Okay, confession time. Back in the day (by which I mean, last winter or so), I used to post pretty often. Heck, last December, I posted every single day (including SHOES every single day!).No, that's not the confession.
Here's the confession: Part of the reason I started posting less frequently was to up my comments-per-post.
But wait! It's not as shallow as you think!
It wasn't the comments themselves that I needed, it was what they represented. See, more comments generally mean more people read that post. Sure, to a certain extent it's also dependent on whether it's a post that really invites conversation or a throwaway post, but there is definitely a correlation with the number of readers. Some of you out there reading are busy people, and you don't have time to read me every day. I know and understand that, but it does leave me with a bit of a conundrum.
If you can't read every day, but I post every day, you're going to miss posts. Okay, I'll grant that it's possible you're reading on the weekend and catching up on a week's worth of posts every Saturday, but the only person I know for sure who does that is my mom (hi, Mom!). Mostly, I think some of you check in every few days (or once a week, or once a month - whatever), read the most recent post, and comment if you have something to say.
So I started making my posts once every two, three, or four days in the hopes that fewer posts would be skipped over by my busy readers. (Of course, this is a tough concept for me to grasp, since I read blogs multiple times per day, but I get that other people have actual lives.) I mean, don't get me wrong - it took a lot of pressure off me also, because I could slack more on posts without worrying about it. But it was hard sometimes when I wanted to post something and I realized that I'd posted only 22 hours earlier, and so far I only knew of six people for sure who had read it.
NaBloPoMo changes all that, of course, because I'm willingly signing on to post every single day. I know that a lot of November posts won't have all that many comments. And I accept that. And now, having accepted that, I've decided to post whenever I feel like it - which may turn out to be multiple times per day. I know, you're shocked - can you handle that much Lara?
So why am I posting at 4:30 in the morning? Because I'm awake, uninspired to work on my novel, and uninterested in anything currently on TV. I know - now you're wondering why I'm awake at 4:30 in the morning. See, the thing is that I'm actually nocturnal by nature.Yes, my secret is out. I, Lara David, am nocturnal.
When my time is free and unscheduled-
Oh, shoot, I didn't tell you that, did I? My last day of work was Wednesday. I'm officially free of Boss Lady's tyranny. Of course, as a parting shot she made me slip away quietly without so much as a good-bye to any of the kids or parents. Presumably she wants to make up her own reasons for my leaving to make herself sound better. I'm sad to leave the kids, of course, but I can't say I'm not thrilled to be away from Boss Lady.
Okay, back to my point. When my time is unscheduled - as it is these days - I slip to my natural hours. Comfortably, I'll go to bed sometime between 3:00 and 6:00 in the morning, and wake up between 1:00 and 4:00 in the afternoon. I realize this probably seems crazy to a lot of you, but I don't care. My most productive hours of the day are between 10:00pm and 2:00am, so at least I'm not just drooling like an idiot. And if sometimes my "productivity" looks suspiciously like playing computer games, well, so be it.
So it's 4:30 in the morning, and the cats and I are watching The Brady Bunch.
What's new with you?
19 comments:
I should have come downstairs. Avery has taken to waking at 11pm, 1:57am (honest, every morning), 3am and by the 4 o'clock hour she (we) are up for good. Pre-dawn instant messenger, anyone?
;)
Ooh, oh! More Lara!
Ok, back to sentry duty and sunning my belly.
I'm busy, but I definitely get a dose of cute and funny or cute and thoughtful Lara every day that I have access to the internet or a juice-can-and-string phone over which a good pal can send a stream of 0's and 1's.
Ahem. You forgot to put a picture of your beautiful face with this post. Do you care nothing for the refined, demanding reader?
I do the same thing. I am really interested in getting feedback and love getting comments (don't we all?). Some of my readers catch up on every post when they pop by, but others just read and comment on the latest one. When I realised this, I slowed down and posted a bit less frequently. Also, if I post about something really important, or something that I am particularly interesting in getting feedback on, I will deliberately not post for two days (I might write, but I'll save it).
I am soooo not nocturnal - I am pretty much useless after 10pm will remain useless until I have had at least seven hours sleep, preferably nine :)
I'm definitely with Guilty Secret on the sleep thing. I'm tired by 11pm, usually useless after midnight, and cranky without my 8 hours of sleep. But congrats on the newly acquired free time =)
Ever since I became a freelancer, I've been keeping vampire hours. I too get most of my writing (both personal and professional) done roughly between 6 PM and 2 AM. During those hours, without the distraction of incoming emails and phone calls, I can concentrate on the quality of my prose. It's as if I can finally listen to my own thoughts.
Comments are a thing for me, too. Last week - Tuesday, I think - I had 157 readers but only two comments. What's up with that? Even if I don't have anything of value to say (which, if we're being honest here, is probably about 90% of the time), I'll still chime in to say that I'm reading. It's nice for people to know that they're not just talking to themselves, you know?
I always feel guilty because I am bad about leaving comments - I always mean to and then I end up walking away to do something and then forgetting. But I always read your posts!
And I have to admit that I can be (the key word being can - not that I always am) extremely productive in the middle of the night, since I am usually slightly less distracted.
I don't skip blogposts! I'll always scroll down to the last one I'd read... Love the idea of more Lara!
I am also nocturnal. I go to bed sometime between 3-6 am as well, although I'm usually up by 12:30 as I have to work at 2:30. :)
I joined NaBloPoMo as well.... I receive very few comments on my blog due to constantly posting to the blog, so I can see your point on not posting as often to make sure no one misses anything. It definitely can be a conundrum.
I am SO nocturnal too! Always have been so it makes it really tough to live in everyone else's world. I end up going to bed too late, getting up early for work and napping after work. It only takes a weekend for me to revert to the hours my body wants.
Commenting? Yeah, I'm bad. Sometimes I get behind and like yesterday - I had 70-some posts to read so I confess to skimming through my reader and only commenting when I totally felt compelled. :(
I don't like sunlight, it hurts my...well everything so welcome to my world, oh nocturnal one
What was I up to about 4:30 (your time) this morning? I was rolling over for the first time, to get out of bed (I came back and slept another couple of hours - because I could. It was glorious).
I quickly turn nocturnal, but my body is VERY hard to get up, and I have to (or at least, should) so I have to train myself to go to bed, and wake up. I'm just now getting back to waking up for work on-time after being out there.
And I realize I'm a loser, but you WILL receive something from me, soon.
I am totally the same way, woman. It drives me crazy as I sadly have to conform to the rest of the world's needs to have a "normal" daytime schedule!
It's a bit funny now that you mention it, although I don't have time to read every day I do read all of your posts when I have time through Bloglines, so I may read four or five at once, but then only comment on one.
I am always there, a bit like God, but less Godly and less clever.
I love reading your posts Lara, and though I don't always check in everyday, I always play catch up. So keep em' coming, I am invested :)
NaBloPoMo is definitely going to lower my comment quota, but not just here -- everywhere. It's not that I don't read, though!
So glad you are free of Boss Lady. Good luck with the Next Big Thing.
I agree with you. NaBlo is great for reading blogs, but definitely makes it harder to keep up with them through commenting. I'm with you, I don't expect any big numbers this month - but it is nice to get some new visitors, just like last year! :)
If I could afford to have some free time, I'd be nocturnal too. For now though, I'm exhausted and need my sleep too much!
Post a Comment