on life.  So, I decided to face real life without the obligations of the computer world we find ourselves chained to at times. 


(Bad idea!)

Even though it allowed me the time I needed to scarf up on fifty-four reduced pricing music album downloads Amazon.com offered over the Christmas Season, I was bored (as well as completely obsessed).  There were many writing topics I wished to cover, but I knew I had to start looking at them from a different perspective.  


(Then the bottom caved in.)

This past December was seriously one of the worst I've ever experienced.  Pressure from a day job that had completely turned sour, an attempted home break-in to give the wife and I much to worry about, and a general feeling of "I'm tired of fighting life's daily battles.  Still being used as your whipping boy, huh God?" seemed to be my constant companion.  Actually, even though it sounds as though I was going through a state of depression, I really wasn't.  


(So, the mind doctors have it wrong again, don't they?)


No, I was looking at my immediate life without blogging distractions.  I knew I seriously didn't have the time to go rollicking from blog to blog, and to be frank, I still don't.  The hours I put in one work week are more than most work in two.  Plus, my wife needed some of my attention, as did my cats (at least to hear Faletame and Gabriela state it ... damn, they just won't shut up sometimes), and my sanity believed, it too, wanted the sanctity of hiding in a roaring asteroid silently soaring through infinity (away from the Earth, not towards it).

So, I did what any supposed writer might do.  I took some time and evaluated my writing.  

  1. Was it too sarcastic?  
  2. Was it too truthful?  
  3. Did I touch too many nerves and run some loyal readers off?  
  4. Or, was the quality too rushed and content too negative for the reader to view the humor in that manner?

(And, to be blunt, I still haven't figured it out!
You thought there was going to be a divine revelation, didn't you?)

One major point I found when re-reading my posts with a third person point of view was that they were too long.  Longer than most others I've read.  Not quite the "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" product, but more like the rambling of a person unwilling to shut up and get to the point.


(You're wondering why it ever took me so long to figure that one out, aren't you?)

Actually, I've known that.  However, I considered it my style.  The jokes needed set-ups for impact.  Thus, the set-ups had to become a story to draw the reader in.  Still, the Internet doesn't give one much time for that kind of foreplay.  

So, as 2014 arrives, I have to make a decision.  Do I continue along the same route I've traveled and write long posts, or do I cut them up into several and keep things much shorter?


(As if this post was any example into the shortening process.)

So, in seeking answers, I have decided (without the stench of belly button lint permeating the air) to attempt to keep my posts much shorter.  No, I will not revert to using texting language to do so.  Rather, I will simply stop typing when the topic has been covered and there are no more worthy sarcasms present to exhibit.  (As say a teenage boy would do when his hopes and dreams of sex turn into a premature ejaculation catastrophe. It was good while it lasted but now it's time to go practice mind over matter control.)  

Perhaps this will help readership to grow.  I mean, if one writes, they expect it to be read.  If one reads a book, they expect to be entertained in multiple ways.  If one reads a blog, they expect to skim through it, leave a generic comment, and rush to the next one to repeat the process.  Blogs are not books, nor should they be the length of them.  A writer must keep this in mind.  And, of this, I must say I have been guilty.  (The blog ethics violators electric chair awaits me.)


Thank God Charles Dickens isn’t alive today 
to see the blog world in which we live.  
I can see his "A Tale Of Two Cities" transformed.


“Yeah, good times and bad times.  Sh*t, what do you expect.  
Know what I mean?  Peace Out!

France having bad stuff happening.  Hold the fries and sharpen the guillotine!

Old woman scared the crap out of me with those damn knitting needles.  
Let's ban those f**kin' things before the bitch goes crazy and starts jabbing people!  

No such thing as Politically Correct when you're head's in the basket!

The End ??   
(Hell, there’s no damn way!  I gotsta make money off the sequel!)

Tweet that, sucka!”

I was once under the impression that longer was better.  (At least I’ve had some relationships that was based on that concept.)  I was told "shorter is just as good" was only a myth developed for those lacking attributes of length.  Supposedly, shorter, even if one knew how to use it right, was never quite as satisfying.  



I guess that person never blogged.

12 comments:

  1. Rich, I don't always leave a comment, but I do enjoy reading your blog. The length really does not matter, it is the content that is important.

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    1. Gary - Really good to see you here today. You and I are definitely old school in our thinking. Recently, I've read that a person prefers not to spend longer than 75 seconds on a blog site. Since speed reading seems to be a thing of the past, I'm usually three to four times that amount. I've always tried to make the content worth it, but I guess I'm going to have to "trim the fat" some to get in line with the others. I really do appreciate your reading and the feedback. Many Thanks!

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  2. Yeah, quality over quantity. If you ramble WELL, and keep it lively and important, I stay. If I get bored I leave.

    I've not left your blog yet without finishing the post.

    I enjoy the chance to read a post I can get my teeth into every now and again. And hey, it's not like I'm particularly known for being 'snappy' myself...

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    1. Hey, Sis! We are a little long winded at times, aren't we? I appreciate you've never left mine early. Come to think of it, I've never left yours early either. Maybe we just have a little more patience than many of the "Hello/Goodbye" types. I know you visit many blogs, as I used to be able to do, and one common trait among many of the popular ones is a quick, one topic zip and then it's over. No thinking, no aftertaste, just a "take it or leave it" attitude. Perhaps that is the answer, along with shameless self promotion. lol Many Thanks!

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  3. AMEN brother! I have been thinking the exact same thing! The shorter the better the easier for me the easier for you.
    I am glad you are back.

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    1. Hey, Jen! Yeah, I think it's best to keep the length down in the blog world and keep it going in the novel arena. It will save some time, but the trick will be to keep up the quality. It's good to be back, even though the views on today's effort are really light. Oh well, C'est le Vie! Many Thanks!

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  4. So funny you say this---I have been going over old posts of mine from when I first started blogging, and they were much shorter Seems I've gotten long winded with my posts as I (and the blog) grow older together. Thinking I need to fix that problem….

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    1. Marcia - Really is good to see you here again! God, I've got to get over to your blog more. I do visit it, but seldom comment as the I-phone keyboard and I really don't mesh well. I'm hearing mixed feelings in my comments and some emails I've received. I'm beginning to think as long as we've got something to say, length really doesn't matter. What I think happens to me is that I try to cover too many tangents at times, instead of concentrating on a few and making them hit harder. Just a thought. Appreciate you stopping in! Many Thanks!

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  5. Sympathetic partners have been telling me for years that size doesn't matter, and it's fine if it is all over in a matter of seconds!

    On a more serious note, brevity doesn't come naturally in my writing and I have to constantly work at it. I think I'm improving in this matter, but progress is slow.

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    1. Gary/Bryan - Hell, I don't know what to call you at times! lol In accordance with your first statement, let me only add that there are hotels with reduced rates for short stays! :) Nuff said about that! lol You do well with a one topic post. You keep it interesting and make it very descriptive. I've never thought yours too long. I tend to try to cram too much into mine at times. Not wanting to shortcut anything, I then tend to go on and on and on. That's where I've got to cut down. Limit the topics and the length should shorten up some. We'll see how successful I am at achieving that in the future. (No promises.) Many Thanks!

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  6. Personally, I don't think you should change a thing. I come here to read your rants, I mean rambles, I mean posts precisely for your writing, ideas and witticism. You make me laugh, think and sometimes say holy crap all in one posting.

    But then again, I tend to have a longer than normal post myself.

    On a lighter note, was it the Elf that broke into your home?

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    1. Kerri - You're wonderful. (I bet your hubby tells you that all the time!) I believe my problem comes from trying to cover too much in a single post. In looking back, I could've split several postings into a couple of posts, thus shortening up the read time and still keep the impact I seek to reach. I'll try not to change too much and ruin a so called "good thing." :) And, "No", I don't think your posts are too long. I just hate that I'm so fumble fingered and can't post from my I-phone worth a damn. Oh, and sorry to say, the culprit that attempted the break-in wore size 10 Nike Air Force Ones (as he left perfect imprints on the back door he tried to kick in). Just a little larger than your standard Elf, I'm sure. I only wish I'd have been home when it occurred. He'd be mounted above a shelf, for sure. :) Many Thanks!

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