It's frightening how much I've forgotten in one year of only sporadically blogging. I have to relearn simple coding. And so much has changed. The TypePad interface has changed. Facebook has taken over the internet world. I've added the Facebook like button to my posts; this is great, at least I know folks are stopping by, even if they (you) don't comment.
Blogrolling has closed down, and with it, most of my blogrolls. Those blogrolls took years to develop, and I don't know that I will take that on again. At least not immediately. For the moment, I'll be concentrating on just writing and posting more frequently.
I'm considering stopping the Networked Blogs posting to Facebook. None of these services are well designed for poets; they all strip the line breaks, so what shows up is a thick block of text. I'm working on a way to post links and a few lines to Facebook, hoping that readers will click through if they're interested.
I haven't even been taking photos, so must become reacquainted with my cameras. All these skills that used to seem so easy, almost natural, have become clumsy and awkward with disuse.
A year of not writing makes that a challenge as well. I feel rusty, creaky, and generally off-balance. But that's getting better. Already. I think.
And, of course, there is the deeper angst -- the does it matter angst, the am I good enough to be bothering with this angst. This helped:
(Now, see -- damned if I can get that to center.)
My plan/hope is to resume blogging two or three times each week. I do not expect to go back to the nearly daily schedule I maintained early on.
To those who have kept me on their readers and links, and those who keep coming by to see if there's anything new to look at: Thank you!
(UPDATE 23 Sept. 2012: removed dead link)
Glad you're planning on more regular posting. Yours was one of the 1st poetry blogs I discovered way back in '06 when you hosted a carnival of the cats that I participated in.
Posted by: James | 16 December 2010 at 04:49 PM
Sharon, I am SO glad to see you back and I will spread the word to others. We were cat fans as well. I don't know whether you are still checking me out (www.prairiemary.blogspot.com) I'm using my tortie's photo on my banner at the moment.
I am co-writing with Tim Barrus who is a poet (among other disreputable things). He more or less dragged me onto Facebook with him where he spent months with a small circle of poets. A few were quite good, more were out-to-lunch, and a few were crocodiles. He finally got kicked off. (I SAID he was disreputable!) I was happy to bail.
I'm told by other poets that almost all the poetry groups are plagued this way. This little circle was beating the format prob by using slash marks at the ends of lines. Not ideal, but interesting effects sometimes.
I"m not writing poetry anyway. I'm doing long-form daily posts, getting a little more complex and far afield all the time.
Welcome back.
Prairie Mary
Posted by: Mary Scriver | 16 December 2010 at 05:00 PM
I'll admit, I almost gave up on you. But there was something that kept saying, she'll come back.
Posted by: Cathy | 16 December 2010 at 07:57 PM
I just "discovered" you in the past week or so - and it looks like I have good timing! :)
Posted by: Nonna | 16 December 2010 at 09:32 PM
beyond the angst is the magic of a photo that matters more on this morning than you could ever imagine - it's always good to hear what your heart has to say
Posted by: jenett | 17 December 2010 at 03:13 AM
This holiday season has seen me particularly appreciate the gift that are friends and the small joys and miracles of every day. So very good to see you back again, Sharon.
Posted by: Annemathewson | 17 December 2010 at 08:59 AM
An Internet presence is vital in the modern world if we are to connect with everyone that will make a positive difference to our life's experiences. Yes, it also opens the door to some strange online personalities, but that is also true in real life, I think.
Posted by: Linda Macdonald | 18 December 2010 at 03:28 AM