Hello everyone,
I don't know if anyone noticed or not, but I haven't posted on Hive in almost two weeks, and I thought I'd come on to kind of explain the absence to anyone who may have noticed.
A couple of weeks ago, I went out for a jam with a mate to help him out for an upcoming gig, and we had a good night and a bit of fun. But, when I got back home I realised that it was 12 o'clock and I hadn't posted.
I was filled with an overwhelming feeling of disappointment, at the fact that I dropped a two and a half year posting streak.
Somewhere, mixed with the disappointment was this calming feeling of relief. It was a really strange mix.
After dropping the streak, I continued to post for about 3 days, but something in me just kind of said, "Let it go," and so I did.
I often use this, or a variation of this picture when talking about blogging, or Hive stuff. I too have a silver laptop, maybe that's why I'm drawn to it. Realistically, their desk is a hell of a lot neater than mine usually is.
Hive
I have loved Hive since the moment I joined, and while it can never really be a job for me, it started to kind of feel like one.
Blogging, reviews, photography, fiction, and world-building are/ were my main focus while writing, but there were a few interesting twists and turns along the way, that had me writing outside of those niches, which was great.
Along the way though, the pressure mounted where I felt like I had to get something written. Keeping the streak going was the main goal, I didn't care about earnings, and just showed up to tick another day off the list toward year 3.
With everything else going on in my life, finding that 30-40 minutes to write something was tough enough, and that leads me to another thing I wanted to mention.
Engagement
There were many times where I would get my post written, and I'd shut down everything and go to sleep. Engaging with people was something I really let slip in the last year, if not a bit longer.
Sometimes it could be a few days before I'd get a chance to reply to someone. Most of the time I'd read a comment, start replying, and then boom, I'd be distracted away from that reply before sending it out.
Same goes for commenting on posts. I'd often read something while in bed, or on break, and a lot of the time I'd get to the comment section with the intention of saying something and I'd draw a blank. Rather than saying something like, "Cool post, bro," or, "Your writing fills my heart with love and admiration, I hope to be like you one day," I'd just say nothing instead.
From here on, I would like to focus on engaging with people rather than creating content. So, my step back, in a writing sense will be for the foreseeable, but I'll try to get in the comments of peoples posts.
I think the break from writing is good. Instead of writing a half-assed post each day, I'd rather focus on larger, and better articulated content.
Instead of releasing a first draft of a story, I'd like to write, edit, re-write and then release it when it's the best it can be.
So yeah, that's kind of where I'm at right now. I thought I may as well come on and let people know that I'm still here, and kind of not here. I'm a ghost stalking posts, a silent reader who's trying find the right words.
Commenting on Hive is tough, there's a fine line between coming across genuine and coming across like one of the many bot-like users with vague comments about your post title.
"Greetings, stepping away is probably best for you, come back soon."
Yasss queen, so long and thanks for all the engagement, heart emoji x3 + cry laughing face + peace sign.
(+ downvote?) Maybe. (+ auto downvote?) That'll teach 'em (+ Powerup all my Hive to run a DV spree on pesky bot-like users?) Soon, my love.