This marks another addition to the regular feature here at little Indiana: Indiana Blogs! If you are an Indiana Blogger, please use the contact form and send me an email. You may be featured right here on little Indiana.
Indiana Blogs: Don Sedberry
Don Sedberry is an Indiana blog named for its author: Don Sedberry!
This blog covers a wide range of topics, from education to technology, to creative writing and the definition of evil (which takes the shape of Teletubbies, and I so agree)–in a thought-provoking and usually humorous way.
Read it not only because it’ll get your brain thinking, but because he married one of my high school best friend’s sister! So, you know, he’s good people.
Indiana Blogs: Don Sedberry
Why did you start Don Sedberry, the Blog?
When I started my current website, Don Sedberry, I didn’t have the faintest idea what I was eventually going to do with it. I started out with an idea in my head that I would post some course work, graphic designs, and make it an online portfolio/resume. How boring!
In late 2011, I started putting together a list of potential New Year’s resolutions. This list continued to grow until it was no longer a list of resolutions but a roadmap for following my heart. I changed my New Year’s Resolution from a convoluted mess into three simple words. “Just Do It.”
Instead of talking about it, I just started doing. I attended writing workshops, I started writing again and I began the blog featured here.
It is my intent that my blog serve as a voice of both my mind and the other “creatives” in hiding who might need just a little gentle nudge of encouragement to pursue their passions.
I’ve been blogging, off and on, since 2002. My other blogs were mostly personal reflections and anonymous experiments in writing styles. This time, I have decided to share who I am without the guise of a pseudonym.
What about that name? What made you decide to blog under your actual name?
In retrospect, I always wanted my website to be a résumé. What better way is there for people to fully understand who I am than to also allow them to see what I am passionate about through my blogging?
What are three of your most favorite posts?
You know, that is an excellent question! I hadn’t really thought about it before now.
- Fear and the Pursuit of Dreams
This post is about how tough it is to face down your fears and really do the stuff that dreams are made of. I talk about how I dreamed about being a writer and how I always allowed my fear of rejection to shoot down those thoughts in my head. Also, I discuss taking the chances necessary to make your dreams possible. - Boredom and the Art of Procrastination
In this one I write about a discovery made in boredom and how what you do when you’re bored being a good predictor for the things you really should be doing. All that “fun” stuff you do when you do when you’re procrastinating is most likely a good sign of the work you really want to be doing. - Unleashed: A curious bit of follow up
This is one of my favorites, but it’s not about creativity as some of my other posts are. It covers some of my thoughts. It’s actually a follow-up to a previous post that in which I didn’t quite get my point across. This was one of my learning moments while blogging. I was too afraid of everyone’s reactions to the first post, It’s a Curious Bit of Culture, to write what I was really thinking and feeling. Instead of writing the post that I intended to write I ended up doing a lot of fence-sitting. In “Unleashed,” I get off the fence. I really loved writing the post and learning the very valuable lesson about my writing.
What keeps you ready and raring to post? Why do you blog?
My wife, Laura, can certainly tell you that I have my fair share of thoughts. I am fairly certain that I drive her crazy the way I constantly process and analyze everything from advertisements to song lyrics. With all these thoughts rolling around in my head, there’s usually enough material for three to four posts at any given time.
I write as a therapy to get those thoughts out, to maybe help someone else, and to save Laura from hearing all about it! A teacher I had growing up told me something that has stuck with me for a long time. She told me, (paraphrasing) “It does not matter to me whether or not I reach everyone in the class. It only matters that I reach someone. That someone is all that matters.”
That’s how I view my blog, if it helps one person, if it makes even the smallest difference, I’m happy. If my readers enjoy the post, I’m happy. I’m happy because I am writing.
Are there any topics rattling around that you feel like you should write but have put off because it’s too hard or too soon?
There is! “Education: Why I no longer care about my degree?” It’s tough to write because there are so many factors in the cost of education and so many theories out there. I am very excited about the challenge.
How did you find writing? Have you always been a writer?
As long as I can remember, I have been writing. My mother likes to remind me that there are a couple of sheets of paper in a cedar chest that suggest I’ve been writing stories for as long as I’ve been able to express myself with words on paper.
Does that mean I’ve always been a writer? I’d like to think so. Have I always been true to what I am? No, and that’s why my blog exists. It serves as a reminder to me and hopefully as an inspiration to others.
If you had to name five authors as your all time faves…who would they be?
- Rainer Marie Rilke – A friend gave me a copy of “Letters to a Young Poet” and I can honestly say it changed everything for me.
- Edgar Allan Poe
- Charles Dickens
- Chuck Palahniuk
- Michael Crichton
Is there anything else that you would like little Indiana readers to know?
I truly hope that each and every one of you are following your passions. If you’re not or you’re curious about the journey, please stop by Don Sedberry. There’s bound to be something interesting! You can also sign up for email notifications of new posts.
Finally, I love conversation and feedback. I’m reachable via the website, @DonSedberry on Twitter and don@donsedberry.com. If you have ideas, suggestions or just want to share your story with me I would love to hear from you. Thank you for taking the time to learn a little about me!
Creatively Writing
Do you feel inspired to pick up your pen (or hop on your laptop) and finally start that novel? I thought so! Thanks to Don for stopping by little Indiana today and sharing his world with us.
Small Towns: Destinations, not Drive-Thrus! I’m Jessica Nunemaker and THIS is little Indiana!
Find pictures in Indiana on my Flickr photostream or on the new little Indiana Tumblr blog.
Just don’t forget to tell ’em that little Indiana sent you!
Don’t miss a moment. Subscribe to little Indiana and receive instant updates to stay on top of everything “little.”
little Indiana: Where to Stay, Play, and Eat in Small Towns in Indiana. Discovering Indiana’s best small towns! Now get little Indiana on your Kindle.
Targeted. Relevant. Affordable! little Indiana advertising.
