Happy New Year!

It's a new year!

For many of us, getting a new calendar means setting resolutions - lofty goals that fall by the wayside within a matter of days or weeks.

As what I'm sure will be the first of many assertions here, let me just say that this blog is not the result of a resolution. This project is actually being started as the result of a 1 a.m. writing session during which I came across something I wrote nearly a year ago: 

04/21/2012
Not sure why, but I really just wanted to write today. Maybe it's the Newseum influence. Maybe reading Paleo Project Jenna's blog this morning, describing how she writes every day. Maybe the journal release last night. Who knows... But I wanted to. And now I want to continue. Every day.

After writing that paragraph, I went on to write for a few days. That blue, yellow, and green flowered notebook then turned into a depository for sermon notes, shopping lists, job search leads, and the occasional "burst." Yes, I said burst. You know what I'm talking about, even if you're not a writer:

burst (bɜrst) - n. - (1) the moment of brilliance when an author comes up with the perfect way to say the thought (s)he's been struggling with for a month; (2) the product of significant airport time after a trip with little alone time

Anyway... Even on the rare occasion when said bursts did follow a common theme, they were were disjointed and unedited. Still, they made up a story, albeit one that still needed to be written. That story is in the works; however, that story is not the reason for this blog.

Plain and simple, I'm starting this blog as a way to get myself to practice. I can't just wake up one day and decide to write a book. (I've tried. Recently. It didn't go well.) Just like kids taking music lessons or playing sports, I need to learn more about my craft. I need to receive feedback. (Yes, especially criticisms!) I need to become more confident in my writing and, hopefully, to hone what I hope is a talent. So here I'll practice. There's no telling what you might get: freewrites, poems, narratives, conversations...everything's free game (because it's my blog). Most days it'll be shorter than this, so I don't lose you...but even if I do, I hope you might come back the next day. I'd love your feedback, and even if not, I'll keep practicing.

So here it goes: Sit down. Type.