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This is post 24 in @dragosroua's January 30 day writing challenge.

Who Is Naquoya? - A Re-Introduction and Discussion About Value

I thought I would take the time to reintroduce myself and maybe even shed a bit more light on who I am and what plans I have for this Steemit blog of mine. I know I write about myself a lot already, but as most of it is fictionalised – and to be taken with a grain of salt – this is time perhaps to reveal some facts. Some of these I would have discussed in previous posts perhaps, or alluded to them. Those who have been following along with me for sometime may know these things already. But there are so many new names, and new accounts popping up, that I considered it a good time to post this.

My name is Scott Bradley. You can read here why I call myself Naquoya. Okay, I may have fudged some of the facts in that story, but my artistic licence gives me grounds to do so occasionally. I was born in Australia, but consider myself more of a nomad, in spirit as well as in body. This sense rules a lot of what I write about.

As a child I was extremely quiet. People mistook this for manners. It was more the product of fear. A fear born of an ever present expectation of eternal obliteration. These fears were handed to me without my consent. Some people consider this religion. Others would call it child abuse. Really, perhaps, it's just life. It's given me things to write about, and challenges to overcome.

And for the longest time I didn't overcome them. This, I believe, is a factor in my significant health problems. I got cancer 15 years ago, a story which I covered here in my introduction post (which took me 7 months to post), and this cancer has paid me a revisit. Poor choices, and poor mental attitude towards self would be some of the reasons I say I believe my health problems stemmed – in part – from upbringing. There is certainly the physical. But there isn't any genetic history in my family for what I experienced. That, in a way, makes me special. I can appreciate that irony.

We Are Like Gods

There is a lot more in my childhood I won't discuss. It's beyond words anyway. And I am in the business of writing words. Words that give life to feelings, buried ones, as well as freshly planted ones. Through my writing I find that life makes more sense. It has value. It has made it worth pursuing dreams that had lain dormant for so long.

So, in a way, words make the past less significant, and the present more valuable. I have learned to be careful with my words, written and spoken. They have power. They can create, as well as destroy. In that sense, we are like the gods themselves, with our words. This has given me pause for thought.

I arrived at Steemit in the very early days, but I feel that it has only been the last 8 months or so that I have started to find my feet as a writer, and blogger here. I had to retreat from Steemit life twice due to ill health, and that is still an ongoing – although lesser – concern. I have powered down a lot of the Steem Power I made initially, and am currently also powering down (and will cease that next week). The reason is to cover medical expenses, and living expenses from lack of work, due to my health concerns. I know people frown on powering down, but I give these reasons just to show that not everything is as it seems. Sometimes there are other – unknown – considerations at work. I wish I never had to power down anything. I was at dolphin status. I like to think I can get back there.

The Emergence of True Value

Which brings me to the issue of most importance – value. I consider my blog an opportunity to offer something of value to others. I write from the heart, with due consideration for value and importance. I don't like to just throw any old post up and leave it at that. That's just not my way. I do try to interact with people, both on my posts, and on theirs as well. I believe this leads to genuine relationships – again something of immense value.

In return I have been afforded much value myself. I get upvotes, I get comments, I get reading suggestions, I get inspiration, I get well wishes. In a nutshell I get value. It flows both ways. And this in turn has lead to monetary value, in the form of Steem and SBD. All of this has helped, given the current situation. But I like to think that the flow is equally reciprocal. That is the value of friendships, and true community.

2018 Goals and Successes

I have recently had one of my stories selected to appear in The @isleofwrite's upcoming Steemit anthology publication. I have been writing diligently for a while here, and that is a first for me. I hadn't won any writing competitions (although I did win a poetry one in my early days), nor am I a published author. I had set a goal of getting something published in 2018. That is a goal accomplished, although I do have bigger plans I am working on in terms of other writing goals also.

I have been far more active on Steemit over the last 4 weeks than usual. I am finding it to be therapeutic. I've joined a couple of well run curation groups, and am also actively looking into others. They provide a level of interaction and feedback that I find beneficial, for both myself, and the Steemit community as a whole. Although I am reserved by nature, I try to interact on the writing Discord groups, and get to know people there. If you see me there, please know I am completely approachable, just less able with words around others than I am in the art of writing solo. I'm working on it, but as they say – baby steps.

My Steemit Agenda

The plans I have for participation on Steemit have been growing steadily over these last few weeks. I had initially developed The Notes From an Amateur Writer series and love doing that. It is - and will remain - the core part of my blog. Aside from the occasional short fiction, although I plan to only publish some of those here as I work out a plan to have more stories published in the future.

I started a new series, called Ramble On, which is an opportunity to explore a more humorous writing approach. And I started a curation post dedicated to, and inspired by, writers and readers. I call this new series The Library. Both of these new endeavours will be getting released once per week.

The current Schedule I am operating on is:

Sunday = Notes From an Amateur Writer

Monday = Notes From an Amateur Writer

Tuesday = Book Review (with the occasional TV show or movie review)

Wednesday = Notes From an Amateur Writer

Thursday = Ramble On

Friday = Notes From an Amateur Writer

Saturday = The Library

At the moment this publishing schedule is seven days per week, as I am committed to the 30 day writing challenge. After the end of the month this may very well change. Perhaps to five days per week – still not 100% certain, but the schedule will still look similar to the above.

As always, I appreciate all those that follow me, but votes, and more especially comments are what get my attention the most. To those who leave well thought out and relevant comments, you will always be welcome at my blog. I hope I can reciprocate.

Image Source unsplash.com

Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you liked it then please like, comment, and follow.