"There's something delicious about writing those first few words of a story. You can never quite tell where they will take you."
--Beatrix Potter as portrayed by Renee Zellwanger in the 2006 movie,"Miss Potter"
Miss Potter (Mrs. Heelis, actually--she married late in life) would feel the same way about starting a blog. I know I do.
Over the years I've accumulated a long list of topics I would like to write about, and it's a bit daunting to finally start when there are already millions of blogs in place.
First and foremost is the BIG question: Will anyone else want to read what I have to say and to connect with me about it? As with most things in life, there's only one way to find out.
I've been a writer for almost as long as I've been a reader. My first stories as a child were shared only with my parents. One was entitled "The Grey Ghost," a mystery story where the main character was a New York State Trooper. (They wear grey uniforms.)
My first published article was an op-ed in the May 2, 1995 edition of the Rochester NY Times-Union afternoon newspaper, which ceased publication in 1997. (No connection between the two events, I believe.) My topic was a complaint about how businesses linked their best employee benefits to length of service with the company. The point was that companies could no longer ensure employment with them long enough for an employee to take advantage of benefits, even when they reduced the required tenure for a pension from 10 years to 5. Here we are now, 14 years later, and companies can't guarantee that they'll be in business long enough to pay a pension to anyone.
But I digress.
My main motivation in writing a blog is to relieve the pressure of the hundreds--nay, thousands--of observations, opinions, ideas, questions, curiosities, and thoughts that have built up over a long time. That made me say to myself, "Wouldn't that make an interesting blog post?"
Actually, some of the ideas are old enough that my question was "Wouldn't that make an interesting article? But who would publish it?" Thankfully, blogging and self-publishing books came to be during my lifetime.
Another motivation is to pass along very practical tips and techniques as well as reviews of products that really work. So many web site and blog authors have pointed the way for me, saving me money, time, and frustration that I'd like to return the favor.
I would also like to thank my dear friends, Yvonne Divita and Tom Collins of Windsor Media Enterprises, for giving me the kick in the pants to finally get this going.
A final thought from Miss Potter:
We must present ourselves to the world,
and we must look upon it as an adventure!"
