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generously hosted by Denise Farley of GirlieOnTheEdge
every week that I participate in a certain blog hop, I hope the members of that community will swing by to read and comment on my contribution, as I do theirs.
I can see that they're reading my posts, and commenting on each other's entries while offering mine the silent treatment, leaving me with a momentarily bitter taste in my mouth - like they're hoping that if they ignore me, I'll go away.
the sting of their betrayal shows how frail their sensitivities are, as they seem to lack the curiosity to engage with my subject matter, torn as it is from recent headlines.
I grow restless over their silence, and my confidence would take a massive hit if I hadn't learned to strip myself of the doubts planted by others hiding behind a facade of righteousness, judging me from wherever they are in the world.
I want to dare them to come to where I am, and learn the truth for themselves, but ultimately I don't bother with such petty foolishness.
I will continue as I began; writing for me.
*I wrote this on Sunday using the prompt words for The Sunday Whirl, and wanted to include it here too, so imagine my surprise when it turned out to be exactly six sentences! I was planning on having to do some editing, but all it needed was for me to add the prompt word in a spot where it fit, and voila! some of the folks over at the Whirl told me that the process of using a WordPress/Google account to comment on Blogger is cumbersome and problematic, so I took a look at my settings to see if there was anything on my end that was causing an issue, and there doesn't seem to be. so, I guess the Universe only wants me hear from people who are willing to go the extra mile. 😉
Selah ~
Hopefully people will be able to comment here Sarah - and it’s not a bad thing to just write for our own pleasure ♥️
ReplyDeletethanks for visiting and leaving a comment! one question, though...who is Sarah?
DeleteI write many of my stories in advance as well hoping the prompt word will fit.
ReplyDeletesmart idea. maybe I'll try it sometime! thanks for stopping in and leaving a comment!
DeleteFor some reason, the posts I always think will generate the most comments- seldom are. So, I just write what I enjoy and hope it brings even a sliver of my contentment to whomever might read it- commenter or not.
ReplyDeleteI'm not writing to generate comments, but when it comes to these 'blog hops', I feel like we're creating community...or trying to anyway. and when I follow the 'rules' as posted (read ALL the other entries, Leave Comments, and share) and others don't, it feels very much like a closed circle to me. if I read a writer's post and leave a comment, then the least they could do is return the favor. obviously that's just my opinion, and I will continue to write (as I always have) if anyone is reading or not. thanks for visiting and leaving a comment!
Delete(Frank! Dude! We're not supposed to tell people that! lol)
ReplyDeleteIn my defense I will try, on an unpredictable schedule, to 'write to the prompt word' but with my serial stories... time (lack of) is my explanation of 'finding a place for the week's prompt word'
as to the readage and commentationing* and lack thereof.
Surely the toughest thing about blogging and such, I'll go out on a limb and say that most of us have felt that way... it's the sense of, not so much feedback or, even, compliments... just the idea that your story (Six or six hundred sentences) was seen and read by another
sorry, running on...
I have the same problem with Blogger... and a couple of friends like Mimi like that platform...
*neither of which, I am inordinately proud to say, are 'real' words
make up all the words you can, lol! since I'm just getting started with SSS, I didn't have any serial stories already going, but I think if I continue, you'll see that I'm heading in that direction (I mean, I'm only a few stories in). it's not apparent how my entries are connected yet, but...we'll see. as for the 'commentationing', in my weird little world, it's more about etiquette. I read and commented because that's what the 'rules' say to do - so it's polite to return the favor. thanks for reading and commenting!
Deletewelll. you're in good company as to Serial Sixes... our host, Denise and Frank are very into the 'genre-ette', as well as Liz H. And, of course, Misky! (who, not for nothin,' I read and watch and study in the hopes of stealing style ideas from her Serials... a true Mistress of story presentation*)
DeleteAs to my efforts (currently a three story narrative grouped under the title 'Tales of the Six Sentence Café & Bistro... I blame my characters. Fortunate to have enduring ones, they just seem to do stuff on the page that leaves me typing a context.
ya know?
*;p the gender-adjusted form somehow doesn't quite have the gravitas
there are some really good stories being offered up by some highly talented writers at 6SS, and I'm hoping being in their company will force me to up my game. your Cafe is an interesting place, and I'm looking forward to getting to know it (and the characters who frequent it) better. I'm enjoying the challenge of raising my art in a way that brings something to the table!
DeleteI like your Six very much. It's honest, and it's something that everyone who writes feels.
ReplyDeleteI write mostly poetry, which means that most people (except for maybe 4 or 5) hold their nose and keep on going. But it's also my own undoing because I rarely use prompts for writing.
thank you! it's something I needed to get off my chest. I like poetry - even write it sometimes - and I know I've read and commented on your 6SS entries. I don't use prompts when writing for myself, which is most of the time, but I like the 'blog hops' for creating a writing community...having other writers to talk to about writing. maybe it's the wrong space for it and I need to look elsewhere, but we don't know if we don't try. thanks for your visit and your comment!
DeleteThat's a good Six!
ReplyDeletethanks - I appreciate your visit, and your comment!
DeleteI think that most writers feel that, I constantly need reassurance myself so I connected a lot to this six. I like the brutal honesty here. But in a world of fast paced poetry and short stories or promts most people don't comment. If the engagement on my Google analytics is okay though, perhaps I should feel that this is reassuring enough.
ReplyDeleteit's less about reassurance for me and more about manners or etiquette - I feel like since it's a 'blog hop', and 'the rules' say to read, comment, and share, we should all do that. I think it helps build community, which is why I do them in the first place. I don't much care about analytics - if I did, I'd write some romantic slop and monetize the crap out of my blog, but I'm here just writing to write, because I get a sense of fulfillment out of it. I'm glad you connected to what I wrote, though, and I appreciate you stopping in to visit and leaving a comment!
DeleteFor me it's a sense of both, on one side I want to know that people read and what they think because am generally always anxious if post something new wether it's good enough or not. But also the community side, especially alongside great writers like in this blog hop I enjoy reading and writing more than a stranger commenting "nice!" On my writing. And if they don't comment, they don't. But if they do, even criticism it's more valuable than not writing or not posting at all.
Deletethat's fair, because I do want to know that people are reading, and I am curious what they think, even if it's critical. I'm not really thinking in terms of 'good enough' because we all have different styles and different ways that we use our blogs. the only reason I won't comment is if someone wrote something I completely disagree with, though I will sometimes ask them to consider a different perspective. there are definitely some Really Good stories being shared in 6SS, and some...others. I'm not here to judge. I'm here to share and hopefully build some community.
DeleteI try to comment on every Six, even if it takes me time to get to them all, including after the link party has "ended." It's possible Wordpress is putting my comments in spam, it does that to me regularly even though I have an account.
ReplyDeleteyou have in fact commented on every one of my 6SS posts, Mimi - thank you so much! I appreciate your dedication to following the rules of the hop the same way I do. see you next time ~
DeleteI appeciate people leaving comments on my blog and always return the favour by following theirs, however time is limited and with several of them posting multiple pieces each day it can be difficult to keep up. I''ll be interested to see what you offer us next week!
ReplyDeletewell, I appreciate you taking the time to stop in and let me know you were here, Keith. I'm interested to see what next week brings, too!
Delete(waving from the sidelines) I write for community, an on-going practice, and to see the cool stuff others did with the same prompt. Amazing!
ReplyDeleteSome lurk & that's fine (love to see where in the world my visitors come from). If people are mean when I comment (and there's only been a couple), I don't visit them. Some Six's are kindling and flame for a longer piece, too. Mostly, I'm here for the snacks! 😂🐧😉
I love snacks, lol! I'm mostly looking for community, and a way to keep my writing muscle active. it's been a real treat to read your Sixes, and one of these days (or two) I'll make the time to read the whole Watcher Doings series in a row! thanks for your visit and comment!
DeleteMama P! aka "M" - where do I begin?! I appreciate your Six this week very much and after reading every single comment and your reply, even more so. It was my intent when I began curating this blog hop to do what you speak of - creating a community where creative writing was a common interest, a place to learn, meet new people. I too am appreciative of critical feedback as I struggle with carving sufficient time to write - I believe in "the more we write the better we get."
ReplyDeleteThank you. I've struggled with "keeping up" with reading everyone's Sixes which not all that long ago (it seems) I did! So, I'm with you, re-committed to encouraging community, learning from others and having a bit of fun along the way.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it - I realize it could have been taken as criticism, and that wasn't really what I was going for. and wow! thank you so much for taking what you did from the conversations in the comments on my post! while it is time consuming to read (and comment on) everyone's posts, I'm currently unemployed, so I have the time to indulge, which I do because I know that won't always be the case. and I'm lonely, so I both want and need new people to connect with over shared interests. I truly appreciate you giving me the opportunity, through your blog hop, to do just that. ❤️
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