By: Andy C

Andy C — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:03:52 +0000

I don’t adhere to any of the rules in the Bloggers 101 Guide.

I don’t adhere to any prescribed blogging frequency.

I write what I want when I want on what I want.

I’m not afraid of radio silence.

I just went offline for close to 3 months because I simply lost the desire and couldn’t be arsed.

I didn’t write a Goodbye post to my two readers.

If I had, I would have received a lot of mickey taking when I resurfaced.

Or maybe I’m just weird.

By: Wilmaryad

Wilmaryad — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 03:35:45 +0000

Funny how heartaches, for example, prompt people to write more on their blogs, probably to chronicle their “crossing of the desert” and find solace in the comments that may be likely to follow.

Not me.

My recent east side trouble made me want to quit it all. Instead of spitting out the bitter pill, or write to digest it properly, I spent hours butchering my blog’s design and re-designing it all over again.

It’s true, though. The desire to say goodbye is palpable.

PS. Nice blog. The minimalism rocks!

By: Chameleon

Chameleon — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 09:31:38 +0000

If I were to give up my blog definitively I think I would pay my readers the courtesy of informing them of the fact. The “life intervenes” hustle-bustle factor does have an irritating habit of siphoning off mental and emotional energy the blogger might prefer to channel into output, however. Speaking as one who suffers from regular bouts of “hiatus syndrome” (such as right now, for example) a long gap between posts does not necessarily indicate a loss of inspiration or lack of will to write. Every spare moment that I have during weekdays is devoted to reading through the material I need in order to be able to complete blog posts. For example, for the planned dissection of the moral panic surrounding women and binge drinking, I have read approximately 50 books – and counting – (all of which I had to purchase myself, making blogging an expensive hobby – the newspapers alone cost 8 euros 75 cents a day and that is only for a sample of three across the political spectrum in an effort to avoid bias in one direction, the books, many of which are academic – as in 50 quid a whack due to small print runs, or, which is often worse price wise, rare, out-of-print academic works) and two years’ of newspaper articles. I still intend to finish this piece of research, but it takes time. I am also working in parallel on a series of essays on the subject of Englishness and social class (by way of light relief).
On top of this, my job, which is purely intellectual, leaves me with little by way of resources at the end of the day and the fatigue it causes creeps up an you insidiously, so that you only notice quite how exhausted you are when you have a longish stint of holiday. What I need to complete my various projects for my blog is a couple of months to dedicate purely to writing – this is where tiresome necessity makes itself felt big time…I can’t afford to take that time on unpaid leave.
I also have rigid quality standards. I would quite literally prefer to write nothing at all than post for the sake of it.
Blogs also evolve over time, as you rightly point out Gordon. Again, drawing on the example I know best, my own, when I started off and knew I had only one reader, my Blogfather, I merrily included a great deal of highly personal information. Now, however, I am increasingly loath to record anything about my daily life (in spite of knowing that these more “accessible” postings are more appreciated than my lengthy investigations.
What Misssy M so perceptively comments is also relevant – it can indeed be extremely disheartening to invest so much in a blog and yet receive so little by way of acknowledgement. I recently attended a launch celebrating the publication of a blog-based book. The author performed brilliantly and deserved every bit of attention she received. I was delighted for her (her observations are sharp and her talents as a humorist second to none). The famous speaker who introduced her remarked that if you are good you will be noticed. Of course this statement is not necessarily correct in a context of risk-averse publishing. Let’s be honest, however, unless a blog comes to the attention of a wider public and possesses commercially attractive features, it is more or less doomed to obscurity. Look at what has been or is about to be published: an allegedly “feminist” sex diary and the trials and tribulations of being a single mother (in a city with highly marketable associations/cultural connotations – Sadie from Scunthorpe struggling by on benefits would lack such allure in the American mind for a start). This isn’t about innate ability, but ticking boxes, a calculation on the part of publishers on what is likely to appeal to a mass market.
That supposedly encouraging throwaway statement (exacerbated by the unpleasant experience of being cold-shouldered by the clique of bloggers sharing their ex-pat residence of choice with me) threw me into such a depression that I squandered an entire weekend of what could have been productive reading/preparation.
What I enjoy about blogging is the freedom it provides and I do not think that Gordon’s call to courtesy should be misinterpreted as somehow laying down the law. That would be completely out of character.

By: Misssy M

Misssy M — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 16:19:03 +0000

Two of my favourite bloggers have not been posting for the last four months and I know it’s for personal reasons- life taking over etc, but I miss them and I worry about how they are.

I don’t think people realise how much of an effect their little musings can have.

Sadly I also think that some people can feel disheartened about the lack of comments they get and simply give up. They mistake lack of comments for lack of readers. Can I take this chance to ask each one of you to delurk on a site you read and comment just to gee people up and spread some good vibes, particularly if they are a new blogger.

It’ll make a difference.

By: hans stolte

hans stolte — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 22:07:18 +0000

It will be like giving up drugs/drink/sex with monkeys

Comments on: Saying goodbye

By: Andy C

By: Wilmaryad

By: Chameleon

By: Misssy M

By: hans stolte