Tuesday, March 17, 2015

On Comments

Day 17 of the Slice of Life challenge


I continue to learn new things through this Slice of Life challenge.  One of the lessons I'll carry with me is to comment on all the blogs I read.  Perhaps not each and every post, but far more often than I have been.  

I didn't comment much before for a list of reasons--too busy, reading on the go, my opinion wasn't quite formed yet, and sometimes even that my opinion or comments didn't really matter in the long run. 

Here's what I've learned: comments matter.  Writing is, at heart, a conversation between the writer and the reader.  No reader, no conversation---just a monologue.  It helps me as a writer to feel that I'm not always just a lone voice singing in the wind.  When you comment, I know I've reached you, even if we disagree.  If you comment, neither of us feel alone in our thoughts and sometimes we can even learn from one another.  If I comment, I do the same for you. 

I read many blogs consistently. Up to this point, I can count only a handful of times I've commented--which is silly given how giddy I get when I get comments on my posts.  "But mine is just a little blog," I think, "and theirs has thousands of followers.  My comment would be redundant. That first commenter said it better than I could."  

I'm so thankful that this challenge has truly challenged me in many ways---the hosts were brilliant for requiring everyone to comment on three other posts per day.  This is another good habit I'll be happy to keep after March is long over. 


10 comments:

  1. As a first-time slicer, I can totally relate to this post! I have actually made comments and then backspaced them into oblivion before hitting "Publish" because I thought my comment was not insightful enough! Once, Heaven help me, I posted a comment that included a spelling error and was mortified when I realized what I'd done. I thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated your insight on this commenting issue. I, too, plan to increase my comments because I love when people leave comments for me.

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  2. I can't tell you how many times I've done the backspace-it-out-of-existence dance in the comment box before I hit publish! :) thanks for your comment!

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  3. Gosh, I never thought of it applying to blogs other than slices.

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  4. :) I read a GREAT blog post today---and her posts always make me think....and yet I realized I've only left one comment in ALL the times I've read her posts---and I love being challenged to think outside the box. I have promised myself I'll go back to this one specifically to comment as it really spurred me to write my slice today. http://pernillesripp.com/ go check her out!

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  5. I remember the first time I sliced I couldn't wait to sit down with my coffee in the morning and read my comments. It is the best! I feel like my students do when we don't have time to share during writing workshop if I don't find any comments. I often read favorite blogs and have had the same thoughts as you and feel inadequate leaving a comment. You have inspired me to push myself to comment more after slicing. Thanks for making us think!

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  6. I remember the first time I sliced I couldn't wait to sit down with my coffee in the morning and read my comments. It is the best! I feel like my students do when we don't have time to share during writing workshop if I don't find any comments. I often read favorite blogs and have had the same thoughts as you and feel inadequate leaving a comment. You have inspired me to push myself to comment more after slicing. Thanks for making us think!

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  7. I remember the first time I sliced I couldn't wait to sit down with my coffee in the morning and read my comments. It is the best! I feel like my students do when we don't have time to share during writing workshop if I don't find any comments. I often read favorite blogs and have had the same thoughts as you and feel inadequate leaving a comment. You have inspired me to push myself to comment more after slicing. Thanks for making us think!

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  8. I remember the first time I sliced I couldn't wait to sit down with my coffee in the morning and read my comments. It is the best! I feel like my students do when we don't have time to share during writing workshop if I don't find any comments. I often read favorite blogs and have had the same thoughts as you and feel inadequate leaving a comment. You have inspired me to push myself to comment more after slicing. Thanks for making us think!

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  9. I am the same. I rarely leave comments on my most favorite blogs but I do comment on SOL. I am going to push myself to comment now after slicing as well. I love reading my comments and I need to remember others do too. Thank you for making us think!

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  10. So true! I'm glad I'm not the only one who really gets a kick out of the comments made on my writing, and when a writer responds to the comments I've left.

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