Writing Update - Month 1

I've successfully published a post once a week for a whole month!

This may seem silly to some, but hey - I'm celebrating it. A few months ago, I wasn't writing at all.

This also brings me to the larger question: What do I do next?

A short background on my blogging journey: I've started a stopped approximately 4 blogs before in my past. I believe this was for 2 reasons:

1. I wasn't writing in the correct niche. A couple of my past blogs were about healthy living and exercise, but I'm afraid I'm about more than just these two topics. While they're a hobby of mine, I don't live and breathe them.

2. I got overwhelmed. I was so engrained on pushing myself to the next steps, that I got anxious and didn't know where to go next. So instead, I just quit. And every time I quit, it was almost a sigh of relief.

These sighs of relief were obviously short-lived since I am back on the writing/blogging train yet again. I don't want to make the same mistakes I've made in the past, so instead this time, I'm going to take things nice and slow. I've written every week for a month, so now is a good time to review what I've written and decide which direction to go next.

Here are a couple small steps I'm going to take in the next month:

- Register with Compel Training through Proverbs 31 ministries. This is something I've been meaning to do for some time. I feel like I definitely need a little direction and guidance when it comes to starting this writing journey. Every other time I've tried to hard to go it alone, and I think I've pushed myself too far past what God has asked me to do.

- Speaking of what God has asked me to do, I'm going to stick with his simple instructions for now: Just write. I'm going to work on finding my voice and how what I have to say can be shared with others. So far, most of my posts have been pretty personal, almost journal-ish (yes, I'm making this a word). So now I need to figure out how to take my personal, journal-ish (sounds good, yes?) voice and transform what I know and what I've learned into helping others. I want others to benefit from what I have to say. That's the ultimate goal.

So in the next month, my goals are to basically keep writing, and keep growing my voice as a writer so that others can feel the benefit. Notice I'm not pushing a full-blown blog yet. I've done that in the past, and I feel like I'm just not quite ready yet. I feel like that point will come, but I've got a few hurdles as a writer to overcome first. So... just write.

Seems simple enough, but if we're going to do a true review of my past month of writing, then it's probably important to touch on some of my worries and fears:

- If I continue down the writing path, what if what I have to say ruins some friendships? What if at some point I start calling myself a writer and people start to look at me like I'm an oddball? Sometimes I wonder if I am crazy. So if I'm wondering this, what keeps others from doing the same?

- What if this isn't the right calling for me? What if I just enjoy writing, but I'm truly only good at the journaling stuff? What if my voice is really just that - mine?

- What if I don't have the time or funds to make a significant investment into this life-changing goal? I'm still a Mom, wife, and full-time employee first. How do I juggle everything so that this writing thing truly becomes more than just a dream?

It's a lot to think about. And probably way to much worrying for the very beginning stages I'm in. To be completely honest and up-front, the entire time I was writing about my worries, I felt like God was whispering don't worry about it, I'll take care of it. Isn't it beautiful how we always want to see the big picture up front, but only God can see it and lead us through the journey? I suppose that's why they call it "having faith."

So there you have it. And update from my heart on the writing journey I began about a month ago. I'm praying some day I look back on this and laugh when I think of this girl at I am right now. Unsure and not knowing what the future has to hold.

And maybe I'll read this post with my new book in hand. Hey, a girl can dream, right? Also, writing an entire book may take more than just one month's worth of blog posts...

So, onward and upward.