Over a month ago a little blog hop started and it has absolutely exploded across the blogosphere. It is simply titled Why I write and it has been a great way to get to know different bloggers and the process they go through to create the words that they do. I have been tagged by Snippets and Spirits and Cut My Milk so now it is my chance to share my love of writing.
What am I working on…
I am hoping to put together an ebook about different mental illness that I can have available here on the blog. At the moment it is very much in the planning stages (as in just a flow chart in a notebook) but I am looking forward to sharing more about it with you all as I write more. I want to provide a resource that has both facts and personal experiences, much like this blog.
I’m also working on trying to post more frequently on the blog, so I brainstorming a lot more with ideas and actually remembering to put more info with those kick arse sentences I come up with so that I can write a post around them. I have seen a couple of people talk about how they write their posts in notebooks first and I’m wondering if that might help to get the thoughts out of my head a lot quicker.
How does my writing differ from others in my genre…
I’m not really sure that it does. I think that I don’t really fit into one genre as a whole and that probably does set me apart from others. I do blog about mental health and my experiences a lot, but I also include every day things like book reviews, birthday parties parenting skills I have learned along the way. I always find myself genuinely surprised when someone calls me brave for sharing my experiences, I don’t often feel that way, they are my every day.
Why do I write what I do…
I write because it is my lifeblood. Even if I wasn’t blogging, I think that I would be writing in some kind of capacity. All through high school I was rarely seen without a journal under my arm. Writing made me feel centered. I continue to write here for the people who have been where I have been, who are going through the things that I have gone through or who have loved ones struggling with similar issues. I keep sharing my stories for the emails that I receive letting me know that someone was able to reach out to a loved one with words that I have shared, or the mothers who thought they were the only ones who felt they way they do. My words need to be added to the voices talking about mental illness, the more voices, the louder we talk, the sooner we will see a reduction in stigma.
How does your writing process work…
The first time I read this, I thought pfft I don’t have a process but then I realised that I really kind of do. It may be unconventional in the way it works but it works for me. I have a desk but it’s in the corner of my room covered in stuff, although that isn’t what is stopping me from using it. I feel stifled while I am sitting at a desk, in a hard backed chair, where I almost feel like I am hiding away. So I sit on the couch, with my laptop on my lap, wrapped in a blanket and I type away. I watch television while I am writing (and sometimes I get carried away in what I am watching and look down to see that I have been typing the dialogue of what I was watching oops!) and I do switch between my post and the 5 other tabs that I have opened. I find that I need the break, it helps me to write better. I have tried to just write without being on the internet at the same time but I found that I was checking the word count every couple of sentences instead of just letting the words flow.
Part of the blog hop is to tag 3 other bloggers to carry on with the theme. I came in at the hairy end of the game so if you have already been tagged and I mention you then please don’t feel obliged to write something again. I just like spreading the love 🙂
The first blogger is Vanessa from Babbling Bandit. She is going through a bit of a upgrade on her blog at the moment but check out her Facebook Page in the meantime!
Vanessa is an Aussie chick hurtling towards her 40th birthday, with her awesome five year old son Ned, more than a few ‘issues’ and a serious case of ‘Overshare Disorder’. Babblingbandit.me is where she offloads her angst about living with mental illness, holding on to sobriety, raising her son alone and life in general. For the entertainment of her readers, no details are spared.
The next blogger is Emma from Five Degrees of Chaos. Emma writes about her life with her 5 gorgeous girls. She also shares her struggles with mental illness, addiction and dealing with a daughter with a chronic illness. I love Emma’s frankness, and the fierce love she has for her family.
The last blogger is Sonia from Life, Love and Hiccups. I admit that I am a sporadic reader of Sonia’s blog but her recent posts about scars have been brilliantly raw. I also love Sonia’s sense of humour and anyone who loves vodka is alright in my books!
Do you like to write?
Linking up with Jess for IBOT.
Awww thanks xx I loved Sonia’s scars post too, and it gave me a lot to think about in relation to Sades and her experience of growing up chronically ill.
I write on the couch with my laptop too – and a doona in the winter or a fan in the summer 😉
Loved reading this Tegan. I love the EBOOK Idea I hope it comes together for you. I think there is nothing like reading personal experiences when you are going through similar stuff. I also sit on the couch with my blanket and laptop. Could not do a desk too much like work then. I love reading your writing !
I’m loving this blog hop! It’s so interesting. And good luck with your eBook, I think that is a wonderful idea.
The ebook sounds like a brill idea, Tegan. Good on you! I love your blog for its honesty and dedication to helping raise mental health awareness. Keep it up, girl 🙂
The book is a great idea, and I think will do well, so a worthwhile project. You have a very strong voice and are very honest and upfront about some difficult topics. I often start and delete comments because I can’t get the right words, and feel it reads flippantly on serious topics. I think this is rare and very worthwhile. You also cover topics I don’t see anywhere else in the blogs I read, and that makes you unique in a crowd. I don’t know who your readers are, but I’m sure you make a lot of people feel better about themselves,, or that there is help and hope or just where to start (thinking of the cutting posts I’ve read).
These posts really are the rage hey? I love getting to know bloggers that bit more.
I think what you’re doing here on this space is really brilliant. Raising awareness and sporting complete honesty creates the best kind of blog in my opinion. An ebook sounds really great! Good luck with it.
I’m a couch sitting blogger too. It’s good to be comfy hey? x
Good luck with getting the e-book idea going Tegan. I can picture you snuggled on the couch writing your heart out. I do miss that I’ve gone to a desktop (even if it is an IMac that I love). I spilled coffee over my laptop keyboard and it is now the second computer with an external keyboard which isn’t very practical for couch writing. I’m also like you in terms of trying to post more frequently, but the ideas have to flow first!
Sounds like we both were born to write! xxx
Oh you gorgeous girl – thank you and I hope that one day we get to share a vodka or 3 together xx
Thanks for tagging me! Sorry it has taken me so long to get around here. I’ve become obsessed with WP plugins and the like and I’m doing Blog with Pip at the same time. I think it is awesome that you are putting an ebook together. I don’t think there are that many of us blogging about mental health from such a personal perspective so I think you are doing an awesome job in this fight to crush the stigma. Let’s keep on fighting, sister!
Pingback: Special Notebooks | Musings of the Misguided