Where do I jump in?

In Blogging by Emerson Jane BrowneLeave a Comment

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Nothing like starting a blog post when I have an article that is due tomorrow and I have not even started it. But that is also why I am writing right now.  Maybe writing in here will get me started.  Plus, I dearly want to start contributing to this blog again.  I have missed it.

Yes, it all the sudden occured to me that the two are quite similar so the title above just jumped up and named itself.  Now I wish the words would answer the question!

I am living in Florida for the winter, in a very wonderful community called The Village of Holiday Lakes.  I offered to write two articles for the upcoming issue of the community newsletter.  One article on Senior Fraud, and one related to computers.  The problem is threefold.  First, I do not know what people want and need to hear regarding computers.  Secondly, and probably most key, is that I have not written since August.  I have gotten "rusty" however the actual feeling is more like stopped up.  The words won't flow.

The problem with this blog is similar; the flow, the conversation, the feeling were interrupted.  It is hard to get everything going again.  

When I began the blog – over a year ago – there were many false starts.  And I also blogged about blogging quite a bit just to find my footing.  I do not want to have to blog about blogging again!  A lot of those entries were about boundaries and what I felt comfortable writing about.  I am past that stage.

The shift with the blog has to do with, as the title says, "Where do I jump in?" 

When I started this blog I was very much in the throes of dealing with the brain injury.  Now, I am in a whole new chapter.  I received great help from the CORP-TBI team at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.  Now I am in the section of my life where I just live with the remaining vestiges of the TBI.  It is old news.  Yes, I will probably post about things related to the brain injury from time to time, but it is (thankfully) no longer the main focus of my life.  I am not knocking that it was the main focus for the last year – it was very important that it was and it accomplished a lot.  But I have completed that chapter and moved on.

What is interesting about the comparison between these two writing conundrums is that this next chapter is about reinventing myself professionally and I am trying to do it as a computer wizard.  So, here I am feeling stuck about what to write about being a computer wizard on two different levels: what to write for an article in the community newsletter and to also what to write in here about my thoughts, feelings, and experiences with stepping out into this new profession.

It just occurred to me that how I usually write is that I immerse myself in a subject.  I research and read . . . a whole lot.  Finally it is as if I reach a saturation point and then and only then does the writing begin.  I have not given myself that time.  I have not made the time to give myself. 

Time is one of the challenges I face due to the brain injury.  Things do take longer, plus I still have to rest twice a day – its sort of like a reboot.  So, setting aside the time to do all the research and reading, and the time to write is challenging.  But it is important!

Well, I don't know if I have unblocked the writing muse but it sure feels good to be writing here.  I'm back!  And I am going to try to write a lot more.

Emerson Jane Browne
I am Emerson Jane Browne. I write about Brains, Apps, & Productivity, and many other aspects of Life. I speak to TBI support groups, speak and teach workshops at tech, music, and writer conferences. I consult with organizations on strategic planning and building a strong community.