avatarK. Barrett

Summary

K. Barrett recounts the journey of embracing a writing career amidst the pandemic, overcoming initial setbacks, and finding motivation through Medium and community support.

Abstract

K. Barrett, inspired by the extra time during the pandemic, decided to pursue a writing career, starting with travel blogging. Despite facing challenges with blogging and self-publishing a children's book, Barrett persevered. A pivotal moment came when they stumbled upon a Medium post about overcoming the fear of sharing work, leading to participation in a webinar and class, and ultimately publishing on Medium. Barrett encourages aspiring writers to keep pushing, join communities, and learn from others, sharing their own ongoing journey and progress in writing.

Opinions

  • Barrett initially believed that quarantine would be an opportune time to start writing and blogging about travel experiences.
  • The process of learning to blog and self-publish was more challenging than anticipated, which was demotivating.
  • Despite publishing a children's book, Barrett was hesitant to share their work, questioning their identity as a writer.
  • A Medium post and subsequent webinar and class were instrumental in changing Barrett's perspective and reigniting their passion for writing.
  • Barrett emphasizes the importance of persistence, community support, and continuous learning in overcoming writing challenges.
  • They acknowledge that they are still at the beginning of their writing journey and intend to share their insights and growth with their audience.

Allow Yourself to be a Writer and See What Happens

Credit — K. Barrett (Medium) Vantage Points For Awe (Blog)

When I was just settling into pandemic quarantine I thought it would be a great time to follow the little voice in my head…be a writer and see what happens.

Learn How to Blog

I had been traveling about once a month for the year and a half leading up to quarantine. I had all the photos, adventure notes, and advice I would need to get started. I also had all the time I needed to learn how to blog! And then in a month or so, when I was out and about again, I would be rolling in the content. I could help others find awe in their adventures.

“It would be great!” I thought.

Well…as you may know…traveling wasn’t an easy option in a month, or in two months, or three. (and so on, and so on…going on a year.) Learning how to blog wasn’t turning out as easy as I expected either. So, running out of content and struggling to learn pretty much killed my motivation.

Writing Career — Error-Error-Error

This couldn’t be the end of my writing career! It just started. I decided to publish a children’s book on amazon. That was supposed to be easy: click, write, submit. But for me it was many rounds of click, write, submit, error, error, error. I was still stuck in the house. I pushed through and I published the children’s book. I ordered it, and it actually turned out pretty good.

Content just floating on the web

I actually had some work out there. I was a writer. But, I was very content with it just floating out on the web. I barely told anyone that it existed. I wasn’t really ready to share my work. Can you really be a writer if you won’t share your work? “Is this how it ends?” I wondered.

Finding Medium

I still just didn’t feel like I should give up my writing career after it just barely got started. This is when I found a post on Medium that talked about working through the fear of sharing and publishing your work. This set in motion a new trajectory for my writing career.

As a sign from the universe, the author of that post was hosting a webinar that started in 14 minutes. I tried to think of every excuse that I could about why I couldn’t join in such short notice…I was so busy doing…nothing. (Isn’t that what everyone does when they get a sign from the universe — try to dodge it!?) I decided I just needed to do it! I joined. I also joined his self-paced class following the webinar. A few days later, here I am publishing my own writing on Medium. I have also started writing the next book in my series and posting to my blog. I wish I could say I also started traveling but…not just yet for me!

Push Forward

If, or when, you feel like writing isn’t working for you — Just keep at it, drop your excuses, join a group, take a class, watch a webinar, or read more to inspire your own ideas and push forward. I wish that I could tell you that I have some special secrets for success, but I am just starting out on my journey. Stay tuned…I will keep you posted as I work through my struggles to get started!

You can check out my blog here. It will get better…I am pushing forward! Part 2 and 3 Posted:

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Writing Life
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