So this week I decided I would take the plunge and actually attempt to write a guest blog post for DIYMFA at the encouragement of my mentor. It is something that I haven’t thought about very seriously before this because I have very little skill writing blog articles. Despite the fact that I post something here every week, I have rarely made any attempts to make these posts follow a typical “blog format”. I found the best way to keep myself able to write one of these posts every week is to just allow myself to write what I want, how I want it. It helps to keep me accountable when I’m actively working toward a goal, and it helps me to evaluate and record my process. What is the point of spending hours struggling with a “real” blog post when I could be using that time to be doing literally anything else.
So it took me several days to come up with possible blog topics. Then a day to write the email pitching them to the web editor. I had to convince myself that my mentor would know if I didn’t send an email. I don’t know if she would or not, but I used it as a way to force myself to send the email.
Then I was nervous as I waited for a reply. Then when I got the reply it took me a day to work up the nerve to read it. Then when I read it and saw the topic the web editor had picked, I realized I was going to have to actually write the article. And I did, and it was horrible. So I let it sit and cleaned it up, and sent it to my hubby, and then edited it, and sent it to him again, and now I think I actually have something that will at least not embarrass me.
So what am I trying to say with this post? I am celebrating the fact that I was nervous and scared and outside my comfort zone and I did it anyway! Even if I send this post to the web editor and she says it needs to be rewritten. Even if it goes up and no one comments. I will still have done it, and that experience is very important. It has also taught me that when I am not writing fiction, I can’t keep a consistent tense to save my life. That is also important to know.
