I’m all a Bit New to This..

Leaping into the great abyss

Sure, I have blogged and written content for websites in the past, but joining this platform and being given the opportunity to occupy a space here has actually been quite daunting.

I read a lot. I have enjoyed the wide variety of writing on here, and other platforms, and am delighted with what I feel I am learning already. I joined in December 2022, mainly as a way to preserve some of the blog writing I posted on a now deceased website, but also to collect some of my writing all in one suitable place.

I love communities! I consider myself something of a ‘builder’ of these and delight in the face-to-face interactions that these communities reward me with. However, I have got to a point in my life where I feel I’m never going to be able to manage a conversation about all the crazy things that run through my mind in my first waking moments, when I am washing dishes or in a tedious work meeting.

The Medium community

So far for me, it has been a great source of advice and tips about writing. I love writing, and I find it easy just to open up my laptop and start pouring out the contents of my head onto the page. I think that at first I worried what I would write about, there are so many intelligent and engaging writers on here that its actually overwhelming for a newbie — in more ways than one.

But now I am in my 50s, I feel more brave. I believe I have a lot of sound knowledge to share from my time on this earth, and feel compelled to share it. I’m not sure sometimes, if this is a way of processing my own thoughts on subjects I have been ruminating over for a while, or a sudden understanding that age does indeed bring wisdom along with the silver hairs.

I’m still learning all the etiquette that exists in a writing community such as this one, so please excuse me when I don’t get it right. I have ‘followed’ nearly all of the writers that have followed me. I don’t feel there is any mutual benefit to me following someone whose topics are way over my head, but do correct me if I am wrong. The day I reached 100 followers was incredibly exciting, I have appreciated each one. The ‘claps’ have also been gratifying, it means at least someone has read my ramblings — maybe.

What I have learned so far

I am formatting this piece differently from others that I have written, to see how it feels, having only really written blog posts online before that were mainly title, text and images. I read one article, from an Editor of one on the publications, that advised an article should have subtitles and clearly defined sections, so here they are.

On formatting in general, I was familiar with some of the tools provided, but read an informative piece this morning that provided me with some clear guidance on specifics. I have not got through them all yet but it’s a good start I think! I thought that someone who may happen across this article might also find it helpful, so here’s the link…

The Best Medium Article Formatting Guide | by Casey Botticello | Blogging Guide | Medium

It’s also now here so I can find it again!

I’m not sure how I feel about the ‘drop caps’ yet, but it’s always fun to try new things don’t you think..? I also discovered early this morning, that I can use the toolbar to insert images from Unsplash! So here’s one that came up when I searched for ‘surprise’ which I chose as it kind of reminds me of one of my wild youngest niece.

I usually use my own photographs in pieces I write, a legacy of several years writing personal blog posts I suppose, but its great to know that there is an image library built in to this platform that I have access to when I need it.

Other Medium writers I would like to mention

Let’s see if this works…

I greatly appreciated the surprise mention from Jim Advice last week, and now I know I can do this I am going to be doing the same, so thanks Jim my fellow travel enthusiast. And a huge thanks to all of the writers who have taken time to engage with me so far.

There are too many to mention, so today I am going to tag the writers that clapped for my first article posted on here, which was actually an introduction to a past blog post that I felt was important to revisit.

Another Year, Another To-do List. As January unfurls slowly, I am… | by Debra Urbacz | Medium

So thank you for the encouragement to continue Alexander, Sumaya, JoNelle, Ruqayah, Anant and BETTER EVERY DAY I really appreciated your support.

Oh and here’s a link to what I listened to in the small hours as I typed, just in case you are interested

Meditation Compilation #4 | 1 Hour Handpan Music | Malte Marten

Have a great day!

DU