Saturday, July 27, 2013

Better Writing through Blogging

I started this blog a month ago today, on June 27th.  The first post defined what my leave was and was not, and from there has gone on to a variety of subjects.

Before I started writing the blog, I thought the idea was a bit crazy.  I had topics in mind to write about, but I didn't really know what I was doing, or what would happen when those topics were done.

But here we are, a month later, and I just keep writing!

I am amazed at the commitment I feel to posting every day.  I started jotting down my thoughts for this post early on Saturday, but right now it is 12:03am on Sunday morning.  I just arrived back to the hotel from an outdoor pageant, and I won't go to bed until this post is finished.  That's dedication I didn't know that I had.

Often I am surprised at some of the conclusions that I have come to while writing.  I haven't written anything untrue, but it seems that I didn't know what was true until I wrote about it.

This blog has also forced me to become more creative, to think harder about ideas.  I no longer worry about running out of things to write about.  Subjects will continue to present themselves and I will twist them into something worth reading.

The most unexpected consequence of this blog, however, is that it has made me a better writer.  I work hard at crafting my posts, writing and editing and reading and then starting it all over again.  I cut any digressions that don't add to the central theme of the post.  If there is a way to be more succinct, that is the wording I try to choose.  I want the beginning, middle and end to speak to the reader.  The finished product is so much better than my first efforts.

But now it is 12:38am and I am done with perfecting this post.  It is time to go to bed.  Thank you for reading my blog.  Happy monthiversay!





No comments:

Post a Comment