I’ve been invited to participate in the 2014 blog tour to explain my writing process, (#mywritingprocess). Considering the topic, next to my story in 50 words, this should be my shortest post yet. Should be, but if you know me at all, you know I like to talk.
First, let me say that my invitation to participate in this esteemed tour came from the esteemed source of my groupie-ness, syndicated Journalist, Author, and dreamy volunteer Firefighter, Ned Hickson. (Thank you Ned, for that awesome tour intro you gave me last week). Some know I am Ned’s number one groupie, and as he reluctantly points out, his only groupie. No matter, I vow to follow him (virtually) all over the world.
Ned’s blog is a constant source of crazy humor, but he also inspires with occasional tales of overcoming some of life’s toughest hills. In addition to inspiration and laughs, he provides a terrific weekly guide for how to become a better writer. That’s a lot of great stuff to come out of one dreamy firefighter blogsite.
Okay, I’ve met all groupie gushing contract requirements. Let’s head to the four questions that may help or hinder interest in how I do things.
What am I working on?
My biggest and most joyful working effort is being a mom, but the writing needs for that are mostly restricted to volunteer and permission forms. After those literary challenges, I lunge for any marketing or communications pleas that are actual paying projects, (more pleas(e). Finally, I get to blurt out whatever else is on my mind on various word docs that may or may not make it to my blog – like this post.
What I’m really working on is learning to loosen up on what I want to write, but I subscribe to Ned’s idea of writing being a super power – with responsibilities. I’m traversing that line of balancing what I want to say with privacy issues; my truth vs. how that truth will affect people around me. I suspect an ongoing battle with this.
How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I think most of us are not niche driven writers and so what I write is unique only in the sense of it being my personal experiences. Despite this lack of distinctiveness, I’ve found a lot of various insights and common commiseration that serve to heal, inspire, and support my growth as a person and as a writer. I hope that’s mutual with my readers.
Why do I write what I do?
I am a product of my emotions. Whatever puts a lump in my throat or induces a screech will find its way into my journals. It’s not always about the big things, especially as life is the many more small moments. As an average Earthling, I’d guess that most of those moments are relatable to most people.
I also suffer from good punchline comeback lag. I can come back at ya an hour to several days after your bazinga! Blogging provides a great smoke screen for me to show off my semi-brilliance at the speed of a slug.
How does my writing process work?
Despite trying to follow the very good advice of setting writing schedules, I seem to respond best to the lash of deadlines. Although, when I feel an extra hit of passion for my topic, the words flow across the page quite steadily. Which is what happened when I started writing for this invitation. (Yep. You bet.)
What’s more usual is that I’ll get an idea, then map out various thoughts about it. To the naked eye, this map looks like utter madness. Which is where it drives me at times while I work at piecing those thoughts into a cohesive story line.
It can get frustrating when I think I’ve made two or more really great points, but I can’t get them to work together, or it would be overkill to use them all. Sometimes, this means I won’t finish a post for anywhere from a day to a year to never. Clearly, these are not uh, time sensitive.
Then we’re onto the final edit and spelling and grammar checks to the best of my ability. My final step has always been reading it out loud a few times. If it flows easily verbally, it seems to read well too. I listen for the artistry in the words. For me, this is confirming the truth of the statement really came through my heart.
I have to say that even when I do get a post finalized, I will still freak over a word here and there for probably around three months after its been published. I can be a little obsessive, which I don’t recommend. I’d suggest live it, love it, let it go. Eat, pray, love, blah, blah.
The Worst Part
I bet you thought I was going to say: the wait for judgment. Well, there is that, but hopefully people will mostly give me a thumbs up. At the least, my work here is for my son, and maybe some other kids in my family who may someday get to hear my voice as it is.
No, the worst part of this, is the request to choose someone to pass the tour torch to. This was way too hard. There are far too many wonderful writers, many of whom I have yet to get to on a regular, or any, basis.
I’m highlighting some writers who have recently flattered me with award nominations. They are insightful writers with distinctive voices and styles and I am very happy to have been able to come across their paths:
Rachel Carrera: who many already know is loaded with literary talent and is a terrific supporter of her fellow writers. Check her out at: http://rachelcarrera.wordpress.com/2014/03/24/the-light-in-the-world/.
Dawnson: Dawnson gifts us with loads of beautiful photos of life’s varying moods and textures. Find her at: http://iblogstr8sicit.wordpress.com/2014/04/22/my-phone-is-freaking-out/
Lastly, thank you for the nomination for another Versatile Award nomination to: http://betternotbroken.com/2014/03/15/if-anyone-is-versatile-it-is-me/
If you’ve read this far, thank you so much for your incredibly kind indulgence and I nominate you for supporter of the year!
RL
Blog Woman!!! - Life Uncategorized 
Thanks for sharing and happy writing. Hope you have a deadline 😛
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Ha ha, thanks very much sjoycarlson! Thanks for coming by. 🙂
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🙂
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Thank you for highlighting this humble little bugger – I mean blogger. It is an honour to have been highlighted. Gratitude Robyn for the joy of it all! Loved to read of your writing process.
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Hello humble little bugger/blogger, ha ha. Well, I hope some other people will also get to share in your wit, charm, dark corners, and weirdness. If they’re smart they’ll join up and have some fun! Cheers.
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Hi Robyn
I wanted to finish composing my own tour blog for next week before closely reading yours. I didn’t want to cheat and give a carbon copy. I’m glad I waited. Goodness! How different we are! I am totally fascinated by the description of your process. It makes the “pass on the baton” process so much worthwhile. As Gerard Manley Hopkins said: ” Sweet-sour, swift-slow, adazzle-dim…” How many different things has everyone got to offer!
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I have no doubt you handle things differently, which is one of the main reasons I thought you would be a great choice. Looking forward to reading yours!
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Loved this: “Blogging provides a great smoke screen for me to show off my semi-brilliance at the speed of a slug.” Thanks for the referrals. Word of mouth advertising is right up my alley.
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Thank you Maggie! I had to laugh when I was proof-reading – I thought well, there’s my new tagline. Thanks for coming by and taking the time to share your thoughts.
Cheers,
Robyn
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This was great. And its nice to see that I myself am not that crazy with my writing process. I get a thought, or see, or hear something and it becomes instant inspiration. I advertise that inspiration as a stay tuned post on my FB fan page to keep me focused. I give myself a weekly deadline. Once done, I also do my final editing out loud to see if my emotion is coming through as hoped. I’m my own worst critic. But I hope this process will eventually get me to your writing status as well as those you listed above. It’s a privilege to be part of this community.
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Hello Elke! Nice to ‘see’ you again. I have seen some people using the notice of upcoming posts, but I never thought of it as a tool to keep on track. What a great idea. I generally post on a 7-10 day schedule. I try to write a few posts ahead, but sometimes I get caught up in day to day and lose that advantage – like for next week already! Eek.
Anyway, thanks again for another visit. I enjoy your comments very much.
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So glad I could pass the torch on to you, Robyn, thanks for sharing some of your insights and the kind words. You’re definitely my favorite groupie. And I’d say that even if I had others… 😉
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Thanks Ned – I am thrilled to have been one of your torch bearers. You set a very high bar for this, and well, every post. Between that and your usual writing tips, I am working hard on getting to a more interesting level. Keeping my fingers crossed and ever practising on more disciplined scheduling!
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There is so much that i love about this post, that i don’t even know the words to use. It was an incredible glimpse into your soul and I love what I saw! I cracked up over “semi-brilliance at the speed of a slug.” I mean, even the title is hysterical! Great job! (And also thank you for the honorable mention!) 😀
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Aw Rachel! You are such a great cheerleader. Seriously great! Like I mentioned to Maggie, I thought I just wrote my new tagline when I wrote that sentence. Maybe I’ll also change my gravatar pic to something much more slug-ish. 😉
Thanks for reading through this, you are a brave and valiant woman, and no thanks needed for the shout-out. It’s my pleasure to be able to tell people about your great work. Thanks again for everything.
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Well, in my opinion, you’re the best and I have already scheduled a kudos for you in my blog tour next week. xo
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Again, thank you so much! That’s really great Rachel. P.S. Comment revision complete.
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LOL! Thank you! 😀
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Robyn, I loved getting to hear about your process. It is such a personal share really and helped me to know you a bit better. I love envisioning you reading your words out loud and taking so much care in mapping out your thoughts. I also loved this line “I also suffer from good punchline comeback lag.” And then the grammar angst afterwards- lol. That save button so I can reedit gets pretty depressing on my posts when I know I’ve exceeded 25 times and I’m still double checking and changing and tweaking- before and after publication!
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Hi Diahann! You are one of the greatest supporters and inspire-rs ever, so it did my heart good to see that you have a tweaking issue too! (Have to laugh at the sentence because I think only revisionist-oriented creators would know what we were really talking about 😀 ). Anyway, I actually clicked off that revision counter awhile ago. I have exceeded 25 revisions so many times, I just couldn’t see the point of utilizing an unnecessary mocking tool on top of all my other angst-based checks.
Thanks for coming by wonderful lady, you are definitely a true blue to read yet another tour post. 🙂
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🙂 Nice to know I’m not the only one w/ the revision counter. Often I feel like an obsessed fiend with it. I didn’t know you could get rid of it and I am going to do that!
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On my blog, I write so differently from you. I open the page with a basic idea of what I want to write about & then let the words pour forth. Because I worked for a newspaper, I am pretty good at editing as I write & the final edit once done & then I hit the Publish button. I don’t agonize over the post or any of the words unless I’m afraid I may offend someone unintentionally. In my book, however, I am much more choosy about the words I use, the turn of phrase, the thoughtfulness of what appears on the page. I start out the same – I open a blank page & with a basic idea of what I want to write, the words fall onto the page. Where the difference lies is in the editing. I am much more involved in the editing process with my WIP (work in progress), I change chosen words often & ruthlessly slash whole sentences at times. Maybe that’s why I have just published my 324th(?) post & my WIP is still sitting at around 30,000 words?
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Yes, your style is somewhat different alright. It’s great that you are able to mostly finish editing as you go along. That might explain why you’ve managed to finish 324 posts and I’m only at 49. LOL!!
Hope you’ve been able to get a break from the allergy issues – such a pain at this time of the year!
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We’ve been having days of alternating snow/rain, nothing really sticking around, but just enough to extend allergy season. Thanks for remembering!
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I have a couple of friends with seasonal allergies, and each year I am reminded why I am so GLAD I don’t have those ones! Such misery!
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No thanks necessary, Robyn. You’ve earned every supporter and well-wisher!
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Thanks so, so much Robert, there aren’t any better supporters than you!
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I’m a new follower, Blog Woman!! (Love that…it’s so…macho? Makes me think of lumberjacks for some reason. Probably just because I like thinking of lumberjacks! 🙂 ) But back to my being a new follower, thanks to my favorite “Jurnalist,” Ned Hickson. I can tell from this post that I’m going to enjoy reading more of your thoughts, so I have yet another thing to thank Ned for. He cheers me up on my darkest days, and now he’s pointed me toward several new bloggers I’m going to enjoy, as well.
I am constantly astonished by how differently we each practice the craft of writing. My obsession with correcting, and editing, and polishing, then whacking it all apart with a machete and starting over, probably falls somewhere between yours and the lack of one described by Bruce Goodman. I make WAY more changes than he says he makes. (Of course, how do we REEEEEALLY know if what he says is true? Maybe he sneaks downstairs in the dead of night when no one’s watching, and edits for hours, hunched furtively over his keyboard, backspacing and deleting like a thing possessed. We have only his word that he doesn’t, after all. I’m just sayin’….) Ahem. Moving on. I make way more changes and spend more hours fretting than he describes, but nothing like what you go through. I mean, I do actually finish my posts. Mostly. Maybe I’ve been being too hasty? Perhaps if I worried more about mine, you wouldn’t have to worry quite so much about yours? Is this all my fault? Eeep.
Thanks for sharing with us tonight and for making me rethink my crusade against slugs in my herb garden. I hope you didn’t mind me having a bit of fun with my comments. I meant no disrespect and I promise that absolutely no wombats were harmed in the writing of this reply. Oh, wait. That’s another bit altogether. Nevermind. Time for me to get my own #mywritingprocess post ready for tomorrow, and head to bed. But I’ll be back. (You’ve been warned.) :O
BTW, I really love that the first thing you mentioned when answering your four questions is being a mom. Nice!
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Holy cow Marcia! You sure know how to write a comment!! 😀 Awesomeness!
Thank you for the compliments, I liked the macho sounding name of Blog Woman!!! too. That name actually began as a direct order from a friend who got tired of my long Facebook comments. So, in a way, there is some definite fire borne within it. LOL
No worries about having fun in comments – I think that is one of the best parts about this whole blogging experience, and I am definitely not easily offended. Ahem, we were introduced via the insanity of Ned! Ha ha ha.
Anyway, thank you so much for your visit, and I am really looking forward to reading your piece of the tour too! I guess that means see you after one more sleep.
Cheers,
Robyn
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Hi, BW (see…we’re BFF’s already, and I’m calling you by your first name!) 🙂 So glad you are okay with my rambling sense of humor, accent on the rambling. I’m always surprised when people don’t know I’m joking. I think Blog Woman is a great name, really. Even without visions of lumberjacks dancing in my head. 😉
Ah, the Insanity of Ned. That ought to be a book, right? Hopefully, he’s got another one in the works.
Hoping to see you on Bookin’ It, for sure, but be forewarned. I did get serious in places, and as always, I’m wordy, wordy, wordy. Your friend who christened you Blog Woman would probably call me Blog Monster or the Blogger That Ate Orlando, or something. 🙂 But I did want to share some things I’ve learned with my fellow newbies. Hope it will still be fun. See you there! And so glad to “meet” you.
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Very entertaining post…this whole blog tour is such a fascinating aspect of the social media world inhabited by writers. Love the diversity of mind–wonderful surprises everywhere! Thanks Marcia Meara for pointing me to this post!
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Well, thank you very much burke59. It was great to get your visit and comment. That Marcia is quite wonderful too, isn’t she? I was lucky to find her! Thanks again!
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Oh my gawd, someone who enjoys a good kabitz! I’m a new blogger, just completing my first year. Can I be a blog whore and invite you to read some of my stuff? I’d be happy to send you a sample of my work if you have the time to read it. I promise it won’t be eye-crossing in length. Thank you for your advice and best of luck to you on your future endeavors!
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Well, I did recently say Mary Magdalene was one of my heroes. 🙂 Would love to look at your stuff, although I do not profess any expert ability. I will head over to your site over the weekend. Thanks so much for coming by and having a read!
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Wow….no more fancy words….just following you so that I can read more of you….if you get do visit mine and let me know
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