THE OUTSIDER BY JAMES JOLLEY

No one ever told me I was a bad writer. I never gave them the chance.

I used to be afraid to release my work because it never seemed right. I would get judged – why is this Finance guy writing poetry? What weirdo writes short stories? This is what I convinced myself was fact. So I wrote and wrote, but saved the stories in my MacBook in a folder named “2010 taxes”. I knew no one would want to snoop there.

All of that changed 9 days ago. I decided to ignore my own advice and start a blog. The Outsider – a blog about a math nerd turned poet, from writing SQL to writing short stories. I decided I should own the label I was afraid to be stuck with. I took some advice from my favorite TV show in the process:

“Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor, and it can never be used to hurt you.” – Tyrion Lannister

I know my badge, and I have started to wear it with pride.

Now, I won’t say that I am a good writer, but I can say that I finally had the guts to find out. You be the judge: http://outsider-inmywords.blogspot.com.