Why did I start blogging? – 20-Day Blogging Challenge – Day Three

This is a little complicated for me. I started blogging because I read somewhere that to help get people to notice me as a writer, blogging is seen as a more serious approach to my craft.

My cousin actually talked me into following my dream of being a writer. She asked me flat out – “What do you want to do every morning when you wake up?” I answered her with from my heart. “I want to wake up every day, get a cup of coffee, and sit at my computer to create a different world and characters.” AND I’VE DONE IT!! I love writing. It’s therapeutic for me. Obviously, I’m not a very popular author, so while I love what I do, I supplement my income with a job outside of home (when I’m not furloughed). I was asked yesterday how many books I’ve written. And while I’ve only self-published three books, I have three others written and finished (though not good enough to publish), and easily twenty to twenty-five half completed stories. That’s a lot of writing in three years. And I’ve enjoyed every story I’ve written. Let’s hope I capture inspiration to finish some of these, because WOW, it might surprise all of us.

Blogging is hard for me though. It’s a lot of opinion and sharing of personal stuff, things that I’m grudgingly opening up to let strangers read and interpret how they will. I have no problem sharing certain things, and welcome the conversations it can start, but it’s difficult to do in blog form.

When it comes to my grief, I like to think that my honesty and my emotion will help others feel “normal” or “ok” with where they might be on their path. That’s really the only topic I’m OK sharing so freely on a blog. Probably because it’s something I’ve been going through for so long. Grief to me is absolutely a journey, and the different waves can mimic storm surges you might see at the beach. I’m no expert on how to handle grief, by any means. Sharing what helps me makes it easier to manage the pain that I feel. It’s raw truth when I write about my grief.

My friendships and family are sacred to me. While I have some beautiful friendships, it’s difficult to capture what works in each of those relationships. My friends are not all the same, and our experiences range from girl’s night out, to laughing hysterically in a parking lot while our kids run around crazy at the playground, or private conversations late at night. And my family is my world. While my kids drive me crazy sometimes, we have a lot of laughter, hugs, cuddles, disagreements, and compromises. My children are the reason I do what I do though. Literally because I drive their school bus during the school year, but also because I want them to know that they can do anything they want, follow their passions. I’m their number one fan, and they really do support me when I get wrapped up in writing.

I am a HUGE tattoo fan. Obviously if you know me personally, you can see that about me. I’ve often thought about using my blog as a way to normalize tattoos, discuss different methods of healing a tattoo, or choosing your artist. There are a lot of articles about tattoos available, and as an avid tattoo getter (is that a real phrase?) I might have a little more of an opinion on that than others. It’s quite possible that tattoos will become a more normalized topic for my blog the more I think about it. I’m obsessed, I’m not really sorry about it though…

I don’t want to offend anyone, that is never my purpose in any of my writing forms. I love and encourage open conversations. Some of the best conversations I’ve had in my adult life have happened with people who think and feel completely different than I do. But how to put that in words online, without ruffling a bunch of feathers in the process?

See, blogging is hard for me. I have a lot to say, but no idea how to say it. So, I guess that’s why I started blogging, so I can figure out how to do it!

I never know what kind of audience would be interested in my blogging voice. That makes it terrifying to get into blogging. I have so many ideas, lots of opinions, and tons of interests. But what do people want to read about when they are scrolling through hundreds of blog posts? Maybe I should treat my blog like I do my writing… Hold on world, this could get interesting.

~SCS

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