Confession time:
In 3+ years of blogging, I have never written a dedicated discussion post.
Let that sink in a minute. In over three and a half years there has been not one single discussion post on this blog. Sure there have been countless Top Ten Tuesdays when I might have briefly chatted about that week's theme. But to come up with a topic on my own and generate a post delving into my own thoughts and feelings about a particular subject? Nope, never happened.
So that naturally leads to the question: Why?
Glad you asked. And there's a simple answer.
It's because I fear the discussion post!
And we're not talking a mild nervousness. Or a slight skittishness.
No ma'am. We're talking outright fear.
Dread.
Horror.
Alarm.
Panic.
*insert further synonyms at will*
So why this reaction to the mere thought of a discussion post? I have reasons.
So... let's discuss shall we? (yeah, I went there)
EVERY POSSIBLE TOPIC HAS ALREADY BEEN COVERED
Okay, this one is bogus on two accounts. Because one, I see bloggers discuss new and interesting topics all the time. Sam @ We Live and Breathe Books is great at this! Whether it's a broad subject or a very specific thing, she often posts interesting discussions that are unique and generate discussion in the comments.
And secondly, just because a topic has been covered doesn't mean there's nothing more to say. Or that I might not have my own perspective or opinion. Goodness knows no one I know, including me, has a shortage of opinions. :)
I HAVE NOTHING OF VALUE TO ADD/NO ONE WILL AGREE WITH MY OPINION
Alright, another lame excuse that I can easily shoot down. Thinking I might not have anything of value to add kind of goes hand in hand with the aforementioned "everything's been covered and there's nothing left to say" b.s.
And no one agreeing with my opinion? Well, for starters that's highly unlikely. It's not like I'm that controversial or extreme. And secondly, who cares if they don't? I mean, seriously - it's my blog, my opinion, and my right to throw out my little thoughts and feelings into the void. If no one agree with me... okay. *shrugs* At the end of the day does it really matter? And do I really care? (Answer: not really, no.)
I WON'T BE ABLE TO COME UP WITH ANY NEW TOPICS
Oh puhleeze. I'm rolling my eyes even as I type it. I've told myself this so many times but the fact is that I often find myself wondering if others do the same thing (like picking a bookmark based on the book), experience the same thing (wondering what fictional characters are doing when I'm not reading the book), etc. There are ideas all around, just in day to day life, so having nothing to talk about is pretty ridiculous.
So it would seem that none of my excuses reasons are all that valid. And that maybe I should get over myself and just do it. I mean, hey, I just proved that I can write a discussion post... even if it's about my fear of discussion posts. That counts, right? :)
So how about you?
Do you enjoy discussion posts? Fear them like me?
Do you struggle with topics?
Let's chat it up!
<3! I totally understand this! I struggle coming up with discussions as well, however, I do think it is interesting to read other opinions on the same topics! :)
ReplyDeleteThis made me giggle-snort, Tanya! Yeah, I think we all experience a fear of discussion posts. It's been quite a long while since I posted one. Hmm... But you're right. None of these reasons/excuses are valid. We should just *DO IT*! You're already on your way, girl! Great discussion post!! :D
ReplyDeleteI don’t blame you for being afraid of discussions. They’re really hard to write! I’ve been blogging for 5 years and am completely out of ideas for stuff to talk about. I feel like everything has been discussed already. Every time there’s a new controversy, 1000 bloggers post about it immediately. Talking about controversial stuff is hard because what if I say something wrong and make everybody hate me? Even if I apologized, the book community isn’t forgiving of mistakes. I love reading discussions on other people’s blogs, but writing them is a struggle.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I used to write a lot of discussion posts in my earlier years of blogging. There weren't as many but now so many bloggers do it and do it well that I don't feel like I have anything to add to it. And I might have a bit of discussion posts fatigue right now.
ReplyDeleteI do do the Tell Me Something Tuesday post. I used to host something similar so that's a fun one for me and has a prompt.
And then there's just my general laziness about blogging lately lol
I think if there's something I feel strongly about though - I'll post.
Karen @ For What It's Worth
I've never done a discussion post either and I've been blogging for over 5 years now! I can't say that I have fear of it, just that I don't feel like I have much to add or anything new to come up with, but I should re-think that because you make some excellent points! Wonderful discussion post, Tanya! :)
ReplyDeleteAwww, I am touched that you think I come up with ideas, but it's a struggle. I agree with everything you've said. Trying to find a new spin or say something original, but I am usually really pleased with myself when other people are engaged. So, I will continue to post a discussion once a week, because it's a good way to challenge myself.
ReplyDeleteOkay first off, congrats on writing your first discussion post...and now I really need that post on choosing a bookmark based on the book!
ReplyDeleteI don't do a ton of discussion posts. I think sometimes it's figuring out WHAT to write about, but also, they tend to take longer than reviews, etc. I love reading them though, and I want to try and do more! I hope you do too. :)
-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
Welcome to the world of discussion posts! To be honest, I also fear them, but I love that they always seem to bring up the most discussion (duh). I do often worry that people will think what I wrote is dumb or unnecessary, but then I just figure who cares? It's my blog. I definitely think you can do it! If you're coming up blank, you can always look for other discussions and try to expand on them!
ReplyDeleteHow delightfully ironic that your first discussion post was about having never written a discussion post lol. I love discussions! I just haven't been able to do many lately myself because of my tennis elbow. But those ideas you mentioned in the last section sound like great topics! I hope you do more of these in the future :-)
ReplyDeleteI'ce tried them various times, both realted to books and not. You've already got more respones to this one than I generally get. Some people are good at one thing, some at another. You've got a good blog; don't worry about mine.
ReplyDeleteWell you've now written one (a good one!!) so you're over the hump haha! I get it though, I go through stages- sometimes I have ideas, and then months might go by where I don't. Who even knows why lol? But I think a lot of us struggle with the topics thing- it is hard to come up with new stuff sometimes!
ReplyDeleteI love discussion posts but don't always have the time. But even if you are not coming with something new I think bloggers and readers love talking about their favorite subjects. So don't be shy ;-)
ReplyDeleteHopefully now that I’ve broken the ice I’ll come up with some more discussions to share. :)
DeleteI'm not particularly good at discussion posts, but I get what you're saying about not adding more to the conversation. I tend to write down potential discussion questions and write them out later if I still think they're relevant.
ReplyDeleteI sure wish I had jotted down the two *brilliant* ideas I had a couple weeks ago. THe ones I told myself I would remember so no need to write them down. LOL
DeleteYAYYY so proud of you for doing one! But honestly all these fears are legit- and I have to assume pretty common, if we both have them? Like, the topics thing kills me. I struggle SO MUCH. And then I always worry that I will somehow accidentally plagiarize someone? Like what if they came up with the idea first and I just didn't know!?! And you know, I think it is the *starting* of the post that's the hard part- once you start it, it just kind of... flows? So now that you have started, just keep writing them- or at least, write down the ideas, because if your brain works like mine, it'll be gone forever hahah.
ReplyDeleteYay me! LOL I *definitely* need to write down the ideas as they come to me. I had a couple last week (that were sheer genius, of course) but didn't take note and I now I have no clue what they were. Gah!
DeleteI've never written one either.*shrugs* I don't have a reason for not doing so, I just... Don't feel the need to? Is that weird? I'm good with commenting on discussion posts with opinions and I'm happy taking part in weekly memes and hops to give my opinion or thoughts on a topic but I just don't feel any urge to kick start my own.
ReplyDeleteHuh. Writing that down has made me feel all weird, lol. It's not unusual to not kick start discussions, right? :/
I’ve definitely never felt pressure to do discussion posts but I see them on other blogs, often find the topics genuinely interesting, and I like the conversation it generates.
DeleteLOL No it’s NOT weird not to kickstart discussions. You’re so consistent with your posts anyway. :)
I had a long time fear of the discussion post as well, for many of the same reasons! But I just forced myself to do them, and now I write one almost every week. And hey, you just wrote a very successful discussion post right here!
ReplyDeleteThat’s awesome that you’re able to do them so frequently! Maybe now that I’ve broken the ice they won’t seem so intimidating.
DeleteDiscussion posts are completely random for me! When it does happen, it's usually because I thought of a question while reading a book and decided to ask everyone else what they thought. For example, I was reading a book that contained a lot of animal cruelty, and I noticed that the animal deaths bothered me more than the human ones. My original thought was, "Why?". Why did one bother me more than the other? I decided to ask the question on my blog in the form of a discussion post, because I was genuinely curious about what people would say, and I wanted to talk about it. There ended up being a lot of interesting comments!
ReplyDeleteJust ask the questions you're already thinking!
Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear?
I’m kicking myself now for not jotting down the two ideas I had for discussions posts a couple weeks ago. I told myself I would remember them (bahaha!) and now of course the ideas are long gone. Hopefully thy’ll come back... or some other will pop in my head soon. :)
Delete