Bloggus Interruptis: when a blogger takes a blogging hiatus for a period over four weeks. Some key words associated with Bloggus Interruptis: writer’s block, blog insecurity, Vegas vacation, beach cocktails and many barrels of red wine.
I took a little break from my blog this summer. It was going to be a short hiatus, but turned into more than a month of bloggus interruptis.
These were good beach drinks!
The reality has set in, all that is left of the beach drinks are little umbrellas, I need to push past the writer’s block, give up my blog insecurities and jump into jeandayfriday like I originally planned. So, in the words of the Terminator, “I’m back.”
At the start of the summer, I set a few goals for myself. One was to come up with a bi-weekly blog schedule. The second was to exercise daily. The third was to spend as much time with family and friends as possible. I succeeded in only one of my goals: lucky number three. Three is a magic number after all.
After getting behind on my blogging, I began to avoid it as I avoid scales and balancing my checkbook. I would open the computer and see the WordPress bookmark on my bookmark toolbar and then gently close the computer and walk away. I knew my blog was calling to me to write, but I began feeling insecure. The inner voice started taunting me saying, “You don’t have anything to write about,” and, “Your writing is poopie,” and even, “You know you will be interrupted a million times so why even begin?” Eventually, the inner voice got to me and I avoided my blog.
The inner voice started taunting my about the blogs I follow. She would say, “You don’t have time to sit and read those and give them proper comments,” and, “The comments you make are silly,” and even, “How can you read all of these when you will be interrupted a million times?” Darn the inner voice!
Bye bye inner voice!
So, as I mentioned, I’m back. I have put the inner voice into a wine bottle, corked it and set it free in the high tides at Hilton Head. It may find me again next summer, but hopefully I will have some strategies to deal with her nagging presence then.
But even with her on a journey to the ends of the ocean, I still have some questions for my fellow bloggers.
1. How do you crush the inner voice of doubt?
2. How do you manage the blogs you follow and give them a fair shake?
3. What is a good blogging schedule? Once or twice a week? Or more?
and lastly, 4. How was your summer?
jeandayfriday 
Yay, you’re back! I missed you but admire you for taking a break. If that’s what’s needed to rejuvenate the mojo, then it must be done. But for the record, your writing is not “poopie.” It’s funny and refreshing. But oh, how I know well that voice of self-doubt. I fight it pretty much daily, but don’t we all? But it seems just when I’m convinced I’m a blowhard with no right to blog, another blogger leaves me a lovely comment that helps boost that self -esteem back up. So here’s my comment to you: your posts are witty, smart, well-written, and never too long, and I, for one, always look forward to them.
By the way, I used your “red plate” idea last night for the first time. Picked up a red place setting at Target and granted the privilege to my teen last night for surviving his first week of school and football. My kids tell me it’s dorky, but I could tell he thought it was pretty cool to be the center of attention. So see? You’re even changing lives. 🙂
Oh, and about a blogging schedule. I blog twice weekly and that is more than enough for me. Sometimes I even think about going to once a week to get more writing done, but for now I’ll stay twice weekly.
I have missed you, my blogging friend! Thank you for your wonderfully kind words – they have motivated me to continue!
Also, I am so happy you tried the red plate idea. What a great idea to celebrate the end of the first week of school and football. My oldest rolls his eyes when I get it out, but then puffs up like a peacock as he becomes the celebrated one!
Thank you for your sage wisdom! You are inspiring! 🙂
Sage wisdom and inspiring? Man, have I got you fooled. 😉 (Thank you!)
welcome back!! who says you can’t have the wine and blog at the same time…might come up with some hilarious content 🙂
You are so right: Wine + blog = fun (and funny)!
Inner voice? I shush it unless it’s saying something I want to hear. I often get behind on reading the blogs I follow and then spend more time catching up – I comment when I feel I have something to say, but when I get behind the like button is my saving grace. They know I’ve been there, but have no words of wisdom, or dumbdom, to say that day. I blog as frequently as the words tell me to – if the words aren’t asking to be set free, no point in trying to blog. My summer? My kids were here for 5 weeks, and that was wonderful! Like you – the wine flowed as did the talk and all was good. Except it ended.
Great blogging advice, Carol! Thank you! 🙂 And cheers!
1. How do you crush the inner voice of doubt? Doc Martens
2. How do you manage the blogs you follow and give them a fair shake? Slowly reading each and trying to leave at least a comment or a ‘like’ so they don’t feel alone in the world. You want to know your words are read.
3. What is a good blogging schedule? Once or twice a week? Or more? Hell if I know.
and lastly, 4. How was your summer? I’m still alive, so, it’s great!
Doc Martens – lol! I may need to get my out and dust them off soon. 😉
I would say: 1) make a weekly set time for blog writing and try your best to stick to it (every Monday night). If you miss one don’t beat yourself up, but try to get back on schedule for next week. 2) Don’t build it up too much. It doesn’t have to be the most creative/best blog ever. Maybe you do a quicky, put up a picture, or a few quotes you like if you don’t feel like you’re on your game. The mantra is: consistency. The other stuff will follow along. Also start with small goals and work up (once a week or every other week). Then when you meet those consistently, you can add another day. These are the goals I have when writing, but I haven’t quite mastered them myself yet :).
Consistency is a good mantra! I think my first goal should be to reply to comments in a timely manner! 😉 Thanks for all of the great blogging advice!
Welcome back Jean! You were much missed. I’ve been in a slump too… I think I got caught up in trying to do justice to our big trip to Peru and wanted my blog to reflect all the cool stuff that involved. Slipper slope: as I worried about how to write that, and then occasionally had other things I wanted to write about instead, it all became avoidance… like you. I’ve been posting the trip stories, but at this point, I’ve been home twice as long as I was there, and I’m still trying to finish the Amazon. In the meantime, Bucket List Publication posted one of the Peru stories and I’d like to send a follow-up… more procrastination. And, my novel came back from the editor and I need to look at the edits and really decide what the H I’m doing with the novel itself… more procrastination…. Reading others’ blogs and commenting, needs to be done. In the end, wine (or, in my case grapefruit cocktails- I’m all about the vitamin C) or whatever sounds better…
Welcome back and may we all find our groove/mojo/motivation/etc when school is in full swing… 🙂
Grapefruit cocktails – I may need to try those! Anything to get the mojo a-flowin’!
I can’t wait to hear more about your novel – awesomeness!
BTW: do you really get 7,600+ hits a day?? Holy cannoli! I want that… guess I need to get my mojo in much higher gear!
That is my total hits. 🙂 I don’t think I get very much traffic a day! I wish I got that many hits! Lol!
Oops. The link title says today, so I was really impressed! You should get that many Jean… I love your writing! 🙂
Welcome back! First and foremost, your writing is not poopie, and your comments are not stupid. At all. Now…
1. I do my best to ignore the inner voice when it’s not being supportive. Sometimes that’s hard, but I just shush it as best I can.
2. I follow A TON of blogs, and I read them using Google Reader. I comment on the ones that I have comments for, and on WordPress I “like” the ones I enjoy (but maybe don’t have anything to add).
3. I used to think I needed a schedule (such as blogging every M W F), but I don’t do that anymore. Now I just blog when I have something to say. It was no fun treating it like something I just HAD to do.
4. My summer was great. I’m glad you got to spend lots of time with family and friends.
I may have to try the Google Reader thing. It seems like an easier way to read the blogs I follow! Thanks for the great answers and advice! 🙂
I’m so glad you’re back! I think two days or even one is a great schedule (5 was too much, and I don’t think I’ll go back to it). I have the same doubts every time I stop writing for a while. Just power through. I need to do better giving people decent feedback, but my summer was great!
Thank you! I think I am going to shoot for blogging twice a week, and not be too hard on myself if it doesn’t happen. Glad you had a good summer – it goes by too fast, doesn’t it?!
You definitely don’t want to know my blogging schedule…because I run 3 blogs, and sometimes blog twice in the same night for the same blog…so don’t ask me that…
BUT, when it comes to the inner voice of doubt, I tell her to kiss my butt, shut up and sit down, and write anyway…
Sometimes you just have to write…even if you don’t publish it…just sit and write.
Of course, I know that doesn’t help you at all…
That being said, I’m glad you’re back and your writing is WONDERFUL, so please keep writing…
Good advice about the inner voice – I am kicking it to the curb!
I do a lot of writing but not publishing. Sometimes I have a good idea and I can’t eek more than a paragraph. But I’m writing, right?! Right. 🙂
1. I blindly barrel through it. Not sure if that’s good or bad.
2. I try to keep a list (my blogroll at least) attended to if I’m blogging. I’ll post then go through my list and pay each a visit, commenting or liking)
3. I try to write on the weekdays, but if I had time I’d do once a day. I try to stick to at least twice a week though. Life gets in the way sometimes, which is fine.
4. I’ll know summer is over when it finally gets cool in Texas. My answer will be “hot” until October. But good, because this baby is coming soon!
Ah, the heat of Texas. I have family in Sugar Land outside of Houston. It is hot, hot this time of year! Thanks for the great blogging advice and stay cool! 🙂
Welcome back, I enjoy your blogs! Sometimes you need to take a break, and that is ok. Blogging is supposed to be fun, not drudgery. We really do not need another layer on the guilt pile. Anyway, great post!
The guilt pie – great analogy! Absolutely don’t need another layer (or piece) of that pie! I am going to try to bring the “fun” back to my blogging routine. 🙂
Glad you’re back!
Thanks! It is good to be back! 🙂
Welcome back jeanday! I have struggled all summer to post and have been dealing with a lot of the same feelings and insecurities as you. We just have to get back to it. I love your blog and your writing.
I love your blog! I think the summer was just so busy that I ran out of time (and had many excuses) when it came to blogging.
I’m so glad you’re back. I do love the use of the word “poopie,” but I assure you that you’re not (nor is your writing). I personally struggle with some of these same issues (1-3), so I was more trolling your comments than anything. My summer was pretty busy, but good. How ’bout you?
My summer was very busy, too! I think I work better with a schedule like during the school year! 🙂
I drown the inner voice with a half gallon of Wicked Apple at The Frosty Frog with my BFF and forget about blogging completely until school starts. I think I need to drown that voice about now.
Yes! Love the Wicked Apple – lol! 🙂
1. I think your inner voice might be calling mine for tips on how to make a gal lose her writing mojo because I’ve heard those same things too. I eventually came to terms with that little buzzing in my ear by deciding that if I had nothing to blog about, it was fine. If I had nothing to blog about but still decided to publish a post anyway –it’s also fine. I feel like I have enough guilt swarming me as a mom, I don’t need my blog to make me feel bad too.
2. This is the one I struggle with. I have a hard time keeping up with commenting on others’ blogs, even though I read them all via my phone. I think it’s easier to work on during the school year, but I still end up doing “catch-up” days. I get a lot of confidence from reading other people’s comments/likes that I definitely need to return the favor more often.
3. Beats me. I’m blogging about twice a week now. We’ll see how that goes. 🙂
Glad to see your posts again. I so enjoy your writing!
Thank you so much! I have some drafts that I keep telling myself aren’t good enough, but maybe I will just publish them. Hitting the publish button can be tough, though!
I wondered where you’d been!
I get up an hour early to write four mornings a week. Love it. That way, what I love to do is guaranteed to happen and not come in last each day. Good luck and happy school year!
I love the idea of writing in the mornings – great idea! Thanks for the advice and for coming by and visiting! 🙂
I feel some strain of Bloggus Interruptis coming on myself. Isn’t it funny how sometimes having a tighter schedule we accomplish more? I think it has to do with budgeting our time more effectively. Summer is so lazy and without structure — so everything falls apart. Glad your back!
Thank you! Summer was a difficult time to blog for me. We traveled a lot this summer and as much as I wanted to blog, I just never could sit down for and do it. Hopefully, I will do better this fall!
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