Being a writer is hard.

I know everyone says that, but it’s like parenting–you don’t know how hard it’s going to be until you’re in the trenches, slogging through it all.

It turns out writing and Rewriting (and rewriting, and rewriting…) is actually the easy part. Especially if you hold to the rule that you should write something you’d want to read. That’s freeing, empowering. But it doesn’t end there, does it? Not if you want to get your work out there. Now you have to be brave and send it out to PEOPLE! You know, the kind that can take your precious baby and declare that it’s ugly.

Or they could love it, wouldn’t that be a kick in the head?

But the trick is, you don’t know until you put yourself out there and say, “Here’s my work” or “Have at it”. Either way you’re opening yourself up to possibilities, good or bad, and that kind of vulnerability is scary.

So, dear readers, dare I ask it? Is there something to glean from fairy tales? Yes, I was skeptical too, but go with me here…

There’s a story called The Brave Little Tailor who, on the strength of killing seven flies who dared to buzz about his breakfast, decides he can slay giants, catch unicorns, fell wild boars, and become a king. And he does it! Okay, he doesn’t actually do any of it, but he’s clever and lucky.  Just like that, he believes in his own hype and rises to every occasion despite being just a little tailor. He was brave. He was a boss.

That’s what I love and hate about blogging. There’s no rewriting, no second-guessing (okay, maybe a little…) just writing and sending it out into the world. But then there’s the waiting and wondering if you’ve reached anyone.

Until you do, you have to just believe in your own hype. I AM A WRITER!