Post the First

The time has come. I’m dusting off my writing tools today.

Under my bed in an old shoe box lurks the evidence of my one-time obsession with putting pen to paper. For months – maybe even years now – I’ve vowed to one day get back to it; but what was once my greatest joy has somehow become intimidating. Paralyzing. Hence the dust.

I don’t know what happened. I used to live and breathe for the sheer excitement of stringing words together to watch them play and hear them sing. Words seemed to drip off the end of my pen, effortlessly filling obscene amounts of paper with everything from character sketches of classmates to essays on politics to plotlines.

I never gave it up entirely. The occasional bit of poetry, written not for the joy of writing but under compulsion from emotions demanding expression, found its way to paper. And I’ve still never survived more than a few weeks without journaling. I doubt I’ll ever break that addiction!

So now, after a week full of not-so-subtle nudges from people who didn’t even know they were nudging me… here I am. Determined to conquer laziness by committing myself to at least one post a week, and letting everyone see and point their fingers if I fail. Determined to conquer self-consciousness by putting my writing out in the open. Determined not to let the passion I once had die a slow death of complacency and false humility. Determined to use the gifts and desires God gave me to the best of my ability.

I’m not entirely sure what this blog will consist of. For now, I intend to use it as a place to practice the craft of writing, and hopefully gain some constructive feedback (hint hint). I have an idea of what direction most of the content will take… but I’ll let that be revealed in its own time.