Last October, I finally felt like I was ready to start letting people know about this blog. It was also around that time that I decided I wanted to start pursuing writing as more than just a hobby. I thought it might be a good idea to have business cards to hand out when I met other writers and/or people who might be interested in reading my blog. So I went to MOO.com, chose a simple design and a color scheme that matched my blog, and placed an order for my very own business cards. It took a while to figure out what they should actually say, but I finally decided that they would read: Dana Knowles, Writer/Content Creator.

 

I felt a little weird calling myself a writer then, but someone told me to stop calling myself an “aspiring writer” and just call myself a writer because, by definition, one who writes is, in fact, a writer. Still, I found myself dealing with a serious case of imposter syndrome. Sure, I write. I love writing – always have – and I had just launched this blog, giving myself my own platform to write and share my thoughts with the world wide web, but I wasn’t really confident enough to own that title. But now, a year later, I’m happy to say that I feel a lot more comfortable calling myself a writer: I’m still blogging, I’ve written dozens of poems, and I’ve even written (and gotten paid for) more than 30 articles for other sites (some credited and others ghost-written).

 

 

Speaking (Or Writing) Things Into Existence

 

It may seem small, but in a sense, by preemptively ordering those business cards, I was speaking into existence the writing career I’ve always secretly longed for. The concept of speaking something into existence is a common one, but how often do we actually use it? I’ve spent a great deal of my life saying things like “I wish,” “I hope,” “I want,” but now I try to think more along the lines of “I am,” and “I will.” So on that note: I am going to continue to advance my writing career and I will not give up even when I run into roadblocks along the way. I am no longer going to let fear get in the way of what I really want. As a reminder of this, I’m currently re-reading one of my favorite books, “The Alchemist.”

 

 

Thank God For Growth

 

Last month, I participated in GG Renee’s annual #30Layers30Days writing challenge. In fact, this post is a response to Day 30’s prompt: The Past Year. When I look back on what I wrote for last November’s prompts, I can see how much my writing has improved in just a year. I’m not going to lie: I was a little tempted to delete some of the posts I’m less proud of, but I decided not to because it’s a great reminder of how far I’ve come and how much further I can go with dedication and practice. It’s also a great way to throw caution to the wind a little bit. With a new prompt every day, I don’t have time to revise and edit my work as much as I want to, so what I end up sharing is usually a first draft, which if nothing else, pushes me out of my comfort zone. These daily prompts also serve as a great foundation for future writing projects because I can always come back to what I wrote and revise and/or expand upon it. They can be tough to commit to, but writing challenges are always worth the effort. 

 

 

 

Forward

 

This past year was filled with new challenges and I didn’t really know what to expect going in. I have not yet achieved every single goal I set out for myself, but I am well on my way. Timing is everything. I have faith that everything will work out the way it’s supposed to exactly when it’s supposed to. I’ve gotten so much out of my experiences this year and I gained clarity about where I want to go next. More than anything, I finally feel comfortable calling myself a writer. For me, that’s huge. As 2018 approaches, I am really excited for what lies ahead. It’s going to be a big year and I’m so ready for it.

 

What have you learned this past year? Is there anything that you’re looking forward to as a new year approaches? Let me know!

 

***Note: The link to the MOO website above is my personal referral link. If you’d like to use it to place an order, you’ll save 20%, and I’ll get $15 off my next order – because hey, why not? Right? 😉