Once upon a time there was a rich city that lay in the midst of a vast desert of orange sand. The city was built over a huge, pristine lake surrounded by filigree fountains of gold and silver. Its waters were so immaculate, that instead of paint the whole city was adorned with gems to enjoy the play of light and water.

It happened that one day an unknown virgin from the desert came into the city. Such was her joy at the view of all the immaculate water, that she jumped full of joy into one of the fountains. She was of such dazzling beauty and youth that the King fell in love with the fair stranger and married her immediately. The city celebrated the long-awaited wedding for nine days and nine nights, with enough food and drink for all. Time passed and brought wealth and joy to the people.

But with time the heart of the king turned black with sadness, as had lost all his seven children. Seven years had passed and seven times the queen had gave birth, but none of the seven children had survived. The queen did not seem to age, but the king became sadder every year. Each time he summoned all the physicians of the empire and others to help his poor wife. And every time a tincture was concocted, an exercise arranged, a spell laid – but to no use. When she was ready to give birth, she would lock herself away in her rooms for nine days and nine nights. The other days the princess wandered alone through the water gardens and swam in the well, as if she could wash away her grief.

So desperate was the king that he prayed to the powers of the underworld to give him relief. So deep had his heart fallen that he the spirits of darkness heard his cry. They ordered him to drown his beloved queen in the well where he found her to save his child. As he left the castle in despair, he saw the pregnant queen swimming in the fountain. In spite of her plump body she looked like a nymph, playing under the rainbow with the crystal clear water, her golden hair glittering in the sun. With a glimpse his heart knew that he would never be able to bring the sacrifice.

That evening the queen was to come down and she lay alone in her locked room. The king could hear the cry of pain, the swearing, the weeping of his wife and he knew that the child was dead. His heart shattered in a thousand pieces. But the darkness still enveloped him and he decided to at least take a look at his dead child. He knocked and knocked, but His wife did not listen. He was so full of pain and despair that he ignored everything and opened the door. And what a monster he saw there. His beautiful and young wife was a cruel sea monster that devoured the malformed newborn. When she met the king’s eyes, she immediately turned into the beautiful maid he had married – bloody from head to toe. In an instant, he understood everything, his past, his life and his future. Slowly he walked to the well and let the water take possession of him

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.