Anything handwritten seems to be a lost art these days. We don’t write, we text. Handwriting, spelling, and grammar have evolved, or deteriorated depending on your perspective, to be unrecognizable without a generational translation. Opening the silver box at the end of your driveway, or turning the key in the box in your apartment entry reveals bills, birthday cards, perhaps a wedding invitation, a magazine or two and unsolicited advertising.

The worldwide web brings those same bits of correspondence to you digitally through your computer. It’s more convenient, that’s true. But it is also more frustrating because of the difficulty of making a connection with your reader in cyberspace. At the push of a button, you can find out what is happening around the globe. I think the humanity in us hungers to reach out and touch someone, to see their faces and to look in their eyes.  It’s hard to show warmth, compassion, and authenticity on a computer screen.  You can touch a greeting card, show it off to family and friends and save it in a memory book. You can see an individual’s personality in their handwriting. 

The prospect of blogging seems to be very daunting for so many people. Often, the first thing someone tells me is, “I don’t blog because I don’t know what to write.” I want to help you out by suggesting that you think about it as a conversation with a good friend. Just the way I’m conversing with you right now, that’s how I’d like you to approach writing your blog. The world is full of beautiful and exciting things to share.

A blog is a way to use technology to help you communicate. Think about what you talk about, what you do, the places you go, the things you see daily. Make a list of all that. Whether you are a small business owner, an individual working part-time while you write your novel, or a mom worried about the environment her children are growing up in, you have a message and an opinion about the world we are living in. That’s what you write about on your blog.

Your blog is a cyberspace letter to the world. It’s your way of making an authentic connection and asking questions to start the conversation.

Through my blogs, my readers have learned about my struggles in taking on the mantel of “writer,” about my breast cancer, and the challenges of reinventing myself from a wife and mother to an author and speaker. Also, my love for bubble baths, tea, London, learning new ways to tap into my creativity, and permitting myself to make myself a priority in my life.

By the way…All of my blogs first start in my journal. Yes, handwritten on my journal pages. I believe you get a direct download from your heart to your hand when you write in your journal for at least five minutes every day.

I’d love to hear from you. Do you have a handwriting story to share? Please hop over to my Facebook page and let’s continue the conversation.

photo credit:  Caron Modern Media