I started like most people: assignment at school and then for fun. I'd scribble on notepads and in notebooks all sorts of fleeting thoughts, feelings, story ideas during meetings, in between chores, while waiting to pick up the children. At one point, I was too overwhelmed with life to get away with this type of writing. It was during this time I started spiralling into a dark abyss.
I found light again only by writing in notebooks and on my phone. It didn't matter what I wrote. All that mattered was that I wrote.
One day, I heard about a most unusual event: The Poetry Marathon, created by Caitlin and Jacob Jans. Like many marathons, it came in half and full formats. The distance was measured in hours: 12 and 24. The win was writing a poem each hour, inspired by prompts. That year, I signed up for the half, which meant writing 12 poems in 12 months.
The marathon was more than just writing a poem each hour. It also was about a group of people coming together, to read other people's poetry, to comment on other people's work, to encourage each other.
I couldn't believe how sad I was in hour 10 and swore I'd do the full marathon next time. Which I did. Several times. The circle of writers I came to know grew over the years.
I can say with certainty that The Poetry Marathon is the first catalyst for me to share my writing with strangers, many of whom have become my friends.
So, baby step 1 is find a group of people who also write, who can encourage you to keep writing, and help share your work.