Perils of Prolificacy

.
Sometimes I write what I think is a pretty good piece. Pretty good to me refers to humor. I like to think that humor is my niche. But sometimes, he who laughs last didn't get he joke! It is then that the joke appears to be on me. (Tough crowd in here last night!) If all the world is a stage, it must then hold true that tomatoes grow abundantly in front of it.

It's the old virtuous battle of quantity vs. quality. It's prolificacy vs. proficiency.

My last two postings seem to illustrate that battle. Being prolific, one would think, gives me the ability to exhibit a wider range of material as well as more of it. Is this ambiguity working against me? If I write more, don't I have a better chance of catching lightning in a bottle? Or will it come up ambsaces? If I am indeed writing too much it would follow that there is too much to read.

My posting of "A Taste of Honey," was one of those pieces that I thought was quite good. I was looking forward to reading the comments. I had anticipated some readers "being had" until the last few lines. At first, I was going to open with a warning prolegomenon in the form of a disclaimer. "Reader, don't stop reading. Read on, everything is not always what it appears to be." Way back in February I posted "Affair Remembered," No.38, which began with such a prologue. As was the case back then, I was afraid it would spoil the surprise.

After "A Taste of Honey" was posted I noticed that my visit counter was about to hit 4000. That prompted me to rush up the posting "Pete, Ty And Me." It was a combination of a pat on the back and a thank you to those visitors. It because of that posting after "Taste" that inspired this current posting. I am beginning to think that a lot of readers land on the most recent post and then move on. If all I have to write about is self-edification, why should a visitor surf through my site? He/she could easily think that the final post was an indication of anything else posted previously.

I was convinced that "A Taste of Honey" was not being read at all. The one I wanted to be read, the one I was anxious to read the comments, the one I thought was pretty good, why it was skipped completely!

But along comes Old Hoss, like the Calvary, to the rescue. He had read it but made his comment on the last posting. As everyone knows, his comments can be and often are an extension of his postings and are quite funny.

I just have to resign myself to the fact that not everyone leaves comments whether they like what they read or not. I myself do not always leave a comment on every blog I visit. But if I enjoyed what I read, I make it a point to let the author know.
I'll just have to be proliferous and proficient at the same time.

No. 309