As new writers on She Writes, we are asked to create a blog entry about our writing experience. 
Here is my 2-cents worth.

I've written on and off for years, mostly when something or some event resonates within me.  At those moments I felt compelled to write-- as if I had no other choice.  It was as if my writing energy was overflowing the container of my life, spilling all over the page.  Much more often, writing has been something I have repressed with whispers of soon, or not yet, or even it's not your time.  These whispers were dodges really. . .   maybe some of you can relate.

As one expression of my work has diminished, I felt an urge to write about it. To that end, I am writing a book for truly small churches to help them find their way forward in a world that no longer values them, in a time when it is easy to get lost, to feel disrespected.  This is the writing of my head, and my heart, but it is mostly about what I think, what I know, what I have learned.  It is intended to be an inspiration for the tiny church, offering a companion and some guideposts for the journey.

Since January 1 I have committed myself to sit down every work day, to apply myself to my writing project. While I have missed a few days that I intended to write, I have to this point, always returned to the act of writing. This experience has brought home the truth in an idea that I have resented and resisted over time.  A writer is made by writing; it is the repetitive act of sitting down and participating in the act of writing that makes one a writer and allows sentences to be stacked one upon the other.  Lo and behold!  I am identifying as a writer -- encountering my Writerly Self as author Mary Kay Shanley* refers to it.  I find joy in having written, if not always in the moments of writing themselves.

A part of me wants to drat this! :) I always believed that there could be, should be some secret pathway to writing which, once discovered, avoided  repetitive time with pencil and paper, or lap and keyboard.  I now surrender to the notion that in order to write, one must show up and write.  drat! drat!  drat!

At the same time that I am dratting it all, I am encountering a beauty in the act of sitting down with the purposeful intention to write and following through by putting words on a page.  I find this recurring act calms my inner critic and protector.  Boldness in the face of my doubts feeds my desire to write. I have noticed that even a few days away on vacation can embolden my inner voice of self-doubt and that returning to face and begin my work again softens the volume of that voice to a level I can ignore and sometimes chuckle at.

I have become aware that in this post-modern world, the writing of a book, no matter how aspirational, comes with the need to have a social media presence.  This is one among many reasons that we have gathered here on She Writes.  It is in the writing of my blog that I've connected more deeply with writing from my heart.  For instance I have written about a nest of chickadees in my very small backyard.  This piece gave me deep satisfaction.  When it was complete, I knew that I had written what I wanted to, in the way I had intended!  (That post is also on She Writes, if you are curious.  It is the first thing I posted here. This is the second.)   Such writing in a blogging context allows me more room to play with words. I adore pondering how best to say something, getting it just right for my reader and myself.
You will find my WordPress blog here:  https://juliebishopgibson.com/category/tiny-things/

So that is the who, what, and where I am as a writer.  I would love to be in conversation with more of you, and of course I welcome your comments.  (I also promise to be justly mortified by my errors and typos which I will only be able to notice upon posting this entry. :)  I'll close this way, ask I often do with my blog:

And so I wonder. . .

    *What is your writing process?

    *What helps you along the way?

    *What have been your ah ha moments as a writer?

    *How do you interact with She Writes, creating the community you need?

    *What are your favorite parts of this website and interacting with its writers?

    *What tips or suggestions might you have for this newbie?

* with deep bows of gratitude, Mary Kay!!  <3