The joy of google

Yesterday, somebody found this blog by searching “would you dance for me baby? only at the end of a rope”.

I find this a little disturbing, but I hope they found what they were looking for.

Uh oh, now I’m accountable

Everybody left wonderful comments on my wish for an accountability group.  Jamie paid some beautiful compliments about my writing, and then she caught me:

An accountability group would be marvelous. *And* I also bet you have something right now that you could send. Make us your interim accountability group and take a first step. You can do it.

Uh oh!  Now I’m stuck!  You lovely readers have become my accountability group.  I talked the talk, so now I have to walk…

It didn’t stop there.  Carla offered tips, and Mother Henna and Hybrid J gave good advice.  Lisa told me about a friend ‘collecting’ 100 rejection slips, and I think that idea is going to stay with me.  Jamie kindly came back with a link to an awesome podcast about getting personal essays published.  And to top it all off, Pamela offered to be a beta reader.

I am amazed and excited by all this practical support.  You guys rock!  But I’m also kind of scared.  Because now I have no excuse not to start sending out submissions.

Thanking you kindly,

and wondering what I’ve started,

k

Internet ephemera

Thank you to the person who found my blog by googling “a photo of a guy sitting beside a man with no pants”.  You’ve added some giggles to my evening.  I hope you found my post interesting, if not helpful.

Blogging courageous

I won a book!  From Laura-Jane at Whimfield!  And here’s the best bit, she said I was gutsy.

I don’t think of myself as a gutsy person.  I would tell you that I’m scared of everything,  so every day I do things that scare me.  In the meantime, I want to share a lot of bravery that the internet has thrown my way.

Lets start with Glenda Watson Hyatt, of the Do it yourself blog.  Glenda’s lives a life that really takes courage – she goes out into the world everyday, a world that isn’t always ready to take her in.  And her blog lets her participate on her own terms.

Bravery doesn’t always have to be big.  As piglet once said, “I wasn’t brave, it’s just what happened when I panicked.”  Erin at Woman in the Window has just written about her son learning to be scared and brave at the same time.  I wanted to do a happy dance when I read this.

Sometimes it requires courage just to choose your life.  Bigg’s been blogging for a while, and the last thing life threw at him was cancer.  He doesn’t think he’s brave – but with every post, I am blown away by the audacity of the life he’s living.  (If you’re going to click through, be aware – there’s explicit well, explicit everything really)

I haven’t made this list because I want to compare tragedies and adversity.  I don’t want to trivialise or lionise anyone.  The internet brought me these stories this week – it’s a theme I seemingly can’t avoid.  I want to show that bravery comes in many forms, at many times, and humanity seems to create situations that require it.  My final link speaks of courage in the face of man’s inhumanity to man.  Please go read Vestine’s story.  Please be brave enough to finish reading.  It tells of a story and a courage beyond my comprehension.  But I think it also shows the power of blogging.  Blogging gives us the chance to witness, to connect, and maybe to help.