A weird calm

Ever since I posted Significant increase in traffic yesterday, it has been quiet out there - maybe too quiet. I read a thing about bloggers and the thesis of the article is that if you are obsessive about things in general, you will be a good blogger. The reason is that "good" bloggers are the ones that continually tweak their templates, obsessively check your web logs for traffic reports, constantly write a publish and continually edit posts after the initial posts. Upon reading that, I leapt out of my chair, ran to the bathroom and took a long look. "Who are you?" I screamed at my reflection. "How did you become this blogging ... t-t-thing?" Three people immediately stopped what they were doing and left the restroom without even washing their hands - Philistines! Really, I mean to simply walk out of a restroom without washing your hands in this day and age. When the Washington State Department of Health has gone to all the trouble to post signs in all restaurant restrooms that "Hands must be washed for 20 seconds with warm soapy water." You would assume that in an office building the people would be a little more conscientious than that. That's not important. Continuing the self-interrogation, I loudly questioned my own sanity very aggressively. Hearing the door open, I spun to determine the identity of the interloper. He immediately spun on his heal mumbling something about using the other restroom. Whatever. I think I came upon something. Thinking back about the blogs I have been running over I have seen a familiar pattern. There is the beginning phase, where the blogs are very tentative, brief and full of self-consciousness. Then the explosion of posts as the writer is caught up in the whirlwind of ideas. It is as if the words are flying off their fingers at an incredibly manic pace. As the blog picks up speed and the comments increase, the blogging hits full force. Then the perceived pressure to provide content for the loyal readers begins to moment. The posts are a little tighter, more forced emotion. That usually coincidences with the first plateau in traffic. Suddenly, it's a crisis. Aching posts full of self-doubt. The needy - "Why aren't you reading me?" posts. Next, it is either the teary goodbye or the sudden ending of posts. Lastly, there is the return full of emotion and explanation of the soul search and the promises to try to start blogging again. Trust me, I am not judging these individuals. I am merely making some observations. As a matter of fact, I have experienced each of the emotions I described above personally. Some I have shared, some I have not. I haven't made it to the self-imposed sabbatical yet, but it's probably just around the corner. Maybe not. One thing is for sure, if you jump into this blogging thing - check you sanity at the door and don't expect anyone to recognize who you are. Technorati Tags: Fiction, Online Book, Chapter, Rebeleyeball, Paul Gavin IceRocket Tags: Fiction, Blook, Chapter, Rebeleyeball Copyright (c) 2006 Paul Gavin. All rights reserved.