This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.
You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.
Why do this?
- Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
- Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.
The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.
To help you get started, here are a few questions:
- Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
- What topics do you think you’ll write about?
- Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
- If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?
You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.
Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.
When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.
Published by Mitchell Mccorkle
My name is Mitchell McCorkle
I am a 22-year-old recent graduate from The Citadel Military College of South Carolina and a part time artist. I was born in a small town outside of Indianapolis IN then shortly after moved to Charleston SC. It was when I was young that I found my love for Art. I remember in elementary school always finding myself in the art section of the library with the books titled “learn to draw”. Instead of grabbing a book to enhance my reading aptitude I always came back to the classroom with a book on Art. My teachers were always frustrated with me but I didn’t think I was doing anything wrong. In middle school I applied to attend The School of the Arts better known as SOA where I started to build by portfolio. The application required that I have 3 main pieces: a self-portrait, a drawing of a shoe, and a painting. The best piece out of my portfolio was the painting but looking back on it now I see there was a lack of skill to my work. I did not get in to SOA but this did not deter me from continuing to create art, instead it motivated me to do better. I got into another art school for middle school which was not as premier league as SOA but was still an art school. I learned a lot about art and the different mediums and had an amazing art teacher.
Many of the pieces that I completed in middle school were lost, but that doesn’t bother me all too much. It wasn’t until I got to high school that I really felt that art was my true talent. All 4 years I selected Art class as my elective, I helped with making props and painting backdrops for the school plays, along with completing the assignments that my art teacher had given us for the course. After my freshman year my art teacher had taken a liking to me and focused on helping me hone in on my talents. During my Sophomore year she helped my sell my first piece, it was a painting of a cherry pie and I sold it for $50. I was very proud of this sell but everyone told me that I sold it very cheap and basically gave it away because it was one of my best pieces at the time. This same piece that I sold also went to the Charleston Arts festival where it won 1st place in the contest for my age group. By the end of my junior year My Art teacher asked me if I wanted to take the AP Art course. I was questioning it for awhile but eventually I agreed and I am very thankful that I did. It was during my senior year that I truly felt that I earned the title as a good artist. Still I don’t feel that I am great but I know that I am constantly improving. Over the course of my senior year I built my portfolio creating pieces that focused on “human made mechanics in the world”. I chose this as my focus because of my love for old cars which roots from the time I spent with my father restoring a 1977 Ford Bronco. When my portfolio was complete it was time to send our works to the judges of the AP classes to get graded. I was stressing on what grade I would receive as I did not feel I had enough time to complete all of the projects I had worked on. Even to this day I still see errors in my work where I wish I had done better. To my surprise I received a grade of a 4 out of 5 on my portfolio which is equivalent to an A-, B+, or B. I was happy with that outcome but I knew if I had more time to work on my art then I could have gotten a 5 out of 5. Since completing high school I hadn’t focused on my art as I was more worried about my degree in college and trying to become an engineer/architect. Every now and then I come up with ideas for a piece and write it down, so that maybe someday I can make that piece come to life. It is my dream to share my art with the world and it has been since I was a young boy. I believe that as a culture we have lost much of our creativity, and people are not dreaming as much as they used to. It is easy to get caught up in this life we live, but it is also important for us to listen to that inner child inside us all that is telling us to live. Continue to dream and believe your dreams to be true and they are set to be made true. I hope to see a world where I am surrounded by dreamers like me where we can build our paradise and be in peace knowing we have done the best that we can. Share your talents with the world, it would be wrong to keep them to yourself because this life was not meant to be shared alone.
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Mitchell McCorkle’s Art 