The Hubpages Bakery - To Join Or Not To Join the 30 day hub challenge (Day 1)

Well it all began with me desiring to come back to hubpages after along forced recess (forced by circumstances). I had missed writing and reading my friend's hubs. My hubscore had remained in the 90s for over a year and was down to 89 (which I did not want even if I did not exactly understand what that meant). Upon return, I visited my old friends' hubs and found their scores were great, they had earned several awards and were moving up. The most astonishing of them all was that many had been read thousands of times over and I still had the 'Donnaisabella's hubs have been read more than a thousand times' symbol on mine. Having been read by slightly over 3000 people in 2 years was impressive to me until I saw what the possibilities were.

That set me thinking. I used to write and would love to continue writing about My Prayer Closet and how it works (that is a life style set apart for me). There were hundreds of things I could write about but I did not have the confidence to do so and I was not so sure if that was what I should be doing. Once, I wrote this hub about Women (http://donnaisabella.hubpages.com/slide/Women-Like-Ourselves/3514441) which was a result of the compassion I have always felt towards people of the same gender as myself and in view of my baby who was due in a few months. It was not read much, but I could not tell why. May be the topic I was addressing was off to many people, may be they were not just interested it or it was foreign material and the right people could not get to it. Or may be... I was not so sure, so I froze with fear and stopped it altogether.

When I began to read hubs and take the content of other people seriously, I began to realize that Hubpages is actually like a huge library with fresh material produced daily like hot bread from ovens in a busy bakery, to feed those who are hungry for information. Hubpages is a potential resource for very needed information, ideas and creativity for almost the whole world that can tap into the internet. That is powerful! And, we have the opportunity without having to be interviewed or shortlisted for a job, to become a part of it by sharpening our skills and going for it. I began to realize just how much potential and opportunity Hubpages offers to ordinary writers like me who have been wanting to be published for years, who have wandered on streets in Africa, Europe, Asia and America sharing our knowledge and interests with just about anyone who will care to listen and read.

All of a sudden it was clear that I do not need to hide my work in the drawer, those things I have been wanting to research and write about, I can do them now. To do this, I had to start with one step. That step was connecting with other hubbers in the forums, on the hubs, in the comments, on my statuses and everywhere else I can possibly be in order to be a true member of the community. Within the first week and the following, my profile views increased 200 %, my comments went up, the traffic to my hubs increased and happily my 2c daily earnings went up to what is encouraging to me which even if not significant is a necessary and positive change. The 'journey of a thousand miles begins with one step'. Fortunately at that same time, a fellow hubber wrote this hub (http://victorialynn.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Keep-Your-Hubber-Score-High) which has helped me a lot as a checklist considering she is a relatively new member of this community who has done very well. When I see good stuff, I pay attention, take it seriously and follow it through. I am still learning a lot from hubs like that, they help a lot even if we need to form our own opinions too as we go along because we all have something to teach and give.

So, the next challenge for me has been to participate in the 30 day hub challenge to bring my hub to speed. I am way behind and I would like to at least move closer to my friends who have been writing faithfully all this time. But, with a baby that disturbs me all the time so much so that I do most of my hubbing after 1 am into the early hours of the morning, I was scared that I might not be able to finish the challenge. I never want to start anything that I cannot finish if it is in my power to. If I join the 30 day challenge, I will have to finish. I have not been sure what to write about for each of those days. There are numerous things that come to my mind but they require a lot of work because I am crazy about researching my subjects thoroughly even if it is fiction just to get facts. I think I got this from a writer called Smith Wilberforce who wrote novels that I used to read back in 12th grade. He was such a good writer, once when he was writing about a surgical procedure on a patient's brain, he detailed things so wonderfully he could have been a brain surgeon, I decided I would have to be as knowledgeable a writer as he was.

Today when I was reading one of my friend's hubs Karen Hellier, who just finished her 30 day hub challenge and wrote this hub (http://karenhellier.hubpages.com/hub/30-Hubs-in-30-Days-Challenge-The-Tip-That-Worked-Best-For-Me) about it, I felt motivated to do it too. Immediately it occurred to me that something very important that I have been working at for three months could be what I have to share, thereby killing 2 birds with one stone (taking the challenge and sharing challenges I have faced and overcome!). So, here we go, this is my first hub challenge entry. Wish me well and I can assure you that I will be a transformed writer and (Speaker!) after I am done with this challenge.