Why I decided to write a writer’s blog

The decision to maybe, possibly write anything like this came in a bit of a rush of creative impulse and ambition. I’ve spent the better part of the last year rediscovering a love of writing. I started an Instagram page @jennatreloarwrites (follow me here), but a website and blog has always seemed a little less reliant on algorithms that I don’t quite understand. A little more my own. It’s probably self-indulgent and almost absurd to think that writing could become my professional pursuit. But like any creative, perhaps I’ve always been a bit a bit hedonistic in some way or another. Even if it never earns me a dollar, I can’t imagine not writing.

There are processes and procedures in writing a writers blog

I’ve set a timer for 20 minutes. That’s the amount of time I estimate I should spend blogging. It’s not a requirement for the job of professional Author (and I’m certainly not getting paid for it). But word people are word people through and through.

I’ve googled it and after sifting through a variety of sources that used the word “blog” to define the meaning of blogging (perhaps a bit unhelpful, if my opinion counts) I have come to understand it as quite simply self-published material intended to engage an audience.   Be engaged.

There were three critical moments that encouraged me to explore this ambition.  My 20-minute timer has sounded, proving just how slowly I write. For the sake of completing a task – I’ll keep going:

Three inciting incidents that lead to beginning the writer journey

1. The Opportunity: Writing in Community

An advertisement for an unpublished writer’s fellowship opportunity popped up in my social media feed.  This sparked the initial thought that hey-I’ll-write-a-book. (Spoiler Alert: I submitted a hastily prepared draft and never heard back. Go figure.) The fellowship started me on a path of exploring other writerly opportunities. I joined online writers’ groups and started following fiction-oriented pages. I searched for writing podcasts to listen to while I walked and drove. I surrounded myself with a virtual community of people talking about writing and my feeds flooded with all kinds of other opportunities, competitions, writing challenges and people who loved writing as much as I do. I found beta group to swap drafts with, and eventually an in-person writers’ group that meets every fortnight. Sitting in a room full of aspiring and established writers has helped me to take myself seriously – and to combat the imposter syndrome. Finding a community has been essential.

2. Wise Words of Advice : Investing in Education

The Australian Writer’s Centre “So You Want to Be a Writer” Seminar with Valerie Khoo. This inspired me to believe that writing wasn’t purely something dreamers did. It’s a real job that people get paid to do every single day, thus forcing the question: why not me? I have yet to be paid a single dime for the words I write (plus I’ve spent a bit making it essentially an expensive hobby to date. More on investment in the path later). The seminar planted the seed that writing was a plausible pursuit and the practical part of my brain liked that. I signed up for self-paced writing courses and seminars online and attended my first in-person writing event. And then my second, etc. I’m a lifelong learner by nature and a real sucker for self-help frameworks. I’ll never be done learning about writing, and I absolutely love that.

3. The Short Story Challenge

A Flash Fiction Challenge and the first piece I ever submitted opened a floodgate. This pushed me to write and submit a 500-word short story in 55 hours. Taking that first leap gave me a taste of this writer life. My first story January was longlisted to my great surprise and delight. It was a mixed up, second person narrative that probably proved how much I had to learn about short fiction structure and effective POV. But writing it assured me that this was a path that I intended to continue along. The short story challenge opened my eyes to the value of condensed storytelling. If it were running, this little sprint-and the many that followed- proved to be a valuable building block for the marathon that is novel writing. I continued looking for more challenges, more writing prompts, more ways to explore and develop the craft.

I’ll work on keeping these short and sweet in the future, but I make no promises.

Jenna