Tuesday, February 25, 2014

A Blogging Update -- Time for a Change...


Hi, there.

Well, it seems that in my on-again, off-again blogging, I have been very much in the off-again mode this past month.

First, let me apologize for any concern that my unplanned and sudden absence may have caused -- I can assure you that really, all is well.  I went through a battle with the flu and some other things, and in spite of my good intentions, my short blogging lull stretched from a few days into several weeks.  But on the overall scale of "things-that-could-go-wrong," I'm thankful that my absence was mainly caused by things that are actually pretty low on the list.

However, it's become clear to me that at this stage in my life, blogging has had to take a bit of a back seat.  It's not that I don't like it, and -- thankfully -- it's not because I don't have anything to blog about.  This is supposed to be an outlet for "the creative output of StratPlayer" and I'm glad that I'm still managing to squeeze in at least a little time to do the creative things that I want to blog about.  So that's a plus.  It's much better to create and not blog, than to blog about what I'm not creating, right?

But still, I think it's time to make some changes to this blog.  I obviously need to step aside from any scheduled blogging activity.  I enjoy them, but I can't seem to make them a consistent, long-term commitment that I can honor.  So I'm stepping aside from the Battle of the Bands, and also from the Insecure Writers Support Group.  I enjoyed both and have nothing but respect for the founders of both, but I think it's wrong to take part in something unless I can consistently do so.

I may still post a "Newsday 200" kind of story from time to time, but the scheduled "Tuesday" part of it will stop. 

Moving forward, this blog will become more of an unscheduled, solo journal -- no "gotta post on a given day" kinds of posts.  More like just a place to post and share any writing and music that I create.  That's really my core intention for this blog, anyway.

But I'm afraid this will not be much of a social blog.  No blog-hops, no blogging events, no blogathons, no "sign-up-in-the-linky-list" activities.

I know there are a LOT of wonderful bloggers out there that I've come to know and admire and enjoy over the years, and I do regret that I don't have the time to interact with them much for the foreseeable future.  I also know that my blog will likely suffer in terms of readership -- there will unfortunately be very little, "I'll read and comment on yours if you read and comment on mine" exchanges for a while. I don't want this to sound selfish -- as I said, I REALLY do enjoy all the other bloggers I've interacted with, and I will still try to visit their blogs as I can. 

But for at least the short-term future, my blog will pretty much shift to being just an journal of my own stuff and not as much of a home base for any interactive, social blogging activity.

Of course, I still welcome you to visit and read and listen and hopefully enjoy what I post here.  But that posting may be on an erratic schedule, and I will not be able to do much in the way of return-blogging and commenting reciprocity.  Please don't take it personally -- if you have a blog of your own and don't see much from me, it's absolutely NOT that I'm avoiding you or that I don't enjoy your blog. 

I'm just that when it comes to blogging, I'm afraid I'm kind of stuck in a "post-and-run" time-crunch these days.

14 comments:

  1. You have to do what works best for you. Sad to see you leave the IWSG, but the invitation to rejoin is always open. Hopefully you'll continue to share some creations with us now and then.

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    1. Yeah, I'm sorry too, Alex. I'd just joined, lol!

      But my current schedule is so erratic that I think it's best to step aside from any 'gotta-posts' for a while. And I will continue to share -- that's the whole point of my blog. It will just be on a little more casual schedule...

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  2. Oh Chris, we all do what we must in order to keep our lives afloat. If all you can manage is infrequent posting... then that is what it is. Be well, my friend.

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    1. Thank you, Robin!

      I love the BOTB, but just don't have the time right now to do it like I'd like to. I will still try to take part as a commenter as much as I can.

      And it's not like I'm going away. I'm just going off any 'schedule' that I've clearly demonstrated I am unable to keep. ;)

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  3. Chris-glad everything is ok. Just when I finally was remembering to link to your BOTB posts....

    Larry

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    1. LOL! Well, thanks for the link anyway, Larry.And I appreciate the thoughts and I will still try to take part in the BOTB as a commenter as often as I can.

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  4. I have this thing going on with God right now. It's like photosynthesis--the living information. You take and give what you need to in the moment that the need is there, and nothing more. A consider the lilies of the field kind of thing. Perhaps there's something in there for your blogging in that, Chris.

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    1. Suze, as always -- you share such great, thought-inducing points. While I may not be anywhere as idle as the lilies of the field these days, I absolutely think you're right that it's best to trust in God to provide. I can always stand to shred some of the stress and worry.

      Thank you for your thoughts!

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    2. That's just it, my dear friend. The lilies aren't idle. They're taking in that living stream of information constantly and thumbing their petals in the face of death by becoming new every year. It's truly a miracle.

      Loved 'Streams of Moonlight.'

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    3. Great point, Suze. You're absolutely right. :)

      And thank you very much for your kind comments about my music!

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  5. I hope you feel better, and I say yay for the do-it-as-you-feel-it style of blogging. Don't let it become a chore. Have a great weekend! :)

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    1. Thank Lexa! (And sorry for the delay in responding -- I'd missed your comment!)

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Don't be shy -- feel free to comment. I really appreciate your thoughts.