What can writers and bloggers get from blogging every day?
The answer is a lot of things, and one of them is noticed.
When I started blogging on a regular basis, including through several annual blogathons, a former colleague from my newspaper days noticed, signed up for the WordCount RSS feed and started tracking what I was doing. When she landed a job as managing editor at SecondAct.com, an online magazine for people over 40, she approached me about becoming one of the site’s regular bloggers.
Then this year’s blogathon rolled around. After the first few weeks I realized that among the 200 or so freelance writers and bloggers participating were people over 40 blogging as part of a self transformation. I mentioned it to my SecondAct editor and she thought it’d make a great blog post.
That post went live today. Here’s what I wrote:
Liz Sheffield turns 40 on May 25 and she’s blogging about it to celebrate.
This month, Sheffield, a full-time corporate employee and part-time writer based in Seattle, is putting into words her dreams and anxieties about her milestone birthday and what she wants to do with the next half of her life.
“Frankly, I had no idea that this would be the perfect way to celebrate beginning the next phase of my life,” she says about her blog, called Motherlogue. “Thanks to guest posts and plenty of reader comments I feel like I have a mini manual, preparing me for the journey.”
You can read the rest of the post here: Blogging Their Way to a Mid-Life Makeover.
Are you blogging as part of your own reinvention? If so, please share your story.
Michelle,
It was a kick being part of your Second Act post.
Thank you.
j
You’re welcome Jan, I think it’s really inspiring to other people of a certain age to read stories like yours because it shows that you’re never to old to plunge into new things. Blogging, social networks, etc., can seem very intimidating when you look at it from the outside – it’s almost like learning to speak a different language. But when you can see peers doing it and thriving at it, it eliminates some of the fear factor.
Michelle
Michelle, what a wonderful ride this month of May has been. I had no idea when I signed up for the WordCount Blogathon what a difference it would make and how much I would learn — about blogging, social media AND turning 40. It’s a real treat to continue the celebration (and the learning!) with your post at SecondAct. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing your milestone birthday with everyone.
Michelle
Thank you, Michelle, for including me in your run up of second acts. I never quite saw myself as a second acter (actor?) but I guess you’re right that I am, so I reflect on that in my blog today.
I didn’t consider re-entering the workforce after a number of years spent home with my kids a second act either. But while I was gone the media business went through a metamorphosis and it behooved me to figure out what was what if I wanted to earn a living again. So yes, it’s possible to be in the throws of a second act before you realize it. Can’t wait to read your post.
Michelle
Thank you to Michelle and the Blogathon2011 team for sharing your stories with SecondAct.com. They’re inspiring and fun — the post is one of the site’s most-read stories today.
Donna: Thanks visiting from SecondAct!
Michelle