I'm a little behind! I am going to be real and tell you the real reason!
I needed to see what everyone else was doing first!!
Some things come easy to me, but not writing, and to be honest I am not terribly creative. I am just an average, ordinary, not really unique in anything, every day girl. Now.
I grew up in the school of hard knocks, and have really only become the woman I am now through alot of prayer, hard work, fighting through it, and allowing myself to be mentored by others, usually by quietly observing. One day I hope to be able to share my whole story, uninhibited, but right now I am still learning to become a "productive member of society." Writing helps me with that.
I have come to a point in my life where I want to know who Stephanie is, not just as a mom and wife, but as a woman of God. I havent always been so great at the latter of these either, at the most, I'm just mediocre. But I'm a work in progress!! In my opinion anyway.
So, I think I have gotten part of this backwards, but I will just use this as one of my "posts." I am excited to see what this course brings out of me. Thanks Amy, for your time and talent.
1. Who is your audience and what is your purpose?
Ask This:Who reads your blog? Who do you want to read your blog? What past posts have gotten the most traffic? What kind of posts on other blogs do you enjoy reading?
I do not know that I really have an 'audience.' My closest friends and family read my blog. I am still rather new to blogging and I took a year off before really getting back into it. Some women have private diaries, I have a blog.
My posts that share my personal testimony are the ones that get the most traffic. I suppose that is my purpose. I really have a heart for women who are hurting, who dont know Jesus, who have low self esteem and need someone to believe in them.
I enjoy reading light hearted posts as well as those on room makeovers, and organizing, I'm really getting "in" to the ones on photography! Matter of fact I just bought myself a new camera so I could pursue that interest.
Know This:
Everything written has an audience (even your diary!). You don't need to change who you are and write things just for your audience, but it does help to know who is reading. If you are writing mainly to young ladies, then your tone will be different than if you are writing to seasoned mothers. You will use different analogies and assume they have a different knowledge base.It's best to concentrate on the audience you already have. They are there for a reason and ignoring them while you seek after new readers just isn't nice.
2. What do you know? Ask This:What does my day consist of? How is my life unique? What things do I know that could help others? Have I seen another blog post about something I do, but in a different way?
My day consists of work, hubby and children, and finding ways to share God's love, mercy, and salvation. The blogs I follow are very good and uplifting, and encouraging, and informative, but I have yet to come across something that screams "THATS ME, THATS MY LIFE!!!" I guess that makes me unique!
Do This:Brainstorm your life and come up with a list of 5 topics that are part of your life (hopefully, some of them coincide with the list you made in #1).
1.Taekwon do....martial arts. I have a real passion for this. Some day I would love to teach a womens self defense class.
2.Writing...sharing my story to encourage other women and find healing for myself through it.
3Music/Worship....my very first passion and oh how I would love to combine it with my own writing
4.Giving testimony...I am not a great up front speaker, but with practice I think I could do it!
5. My husband....God did not give me this life to walk alone, I will do it beside my man, who also has a testimony to share.
4. What do you want your readers to feel and know after reading what you've written?
I want my readers to know truth and feel that I am genuine and authentic. I want them to see my heart and my peace and desire a piece of that for themselves. In some cases I want them to see my struggles and mistakes and hopefully learn from them and not have to walk through some of the muck and mire I have.
Ask This:Do I want my reader to DO something with this information or do I want them to FEEL something? Am I able to take this topic and clearly convey a message?
Both.
Know This:Not every topic is easy to work with, but just about any topic can be transformed into a good post depending on the viewpoint you choose. The spots on my carpet and the fact that I have no idea how to get them cleaned up is only going to hold my reader's interest for a short time. However, if I can take that topic and parallel it with something much deeper (like how we are unable to remove the spots in our lives on our own and thus need the saving power of Jesus), THEN I have an awesome blog post in the making. More on this in #5
I think I am done for now. Well not done, but ready to move on to part 2!! I have decided that this writing course is WORK!!!
3 comments:
Creative writing is very much about searching out who you are and how that person is projected onto paper (or keyboard). As a Christian that search has added meaning to it. There are things to be weeded out and things to be cultivated.
You're doing great! I'm so glad you are joining in!
Blessings sis,
Amy
Good job Steph. Your last sentence about being "done for now" made me laugh. When I was growing up and I would tell my mom I was done with something she would say "A cake is done, you are not done, you are finished." That the word done is not a word used for the completion of an action people do. It is a reference to the like of cooking, baking and uses as an adjective. IE: I prefer my steak well done. After she would tell me that I would tell her that "I was caked." That is why I laughed.
"grew up in the school of hard knocks, and have really only become the woman I am now through alot of prayer, hard work, fighting through it, and allowing myself to be mentored by others, usually by quietly observing. One day I hope to be able to share my whole story,"
Now that paragraph fits many many people!! I for one would love to hear your whole story, for with the great age difference between us - I relate and hear you. If our storys help just one person, will make the pain and suffering worth it all.
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