Since time is so finite, I use a triage method when picking writing projects. Posting on the site occupies the bottom rung. The way I look at it, writing for the Internet resembles treading water–it probably doesn’t hurt, though it’s unlikely to propel me forward. When a post appears here, it’s after I’ve gotten something done on a manuscript. I may write a little, or even quite a lot without posting on the site, yet I avoid the reverse.

That goes double for commenting on other websites. For all the social benefits: the camaraderie with other posters, the nod to the post author, I consider commenting entertainment. Therefore it comes last, which in practice is rarely to not at all. Occasionally a topic resonates with me, and I’ll chime in. Otherwise, I lurk. So far in 2007, I spent about thirty minutes commenting out there on the Internets.*
Lately between edits for The Last Track and the draft of The Confession, I haven’t had much energy for the web. I think that’s OK. Energy levels fluctuate. Manuscripts come first. They must.

* Back in 2004-2005 I posted approximately 5,000 entries on a web hosting forum. I got paid to do this.