Friday, May 3, 2013

Five Minutes of Brave

Earlier today I said I wasn't going to participate in the 5-Minute Friday prompt today. The word is brave and I'm tired and a chicken.  As I wrote my usual random mix of nonsense though, the word hung around, so here goes...rememeber this is 5-minutes only, unedited...

It feels a little funny to write about being brave when there are people fighting wars and battling cancer and slogging through all sorts of awful stuff in this world. They are brave in the truest sense of the word.

I was thinking today about writing, and how it requires a certain amount of bravery too. Maybe not the kind of bravery it takes to go into the mission field or the battlefield or the surgical suite, but bravery nonetheless. I think my best writing is when I reach inside and pull out something real. It's putting myself out there and being vulnerable.

Blogging is easy for me. I'm a naturally talkative person and enjoy blabbing about nothing in particular with anyone who wants to listen. I get a lot of positive feedback on my blog and that sometimes makes me think I'm a writer.

Then I read what other people are writing. How they're able to capture the essence of something intangible with a few beautiful words that literally sing themselves off the page, and in those moments I don't feel brave. Instead I travel down the road of, "you're okay at blogging, but when it comes to real writing you're in the deep end without a paddle."

I know people will leave me comments and tell me I really am a writer, and I appreciate that, but it's not my aim. I'm talking to myself here. Giving myself a little pep talk. Reminding myself why I write. Telling myself to keep writing til I get it right.

Telling myself to be brave.



18 comments:

  1. Ok, no pep talk. But I get this, truly I do. I tell myself the same things!

    Heidi
    http://wp.me/p9Zo9-EC

    ReplyDelete
  2. You're brave for the feelings you have shared. It takes a lot of guts to say how you feel. Take care. Glad to have found you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for stopping by my place. Your words here literally "sang off the page" a similar feeling that creeps into my joy of blogging (writing) too sometimes. But we are brave because we keep on writing. Not as brave as the really brave, but brave nonetheless.
    Hugs,
    Kelly

    ReplyDelete
  4. Right there with you! Keep on keepin' on!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. waiting until you get it right prohibits the experts from sharing their publishing practical advice and ideas...I really think you'd be very good at it

    ReplyDelete
  6. Well, if you are in deep water without a paddle, then I must be in the ocean without one. :o) You know I always enjoy your posts. Don't know how you do two entries in the same day. Amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh, I so get this! Right there with you.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ah, the constant evaluation of the blogger heart and purpose. I had the hardest time with this prompt today...not sure what's up with that? Those of us who can talk about anything...it's just so frustrating to get stuck. Happy Friday, sweet bloggy friend!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I think we can all relate, Joyce! However, I am one of those people...you are definitely a very good and talented writer...no ifs ands or buts! Have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  10. The trap of sinful comparison causes every fear to rise up in us, doesn't it? Write on, friend.

    ReplyDelete
  11. You are brave and an excellent writer...you really are and your post are so relatable and thats what keeps me coming back again and again.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I totally get it. But keep on keeping on. You've got a lot of readers, so you must be doing it right. I know I like it.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Write for yourself, because it makes you happy and its what you really want to do. Comparing yourself will only make you too selfconscious, for no real reason at all. As long as you're happy blogging or writing anything in the world, then that is what truly matters.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Putting yourself out there in the blogosphere takes bravery!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Well I am not sure how I missed this yesterday, BUT! I could have written this myself, haha. I do get it. Most of the time I just sit down to do a blog and just "talk"...What amazes me is that anyone would listen! You on the other hand ARE a gifted, talented writer. I can say this as in the short amount of time I have been reading your blog it has become one of my very favorite spots, it has made me smile, laugh, cry and want more. Doesn't get much better than that! Enjoy your week-end!

    ReplyDelete
  16. You know how you wrote about thinking you're a good writer until you read what others are writing? Well, that's exactly how I feel when I read your posts! I totally agree about putting yourself out there and being vulnerable. But honestly, you just do it so well. I am often encouraged when I read something you've put 'out there' and I love having the connection with you of having daughters. I just think you're wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I have a friend battling cancer who had a small scare and called her Dr. this week. When she got him on the line she said told him she needed a pep talk. He said, "Ok" and then told her not to worry about the abnormal test result because the radiation makes the test come out that way so not to worry. Then he said, "pep, pep, pep...there's you're pep talk."

    Sometimes it's good to be brave; sometimes you just need to call a friend and get a pep talk. :)

    You know, it doesn't matter if you write like someone else. It matters only that you connect with others through the medium. That should be what feeds your soul.

    I get the desire for improvement and I love your vulnerability in this post, but most of all, I just enjoy you. :)

    Blessings!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I agree! It does take some courage to write. I say that as someone who writes mostly anonymously because I don't think I could be as honest if I was more public about who I was.

    ReplyDelete