the start of Sappho’s Circle

Today was the first meeting of Sappho’s Circle, a women’s poetry workshop group convened by Heather Dorn, whom I first met through the Binghamton Poetry Project of which she is currently director.

We will study women poets, write from prompts, have sessions where we workshop poems by group members to help them revise, and have publication parties where we choose publications to which to submit our poems and send them off – before we get distracted, chicken out, etc.

I am so excited to have another group, along with my regular workshop group and the Binghamton Poetry Project,  to help me become a stronger poet.  I’m also looking forward to being in another circle of women. I have been privileged to belong to other women’s circles over the decades and always find great support, generosity, and understanding within them.

My heartfelt thanks to Heather who has been such a great help to me as a poet. I’m so looking forward to being a part of Sappho’s Circle through the coming year!

500(ish) followers!

The most popular topic among bloggers is blogging! I admit that, while I read a lot of posts on blogging, I don’t often write one, but today I will because I have reached 500 followers for Top of JC’s Mind!

Or at least, 500ish. The numbers are a bit squishy. The number following through WordPress is 389 with email, Facebook, and twitter followers pushing the number up to 500. That means that some people who follow me on more than one platform are double or triple counted, but….

Let’s just say 500! Yay!

I want to take this opportunity to thank all my followers, especially those who visit regularly. There are even a few who comment regularly; thank you for keeping me from feeling as though I am talking to myself.

I also want to thank all the blogs I follow – all 750 of them. Some I get daily or weekly digest emails and visit frequently; others I don’t get to very often. You have all helped me to learn about blogging and gifted me with beauty, humor, poetry, stories, travelogues, photos, thought, and heart.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart and the Top of JC’s Mind,
Joanne

13 Ways to Get More Blog Comments Without Swearing

I am slowly growing my readership and commenting base. I appreciate these tips which involve not swearing or being confrontational, neither of which fit who I am. I found this post through a re-blog by Rowena at https://beyondtheflow.wordpress.com/ and am happy to pass it along to my readers. I’m also thrilled to find this blog to follow, too! And thanks so much to all my readers and commenters! As this post reminds us all, gratitude is important!

Sue Slaght's avatarTravel Tales of Life

Reading an article recently on how to get comments on a blog my eyes bulged out of my head. To my horror such suggestions as ‘curse often’, ‘attack somebody’ and ‘buy comments’ were included as the ‘best ever’ ways to ensure blog comments were acquired.

Is this what blogging is about? This is the best advice available to millions who have a blog?

Call me old fashioned, naive and definitely call me disheartened. In particular to every young blogger who may have done the same internet search I did, this old girl can tell you you don’t need to be a nasty person or pay to have readers give you feedback.

Camogli Italy colored buildings

Below are my top, and might I say gentle, 13 tips for getting more comments on your blog while being a decent human being. The suggestions are based on reading other blogs with pages of comments and on my…

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One-Liner Wednesday – Ziglar quote

“Among the things you can give and still keep are your word, a smile, and a grateful heart.”
– Zig Ziglar

This part of Linda’s One-Liner Wednesday. Join us!  http://lindaghill.com/2014/10/08/one-liner-wednesday-dangerous-driving/