Wednesday, August 29, 2012

What, me a writer?

"It was a dark and stormy night..."

Sadly, the current generation of children will probably not recognize this phrase as the perpetual opening line of Snoopy's "Great American Novel."  Yet another pop culture reference slowly lost to the passage of time.

I am not intending to write about Snoopy's plight as an author, but just sort of tangented in that direction.  (Darn chemo brain!)

The real message I am trying to convey today is that after a month and a half or so of operating this blog, and right around 60 posts, I still do not feel like a writer.  I am ever amazed that anyone actually reads what I often consider inane babblings.  I am even more amazed that someone would willingly come back for more, and encourage me to keep writing.

Do not get me wrong, I am thankful that perhaps I have been able to share a word or two which you may have found useful or that may have helped you in some way.  I am very thankful of being used by God in any way.  But, ultimately, this blog is for me.  A way to journal what is going through my mind.  A way to try to keep things firing on all cylinders, to keep as sharp as I can. A way to reinforce what God is showing me and/or trying to teach me (even the lessons that require a boot to the head).

I try to be transparent.  I really do, and for the most part I have been VERY open and honest.  There are some things that I am holding back, not so much to conceal them, but more like the time has not been right just yet.  We are still early in our relationship, I don't want to drop any deal breakers so soon. I want you to want me so much you can over look some areas of my imperfection (even to empathize with me).

I know the day is coming when I will open the flood gates and let it all pour out, but for now we will take things a little slower though I still talk too much and over-share sometimes.

So, I have a couple questions for those of you who have been doing this a lot longer than I:
  • Do you feel you are a "natural born writer"? 
  • If not, at what stage did you realize you had become a writer?
  • Have you transitioned from it being a hobby and now it is a business to you?
  • Even though this is a personal journey blog, I sometimes find myself looking at stats and wondering why some posts do better than others.  Does that mean I am becoming vain or merely developing my desire in appealing to an "audience"?
IF you have answers to these, I would appreciate some input.  Thank you.

As I sign off for today, I wish to leave you with a quote one of my favorite bloggers posted yesterday (Thanks you 'Chelle at Treat Me to a Feast):
"Be courageous and try to write in a way that scares you a little." ~Holley Gerth

3 comments:

  1. Interesting, I felt the same way when I blogged!

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  2. I LOVE to write. I have since I was a kid. But I still don't think I'm very good at it. I started my blog as a way to keep up with family and friends while we were living in China. But then when we moved back, I didn't want to stop. I discovered it had become like a therapy for me. Do I have anything interesting to say? Not usually. Am I a good writer? Definitely not as good as everyone else. Am I consistent? Not NEARLY as consistent as I should be, mainly because I'm not organized enough to prioritize it. Also, most days I have NO idea what to write. But I've also decided that since it's mostly for me, I don't HAVE to be as good as everyone else. I just have to be as good as me.
    Now don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE to have 1000's of followers. But I don't see that ever happening. Plus, I find that I screen myself a lot because I have friends and family that read my blog. Sometimes I wish it was anonymous. I think I would feel more comfortable writing what's really in my heart, if I wasn't so worried about upsetting or disappointing someone that I care about.

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  3. The hardest thing for me when I occaisionally mispell a word and stop my flow to fix it. That and sometimes I lose my voice in the correctness-ism of proper terminology. I write just a little better than I speak..... Hah

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