Happy Anniversary!

It was one short month ago today that I began this blogtastic journey.

I can’t believe it’s *just* a month because it seems like much, much longer.

It all began on St. Paddy’s Day, March 17th with this post.

What have I learned in my 30 days as a blogger?

1) Blogging every single dingle day is a LOT harder than it looks

2) There is a great community out there of bloggers and some wildly smart people blogging some fantastically smart, wry, witty stuff. I am humbled by what’s out there.

3) I have a LOT to learn about the blogosphere, blogging and all the associated technologies. RSS feeds, vlogs and Flicker, OH MY!

4) There is such a thing as the blogger state of mind. Natalie on her kick ass blog Petroglyph Paradox nailed in perfectly in her April 14 post “Perceptions”:

“Sometimes, I wonder about the lives of my blogger buddies. I wonder how someone actually lives beyond the anecdotal words of their blog. I wonder if they experience the same smelly, downtime or wake up with a story in their head or if they too, drive down the road, see something, and then say to themselves, ‘I’m gonna blog about that.’ “

I do this all the time. See something and then think what angle I can take to blog about it. I have a tiny notebook in my purse crammed with snippets of thoughts. Many of which have made their way to these pages.

5) I have learned that I am a chicken. Only a few folks in my life know about this blog. I know soon I need to come out of the closet, so to speak, and tell my unsupportive family that despite my Clark Kent-ish day job…in reality, I’m a writer, I have a book on Amazon and I’m a blogger….and then deal with the consequences.

Baby steps.

6) My blog is just as valuable as anyone else’s blog. What I have to say matters. Even if only to me. And having the courage to put it out there actually does take courage.

7) Blogging is good therapy. Boy can I get some stuff off my chest!

8) The feeling of elation I get after completing the post for the day is as addictive (more so, actually) as any drug or drink I’ve ever known. That satisfied feeling is something I crave. (addiction number 2 is looking at the webtraffic statistics)

9) I’ve always said I work best under deadlines. Doing this every day and only missing one day which was then properly made up for and backdated has proven this to me. I thrive when I have a deadline. I do some amazing work. It’s why I kick butt at National Novel Writing Month.

10) When I set my mind to something…look out. It took mere days from deciding I wanted to do this to execution. It’s a fact of my personality I actually admire. Should serve me well in my continuing quest to be a writer that people actually pay to write.

So today is a day of celebration for me. I’ll blow out the candle on a celebratory cupcake and go nuts.

Thanks to all readers, your webtraffic brings me joy.

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Comments

  • Natalie

    Congrats.
    Blogging every day is no easy task. I have found that is difficult to continue to blog/write for myself, from my point of view, and to not be so influenced by others. This is why I hate those meme thingies and other lists.
    When I first started blogging, I was on MSN Spaces. In my first year I was selected and featured on The Best of MSN Spaces and my “popularity” went nutso. I had well over a million hits on that lil’ blog… my best week saw over 30k per day. It was wacky. Yet, I would still only have about ten to fifteen comments per day. Figure that out.
    That changed me and my writing. I didn’t feel as true to myself and then my whole fam damily knew about my blog and I totally felt… censored in a way.
    Eventually I moved to blogger. I did initially link the blogs but figured out that MSN Spacers do not like to migrate outside of their comfort zones. I guess it was a few too many clicks to deal with… *rolls eyes*
    Now I’m free of it all: just last week I deleted my old blog. Ironically, I received an email from MSN saying they wanted to feature me again. I wrote back and asked them why they couldn’t find any “fresh” talent.
    I deleted everything.
    I thought I would feel bad about it but I don’t.
    I’m just starting to get my groove back on.
    Stay the course… all of the things on your list are terrific. I would only suggest one thing: before you share with friends and family, let your blog grow and breathe a little and find its groove. Then decide if you really, truly want your family to read what you are writing about and whether or not that will color you subjects/posts/language.
    Just a suggestion…
    I, for one, am glad I found you.
    :)

  • Natalie

    PS…
    Thought you might like this link:

    http://misssnark.blogspot.com/

    Check her out; she’s a literary agent and has some great info.
    :)

  • Karen Fayeth

    Ah yes…Miss Snark…I have her on my bookmark list somewhere….thanks for the reminder!

    Thanks for the good advices regarding sharing with the family. You’ve given me good pause for thought, and that is always much appreciated!

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