“Karen, where have you been?”
Okay, my ego would like to think you’ve been asking that. It’s all right, though, if you haven’t. But, to answer anyway …
I’ve been writing.
I decided to tackle that “Be more fearless in my writing” goal head on. Actually, I tackled it, stood up and kicked it in its squishy parts.
Then I closed my eyes, plugged my nose, and jumped into the dark, swirling waters of the writing deep end, taking on the thing that most terrifies me: Articles which require an interview.
Last month, after reading everything I could find on writing profile articles, and picking the brain of a co-worker, I wrote up a profile piece on a local business owner and submitted it to a magazine. I’m kind of hoping that the wonderful woman I interviewed couldn’t tell I was half-way to throwing up during the entire interview. I was that terrified.
See, I’m shy. Like, cross the street so I won’t have to talk to someone shy. So, I chose that type of writing to get out of the way first. Shades of Masochism, maybe? I figured that if I could get my personal writing boogeyman stuffed in a sack and buried under my stinky running shoes in the back of my closet, anything that came after would be easier.
I was right. Getting through it (and having the magazine editor love it) was strangely empowering. Since then, I’ve taken on how-to articles, web content and sales letters for another local business.
Plus studying. I’ve dug out the old text books from my writing classes and I’m re-reading them. And any other writing books I can get my hands on.
There’s a whole world of writing things for me to try, learn, and master. Now that I’ve started down the road of writing fearlessly, I can’t wait to see where it leads!
What writing projects are you tackling and how do you kick your fears to the curb?