Learning New Tricks: A Writer’s Lifelong Journey

Thursday, June 22nd, 2017     by Debra DuPree Williams     Start the Conversation


By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams


I’ve been writing seriously for about four years. In that time, I’ve learned many new things. I’m not as good at some as I hope to be, but I’m still learning. I’ve learned Twitter and Instagram. I’ve learned how to blog and how to make memes and I have learned many other things I never knew.

As I told you in my last blog post, I’m now a grandmother. I have been for thirteen-plus years, so you do the math. Let’s just say, I’m not a spring chicken. But I’m learning new tricks every day.

Some of the techie things the twenty-or-thirty-something-year-old writers do with ease don’t come that readily to some of us of a certain age. But I haven’t let that stop me. I’m learning new things all the time. As fast as technology is changing, we have to change with it or we’ll get lost along the way.

 Social Media Help
In my last blog,  It’s Never Too Late For Your Dreams, I spoke of  hiring a social media coach. Whether you’re new to this writing journey or you’ve been at it a while, and you feel you don’t or can’t grasp some of the new-fangled ideas out there, then, by all means, consider hiring a coach. Now, I believe mine is the best, but there are many people who can teach you what you need to know in today’s writing world. Whether you are eighteen or eighty, there’s always something new on the horizon, a new task we must master.

Today, I’m trying to learn Click To Tweet. I’ll be honest, it’s difficult. There are many steps to be learned along the way. Open these windows, go here, do this, highlight this, go there, click this. It’s almost enough to make me want to throw my hands into the air and give up. But I’ve never been a quitter. And neither should you be. I’m determined to add this latest tool to my arsenal of tricks because I believe that I’ve been called to this writing journey by the One Who guides my steps, and has laid the path before me.
                                                           
                                         Winding Road
Anyone who thinks the path to becoming a published author is easy has never taken the first step. It isn’t easy. It’s a long and twisting path with many side roads. There are some scary drop-off cliffs, numerous curves in the road, unlimited distractions, and always the naysayers. But we hold on for the ride of our lives, knowing that He who brought us to this will get us through the obstacles that stand in our way. We need only put our faith and trust in Him and  keep going, putting one foot in front of the other. That is how a journey is taken, how it leads to that destination for which we’ve hoped and dreamed, and prayed.

 Trust The Guide
If you’re a new writer, or if you’ve been at this for a while and some of the tasks you must master seem to be mastering you, let me urge you to find someone to help. Hire a social media coach. Find a high school or college student who needs some extra cash. Mostly, don’t be afraid to try. Take that path knowing that you have the best guide ever walking before you, leading you onward to that destination. If you never try, you will never succeed.

What technologies have hindered your progress on this writing journey? Have you tackled Click to Tweet yet? It’s a doozy, but it’s something you can learn. Share your greatest techie challenges and how you overcame them.

 TWEETABLE
If you never try, you will never succeed – @DDuPreeWilliams (click to tweet)  

Learning New Tricks: A Writer’s Lifelong Journey @DDuPreeWilliams (Cllick To Tweet)


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