It’s week two of my personal commitment to blog each and every week. As writer’s we hear over and over the importance of exercising the writing muscle, so this blog is one of my ways of ‘getting into writing shape!’ Of course, one could argue that ‘a blog’ is less important and that I should be writing my novel instead of this blog. I would counter that nobody said what ‘type’ of exercise I had to do to strengthen my writing muscle, and I’m pretty certain that this blog will be valuable to me on many levels. So, I’ve decided I will write my novel(s) AND write a weekly blog. The blog keeps me accountable. Well at least in my mind it does. I’m not sure if anyone is reading this. Actually that’s a bit of a lie; I do know that at least three people read my blog last week because they commented, and favourably I might add. Thank You – you are my first ‘Fans’.
As I was mentally preparing for this week’s blog post, various thoughts and ideas were floating around in my head. Not uncommon for me, I rarely can harness one thought at a time. In actuality, the word ‘flying’ better describes the action of everything that goes on in there sometimes…. I was thinking that I should create some kind of format or template like many of the podcasts that I listen to. For example one podcast always starts off with each host telling the audience his “something cool” he has discovered. What they share varies from a new restaurant to a new Netflix series. I like how this format kind of allows for a personal touch – it humanises the podcast, so you feel like they (the hosts) are just like me (the listener). I could try that…just not sure I have that much ‘cool’ going on in my life. As I wrestled with what kind of format, I decided I would allow myself to just ‘wing it’ for the first few blog posts and see where it takes me. This is me, letting go of control and letting the process unfold as it may…
As I said in my first blog I planned to trickle out my thoughts, challenges and learnings, and I think I said something about keeping you (my readers) on the edge of your seats. A bit presumptuous of me I realize upon reflection, but oh so like me as you’ll come to learn – open mouth, insert foot. Oh well, the gauntlet has been thrown by none other than myself so I better get up for the challenge!
I love inspiring quotes and I’ve chosen this quote for today:
“If you can tell stories, create characters, devise incidents, and have sincerity and passion, it doesn’t matter a damn how you write.”
– Somerset Maugham
Have a great week!
Tamara
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Published by Tamara Mercer
Okay, off the top I want to declare I was once a ‘corporate cog in the wheel’; in fact, I was that cog for over 27 years, and miserable for most of the time. In 2006, my entire department was outsourced. Happy to have been kicked to the curb, I turned my attention to what I was going to do next. Not surprising, I entered the world of self-employment that lead to several mediocre, haphazard positions; including a home renovation business, several direct marketing forays into the health and wellness world and finally two failed attempts at selling horse related products. In between, I had to take jobs at the local box stores to make ends meet.
I was tired of following the beat of society’s drum. Feeling defeated and dejected, I stepped back to look at my life and asked myself, “what do I truly want?” I decided I needed the ‘free spirit’ inside of me to flourish. Of course, I also needed to make some money. After all life is not free.
About this same time, a good friend was starting to experience some success as a writer. She and I had always spoken about writing, and she had taken the daring leap to becoming a full-time writer a few years earlier. As the author of a successful series, her success was now inspiring me to consider a dream I’d always had, but kept quiet inside me. With her encouragement, I decided to find more time for writing. The answer had surfaced, “I want to be an writer!”
That was a few years ago. Where am I now? Well, I’m not a best selling author – yet. I spend as much time as I can writing when I’m not busy at home or working. My husband and I own a small ranch that’s also home to horses, dogs and a feisty barn cat. We don’t have children, of the traditional variety, so we give all our love to the four-legged kids. Horses are a big part of my life. They are the calm that keep me centered on this earth. Fortunately, I’ve managed to develop a small business working with horses so, while I eventually want to write full-time, at least I’m much happier at work now versus those unrewarding days as a cog.
As far as developing as a writer, I’ve written a few horse-related articles, and a short essay, about one of my own horses, was published in an anthology. Currently, I have three books in the works. While my writing doesn’t revolve around horses, there’s always one or more horses layered into my stories. I get a lot of writing ideas and tips by listening to podcasts. I think I might actually be a podcast junkie! I am fascinated by the entire writing industry and how it is evolving.
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Tamara Mercer 
Awesome! Looking forward to reading more!
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