I know it isn’t Kardashian numbers, but my blog counter just ticked over 500,000. That seems like a lot to me and it seems that it is worth celebrating.
It is always interesting to me which blog posts get the most reads. I write about plays, movies, faith, my life and whatever hits me that day. Just when I decide that no one wants to read about my life and I should stick to reviews, a simple story from my experiences get a huge following.
Or just when I think that I shouldn’t write about my faith, a post about a sermon that inspired me takes off.
I just never know.
Many times when I pour out my heart, hoping that I am saying something that will make a difference, I see a comment that shows a reader took away what I ate during the event rather than the lesson learned. I have said out loud to my cat many a time “THAT is all they got out of this story!!”
There are the days that I write, hit publish and then wait for someone to attack me for saying too much, for not saying enough, for being blunt or being too vague. As I fret and wait, I decide to quit writing, that I am only asking for trouble. And then I get ten positive responses and go on to write another day.
On the days that I feel the need to write, but just can’t find the time, I feel smothered, stifled and anxious. I have lists of things I want to write about if I can only find the time.
Sometimes I start writing about one thing and realize I am actually writing about something entirely different. I used to put the title first and then begin writing. Too often I had to change the title because my ideas carried me somewhere else. Now I write first, decide on a title later.
I never wanted to add pictures, I wanted my words to paint pictures in your mind. Lofty plan, huh? When I went to Puerto Rico I decided I should add a picture to each post. Of course, now I repeat pictures often because I forget to take pictures and am a terrible photographer!
Overall, I don’t think I would survive without writing. I don’t have to have the validation of readers, but I do love to know someone reads what I write and that sometimes it causes that someone to have a thought.
I had a professor at Montevallo who argued with me for an entire summer about art. He said it wasn’t art unless someone else saw it. I disagreed. Now my writing is hardly “art” but it does feel more real when someone else sees it. I think Dr. Wright would appreciate that I am coming around to his way of thinking!
I started a book last January and after almost 50,000 words, I decided it could not be shared. Now I think I have an inspiration to make it work. Hopefully, I can work on that this next year. I also begin rehearsals for a play next week and know that will keep me interested and busy. Hopefully, I will still find time to write.
Mostly, I just want to say thank you for reading all of this, for commenting when you feel the urge and sharing when you want. Half a million isn’t that much in the big scheme of social media, I know. But if I had a dollar for every read it would seem like a lot!
No money though, just joy. And that is even better.
