Guys, I have a confession to make. I am not a blogger. Gasp! Did she just say she’s not a blogger? Well, that seems stupid. What is it she thinks she’s doing? It’s true. I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing. I’ve never written a blog! I never wanted to write a blog. But here I am. Why?
Well, I love to write. Fiction. I write stories. I’ve been a storyteller for as long as I can remember. I’m a little OCD and a bit of a pack rat. My OCD comes in handy with the technical side of writing. Can anyone say Grammar Nazi? I’m your girl! As for being a pack rat, I still have several of my oldest pieces of writing—even going back so far as first grade! Of course those aren’t going to be New York Times Bestsellers or anything, but they have sentimental value and they serve as proof. Proof that writing isn’t just something I enjoy, it’s who I am.
I thought blogging was only for non-fiction writers, authors who have already been established in their careers, or just for the random Jane Doe who liked it as a hobby. While these are all perfectly fine uses of blogging, none of them were for me. If money were no object and I could do any job in the world, it would be writing. I’d be a professional author and novelist. In a heartbeat. I know exactly what I want. I believe it’s what I was made to be and do. Writing is a passion. But how do I get from point A to point B?
I’ve been listening to Ken Coleman’s podcast. (You should totally check it out! He’s easy going, inspirational, and full of good advice. Visit The Ken Coleman Show to learn more or just Google Ken Coleman. The podcast is available on both Google Play and Itunes for free.) I’m a huge, and I do mean huge, Dave Ramsey fan. People like Dave Ramsey are doing what I want to do with my life; he’s living out his calling and changing lives. Dave Ramsey does work that matters. He inspires millions of people and unashamedly gives God the glory. God is using men like Dave Ramsey in incredible ways. He’s one of my heroes. I want to do work that matters, that inspires people, and that changes lives. I want to do what God created me to do, what He’s called me to do.
Ken Coleman is a Dave Ramsey personality and has recently started his own radio show as part of the Ramsey Solutions network. At work, everyday, I start my day with Klove or HisRadio for the first two or so hours. I like music and it helps me start my day right. It doesn’t take a lot of brain power to ingest and is just what I need to get my day rolling. Around about ten o’clock, I shift gears and listen to my daily dose of Dave. And, since I’m all caught up on his podcasts, that only lasts me two hours. After lunch, instead of listening to past archives, I’ve begun listening to the Ken Coleman Show. Up until this point, I’d only heard him as a guest on the Dave Ramsey Show and occasionally as a fill-in when Dave was out. (He used to host the YouTube channel for them too, but I prefer the podcast to the YouTube channel, personally.) Anyway, while Dave Ramsey is the money expert, Ken Coleman focuses on finding your calling—using your passions and talents to find your “sweet spot” as he calls it. Where’s my sweet spot? Writing.
To make a long story short, Ken Coleman hosted a guest named Jeff Goins, which led me to his blog about writing. Now, I read a few blogs and I do try to stay plugged into different writing sources and groups. I want to grow as a writer and often blogs are a good source of information, motivation, and inspiration. While Jeff Goins’s blog seems more geared toward non-fiction writers, he has a lot of principals that easily apply to both non-fiction and fiction writers. So, both he and Ken Coleman seemed to be yelling at me (kindly, of course) to get my butt in gear and find a way to do what I wanted to do instead of sitting here and wishing I were doing it. And, consequently, you have this blog.
Now, I still consider this a bit of an experiment, but there are a few reasons I finally caved and decided to give blogging a try. The biggest reason is that I want accountability. I want to write, and I do write. I have stories out the wazoo on my computer and in notebooks. I’ve shared a lot of my works with friends and on writing sites like FictionPress, Goodreads, Wattpad, and Inkitt (feel free to check me out on any of these sites! I am always grateful to have new readers and feedback!). At the same time, though, something is missing. Ken and Jeff are right.
Ken lives his life to help other people find their callings. His goal is for us to enjoy our work instead of dreading Mondays. He also works to help people come up with a practical, tactical plan for people to get jobs within the fields to which they’re called. I know what my calling is, but I don’t know how to get there. That’s my issue, and I’m too chicken to call into the show. So, I will content myself with listening and digging out the diamonds from among the others who do call in. Jeff, on the other hand, says there’s no time like now. His advice is geared toward writers, specifically, as I mentioned. He said he never took his writing seriously and almost didn’t become a writer. He speaks about making writing a choice, a habit. That spoke to me.
I do have something to say to the world, and not just in the fictional genre, so I am trying out blogging. I hope you’ll join me and connect with me as I figure this out. Keep me accountable! My goal is to make writing a habit again, to write with intentionality, not just in fits and spurts. To start out, I’m making it a goal to post a new blog post once a week. If this turns out to be too much, I’ll back it down to once every two weeks; but if I find a demand for it, I’ll try twice a week, and so on. Help me build a platform, learn something new, and live intentionally! Until next time!
Love always,
Coralie