Like any avid reader, I tend to notice when places, situations, and brands, are mentioned in books constantly over a certain period of time.

You may know that prior to my blogging days, during that in-between era of my life where I was reading two books a year, I looked to chick-lit to further brighten sunny days. For me, my foray into chick-lit was a defining moment of my life, as it heralded my transition from the Young Adult fiction I desperately wanted to keep a hold of, to the more adult fiction I knew I should try (adult fiction covers were often boring at that time).

A lot of the chick-lit authors I read reside in London, and set their books in London. And because many of the characters, at least a few years ago, had quite a bit of money, they themselves resided in the more affluent areas. Inevitably in reading chick-lit set in London you are introduced to areas that tourists may not be aware of.

I believe it was Freya North who first introduced me to Primrose Hill. There is at least one character from her novels who spends time there. Likely Lisa Jewell, with her tales of nearby Belsize Park has used it also, though it has been a while since I’ve read her work. This long, in fact. Whoever and whichever, the hill has been mentioned enough over a period of time that I found myself wanting to see it for myself, to see what the fuss was about – especially since the descriptions in the books, to someone who does not know of the hill, do not really suggest why it should be highlighted. Indeed until I actually got there last year I assumed it was just your average hill, high (higher than it turned out to be) with some shady trees.

I think my photograph says it all. From the top of the hill almost the entirely of London (baring what’s behind you) is at your fingertips. You can play I Spy quite easily up there, and even work out the best route to take to minimise travelling times. Even on a cold day the hill is bursting with people and to top it off, pun not intended, there is even a quotation from William Blake.

I have conversed with the spiritual sun. I saw him on Primrose Hill.

If it were not for chick-lit and Freya North I likely would never had encountered Primrose Hill, or at least not for a long time in the future. Being there is like watching London from afar – I expect it is the same as Central Park in New York, you don’t feel as though you’re in a big city at all. The sun shines on you throughout the day and the mood is ever hopeful and inspiring. People just sit and look, relax, and time stands still.

This is a post I’ve thought of writing for a long time. So long that if ideas were objects I’d have had to dust it off.

Adding my image to this blog has been a constant thought of mine. I know that I like to see the writer behind the blog (I’m therefore somewhat of a hypocrite), but all those worldwide worries sometimes come into play. When I started working on my plan B I realised it was time for my image to be online. I’d put it off for ages and working on my project has been a catalyst for making my decision, it’s pushed me to make that step. To be honest I’m glad. It’s time I stopped deliberating.

In my case, adding my photo to this blog, or any blog I might begin, gets rid of the particular anonymity provided by my name. I’ve never pretended to be the opposite gender, but I’m aware that some people mistake me for it, conversational content intimates as much, as have various letters. Being a ‘Charlie’ has given me a lot of insight into the differences in how men and women are treated, subtly, by both sexes. And whilst most people (at least I assume) know which I am, such anonymity elsewhere can have its advantages.

So there was that to consider. Yet at the same time, the age-old, or rather 21st century, question – why should gender matter?

Moving on to a universal point of consideration – does a blog with the owner’s image grant more authority to what they say? Does it make their words more memorable? The latter is easy to answer – yes, names and faces and so forth. The former not so much. I’d say people can have authority, followings, and the like, without being visually recognisable. Consider the simple idea of the many DJs in the music industry who we wouldn’t recognise except aurally. Yet it strikes me that generally, authority is stronger when combined with a visual. It’s not about power, or putting up your photo with the purpose of authority, it’s that authority can seem a natural effect. You can put a face to the work, there is a certain bond created, and you feel you’ve been invited into the person’s lives.

I’m aware that so far I haven’t invited you beyond edited words.

Editing brings me to my next point – how big an issue is privacy nowadays? In the early days of the Internet, everyone was careful. But now, with so many people online, with companies wanting to show their staff’s faces in order to appear more approachable, with journalling moving online, it’s starting to be the case that online is just as anonymous as a city street where everyone can see you. Though of course on a street you’re nameless.

And the type of writing, the type of online presence we have as bloggers, somewhat begs for a face.

Lastly, another simple point – image has a lot to do with confidence. It’s easy to be confident online anonymously. My decisions haven’t been down to any shyness or lack of – I am confident in my writing – but it’s a point that bares inclusion here.

I guess the best way to end this post is to say “Hi”.

Whichever it is in your case, a photo or not, what factors lead to your decision?

The emphasis today is on the ‘how’. In my case I am historically (if such a word can be used in reference to someone who is 27), a pen and paper person. Although my handwriting has deteriorated over the years, thanks to my desire to write out study notes and the ensuing speed that soon accompanies the tediousness, there is just something about literal writing that I love. It might be the stationary, it might be the sound of the pen, the nib of the type I choose, or it might be the romance of it. Whatever the reason, because I’m not really sure which it is, writing is ‘it’ for me.

However writing can also be a pain. It takes longer to write than to type and therefore occasionally you find you’ve forgotten how you were going to end the sentence as you inscribed the first half of it. Typing is instant and quicker all round. In general I prefer typing my posts, with a few forays into writing when the sun is out and I want to pretend I’m back in the 90s.

But recently it’s occurred to me that my love of typing is perhaps more intertwined with the computer I’m using. Up until a few months ago I was pounding away on my laptop, loving the professional sound of the keys, and the idea of the portability even if I didn’t move location much. Sitting here, in front of my keyboard, which for comfort is necessarily at the edge of the desk whilst the computer screen is at the back, I aptly feel disconnected. As though pen and paper would be preferable. That extra distance between me and the screen often results in a lack of interest in writing blog posts, and because I know I actually am interested overall, I either procrastinate or go and find my notepad.

This post has changed topic since the opening question, but if I’m to speak personally then it had to be that way. I think having a tidier desk would help; mine is currently a mess of books and paper, but I don’t think neatness will ‘cure’ it. There is definitely something to be said about getting too used to electronic devices that were never going to stand the test of time, though I do know that preferring notebooks isn’t a bad thing. I’ll have to see how it goes.

So, to clarify, how do you write your blog posts and do you have a preference that affects your mindset and the resulting content?

This photograph was taken by sleepyneko.

Yes, you read it correctly, there was no accidental copy-and-paste when I wrote this post, today I’m blogging about blogging about blogging. It’s rather like Historiography, which I was introduced to last year – learning about how people write history about the past – and I thought I’d take a moment to ask some questions and summarise some of what I’ve been thinking about.

I have a certain fascination for blogs that discuss blogging. There is a great amount of posts I’m not interested in, but I love those that deal with the process of writing – finding ideas, combating burnout, and tailoring your posts so that they read well. I don’t know why I’m fascinated, as most of the time I read I think ‘great advice’, and promptly forget it all or realise it doesn’t fit book blogging. But I am, and I continue to waste hours (in phases) doing it.

I know that as I’ve continued to write at The Worm Hole, I’ve inevitably brought some of my other interests to the table when I plan posts. History is covered here, I’ve spoken of my web design, films make an appearance, and I’ve noticed that every now and then I lean towards talking about book topics in the context of blogging overall. I like the mix of book-centric topics, and writing about blogging in the context of books. Incidentally, knowing a little about SEO I’m aware that this post will likely be spurned by Google because of the many mentions of ‘blogging’, but it can’t be helped, and Google doesn’t know everything. Yet.

I had a myriad of paths I could explore in this post, but the most pressing was the above summary, and asking you some questions.

Do you mind posts that revolve around blogging itself?

One thing that has stayed in my mind since The Estella Society posted a piece by a non-blogger reader, is how accessible is my site to a non-blogging reader? I know that recently I have been somewhat swayed by my above-mentioned interests, though I do have many ideas for posts that are solely about books and reading. I also know that the first cardinal rule is to write what you want to write.

I suppose what I’m trying to say is that blogging about blogging with books in mind seems appropriate to me, but does it to everyone else?

And is there a limit to how much is interesting?

I think this is one of the most rambling posts I’ve ever written, which is why I seldom go into great detail or write all those essay-like pieces I have in mind. Leaving it here, feel free to answer any of the above questions (please do!), neatly summed up as:

Do you enjoy reading blog posts about book blogging?

This photograph was taken by Clarence.

Something I’ve been concentrating on recently is blog post word count. There are a few reasons for this; I’m glad to say that none of them pertain to the advice of ‘experts’, who have search engines in mind. No, my reasons are that I appear to have evolved away from my hatred of editing university essays and now see the value in being concise, and that I want to improve my writing. Yet it was when researching the advice of experts, to see if they matched my thoughts, that I got the idea for this post. (If you want to know what their advice is, it varies wildly.)

What is the optimal word count for blog posts? It really depends on what you’re writing. In my case I know that my reviews can be long and it is sometimes difficult to shorten them without losing a point I wish to make, or having the resulting post be incomprehensible. I know that I am by nature a conversational rambler, but when it comes to reviews that is not as noticeable by default.

When writing discussion posts I keep it shorter; a big part of the reason being so that I don’t exhaust the points of discussion – I want you all to be able to join in. And I’d venture that this is the same of most book bloggers – that our reviews invite longer articles and otherwise we’re more concise. Short posts tend to receive more comments; I’ve written about this previously so won’t elaborate here except to say that this is across the board rather than for types of posts.

As a reader I find longer posts more ‘acceptable’ if they are broken up by images. It took me a while to implement it here but there is definitely a huge benefit to it.

I would like to comment further on the advice some experts give, because inevitably some of it can be good. Experts cite the fact that readers like all lengths of posts, dependent on topic and writer, that long posts are fine as long as they are detailed and don’t ramble. These same experts are the ones who advise writing for readers rather than search engines. I’d a rather a handful of interactive readers than two-second visits, anyway. Accordingly, Google values content. It might like short posts in general, but a thesis is always going to be more valuable than a quick bullet-pointed list.

For now I’m tending to focus on 600 words. It forces me to stop repeating myself and get my point across. I don’t think it’s an idea to keep lowering the count, but setting a rough limit definitely improves my writing and hopefully makes my posts better. Whether I’ll continue to use it after this practise I don’t know, but the exercise is definitely helping me become a better blogger.

What do you think about word counts? Do you write with them in mind?