My Writing Process Blog Tour

posted in: Random Stuff, Writing | 0

Today I’m participating in a writing process blog tour.  It’s kinda like Tour de France except I’m not in a bike race, or riding a bike, nor am I in France.  Really the only similarity is that they both have the word “tour” in the name.

A writing tour is when you get invited by another blogger to describe your writing style.  My bloggy friend, Brandi Barnett, asked me to participate in the writing tour.  She is a lovely Oklahoma woman who blogs about life and writing plus she was a Listen To Your Mother cast member in 2013, so you know she is legit.

On to why we’re here:

What are you working on? This.  This blog is what I’m working on.  I have all these stories in my head that I need to tell.  I need to continue the story of how we created our 2nd son via IVF, and I have a great story of the time I went to England with my grandmother.  There are all these real life stories swimming around in my head that want to be told.  Actually taking the time to put them down can be a problem.

How does my work differ from others in it’s genre?  I’ve never really thought about which category I fall into.  At first glance you could say that I’m a mommy blogger but I don’t just write about being a mommy.  Lifestyle blogger would be a better choice for what I’m doing here.  I’m resistant to being called a mommy blogger because I write about more than just parenting.  My life experiences play a large role in what I write about.  That being said my personal experience is what makes me different than other lifestyle bloggers.  I’m the only one who could tell my story because I’m the only one who has experienced it fully.  That is what makes mommy bloggers and lifestyle bloggers all unique.  We all have a unique story to tell.

Why do I write what I do?  See above.  My life is what I know best.  I’ve always thought it would be wonderful to write fiction since I love reading it but to be honest I don’t think I could.  When I think about what it would be like to write someone else’s story, describe circumstances and experiences that I don’t have first hand experience in…I can’t really wrap my head around it.  I am in awe of authors who can create complex characters, settings, worlds, languages and emotions out of nothing.  

How does your writing process work?  Most of the time I just sit down and start typing.  I just imagine that I’m telling myself a story or something funny.  You know those times when you have full conversations in the mirror with the person you wish you told off or could be brutally honest with but never would?  Or told a hilarious antidote to or practiced what you would say if you were a guest on Ellen?  (I hope I’m not the only person who does that.)  Sometimes writing is like that.  I get to have all those conversations but instead of the mirror it is right here on my blog.

There are times when I actually have to write something, not because I want to but because I’ve promised someone I would.  Those are often the hardest times to say exactly what I mean.  If I have to write about something but can’t exactly find my voice I find it easiest if I just start typing.  Eventually what needs to be said finds it’s way here.  

If I have an idea I better get some of it into the computer or I will quickly loose it.  Unfortunately, lightbulbs go off over my head when I’m away from the computer; in the shower, walking the dog, etc.  If I don’t either make a note about it or start a draft then it will get shuffled to the bottom of my to-do list.  PTA meetings, dinner, activities, family life will take precedence and soon I’ll forget all about it.  I’m pretty sure I’ve lost some brilliant posts to my own procrastination and “oh well” attitude.

This last bit wasn’t part of the blog tour interview, just my own two cents.  I find it funny that someone would think of me as a writer.  I was a average student in high school and college.  I wasn’t the dumbest kid in the class but I certainly wasn’t vying for the position of Valedictorian.  I didn’t even get to sit up at the front of the graduation line with the top 10% of the class.  I just had to sit back in alphabetical order with all the other yahoos.  Writing a book always sounded appealing but there was always someone way smarter than me and people who wrote books were smart.  I didn’t see myself as that kind of smart.  It’s amusing that this blog has evolved into something that can at times, be considered “writing”.  It just goes to show that you should always give yourself more credit than you think you deserve.

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