Reading and writing

I just finished reading Fair Game by Patricia Briggs the other day. Briggs has been one of my favorite authors ever since I discovered her books a few years ago. The only problem with finding an author you really like is having to wait months and years for the next book. YEARS. Well, in her case, she puts out a new title once a year, but she trades off between two series. I buy every single thing she gets published, and I don't wait until the new ones show up at work. I will actually *gasp* pay full price (or close to it). And I'm pretty picky on what I will buy to take up valuable real estate on my book shelf. I only purchase titles I know I'll re-read, going back to the story again and again. Otherwise, a one-time read is what the library is for. I don't need to own every title I've read.

Anyways, reading Briggs' books always gets me to pondering about writing a book myself (not necessarily a fantasy story though). I've just always had the dream to get a book published someday....about something. So specific, I know. But I feel like I can express myself fairly well in writing, and as I've gotten older, actually have (I hope) worthwhile things to say.

As a teen, I penned the requisite angsty poetry. The majority of the poems were crap, though there's a small handful that I'm still proud of. A friend suggested I hang onto even the crappy ones, so they're all saved on an external hard drive just in case I ever feel the urge to look at them again (I doubt it). I had a blog on Blogspot, back in the day when that was still new. Once upon a time, I also had Myspace and Xanga accounts as well. Thankfully, I deleted all of those a long time ago. I'm not interested in my adolescent ramblings hanging out on the web forever. I'm happy with some things about myself just fading away with time.

During college, I had to write innumerable papers and essays and was focusing on making art. Writing was just very formulaic at that point: introductory paragraph, supporting paragraphs, conclusion. I just punched in the information and generally got an A. I didn't think I had anything personal to say in words. I was trying to find myself in art making.

I've grown up a little bit and feel like I actually have thoughts worth sharing these days. However, I find it hard to focus on painting and writing well at the same time. Both require so much brain power and effort, I think it's an either/or thing for me. For example, if I'm working on a blog post, I don't usually end up painting on the same day. Maybe they both are drawing upon the same part of my brain, I don't know.

I primarily view myself as an artist who occasionally delves into writing. But I've been inspired by Patricia Briggs to try my hand at being an author a little bit more. That's kind of why I started this blog. I already had an art blog I maintain semi-regularly, but I also felt the urge to share more personal things that don't just fit into the category of art. I'm not sure where I'm going with it, or if it'll even lead anywhere. But I may as well try.

This year I feel like God has been pressing on my heart to be more open with who I am in a more public way. "Be bold" is my theme for 2012. So, that's why I'm writing on here. I'm not doing this to simply gain readers (though it's always nice to see page views that aren't just from friends and family). It's an exercise in pushing myself out of my comfort zone and not worrying about what others think of me. Not really sure what will come of my blogging, but it's fun and a good way to discipline myself by committing to post about something sort of regularly.