See how I started this post with a totally rhetorical question! Don't ever do that on a query letter...ANYWAYS....as you can see I'm a bit out of practice on the whole blogging thing. It's even worse on facebook and twitter. I only managed 275K on Bejeweled and have no clue what to say on twitter. This is going to take some time to get back into the swing of things!
So I see that whilst I was away a few of you acquired agents ... YAY!!!!! I'm so proud of you (and possibly jealous...)
Nothing much of excitement happened to me during my absence BUT I did learn some interesting things from my fast. Things I really didn't expect to happen. (I may or may not be slightly naive in some instances.)
So here are the things I learned...
Top 10 Things I Learned While Away from Social Media
10. The Crackberry is not nearly as fun without twitter and facebook
9. When you take away twitter and facebook, the need to read/write blogs and go on other social media sites seems kinda silly. Especially when you can't post your blogs anywhere or follow up with people about them elsewhere. It's not something I can completely explain, but I totally didn't expect for it to happen.
8. When you are not blogging, tweeting, playing Bejeweled Blitz all day ... you have a LOT of time on your hands.
7. When you are not in constant contact with writers, agents, bloggers 24/7, suddenly you feel the need to take a break from your writing as well. I didn't look at my book once. Instead I spent the 40 days helping a dear (super awesome fantastic) friend with editing her book and sending encouragement during her agent search (not to be confused with Star Search...) And oddly...it felt good to step away from my own work for awhile. I needed it.
6. When you have a ton of time on your hands you read ... a LOT. I didn't make it through all the books I wanted to BUT I did read (in no particular order) Impulse, Identical, Crank, The Maze Runner, 13 Reasons Why, Love You, Hate You, Miss You, Wake, Fade, The Bell Jar, Shiver, Stephen King's On Writing, The Adoration of Jenna Fox, and I'm currently reading Gone and Plot and Structure. Again, not as many as I wanted to read, but after the first 8 I kinda got burnt out.
5. Not many people email any more...or using Yahoo Instant Messenger. I had both available the entire 40 days and I really only stayed in touch with about 3 or 4 people. This kinda made me sad. But it's all good, I know people have been busy :)
4. When you aren't reading, writing, on the computer you watch a TON of TV. I have watched the first 5 seasons of Grey's Anatomy via Lifetime Network and DVR and almost all of the first season of Bones via Netflix as well as any episodes of House that I have been able to catch on Saturday nights. My husband would like to take the TV away from me.
3. Moving is a bit easier when not glued to the computer. I was able to get my entire house packed and ready to go to the point where it only took us 3 hours to load the moving truck and 2 to unload. By far the easiest move we have ever had!
2. I spent way more time with my family then I had before. Apparently my husband doesn't like to cuddle 24/7. What's up with that?
1. The most interesting thing about the whole fast was that I didn't miss it as much as I thought I would. The first few days kinda sucked, but after that I just kinda got used to it. I really missed the people, but not the websites themselves. I actually felt kinda strange when I got back on yesterday.
10. The Crackberry is not nearly as fun without twitter and facebook
9. When you take away twitter and facebook, the need to read/write blogs and go on other social media sites seems kinda silly. Especially when you can't post your blogs anywhere or follow up with people about them elsewhere. It's not something I can completely explain, but I totally didn't expect for it to happen.
8. When you are not blogging, tweeting, playing Bejeweled Blitz all day ... you have a LOT of time on your hands.
7. When you are not in constant contact with writers, agents, bloggers 24/7, suddenly you feel the need to take a break from your writing as well. I didn't look at my book once. Instead I spent the 40 days helping a dear (super awesome fantastic) friend with editing her book and sending encouragement during her agent search (not to be confused with Star Search...) And oddly...it felt good to step away from my own work for awhile. I needed it.
6. When you have a ton of time on your hands you read ... a LOT. I didn't make it through all the books I wanted to BUT I did read (in no particular order) Impulse, Identical, Crank, The Maze Runner, 13 Reasons Why, Love You, Hate You, Miss You, Wake, Fade, The Bell Jar, Shiver, Stephen King's On Writing, The Adoration of Jenna Fox, and I'm currently reading Gone and Plot and Structure. Again, not as many as I wanted to read, but after the first 8 I kinda got burnt out.
5. Not many people email any more...or using Yahoo Instant Messenger. I had both available the entire 40 days and I really only stayed in touch with about 3 or 4 people. This kinda made me sad. But it's all good, I know people have been busy :)
4. When you aren't reading, writing, on the computer you watch a TON of TV. I have watched the first 5 seasons of Grey's Anatomy via Lifetime Network and DVR and almost all of the first season of Bones via Netflix as well as any episodes of House that I have been able to catch on Saturday nights. My husband would like to take the TV away from me.
3. Moving is a bit easier when not glued to the computer. I was able to get my entire house packed and ready to go to the point where it only took us 3 hours to load the moving truck and 2 to unload. By far the easiest move we have ever had!
2. I spent way more time with my family then I had before. Apparently my husband doesn't like to cuddle 24/7. What's up with that?
1. The most interesting thing about the whole fast was that I didn't miss it as much as I thought I would. The first few days kinda sucked, but after that I just kinda got used to it. I really missed the people, but not the websites themselves. I actually felt kinda strange when I got back on yesterday.
Conclusion...
While Social Media is fun, it's not completely necessary. You miss out on a ton of interaction, but I was able to still feel connected to those who kept in touch via email.
Now what I wonder is will it be harder to get back into the swing of things than it was to get out of them....I shall keep you posted!
And if you didn't get a chance to let me in on what I missed while I was gone, visit yesterdays post and give me the goods!
While Social Media is fun, it's not completely necessary. You miss out on a ton of interaction, but I was able to still feel connected to those who kept in touch via email.
Now what I wonder is will it be harder to get back into the swing of things than it was to get out of them....I shall keep you posted!
And if you didn't get a chance to let me in on what I missed while I was gone, visit yesterdays post and give me the goods!
13 comments:
Now that I've gotten so into this whole blogging thing, I've definitely had to be careful not to let it run over my life. Good for you for taking a break from it!
I linked over to you from your comment on Elana Johnson's blog and I love your Mary Poppins theme :)
Welcome back! I know what you mean about the "social bug." I've had to pull myself away for weeks at at time just to "re-collect" myself. LOL It is amazing how much you can get done when you're not on the computer all the time though. :)
Tree (aka Mother of Pearl)
http://www.motherofpearlitis.com
http://www.mommiesfaves.com
Super awesome fantastic???!!! *touched* :-)
Welcome back! Hmmm...not sure what you missed around my blog- oh wait. I hosted a first page blogfest and it was a huge success! You can check out all the links if you want to. I think you'll find that getting back into the swing of things is easy ;)
Wow! That's a lot of books. My hubby would never give me the alone time necessary to finish that many books in 40 days. :-)
Great job on the reading list!
So glad to have you back ;o)
Well guess what? I missed you! I noticed your absence. I'm glad you are healthy and alive and moved safely. It's true too much of all this network bull can hamper real life. We need to find a balance.
Wow, those are interesting lessons! Who knew that you could actually get stuff done if you stepped away from the computer. Huh.
To say I missed you is an understatement. At least I could keep in touch with you via that pesky Yahoo Messenger once in a while.
I kind of hate that no one really e-mails anymore. None of my college friends really do the social media thing AND they don't e-mail anymore. Lame.
Wow, this is a great run-down of social media. I'm glad you got a lot of reading done, and the help with your friend. But I'm glad you're back.
Welcome back and happy scribbling! Well done on your fast. I tweet once a week (if I remember), facebook a message to my children (UK and Vancouver), daily. If it wasn't for them I would not bother.
I enjoy my blogging time, I feel connected with the world of writers.
This is so interesting Marybeth. I've felt the same way. I really miss the people, but I love being away and having time for other things. My break has made me want to write more though. I kind of feel like blogging has stolen a good bit of my writing time. There's got to be a balance somewhere... I just need to find it.
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