Blog It to Me!

I enjoy reading a lot of Medium articles (the freebies because I'm still a starving artist) in the Writing category. I've thought about contributing my own experiences but since I enjoy the freedom of unplanned prose in blogs, I end up rambling over here. Needless to say, I've been on a blogging rampage because of some empowering advice between a Medium article on keeping a writer's blog and the almost insane level of creativity in some rare Quora articles. If I had the time, I might frequent both but my social media visits are brief, sometimes days apart and I utilize most of my time in the big projects lined up in my queue.

That being said, what was the magic article about? The Medium writer said that a blog is somewhere in between professional and personal. While keeping in mind that it is public, it should still maintain the honesty of a diary entry. To censor your experiences for fear of offense will not only inhibit you as a writer but it will wall you off from the person your audience is looking for. As I've said in my previous entry, no one is entitled to your life story but don't be afraid to offer real pieces of what moves and repels you. Those visceral things are where your words become most passionate. Don't treat your words like low hanging fruit. If they are petty, don't sweep them off apologetically or with passive aggression, dig at why it made you vulnerable or why it doesn't work for you. Don't fear offending other writers when you have already considered your words.

Publishing my first book was a crushing lesson there. I had edited that book several times over in the span of many years-- it wasn't an emotional response to say that it is a great and well-planned story. I'm not a person given to acting on emotion and I'm no different creatively. I was well aware it wasn't for everyone but somehow just making it official created a huge chink in the armor that I hadn't prepared for. I wanted everyone to read it but it was met with jaded reviews and criticisms that made me suspect they hadn't even given it a chance. I questioned my gender, my ability, my worth and once I knocked some sense back into myself, I found clarity. I needed to be told I wasn't a one-hit wonder. I needed the motivation to keep going to prove I would only get better. 

This blog is not just a portal towards understanding myself or saying all the right things. Just like my writing, I aim for visceral examples to practice what I preach. How can I tell people to go for it when I'm too obsessed with holding back? 

So I won't. Like it or not, I want to be honest. If you think I'm pulling punches, set me straight. My challenge is to always be diplomatic about it, never calling an approach stupid but just as well calling out what isn't working and why. Don't tell me to ease up though. My advice is only going to be worth a damn if I'm using the business end of the shovel.

You mad, bro? Good. Now write.