Through The Benz: Six months and counting!

I just realized it was six months ago this week that I began writing Through The Benz on Grooby.com, so I thought I’d write a short column looking back over the past half year and share my thoughts about what it’s been like for me to write the column and try to assess how I’ve done so far.

Having a weekly column is a dream come true and I want to thank Kristel and Steven for giving me the opportunity; it’s a privilege being able to write for Grooby and I hope I’ve lived up to your faith in me. Six months doesn’t seem that long, but it’s been quite a learning experience in that short amount of time! Writing has always come fairly easily to me but it’s been challenging at times having to come up with something new every week. One column a week doesn’t sound like much, but it can be surprisingly difficult!

I try to keep abreast of what’s going on in the world and write about current events and things relevant to the trans community or the adult entertainment industry. I’ve also written a lot of personal stuff, such as my personal struggles, along with some kind of off-the-wall stuff, but I’m never sure if people enjoy those or find them boring. I try to keep a balance of what I write about, but I feel like I may be writing too much about myself, so I think I’ll devote more time to other topics. The more feedback I get from people letting me know what they like or don’t like the better, so don’t be shy about sharing your opinions with me!

I feel like writing this column has helped improve my writing skills and I’ve learned more about the craft of writing, especially when it comes to interviews. I’d never really done any interviews on my own so this has been a new experience for me, and it’s been a bumpy road at times. My biggest issue has been time management in planning far enough ahead to make sure I had the interviews done on time; I hate to admit it but I sometimes have a tendency to procrastinate. I’ve also had to learn how to deal with delays in getting the answers back from my interview subjects, and how to handle that tactfully. I feel like I do a good job at researching the topic I’m writing about or the person I’m interviewing and coming up with good questions. I’ve tried to focus on asking unique questions which help to show a different side of the people I interview instead of asking the same general questions that routinely get asked during interviews, but I’m not sure how well people like that. This column is a work in progress and I’m still learning what works and what doesn’t. I hope that as time goes on I’ll get more feedback as far as what things people like about my column or what they don’t like. The interviews have been something I’ve really enjoyed because it’s given me the opportunity to get to better know the people I interview, which has been nice. Up to this point I’ve focused on interviewing people who I find interesting and have personally wanted to interview, but I need to do better at finding interview subjects who might not necessarily be on my radar, so I’d love to hear from all of you if there are people you’d like me to interview.

I want to give a special thank you to my friend Scott from PornOCD who has been a big source of inspiration and support; the quality of his work gives me the motivation to keep working harder at becoming a better writer. I’ve learned so much from reading his interviews and how he goes about his business, and he’s been a good friend when I’ve needed encouragement or advice. And thanks also to Caramel of Caramel’s TGirls for all her support and friendship. Those two have set the bar pretty high and given me a good example to follow. And finally, thank you to my readers who take the time to read my column and for all the positive feedback; that means more to me than you can possibly know.

These first six months have been quite an adventure, but I survived and I’m excited to see where the next six months will lead!