As usual, I’m slightly late.

But better late than never, right? This year, I’m taking the Blogging 101 course, courtesy of Blogging U. The first task was to write a “who I am and why I’m here” post, and although I’m getting to it slightly late, I’m getting to it nonetheless!

The task: “Use [this assignment] to revisit what you said when you first started blogging, to take stock of what you’ve accomplished and what more you’d like to do, or to lay out some goals for your next six months.”

1. Revisit what you said when you first started blogging

This task made me realise that I never wrote one of those ‘welcome to my blog’ posts when I first started blogging. So today, I’d like to present a long-overdue explanation as to what I’m doing on WordPress.

(Pretend you’re here for the first time. If you’re actually here for the first time… Hi!)

Via Giphy | © DreamWorks

Hello, and welcome to Pen and Paper! My name is Sohini and I want to be an author someday. I find words, especially written, to be my best means of expression. That’s why I’ve made this blog. I hope for it to be a lot of things: a place for creativity, a documentation of my journey towards authorism (that’s totally a word), and a platform to meet others who share my creative interests.

At the moment this blog is a bit of a collage. It’s a reflection of my life right now, of my current ‘creative adventures’, so you’ll find a lot of flash fictions, photography, and general pondering. But instead of naming the blog Flash Fictions, Photography and General Pondering, I’ve called it Pen and Paper because those are my most constant companions. As I embark on my journey to authorhood (another legitimate word), I hope this blog will accordingly zoom its focus on simply pen and paper (and perhaps a laptop, sometimes).

(I forgot to mention, you’ll find some lame jokes around as well. Sorry not sorry.)

2. Take stock of what you’ve accomplished and what more you’d like to do

Back in 2008, my ‘blog’ was basically a display for a few poems and stories. It was about four years later that I made my first official post, two years after which I made an actual proper post, and a year after which I started regularly blogging. So I’ve been on a learning curve.

Me trying to blog. Via Giphy | © Disney

Over time, I’ve branched out from sporadically posting my creative writing to sharing my experiences in writing and reading, posting my photography and participating in writing activities like Friday Fictioneers. I just want to continue this, so that eventually this blog can narrow its focus onto the experience and art of writing.

In the beginning, the thought of commenting on someone’s blog scared the heck out of me. I didn’t know any other bloggers, so I felt like I was in a void. Since then, I’ve discovered so many fantastic blogs and made several friends, and I hope to keep making more!

3. Lay out some goals for your next six months

I’m working on posting more about creative writing, so hopefully that will become more apparent within the next few months. In general, I just want to keep writing and to eventually post more engaging and thought-provoking pieces (hope that doesn’t sound too cheesy). And of course, I want to keep meeting more bloggers out there!

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And that’s it for task number one! Mission: accomplished.

Thanks for reading, and until next time!