Once upon a time, in a land of mommies and marketers, humourists and impeccable cooks and crafters, a Plain Jane without any real talents or purpose started a blog. The blog was named Chicken Noodle Gravy and had humble beginnings as a amateur foodie blog, but soon enough, the restraints of being a specific type of blog became too much for the Plain Jane Blogger to manage. A post or two about writing snuck in and then a post or two about owls and about fellow bloggers and about cats, and gradually, CNG became A Blog With No Identity and found its own unique, one-blog niche among the mommies and marketers and humourists and cooks and crafters.
CNG and her blogger were happy for awhile. Regular posts and participation in various linkies and prompts ensured frequent visitors for the blog and helped the Plain Jane Blogger make many new (and very precious) friends. But, with the passage of time and the onset of some freelance writing assignments, the Plain Jane Blogger began to neglect her relationship with CNG, as well as her other blogger friends, and things became stressed.
When the going got tough, the Plain Jane Blogger got going, and slowly, CNG began to die....
...Which got me to thinking: where do blogs go when they die?
We've all seen it before. Our favorite blogs suddenly disappear off the face of the interwebz never to be heard from again, or...sometimes worse, the blogger just stops updating. Each time you visit their blog, you hope for a new post, some sign of life, and there's usually nothing. Just an outdated blog and an empty promise that one day the blogger will return.
Well, this Plain Jane Blogger doesn't want that to happen to Chicken Noodle Gravy. I've grown far too fond of this place and the people that it's helped me to discover to just let it die. And so with this year ending and a new one beginning, I'm jumping back on the blog train.
But I will warn you. I don't follow any of the typical "rules" of blogging, and I probably never will.
I don't keep up with a post schedule of any kind. I post when the mood strikes me, and typically not a moment before because of my lifelong struggle with a disease called procrastination.
I don't post pictures. Especially my own. Look, folks, I suck at photography. You want a photographer? I know a great one, and I can refer you to her, but as far as I go? Yeah, I suck at it. When I'm in the moment, having the time of my life, I never think "PICTURE! Take a picture of this!" Usually, I just live in that moment and enjoy it, and then regret not taking a picture later. That's probably not going to change. I wish I could at least draw some stick-figure re-creations of my life events, but I suck at drawing, too. Yes, even stick figures.
I don't fit in anywhere. I'm myself. I've said it before, and I'll probably say it five thousand times again. CNG has no purpose, and despite what others say about finding your blog "identity" and the importance of having focus, I don't see a damn thing wrong with that.
I hate rules. I have to follow them everyday at my job. When I get home, when I WRITE, I don't want any rules to follow. That's just me.
So I won't promise that my posting will be frequent or that I will suddenly start taking pictures or that Chicken Noodle Gravy will ever have a reason for existing, but I will promise that she won't be one of those blogs that just dies. If CNG and I break up, you'll know about it, and she'll be sent to some bloggy afterlife, where she can rest in peace. But until that fateful day, I'll continue to entertain you here with infrequent posting, weird-ass fiction, and googled images.
See ya real soon, blog world, and may your new year be merry and bright!
Author's Note: This was written in response to The Lightning and the Lightning Bug writing prompt: "Year's End." We were supposed to write about whatever the words "Year's End" mean to us. If you'd like, hop on over to check out some great posts from more Lightning Bugs or, even better, to participate yourself.
Have you ever witnessed the death of a blog? Have you ever had your own blog die on you? What would you like to happen to your blog if/when it dies?
CNG and her blogger were happy for awhile. Regular posts and participation in various linkies and prompts ensured frequent visitors for the blog and helped the Plain Jane Blogger make many new (and very precious) friends. But, with the passage of time and the onset of some freelance writing assignments, the Plain Jane Blogger began to neglect her relationship with CNG, as well as her other blogger friends, and things became stressed.
When the going got tough, the Plain Jane Blogger got going, and slowly, CNG began to die....
...Which got me to thinking: where do blogs go when they die?
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We've all seen it before. Our favorite blogs suddenly disappear off the face of the interwebz never to be heard from again, or...sometimes worse, the blogger just stops updating. Each time you visit their blog, you hope for a new post, some sign of life, and there's usually nothing. Just an outdated blog and an empty promise that one day the blogger will return.
Well, this Plain Jane Blogger doesn't want that to happen to Chicken Noodle Gravy. I've grown far too fond of this place and the people that it's helped me to discover to just let it die. And so with this year ending and a new one beginning, I'm jumping back on the blog train.
 |
| via |
I don't keep up with a post schedule of any kind. I post when the mood strikes me, and typically not a moment before because of my lifelong struggle with a disease called procrastination.
I don't post pictures. Especially my own. Look, folks, I suck at photography. You want a photographer? I know a great one, and I can refer you to her, but as far as I go? Yeah, I suck at it. When I'm in the moment, having the time of my life, I never think "PICTURE! Take a picture of this!" Usually, I just live in that moment and enjoy it, and then regret not taking a picture later. That's probably not going to change. I wish I could at least draw some stick-figure re-creations of my life events, but I suck at drawing, too. Yes, even stick figures.
I don't fit in anywhere. I'm myself. I've said it before, and I'll probably say it five thousand times again. CNG has no purpose, and despite what others say about finding your blog "identity" and the importance of having focus, I don't see a damn thing wrong with that.
I hate rules. I have to follow them everyday at my job. When I get home, when I WRITE, I don't want any rules to follow. That's just me.
So I won't promise that my posting will be frequent or that I will suddenly start taking pictures or that Chicken Noodle Gravy will ever have a reason for existing, but I will promise that she won't be one of those blogs that just dies. If CNG and I break up, you'll know about it, and she'll be sent to some bloggy afterlife, where she can rest in peace. But until that fateful day, I'll continue to entertain you here with infrequent posting, weird-ass fiction, and googled images.
See ya real soon, blog world, and may your new year be merry and bright!
Author's Note: This was written in response to The Lightning and the Lightning Bug writing prompt: "Year's End." We were supposed to write about whatever the words "Year's End" mean to us. If you'd like, hop on over to check out some great posts from more Lightning Bugs or, even better, to participate yourself.
Have you ever witnessed the death of a blog? Have you ever had your own blog die on you? What would you like to happen to your blog if/when it dies?
