1000 Articles on HubPages

Don’t you hate it when someone starts an article with the subheading INTRODUCTION? Like duh! I knew it was the introduction, dummy, because it is introducing the article. Back when I was teaching, a student automatically lost five points when they did that. I was not an easy grader.

So ignore the introduction. I just put that subheading in there to prove a point about a pet peeve. Now we’re at the meat and potatoes.

I’m not big on milestones. I’m not big on awards. Unlike many American men, I don’thave my old sports trophies on my mantel. I don’t even have a mantel. I didn’t keep my letterman’s sweater or letter. I don’t have any of my old certificates of achievement. They are all memories and there they will stay, locked in the deep recesses of my mind.

So why am I writing an article about this particular milestone? Simply because, for me, it is the culmination of a goal I set over three years ago. I challenged myself to not only write one-thousand articles on this site, but to write one-thousand quality articles.

I failed right out of the chute. My first article sucked. There is no other way to say it. Thankfully, I’ve improved since that day. So this is number ONE THOUSAND, and nine-hundred and ninety-nine of them are articles I feel good about. J

So Happy Goal Achievement to me!

Well, the pay stinks!

The platform is adequate.

And my fellow writers in this community are fantastic!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it a few more times, I’m sure: If it were not for the support of my fellow writers on HP I would have left after the first week, so thank you to all of you who have been such good friends. You gave me what I needed until the day arrived when I could stand on my own, confident in my writing abilities. That is a gift that keeps on giving daily and I am most appreciative.

I can say this without feeling egotistical: I’m a good writer.

I want to be a great writer, so I still have work to do.

I read some of the classics and I’m in awe. People like Steinbeck wrote brilliant sentence after brilliant sentence, and they did it for three-hundred pages. My goal on any given day is to write one brilliant sentence. There are days I’ll even write one brilliant paragraph and that’s like arriving at the gates of heaven for this boy.

But the great writers do it continuously, so I still have work to do.

I have learned that I love writing. I’ve learned that I really do have a creative muse, and nobody is as surprised by that fact as I am. I was not creative growing up. I was not creative as a young adult. It’s only been in the last five years or so that my creativity blossomed. I don’t know what took it so damned long, but I’m glad it finally surfaced.

I was going to write that I learned I have a good work ethic but in truth, I’ve always known that.

Same with being organized and driven. Always been there, always will be.

I’ve learned that I can do this. I didn’t believe that before joining HP. I just considered writing to be a hobby at best, something I could play with, but also something I would never be good at.

Writing well is a bitch!

Clear enough for you?

Writing well takes dedication. It takes talent. It takes a willingness to work at a craft for years to reach a certain level of achievement. It is an art form and as such, not everyone can do it. There seems to be millions out there who think they can….write well…but in truth, the number of great writers is still small, just as it always has been.

I have learned that great writing transcends time and place. Great writing has the ability to bring people together. It can cross geo-political lines. It can find commonalities in all cultures. It can do what no government can do….it can reach the hearts and souls of readers everywhere. Great writing can bring the strongest man to his knees. I can tap into long-forgotten memories and bring about tears and laughter. It can bridge generations.

Great writing is the voice of the people. It is of the people, by the people and for the people. It is our story as a species. It is our mark upon time. It is our contribution to the ongoing time capsule that is humanity.

And all of that comes with a responsibility. All of that comes with the demand of excellence, because our words will live on forever, and as such are every bit as important as the scribblings of Hemingway or the discards of Blake.

We are the voice.

My travelling consists of two trips to Mexico and three trips to Canada. I’ve seen thirty-eight states and lived in four of them. That’s it! No Europe, no Asia, no South America, no Australia, and probably never will I visit those places. I have never met people from a majority of the nations on this planet. I’ve never sat down and discussed life with someone from Bolivia. I’ve never had tea with someone from the Ukraine. I’ve never worked a farm in Ireland or seen the waves break over Normandy. I’ve never watched a sunrise in Tokyo or watched a sunset in Greenland.

And yet I can say without hesitation that I know thousands of people from dozens of countries, and we are all the same.

Isn’t that a remarkable statement?

We are all the same.

We all washed ashore from the same genetic pool. We all laugh. We all cry. We all have triumphs and heartbreaking defeats. We all love and we all mourn the loss of that love, and because we are all basically the same, I can form a bond with all of you, and that enriches my living experience and hopefully you feel the same.

And we form a bond!

Most of you reading this are writers. You are members of the brotherhood of writers.

All of you are human beings. You are members of a brotherhood of human beings.

And writing has made it possible for me to see the importance of that.

I did not consider myself to be a writer five years ago.

One-thousand articles and three novels later….Today I do.

And I have you to thank for that. Seriously.

We all need encouragement. We all need to know that our words are being read and appreciated. We all need companionship. You do. I do. We all do.

So thank you!

Thank you very much!

Thank you for allowing this writer to spread his wings and fly. Thank you for giving this writer support until he believed in his abilities.

Thank you!

Now it’s on to the next set of goals. I’m looking forward to the challenge.

2015 William D. Holland (aka billybuc)

“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”