Friday, November 4, 2022

Lesson Learned: I Have No Idea What I'm Doing

 Journal: NaNoWriMo 2022 - November 4

There was a time, not so long ago, when I thought: "Sure, I'll start a personal blog. It sounds like fun and, since it's a personal blog, it should be fairly easy to come up with ideas to write about. After all, it's really just a public journal."

Wow, was that dumb.

I like to write and I've kept a journal for years. But, as I brainstormed and researched ideas, one question kept running on a loop in my mind - why would anyone else find my articles of value? I typically don't go back and re-read my own journal so why would anyone else be interested?

I'm not actually publishing my personal journal, of course, but I've found myself stalled by the question of value. Writing a personal blog seemed like the perfect starting place. I could learn how to blog by writing about any topics that interested me. It had a logic to it. And NaNoWriMo would be the perfect platform to encourage the development of a regular, consistent writing routine. But, I'm paralyzed. I find that my own personal interest isn't enough. I want what I write to be appealing to others, too. How do I do that?

I don't know.

I pulled out a fairly decent outline from my Wednesday free-write for my first true article on this blog - I'm differentiating between these journal entries and full blog articles. I'm not sure why, really. (Did I mention I have no idea what I'm doing?) It was only somewhat painful but I eventually got the outline done. My goal is to get the drafting and editing done this weekend. Maybe even pull together some pictures to add to it. If all goes well, I'll publish early next week.

So, I am making progress. That feels good.

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