Thursday, February 18, 2010

I've Been a Sad Little Blogger

It's been a very long time since I posted mainly because life has gotten considerably more difficult in the past year or so. With a tanked economy, folks like me who weren't doing that great before everything went spiraling downward have only experienced more difficulties.

The month after my last blog, I was told that I quit by my employer because they knew I had just finished a certificate for medical transcription and panicked, thinking that I would just up and leave. I told them I would give them more than sufficient notice, but they didn't believe me and just went ahead and hired my replacement before I found a new job. And they made sure I wouldn't receive unemployment by putting on my separation notice that I had quit.

It took me a month to find a new job. I loved my new job at a medical office. I made good money and had great insurance and worked with incredible people. But then the economy tanked. I had ALMOST caught up from a month of ZERO income when they laid me off. At least I got unemployment benefits.

It took me four months to find my current job. It's okay, but there are no benefits and I only get paid once a month.

For these reasons and being trapped in two houses in a row that I am not comfortable in (places I rented out of desperation and not because I liked them), my more precious pursuits (writing, blogging, music, being outdoors, etc.) fell tragically to the wayside.

But I've gotten a number of signs lately that suggest several things:

1. I need to start blogging again - I'm so flattered that I've gotten so many comments on my last post recently. A post from nearly two years ago. Reckon the net is not as silent to my thoughts as I had assumed.

2. I need to start a website for unpublished writers - not the usual that is either all about publishing or all about submissions, but a site that focuses on the pursuit of writing. I've got a million ideas for this site. All I need is to play with GoDaddy once I can spare the cash for the domain.

3. Once the site is established and if a following develops, I'd like to start an online writing course that would offer several free lessons and a full course that I would offer for VERY cheap because I know we writers aren't known for our golden bath tubs. The only problem with this is that folks tend to give little credibility to writers who haven't published. But I think it's great to get advice from writers who are learning themselves. We'll see.

4. I need to try to get published. This will involve me learning how to write a short story. I suck at short stories. I want to tell the whole story, so I thrive on novels. But short stories are what gets you published to start out. I need to learn how to write essays or articles too.

In any case, thank you commenters for spurring me to this point of blogging again. I have missed it very much. I've already got some ideas for future blogs, so y'all should be hearing from me again soon.

What would you most like to see on my new website for unpublished writers?