Hello folks,
yesterday I read a post written by POSTCARDS From PANACHE. Follow the link to read it.
Some people may not have understood the gist of the post as Dell, very courteously I though, talked about “technical issues” etc. when speaking of linking with the Link apps.
The point in my opinion is well taken. People (including myself) put up prompts and then add a link app in order to facilitate readers to read other participants work. It shouldn’t be obligatory, but alas sometimes it is. Often you’ll read when doing a prompt that you’re expected to read other people’s posts – and that seems like a reasonable request … until you have to spend hours writing comments for those posts that don’t have the convenient “like” or whatever. Then there’s the problem of the CAPTCHA on the Blogger Blogs, (when you make a comment it has to decide if you’re a robot or not – understandable security but a hassle for who wants to comment the post) and the error messages that pop up and make you have to go back over the whole reply and redo it …. not to speak of perhaps having to read, like or comment perhaps as many as 50 writers for one prompt … when it starts to become frenetic, one asks oneself … why.
I’ve no problem at all understanding Dell’s “technical issues” as these same issues have been becoming more and more intolerable to me over the past few months. I’m very happy to read and sometimes comment other people’s work. It’s interesting to see new approaches to writing etc. However, being limited to the time I have for writing, I really can’t keep the pace especially for those blogs that require me to open new blogs, email services, social network pages or whatever other bits of “technical issues” in order to comment their work.
So, from my point of view, I think that Dell’s idea to write for prompts putting in the link to where the prompt came from is perhaps a fine way to get around some of the hassle … personally, I’m writing this to say, I will be participating in those prompts that I enjoy which do not require me to read everybody else’s work, I will put up the proper link to guide my readers to the prompt page where they might participate if they desire to do so and won’t feel obliged any longer to go through the whole list of writers and will no longer bother with those posts that are too laborious to comment on.
Have a nice day … Bastet
Thank you, Bastet–I had some initial qualms about posting my decision, but felt I had to give the prompt “hosts” an opportunity to show me the door–if they didn’t want me to write for their prompts, since I wasn’t going to work the rest of the deal. I don’t want to slight anyone, ever–but I reached my limit the night before I elected to say my peace/piece….
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I really understand “reaching the limit” … here besides being 30°C at 5:00 AM which puts me in a pretty foul mood … I also have at home problems with my companion … an artist who only sees art from his point of view and thinks I’m goofing off on the computer “all day” which means those hours I spend commenting and reading. Peace dear girl and thanks for taking the first step.
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Oh my goodness–“goofing off”, huh? It’s been my unpaid “job” since Aug 2011. Not that there isn’t great satisfaction, but it’s not lazy work, for certain. Thank you so much for your support–I need this to be a fun activity, not stressful; as it’s been one hell of a year, and we ain’t done yet….
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Glad to be of support … and thanks for your lovely comments .. they keep me going 🙂
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Ooh, I’m glad my comments encourage you–that’s the whole purpose of “following”, for me.
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I agree … that should be the purpose of “following” 🙂
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I get a little nuts with some of the “follows” I gain–folks who apparently are hoping I’ll turn around and follow them, but from what I see on their blogs–we have no common connection whatsoever. Crazy.
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You telling me! I rarely follow any more to tell the truth, unless something pops up that I really like .. then sometimes that’s a one time thing … I don’t even have a lot of follows on Facebook … the whole shebang makes no sense when you get right down to it.
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Yes, very crazy-making–and I don’t need any extra in my life! So, the bottom line is that the people I’m following/reading and commenting on should feel quite special indeed!
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[making a low oriental bow] I do! 🙂
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Marvelous!
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🙂 glad you liked it!
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Sometimes one hour of writing for a prompt can turn into 2 hours of reading. Perfectly understood that the reading gets to be too much. It’s why I’ve given up on the prompts that involve extensive reading. Would love to do them more often … But I simply don’t have the time.
Much to think about here… I like your solutions.
With a hug 🙂
And an ice cold drink too —
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Ah .. now that cold drink sounds like it would hit the spot.
One has to try to find some sort of a solution to that problem … in the end it takes all the fun and even a lot of spontaneity out of writing … makes no sense at all.
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Exactly — it should be enough that you read as many as you can — and comment thoughtfully. When you read 50-60 pieces how can you do that?
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You can’t and that’s the point … originally I guess the idea must have been kind of getting some useful feedback … but usually you can’t really do more than say … how lovely! Even if you’d like to spend more time thinking about the piece … the hassle of reading everyone just dries you up. And of course we both remember being disabused by a certain prompt site of thinking we weren’t obliged to read everyone’s work.
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Oh yes. I remember. Put a bad taste in my mouth.
Might be okay if you write one piece a week … otherwise it just can’t be done.
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Same here .. in fact, although they have some great prompts and talented people … I’ve never been back. Maybe a once a week thing could be interesting .. certainly more than that gets harrowing!
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Good to know I’m not alone in my frustration. I fell into the trap of trying to post in response to too many prompts and then trying to be “supportive” of others. I’m fairly new to blogging and love the feeling of kindred spirits I’ve found. Like most everything in life, moderation is the key.
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Very true the key word is moderation … it becomes far too complicated to be trapped in the prompt/comment mechanism … in the end, one cannot be truly supportive of anyone doing that, including oneself.
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