I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions. The start of a new year always seems like an arbitrary reason to start or stop a behavior, and as for enforcing rules on myself? I know the guy who made that rule, and he makes dumb mistakes all the time. Why should I do what he wants? This year though, I settled on a resolution a few days in after texts with a friend who also writes here: I’m going to comment on every piece I read for the post this year.
By nature, I’m a lurker online. I don’t comment on posts, afraid that saying something will make me look like a fool, or I’ll leave an opinion I’ll later outgrow. Nearly every time Facebook sends me a “you made this post x years ago” notification I delete the old post, cringing at what I used to think was witty or clever. I’ve always opted for group chat conversations or DMs to compliment my fellow writers here, as it feels more personal than a public display of affection, impossible to question as performative.
On the flip side, the experience of getting a comment on my posts is great! Too many of my emails are notifications from social media sites I don’t use trying to get me to return, and it’s wonderful to get an email that tells me someone’s actually read what I’ve written, and cared enough to leave a comment. The feeling is doubled when I know the person is also working on a piece here once a month. Too often I work hard on a piece here to feel like no one outside of my parents and one or two other people looks at it, much less responds to it. Even getting a one word comment of affirmation on a post that you’re unsure about can mean the world.
Our calls for auditions here call this collective of writers a community and tell prospective readers they should plan to join “not only as a writer, but as a reader and commenter.” In Josh’s introduction to the 2024 peer’s pics post, he wrote the following:
Our hope for the post calvin is that writing does not feel like shouting into the void. As vast and cold and lonely as the internet is, tpc at its best is something cozier: a couple dozen people writing first and foremost to each other. … we’ll all be there, reading each other’s work: smiling at bad jokes, cringing at awkward stories, nodding at reminders of what really matters.
When I started writing here I expected more collaboration. I expected something like a discord server where ideas got thrown around and people edited each other’s work. In our young adult lives I think that would take up more than many of us are willing to give, but I want to give more conscious attention to this place. I try to read every post in a month, but it’s hard to stick with it. Commenting though? I can come up with something to say about the pieces I do read. I’ve already made eight comments this year; probably more than in the two years I’ve been writing. They haven’t all been good comments, but not all my posts here have been good posts either. My main hope is that when you get the email notification you feel glad to know that someone read what you wrote, and smile.
Yours,
Sam
Way to go Sam, I applaud your resolution. I started reading Post Calvin when my son Kyric started writing for it and I still read every submitted article all year long. Kyric often mentioned to me how receiving comments went a long way in encouraging his writing and he made it a practice to comment on all his fellow contributors. Blessings to you.
Thanks for writing this! I feel like comments make a big difference and makes you feel like somewhat took the time to read and appreciate.
Thanks Ken!
I always start wanting to read every piece, but it’s hard to remain consistent.
Thanks for taking the time to do that! I really appreciate it.
Thanks for encouraging us to engage meaningfully and support our peers.
Thanks for writing this! I feel like comments make a big difference and makes you feel like somewhat took the time to read and appreciate. He
i would join a discord if there were to be one….
A discord is a great idea!
One of my struggles when I was writing for the post calvin was how often it felt like I was just writing into the void.
It wasn’t even about not getting positive feedback either. A lot of the time I questioned if what I was writing was even mediocre.
Definitely applaud the new years resolution
Yeah, I feel this a lot.
hell yeah
Yay Sam!! The pressure to comment wittily is so real. I respect this
Joining the conversation a month late, I want to say that I really appreciate this and I think your idea of a Discord server is great.
Good news! We now have one. There’s only a handful of us around, but it’s been a generally good time so far!
I will join you in the ‘commenting on every post I read’ quest. (And I plan on reading every post to pick my best at the end of the year.)