My Heart

I've met a lot of people over the years who say they dream about becoming a writer...

 

Some enjoy writing for the sake of writing, others simply have a story to tell and want to share it. All I can say is that writing is not just about the output, but the process, and so it is important to keep at it. 

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Near the start of my career, I thought writing ad copy would be a lot of fun. Although I couldn't break into the field of copywriting for whatever reason, I was able to land a job as a technical writer. You might wonder how I did that? Aside from a degree in Communication, I worked as a temp through college. Never did I start a temp job with much training or help, so I would document the job, all the daily tasks, office templates, and more. That way it'd all be there for the next temp to use. Those unsolicited "how to" guides ended up becoming useful examples of my writing, with an ability to organize information and instruct.  

 

Little did I know that writing technical specs would lead me to software design. That's because not long after starting my tech writing job, I began taking my help articles to the dev team to say, "If you change these checkboxes to radio buttons, I can save 2-3 lines of help and disclaimers." And before I knew it, I was being invited to UI design meetings to help shape the UX. It was a natural transition.

 

Eventually, my tech writing connections opened doors to freelance creative writing gigs. Initially, I was thrilled! But as it turns out, writing travel articles about places I had never been was not all that fulfilling. I was also beholden to brand tone, word counts, and editorial feedback (which I didn't always agree with). Suddenly, technical writing seemed like a lot more fun, but that couldn't be right, could it?

 

Around the same time, I also started a blog. This allowed me to write using my own tone, my own humor, and my own experiences. Initially, I wanted to grow my readership, so I reached out to other local bloggers to cross-promote posts, and this ultimately led to me meeting my husband. Who would have guessed?! Although that blog was retired after getting married, it was a fun experiment with long-term rewards. It also helped me with my face-to-face storytelling and UX presentation skills.

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I had always hoped to get back to writing one day, and after becoming a mom, I found myself reading many, many books to my kiddo and singing impromptu songs at bedtime and whenever soothing was needed. It was one of those made-up songs that served as the inspiration for my "Bunny and Carrot" friendship series for children, and I hope to write many other books. Daunted by the process of finding a willing publisher (which often requires a large social media following), I decided to self-publish using Blurb. Using their tools, it all seemed doable to me, and that should be the main takeaway. If you have too many obstacles to your writing, chances are you will give up. For me, self-publishing seemed like a sure bet... my book would be finished and, in my hands. As it happens, it's gotten into a lot of other little hands, too, which is very gratifying. 

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I hope sharing some of my writing journey will encourage you to continue along yours. I encourage you to check out my NEW old-fashioned blog and subscribe to updates below.