Scraping the Bottom of My Heart for This One
Writers and creative artists wear their hearts on their sleeves – yes – but sometimes, we go even deeper than that. Shannon Ashley is QUEEN of this, and today, I dug deep too.
Y’all know I am a fan of blogger Shannon Ashley. Love her or hate her, you have to admit, she’s really, I mean really good at being vulnerable in her writing. I truly admire her ability to do this and draw the reader into her world with such a conversational tone that you feel you are a part of that world.
This is not as easy as it looks.
You can’t just spill your guts and expect readers to connect to it.
Shannon has a way of telling the truth in a truly raw way that makes us all feel like real, flawed, individuals — yet, somehow hopeful and full of grit.
It’s a quality in her writing and in her as a person —because she’s actually very friendly and a good person, in spite of the shitty criticism she suffers. It’s something that I’ve wanted to improve in my own work.
I read one of her recent posts “I've Lost My Confidence As a Writer” and it really moved me to get out of this comfortable little box I’ve made for myself and take some risks with my work.
Last night, a story hit me so hard that I had to get out of bed to write it.
And now—it’s out there in the world.
Like my heart beating openly and anyone can see it right there in my chest. It’s a scary thing to open yourself up like this as a creator. It means people might hate on you. It means people might laugh at you.
But it also means people might see you. They might actually identify with your words and feel less alone in this world.
So, now, I share it with you.
And I thank anyone who chooses to read it and share it for me on their own pages. (When my stories are shared, it helps my work to be seen more and read by others—and a story like this has the power to help people out there who are hurting.)
I also shared it (several times) on my Twitter and I hope that scrapes up a few reads and maybe some follows.
Did you know that I’ve been on Medium for 3 years, and I’ve HOVERED at nearly 5K followers for the past YEAR? Now, I only have about 100 more followers to make my big 5K goal!
What should I do to celebrate this goal as a creator? It feels monumental to me. I think I’ll do something special for myself when I get there. I haven’t decided what.
Take care, dear human. I hope you enjoy the story I’ve shared with you today! Let me know your thoughts…and be kind. I’m feeling especially vulnerable today :)
(And pssssst — no, I won’t reveal who the sexy guy is at the end of the story. That part’s still a secret!)
Love to you all,
Christina