Blog Me MAYbe Blogfest

I've never participated in a blogfest before, and it looked like a lot of people enjoyed the A-Z Challenge.  I kind of wish I'd tried it, but I'm enough of a newcomer that I wanted to see how it worked in practice before diving in.  Now that I've seen so many awesome bloggers in action, I think I'll try that one next time around.

Unfortunately, next April is a long ways off, and I wanted to try something now.  I just stumbled on this one, and decided to give it a try.  With a writing prompt for each day of the week, I can't use the excuse of a lack of inspiration.  It seemed easy and fun.  Thank you to Sara McClung for hosting the MAYbe blogfest.  Here's the list of prompts in case anyone is interested.

The schedule: 
Mondays: May I tell you something about writing?This can be anything writing-related. A post on craft. A post on your process. A snippet of your WIP, if you like to share. A book on craft that you want to recommend. Things you struggle with. Things you rock at. ANYTHING at all! 
Tuesdays: May I tell you something about myself?Pretty self-explanatory :) Share something about yourself that your followers might not know. Or maybe they do. It doesn't matter--this is just so people who read your blog can get to know you a little better. 
Wednesdays: May I ask something about you?Ask your followers something about themselves. 
Thursdays: May I tell you something about someone else?Make this post about someone else. A writing friend. A critique partner. A person from history who's fascinating. A character from a book. Anyone you want. :) Have a guest poster. Give an interview. Get creative! Just let the spotlight shine on someone else. 
Fridays: May I share something funny?Fridays = the starts of weekends! BOOYA. Reason to celebrate and laugh on it's own--plus, who doesn't want to see something amusing after a long week?

Since it's Tuesday, the prompt is: May I tell you something about myself?


Easy enough, in theory.  Of course, telling the truth about yourself can be quite dangerous too.  We all have our secrets, after all.  Secrets are a deadly form of currency.  By revealing our innermost secrets, we expose our viscera to the world. With our vulnerabilities out there for all to see, people know how to hurt us.  They learn how to dig in their nails and tear at our weakest points.  Letting people close enough to know our secrets can be terrifying because those who we allow to love us also know how best to destroy us.

And in that little rant, I think I exposed my own little secret.  I like to over think things sometimes.  When I write, I do it to get at the heart of human emotion.  I want to know what makes people tick.  In my WIP, my main character is terrified of letting anyone close to him, because he had a secret that could have gotten him killed. Even now, when he's in a safe environment where that secret doesn't pose the same kind of threat, he struggles to overcome his fear of intimacy.  He feels as if he can trust no one, not even himself.

Secrets, secrets, so many secrets.  We all have them.  I write, in part, because in creating my characters, I know their secrets.  I can see inside their souls, and I can better learn what makes them human.

I know, I know.  I'm nosy, but I don't have to worry about annoying fictional characters with all of my snooping.