Putting the metaphorical pen to paper

Some days writing comes easily. Some days you can’t even fathom the first word. As I sit here in front of a job application form, I can’t find the right words and my attention has drifted to the awesome card that my lovely mum bought me last week:

Starting a blog and sharing your writing publicly takes courage. You open yourself up to exposure and criticism; share very personal thoughts and reveal your weaknesses; all on a very public stage.

It’s true that ‘the water does not flow until the tap is turned on’ so here I go, exercising, experimenting and making merry mistakes to learn from.

Blogging has made me braver about sharing other work too and I’m relishing being the learner (as opposed to the teacher) in receiving feedback. I thoroughly believe we are all able to learn if we can open our hearts to hearing criticism constructively and using information practically and purposefully in order to improve our skills.

I have really appreciated all the blog viewings I have received so far, especially those who have taken the time to comment on here or elsewhere to give feedback and advice. Although I’m only at the beginning of my journey, I wanted to share a thanks to some of the great blogs and people that have helped me to make that leap. I hope this list will be helpful to others (including some friends who I know are keen to have a go and might find these fabulous examples as helpful as I have):

• Aliventure’s writing blog and email newsletter is full of advice and friendly encouragement. Despite her popularity and busy life, she even finds time to reply personally to email responses to her newsletter. I discovered her network via google when I read some of her excellent blog posts and articles. You can find her on Facebook or this is her blog page.
• I was inspired to take the leap when reading the brilliant book blog of a friend and ex-colleague who worked her way through maternity leave reading and reviewing books. Her lovely blog is articulate and engaging but costly as I come away wanting to go and buy everything she reviews to read!
• I love reading children’s books as I am always looking for inspiration for theatre ideas and youth workshops. Another great book reviewer that I’ve discovered is Julia who dips into adult and children’s books on her blog and Twitter.
• It’s been great to start uncovering some of the theatre blogging community, particularly regional or specialists in their field. Flossie Waite is an excellent blogger whose Children’s Theatre Review blog is important because it actively promotes children’s theatre in order to spread the word and help the movement grow. This is yet another blog that makes me want to spend to go and see all the glorious productions developing across he UK. Please do take a gander at Flossie’s blog and be sure to read the paragraph at the bottom of each of her blog posts which explains how we can support her cause.
• Another great theatre blogger I enjoy reading is Debbie at Mind the Blog. who is currently on an Edfringe reviewing mission that I am enjoying via twitter (@mind_the_blog) while harbouring Fringe withdrawal symptoms myself!

And so onwards, bloggers, novelists, playwrights, letter writers, note-takers, notebook-fillers and ideas collectors because, whether you are blogging a review of Hamilton, a response to your latest read or writing a letter, script or book, remember that ‘you can always edit a bad page, you can’t edit a blank page.’