@Nicholas83 I have to thank you for the many kind and thoughtful comments you've left me. They're much appreciated and I'm sorry if I have neglected to respond to any of them.
To answer your question, it all started with a simple intention when I came to Steemit 7 months ago. That was to write and post at least one poem per day. I held to it pretty rigorously and even started posting 4 or 5 short pieces at one point daily. I am actually pretty amazed that I have been able to continue, but the connections I have formed with other Steemians like you has been a huge assistance. I pushed through times that I really didn't feel like writing because I started to treat it like an absolute necessity, like drinking water.
I have a similar background with prose, that is, I had a lot of instruction in persuasive writing and various kinds of essaying. But I gravitated to poetry and it helped me express a lot of feelings I couldn't get out through other means. That was back in 2011. I wrote for a couple of years and it kind of dwindled off after a while. I never thought my writing was that good and I didn't share it much. I didn't get serious again til joining Steemit.
I can't tell you how happy I am that my work has made an impact on you. I'm really grateful that you take the time to read it.
I am inspired. I will take this example and run with it. Cheers. Later. I got to get to writing. LOL.