Day: March 23, 2020

Blogging Insights — Timing Is Everything

Fandango9 Comments

Blogging insightsDr.Tanya, at Salted Caramel, is looking for us to share more of our blogging insights. This time she wants to know our thoughts on timing.

1. How frequently do you post on your blog?

My posting frequency has dropped from 4-6 posts a day to 2-3 posts a day since having my ear surgery in late December and then moving into our new house in early February. At this point, I’m more likely to continue posting two to three times a day than returning to the four to six I used to post.

2. Do you believe there are optimum posting times and days?

I post two to three times a day, so everyday is optimal for posting. As to the times most of my posts my posts are published, I schedule my daily prompt word posts for midnight my time and usually have a post ready to go around 3 or 4 am and another one sometime later in the morning. If I’m feeling ambitious, I might post one later in the day.

3. Do you like to schedule your posts in advance? How many posts and how far ahead do you usually schedule?

EBDFE548-52BA-451A-B574-393EC64B3432I schedule my daily word prompts up to two weeks in advance. Most of my other prompts (flash fiction challenge, provocative question, Friday flashback) are scheduled a day or two in advance. Otherwise, all other posts are composed on the day they are published.

Share Your World — Square Boxes, Boots, and Braces

Fandango8 Comments

Share Your WorldIt’s Monday and that means it’s time for Melanie’s Share Your World prompt. So let’s get to it.

On a scale of 1-10, how strict were your parents?

I don’t know how I’d rate my parents in relation to other kids’ parents, but I was the baby of the family and the only boy, and I got away with a lot of shit.

What wastes the most time in your day to day life?

My wife would say blogging, but she spends as much time on Twitter as I do on WordPress, so I’d say she wastes more time than I do.

Do they bury people with their braces on?

Melanie explains that braces, for the purpose of this question, are those metal bits they put on people to straighten their teeth.

The old saying goes, they bury cowboys with their boots on. But braces? This question kind of makes me sad because most people who have braces on their teeth are teenagers, and if we’re talking about burying them with their braces on, we’re talking about the deaths of fairly young people.

Why does a round pizza come in a square box?

Because you can’t fit a square peg in a round hole? Or vice versa?

Double Your Pleasure

Fandango19 Comments

Blog Award NominationsWith all of the crappy news and the requirement to stay at home in the midst of this COVID-19 pandemic, I am happy to say that two bloggers have nominated my blog for awards.

Riya Gupta, at World of My Thoughts, nominated my blog for the Vincent Ehindero Blogger Award, which is, quite honestly, one I had never heard of before. Turns out that Vincent Ehindero is a self-identified “online influencer and inspirational writer who gives awards to bloggers and blogs to support their good works.”

I also received a nomination for the Mystery Blogger Award from DebbySEO, who apparently offers a complete range of low-cost SEO services.

Thank you, Riya and Debby, for the nomination. I do appreciate the recognition. That said, mine is an award-free blog, but not a question-free blog. So I’m going to answer the questions that Riya and Debby posed.

First Riya’s questions:

1. What’s the best thing you like about blogging? And your advice.

The best thing about blogging is the community of creative, imaginative, passionate, and compassionate bloggers with whom I interact each day. My advice to bloggers is to be creative, imaginative, passionate, and compassionate and to write about whatever interests you.

2. What do you do to relax?

With a mandatory shelter-in-place/stay-at-home order where I live, I’ve been doing a lot of Netflix and chillin’ and trying to avoid watching the news.

3. What is that one thing you are very grateful for?

I am very grateful that, to the best of my knowledge, no one in my family or that I personally know has displayed any of the symptoms of, or has tested positive for, coronavirus.

4. What is your happiest moment?

My happiest two moments were when our two children were born.

5. Would you prefer a cat or dog?

We have one of each and I love them both.

And now for Debby’s questions:

1) Have you ever smiled at a stranger and then wished you hadn’t? Why or why not?

I’ve smiled, nodded, and even said hello to strangers, but I’ve never wished I hadn’t. Why would I?

2) What is your favorite SEO plugin for WordPress?

At the risk of sounding like a technological neophyte, I have no idea what an SEO plugin for WordPress is or what it would be used for. So, no, I don’t have a favorite.

3) If you could shop for free at any store, which store would you choose and why?

At this moment it would be any store that has a decent supply of toilet paper.

4) If you could make one thing illegal, what would it be?

Hoarding toilet paper.

5) Have you ever had SEO work done, and if so were you happy with the results? If you did the work yourself how did you do?

I know that SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, but I really don’t know what that’s all about and I’ve never had any SEO work done or done any SEO work myself. So I have no SEO results to be happy or unhappy about.

If anyone else wishes to take a shot at answering Riya’s and/or Debby’s questions, now is the time.

Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge #58

Fandango9 Comments

FFFCWelcome to “Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge.” Each week I will be posting a photo I grab off the internet and challenge bloggers to write a flash fiction piece or poem inspired by the photo. There are no style or word limits.

The image below is from congerdesign at Pixabay.com.09F80558-A9E1-4AD4-BA2B-92D7EA04430FFor the visually challenged writer, the photo shows a number of simply drawn paper cutouts of people and houses with the people situated on and around the houses.

If this week’s image inspires you and you wish to participate, please write your post, use the tag #FFFC, and link back to this post. I hope it will generate some great posts.

Thanks to all of you who have participated in these challenges. Your posts have been very creative. Please take a few minutes to read the other responses to this photo challenge.

Please create a pingback to this post or manually add your link in the comments.

FOWC with Fandango — Suspense

Fandango23 Comments

FOWCWelcome to March 23, 2020 and to Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (aka, FOWC). It’s designed to fill the void after WordPress bailed on its daily one-word prompt.

I will be posting each day’s word just after midnight Pacific Time (US).

Today’s word is “suspense.”

Write a post using that word. It can be prose, poetry, fiction, non-fiction. It can be any length. It can be just a picture or a drawing if you want. No holds barred, so to speak.

Once you are done, tag your post with #FOWC and create a pingback to this post if you are on WordPress. Or you can simply include a link to your post in the comments.

The issue with pingbacks not showing up seems to have been resolved, but you might check to confirm that your pingback is there. If not, please manually add your link in the comments.

  1. And be sure to read the posts of other bloggers who respond to this prompt. You will marvel at their creativity.