Things that happen to writers…at least this one

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This blog will be six years old in August. That’s a long time. I have over 1,000 posts and I have never posted daily. You’d think I would remember stuff.

Last week someone new viewed and commented on one of my old posts. I didn’t recognize the post so I clicked on it. I read it and thoroughly enjoyed it. (Damn! Who wrote this good piece? Oh, I did!)

I did not remember writing it. (Ok, sometimes I do bang them out! I don’t expect a Pulitzer for every post.)

Then I started to wonder how many times I write about the same thing. Sometimes it’s intentional and I will note it with “update” or “follow-up.” Most of those are to let you know the final outcome (like my refrigerator light episode) or the continuation of a thought thread that goes down a different bunny trail (usually this is related to retirement, aging or cats).

Sometimes I write about the same topic from a different angle (patience, adjusting and letting go are three that come to mind). Yet I sit here wondering if I write about the same stuff with the same view and just don’t remember.

This is like an old dotty uncle who tells the same jokes over and over. No one tells him because that would be rude and we love him.

Or like the emperor with his new clothes except that he’s totally “nekked.”

I admit that occasionally when I have a fabulous idea, the first thing I do is use the “search” feature on my site to make sure I didn’t do it before. Or if I did, I don’t contradict myself (wouldn’t that be the pits?).

As I was mulling this in my head, I don’t think I wrote about being dotty in this same context. Or if I did perhaps you won’t remember. Or if you do, just think of me as your dotty old friend.

71 thoughts on “Things that happen to writers…at least this one”

  2. You should have on e of those big countdown deals until August.
    I tell the days of the week by looking out and seeing what people have stacked on the curb for pickup: Mon and Thur garbage bags and cans, Wed is recycle bins, Sunday has piles of tree limbs and brush ready for Monday pick up…
    Sooner of later we all revert back images/pictures instead of words?

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  3. I wish I could use the search function to recall things I’ve told others! I often have to say to someone, “If I have already told you this….” Wouldn’t a mental search tool be helpful? You are so prolific in your number of posts I can see why you’d at times be unsure of your topics! Congratulations on attaining such a steady stream and a blogging anniversary coming up this summer!

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    • I’d love that function in my head. My husband and I are “in the age” (which can start at 30) where we don’t remember if we told someone something (especially each other and that’s magnified by the fact that we don’t always remember what we heard). We always start with “If I already told you this….” Aging isn’t for sissies.

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  5. I often go back and reread an old piece a visitor has discovered and liked. (Damn, I’m good 🙂 ) I sometimes repost an old article I’ve worked hard on because new visitors won’t go past the latest couple of posts.
    Don’t worry about whether or not you’ve written on a topic in the past. It would be interesting to see whether or not your opinions have changed over time. 🙂

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  6. Lol…I know the feeling of thinking about writing something and realizing I may have already done it or something very similar..:)
    I don’t think I’ve published a duplicate yet but I don’t want to look and find out😊

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  9. Since you make writing about being dotty such a pleasure to read, I say duplicate on!!

    (My autocorrect keeps wanting to capitalize “Dotty” like you’re describing a long-lost friend from childhood instead of an episodic mental state! Lol)

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  10. If you repeat yourself, we probably won’t remember. And if we do, we’ll probably enjoy hearing it again. Repetition is good. Some things are worth repeating.

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  12. Congratulations. Blogging for more than a year or two takes stamina. I’ve had (different) blogs on and off since 2004 but I’ve never clocked up 6 years on any of them.As for the repetition – I don’t know anyone who doesn’t do it. Using search is good… I do that with posts on various Facebook groups I’m in to make sure I’m not repeating a post… though I’m sure I miss some occasionally!

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  14. We’ll be your cheerleaders, Kate: “Hit it again! Hit it again! Harder! Smarter!”

    I love the search bar on SLTW ~ now I can find what I’m looking for with ease! Something that didn’t happen when my notes were on post-its! 😀

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  15. Wow, almost six years, that’s a great accomplishment. Congrats. 🙂 I don’t think posting similar stories over time is bad. Your posts are entertaining and I’m sure your outlook would vary anyway. 🙂 But then I’m with the group of your followers that sometimes has trouble remembering what I did yesterday. 🙂

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  17. Congrats on 6 years! WordPress should send you a plaque or something, don’t you think? 🙂
    Perhaps I will send you an award in the mail.
    As far as for your concern about repitition , I was literally asking myself that same question this morning as I was thinking about a post. 🙂

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  21. At this point, I always double-check to make sure I haven’t said something before. Or used the title before. Like you, I’ll return to a subject, but it has to be from a fresh angle or I won’t publish it. No need to burden the world with my flapdoodle and twaddle repeatedly! 😉

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  22. I like your writing so much, Kate, that I’d gladly read the same post as close as a month later. I might have repeated myself, but I’m not aware of it. I haven’t been blogging all that long, though. Give me time. I might catch up in the repeat department.

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  23. I can sooooooooooo relate! A fellow blogger is doing a Post on Ray very soon, and asked me to send her a “different” pic of Ray. When I asked for a definition of different, I was told that it had to be one that she had not previously Posted! As I explained to her – “I cannot remember what pics I have Posted in my own Blog, let alone what other people have used in their Blogs!”

    A memory is a truly remarkable thing… I think… If I remember correctly… or not! 🙂

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  24. Congratulations on your six years…and 1000+ posts! That is especially amazing since the ‘research out there’ constantly tells us that the average blog started is dead in less than 100 days….and that the lifespan of an average ‘top blog’ is 33 months!
    I’ve been blogging for a year and a half, and already see ‘recurring themes’ in my posts and comments. I console myself by saying ‘some stuff just bears repeating….and others likely forgot anyway’! 😀

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    • It’s hard to keep fresh for so long. I think a lot of bloggers post everyday and burn out faster. I try to structure myself so it’s two essays a week with a cat post (always easy) and a collection of random thoughts (also easy). If I didn’t do that I’d be blogging about brushing my teeth and that’s scary! Being retired makes it a little harder too as I don’t have the weird experiences that I had while I worked.

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  26. Oh my, I know that feeling! I’ve been reading a few of my old posts lately and find that I have no memory of writing them. I never thought about using the search function to see if I’ve written about a particular topic before. I hope I can remember that tip in the future 😬

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  27. First of all, congratulations on six years! That’s quite remarkable.

    When I re-read my older entries, like you I think, “Whoa! I wrote that?” Which can mean either pride or dismay. I do catch myself repeating myself in comments, if not blog posts. Just wait, I’ll catch up – I have a few years to go.

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  30. I’ve written several on the same theme, or the same story but from a different angle. Sometimes I see a ‘connected post’ to something recent but don’t remember writing it. My blog’s four years old this year and I’ve clocked up over two and a half thousand posts, so I’m a bit of a windbag!

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    • This was a surprise. I don’t always remember by the title but by reading the first sentence or two it comes back. This one was a surprise. The good news is that I liked it! 🙂 You do multiple posts in a day (that exhausts me just thinking about it). I enjoyed your diet stories, the boat stories and am looking forward to your next chapter. I am curious how the adjustment to living on land is going. Miss the boat all the time or just some of the time. Now there’s a post idea.

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