Yesterday’s blog got me thinking.  For one thing it refreshed my love for Animaniacs.  Dang that show was brilliant.

I know, I know.  It was the 90’s so it is a good twenty years out of date.  And no, technically Asia is not a nation.  However, that song taught me more about global locales than any class I ever took in school.

Here’s the thing; I am a details person.  I can tell you Clark Kent’s Social Security Number.  I know how many IMAX movies I have projected.  I have my DVDs all typed up in a little Excel file.  Details make me happy.  So you know what makes me happy when blogging gets me discouraged?  The Stats section.

I’m not going to lie to you, I like seeing little spots on a map all colored.  I have only been at this blog for half of the year and people have seen it other than me.  I have never been outside of that little red blob, so those folks happened upon my wacky notions because they wanted too, not because they are related to me or felt obligated to.

Or, it could be that someone is using WordPress to host an elaborate server-hopping scheme from country to country.  I am okay with that as well, since it makes me feel like an international spy on the run.  With an attractive, albeit unwitting, accomplice, naturally.

What makes me a little too happy is my Anecdotal Tales map.

It’s so pretty!  Four years of blogging summed up all spiffy-looking.  Sigh.  (And getting Freshly Pressed that one time certainly helped.)  For some reason I am really big in Nepal.  I apparently have a loyal follower or two in the Philippines.  I look at the big picture, the hundreds of entries, and the day to day makes a lot more sense.

I admit that it can be a shameless ego boost.  However, it also acts as encouragement for me to keep writing.  I see my Anecdotal Tales numbers and it reminds me that I should craft a new story.  (Or two.  Or three.)  I look at my map that has thirty-something countries and think to myself, “Keep writing and maybe that blog will get 119 countries too. Or more!”

I like to believe that if writing is worth its salt, an audience will appear. Look at Pitch Perfect, Shawshank Redemption, and It’s a Wonderful Life. None of those movies were heavily advertised or touted as blockbusters. But over time, because they were quality entertainment, they were embraced.

BottledWorder and TheByronicMan started out as meager bloggers just like me. (And if you are not reading those two blogs, do yourself a favor and start now.) They have both been Freshly Pressed multiple times and they have thousands of readers. Rightfully so.

I aim to be more widely seen, sure. We all do. However, the reason I started this whole online adventure was to become a better writer. Practice makes perfect, and all that. Having an audience (and their feedback) makes that desire all the stronger.

Besides, somebody has to reference Animaniacs. BottledWorder’s far too classy for that. So I guess it is up to me. 😀