How To Start A Blog: Showing Up Is Half The Battle

I bought this domain months ago. It’s not my first blog. I started blogging on AmyWroteIt.com in 2008. That year, on January 15, I committed to blogging everyday for an entire year and I did it.

I published more than 365 consecutive posts from January 2008 through the first part of 2009. I kept that first blog going until 2012 when I finally decided it had run its course.

My first blog served me well. It led me to winning a spot as a columnist for the local paper which eventually became a syndicated weekly column published in a number of small dailies across the country. Eventually, those columns helped me land my current career as a full-time writer, the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do for a living.

What I learned through blogging is that when you want to do something – like write – you simply have to do it and unexpected gifts show up beyond anything you could have imagined.

But, the “doing it” can be such a pain in the ass.

As I mentioned, I bought this domain months ago. I spent weeks changing out themes and playing around with the design. I created pages – a static homepage, an “About Me” page, a writing samples page. I did everything but actually start writing.

What I forgot from my earlier blogging days is that all I have to do is write.

I don’t have to worry about next steps. About what my results will be. Or, who will read what I write. The greatest thing of all is that I don’t even have to consider what I will write here until I open my laptop.

It’s like walking, or meditating, or even breathing. All you have to do is show up. The rest will work itself out far better than you could have imagined if you just start writing.