My Problem With Replying To Blog Comments

I’m not sure why, but I feel the need to reply to comments almost immediately.

I feel bad replying a few or several hours later. But life happens.

I also can’t stand when something goes wrong on the technical end and my comment doesn’t send.

I’m the same way with commenting on other bloggers’ posts. I know I’ve been a bad blogger lately in that regard. But I cringe at the thought of leaving a comment on a post that was published a day ago. It feels wrong to me.

As a blogger, I welcome comments. Even and especially on older posts,  I love getting them. As a reader, I’m weird, so sometimes I won’t comment.

I understand bloggers are busy. Everyone has a life to live. So I don’t expect instant comments or replies. In fact, the longer I wait, the more I eagerly await a response.

I still feel somewhat sad when I can’t reply right away. It’s not that I don’t want to.

When I’m away from my blog because I don’t have a Wi-Fi connection, it seems all I can think about is blogging.

The other day someone made a point about how society nowadays expects a quick reply with emails. But remember those days when the world only had snail mail and communications took much longer? Besides, a lot of stuff isn’t all that urgent.

What mattered more was that we got a response eventually, not so much that we had to wait for one.

Maybe I should stop worrying so much over wait times and focus on the content of the message itself.

All this being said, I’ll still try to get back to all of you as soon as possible.

Remind me to remind myself that replying and responding isn’t a race.

Publishing 1,458 Posts

April 2, 2013: I published my first blog post.

April 2, 2017: I’m publishing my one thousand four hundred fifty eighth post.

That’s a lot of posts.

I know many of them are bad, imperfect, etc.

They’re short.

They aren’t life-changing or mind-blowing.

But that’s okay.

I still remember the days I had zero posts to my name. At one point, I had no followers and no views on this blog. Even though numbers don’t matter, I still can’t wrap my head around any of this.

It feels like I just started blogging yesterday but also like I’ve been blogging ever since I was born.

It’s insane to think I’ve had so many ideas. What’s even more insane is the fact that I’ve published a great number of them.

As for those 500+ drafts I have lying around, some will never see the light of day. Others, with a lot of tinkering, just might.

I can’t say it enough—thank you for reading, commenting, and sharing. I hope you continue to.

Why I Don’t Comment Enough

I ought to comment more. But I don’t.

Sometimes I read something, and I don’t know what to say afterwards. I’m rendered speechless, usually for all the right reasons. In that case, kudos to you for leaving this writer at a loss for words.

But occasionally I have the hardest time hitting that reply button. I’ll type a comment, erase it, type something else, delete it. I hold back. I fear this, that. So sometimes those comments I came up with never make their way to all of the amazing bloggers out there.

Reading is easier. Reaching out is harder. Commenting can be challenging. But that’s why it’s so rewarding.

Commenting On My First Post

I thought it’d be interesting to comment on my first post.

Especially since I’ve published more than 1,000 posts on this blog.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane, shall we?

The red text are my current comments.

***

My claim to fame was through having my work published and being Googleable. Wow, aren’t you vain? Fame? No one knows your name. Most people can’t pronounce it. Much less spell it. This means that if you searched my name up, you would see my writing posted on a website as well as in an anthology. Spelling it out for everyone, eh? Big deal. Furthermore, you would see a picture of me featured in another article online. I sound so full of myself. I am though. Here I offer you my top ten rules to follow in order to achieve that ever-prevalent goal among writers of being published. What was wrong with fifteen year old me? 

1. One shall write (preferably every day). I don’t always follow my own advice. 
2. One shall write well. If one cannot, then one shall learn to write well. I make it sound easy. It’s not.
3. One shall revise, edit, and proofread without whining. I whine more than I write.
4. One shall never plagiarize or copy off another writer under any circumstance whatsoever. Don’t do it.
5. One shall seek out editors, agents, publishers, and others in the business knowledgeably. Yeah, again easier said than done.
6. One shall submit his or her best work only. This means no first or rough drafts. I love that I felt the need to clarify what I meant.
7. One shall never procrastinate. What’s procrastinate? The word isn’t in my vocabulary. 
8. One shall learn from mistakes vowing never to repeat those same mistakes again. I hate that missing comma.
9. One shall take criticism well and learn to overcome rejection. No, really?
10. One shall learn to be patient. Finally some sense.

On that note, having my writing published isn’t just a dream anymore…it is actually a reality. I still haven’t published a novel.

***

How in the world did ten people like, much less come across, my very first post?

If you cringed as much as I did reading this, let me know by not liking this post.

WordPress Really Needs…

A chat feature.

If Tumblr can do it, you can too WordPress.

I would love to interact with other bloggers one on one. 

Even though I love commenting on posts, I stress over it. I take forever to respond because I have to write, then rewrite, and then edit all my comments. 

I’m weird like that. 

WordPress Party

So after NaNoWriMo is over and school winds, I’m going to throw a party on WordPress every day.

I’m going to be in your face, in your space. It’s going to be great.

What I mean is recently I haven’t been reading, commenting, and interacting as much as I’d like so I want to read, comment and interact more. I blame university more than writing for this. You should too. University severely cuts down on my time to care for my blog, which makes me so sad.

But I promise that in December, you’ll be seeing a lot more of me on your blog. Or blogs. Maybe even your dashboard if I can get my life together and post more frequently.

Unfollow me now if you aren’t keen on this wonderful WordPress party.

10 Mistakes Beginner Bloggers Tend To Make

By “beginner bloggers” I mean myself obviously. I cannot speak for anyone else.

Below are ten of the biggest mistakes I made when I started this blog over two years ago.

1. Underestimate the amount of work maintaining a blog takes. I thought writing a blog post would be like eating a piece of cake. It’s sweet when I finally publish a post. Most of the time, I toil away drafting, editing, formatting, etc.
2. Not have clear goals in mind. I never went in wanting fame or fortune. Still, it would have been nice to set clearer goals so I didn’t have to be flustered every time I had no idea what to do next.
3. Isolate myself from other bloggers by not commenting and interacting. I regret this. I’m sorry I was such a horrible blogger in the beginning.
4. Follow back everyone who followed me or liked one of my posts. I followed many blogs and have since diminished the rate at which I click the follow button. Sorry, not sorry. I’m selective, I’m picky, and I can’t possibly keep up with everybody.
5. Take the important things for granted. You never know what you have and how good you have it until it’s gone.
6. Refuse to ask for help. Thankfully, some kind souls bestowed their wisdom upon me.
7. Be impersonal. I must’ve sounded like a human without any personality. Robot Herminia.
8. Forget to cherish every part of the journey. Time, where have you gone?
9. Not include visuals or pictures. Because I didn’t make it a habit to, I don’t try as hard now. But I am working on it.
10. Beat myself up for every mistake. I think I’m getting better at this.

And yes, I still do some of the above.

Blogging 201: Set Three Goals

Blogging 201 is happening. Of course I’m participating.

Today’s assignment:

Consider what you want to accomplish with your blog. Write down three concrete goals.

To continue blogging during university (hopefully beyond that too). 

I won’t be blogging every single day in the next four years, but I hope to post as frequently as I can.

To grow aspiringwriter22 by gaining even more followers and views.

It has already exceeded my wildest dreams, gone beyond my craziest expectations. I’m grateful for every follower, every reader, every single one of you.

To support as many bloggers as I can by reading, liking, commenting, or doing whatever else I can.

I wouldn’t be the blogger I am today without all your support.

What are your goals? Remember it’s your blog and your life. So do as you please.