Hello Outside World.

“Introverts have a rich inner world.” This is certainly the case, though rich is a bit of a misnomer. As an introvert, I have a sample size of one, and from my own observations rich could be replaced with interesting, swirling and sometimes tumultuous. I have all kinds of thoughts. Hot takes, stupid curiosities, insights I dare say. I have no idea what to do with them. Sometimes I share, and people bite and an interesting conversation develops. Sometimes I hear “wow I could have gone my whole life without ever thinking about that what made you think of that.”

Theres a lot that just kind of sits and expires in the back of my mind, and a fear of mine is that I will become some ill adjusted conspiracy theory spewing, I know everything and people are too stupid to realize I’m right types. Probably wont be the case but who knows what kind of trouble an un-supervised brain can get into.

I hate writing. Once in high school, we had to explore a career and write about what its like, and I toyed with choosing writer as a joke. Because I hate writing so much. It takes a lot of time for abstract thought to translate into words, and I think the trouble in writing is mainly that.

However, sharing my thoughts online is kind of a proxy for supervision since anyone can technically see it. Plus it will give me practice in developing these thoughts. Hence my blog.

I’d like to take this time to point out that my thoughts aren’t crazy or dark or terribly self centered. They’re just kinda random. Sometimes I get caught up on the inside, and I want to experience the outside, and I think extracting the thought onto paper will help me develop it and also free up space for other stuff. Anyway we will see.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.