It's a WILD 10 Year Blogiversary Celebration!

Hello, and welcome to a WILD 10 Year Blogiversary Celebration! Ten years ago -- November 9, 2005 -- I wrote my very first blog post. At the time my blog was called Daytips for Writers, and since I had young children at the time, I thought, well, hey, it's not much, but a tip a day -- I can do that.

And so I did!

1301 posts later.... my blog has continued to evolve as my life has changed and as I've grown as a writer -- may it always be so! The current incarnation "Live Your Poem" still feels like a good fit for me, so I will keep going with that as I enter my next 10 years as a blogger. Who knows where this old blog will take me next?

Blogging really is a wonderful practice, and over the years I have found it to be a grounding force in my life. It keeps me connected to the rest of the world when my writing life is most often intensely solitary. It also keeps me writing, even when I'm feeling disenchanted or bored or overwhelmed in my "other" writing life. It's just good medicine.

 But the best part -- THE BEST PART -- is all the wonderful people I've gotten to know! What passion! What inspiration! What JOY. Which is why I've invited all my blogging friends to be my special, honored party guests and contribute a blog post on the theme of WILD (my 2015 One Little Word). What better way to celebrate this milestone than with the community that makes it such a meaningful, rewarding experience?! Hugs and kisses and storms of confetti to all of you! Thank you for making the blogosphere a beautiful space.

As for my offering, I want to share a couple of quotes from THIS SIDE OF WILD by Gary Paulsen. Paulsen is perpetually on my Ideal Dinner Party list, and I adore everything he writes about dogs and survival and the wilderness. This new memoir includes some funny bits and some touching bits, and everyone should read it. Enjoy!

BUT FIRST:



14 Things I've Learned in 10 Years of Blogging

14. Pictures really are worth a thousand words.

13. Short really is sweet.

12. You can take a break from blogging, and the world won't stop turning.

11. In fact, you can take a break from blogging, and you will be welcomed instantly back into the fold.

10. I am not alone.

9. In fact, there are lots of people who love the things I love, all over the world. Blogging helps me find those people.

8. A blog post doesn't have to be perfect. A poem doesn't have to be perfect.

7. In fact, readers appreciate being allowed a glimpse of your imperfections.

6. You can waste a lot of time looking at the numbers (Google analytics, anyone?), when the numbers aren't what's important.

5. What's important is what you are going to post TODAY.

4. What's important is the one person who will read your post and find exactly what they needed to read TODAY.

3. What's important is reading other people's blogs.

2. What's important is leaving that comment that just might make someone's day.

1. What's important is sharing a little bit of who you are with the world.

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...and now, I give you Gary Paulsen!

"I have written much about the woods, being in the woods, being in nature, as it was for me a very real kind of sanctuary - a safe place. A truly safe place. A beautiful place. And yet...

And yet.

I have been attacked by moose, charged by bear, run down by feral dog packs, struck by rattlesnakes, bump-attacked by sharks... even put on top of my car by an angry weasel not much bigger than my thumb. (I thought, later, that he might have rabies, but at the time I merely jumped in fear.)

It's just that those things don't seem to have the weight, the measureless beauty of countless sunsets and dawns, the simple grace and clear glory of nature. And besides, often it is the bad things that turn out to be the best. I fell off a dogsled down a frozen waterfall and landed on sharp ice on a kneecap. It was so agonizing, I thought, seriously that my heart would stop. But I found that my whole dog team loved and worried about me so much, they curved downstream and worked back to me to surround me as I lay clutching my lacerated knee, whimpering and pushing their warm bodies against me. I remember the love, the dog love, much more than the shattered knee...."

Isn't that beautiful? And true! For more, here's an interview with Gary.

And now for the best part of this party: YOU! Please leave your WILD links below. Thank you!!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Wow. This may be my longest post ever! THANK YOU FOR READING!!! xo