Writers' Blogs, The Ebb and Flow of Interest

There's a measurable ebb and flow in the amount of interest in blogs, I've noticed. At first, I thought it was just me, that I was somehow not sparking enough interest with my postings. But then I realized that I don't read all my favorite blogs each day, either. I might catch up with them later on in the week, or miss them entirely because I was involved in other things, as a lot of us are. So ALL bloggers, on the whole, must see this reflected in the number of hits they receive. Ebbing and flowing with no discernible cause... I apologize to my favorites, but I know we're all guilty of this. It's not YOU. It's ME.

My art page always does well. I've decided that this is because it's mainly about pictures, not requiring huge concentration, not asking for analyses, discussion, or any deep thought. It simply requires you to look. And people do. They know when they open the page that I'm not going to be demanding anything of them, other than perhaps linking to the artist I'm featuring. I certainly don't say very much, nor expect much back. Perhaps this is the ideal blog. We've all become so scattered in our thinking, our interests, degree of concentration, that we often long for something easy to look at.

Well, it stands to reason that a writing blog is never going to be easy. We Blogging Writers are always complaining about something, that the writing is going badly, that we received another rejection, whatever - just plain feeling sorry for ourselves. Sometimes we're enthusiastic, and - very occasionally - ecstatic. As the enthusiasm and ecstasy is less evident most days, this would indicate a rather serious read.

I always liked this bit of reality from The Writer's Chapbook:

Reader: "Miss Moore, your poetry is very difficult to read."
Marianne Moore: "It is very difficult to write."

I try not to put too much of my private day-to-day life into my blogs, not because I'm secretive or fear exposure of some hitherto-unknown weakness, but because this was meant to be about writing. One day, I might consider a social chit-chat blog, but not yet. If I take off again for Parts Unknown, I'll tell you where I am, and what I'm doing, but that's about it. After all, you read my blog for glimpses into the writing life, don't you? Does it really interest you to know when my washing machine breaks down, or when my cat wipes his bottom on my rug?

I'd be interested to know what you DO expect here.