Posting and Parachutes (My first blog post)
Choosing a topic for my very first blog post was tough. The whole experience reminded me of being back in school, when sometimes (a lot of times…) the most difficult assignments were the ones that started with the teacher saying, “Choose your own topic.” In other words, “Write about whatever you want, I’m not giving you any guidelines.”
No guidelines? Seriously? None at all??
It sounds freeing, in theory, to have no limits, to be able to do anything you can come up with (within reason). But to me, it always seemed scary. Like I was getting thrown into a lake without any swimming lessons, or jumping out of an airplane without having been taught how to deploy the parachute. I always wanted SOME structure, SOME guidelines, SOME simple, arbitrary rules to follow, just so that I could feel more certain that I was on the right track.
The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized that that’s just how writing is. I write novels; it’s my passion, it’s what I was born to do. But does anyone ever tell me how long my novels should be? Or what they should be about? No. And I don’t need them to. I don’t want them to. The trick is just to trust your gut and let the story (or art piece or song or whatever medium you use to channel your own passion) be your guide. Just do what feels right to you, and don’t compromise yourself or your ideas for anyone else, even if you feel like they might give you a bad grade when you’re finished.
This is a tough lesson to learn. I know, because I am still learning it myself. My first book is going to be published in May by an indie publishing company, so I have had to do most of the editing and planning and promoting all by myself and it scares the bejesus out of me! Not a day goes by where I don’t think to myself “Am I doing this right??”
Maybe I am doing it “right,” maybe I’m not. Only time will tell. The important thing is, though, to JUST DO IT ANYWAY. It’s the only way to learn and the only way to grow, both in literature and in life. You would never get anywhere at all if you always had to have someone there, looking over your shoulder, telling you how to do things step by step so you don’t get it wrong. Maybe you will get it wrong. Maybe you won’t. Either way, at least you tried, and at least you could say that you did it on your own terms, not as per someone else’s instructions.
So, the next time you’re wishing you had some more guidance or some more rules or some more structure, just do the best you can and see if it works. Just jump out of that plane. Chances are, you’ll figure out how to work that parachute long before you reach the ground. In fact, I’d bet on it.
So, how did I do? Did I get an A?
