Linked Up

So now the hard part begins...

Keeping a "secret blog" is one thing.

There's a certain careless loveliness in writing something you're pretty sure no-one is reading. But, now that I have linked up my Facebook friends to this little writing endeavor I can't get all their (your) faces out of my head.  Now, as I type, I have to challenge myself to not self-censor based on who I think might actually read my posts.  Yesterday a dear old friend wrote to me asking for a few encouraging words as she begins the process of writing a chapter for an Applied Theatre book (something she has never done before).  I gave her a piece of advice that is part of my own writer's self-talk: "Try to say what you mean, and not what you think they want to hear." So hard.  But I need to keep this idea in my head as I proceed.

Another thing I now have to consider is feedback.  After much trepidation I posted a link to here and received lovely, encouraging comments, which was awesome.  But so many comments were in the vein of: "You are so brave, I couldn't have exposed myself like that!"  This sent me into a mad panic of re-reading my previous posts.  Was I really that open?  Because in my real life, I am and I'm not open.  I can be very candid when talking about certain subjects, and other topics are hidden deep in my personal vault protected by a Gringotts-esque spell of impenetrability.  So I suppose I'll just have to trust that anything I've said, or will say, on here is something I would be willing to spew out in public anyway.

A really cool thing about suddenly having readers is: the blog stats report lets you see where they are in the world!  I have had visitors from Canada, the States, Germany, Italy, Russia, the UK and Hong Kong!  Although I'm pretty sure the Hong Kong ones were my bosses who are visiting there right now, and at least one of the UK readers is my uncle.  But still!

So a very sincere thank you to all of you who have had a read of my little essays.  I am enjoying the process, learning a lot, stretching a new muscle, and trying to SAY WHAT I MEAN.