Happy Anniversary Dear Blog

Today marks the third anniversary of this blog, an event that calls for celebration.

I began the blog for the specific purpose of promoting The Heart and Craft of Lifestory Writing, which was undergoing final editing and due for release six months later. I may have begun the blog anyway because my delight in teaching other people how to write lifestories developed long before I to write about writing at least as much as I like to write stories, so what is more natural than blogging about writing?

When I first began, ideas for posts gushed so fast I could barely keep up with listing them. I determined not to overwhelm readers and settled on a pace of two to three posts a week. Like any large writing project, ideas have been more abundant some times than others, and occasionally I was convinced my muse Sarabelle (who introduced herself to me and blog readers on June 19, 2006) had abandoned me forever.

The blog has evolved in several respects. The appearance has changed from the generic two-column Blogspot Dots template to a fully-customized three-column layout aligned with the theme of my main website, sharonlippincott.com. On January 1, 2009 I changed the title from The Heart and Craft of LifeSTORY Writing to a more inclusive one, The Heart and Craft of Life Writing, to reflect broadening interests that have expanded beyond simple stories.

If Blogspot offered the ability to add labels when I first started, I didn’t know about it. The first post to feature labels was on November 16, 2006. The “Write Now” writing prompt debuted on October 13, 2007. March 2, 2008 was the last time I signed off with “Write on, Sharon Lippincott, aka Ritergal”. (That signature line was redundant so close to the writing prompt.)

Certain themes, like Truth in writing, recur often. Others are topical and unique.

This is post #306, making an average of just over 100 posts a year, about two per week. Posts average around 600 words each, which totals over 180,000 words — enough to fill three average-size print volumes. (Just think — if you had been writing even one single-spaced page of story a week, you would have filled a finished volume of stories by now.)

This history came to mind as I sorted through posts to select the most relevant to include in Dazzling Descriptions, an eBook bonus gift for those who sign up for the NAMW Make Your Stories Sparkle teleclass I’m teaching, beginning on February 13. Creating this volume was so much fun that I plan to produce additional “Blog Digest” volumes available as eBooks, Print-on-Demand hard copy, and perhaps even Kindle format. I’ll keep you posted on this project.

I continue to write and blog because I continue to learn and grow as I do. I think of myself as an explorer, always wondering what’s around the next corner, and how else to get from here to there. I look forward to many more years of sending continual “trip” updates from the Writer’s Path, sharing new angles, insights and thoughts on writing compelling stories, learning more about ourselves and creating a written legacy of our lives in the process. I hope you will continue to walk with me on this path.

Write now: take a few minutes to review the progress of your writing projects. Do you have a plan, and end result, in mind? How are things shaping up? How has your writing changed over time? What new topics or writing skills would you like to work on over the next few weeks and months?