I started blogging three and a half years ago on a whim, really. I read a few blogs and thought, “HEY! I can do that!”
So, I started a blog and I wrote. But in the three and a half years that I’ve been doing this, I’ve always stopped short of calling myself a “writer.” That term seems so professional to me and as far as I am concerned, doesn’t apply to me.
Yes, I love to write. Yes, I think I’m okay at it, in a blogging sense. Thankfully, the rules of writing a blog vary wildly from the rules of writing a book or a magazine article or a story for a newspaper. You don’t always have to be grammatically correct. It’s okay to make up words. It’s okay to be completely casual and informal and silly and sarcastic and all of the things that it is NOT okay to be in a more professional setting. That is why I love it so much.
I can be ME when I write here, in my space.
Having said that, I’ve never really considered writing anywhere more formal than a blog setting. My recipe submissions to Curvy Girl Guide are a nice break from blogging, but they’re recipes, so they don’t really qualify as writing, if you know what I mean.
And then a couple of weeks ago, the Editor of a local online news site, Noozhawk, asked me if I’d be interested in writing a column for the site. After picking myself up off the floor, I verified with him that he did, in fact, mean to ask ME that question. He assured me that he liked my writing and thought that the readers of the site could really relate to what I have to say about life and parenting. He also said he liked my voice and didn’t expect me to change it to fit a more formal setting. Which, really, was all I needed to hear.
Today, my first weekly column has been published.
Holy Crap, Y'all!
If you’ve been reading me here for a while, you may recognize the story. It’s been edited for length, which I suspect I’ll be doing a lot of in the next few weeks. Most of what I write over there will be original, so I hope you’ll keep checking back. Of course, I’ll be here to remind you every week, too!
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
This is so amazing! YOU are so amazing!!!
Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Very cool you are now a writer! And the fact that you can keep your voice is beyond ideal. Yeah!
So, so awesome.
You are amazing! xoxo
My memory is that you were not such a fan of writing when your college application essays were due.
Proud of you – and I enjoy your voice, as well.
Congratulations, that’s fantastic.
Penbleth´s last [type] ..My daughter doesn’t have Idiocy
Congratulations! I’ve been waiting for someone to offer me a similar position but that’s working about as well as waiting for Mr. Right to ring my doorbell used to. Frankly, I suspect I’m more likely to receive a spontaneous writing offer, but I’m still waiting.
Thats great! Congrats!
I don’t consider my blog writing as writing either… I’ve wanted to be a “writer” for awhile (like long before starting my blog), but its just not the same to me. Blog = thinking out loud, sharing, etc. Is nice to see I’m not the only one that feels that way
Mama Kalila´s last [type] ..My son is blue
So proud of you!
AmazingGreis´s last [type] ..Ellen Must Hate Me or Maybe it’s Just the Universe Saying FU
Oh my gosh, that’s fantastic and a BIG CONGRATULATIONS to YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You are talented and gifted with your words…keep doing what you’re doing and we’ll keep reading, wherever your words go!