Budding – A New Beginning

It’s quite a feeling, setting up anything new, especially when you don’t really know where it will take you. You have hopes of success and fears of failure and you wonder whether you’re wasting your time.

It’s the same for all kinds of people. An artist trying out a new medium, a musician trying a different arrangement, a dog-lover getting a cat!

Embarking on a new venture is scary and exciting. The possibilities are whirling about in your head and the energy is flowing. One minute, you’re raring to go and the next you’re hesitating. An idea comes – and then flies away, and is lost. Forgot to snatch it and make a note (or a sketch). There’s so much to learn. You want to know it all at once, you hold back thinking you don’t know enough.

You don’t know where to begin.

Agonising wastes even more time, so the best thing to do is to Make a Start.

And how do you do that?  You have So many questions:-

Are you using the right materials or tools?
Do you think you can learn to use them?
Will you make a fool of yourself?
and so on…

It’s just the same when you first make a website about yourself or as an author…

Or is it? – it really doesn’t have to be that hard, you don’t have to be ready before you start because you can make it up as you go.

There’s a bit to do before you add anything to a website, and some planning, but once the initial setting up is done – you have a blank canvas, and I know that can be daunting indeed. An artist may have paid a lot for that linen canvas and doesen’t want to wreck it.

But there’s a difference here.

Not only is the cost of starting very low but the system I am using to make this brand new website is Dynamic. Nothing is set in stone, not the look nor the layout, not the content nor how it is arranged.

This means that beyond the the initial decision about the name of the domain and the realisation that you can start with a blog, everything can be changed, so any mistakes or changing of the mind can be dealt with.

You can make a fool of yourself at the start too – who’s going to see it unless you tell people it’s there? Believe me, it’s not about stopping people finding your site while you experiment, it’s more about getting people to find it when you are ready!

It took me quite a while to learn the truth of of that – I loathe feeling embarrassed and feel that way often, but I remind myself that when I make a website myself, I am in control. I can take my time, read and re-read, and even if I want to change something later, I can.

Hooray!

And so this website starts with a blog. I have not ventured much into blogging – don’t particularly like the word, but I have overcome that one.  It’s in the vernacular and people know what it means.

I think of it as a kind of journal, or a sketchbook where you record interesting moments and  discoveries. It can be a place to explore and develop ideas too.

I’m going to be adding to this site, changing it and improving it as I go. I will probably discover different ways of doing things,  new tools, new ideas.

I’ll be exploring ways to get my site ‘out there’ and seen by people who are interested in whatever I find to say, as well as ways of keeping those people interested so that they keep coming back.

By following my progress and the changes that happen I hope it will be useful, even to those who already have a website. If  you don’t have a site already, it would be such fun if this process helps you gain some confidence and take the plunge.

I would love to encourage you and perhaps even inspire you to make a website of your own and if I can, I’ll help you find the easiest route and the best tools to make your site a success.

If you have any thoughts about feelings when starting something new, do please use the comment box below.

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