One Year!

I'm kind of astonished to realize that it's been one year since I started blogging here. I'm also one short of my hundredth post--who would have thought? Certainly not me. I opened my blog with a dopey post about a childhood toy that my mother was throwing away, and continued on that path of random until I hit my "must write about writing in every post" phase. That took way too much energy and didn't last long, which is how I ended up at my current policy of "whatever's on my mind, hopefully with a nod to books and writing as often as possible."

I started this blog as a way to reach out and meet other writers, and boy have I. This past year has been phenomenal for me in terms of making connections with other creative people and working on making my writing better. I was talking with a "real life" friend last night and telling her about all the writers I know who are querying and getting agents, and she commented, "Wow, it's like you have this whole other world." And it is, and I love it.

Having this blog was also a way for me to really commit to the idea of being a writer. I know that a blog does not a writer make, but it's public, and I have to be okay with the idea of someone I know possibly finding it and thinking, Huh, I guess Rachel likes to write adventure stories. Which is hideously embarrassing to think about, but there it is. Putting myself out there. Meep.

This is what blogging feels like to me

Thank you to everyone who's read my blog, followed my blog, cheered me on during the Great Thumbdrive Oopsy of 2011, and shared their experiences with me in the comments. You inspire me--I know it's corny, but you do--to push myself harder and put myself out there, and I love you, writing community!