I have been seeking advice from a lot of people with regards to blogging. Specifically, how do you know what to write about. The consistent response that I get, to boil it down to a common thread, is to "find my voice."
Finding my voice, basically, is to figure out what sort of topics I want to write about. This has been a hard thing for me to do. I have a dozen bits and pieces of blog posts written, on topics ranging from home ownership, to foster parenting, to training for a marathon. It is surprising how much of the Venn diagram of foster parenting and marathoning overlap. Pieces and parts of posts, but nothing yet that I feel like is worthy of posting.
Something about the act of "finding my voice" that is very free feeling is that I can write about anything I want. Freeing and at the same time, a bit terrifying. It could be that the reason why I have an iPad with a pile of blog bits in front of me is that there is a part of me that feels like that I am not good enough to write something that is fit for others to read. When I look at the posts that I read and the podcasts I listen to or the videos that I watch as I eat breakfast in the morning, I often think to myself that these people are pretty talented to be able to put out stuff like this on a consistent basis. I look at that and I feel like I don't have what it takes to publish blog on at least a weekly basis. It is a feeling that I am not alone in having. Feeling inadequate to be published has been talked about by a lot of well respected people in their fields. The term that commonly gets used is imposter syndrome. It is a feeling that has been felt by doctors, writers, actors, artists, musicians. Interestingly enough, it even gets talked about by world leaders in their biographies and obituaries. Even with the feelings of fear of negative criticism, sounding or looking foolish, or just being rejected by those who they hold in high esteem, these people of found the courage in themselves to just say it anyway.
Voice Lessons has been created to provide a chance for me to find my voice for my writing. No theme, no particular topics of expertise. Someone who doesn't try to talk doesn't learn how. It will also give me a repeating opportunity, in the short term, to be be brave about what I have to say and put it out in the world. Voice Lessons are going to only have the common thread in that the topics are just stuff that I wanted to write about in the moment. What will the end result of this? I have no idea. A result that I am hoping to find is that I will develop the belief in myself to publish what is in my head and my heart, even of no one likes what I write, or if no one even reads it.
The reason I write is not to be famous, or well regarded. I am fairly sure that I will not get rich doing it. There are really two reasons for me. I get the chance to maybe teach someone something new to them or encourage them to be daring. I hope to encourage someone to try something new. Everyone's life is a story, of sorts. I think that sometimes people go through troubles so that in the future, they have the opportunity to use the problems of their past to help others around them. Sometime, when situations feel dire, it helps to hear from someone who has been in that experience that it gets better. The other reason is admittedly more selfish. I write so that the words and thoughts that are in my head can get out. Words that feel like they will poison me if I keep them in for too long. Writing is something that I have always liked to do. It could be that the fear of not being good enough is part of what kept me from really trying to do it more seriously.
This post is the first of I hope many. From the outside, it will appear to be totally random. If someone decides to read this one, and whatever comes out of my fingers after this, they will go on a journey with me to see what becomes of my voice. What sort of a writer will I become? It will be a lot of fun finding out together.
