The Rage

10.30.2014

As was evidenced by my car naps, it takes me approximately .476 seconds to fall asleep at night. I go to bed before Jordan almost every night, and even if he's only five minutes behind me, there's a strong possibility I'll be passed out by the time he comes in the room.

Example:

I lie down. 
Jordan goes to brush his teeth. 
He comes out of the bathroom. 
I am asleep.

He tries to be quiet when he comes in, but sometimes he coughs or, you know, breathes. That's when the rage hits.

The rage is what we've started calling the irrational state of mind that exists between me being fully awake and fully asleep. It doesn't happen every night, but I'd say every other week I go into rage mode.

Basically, what happens is that Jordan accidentally wakes me up, and I become full of rage. Except I'm not fully awake, so everything is super dramatic and exaggerated, even though I firmly believe I'm awake and being normal.

The rage usually involves me yelling at him to be quiet. But I don't stop there. I've also tried to punch/kick him in...places.

One time, I yelled at him then started crying. We're talking legit sobbing crying, not fake crying. After I got done sobbing my eyes out (approximately 3.2 seconds later) I glared at him, grabbed my pillow, and marched out of the room, vowing to sleep on the couch until morning.

Halfway to the door I forgot what I was doing and came back to bed. The rage doesn't hold grudges.

Sometimes I yell at him then start laughing hysterically. Jordan, finding this hilarious, will start laughing, and that will make me really mad and I'll yell at him. Then I'll start crying. The best part is, once the state of rage has passed and sleep has resumed, I will wake up the next morning and not remember anything.

Occasionally I remember parts of it, but it all feels like a dream. Thankfully, Jordan thinks it's hilarious. I'm glad he's not mad at me for yelling at him for no reason, but he understands that I'm asleep and don't know what I'm doing.
Just last week, Jordan was calmly reading and I was sleeping beside him, when he got a text, and his phone pinged. I instantly woke up in a rage. I grabbed my pillow and stormed into the other room and locked the door behind me. Jordan chased me down and promised to be quiet if I just came to bed. No sooner had I shut my eyes before he farted the loudest fart ever. You guys, it was so loud, and Jordan was just about dying laughing. Let's just say the rage was not happy.

I swear I wasn't this weird of a sleeper until I got married. It does things to you!


Anyone else know what I'm talking about with the rage? I can't be the only one.
What are your weird sleeping habits?
___________

Related:
Ways I Annoy Jordan While Sleeping [PART ONE | PART TWO | PART THREE]

Life of an Editor: FAQs (Part 1)

10.27.2014


In the first part of this series, I wrote about what I do on a daily basis, my editing process, and how I got into professional editing in the first place. For that post, go here.

You guys asked some great questions about my job, and I'm really excited you are interested in what I do. I will have 2 posts of FAQs since I didn't want this to get insanely long. Click here for Part 2!

1) HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH DIFFERENT WRITING STYLES? (ALSO SIMILAR: DO YOU FIND YOURSELF REWRITING A LOT AS YOU EDIT?)

This is such a great question. Everyone has different writing styles, and it's extremely important to me to maintain the author's original voice and tone. I never want an author to feel like their book is not their own.

That said, it isn't unusual for me to have a suggestion for rephrasing. Sometimes it's an individual sentence that needs to be rewritten because it's incomplete or incorrect. Sometimes it's an entire introduction or scene that's missing a vital component or just doesn't sound quite right. In my experience working with hundreds of authors on both fiction and nonfiction books and articles, I've found that it's much easier to show what I am suggesting rather than to try to explain it.

So, what I normally do is summarize my suggestion and then say something like this: "Here's an example of how you could rephrase. Feel free to rework this using your own author voice." [Then I provide a rewrite in my own words]

That way, I can rewrite the part I feel needs to be rewritten BUT I give them the option to rewrite my words into something that sounds like they wrote it in the first place. Does that make sense? Usually what ends up happening is the author will use my basic example but maybe switch a few words around or revise just slightly. Or, they take the basic idea of the rewrite and write a new scene/section on their own. My point gets across and the revision is made, but the author doesn't feel as though I've completely taken over and changed their book.

2) WHAT DO YOU FIND IS YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE AS AN EDITOR?

This isn't so much a challenge, but one of the most annoying things about being an editor is how quick other people are to point out when I make a mistake. I'll say the wrong word or misspell something, and they'll instantly be like, "Hey! But you're an editor. I can't believe you made that mistake." 

I want to be like EDITORS ARE PEOPLE TOO.

There is not one blog post I have ever written that doesn't have a mistake in it. Hopefully I catch it during my editing before it's published, but not all the time. It's actually a lot easier to catch mistakes in other people's writing than to catch them in your own. (<-- IRONY! I had a mistake in that very sentence I had to fix.) Also, on the weekends and basically whenever I'm not actually working, either at my day job or freelancing, it's like my brain shuts off or something, because I routinely do and say stupid things. I like to joke and say I'm "off duty" and my brain is resting.

I'd say one of my biggest challenges is trying to explain a difficult edit to someone. Sometimes I see the edit that needs to be made, but I can't figure out the right way to explain it. (See question #1)

3) IS IT CHALLENGING TO EDIT SOMETHING THAT IS VERY TECHNICAL AND DRY?

Yes and no. Obviously there are certain subjects I am more interested in than others. For me, it's going to be more interesting to read about, say, running than finance. But I have actually edited a few financial books, and I've enjoyed them! When I'm editing something, I'm thinking about that subject matter and how I can improve what I have before me.

There are a few things at my current work that I have to edit every month that literally put me to sleep. Like, I'm actually sitting at my desk nodding off. Clearly I'm not doing a good job editing something if I'm half asleep.

In that case, if something is really, truly just dull, I will give myself a set number of pages or a set amount of time I am going to edit before I move on to something else. That way, I can work in chunks and still do a good editing job even though the thing I'm editing might be super boring.

Also, in many cases (depending, of course, on the subject matter) if a book is dry, that means I as the editor need to do a good job making it not dry, which then makes editing it interesting, if that makes sense.

4) WHAT DO YOU DO IN A COLLEGE ENGLISH CLASS?

Mostly I read a lot of books, wrote a lot of essays, and discussed a lot of symbolism. A lot of symbolism. I also took some creative writing classes, so I wrote short stories. And I took a journalism class.

Actually, the reason I added a second major (religion) was because you can really only take so many English classes at once before you literally do not have enough time in the day to read all those books. (Yes, I actually read the books. I didn't use SparkNotes.) I had some holes to fill in my schedule and decided to tack on another major. Overachiever, anyone?

In my college English classes, we didn't talk about grammar that much, or at all, really. I learned grammar by looking up tons and tons of rules in the style book until I had them memorized. I still often refresh myself on rules just to make sure I'm doing it right, and I always look something up if I have a question.

Okay that's it for now! Next time I'll cover the following questions:

1) Are you ever able to just read for fun without editing what you're reading?
2) Do you edit other people's emails/blog posts/tweets?
3) Do you mentally edit people when they're talking?
4) Do you ever see yourself doing freelance editing full time?
5) Are you ever going to go back to school?
6) What does your supervisor do?

If you have a burning question that I haven't covered yet or don't have listed to cover in part 2, let me know so I can add it.

My Favorite and Least Favorite Books of 2014 (So Far)

10.23.2014

I'm linking up with Kiki again for another round of "The Circle." This month's topic is: books. Hurrah for books!

So far this year I've read 23 books out of my goal of 24. Hit me up on Goodreads if you want to follow my reviews! I'll spare you the extended list of all 23 and just share my favorites and least favorites of the year so far.

Stiff
Nonfiction book about cadavers and what they're used for. Super weird but also really interesting. Plus the author is funny, so you end up laughing more than being grossed out. I think this goes down as one of the strangest books I've ever read.

Shadows of the Workhorse
Book 2 in Jennifer Worth's series that the PBS show Call the Midwife is based on. These are her real-life stories, and she's a really good writer. If you love the show, check out the books!

The Wise Man's Fear
Book 2 in the trilogy. The first book, Name of the Wind, is fantastic. You will like these if you like fantasy, adventure, and coming of age. I compare these to the Game of Thrones books except without all the sex and cursing.

Quiet
This nonfiction book is all about introverts. I read it because Jordan is a huge introvert, and I, as an extrovert, wanted to understand how he operates. This book is well written and very interesting. (On that subject, those of you extroverts out there might enjoy my post "Why Extroverts Are Misunderstood and Introverts Talk Too Much")

The Secret Keeper
I love all of Kate Morton's books. Her stories are well written with great plot twists. I suppose I should have seen the ending coming, but I am terrible at guessing plots, so I loved it. The Secret Keeper is my second favorite of her books (The Forgotten Garden was my favorite).

I hope I don't lose any friends over this. 

I'm sorry, but you guys I did not like either of these books.* You can read my full reviews on Goodreads, but here's the gist:

Outlander
There is way too much sex in this book. Not to sound like a prude, but seriously. And I've read all five Game of Thrones books, so you can't say I haven't read books with sex in them. From a writing standpoint, I thought the author did a great job with her research, her characters, and the setting. The book is overall very well written, so no complaints there. But I hated the plot on pretty much every level and just couldn't get past it.

Divergent
I think a huge problem was that I waited too long to read this and therefore was too hyped up for it to be the best book ever. But besides that, I didn't think the writing was good, and I hated all the characters. I mean all of them. The story is creative, but the plot was too rushed and fell flat for me. This is a rare book that I actually think might make a better movie.

*In light of a post I recently read on Jenny's blog, I am adding a disclaimer: please do not think that just because I didn't like a book that you loved, your opinion isn't valid. I know I have books I love that other people didn't like. We all have our own opinions, and I think too sometimes we can really connect (or not connect) with a book based on what's going on in our lives at the time we read a certain book. That said, I would love to hear from anyone who hated Outlander and Divergent, because I feel like I'm all alone over here!

Currently Reading: Grace for the Good Girl by Emily P. Freeman

Up Next: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. After that, I'm going to reread Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand in preparation for the movie this winter!

P.S. You might also want to check out My Top Ten Books of All Time.

In Its Time

Runners Tell All: Tough Mudder Recap

10.21.2014

"Runner's Tell All" is a monthly linkup for runners of all ages, skill levels, and experience hosted by Sunshine to the Square Inch and The Lady Okie. Each month we'll have a different topic, and you can find all the topics listed here. We are accepting two sponsorship spots for each month, who will receive a sidebar ad on both blogs as well as entry links in the giveaway. 100% of your sponsorship money will go directly toward running-related giveaways. Find more information on sponsorship here. We have 2 spots available for November!

Welcome to Runners Tell All! I can't believe we're nearing the end of this linkup. Only two more! Beka and I have had so much fun this year chatting about all things running, and I'm going to miss this next year. Make sure and link up with us for the final prompts!

This month we're talking about most memorable running moments. All my running moments are memorable to me for different reasons, but most recently I ran a Tough Mudder in Dallas, and it was quite a memorable day. In case you don't know, a Tough Mudder is an obstacle course mud run that is 10-12 miles long depending on the course. The runs aren't timed. It's not about speed or exact distance: it's just about finishing.

This has been on my bucket list for a few years now, but they're super expensive. I paid $90, and that was the cheapest price! However, after running in one, I would definitely say my money is put to good use, and TM donates to the Wounded Warrior Project, so it's a good cause too.

I volunteered my brother to run with me because he's a good one to do something like this with. We ran the Dirty 30 together in 2012 and had a blast. He is one of those annoying boys who is super athletic even though he doesn't technically actually work out on a regular basis.

We left for the race early Sunday morning for the hour-long drive, and once we were on the road Daniel realized he forgot his sunglasses. Luckily for him, I keep a backup pair in the car for emergencies such as this. Foxy.

No one came with us to watch because my mom was much too nervous about the thought of us swimming through mud pits to handle actually being there, and no one else was available. That was fine with us. Nothing wrong with a little brother/sister bonding time.

That said, we don't have any spectator pics. All the pictures below of the obstacles and us on the course are courtesy of Tough Mudder. I was super surprised and excited to find out that all our race pictures were free! Courtesy of Under Armour, apparently. I love that brand.

Let's talk obstacles.

I've done the Dirty 30 (recap and pictures here), the Warrior Dash, and now the Tough Mudder. These were by far the best obstacles, most amount of mud, and basically just awesome. There were walls to climb over using rope ladders, hills to run up and down, underground trenches to crawl through, and other fun stuff. PLUS, the 10 miles pretty much looked like this the whole time:
^^^For real. This is an actual picture from our race. Hills for days.

Three obstacles stand out in my mind: 1) Arctic Enema, 2) Muddy Mile, 3) Electroshock Therapy.
^^^ Arctic Enema

Basically it's a giant square box filled with water and tons and tons and tons of ice. The water is seriously so cold. I can't even describe to you how cold it is. You jump in, swim to the middle, duck under the wooden wall that's in the middle of the water, and then climb out the other side. But the water is so cold that it kind of paralyzes you for a second and makes you disoriented. If you think about it, that really can't be safe, but we survived so I guess it's all right.
^^^ This one's the Funky Monkey. It's monkey bars that tilt up and then down. Daniel thought he could be all cool and triple-skip the bars... and he totally fell into the water. Ha! What a loser, right? I, on the other hand, completed the obstacle. Boom.
^^^ My hair totally got stuck on the barbed wire, and it took me a minute or so to untangle myself. Embarrassing. (That's my brother on the left with the pink wristband waiting to give me a hand up.)
^^^I found this picture searching hashtags on Twitter. Some guy took this with his GoPro. How random is that?

So, the Muddy Mile was nuts. As you can see in the picture above, it was just a huge trench area where you climbed in and out of mud pits. When my mom saw this picture, she was like, "Oh my gosh it looks just as horrible as I thought it would be." Sorry, Mom! 

There was no way to get up and over the trenches without a boost, and everyone was helping everyone else. Once I got a boost up to the top of one, I turned around and grabbed the hand of someone behind me to pull them up. I didn't see anyone who wasn't being helpful, and it was fun to feel like you were on a team with the other runners. A lot of spectators were watching this one. 
^^^ Electroshock Therapy

So.... this one hurt. Kind of a lot. It's the last obstacle before the finish, and there's a huge crowd of people watching. You have to run through an area filled with hanging live wires that will shock you if they touch you, which they most definitely did. 

If I were to do another Tough Mudder, I would legitimately be scared of this obstacle. But since this was my first, I was dumb enough to not know what to expect. Ouch. Those things will shock you, and you'll fall to the ground like a limp noodle. It's hilarious when it's happening to someone else.... when it's you, not so much.

When you're watching people run through it, you can hear the "pop" of the wires when they shock someone. Crazy!

Based on the time it's taken me to do 5k obstacle courses, I estimated it would take 2-3 hours to finish the Tough Mudder. If we finished in 2 hours, we were booking it. We ended up finishing in around 2 hours and 30 minutes, so not bad at all.


Overall Tough Mudder thoughts: 

The run is extremely organized from check-in to bag check to starting corrals and post-race beers. You can tell the directors know what they're doing. The obstacles were hard but fun and really varied. There were different kinds of obstacles, which I liked, and the obstacles were also ranging degrees of easy and difficult. There was only one obstacle I couldn't complete.

The finisher's shirts were dri-fit Under Armour brand, so they're really nice. The pictures are free, which if you know anything about races, that's a big deal. They had lots of showers and changing areas for runners to clean up after the race, and they provided energy beans and water at various points along the course and had lots of photographers out. I honestly don't have any complaints, and I felt like my $90 was well spent.

Have I convinced you to do one yet? Anyone else out there done a TM?

P.S. Last week I was featured on OtherMix blog with a little running Q&A. Check it out here if you want!

*On last month's giveaway, I asked you guys if you're right or left handed. Here were the results: only TWO people are left handed. So holler to the lefties! I am left handed too, and we are a rare but awesome breed.



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Runners Tell All Linkup Rules


  1. You MUST leave a comment on the person’s blog who linked up directly before you. This is not a linkup for the sake of linking up. This is a linkup to build community and spread the love and encouragement to your fellow runners! Don't be lame.
  2. Do not share links to unrelated running posts or to your blog’s homepage, or we will have to delete your link. (I've done it before too, so I'm not joking.)
  3. Please link back to either Beka or Amanda in your post so others can come here and join in! Or grab the button below and add it to your post. 
  4. Have fun!

That time I saw a baby black bear run up a tree.

10.17.2014


I've already recapped three parts of our South Dakota adventure: Carhenge, our cabin, Crazy Horse/Mount Rushmore. We stayed in Keystone Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, which meant we really only had two full days in South Dakota to pack in everything we wanted to do. I can't believe I thought we would be bored! South Dakota, you guys. It's for real.

Saturday was when we visited Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore. On Sunday, we got to do a few fun things, and one of those was visit Bear Country USA.

Think, safari except with bears and reindeer instead of giraffes and lions (or whatever kinds of animals they have in safaris). It's a two-mile loop that you drive, and you're given strict instructions to stay in your car lest you get mauled by black bears or gored by an elk. They used all caps and bold and lots of exclamation points on the flier they gave us, so we were pretty sure they were serious. That didn't stop us from rolling down our windows. I like to live on the edge. Don't tell.

Most of the animals didn't have actual pens, so they were free to just roam about. It was really cool to see animals up close like that, the black bears especially. They were right up next to our car! Then they'd walk across the road, and we would have to stop and wait. Kind of like you have to do for geese sometimes, except it's not really same at all. 

Because bears.
^^^ The whole time we waited for this bear to cross the road, I was shouting, "LOOK! IT'S WALKING!" I'm easily amused by animals performing regular functions such as walking. This is either a really good or really bad thing for my future children. Olympic gold medals in walking. Just you wait.

There weren't just bears in Bear Country USA. There were elk, reindeer, big horn sheep, and buffalo (which, being from Oklahoma, we weren't so impressed by).
^^^Reindeer!

After the drive was over, we parked, and there was a small area that was more like an actual zoo. There were only a few types of animals, like this little guy below. And they had skunks, which I thought was weird slash terrifying.

And THEN.

Then there was a huge pen full of baby black bears!

I think we stood and watched them for at least fifteen minutes. They were so fun to watch. There was one in particular that was an instigator. He (she?) was running around jumping on all the other bears. A lot of them were just lying around, and the one bear would come and jump on one or start wrestling with one until both got up and started chasing each other, and then two or three would get involved and they'd all chase each other. It was hilarious! I wish I had a video of it.

^^^ We were cracking up at this one. It's like he's taking a leisurely bath or something.

^^^One of them climbed a tree! Coolest thing ever. Have you ever seen a bear climb a tree? The little guy just ran up that thing!

Overall travel recommendation? If you ever find yourself in South Dakota, take a trip to Bear Country USA. I should warn you, however, that it was $16/person, which is definitely pricy. I mean, if you take a family there, it will add up. But it was a unique, fun thing to do, and honestly it was worth it just to see the baby bear run up that tree.

I will conclude now with one of the only pictures I got of Jordan the whole time we were there. Dude does not let me take pictures of him!
^^^See what I have to deal with? That guy.
-Have you ever seen a bear climb a tree?
-Have you ever been to a drive-through zoo thing like this?
-Do you have a favorite zoo animal? I didn't think I had a favorite, but after this I'd say baby black bears! I wanted to take one home.

Want more South Dakota?
1) Trip overview (the route we drove + other random pictures)
2) Carhenge (awesome tourist attraction on the way there)
3) Our cabin in Keystone
4) Crazy Horse & Mount Rushmore

A Day in the Life in 72 Seconds

10.13.2014



This day in the life video was inspired by two blog posts I read recently: Amanda's day in the life video and Caitlin's video of her vacation in the mountains

I've done a few "Day in the Life" posts (to name a few: 12-12-12 / 2nd anniversary / 3rd anniversary / 27th birthday). I really like documenting my days and looking back to see exactly what I did on such and such day, but I'd never thought of doing a video before.

Here's what I did: 

I put my point-and-shoot by my bed so it would be right there when I woke up in the morning. Throughout the day I filmed 3- to 4-second clips of the things I did, and at the end of the day, I used iMovie to cut and combine everything into the 72-second video. Then I muted all the clips and added a song over the top. (Don't you love how I sound like I actually know what I'm talking about?)

Hope you enjoy!

Oh, and P.S. Just in case you have no faith in my ability to evade internet creepers, no, that is not the real code to my office building. I'm punching random numbers. 

Also, that thing I'm eating with a fork is Pioneer Woman's banana bread. So good. 

Also x2, no I'm not typing with one hand. I'm fake typing with one hand while holding the camera in the other. Don't judge me! This video is as real as it gets.

Lots and Lots of Cortisone Cream

10.10.2014


One of my best friends is coming from Illinois to visit me this weekend, and I'm so excited to sit down with her and just have a good, old-fashioned friend talk. I thought today I'd share some of that with you guys too.

You all know by now that I don't like coffee, so if we met at Starbucks, I'd order a chai. Or maybe I'd finally break down and try my very first pumpkin-spiced latte! Can you believe I've never had one?

If we met for coffee, the first thing I would do is show you my legs.

I know that sounds weird, but it's not because I'm fishing for compliments on my shapely calves. The opposite, in fact: my shins and knees got completely destroyed on Sunday during my Tough Mudder, and they look terrible. 

Someone at work said they look like an angry cat got ahold of me. And they would be right. It's quite painful, and on top of that I'm sore ever-y-where. Like, possibly as sore as after I ran my marathon. It's Friday now, so I've had about a week to recover and they don't look as bad. Now they're at the stage where itchy scabs are forming. Super attractive.

(*True story: I just had to run into the other room and slather Cortisone cream on both my knees.)

I think if I did another one of these, I would wear longer pants or kneepads or something. I texted my brother on Monday to ask if he was sore, and he said, "Well, my left calf is a little tight." Ugh. Rude.

I'd talk more about my race, but I'm saving a full recap for my Runners Tell All post later this month, so you'll just have to wait for that (October 21!). I'll just say this for now: it was pretty epic. Anyone else ever done one of these?

Then I'd tell you that we got pre-approved for a house! 

I've been living in an apartment since 2008, and I am over. it. Not to mention our across-the-porch neighbor who moved in a few months ago and keeps asking us if we want to hang out on the balcony with him and smoke. Um, no. A few months ago we got invited to go to the pool with him and drink but only if we A) had Sprite to bring as a mixer with the liquor he'd just bought and also only if we were B) willing to "sneak the alcohol into the pool area." Double no.

I want to know what it is about me that screams, "Why yes, I am totally the type of person who sneaks alcohol into the pool." Come on, guy.

I'd probably end up telling you about the Beth Moore Bible study I'm in right now on Wednesday nights at church. The study is over 1 & 2 Thessalonians, and for real, you guys, she is speaking to me. I hate how easy it is to push personal devotion time aside during the week, because when I'm doing a Bible study and commit to daily study, I remember how much I love it.


If we went for a coffee date, we would for sure end up talking about blogging. Because that's just a topic that is often on my mind. I would tell you that I've been wanting to design a new header for my blog for a while now, but I haven't had the time to work on one. I also can't think of a design idea I like. So this one is staying for now.

I have considered just paying someone to help with my blog design, but I spent all of October's blow money last month on new brown boots, so I'm completely out of cash at the moment. Budgets are such a buzz kill.

There's a lot more I could mention. So much of life doesn't make the blog, and isn't it funny the things we choose to share and keep private? I'm really excited about my "Day in the Life" video I'm sharing next week. I got the idea from a few other blogs I read, and I think it's really fun, so hopefully you do too.

I hope you all have a great weekend. As always, thanks for reading. We're all so busy, and there are so many great blogs out there to read. I really do feel honored you're taking the time to read mine.

To conclude, I'll share a picture from my brother's wedding this past June. (Remember when I got all emotional and met my blog fans?) They recently got their pictures back, and I'm absolutely in love with this one. I'm thinking about blowing this up mega-sized for the wall in my living room so it's the first thing you see when you walk in the door. I mean, this is just amazing, right?

I love these people.

Linking up with Jenna for Coffee Date.

Blog Talk #6: Quality vs. Quantity

10.08.2014

Welcome to blog talk! 

This is the sixth installment of "Blog Talk," in which I will give my opinion on different aspects of blogging and then continue the discussion in the comments. Because I want to hear what you have to say! Yes, you're even allowed to disagree. Just be nice about it.
____________

Don't miss the other posts in this series!
____________

When we consider the concept of quality vs. quantity blogging, I'm sure everyone would agree that we want to have a quality blog. But I saw the following statement once from a "big" blogger (big as in 3,000+ followers, which I consider quite large), and I want to know what you think about this:

"When it comes to my blog, I believe in quantity over quality." 

She went on to say that while you shouldn't write complete crap just to have something to post, you really should be able to come up with something to say five days a week, because readers expect it.

The thought is that if someone comes to your blog expecting a new post and there isn't one, they will think twice about coming back the next day. This cycle continues, leading to fewer readers over time. So, basically if you want to be a big blogger, go for quantity, even if you can't always post something quality.

I'm not trying to be mean here. The point is not who wrote that statement (I'm not going to tell you). The point is not that big bloggers are terrible people (they aren't, obviously).

But I'm just going to be honest: as a reader of blogs, this concept irritates me and even offends me a little bit.

On one hand, I understand the importance of consistency. I can think of 3-4 blogs right now that I love to read but that only post a few times a month, if that. I wish they posted more because I really enjoy reading their blog! It also does get frustrating to continue to return to a blog time and again and never find a new post.

I also understand the importance of regular blogging if you have sponsors who are paying you to create weekly content that will drive traffic to your site, which drives traffic to the sponsor's site. But as someone who only has so many hours in the day to read blogs anyway, I find the concept of "just post something even if you really have nothing to say" insulting. I can tell when you've posted something just to post something. I'm not an idiot.

The best part is when a blogger announces that he or she had nothing to say. 

"So I was sitting at my computer at 2:30 this morning, wide-awake, and I really wanted to have a post up for today, but I couldn't think of anything to write. So I Googled 'linkups,' and I found this Thoughtful Thursday* linkup! So here are Three Things I'm Thinking on Thursday."

And I'm all, "Yes! I totally want to read this post that you obviously wrote in twenty minutes on a topic you had given zero thought to before five hours ago."

So now you're saying, "Amanda, stop being cranky. You don't have to read the post if you don't want to." True. But if it's a blog I like, I'm going to click on the new post. And I'm going to have to read at least the first few lines before I realize this is a post you threw together because you felt like you had to write something.

Then I'm going to feel used for my page view.

Then again, what do I know? Obviously big bloggers who adhere to this quantity rule know something I don't. Hence the fact that they have thousands of followers and I, clearly, do not.

But here's another thing: there is not a single blog that I read every single day. Not even my favorites of favorites. Some days I have time to read lots of blogs. Other days I don't have time to read any blogs because I go running and then I have work, then I go volunteer or I go to Bible study or have dinner with friends. By the time I get home, I just fall right into bed and skip reading altogether.

I like it when a blogger doesn't post every day, because then I actually have time to read every post! Otherwise, the posts pile up on me. Then I get overwhelmed and hit "mark all as read." Because what else are you supposed to do?

Big bloggers who post daily have thousands of followers, so there are plenty of people who seem to not mind quantity. And listen: if you are able to post 9 days a week and write posts you're proud of, more power to you! I really mean that. I don't know how some people do it.

I'm not saying posting every day is a bad thing. And I'm not saying having thousands of followers must mean you don't have quality content. I AM NOT SAYING EITHER OF THOSE THINGS.

I'm just saying that for me personally, quality will always win over quantity. If that means posting less, I say so be it. This is why I don't post every day. This is why sometimes I don't post for a week.

I'm not consistent, I know. 
I don't have a schedule. I'm sorry about that.
I don't like the thought of you coming here and not having anything new to read. But it's because I feel strongly about only posting my best, and if I don't have anything to say or I don't have time to get the post the way I want it, I'm not going to publish anything.

Want to weigh in? I would love to hear what you have to say about this topic! I'm sure some of you are going to disagree with me, and that's fine. Even encouraged! Please just be kind to others, or I will delete your comment. We're sharing opinions and learning from each other, and we're being nice about it.

Questions:

1. How important is quantity vs. quality to you for your own blog?
2. As a reader of blogs, how important is consistent posting? Would you rather have a blogger not post anything at all or post something he or she wrote at the last minute just to have something to say?
3. What is your ideal posting frequency for either your own blog and/or the blogs you read?
4. For those of you with sponsors, do you ever feel pressure to post even if you don't have anything to write about just because people are paying you to have new content? How do you handle that?

*Re: Thoughtful Thursdays. Not a real linkup as far as I know. I completely made it up for illustrative purposes.
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