Reflections on A to Z

...or how the A to Z Challenge may have changed my career...

Don't worry. I'm  not going to stop teaching music. Not ever. But participating in this challenge has had results I never anticipated. The first piece of advice most established writers give to novice writers is.... go write. I know this. But I've had a lot of trouble making it a priority. Writing is not my primary career goal. And I'm a Mom. And a wife. And.... all the other things that most women my age are. I didn't have time. Or so I told myself. Participating in this challenge forced me to be accountable. I was writing every day. And a lot of cool things happened.

First, I got more and more comfortable with my voice. I've been working on it since I started writing "Hope Springs" in 2007. But after a month of writing every day, it comes much more naturally now. This shouldn't be a surprise, of course. It's what I teach my music students every day. But sometimes teachers are slow to learn our own lessons.

Second, it helped me push through writers' block and perfectionism. Just come up with something that starts with the next letter. Anything. Go. Some entries are better than others. But they all exist.

Third, I expanded my reader base. And I got some crazy feedback. I had friends and strangers responding to my writing- particularly in the areas of mental health, adoption, and infertility. I did interviews! Three of them! Here's the other one! (Full disclosure. That first interview was from February. The other two were in April. But they're all related, and I was able to draw on my blog for the second two. Just don't want anyone to think I'm being sneaky.)

All of the above led to an exciting conclusion. I need to make this thing bigger. And ThoroughlyModernMommy.com was born. (Note: it was just born as an idea. I own the domain name but there's nothing there yet!)  You can read about this special project here. If you feel inclined to donate, that would be awesome! If you want to help but don't have the extra money, (because really. I get it) perhaps you could spread the word for me. And regardless, look for the big launch sometime in early July :)

Thanks for reading. And thanks to a-to-z challenge for kick-starting my writing again.

Oh! One last note! I have had a few people express sadness that the series is over. Which is so sweet. But trust me. I have a list of blogs to be written. I'm gonna keep at this daily thing :)