About Blogging…

I used to love blogging.

There was something about highlighting the everyday occurrences and finding a nugget of magic within that fascinated me. Whether it was inspiration, or just a great laugh, I enjoyed figuring out the daily ups and downs and sharing my vision with my readers. It was also an important way to keep writing. With my schedule, before I began writing full time, squeezing in every precious moment on the page was key.

One of my favorite books is Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg. The book consistently reminds me writing is like an exercise. The more we practice, use it, and tone, the better our talent gets. Like a ballerina at the barre, limbering up, the more heated and flexible and focused, the better the dance.

Goldberg never specified writing always had to be about the book or the story. She stressed journals and morning pages and essays and little snippets found within the framework of life. Writing is about who we are, what we believe. It’s a tiny piece of immortality spilled onto a clean, white page.

How beautiful and joyous is that?

Now that my days are filled with page counts, deadlines, promotion, marketing, copyedits, regular edits, and a slew of other things that have nothing to do with parenting or cleaning or being a good friend or trying to exercise and do all the chores that makes up a life, I don’t blog as much.

But sometimes, within the story of my book, a thought will come. A need to embrace and write about who I am, or what I see, or share something important. This is my favorite type of blogging. I remember when my boys were little, how each day was filled with diapers and chaos and boredom and joy, and I ran to the page at night to make sense of it all. So I would laugh. So I wouldn’t forget.

I don’t need it as much as they grow up and find their own way, but writing is simply a part of who I am and will always be.
So, I stopped in the middle of my deadline to share this blog and my random thoughts with you. I’m not advertising my new book, or sharing my cutting edge trailer, or trying to hook you with a contest.

It’s just a simple reminder that writing is important.

Because it’s our story. And we shouldn’t forget or give up.

May the words be with you.