Ever wondered the secret sauce to making your own personal website? That's what this post is all about: the way I made bridgetsmith.co work, and how I use it to achieve my vision. I think it's something we don't talk enough about - we see websites all the time every day, but when it comes time to start your own, it's overwhelming.

I remember when I decided to start a website, my plan was to build it in a weekend. I already knew which website builder I wanted to use (I use Weebly, if anyone was curious), so I figured I'd throw on a movie and knock it out in one fell swoop.

Plot twist: I was wrong.

Warning: before clicking "read more", I strongly recommend you finish Summer Twilight. This post is focused on exploring a major plot twist that has shocking ramifications for both of our main characters, Alex and Caidy. I'm so excited to finally share some ~secrets~ about what happened - but be warned! If you click into this blog post you will encounter spoilers.

Proceed at your own risk.

I talk a lot about writing to cope with difficult emotions. However, as the events of the past few weeks have unfolded, I have struggled to set pen to paper (or letter to page, as it were). Like most of the U.S., I watched in horror as the seat of our democracy was assaulted, and I have carried around a sense of dull panic ever since. Now, however, I want to share with you some thoughts - unedited and unfiltered.

This is what I mean when I say writing helps me cope.

There are a million and one ways to build a world, and dozens of articles which will give you specific pointers about how to dive in. This isn't one of those articles: instead, my goal here is to help you build a world that you want to write about, because then the actual writing part is pretty easy. It's not as hard as it sounds, and can be used in any setting (historic western, dystopic futuristic sci-fi, etc.).

The secret sauce? Living in the details. I've got three examples for you below - how to embrace your settings, how to give each character (no matter how large or small) their due, and how to embrace the things which don't quite make sense.

​I used to be really big on New Year's Resolutions. Like everybody else who ever lived, I totally bought into the whole "new year, new me" phenomenon. And, like everybody else, I was usually a "new me" for approximately 3 weeks. By February, I was back to the "old me", and thoroughly frustrated.

A few years ago, I realized how vicious this cycle is. We choose a relatively arbitrary date and look at it as a reinvention, a renewal of ourselves. We make ambitious goals (usually lacking the necessary plan to achieve them), and then immediately are disappointed when we fail to meet impossible standards. As someone who has struggled with my weight, my mental health, my success (or, uh, lack thereof), and myriad other aspects of my life, I understand this intimately. I've felt the jubilance of a new year where things will be different and better, and the exhausted frustration when things turn out....pretty much the same as the year before.