In the last 2 years here on Active Rain, I've written a total of 31 blog posts; some rather mundane and mediocre, other ones, quite okay. Last November I wrote my twenty-first, a post about my fear of blogging or, my experience of becoming a "blog-o-phobic", if you will. Not the most amazing piece of writing by any means, it was the first blog post that felt most like me: honest, open, and a healthy dose of self-deprecating humor. Written with essentially no one reader in mind nor a specific agenda, for the first time, I felt a a tiny shred of purpose for all of this and that perhaps, blogging might finally become easier and the words would now flow more freely. Yes, and parenting is no longer an issue when the kid goes off to college. Riiiiiight....
Almost 6 months later, I'm still slogging and blogging away, still unsure of the mechanics of it and social networking in general (adding links, photos, widgets, etc.) Fear still occasionally weaves its way among my fingers and keyboard, yet all the same, this doesn't seem to matter as much as it once did. Instead of focusing entirely on how I don't get the mechanics of technology, I'm learning to just do what I love most about blogging - the writing itself.
Today I received a comment on this very post from none other than Todd Clark. Kind of a big deal for me, for I had just read about him on a post written by AR's wonderful Katerina Gasset. I think he's a terrific human being, and this was my very first comment from him! When I clicked on my post, I re-read all 11 comments made, including blogger Cherimie Crane, written November 21, 2008. She, too, another terrific human being and writer, I had completely forgotten she'd commented on my silly little blog post and how much her words meant to me! Cherimie wrote:
Carin,
This was a super blog!!!! Seriously, I love your writing style. Please don't change, just sit down and let it flow~~~~.You have a very unique style, don't worry, the kinks will work themselves out; however, no one can teach you to write just like YOU:)
Fast forward to April 26, 2009, and this is what Todd shared:
Enjoy yourself. Don't worry what others think and just keep posting. Then one day someone will find something of yours that strikes a cord and they will call, but if you don't write at all, they will never find that magic post that says "Hey, I have to hire this person."
Hence, I write this post to share the power of words; how they can shape, motivate, illuminate. The writing isn't any easier, but expressiveness is. Mechanics will come. Writing won't if you don't actually do just that - write. Something. Anything. And while you're at it, please feel free to comment. =)
*With special thanks to Todd, Katerina, and Cherimie.
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