Well, here I am, on my 181st post and three months into my #Steemit journey. When I joined Steemit, I tried to think of a way that I could bring value to the blockchain. Since I was editing two daily news publications--one of them being focused on #blockchain and #crypto topics--I decided I'd curate the daily news in that space, a sort of mini-curation of the major curation I do on the Blockchain Times.

What I've learned in the last three months is incredible. And I've met some very kind people who have helped me along the way.

As I began to write, I noticed a few things about the Steemit community.

1. First, there are a lot of people blogging about crypto in general and Steemit in particular. Due to the incredible competition, those are not the best topics to write about for earning income--if that is your goal.
2. Secondly, #fiction and #poetry are hot topics. There is a strong literary community on Steemit, and from what I can tell, quite supportive. However, I've learned that poetry is not a big money-maker, but fiction, for some reason, can be. I suspect that the fiction writers writing popular posts are writing popular fiction or fiction in popular genres, as opposed to cult-like genres like #Bizarro or #weird-fiction.
3. My third lesson is that curation trails are the key to making it. There are a lot of support groups for minnows. In other words, there is a strong community of veteran Steemians who want to encourage the growth of the ecosystem and do so by offering their support to promising minnows. I'm proud to say I've benefited from some of their efforts.

Some of the folks who have inspired me and helped me in some way are @seyiodus, who was the first person to invite me to a #Discord server curation trail. She invited me to #Promo-Mentors where I've been posting some links and upvoting those I find interesting.

Then there's @socent, who introduced me to the #Helpinaut curation trail and the Military #Veterans of Steemit. She also got me hooked on #GINAbot, #SteemAuto, and #SteemNow. A million thanks. Those are some helpful tools.

I also received an invite, I don't remember from where, to join the #SteemitBloggers curation trail. I applied. After a long wait, I was approved by @Jaynie and have enjoyed the content I've read through that trail. They have very strict guidelines, but it's a wonderful community of great people. I took a tutorial from @futurethinker and learned a ton about what works on Steemit and what doesn't. Now, if I can only implement it.

Another great help has been @kingabesh, who offered some grand advice on Steemit blog post layout. A million thanks!

Also, along the way I got to enjoy a fun event with @evecab on her curation show. As much fun as Discord is, you can waste a lot of time doing frivolous activities, but they sure are fun!

Help! I've Been Attacked By A Steem Monster!

A couple of weeks ago, a startup role playing game took Steemit by storm. It's been talked about everywhere. At first, I thought I'd take a pass. I didn't have time to play games. I was busy with my business.

While conversing with the veterans in the Military Veterans of Steemit Discord server, a couple of the vets mentioned they were playing the game. @derangedvisions posted that he was looking for a Big Red One and would give a free Steem Monsters booster pack to the first person who sent him one.

I had just woke up and was ready to start work, but I decided to Google "Big Red One" and sent him a png image I picked up from Wikipedia. He sent me my first booster pack, which I immediately opened.

About the same time, another veteran, @rakkasan84, posted a link to a story he wrote about the Fire Beetle. Coincidentally, I had received a Fire Beetle in the free booster pack I received from @derangedvisions, and Steem Monsters was running a Fire Beetle backstory writing contest. I decided to enter, inspired by @rakkasan84. A couple of days later, I learned I was one of five runner-ups in that contest and got another free booster pack. Meanwhile, I had purchased my starter pack just the day before. I guess that makes me an official Steem Monsters player-fan-enthusiast.

If that wasn't enough, the Steem Monsters creators were discussing putting together several writing teams to write the back stories of the various color teams that appear in the game. I ended up landing on the Red Team and working with some fine creatives - @Swolesome, @AnikeKirsten, and @hafizul. We're still kicking out our story, which isn't due until the end of the month.

As I write this, I'm waiting to see if I have any standing in the second Steem Monsters writing contest I entered. I can't shake the mania.

Steemit Combines All My Favorite Distractions

So, long story short, I'm enjoying myself. I've posted every day since joining Steemit. I'm not getting rich, but I believe in the endeavor. I've even put up some of my own fiat (not much) to invest in my Steemit account (in addition to the Steem Monsters cards I bought).

I had been posting daily crypto curations Monday through Friday. But last week, my client reduced our daily digests to only two days a week, so we're posting on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I intend to keep posting the mini-curations of the best crypto news of the day on those two days. On the other days of the week--Monday, Wednesday, and Friday--I'll have to come up with something else. Thus far, I've been posting flash fiction on Saturdays and poetry on Sundays. Soon, I intend to throw some #Christian philosophy writings into the mix. I'll be looking for a curation trail for Christians, or two, to join when I do.

To do a blog well takes a bit of time. Of course, anything worth doing is worth putting 100% of yourself into. I've always believed that. I'm keeping my head up and my chin down. Looking to see which way the wind blows. Wanna come along for the ride? Leave a comment, let me know what you'd like to see in any of the categories I write about. And don't take any wooden crypto nickels.

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Animation By @zord189

created and used by veterans
with permission from @guiltyparties