Confessions Of A Blogger

4 years of being a blogger means I have a lot to confess. So here goes…

I’ve never reblogged a post.

I wanted to publish my own, original content way back when I first started. And I’ve stuck by that ever since. So I probably won’t reblog anything ever.

I used to follow everyone who followed me.

I stopped after the first few months. Now I rarely follow anyone. With blogging, I’m extreme when it comes to everything. There’s just no in between.

I wanted to quit from time to time. 

I have no intentions to stop posting right now. Besides, I’d give up a lot before I’d give up blogging.

Confessing is liberating.

Blogging Advice I Don’t Follow

I know I spew a lot of advice on this blog. But I don’t always follow my own preaching. So how do you expect me to follow someone else’s blogging tips?

Below I share what some bloggers say you should do, why I don’t do so, and how I justify being such a rebel.

Have an email list.

I don’t care to build one.

First, if I don’t care to do something, I won’t do it, much less to the extent I should. Second, selling or promoting something isn’t my goal as a blogger. Third, no one deserves to be spammed with useless emails from yours truly.

Have approximately 15 tags per post.

I can’t count. 

For the record, I’m a dancer. I only need to count to 8. Also, I swear I saw someone, somewhere say to include around 15 tags per post. Not 1. Not 50. About 15 give or take. Surprise: I’ve published posts with only 3 tags and some with way too many. I put very little thought into tagging like I do with many things.

Have an introduction and conclusion.

I’m lazy.

Sometimes I’m too lazy to come up with an introduction. And those rare times I’m not, my willpower to write a conclusion is non-existent at the end of my blogging session. This post is no exception.

Things I Lack

I’m lacking…

Blogs to follow.

I followed a ton of blogs when I first began blogging, but I haven’t as of late. Sorry. Scream at me and say I’m a horrible blogger. Maybe then I’ll try to be better. I can’t make any guarantees. Have you met me? 

Pens to use.

Here’s some questionable advice from yours truly: Don’t get a writer flowers when you can get them pens. Or notebooks. Anything pretty and useful. 

Time to waste.

If you waste my time, the next time I see you will be too soon. Too soon indeed. 

What, if anything, are you lacking?

Reactions I Have Scrolling Through My Reader

I was going to title this post “Reader Reactions”, but then realized that was a little misleading.

These are some of my thoughts while scrolling through the WordPress reader.

“When are you going to post something?”

“I don’t know how you’re so active.”

“When did I follow you?”

“I love your blog, so by extension, I love you.”

Thanks to all the amazing bloggers I follow. Without you, I wouldn’t react the way I do.

I mean everything I say in the best possible way.

Happy Boxing Day. Happy Kwanzaa. Happy Saturday. Happy whatever is applicable and relevant to you!

Exam Writing Advice I Should Follow

I’m curating my own advice in the form of a blog post with hopes that I will follow it.

If I fail, it’s not the end of this blog. Don’t worry. And you know this blog is my world.

Ready, set, go.

• Listen to instructions. Read everything carefully. Follow them to a tee.
• Be aware of the time you have and manage it accordingly. Don’t spend an entire hour working on one problem worth 2 points.
• If the exam explicitly tells you how much each question is worth, use that knowledge to determine how much you need to write or how long you should spend on said question. (Bless the creator of the exam.)
• Answer what is asked of you. No more, no less. You don’t have time for redundancy. Or inadequacy.
• Check over your work. Careless mistakes happen. Careless mistakes can and should be caught.

I’ll need all the luck I can get.

It shouldn’t surprise you that instead of studying, I’m writing about exam writing.

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.

Writing Is Easier When…

You outline.

But I never outline properly.

I always end up straying away from my outline because my characters have minds of their own. Not that I’m complaining or anything.

Characters are people too.

Blogging 201: Give ‘Em What They Want, II

Today’s assignment:

Create a poll and/or a survey to collect feedback from your readers on your site and its content.

Because I’m curious and I don’t think I’ve ever asked this before:

Why did you make the conscious decision to follow me anyway?

The above was very much a rhetorical question. However, if you’d like to know why I’m following you, ask away and I’ll give you my honest answer.

Now that Blogging 201 is officially over, I’m going to go back to blogging about whatever my mind conjures up. Like always if you have suggestions or requests, let me know in the comments below. I’d be more than happy to comply.

This might seem like an afterthought, but I promise Camp has occupied plenty of my thoughts all month long. It’s over. Insane, huh? 31 days. Plenty of words richer.

Ready to do it all over again?