Singledou[b]t: writing process

Showing posts with label writing process. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Evolution of my Little Blog

I was just thinking about the evolution of my blog. At various stages of its life, this blog has had very different focuses...foci...

When I first started blogging, it was honestly as a stepping stone to letting the world know I liked to write. I blogged mostly about what God was teaching me and the creative side of life.

These posts were written on my original blog. One that no one knew about. I was writing "publicly" but the public had no idea.

Then my blog became about a new start. A new career, a new blog, a new focus.

Then beginning with this post a whole new focus for my blog emerged. I started writing about my love for cooking and photography. I was reading a lot of Pioneer Woman at the time and loved what she did with her blog so I started going down that road. I think it was the real beginning of my blog.

I mixed in some true Kim with some honest posts about where I was at but it was mostly about my food. It got to the point that all my friends called it a food blog. To this day people still call it a food blog. ITS NOT A FOOD BLOG.

Somewhere along the way, it just got to be about life. What I loved, liked, wished for.

In all of this, i was randomly writing reflective posts on what I was learning in the midst of life

I even began using my blog to be the main advertiser of my growing Etsy Shop.

The late spring of this last year I started getting more involved in the blogging world. Joining link ups, entering giveaways, etc. My blog changed almost drastically. In some ways it was great. I was getting exposure. I was seeing other writing styles, other ways of expressing yourself but i was also getting more readers.

I went from 30 something followers to the 200s in a matter of weeks.

I even got to the point of taking on advertisers & sponsors. Many days my blog was about the giveaways and the sponsors. I found it hard to keep up with it and started to lose my voice as a writer.

Once the high of the growth dwindled down, I started reflecting more on who I was as a writer, a blogger, a friend. I am still reflecting on who that is. I am still trying to find out who I am and where I want my blog, my writing to go. What I love about the blogging community is that I can take my time to figure it out and I don't have to be boxed in to one specific style. My followers will change. My focus will change and that's ok.

How has your blog evolved? Have you found your own niche? Are still trying to find your voice?

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Fears, Oh My!

In an effort to exercise my writing muscles, I've decided to take on the 30 Days of Blogging Prompts. I got the idea from Brooke from Covered in Grace (30 Days of Blogging Prompts) who got the idea from @ Lashes & Beard. Today I am doing "Describe 3 legitimate fears you have and describe how they became fears."

This one is sort of a struggle to write not because of the fears but because I am not really sure what they are... at least not legitimate fears.

MICE
Sounds silly, right, that I am afraid of mice. Now, I am not afraid of mice that have been pets or caged up. At least I don't think that I am. But I am afraid of the ones who hang out in my kitchen and scurry around in the dark looking for food that is not theirs to eat.

I live in NYC and having mice in your apartment is pretty likely no matter where you live or how clean you are. My last apartment had an infestation. They had done construction on the basement that I think must have stirred up a colony of mice. To top that the apartment right next door had been under construction for the entire 4 years I lived there. So I think they migrated up the 5 flights and decided to make my apartment and that gutted apartment theirs. We had weeks where we saw 1 or 2 a day. Our landlord refused to do much more than give us sticky traps.... so in turn i killed 1 or 2 a day... i am not kidding. So this made me a little jumpy. The straw happened when i was in my room and my hangers started moving on their own. Yes they made it to my room. I moved out soon after. In my current apartment we have had a problem too but not to the extent as before. They show up for a week or so and then disappear for 3-6 months. Its usually a tiny little guy that lives in and on our stove.

Still i am afraid of them. I am more afraid of how sneaky they are. I am afraid that i will step on them or that they will scurry up my leg. Not rational and I know it! Yet I am still afraid.

DEATH OF A PARENT
Over the last few years the reality that my parents are getting older is becoming more real. In the grand scheme of things they are still young. Most people live to be in their 80s but they are reaching ages where the risks are higher and the reality is, well, more real. With my mom's health scare this year, it has become even more obvious that I am not promised to have them forever. The fear of losing them is becoming a daily thing lately. I often find myself wanting to call them every day just to make sure they are OK and doing well. I also find myself wanting to play parent to them. I want to beg them to take very good care of themselves. Not in judgement but purely out of fear that i could one day lose them. I watch my mom struggle with taking care of her ailing mother (95) and hope that I get to do that with her one day. I know that's not ideal for my mom but I hope that I have plenty more years to be with her.

NOT HAVING A FAMILY OF MY OWN
I am turning 37 soon and the reality that I will be single and childless for the rest of my life gets more real every year. I won't go into it too much here but this is an overwhelming fear of mine. I legitimately want a family. I am not overly proactive nor do I complain about my current status much but it is a fear on mine that is very real. You can read a little more about this here.

What are some of your fears? If you've written a post about it, link them up below in the comments section. I'd love to hear them!

Have a great week!

Friday, January 25, 2013

Practice Makes Better

One of my goals for 2013 is to write more creatively. More specifically "8) Write at least one creative post a week." So far I have failed at that but its still January so I am not a total failure yet (wink wink).

Now in processing what this means, I have had to decide what a creative post means? I think originally it was more creative writing style like fiction, poetry, etc. I want to hone those skills more. I truly think practicing your art will make you a more rounded artist. If i wait until perfect inspiration comes I will never write.

So, for me, writing at all is a good habit to start. I get so bogged down sometimes by lack of inspiration or the tasks of the day that its just not a priority anymore. So I have decided that writing creatively means writing about anything other than technical things and giveaways or blog hops. DISCLAIMER - I actually love the technical things, giveaways and blog hops. I seriously enjoy them BUT they are also serious distractions from why i began blogging. I started blogging because I wanted the outlet to write and making it public (though a long process) was necessary for me. I needed it so that i would no longer be a closet writer and so that i had a community that helped encourage my desires as a writer. I got caught up in the social politics of blogging but now I want to go back to the reason I started blogging in the first place... to strengthen that writing muscle.

SO What does that mean? In our staff meeting yesterday our main administrator posed these three questions when communicating to our parishes. So What? Who Cares? & Why Me? She stated that we should ask these questions when communicating to our masses. Bringing this over to my blogging, I want to ask these same questions. I realize that sometimes when I write, I shouldn't consider these questions because it could stifle the writing process but in the same respect I think they force you to look at what you write about and why and really dig deeper into the why. So I want to take some time, at least once a week, to write. Just write. They may be creatively written posts or they may be about life but I will write.

Brooke from Covered in Grace listed 30 Days of Blogging Prompts this week. They were realistic yet simple writing prompts. I hope to use these to help get that writing muscle going. I won't do them every day but often enough.

Day 1: List 10 random facts about yourself.
Day 2: Describe 3 legitimate fears you have and describe how they became fears.
Day 3: Describe your relationship with your parents.
Day 4: List 5 things you would tell your 16 year-old self if you could.
Day 5: What are the 5 things that make you happiest right now?
Day 6: What is the hardest thing you have ever experienced?
Day 7: What is your dream job, and why?
Day 8: What are 3 passions you have?
Day 9: List 3 people who have influenced you, and how.
Day 10: Describe your most embarrassing moment.
Day 11: Describe a few of your pet peeves.
Day 12: Describe a typical day in your life.
Day 13: Describe 5 weaknesses you have.
Day 14: Describe 5 strengths you have.
Day 15: If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
Day 16: What are your 5 greatest accomplishments?
Day 17: What is the thing you most wish you were great at?
Day 18: What is the most difficult thing you have had to forgive?
Day 19: If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why?
Day 20: Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood.
Day 21: If you could have 1 superpower, what would it be and what would be the first thing you did with it?
Day 22: Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 15 years?
Day 23: List your top 3 hobbies and why you love them.
Day 24: Describe your family dynamic from your childhood vs. your family dynamic now.
Day 25: If you could have dinner with anyone in history, who would it be and what would you eat?
Day 26: What popular notion do you think the world has wrong?
Day 27: What is your favorite part of your body and why?
Day 28: What is your love language?
Day 29: What do you think people misunderstand the most about you?
Day 30: List 5 things you would hope to be remembered for.

Thanks all for taking time out of your day to read my blog!

Have a lovely weekend!

Monday, September 24, 2012

I Am With You Always

This weekend was rich beyond words, but I will do my best to use them to share with you what I am learning.

A few weeks ago, one of our teaching pastors spoke at one of the parishes I attend/work for. He talked about how he spends time in the word (bible) 3 times a day, 20 minutes each time. He'll read and then reflect on what he is reading. Excited about the idea and eager to go deeper, I gave it a try. Like I normally do, it was more like 2 times a day for 10 minutes and little reflection. What I was doing was still impactful but I longed for the whole package. I'd love to say, after two weeks, that I have it all together and am on my way to making the 3 times a day work. But I am still on the journey to that pattern. In fact, in those two weeks I think I spent less time reading then I did before. But the time I did read, I was truly enjoying it.

This weekend, the same pastor spoke but at a different parish. This time, a few of the things he spoke about struck the same chord and this time, I felt the pull to try it again. So Saturday night, I read for about 20 minutes in Mark and 1 Peter. The various words I read and heard earlier that day were spinning but they were refusing to sit still. So at midnight, I started free writing, not worrying about form, or grammar or anything. Just attempting to put down on paper the thoughts in my head. I love to write, even quit my 9 to 5 last year to pursue it more. But, for the last year I have been in such a block. What used to set me free was weighing me down instead. This week, I've had a few tastes of that freedom again and its been amazing. I don't always write for other people, sometimes I write for me. But regardless, I haven't felt free to do either in a long time.

On Sunday morning, I woke up wanting to read more. That's when I came across this little gem. I've read 2 Peter many times especially the verse "make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love." but the following verse caught my attention this time. "For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins." I have really been struggling with the idea that I am ineffective & unproductive in my knowledge of my Lord Jesus Christ. Reflecting back to the verse before, I felt like my eyes were opened to a simple truth I have forgotten. I am still processing this verse and what it means day to day. But I am so excited about where it is going to take me.

Another verse that this pastor shared was from Jesus' Great Commission in Matthew. As Jesus is commissioning the 11 disciples, he ends it with "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Another verse I have heard over and over again, but something about this time was different. I was open to hearing it in a new way. As Jesus is preparing them for ministry without him physically, he is reminding them that he isn't going anywhere. He will be with them... ALWAYS. Just as he is with us... Always. We aren't alone in this journey. We try and do this all on our terms, our own strength, but He is still right there, to the very end of the age. Just a beautiful reminder of God's love and provision.

On top of some other more practical things, this weekend was rich in blessings!

Thanks all for your encouragement and for reading my blog! You make me smile!

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Saturday, August 25, 2012

{Writing} From Dream To Screen

Its no secret that I like to write... at least anymore. I prefer story telling over anything else but story telling is so much harder. Going from an initial idea to getting the idea down on paper is the hardest part. For some reason blog posts are 100 times easier then stories but even blog posts are hard sometimes.

This week, as a part of Mama Kat's Writing Prompts, I chose "Share your writing process. How long does it take an idea in your head to get published on your blog?"

Typically, ideas are the easy part. I have ideas come to me at the weirdest times and often. In the shower, on the subway, as I drift off to sleep, in the middle of a sermon... Rarely do they come when I am in a place I can stop and actually write. Often, my ideas come to me like Twitter or Facebook statuses. They will be a short idea or phrase that often leads to further detail.

If I am lucky and good, then I will stop whatever I am doing and write down the idea and the top 2-3 points/leads to that idea. This rarely happens. I often will fool myself into thinking I'll remember it and why I thought it. But 96% of the time, its gone the second I move my attention to something else.

When I get a chance to sit down and flesh out an idea, often times the inspiration that came to me a "flash of genius" is often a faint glimmer. If I am feeling inspirited, I might try and write anyway. That usually leads to a different version of the original intention but is sometimes better.

There are times I schedule out writing time with no real idea in mind. Some of those times, inspiration comes and I will write about whatever is on my mind. Other times, its a wasted hour or two and I end up checking emails or reading other blogs. That happens more times then I'd like to admit.

My creative writing/story telling often happens in the same pattern. It leans a lot more on the unfinished and uninspired side. Often, because its a long piece, I will get 20-30 pages in and lose my motivation. I can't count the amount of stories I have started and not finished. Maybe one day I'll save up some money and head somewhere with just my computer (no internet) and just write for a couple of days. Wonder if that will flesh out any of these ideas swimming around in my head.

The last step typically in my blog post writing is finding the right pictures. I prefer to have images in my posts but I prefer to have my own photos. I try my best to find something I have already taken or if I have time, I will take pictures just for a particular post.

So that's how this thing called writing tends to work for me. Its a little ADD and random, like I am.

What's your process?