So I’m 12hrs 53 mins into the new alcohol free me. It’s my last day in Malta and I’m having lunch with a bottle of sparkling water while my lunch companion is drinking a large glass of Pinot Grigio. I want one too but I’m not going to give into the urge just yet. It’s the start of a new month. Can I go for 30 days without a drink? We’ll see!

Today is Friday 1st November 2019. I’m in Malta on holiday and once again have disappointed myself by drinking alcohol every day bar one. Don’t get me wrong….I absolutely love drinking and love the feeling it gives me after that first glass of ice cold beer or Chardonnay. But….I am starting to despise the next day blues and all the wasted time I spend drinking when I could be doing so many more activities. I’ve been reading books on going alcohol free and regularly read all about people who have joined up to ‘One Year No Beer’. I just can’t get to grips with paying almost £200 to give up drinking!! I’m sure I can do it on my own and have recently done an 8 week booze free stint and felt absolutely fabulous. Unfortunately the holidays came around and I started drinking again. So….I came up with a brilliant idea that I’d put all my thoughts out there so that I have some recourse with the universe. I love exercising and want to be the best person I can be….healthier, give more time to people and do more things I’ve wanted to but don’t because I’m enjoying a delicious fresh fish dish with a lusciously ice cold bottle of white wine (yes that was yesterday!) So here goes (I’ve no idea what I’m doing so this probably won’t work at all but I’ve enjoyed writing this)

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.