Over the past few weeks, a number of bloggers I read have decided to stop blogging. Some of them have stopped blogging completely, while several others have moved to anonymous blogs or are thinking about putting up password protection. I’ve read enough of these posts that it’s given me the impression that a lot of people seem to be doing this all at once. (In the past, it was much more likely that instead of making a formal announcement and stopping their blogs on a specific day, their posts would slowly fade out over a period of time.)
Another interesting thing I’ve noticed about these recent bloggers — most of them were writing regularly on their blogs up until the time they decided to stop. In fact, some of them were posting much more regularly than I’ve been doing lately.
A friend asked me last week how long I see myself blogging, and it’s not the first time I’ve been asked that question. My posting frequency has definitely gone up and down over the past 6.5 years that I’ve been writing online. There have been times I’ve updated only once a week, while for two years in a row (’06 and ’07) I posted every day in the month of November as part of an online writing challenge. Sometimes I feel completely uninspired, and other times, depending on the subject matter, I can sit down and pound out a post in a short period of time.
I like the feedback. I like having this record of my life. I like that I’ve met so many cool people that I never would have come across if I wasn’t blogging. I like sharing my experiences and feeling like people can relate to what I say.
But…sometimes I think it would be nice not to have a writing deadline; not to have to post something on a particular day of the week. I think that if I didn’t spend so much time writing, I’d be able to explore something new that I don’t currently have time to do. I could be doing something else, and I wonder what I might choose to do if I had that extra time.
For that reason, I think it might be nice to take a break. But I don’t know if I could say — at least right now — that I was stopping my blog completely. I think I’d probably wake up one day with something I really wanted to say, and I’d want other people to be able to read it.
But yes, I do think about it.
24 Comments
I love the random Friday updates, but I can get what you’re saying about deadline pressure. I hope you don’t quit!
Having a life record is one of the best benefits of blogging (or journaling).
I don’t get why people feel pressure to post on their blogs. For me, it’s really just a personal outlet. If other people get something from it, awesome. But I’m not trying to please anyone but myself. I guess if you get to a certain level of popularity and people come to expect blog posts from you, then you are in a different position. ANd if you are trying to make a career out of it or gain some kind of notoriety, then you probably do have more pressure. I say, do what inspires you, and if that’s not blogging, then stop. :)
i think it would be very selfish of me to ask you not to quit, seeing as that i like to read your blog. but i totally understand the break-taking thing. it’s hard to come up with something (of quality) to post about every day or every other day. and blogging definitely takes time, time that can be used for other things, maybe new, fun things.
i do hope you keep twittering though!
Fiery Nuggets: I definitely agree with that, but in my case (since I write two posts a week for BlogHer.com), I’m contractually obligated to post them on a certain day of the week. So I can’t just write whenever I feel like it. :)
The GOOD thing about that? I often spend more time on certain subjects than I would if I wasn’t writing for them. And some of my BlogHer posts are the ones I’m most proud of writing.
I have only recently started blogging myself and understand the strange thing about self imposed deadlines. However, since this isn’t a job no one should feel obliged to write on a regular basis unless they want to.
I certainly enjoy reading your blog and hope that if you do decide to take a break, you won’t go away for too long.
I am taking a blog sabbatical, and it’s nice. Though I still read your blog whenever it pops up in my google reader. :)
I only started blogging last summer, and it’s very apparent to me how people can get simply burnt out. Especially those who post once or twice a day. It is very time consuming, and while it’s fun to look back on daily happenings, I’m sure it gets in the way of just living sometimes.
I enjoy reading your posts, and selfishly hope you don’t break for too long. :-)
Interesting. It is weird when some of your friends stop doing something… it makes you re-evaluate. I agree about having a historical reference, it’s really nice to look back at, or even use to dig up some info you may have forgotten.
I’ve never thought about quitting, but last year, since I take a break from writing/directing work in December I decided to take a break from blogging, too. It seemed a good way to take a full on break and also to see what it would be like not to blog.
I was kind of afraid I’d like it, you know? Realize I didn’t want to blog anymore?
Exact opposite. I knew on like day 3 that I’d be right back at it on January 1st. It was a nice break, and then I was glad to be back, refreshed. My traffic took basically no hit at all, too.
=) I stopped. And I have no idea why. Ok, I’m lying. I’ve had a ton of failures in my life recently: not doing well in school, didn’t get a promotion (and am now finding it hard to not be miserable at work), wondering if my relationship will make it, and I WANT to write about it. But I can’t until I can see the light in all of this b/c the last thing I want is a pissy blog. I admire that you keep trucking through knowing that you probably experience bad times too, but none of your posts come across negative. I think if I were a better writer, I could find something else to blog about, or a find a less negative way of approaching my life situation at the moment. You seem to be able to do this, which shows that in the end, your persistence in writing has indeed made you a very good writer. (and I understand not wanting to miss the connections with people, I’m still wondering if semi-charmed wife is doing okay but too shy to email and ask!)
Your blog is awesome. But I can see how you would get tired. Your life is busy!
I know Blog Her has deadlines, and you never did like deadlines.
I am into freelancing now with Faithwriters and Elance, and because you get paid for this you have deadlines, and updates and being kept track of, that takes the fun out of blogging. So my personal blog I enjoy, I post when I want usually about three times a week, but now as it is getting a litle more popular I feel I am posting for everyone else, not just me.
and that gets to be pressure. Take a break Zandria go visit your friend in SC, enjoy yourself..are you going to Chicago? I’ll see you there. so we can both get reinspired…
I gave up on one of my blogs. Having multiple blogs is a huge hassle, and I was getting very little feedback. I know you’re supposed to blog for yourself, but if you’re only writing for yourself, why publish at all?
Very interesting post and one I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about lately! As you know, I’m a daily poster. Have been for going on 2 years now. And it’s starting to feel more like work than fun… I just don’t know.
Funny how a personal blog winds up making you feel like you OUGHT to post…
Writing is essentially what I want to do for the rest of my life so I don’t think I could ever get tired of keeping the blog :)
My dad and friends have always asked why I don’t want to write professionally or try to make money from my blog. And this is exactly why. If I don’t blog for a few weeks, the only people I apologize to are a few readers. I blog for myself and for fun, and I intend on keeping it that way to reduce the pressured feelings. Yeah, it costs me about $140 a year to have my blog, but I feel like it’s a worthwhile expenditure for me — it’s such a good record of everywhere I’ve been.
I agree with Fiery Nuggets
Blog for you. If other people relate then AWESOME! If not and you aren’t inspired then no big deal.
I’d miss you if/when you go on a blog break!
I agree with the blog for you as well.
and am also one of the ones who is always teetering on the I MAY STOP SOON edge.
it’s a fine line huh?
I can understand feeling that way! It’s part of the reason why I finally decided to give up on my blog. It was starting to feel too much like an obligation or a job. I just found I wasn’t enjoying it as much as I used to. And honestly? I don’t miss it yet. I started a new blog about food, so I don’t feel the pressure to blog about my daily boring life, and I still read all my favorite bloggers. :)
I think it’s natural for the urge to blog to go in waves. I know sometimes I don’t feel like talking about life and I drop off. Other times I just can’t shut up. I’ve never told myself I needed to post a minimum of x number of times in a week. I like writing when the mood strikes. But I think sometimes people reach the point where they don’t want random people to be able to nose in their life. I think that’s why it’s important to think about what you put into your blog too.
That said though, please don’t quit haha ;)
For me, closing down would be less because I had nothing to say (haha) but more because its hard to deal with the ugly side of blogging.
I remember the first year and a half I started blogging–I suddenly had a ton of readers and felt so obligated to write. Even though I enjoyed it–it was exhausting and eventually I moved to posting 2 or 3 times a week max and I am comfortable with that.
But I think a lot of people close down not because of writing or boredom but because of the darker side of blogging–I have said this a lot but I dealt with the worst you can from blogging:
with all the love came the hate tenfold
stalkers
2 police reports
a peeper
and two death threats
I was forced last year to password protect 2 years worth of posts and now I comment moderate.
I just won’t close down on principle. Lol.
Plus, I genuinely enjoy writing my LOST recaps and movie reviews. :)
Oh and my Girl Crushes. I still have 5 months left of them and I cannot quit without posting them. ;)
I’m so glad I’m reading this now. It’s not just me who feels obligated to post and gets stressed with no one shows up to read. I feel like I set myself up for failure when I post something really good and then for weeks can’t think long enough without interruption to write anything worthy so I do consider quiting or giving it a break but then I read my past posts and realize that I do enjoy this, I’m just busy right now. So if I need a break, I take a break and go from there. As always, Zandria, you have great content on your blog.
I know! It’s crazy that so many people seem to be leaving all at once! My FAVORITE blogger is gone :( Did you read My Messy Thrilling Life?