The Reluctant Firefly

A Blog, a Blogger, and a Computer Named Clara (or How a Blogger Begins)

“I need to do what?”

“You need to write a blog.”

I stared across the table at my writing mentor. I was trying to get my novel ready to be be published and had enough trouble eking out time for that. Why would I want to write a blog?

“Publishers look at blogs.” She informed ,me. “It tells them that people know who you are, and how you write.”

“But I don’t know how to write a blog!” I protested. “I would have no idea what to write! I don’t even know how to FIND a blog!”

“You need to learn.” She said.

I signed loudly, exasperated. “Just tell me how to get my book published!”

“Write a blog.”

Here we go again. I tried my best not to roll my eyes.

I don’t know if any of you started out that way, but that was me last month. I didn’t grow up in the computer age. Clara, my desktop, is used mainly a word processor and printing out maps on MapQuest when my family travels anywhere farther than 50 miles. My mentor dragged me into blogging under protest. But, she was kind to me. She scrolled through her phone and told me 2 sites to visit: The Write Life Is page: How to Start a Blog: A Step-by-Step Guide for Writers what to blog about as a new writer , and The Writing Cooperative’s 10 Things to Blog about When You’re a Brand-New Author. With trepidation, I starting tying in the search engine when I got home, and Clara and I braced ourselves, unsure of what we were getting ourselves into.

I found it wasn’t as scary as I had thought. There were a lot of terms I was totally unfamiliar with (such as SEO, Widgets, and Super Cache), but a lot of it was easy to understand and encouraging. I read, I took notes, I clicked…

Wait a minute! I thought.  Is this a blog? Am I reading a BLOG? I stared at the screen in amazement. I had found and read my first blog! It wasn’t so bad. It was actually kind of cool. And yeah, I was proud of myself. I looked over the blog again. I felt as if I had made a new friend.

So, here I am, sitting with Clara and writing my first blog.

Hi there. My name is GeAnn Powers. I am embarking on an adventure of transitioning from wanna-be author to published writer. These blog posts will chart my steps on this journey.  Buckle up. This is where it begins!