And With This Post, I am a Blogger

On October 16, 2018, I can officially say I'm a blogger. Because I'm making my first post on the blog I have been building since January.

Yes. January.

I fully admit I've gone through spurts of committing to blogging, and then procrastinating putting this site together. Partly because I was nitpicking. I wanted the perfect photo for my about page. I needed the perfect background and fonts and colors. I didn't want to publish the site until it was 100% complete, blog posts excluded. I don't consider myself a perfectionist, but I definitely have my moments. I have to remember I have the full power to edit or add on to this as I want, whenever I want.

But mostly, I put this off because I have no idea what I'm doing.

Growing up and living in the age of the Internet, blogs are everywhere. In recent years, so many of my friends have had blogs. Personal blogs, travel blogs, lifestyle blogs. Name a topic, and someone has a blog for it. Point in any direction, and someone has a blog. Blogs are like the Seven Ties to Kevin Bacon of the Internet. Chances are, if you aren't running a blog yourself, someone you know has one or knows someone who does. They're inescapable (in a good way).

Adding in my writing nature just creates another layer.

You can't be a writer without someone telling you "you need a blog." It's for good reasons, too.

Reason 1: Writers Need to Write

Writers can't be writers if they don't write (try saying that five times fast). We have to write to keep up our skills and to be who we are. Otherwise we just dream of writing and never get any where (something I have been guilty of, am guilty of, and probably will be guilty of in the future because slumps happen).

A blog is a good medium for us writers to do that work and exercise the creative muscles that can otherwise be neglected. It gives an outlet that isn't work or the drafts making us excited and stressed at the same time.

Reason 2: Writers Need a Platform

Personally, I'd say this reason applies more to writers who want to do freelance work or be published one day (a.k.a. me). I have seen a countless number of articles and blog posts on how publishers, agents, and freelance employers are more likely to offer contracts to writers with an audience because these writers already have a following they can promote to. And guess what platform works well for us to garner that audience?

Answer: A blog.

Reason 3: A Blog Can Double as a Portfolio

Depending on the field, writing is like any other artistic career in that employers want to see what you can do. Usually this comes in the form of a website or writing samples. A blog that can showcase current writing is much better than a series of literary essays from college. It shows versatility (and let's be honest, initiative).

The problem is, no one teaches you how to blog. Launching this site, writing this very post, feels like being thrown to the wolves with a handkerchief and your own wit to protect you; maybe a Swiss Army Knife if you're lucky. It's intimidating and nerve-wracking. You can either face it head on, or turn tail and run and hide and never move forward.

Today, I move forward.

I am a blogger, and I'm winging it.