Fuzzy Nugget (fuz’e nug’it), n. 1. A small piece of breaded and deep-fried chicken or other meat that has been lost on the floorboards of a car and subsequently attached itself to hair, lint, and carpet fibers. 2. A newborn baby, even if over nine pounds in weight, most often covered in fine, downy soft hair. 3. In writing, a solid idea in superfluous text. 4. An interesting analytic judgment that is not developed sufficiently enough to be clear to the reader or listener.
My life is full of fuzzy nuggets, in all their forms.
I find fuzzy nuggets frequently under the seats of our car. I am not prepared to stop serving lunch to my kids en route (despite all my good intentions), so I will continue to find these nuggets, I suppose.
I have given birth to two fuzzy nuggets. Adorable. Peachy soft. No complaints here, even about the over nine pounds thing.
I consistently write and post fuzzy nuggets. This I have taken upon myself to adjust. If I can. Of course, losing verbage might be like losing weight – really a bummer to cut out the things I just must eat (write). And my real friends will love me whether I’m fat - or verbose - anyway. There’s a lovely Russian saying that goes, “There should be a lot of a good person.” I like that. Lots of room for fuzzy nuggets in all their forms and after-effects, eh?
However, I really took to heart Katherine’s goals in blogging as she outlined them here, and Carol at She Lives gave some fabulous advice to new bloggers here (which I just ate up, and am still trying to apply). Then a bit later, Shannon of Rocks in My Dryer offered the same suggestions in her FAQs here. So I’ve been processing and I think brevity (while probably the least important of the ideals listed in the aforementioned advice) is a really good idea.
I just felt like blogging about blogging today and I’m really craving some feedback. So, what I want to know is: Are you turned off by really long posts (Like, do you skip them when they show up on your bloglines in a search for more succinct reading)? Do you try to limit the lengths of your own posts? How do you do it? In general, what makes a post good to you? And does anyone else obsess on occasion about things like this? Can’t wait to hear what you have to say…
8.15.2006
I Wanna Hear It
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12 comments:
Are you turned off by really long posts?
It depends on how well the post was written - spelling, punctuation, use of paragraphs. I read Carol's post and thought she had a great point about that. If it's muddled and hard to read, I don't feel like I have time.
Do you try to limit the lengths of your own posts?
Not as often as I should. I try hard to watch myself and not ramble. If I feel like what I'm saying is important I don't feel like I have to cut it down... it's MY blog, after all.
In general, what makes a post good to you?
I totally agreed with Carol's NO WHINING rule. I like posts that are funny or thought-provoking and tell a good story.
And does anyone else obsess on occasion about things like this? Yeah. :)
Whatever soul-searching it is that you're doing these days, I just want to say that I enjoy your blog a lot. You don't post too long, your humor comes through, you're interesting and your children are adorable.
The blogs that turn me off are the really negative ones and the ones that use bad language. I really don't like bad language.
Overly preachy, too deep for a tired brain, and consistent "aren't I cute" blogs can get tiresome.
What determines the length of a posting of mine is simply how long it takes to say what I want to say. I don't like to skip through to the bottom of someone else's because I find that when I do that, I often miss the real meat of the writing in the middle.
Blogs with multiple postings in a day are hard to keep up with.
Okay, I need to go back and read my own stuff. You're getting shorter and I'm getting longer. I MUST STOP MYSELF!!
Missed seeing you - I've been buried under kids and school stuff. Hopefully I will be caught up by the end of the week!! Love those fuzzy nuggets!
Gosh - these are great questions.
I do get turned off (quickly) by really long posts - but does that stop me from writing novels each and every time? Heck no!!! Although, I do try to keep my posts to the point (as much as possible). Usually I've got a "story" to tell, and I'm a blabber on details.
What makes a good post to me is one where there is a message. A funny story, a helpful tip, an uplifting thought, or something that makes you think. To me, it's important to have some "humor" laced through whatever story you post. I can't stand whining and try to avoid it at all costs (unless, I'm making fun of myself!) I also think that overly using bad language is a sign of NO class.
I do ponder the questions you've posed whenever I write. What I try to do in my posts is include photos (it's nice to have something to look at!) and I do a lot of short paragraphs ... long paragraphs are tough on the eyes, IMHO.
This blogging stuff is addictive. Much more so than I ever imagined it would be!!! :)
I am fairly new to this whole blogging thing and really appreciated your post and the links you provided. I have a question for you. I have read a few people talking about bloglines. What are they? Thanks for taking the time to help a little old newbie blogger like myself. ;)
First off...had to say that the picture of your fuzzy nuggets is SO sweet!
Anyway, I'm fairly new to blogging so appreciate the suggestions and ideas. For me, when I started, I kept the "private" button turned on because it was mainly to update friends and family and I also used it as sort of a journal. So...when I decided to circulate, I found my style changed considerably!
And all that said, though, I'm still searching for my own style...it's pretty much eclectic. Sometimes I am feeling sort of funny, other times something more meaningful is on my heart...other times, like this morning, I just wanted to tell about my incredible weekend with my family and post the pictures. Perhaps that's not great marks of a blogger, but I kind of have to go with my mood a bit. I suspect a lot of us are like that.
That same mood kind of dictates which blogs I read on a certain day. I don't have time to read every blog that I would like to each day...so if I'm not mentally willing to read through something really long or heavy, I might skip that and go for something light one day...but the next time something meaningful will reach out and grab me. So guess my reading style is as diverse as my writing!
And ditto about it being addictive! I'm really trying to keep some balance after seeing just how addictive it was becoming! But it's also a good thing when kept in perspective. I've made some wonderful friends in my short time doing this!
CYM, the new look is wonderful! I like your banner!
I have to say, the rebellious teenager in me wants to balk at guidelines for blogging. Besides the obvious (foul or just plain stupid) it's hard to go wrong, in my opinion. Nobody can be totally interesting and funny all the time. But they can be likeable and real---and that matters. I break all the rules with my blogging, mostly because I will get overwhelmed and depressed if I try to fit in. I started blogging as a sort of journaling and sharing with relatives, and I have to work hard not to lose sight of that. It's easy to get lost in this blogging world and quickly become the pathetic freckle-faced girl I was at 14 who just desperately wanted the Guess? label on her jeans and not the question mark her mom lovingly embroidered on. I will be boring, I will be long-winded, I get overwhelmed by the idea of changing my template because html scares the html out of me, I might even be wrong, and I might even be guilty of whining here and there (Read: Kinkos sucks), but I WILL be REAL and that's just about the only thing I can be consistent with.
T-You could rewrite a doggone phone book and it would interesting.
oh, p.s. love your dictionary definitions of fuzzy nugget.
Thanks so much for the info on bloglines. I appreciate the info. Now I no longer have to "stalk" the blogworld. :=)
I'm not sure how other people feel, but I never skip over the long posts. I like them. If it's long, that usually means it's important to the person who's writing. I even like it when people whine in their posts. Blogging is fascinating to me because it's usually a more real or honest look at people's lives.
Are you turned off by really long posts?
From my OLF? No, never
From other people? perhaps
No paragraphs or even breaks? I'm skipping it.
Do you try to limit the lengths of your own posts?
I guess I just think my posts are so boring, and my grammar not at its best. So I do, yeah, I'm afraid the 5 of you who read my blog, might get headache.
In general, what makes a post good to you?
Humor, pics (always worth 1,000 words), good story. Whining once in a while does not bother me (I do it all the time, so I can be flexible with others)
And does anyone else obsess on occasion about things like this?
Si :) weird huh?
BTW, this post has been aproved by me as both "thought-provoking" and "worth reading". Congrats.
BTW #2, love your new banner, colors and avatar.
I have to admit, sometimes I do skip reading a post if it is really long. (Although, Jen3 is the exception. She writes NOVELS, but her experiences with her triplets are so outrageous I can't help but read them.)
I also find that as I cut back on my blogging time, I find frequent posters difficult to keep up with.
I used to think more about what my readers would want to hear about, but I have such a broad range of readers (From online mommy blogger friends to my father in law to my 13 year old) that I have more fun just writing about what I feel like writing about. This is one area of my life I don't have to try to please anyone but myself!
Obsess? I admit to having thought about this stuff far more than I probably should.
BTW, I think you are doing great on all of the above issues!
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