Coming up with a great comment when the writing juices just aren’t flowing is a terrific way to take the focus off ourselves. It’s never a bad idea to encourage someone.

Years ago, when I first started blogging, I was fortunate to find a group of writers who were avid commenters on each other’s blogs, so I got in the habit of expecting to leave a comment if I was taking the time to read anyway. They even joked about doing a “Great Post, Thanks for Sharing” blog hop for those who only left generic comments.

I’ve always made it a point to reply to comments on my own stuff, because I figure someone took the time to let me know they were there and read it. Of course, it’s easy for me because I only get a handful of comments at the most — but it’s the general principle of the thing, right?