I'm Up for It

[sthrnwriter]

Because I was preoccupied with Nano, I didn't post much during November. But I did manage to find time to change the template to something more seasonal. I would love your thoughts on it. Thanks ahead of time!

http://paranormalstories.blogspot.com

[nancy02664]

I really like your blog -- I think the content is very cool. :)

I do think the Xmas theme is a bit much, though. It doesn't really fit with the theme of the blog, so it might confuse first-time visitors. (Is there a Ghost of Xmas Past/Present/Future theme out there somewhere? That might be more appropriate.) At least the falling snow only falls so far, so one can scroll down and read older posts without being distracted. :)

The only other thing I might change is the sidebar, just to make it more streamlined and on-topic. For instance, I didn't understand how the pic of the wolves really ties in with a "ghost" or "paranormal" theme -- it seems totally unrelated, to me. And I would also probably do away with the little e-mail mailbox -- seems old-school to me. Finally, I think it would make more sense to bump the archive links and related off-site links up a little higher, and the non-related stuff (nano icon, blogburst, personal links) down a little lower.

[nancy sv]

I agree that the Christmas theme seemed out of place. When I first clicked on it, I thought it would be about happy-go-lucky stuff. I mean - all that Christmas stuff on their couldn't be serious, eh? It also took a long time to load for me - I almost quit out before it loaded.

That being said, the topic sounds wonderful! How fun to read about all kinds of ghosts and things that go bump!

[rejectME]

Not to intentionally play off the other reviews, but I agree with the Christmas theme being a bit much. I do, however, like the snow falling. As for the content, the TAPS post is great and I think you really hit on some key aspects that made it less successful than last years. Whereas I really like the choice of Waverly Hills, it's been done quite a bit and it has almost become an attraction. You obviously write well and I'm very impressed with your readership. I would add that instead of jsut posting a question i.e. about the toys being haunted, why not share your specific experiences with each question. I think you may get more responses that way, but then again, I've never had more than 100 people visit one of my sites in a day so it's just a thought.
In all, I think your page is great and I wish you had a Technorati button on there so I could fav it.
Best, Jerry

[FinbarReilly]

Great design! I love the snowflakes!

FR

[sthrnwriter]

Thank you for all your comments!

In regards of the template, the one I had before is a plain black and grey one. I basically have a huge dilemma on this issue. I don't know enough about HTML to design my own and don't have the money to pay someone else to do it. I'm basically relying on websites like blogskins.com for free ones. With the theme of my blog its almost impossible to find one that fits and is well designed. Christmas isn't much different. I was looking to change it up a bit just for the holidays. I know it doesn't fit the theme, but it'll only be up for a few weeks more and old and new readers don't seem to mind it. So, I'm not really worried about it except for the falling snow. I know that can be a bit annoying and I've debated on whether or not to remove it. I don't know.

In response to some of your comments:

The only other thing I might change is the sidebar, just to make it more streamlined and on-topic. For instance, I didn't understand how the pic of the wolves really ties in with a "ghost" or "paranormal" theme -- it seems totally unrelated, to me. And I would also probably do away with the little e-mail mailbox -- seems old-school to me. Finally, I think it would make more sense to bump the archive links and related off-site links up a little higher, and the non-related stuff (nano icon, blogburst, personal links) down a little lower.

The pic of the wolves is my blogger pic. It's on both of my blogs. It's suppose to be native american type of thing. I don't know. The mailbox is temporary just like the template. I've always had the personal links with the stuff about me. Since Nano is over, I will be removing that icon.

I would add that instead of jsut posting a question i.e. about the toys being haunted, why not share your specific experiences with each question. I think you may get more responses that way, but then again, I've never had more than 100 people visit one of my sites in a day so it's just a thought.
In all, I think your page is great and I wish you had a Technorati button on there so I could fav it.

Sometimes I do answer the question with my own opinion on the subject but others I really can't offer much because right now, I only have a general interest in the paranormal. I don't have any paranormal experiences to offer to the table. Besides, some questions tend to attract a lot of responses while others not so much. I think it just depends on what it is.

I had a Technorati button on it. I guess I forgot to transfer it over when I made the change. I'll be sure and add it.

[sthrnwriter]

I switched back to the old template if anyone wants to take another look.