Decisions, Decisions

Recently I moved from BC back to Nova Scotia. A 6 day car trip. It was great. Missed all the snow and rain. Dry pavement and clear skies most of the way! I had a great deal of time to think as I drove those very long flat prairie highways or through the never-ending Ontario roads.

One of the decisions I had to make, is what I am doing with this blog and website. Most of the course I was taking about blogging talked about having a purpose, becoming the best you can be in one area, making yourself noted and then doing things to make money on it.

I COULD do this. I know I could. However the question is, IS THIS WHAT I WANT?

I called my blog "Ramble Writings" because I wanted it to be a pleasure to write it and not work. As time went on, it because a way of sharing my mistakes so that others may learn from them. I never intended it to be perfect, a sample for other writing projects or anything like this.

I chose "The Fool" in the tarot cards to symbolically acknowledge I am walking into the unknown with only my wits and my optimism!

One thing I learned a very long time ago, when you take something you love, and make it into a profession, you run the risk of it becoming just another job.

I looked at different sites where I could create articles to contract, or edit and help with term papers and so on. Even go on Fiverr however in all these scenarios, it turned what I did just into another job which I do not want.

 
I also do not want this for blog writing. I know I should have a "professional" website. Lord knows, I get enough offers to help for payment! Thing is, I am not where I want to be yet. I only have so much energy because I have to keep a roof over my head and my car going. 

I have made sacrifice after sacrifice for my work over the years whether it was painting or now creating books. I am getting older and I am only willing to give up so much or go so far for this or anything else. Right now, at least in Canada, things are extremely expensive and finding places to live are now not cheap. Not in the least. Greed under the disguise of inflation has given many opportunists free reign at the expense of the little guy's basic needs.

Having said this, I think there is always going to be some sacrifice when it comes to doing what you love. It may mean giving up certain things or living in a certain way. It is also a gamble. Will it be accepted? Will it allow me to make enough money to survive? Will I be able to do this full time down the road?

These are all realistic questions however I have found, in the end, it all boils down to why I write to begin with as it does for any person who is creative. We do it because it is part of us. It is part of who we are. It goes deeper than a simple persona or something we identify with. I think it comes down to a much deeper value system that goes beyond simply meeting the needs of living or even living comfortably!

When you only have a finite amount of time to do something, and only a finite amount or energy and resources, there comes a point where you have to be realistic and make decisions and set priorities.

I have several children's books and a murder mystery in the works besides the two I have uploaded on Amazon. I simply don't have the time to get intensely into blogging. It is not where I want to put my time. I love the fact the books are like projects. I can see a beginning, middle and end. I don't want to get into a never ending major intense blogging set up.

So, my blog shall remain Ramble Writings. I would like to open it to other wannabe writers are a place where they can SAFELY expose their work to the public.

I will explore this concept in the near future. I am clear on one thing however:
1) It will be a place to share WITHOUT judgment or review. A place where you can share a sample of your writing that is YOUR writing. It may not be perfect and the grammar may not be perfect but it will be a place where you can share your voice!!! A safe place to put your work out there. Nothing more, nothing less.

If you want to write, then write! I may set parameters to keep the content low, however it seems a natural progression from supporting other Indie Publishers/writers to having a safe place to say they were online without having to get into making their own blog.

No money will pass hands however it an be a place where it is archived online so you can say, go check out this here and see my work if you want to hire me or something like that.

Details to come but first, I need to get myself situated and grounded again. Take care of my basic needs so I can move on to the needs of my fellow ramble writers!

Until then, KEEP WRITING!!!!