Nov 14, 2016 / Community Pool

Community Pool

The place for feedback, advice, and blogging camaraderie.

Have you just published a new post and are dying for some feedback? Are you redesigning your blog and could use some layout or design advice from your more seasoned peers?

The Community Pool is for peer feedback and advice. Looking for more specific information? Check out some of these resources:

Tap into the wisdom of The Daily Post blogging community and leave your question here in the comments. Others can then click through and offer input either on your site, or in the comments here (feel free to indicate which you’d prefer).

Looking for free, self-guided courses to help you get started with your blog (or revive a dormant one)? Check out our current offerings at Blogging U.

To help us make the Community Pool a productive space for discussion, here are some tips and guidelines you might find useful:

  • While you’re not required to, we encourage everyone who requests feedback to also reply to at least one or two other bloggers who need some help. Spread the love!
  • The Community Pool comments section can get quite big — and starting duplicate threads doesn’t help. Thanks for not posting the same question more than once, as well as for not starting numerous threads in a single Pool.
  • If you’re looking for quality feedback, be as specific as you can. Questions about a particular post tend to draw more comments than ones about entire blogs. Questions about specific design elements are more likely to be answered than ones asking for general layout advice.
  • We discourage leaving links without a more substantive message or question. These are often overlooked by other bloggers, and we frequently remove them to make the comment reading experience smoother. Also note that including multiple links in your comment might automatically put it in the moderation queue, which will delay its publication.
  • Please keep all comments civil and constructive. The idea is to have fun — it’s a pool, after all!
  • To keep from losing your place in the comment thread while you visit others’ blogs, right-click on a link to open it in a new tab or window.
  • If you haven’t looked at our Commenting Guidelines in a while, now might be a good time.
  • No running on the deck.

Are you a new blogger looking to share your very first post? We have a special forum for bloggers just like you in our weekly First Friday posts.

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  1. Hi. I recently started a 300 word fortnightly story group. We could still do with a few more members though, so if you might be interested, please drop me a line via the contact page on my blog, To Cut a Short Story Short, and I’ll be happy to send details. If you’d just like to go on the list to receive the stories (with the option of possibly contributing in the future) then please do likewise.

    In the meantime, I just published a new story, sort of in the style of John Wyndham, a ‘what if’ story – 500 words on what would happen if the National Lottery didn’t go *quite* as planned….

    https://simonjwood.wordpress.com/2016/11/12/luck-of-the-devil/

    Liked by 15 people

    1. I have had to follow you so that I can catch that photo diary! I’m looking forward to it 😀 Your trip sounds like a lot of fun and now I have the urge to go to Paris again! At least I’ll know how to do it cheaply 😉

      Liked by 8 people

    2. Hello,
      I found your blog to be so great! I really liked it. Your name “Curlygirlabroad” is what got me to check it out and I am pleasantly surprised. I love how you travel and take pictures, but I also enjoy how honest you are in your posts. Keep up the great job. I aspire to travel as much as you. I haven’t been out of the U.S but I plan to soon.

      If you could also check out my blog and give me some feedback that would be so great! I travel, write, and take photos. Thanks in advance!

      Liked by 4 people

    5. I really enjoyed this post! I loved how well organized it was. I didn’t get lost and was able to follow along. I liked how you write and show pictures, and then you write and show pictures again. It’s a very nice format. Keep up the great work!

      I also really liked your photos in general and the meaning behind your blog. I gave you a follow because your blog idea is a bit similar to mine 🙂 It’d be awesome if you could also take a look at mine and give me some feedback. Thanks in advance!

      Liked by 4 people

      1. Wow thank you so much for reading and for the great feedback! I really appreciate the time. I went to check out your blog and loved the first post I read! Can’t wait to sit down and scroll through the others! Thanks again and happy blogging!

        Liked by 3 people

    7. Looks like an awesome trip! I would love for you to check out my latest post. I only launched my blog yesterday, so any feedback would be appreciated!

      Liked by 3 people

    1. I liked how you included your perspective from both sides of the issue. It always seems like “we” would do something better than other people until the roles are reversed! I enjoyed reading your tips. They were thorough and useful.

      Liked by 5 people

    1. I love your book review post. I really want to read Perks of being a wallflower, but I have a gazillion other books waiting to be read first. Also I’m very happy to see your love for Gossip Girl and Skins!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Curlygirldabroad — thanks for commenting in the Community Pool! I wanted to let you know that you don’t need to add your site address to every comment you leave, since anyone interested in visiting your site can just click on your username and they’ll be taken to your site. It’s better go without the URL since many bloggers can interpret it as a borderline-spammy plug, which would be a shame considering you’re just trying to share feedback.

        Liked by 2 people

    2. I really liked your blog! I get a very artistic vibe from it. Your layout is very clean and elegant. As for your posts, I find the pictures you put up give a sense of depth into your writing. Very well done 🙂 I think you’re quite talented and I’d like to encourage you to keep up the great work! Cheers!

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Oh! Thank you so much John! That really does mean so much to me as I haven’t had my blog yet and I find myself being so passionate about it. ❤

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Hello,
      I think your blog is great. I clicked on it because I saw the word travel 🙂 I really enjoyed the pictures you put up and the descriptions of the places you’ve gone. I also like how the categories are right at the top so I had no trouble navigating around. Keep up the great work!

      As a fellow traveler/photographer, It would be greatly appreciated if I could also receive feedback. Thanks in advance!

      Liked by 1 person

      3. I have gone through your site.t contains all ingredients that make a good travel blog as your pitches cover everything from street photography,wildlife,mountains and natural panorama..

        Liked by 1 person

  16. They say the worst wounds, the deadliest of them, aren’t the ones people see on the outside. They’re the ones that make us bleed internally. It reminds me of what J.K. Rowling once said, that some wounds run too deep for the healing. True, but I want to do something about mine; I can’t nurse them forever and continue bleeding so, I followed Oprah’s example. She said: “Turn your wounds into wisdom.”

    Open Wounds

    Liked by 7 people

    1. That’s a very beautiful and important message. Writing is such a great tool because it allows us to channel our pain into something greater. Best of luck with your book!

      Liked by 3 people

    1. I liked your post and gave you a follow. The writing style is fine. I like how you express your opinion in this one without meandering. You said it, you mean it. That is good writing. I’ll double back and read some more of your stuff.

      Liked by 3 people

  19. Hey everyone! I’ve had my blog for almost a year now and it has really helped me to deal with my feelings. It has become my safe place and so my posts often times reflect my mood, my likes and dislikes, my disappointments ad my times of joy. Lately, i’ve been writing a lot about what’s happening in the world, namely the US Elections.
    I always welcome feedback and I love to exchange thoughts and ideas with other people so if you ever have a minute go check it out and don’t be shy in the comments. And i’m looking forward to finding some great blogs on here!

    https://thoughtsintothelight.wordpress.com/

    Liked by 7 people

    2. No Writing, No Sleeping is exactly the same problem I’ve been having over the last few months. I think your writing style is simple and pretty darned good! I’ll be popping up every now and then to see what you’ve got to say 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

      2. I did, I wrote something a couple of days back, and I will be writing as frequently as I can in the days to come. Don’t let that writer’s block back again, let the words flow!

        P.S: Thank you for the great read!

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Haha I was afraid someone would say that! My previous version just had info about the website and none at all about me. I’m shy.

        What kind of information would you recommend including?

        Like

      3. How about your love affair with soccer? For instance, how old were you when you discover your passion? 🙂

        Like

    4. I think it’s good! Priscilla said she wants to know more about you but I think if your blog isn’t that personal and you strictly write about soccer, more info isn’t needed, especially if you’re not comfortable with it.

      Liked by 1 person

    5. I think it’s great. I don’t really believe there are exact rules when it comes to the “about me” section. If you are happy and feel confident in it, then I believe it’s good enough.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Hi, great post! I really like all the pictures you put up and how thorough you were in your post. I would love to visit there myself someday! Although I don’t know if I could go by myself. It’s quite scary haha. It’s always nice seeing other travelers on wordpress and so I’d like to encourage you to keep up the great work!

      It’d be awesome if you could also check out my blog. I also take pictures and travel when I can. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated 🙂 Thanks!

      Liked by 2 people

  22. Hi, there…Truly here…I would be delighted if you’d let me know what you think of my latest post:

    Nov 12/16…”Desperately Seeking Snoozin”.

    For those of you familiar with my creative-writing style/preference, it is riddled with wordplay, old-school music and pop references, philosophical observations, and optimism in the face of personal growth. Given that not everyone has a frame of reference for my references, I outline them at the end of the post. My hope is that it makes you smile, feel uplifted, encouraged, and connected…if so, you will have done the same for me 🙂 http://www.trulyunplugged.com

    Liked by 4 people

  23. hey friends

    Tomorrow is exactly one year since my best mate Rob died of cancer and so i wrote a piece about that, throwing some words at the screen talking about how i feel:

    Remembering a friend: Rob Lloyd

    But earlier in the week i wrote this piece on Restitution having attended South Africa’s first ever Restitution Conference and it was really powerful:

    Restitution: the beginning

    Would appreciate your eyes. Also have had some people commenting on the size of the font that is used – would love some comments letting me know if you feel it’s too big or small at the moment?

    Thanks so much
    strength and love
    brett fish

    Liked by 10 people

  25. I just recently celebrated my third year of blogging. This is a new post about blues legend Buddy Guy and about blues music. My blog finds a connection between the music I love and my own photographs. Something that fits the mood of the piece. I’d love feedback on ways I can make the concept really grow more.

    Blues In The Night

    Liked by 4 people

    1. I love your writing, it is so easy to follow. Your blog seems like a place where I can learn more about music, which is something that I’ve never even thought of learning more about. I’ll explore the rest of your blog as soon as I can, and I hope to read and learn more. Thanks for the great read!

      Liked by 2 people

    2. I had to take a look just because it is the first song that springs to mind when I think of Buddy Guy and a favourite of mine. It definitely didn’t disappoint. It took me right back to some of my other favourite artistes. I’ve not listened to the blues for such a long time. Thank you for jogging the memory it’s a good piece and I really like the way it’s written.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Your doodles were really cute and I think your inner happiness post was great. It’s a message we all need to be reminded of at times.

      Liked by 2 people