What am I celebrating, you ask? My website’s fourth birthday, of course.

The Stats

Four years ago, I started my author’s website and began writing a weekly “Did You Know?” blog. On one hand, it seems like just yesterday. On the other, it seems an eternity ago.

When I made this commitment, I decided to treat it like a job. I promised myself I’d be consistent in writing and publishing a DYK weekly on Saturday mornings, regardless of what was happening in my life. I’m proud to say I’ve kept that promise—as hard as it often was.

Did You Know…

• Today’s DYK makes number 224.
• Of the 210 Saturdays (9/12/20 – 9/14/24), I’ve only skipped two.

“Did You Know?”

I started with four main categories—Baking, History, Travel, and Writing—and a fifth, occasionally used Holiday one. But too many times the topics I wanted to write about didn’t fit in these groups, so I added an “Everything Else” category after the first year.

The length of my DYKs also increased over time. From those original writings of 100-300 words, I gradually inched up to 400-600 words, then 700-900. Believe me, it’s not always easy to keep the word count down or break the topic into two or more DYKs. I’ve had to edit out tons of backstory or other related and noteworthy information, so that only the most interesting facts are left.

Hopefully, I’ve succeeded in finding the right balance between keeping it interesting and fun, and a quick read, even when it’s a little—or a lot—longer than what was originally intended when this writing journey first began.

Did You Know…

• Your reading speed is directly tied to what you are reading.
• Pleasure readers tend to skip words, which speeds things up. They don’t need to read every word in a novel to get the gist of what’s happening. (A sad reality for the author who’s slaved over every one of those words.)
• Even fast readers read slower when it’s an unfamiliar topic or it’s important to comprehend every written word—like with contracts, scientific information, and how-to instructions.

Final Thoughts

Although I know not everyone finds what I find interesting, I hope everyone has found at least one nugget of information in each DYK, that, if not interesting, is at least informative.

I enjoy researching, writing, and sharing DYKs, and plan to continue to do so for the foreseeable future. I hope you’ll continue to share this journey with me. (And if you have a topic or story you’d like to see in a DYK, please, feel free to share it with me.)