Peer Pressure

How many times have I said "Don't be swayed by peer pressure." As a parent of a teenage son, as a former elementary school teacher and in my current job advising college students, I use many variations of the old favorite, "If everyone else was jumping off a bridge, would you?" And yet, when my writing critique group said (repeatedly), "You need a blog. Everyone's doing it. Everyone's expecting you to do it. You can't wait until you feel ready, until you really need it...you need a blog now!" what did I do? I came home and started a blog. Another stunning example of Do as I say, not as I do!

Of course, it's not really the same. This is a professional activity, not an irresponsible action that I'll later regret. Right? This has a purpose, it's not a waste of my time. Right? This is yet another outlet for all that creativity that might ultimately lead to something like all those queries sent to agents and publishers, and contests entered, and time spent on internet research...

Anyway...it's a journey. Moving from writing rhyming birthday invitations for my son to actually crafting picture book texts has been a circuitous journey. Starting a critique group and growing as a writer has been a joyful journey. Heading down the road to publication is a long, long journey. Taking that journey with supportive friends makes it bearable. That point was reinforced at our meeting tonight by our resident sage, Karyn. There's a lot that can make the journey hard, even painful, but if you share it with other like-minded, fun, creative people it's like a road trip - and I love nothing more than a good road trip.