I was going to write a blog post about my six-year-old daughter’s fear of death; and then I wrote a poem about it [instead]. That’s not to say that I’ve entirely abandoned the idea, as there’s a lot for me to say on the matter, but… it’s been hard for me to make progress on that post.
Even composing this account of my daily blogging is feeling like a bit of a trial to me. The more poetry I write, the less other forms of expression seem to be speaking to me… And I write poetry every single day, except for Shabbat (the Sabbath) and certain Jewish holidays.
As a writer, the consideration of how well I convey meaning in written form is of nearly utmost importance to me; but it has been becoming increasingly secondary to my sense of personal satisfaction. More and more, I am writing for myself as the primary audience. My poetry is written for me, and my ‘me’ wants – more poetry.
The more I explore and work at poetry, the more I find myself conveying thoughts in fewer words. Really, so much of what so many people write is so long… How many words does one actually need to convey their intended meanings? Even now, as I look up at the few paragraphs I’ve written above, I wonder… are all of these words actually necessary? (The answer, I think, is: ‘no’.)
I suppose that sometimes, like right now, I want to write in prose form to feel more certain that I’m being understood correctly. But this process and its outputs have come to be decreasingly fulfilling, compared to playing with poetry. (and it very much is ‘playing’)
Meanwhile, I’ve been noticing two divergent trends on my blog over the last several months, which have not reversed themselves:
- I have been receiving increasingly more comments and enjoying more active engagement at the ‘Skeptic’s Kaddish’ with other poets and writers; AND
- My total blog views per month have been dropping.
When I first noted that my monthly views were going down, back in September, I assumed that this had something to do with my increased output of micropoetry, for I had gotten into the groove of posting a lot of short pieces in a furious attempt to pen 365 poems for 2021 on Twitter. It made sense to me that some readers might have tired of so much micropoetry.
However, in the ensuing months, while I have been exploring many longer forms of poetry and have been posting micropoems only sporadically, my monthly views at the ‘Skeptic’s Kaddish’ have continued to decline… Even while the comment section of my blog has continued to grow increasingly active and full of engaging interactions with brilliant, supportive hearts and minds.
Honestly, I have never before enjoyed composing poetry and blogging here at the ‘Skeptic’s Kaddish’ as much I do now. And despite WordPress’s heavy, corporate emphasis on readership statistics, I’ve simply come to stop caring about them… because they don’t seem to reflect anything substantive or important to me.
Today, my creative blogging has come to feel like it’s at a perfectly comfortable place for me; and I feel so very blessed to enjoy reciprocal relationships with so many inspiring writers. For those of you who take the time to read my work and provide me with your feedback and support… no lines of mine could suffice to express my gratitude for your friendship.
The Skeptic's Kaddish ๐ฎ๐ฑ 
The lure of the numbers is hard to resist. Social sirens on the rocks. But I just write, post and look at the counter every 6 months. It’s not like I’m making money at it.
โค Ken โค – neither am I. I feel you.
All best,
David
Popular posts get my attention. I check them over to make sure my spelling and grammar are correct and I add new information along the lines of what the post covers. I type “Update” at the top of such a post and date it. Lets the reader know they are looking at a maintained website and not an archive. Best, Thomas
That’s a really good idea, Thomas… I’ve never done that, but I probably should!
Thank you โค
David
Keep writing and enjoying it, David. Forget about the analytics and statistics. Thatโs just satisfaction for the ego. You are doing an awesome job. Persistence and dedication always pay. ๐
๐คโฅ๏ธ Terveen โฅ๏ธ๐ค
I’m loving the fact that you decided that stats hold no overly important meaning for you. I applaud that. I have found that if I worry about stats in either my blogging efforts or book publishing efforts, it messes with my head, and ultimately interferes with how I write. It seems to inhibit my writing strictly from my heart. I sense that it is the same with you brother. Kudos!! Shalom!
๐ค๐ค Joe ๐ค๐ค – yes! That’s exactly it.
Thanks,
David
David all my poetry I write for myself my friend. It is a blessing to have. I do understand not being able to concentrate on other forms – however I’m sure you will surge through with your beautiful writing โค๏ธ
โค Soni โค – thank you so much. That's very kind.
-David
I am new here as well, I just joined. Honestly I donโt even know what I am doing or if I even write goodโฆ I just doing it to calm myself. So just write whatever soothes you and your loving readers will always be in love with your writing.
โค Nupur โค
I think that what you're doing is the most important thing – you need to write for yourself, otherwise it won't be sustainable.
Thank you!
David
Thankyou โ๏ธ It will give me pleasure of you have a look on what I wrote ๐๐ผ
How do you get people to interact with your posts?
Jonathan, it took me a while to develop relationships with other bloggers online… I interacted with them on their blogs and participated in poetry prompts, and gradually I built a network of friends in the blogosphere… it’s something that takes time investment.
All best,
David
Everything that is worthwhile takes time, so I understand that. Thank you for your reply.
Jonathon
My pleasure!
BTW, I wrote a series of posts for new bloggers here, if you’re interested:
I am interested in checking that out. Thank you.
I too enjoy your honesty David. If you truly write for yourself and not for your peers then good for you. I think I take my writing far too serious. By the way it could be that all your likes are not registering too. I have an active ticket where they are trying to figure out why my like button doesn’t work much of the time. I am grateful they are trying to fix it for me but there are a lot of issues involved. Every time there is a software update to Chrome it changes things and if someone doesn’t have the latest version that can make a difference with the likes. So that may be some of your issues but it seems like you get a lot of likes on your post to me. I look forward to reading about your conversation about your daughter’s fear of death. Sending Hugs to you and your family. Joni xoxoxo
โค Joni โค
How so?
That’s possible… but in this post, I was referring to how often my posts get read – not liked…
All best,
David
That was what I thought you were saying. It could be a technical issue. I will have a 140 views and fifty likes for example. I think I know what you mean. I have a ticket with WordPress they are trying to fix my problem. Sending love my friend. โค๏ธโค๏ธ
Perfectly said. Just keep writing. Doing what you believe in regularly is fulfilling than following what others think you should believe in. Write and let those who believe in your writing follow it with love. Your writing is neat and your styles heartwarming. Go go go. ๐ฅfor consistency. ๐
โค Lamittan โค – thank you so much for your kind encouragement. I really appreciate it!
Sincerely,
David
You’re welcome ๐๐
A writer has to write as a bird has to sing. A first draft of any short form article or post should bend to cutting by a third. It’s a matter of time. “If I had more time I would write you a shorter letter.” Page views are inscrutable for personal blog sites in that Google is constantly changing its search algorithms. None of us optimize our sites for SEO and none of us want to. But to really understand page view popularity then you have to dive into the ocean of SEO and get familiar with this dark art. I deal with this when working as a freelancer for businesses but SEO is a time and money trap for any personal blog site. I enjoy your posts. Good luck with the writing.
Thomas, it’s nice to meet you!
I don’t really write with any search algorithms in mind… I mean – that would be weird, given that I mostly write poetry. Could you imagine it? Poems inspired by the Google algorithm? ๐
I really appreciate your perspective on this – thank you for sharing.
BTW. I noticed on your blog that you write that you’re “mostly on Instagram” … could you explain that to me? I’ve never really used IG, and I don’t quite understand the advantages over WP… is it that shorter posts are more acceptable there?
โค
David
Nice to meet you, too. No, no one with a personal blog is writing with SEO in mind. To understand page views and why they are rising or falling, however, you’d have to read up on SEO and learn to analyze the statistics your website generates. An expensive dead end for anyone not selling a product or service. I use Instagram to show people something about my travels and my rockhounding. It’s mostly image based. My blog posts are for longer think pieces. Those are mostly based on text. I’ll write a post on my experiences with The Gram in a day or two. Show how some things work. Thanks, Thomas
Dear Mr David,
I am also grateful to be learning from you. I am getting a lot of information on writing and it comes helpful, especially because I am taking TEFL (teaching English internationally), your research and explanations are always a teachable moment. Thank you for your hard work.
Regards
โค โค Ntebo โค โค – it's my pleasure… I'm honored!
BTW, there's no need for formalities on my blog… I'm just ‘David’ – still a boy at heart! ๐
-David
This is an amazing eye opener for me. Thank you so much for coming up with a wonderful blog like this. I started my blogs in 2018 but gave up after a couple of blogs. I posted a couple of travel blogs but didn’t get much response. I was too much bothered about Statistics and no.of views. But the contents and comments in this blogs have convinced me never to give up. Thank you so much for boosting my confidence.
๐ Aparna ๐ ~ that’s very kind of you.
I wish you all the luck!
I don’t know if you’ll find any of this helpful, but I wrote some blogging tips here for new bloggers:
Take care,
David