My second webiversary came and went and I almost missed it. I’m only a week late but I wanted to write a post about my blogging career. Last year I described what had been going on in my life on and offline with the main focus being on my writing. Here I go again.

To start, I spent the entirety of 2018 writing a minimum of two posts a week for this blog. One flash story and one book recommendation every week with a few random microfiction stories and personal posts thrown in. I am happy to say I persevered with that schedule and did not miss a single week. I got engaged and married last year. We did a little traveling to England (where I got to drink a beer in a pub frequently visited by J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis at Oxford) and Ireland (where much fun was had). I continue to work a full-time job that greatly cuts into my writing times.

Unfortunately, I did not have any stories published last year but then again I didn’t submit many to even be considered, which is why I’ve switched things up this year. I have foregone my weekly posts to focus on writing short stories to submit for publication and I hope to get at least five stories published this year. I really want this blog to turn into a history of my writing career. I want this for several reasons. One: so I can look back on it and see how my writing has progressed and how I achieved my dream of becoming a published and hopefully full-time writer (once I have achieved and maintained it). Two: so others can see my progression as well and hopefully use it as an example or for inspiration to achieve their dreams. To show fledgling writers (like me at this moment) that hard work and perseverance are key to getting published. Things don’t just magically fall into place. Let this blog be a glimpse behind the scenes of a writer’s career.

Since I’m on the topic of beginner writers, I recommend a few things that can help get through the self-doubt and start your own progression. My first suggestion is get a good group of friends that love to read and write and meet with them to discuss your own writing. A good writing group can do wonders. If you don’t have this (like myself), then I suggest finding a good writing community through the wonders of the web. I know for a fact that Twitter has an excellent writing community that is supportive and inspiring. You get to see what everyone else is working on and what they are struggling with (which often is something similar to what you are experiencing). You’ll get to ask questions and see different things going on. It’s like a giant, fun, friendly group of writers who help each other even though we don’t know each other, and you’ll find writers who are just starting out or have published many books. If you are just starting out, you can find me there @YarberWrites. I’d love to be your friend. My second suggestion is to just write. Write as much as you can and about whatever you want. The more you write the more material you will have and the more practice you will get. No one has to read it if you don’t want them to. My third suggestion is start a blog (like this one). You’ll be surprised how much it can help to write for an audience (even if there isn’t one when you start). I’m happy to say my list of writer/blogger friends has grown to more that I thought possible when I first started. Writing blog posts is great experience and helps in many ways when it comes to writing. You get practice and interaction with viewers, and it helps you get past the fear of putting your writing out there. Believe me, I had that same fear. It still comes around here and there, but most readers are great supportive people.

Back to some updates. I am no longer on Patreon for various reasons (mainly I didn’t think it was the right platform for me), but I have gotten back on Goodreads after creating an account and forgetting about it for several years. I have a new goal to read more than I have been and I thought Goodreads would help me with this since you can track your progress and create reading goals. You also get to see what all your friends are reading as well. I’d love to be your friend on this platform as well. Just click here and add me.

Though I may be posting less this year, I plan to post a couple times a month at least. Many will be book recommendations and others simple updates like this or discussions about authors or other topics. I may post a story every once in a while but I’m working on getting my work out there for publication in literary journals. I believe this is my next step in my writing career. I hope you don’t mind.

I hope you are working toward your own dream and are taking steps forward to make it happen. I also hope (since I’m biased here) that you are reading fun things and learning other, new things. I have no doubt you can achieve your dream. It may take time and a lot of effort, but you can do it. I’m much farther along toward my goal than I was two years ago. You got this.

Happy Reading.