Many of you have probably seen the blog hop going around recently with the theme, Why I Write. I was kindly nominated by Mel of Coal Valley View, thousands of miles away in Tasmania, to tell the world why I write. How is that for the power of the internet!? You can read her post here about why she writes. Some of you might be thinking, "Write? Katie doesn't write like a real writer. She just posts pictures on the internet and calls it a blog." Well, that is how I feel most of the time too. I don't really consider myself a writer. I think I am a "sharer", which I don't think is an actual word. I share pictures and snippets of my life, sometimes recipes, sometimes rants from my soapbox, and while I do put words with those pictures, I am never particularly eloquent or philosophical. Just pretty matter-of-fact, with maybe a small dose of humor. So here is my attempt to answer the four required questions.
What am I working on?
My next blog post. Normally by Sunday, I have almost all of my blog posts written for the upcoming week. Unfortunately, I do not have an award winning novel or secret-spilling autobiography in the works. Over the past couple of years I have thought of several ideas for children's books, based on all of the crazy things that happen on our small Half Acre Farm, but have not ever taken the time to write them down or pursue the writing process. Maybe when the little babe can entertain herself a bit better I'll have the time. (The most recent attempt at coloring by herself ended up with her sitting on the kitchen counter while I scrubbed the green crayon out of her teeth with a soapy dishrag.)
How does my writing differ from others in my genre?
Wow, this question startled me, because I never thought I would be in a "genre"! Maybe my blog is a bit different because I am kind of a Jack (Jill) of all trades. I don't focus solely on crafting or baking or homesteading or even just family life. I cover it all! You want a recipe for beets that your husband will eat - I've got it here. Street dogs in Romania - bet you didn't even know there was a problem before you read it here. A bit of traveling - check out my favorite city here. Looking for just plain pretty flower pictures? I do that too! I think my blog posts are heavier on the pictures than a lot of other blogs. Since I've started blogging, I have really come to love taking photos. So if I go overboard sometimes, I'm apologizing now. Just use that scroll bar! (I am now inserting a random pretty picture just to break up all of these words.)
Why do I write what I do?
Because it is fun. Because I like taking pictures. Because I can share pictures of the little babe with family members who live far away. Because I like the feeling of productivity that comes from completing a blog post. Because I actually learn things while writing these posts. (I had to Google "sharer" just to double check that it wasn't an actual word.) And to document the fact that I live with a rabbit who likes to sit on chairs.
How does my writing process work?
I think of a lot of my blog ideas while I am on my morning runs or while walking the dogs. I normally write a post every day at naptime and have my posts written a couple of days in advance. I don't like waiting until the last minute, because if the little babe is having a bad day, then I might not get it done. I never thought that I would have enough things going on in my life to write a post 5 days of the week. And some of you might be thinking - well, you really don't, so please stop posting so much! But I figure if you don't want to read it, then you'll just hit delete and I'll never know.
I don't think, oh, the second week of June I will post pictures of peonies. However, if you're a regular reader, then you've noticed that I do follow a loose weekly schedule - Thankful Tuesdays, Reconnecting With Nature/Hump Day Give-a-Way, and This Moment - with a Recipe for the Weekend or Cheese Made By Me every once in a while. The other posts are just what pops into my head or things in nature that catch my attention. I find that nature supplies endless ideas for blog posts!
Now that I've spilled the beans, I hope that you stick around and continue to enjoy what I have to share! I now am supposed to nominate several other bloggers to carry on the blog hop.
I recently became acquainted with Ing over at Tread Kindly through the blog course that I was taking. She is a fellow animal lover and I love how honest she is on her blog.
I also would like to nominate my friend Chrisy over at Living A Good North Coast Life. Chrisy has been one of my biggest supporters since I started blogging last August. She is always so upbeat and positive and has an awesome job - she is a wildlife rehabilitator in Australia! At the time that I am writing this, Chrisy is on a much deserved vacation with her family and so I wasn't able to confirm that she would like to participate in this blog hop. So when she returns, if she would like to participate - fantastic! If not, then please check out her blog anyway. She shares really cool things on her blog - have you ever seen a wallaby up close?!