Build it and they will come

A Post a Day in May: Bonus post/June 1

#Determined: Amanda, about age 4

In April, I had wondered if I had it in me to take on the challenge of posting something to my blog every day in May. But then I realized that there was no way I could not take it on, because this year, for the first time, I would have all the time in the world to do the daily writing. There was neither rhyme nor reason for not doing A Post a Day in May this year. So I did it.

Like many challenges, this one feels good for being finished, but it also felt good while being done. I enjoyed the daily deadlines, wondering who might read the piece and who might send a comment. I found my writing rhythm after just a few days and, while I did experience the panic of a day or two of ideas-drought, I slogged my way through it and discovered that, precisely because the blog needed something posted to it every day, I became adept at translating my daily living, observing and reflecting into short personal essays worthy of being shared for reading by others. In short, I had a place to put my writing, so I wrote.

Like any craft, writing benefits from regular practice. Whatever your own craft might be — painting, gardening, photography, etc. — I wish for you the pleasure and satisfaction of a routine and a rhythm that nurtures your practice. It’s like a muscle: the more we use it, the stronger and more reliable it becomes.

I also wish for you a ‘container’ through which to share with others what you create. While Creatives are self-reliant, happily working on our own to produce our pieces for the love of it, there is nothing quite like having someone respond to our work because it touches them in some way. 

Here’s what I have learned: Do not wait for a publisher or producer to showcase your work; do it yourself. Set your own bar. Create your own deadlines. Open your own show. Get cracking! My experience with this blog illustrates that ‘if you build it, they will come’.  

Dear Reader, thank you for reading my writing. 

This is not the end. 

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Land acknowledgement: I respectfully recognize that I live on the original lands of Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation.