The reason I created ‘Flights of Fancy’ was to give myself a mental outlet. They’re like my online reading, and now blogging, journal for stray thoughts. Plus, maybe someone else feels the same and we’ll be able to bounce ideas back and forth.
Lately I’ve been thinking about the logistics of blogging, and why I work the way I do. I’ve started to write similar blog posts before, but never saw them through. I have the bug today so I’m getting it all out now. Hopefully someone gets something out of it, other than me.
I see a lot of discussion posts online talking about their interests when they’re visiting other blogs. I read them because I enjoy other’s opinions, but also because it gives me ideas for Birdie Bookworm. It makes me look at my own online space critically, and I think it’s helped me make positive changes. It also sparks thoughts on what draws me in; what I look for when I’m surfing.
I never planned on doing a subjective post like this. I dislike the idea that people might think I’m telling someone else how they should blog. I’m not. I have my interests, and other readers will have differing interests. Plus, don’t we all design our sites, and choose our topics, in the same style as the blogs we enjoy reading? My opinion shouldn’t sway anyone from running their blog however they love it. However, if you also like knowing what your fellow reviewers enjoy, below is my list of likes and dislikes.
- Discussion Posts
- This is at the top of my list. I love the posts that spark discussion or debate.
- Nice images, but not too many gifs.
- Gifs are hilarious, but too many of them spark my migraines. I’m delicate. 😛
- A blog design that gives me an idea of the authors personality.
- Just a little something. An intro, or a picture, or something that tells me about the author.
- Minimal Blitzes
- There’s definitely a reason for Blitzes, but I’m more of the opinion piece type.
- Sporadic Book Reviews
- I love reading book reviews, but I’m also nervous of spoilers so don’t read all of them.
- Interaction!
- Interaction is the whole reason I started blogging. I love the community, and having the opportunity to get to know everyone.
I guess now when I’m reading over my list, my favorite blogs to follow are the ones where I get a sense of who’s writing, both by the amount of themselves they’ve put into everything and by getting the chance to have a conversation.
When I started Birdie Bookworm last year, I had this idea that I would write and people would magically come. If you build it, they will come, right? I’m sure that’s true, especially if you’re using your tags and categories for the reader, but I kept hearing if you follow others they will then come to look, and possibly follow back. Action helps. I had this notion it was cheating or something, like I was hunting them down.
I ended up giving it a try, and I’m really glad I did. Yes, I did get followers who just followed back automatically, but I also found a lot of people who were genuinely interested in talking books with me. Not to mention, spam followers are going to happen no matter what. I’ve realized my followers list is a wild beast that can’t be controlled.
I also have a confession, I used to be awesome at visiting every follower I got. I’d go to every one and check out their blog, peruse, and very frequently follow back. (I didn’t always, because as I mentioned some of those followers are spam.) These days it’s gotten a lot harder, so if you’ve followed me and I didn’t follow you back, pop in and chat with me. I’m still pretty good about following commentators back. 🙂
I’ve said it a few times already, but I honestly believe interaction is the best and most important part of this online community. It’s the interaction that makes all the hard work worth it.
I’ve always tried to make visiting, and commenting or liking, other blogs a priority. I’m pretty good at bouncing around every day, or every couple days, so I stay mostly in the loop. What I’m not so great about is immediately return commenting when someone comments on Birdie Bookworm. There’s something that makes me feel uncomfortable about going to someone’s blog only to find something to comment on. Maybe this goes back to my need for interaction to be organic, but shouldn’t commenting happen because readers have something to say, and not because they feel the need to reciprocate? I love the feeling of finding a blog post I truly connect with, and adding to the conversation.
Obviously the process of commenting and interaction works differently for everyone, and my intention isn’t to put down anyone’s routine. The topic of commenting is one I think about frequently, and I enjoy writing it all down and having the opportunity to discuss with all of you. I love all comments. I always appreciate them, and I try my best to read everyone’s posts and add my opinions when I have them.
Oh boy, do I love discussion posts! I love to read them, and I love to write them! Of all the blog categories out there the discussion pieces are my favorite. It gives us an opportunity to really get to know one another. In every discussion post you leave a piece of your personality behind, and you become more familiar to your readers.
HOWEVER, sometimes coming up with a topic is hard! It’s especially hard if you have a brain like mine. My mom didn’t believe medical labels, however if she did I’m pretty sure I would have been diagnosed with ADD. I’m okay with it. Knowing why my brain feels so scattered helps. I’m aware of how I am, and I can alter my behaviors accordingly. For instance, when I come up with a discussion topic I need to immediately start writing it. Seriously, like right away. I can’t just make a list and come back to it because I won’t remember what I was imagining. Once the inspiration is gone, it’s over. There’s no getting it back. I have a google doc of Discussion topics that have become meaningless. I know how excited I was for “Book Bucket List”, but I can’t remember what it was supposed to be about. True story.
Right now, in this discussion post all about blogging, I’m over 1000 words and each one is flying out of me easily. Know why? Because I stopped writing a review in the middle and jumped over to write this IMMEDIATELY. Right when I felt inspired. I honestly think that’s the key! Don’t wait.
(Btw, this is also true of chores at home, tasks I need to remember, or information I need to pass on. There have been many times I’ve called to give my husband a message at an inconvenient time, but it’s because I won’t remember when it is convenient. Thankfully he knows me, loves me, and understands.)
Birdie Bookworm 
I’ve thought a lot about these topics as well! I follow blogs for a lot of the same reasons you do – I like reading other people’s original content and even book reviews. Sometimes I feel pressure to comment back on someone’s blog if they’ve commented on mine, and it’s hard if we don’t have a lot of things in common. I definitely keep lists of possible discussion posts – I have the worst memory, and it’s so hard to come up with them sometimes.
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It really is! It’s tough to do, and I debated on writing this or not, worrying that people would be annoyed with me. It was more about explaining the way my mind works. I hope that came across, lol.
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I love discussion posts, in fact these are the ones that I enjoy writing the most (and reading of course) They are hard because I sometimes get so many ideas and trying to form a cohesive post takes a lot of work but when it’s finally done and people chooses to comment and discuss with me …It’s amazing…That’s one of the reasons for doing this (book blogging) Be out there and interact with others..
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Right! exactly, that’s my favorite part too. I wish I could do more discussion posts, but I like to at least try for one each month, just to get a dialogue going.
I also think it’s hard to write a discussion post like this without alienating anyone. It’s an opinion piece, and I know that others are going to disagree with me and that’s okay. It’s what makes it a discussion.
Thank you for stopping and engaging! I loved it. 🙂
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I’m with you 100% Birdie! Personally, I do like to read reviews and see book blitz, but then there’s a part of me that does want to get to know the blogger behind the screen. Do I love reading discussion-based posts, whether it’d be random thoughts, book choices, or even here, about blogging. One of the reasons I was really hesitant about blogging in general at first was because I didn’t know if I want the whole wide world to know about my thoughts. Thoughts and the written word are two of the most powerful things. Do I want to let people in on me? Do I want to have an in on other people? But as I started blogging and reading other people’s blogs, I’ve realized it is exactly through these kinds of posts that I am less intimidated by ideas of privacy, and blogging in general. That doesn’t mean that I’m going to pour my whole life story into my blog, but I do want to let my readers understand why I (and the other blogger) read/write certain things. It really does humanizes all of us. Anyways, I realized this is a long reply. To that end, I really liked this post ❤
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I loved this!! You’re so right, trying to find what you’re willing to talk about while blogging is an important thing. When writing a discussion post, how much of yourself do you put in? I don’t delve too deep, but I do talk about my life on a surface level because I think it says a lot about why I’ve got the opinions I do.
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Same here! When I write, and that’s both on and off blogging, I usually let my emotions override the specific event. And it’s only after that I decide how much I cut back on, how much context I provide. Which is fine because, again, I don’t want to pour my life story out there. And, I think people can relate because of the affect we have for each other.
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Well said!
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I also love discussion posts but have never really written one, i think it’s because I can never think of anything interesting to say, or I lose my train of thought and end up with a ramble 🙂
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That happens to me a lot too, haha. I write and write and then I don’t know how to close it. They’re harder.
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Well Wendy it’s mostly the same with me. My only regret: sometimes I don’t havd the time to comment the day of the post as I can have very long days. As far as inspiration goes I learned to write my thoughs immediately for fear of seeing them disappear!
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That’s exactly it. The fear of seeing them disappear. It happens to me.
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I, like you, love discussion posts so therefore I enjoyed this post. I loved what you said about discussion posts leaving behind a bloggers personality that is so true because in a book review you don’t really get a sense of who the person is, just if they liked the book or not. You may get a little in a tag, but talking about our feelings about books or about anything really is where it all comes out!
I am also on the same page as you when it comes to comments/commenting; I only truly comment on things if I have something to say, otherwise I feel it’s so useless to say ‘great post, I liked it’ that’s so generic and there is no personality in it. Whereas a post like this I’m writing a easy 100-200 word response to…
… because I like to talk a lot. 😛
Oh gosh, I remember the days I used to go through my followers list and follow back people I thought were interesting, those days are long gone, but it’s nice to look back on them! 😀
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Yes! It’s in a discussion post, even a rambling post, that I feel like I really get to know the writer. Or at least, that’s what I hope for when I read a discussion post. If I get a sense of the person behind the screen, it usually spurs something to say. It’s more of a conversation. And commenting, that’s exactly how I am too. I could go through and leave a ‘nice work, I enjoyed this’ on everyone but… I guess, it feels generic. Sometimes my comments are long, sometimes they’re short, but it’s something I really felt the need to express. I’m glad others out there are like me.
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Yes! Sometimes I find that these comment sections on WordPress aren’t the best place to have a conversation. I wish there was a private message/DM section on WordPress so that it could be a better dialogue. I guess we have to live with what we’ve got… & it’s these comment sections!
Oh gosh, you are not alone! I only comment when I know I have something *somewhat* valuable to say, or if I reeeeeeally liked the post. 🙂
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A DM section would be awesome. So would the ability to send pictures.
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That would be ideal! Maybe in the future!
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Hahaha this is soo true! 🙂 I struggle to put my thoughts into words, my brain is always chatting with people and a true extrovert, then I open a reply window and my fingers just freeze above the keyboard while I stare at the screen X’D How much or how little to say about yourself is something I struggle with as well, not only for private reasons but also because I start wondering if people are actually interested on that and they rather read more about the book and less about me.
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That’s my hang up too. I don’t mind talking about me, or my personal issues, but then I wonder if it’s interesting to other people. Or if I just sound like I’m whining. Even though it never feels like that to me when I read other people’s personal posts. I always love reading them.
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yep! exactly the same hahaha!
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I try to do a discussion post each week, but they are so painful for me. I feel like everyone else has talked about what I want to talk about, and it’s a struggle to put an original spin on it. I love books, talking about books, and sharing my opinions about books. I found I don’t like to post reviews for books I didn’t enjoy, because those reviews are too hard to write without giving spoilers, and I am anti spoiler reviews. That’s another struggle all in itself. Trying to explain why I loved a book, but being vague.
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LOL! That’s totally true. I have a hard time talking about a book I disliked without spoilers, and I hate talking about a book I was gaga over when I can’t say spoilers. I tend to talk more about how a book made me feel, or if the writing style was just bad. Sometimes I’ll put in a spoiler, but hide them.
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Nice post…
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Thank you.
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