One Hundred Days

Back on April 29th I created this blog and posted the first article, “A Time Of Changes“. At that time I wrote:

It’s time to find my voice and let it out of my head so it can play with those of you who wish to join in the conversation with me.

What will we talk about? Anything I feel passionately about…but I’m sure common topics (in no particular order) will be the space program, science, books, music, family, sports, stupid people, politics, amazing people, photography, flying, humor, and travel. For starters.

Today is the 100th consecutive day of this blog and this will be the 104th posted article. Looking at where the blog appears to be in terms of the number of people reading it, subscribing to it, and commenting on it, I’m both very satisfied and very hungry for more.

When I started I had almost no idea of what to expect in terms of participation by others. I figured that it would be nice to have others joining the conversation, but the main purpose of the blog initially was to give myself a structured place to write, and to force myself to write and be creative every day. In that respect it has most certainly worked.

I’ve seen some themes develop that I like a lot thematically. I like the way WLTSTF looks and feels so far.

• I like the “Odds & Sods” articles as a way to periodically mention small items and update the news on previous articles or events.
• I like the “Random Blatherations” articles as a way to put a pair of defibrillator paddles to my writing muse’s imaginary chest on days when I really don’t feel like writing.
• I really, really like the way I’ve gotten involved in Chuck Wendig’s weekly Flash Fiction Challenges. I’m not sure the words coming out there are golden yet, but a couple of the little pieces I’ve written there I like a lot.
• I like that I’m reviewing books that I’m reading. I know that I’ve got a long way to go in finding my voice there and not just doing glorified high school book reports, but it’s a start.
• I like the articles on astrophotography and the way they’re getting me to get my telescopes and cameras out again. I like writing those articles and sharing the pictures that come out of them.
• I like sharing my other pictures with everyone, such as the flower pictures, flying pictures, critter pictures, fireworks pictures, and so on. (I take a lot of pictures!)

When I started posting articles I started to get total strangers reading and subscribing to WLTSTF. Granted, I rarely (if ever) get more than a dozen or so views a day and I understand that a lot of the interest comes from other bloggers in the WordPress community. But it doesn’t matter how folks get introduced to WLTSTF, what matters is that they seem to occasionally like what they see and there has been a steady stream of interest.

I obviously hope that interest continues and that it continues to grow. I value the feedback I get and the comments people offer, whether they come from the blog comments, Facebook, or Twitter. I think it would be a good thing if over time WLTSTF became a place where there’s a lively discussion and lots of civil and intelligent interaction.

So thanks to everyone for sticking with me for the first one hundred days. I’m looking forward to the next hundred and more days, hoping that you’ll continue to come along for the ride and occasionally throw your two cents in.