I’m back after …. a funk

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Hi all. For the past few months I have not been adding to my website, as I was having it re-vamped, and it is now finally up and operational again. Yea!

I was traveling a great deal, helping friends move, cleaning out my own house and removing things that were no longer needed and could be better used by others, or junked. And of course, there were the holidays to enjoy and prepare for. So I pushed writing to the side.

In September I attended my first ever writer’s conference in Dallas, TX. It was crowded with attendees, full of wonderful educators and two great speakers. I was energized. I was terrified. I have good material. I have awful material. Yes, unequivocally, I was intimidated. I wondered if all my years of writing were for naught, if all my good reviews in all the classes I had taken were flukes. How was I going to forge ahead?

We were encouraged to form our platform. Hmm, was that like taking 2×4’s and plywood and nailing something together? I could do that—with help.

But no, it meant putting me out there. ‘Out there.’ Yikes, always I have maintained a presence in the background, rooted for my friends to step out, and been a great encourager. But now, I needed to step out, out there. And I did not have the wherewithal, the knowledge, the courage, to go ‘out there.’

So I came home, and attempted some edits, and liked some of the changes, but my gut was filled with trepidation. I entered an online critique group. Yikes, my material was not next to near as good as the material I read to critique. So I ducked out, stopped writing and continued in true Scarlett O’Hara manner to “think about it tomorrow.” One only gets better with practice. It’s time to practice.

So, I will again be writing regularly with the blogs, and hope you will check them out. Thankfully, I have wonderful family and friends who have prodded, encouraged, and if they have judged, have done it silently. I’ve only been blessed with their support.

So thank you all who have lovingly urged me to start again. Thank you for being part of the many blessings, my bellaviews, in life.