why I write


Back in August 2013, when I wrote my first blog post I didn't know what I wanted to achieve with this blog, or if indeed I was going to write second post. As a matter of fact, I did and this post shows as the 100th post in my archive. Two of those 100 are drafts and may never be published. I work like that. It seems like the right time to reflect on this small space of mine. And when, by sheer coincidence, Carla from My Yellow Heart asked me to take part in a blog hop, exploring the why’s of why we write, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to put my thoughts on paper. Well, not paper but you know what I mean.

I feel rather flattered about being asked to participate in this blog hop, so, thank you Carla. You can read all about Carla's own reasons to write here. I "met" Carla when I read about her blog over at Elaina's A Little Bit Country. It seems like a long time ago now! Elaina had mentioned both Carla's and my own blog as newbie blogs she enjoys reading.

And without further ado, here are the answers to the blog hop questions.

What Am I Working On?
I am not working on anything in particular. I am writing for my own enjoyment and for the enjoyment of my readers. I like it that way.


How Does My Writing Differ From Others In My Genre?
This is a difficult question. I don't really like to think of my blog belonging to a genre but I suppose it is a family centred blog of sorts. Sometimes I write about parenting, or crafting, sometimes I share photos, sometimes I self-indulgently write about myself. I am exploring my life by writing about it. I am many things, a mother, a wife, a (somewhat failed) scientist for example. The many pages in the book of my life make me unique and I hope that this in turn makes my writing stand out. It may not, I don't mind. I don't try to be different. I am writing an honest account of my life with happy moments, grumpy moments and all the ones in between.

Why Do I Write What I Do?
I am exploring my life by writing about it. I write about my daily experiences and I write to help me make sense of those experiences. Because sometimes, life is a bit confusing. I often have conflicting ideas in my head. Writing ideas and thoughts down help me to see through the tangle of thoughts. I also write to remember.
My childhood memories are few and sometimes those of other people, often fleeting moments of memory evoked by a familiar smell or a photograph. I want to capture my current life to create my own tangible memories of those often insignificant but oh so significant moments in our lives.
I feel privileged to read about other women's lives. Women I might never meet but feel a strong bond with through shared experiences and shared interests. The world online is a big one compared to the one I inhabit with my body. I have learnt a lot about myself, about parenting and life in general through reading other women's accounts of their own experiences and with my writing, I want to give something back.

How Does My Writing Process Work?
The short answer is it just happens. I don't plan my posts and I usually have a few on the go. I also write posts that I delete or never publish because sometimes, once I have written things down I feel no longer a need to share them with anybody. These not-meant-to-be-posts have a therapeutic function above anything else. I am not a quick writer, I like to digest my writing before I publish. I spend far too much time reading and re-writing my posts because I am self conscious about my English language skills, in particular my vocabulary, which is small compared to my German one and the wordless vocabulary in my head. Do you have a wordless vocabulary in your head? My brain seems to prefer images over words. Sometimes I try new words and phrases that I understand but not normally use. It is a bit uncomfortable. 


Part of this blog hop is to nominate three more people to pass on to. It was a difficult choice but here they are:

Mel from Coal Valley View. I love Mel's blog, I love her big family and how she and her husband raise their children. Mel is wise and fun. I think we could be good earthly friends. I also love Tasmania, I visited a long long time ago and can imagine living there.

CJ from Above the River. CJ is an inspiring gardener and a fun mother. I like it that her boys are allowed to climb trees without safety harness and I am pretty sure CJ is good at climbing trees, too. I love to read about superman and muntjak deer and marker pen incidents.

N from Creative Academia. I really enjoy visiting Creative Academia and I particularly love her eclectic collection of daily thoughts and memories summarised in the 101 days series. I also get a small glimpse of the professional life I miss quite a lot. 

I look forward to reading all about their reasons to write. And yours, too. Go on, tell me!

Comments

  1. Thanks for the nomination Christina. I loved reading about your writing processes and why you write, I'm quite nosy about this sort of thing. I always like to know! You really have no reason to be self-conscious about your English language skills, your writing is consistently excellent, and I always enjoy your blog posts.

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  2. Hi Christina! I think your writing's great too. IKve never really thought about why I write... I love doing it; always have, since being little. My head's always full of ideas and I like to get them down.
    And blogging is truly wonderful in that you end up with a record of the little details of your life, along with photos. It's nurtured my creativity and brought a lot of pleasure from 'meeting' some wonderful people from the blogging community.
    Sarah x

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    1. I agree, blogging has also nurtured my creativity, and brought the creativity that was already in my out into the light. x

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  3. All I can add is that I'm glad you decided to write a blog and that I discovered it!
    Lovely post Christina.

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    1. Likewise Gina, I love all your creative work and your baking, too. x

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  4. It's a nice way to find out a bit more about you.

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  5. I really enjoyed reading your list and I always love the way you write.
    I write for many of the same reasons, it's a bit like a diary and the unexpected bonus has been "meeting " new people and making new friends - I hadn't expected that.
    As none of my real life friends know I write and I keep it very quiet from my family, it's a place to share some grumbles and moans too!

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    1. I let my family read the moans and grumbles, easier than explaining why I am annoyed/upset/exasperated. I hadn't expected to make friends either, it is nice because in the real world you can never meet that many people and I am not that good at making friends. x

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  6. Hi Christina, loved this post, I'm one of Carla's nominees too and am in the middle of writing my post. I love visiting here, and reading what you are up to. The best thing for me about blogging has been the record of daily life that sometimes may seem mundane but looking back I'm actually creating great memories for my children. And the blogging friends who I may never end up meeting in person but feel like absolute like minded souls that you know you would be good friends with if they lived nearby xoxo

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    1. You never know, maybe when all our children have flown the nest we bloggers will travel the world and drop in on each other! I am glad you enjoy visiting and I really love visiting your space, too. x

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    2. That is a lovely thought, you are both welcome at my digs x

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  7. So interesting to learn your reasons for blogging, and how you compose your posts etc. it's always fascinating to read a 'behind the scenes' post. So glad you do what you do, I really enjoy your blog. X

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    1. I am glad you enjoy your visits Penny. I like stopping by at yours, too. x

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  8. Hey Christina,
    Oooh loved this. I think what stands out for me in your writing is your honesty and your sense of humour. I have laughed out loud many times whilst reading your posts. I appreciate your warts and all family diary. It resonates with me, and that's why I look forward to your posts so much. Of course you are a crafty goddess, and I live vicariously through that too ;)
    Here's to another 100 (at least) posts!
    Leanne xx

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    1. Hi Leanne. Warts and all family diary would make such a great blog name! I am not so much of a crafty goddess really, I just was privileged to enjoy 9 years of weekly classes in all kinds of ladylike pursuits (courtesy of the Swiss school system) and had many years of practice. Of course I don't show all the gone wrong projects.... I love your own honesty, too and you make me laugh often and loud. Thanks for all your visits! Christina xx

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  9. Hi Christina! Thanks for sharing the reasons why your write! I really do understand that it helps to sort out your thoughts. I often write when I am anxious, or have something on my mind, and when I have finished I have worked through the problem all by myself! So I do not need to publish it. But the main reason I started my blog was to record our family journey. There are so many tiny things that happen in life that are so special, but they are forgotten about easily. I am in the process of printing off each of my blog posts, putting them in order, and then storing them away. Then when I am older and forgotten a lot of things, I can look back and relive them all over again. Thanks for sharing, I enjoy visiting here, it's always a pleasure to see what you have been up to. :)

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    1. I have an anxious personality and writing helps to settle my worries quite often. I used to make photo albums but stopped sometime in 2008. I made another album when James and Alistair moved in but now I wish I had started my blog then! I might start printing of my blog posts, such a good idea. I like visiting you in your space, too. Loving your holiday series. x

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  10. It is lovely to read a bit more about you Christina and how you work and write. I know what you mean about the unpublished draft posts, I sometimes write a lot of something and then either edit it down to not a lot, to something else or delete it. Once you have got it all out somehow it doesn't always seem so important or appropriate to post does it. I hope that you keep enjoying blogging, I know that I will keep enjoying your writing. xx

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    1. I am glad you are enjoying your visits Amy. Writing is really therapeutic and I find and blogging is great because you get comments that might help you when help is needed, something you don't get from a diary. x

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  11. Well done for reaching post number 100. This is a really interesting post. I'm always amazed at how often you manage to post in detail and now you've revealed that it takes quite a long time before you press publish, I'm even more impressed. Do keep on writing - I love reading your posts and your family sound lovely.

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    1. I often write instead of doing things I should be doing.... and I really enjoy it. My family is quite mad but I am glad we appear lovely! x

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  12. I loved reading this so much Christina! So nice to learn more about you although I had no idea English was not your first language - you would never know! I love your writing style and enjoy all of your Posts. Thanks so much for the tag and here's to another 100 Posts! Mel xxx

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    1. Thank you Mel, I am glad my German accent doesn't show in my writing. It is difficult to judge one's own writing. x

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  13. Loved reading this post Christina. Sorry it's taken me so long to stop and comment. Blogging helps me sort my own thoughts out also. In some ways, it has also made me feel more confident in my own self and voice too the more I think of it. Thanks for participating on from my own link. Look forward to keeping on reading your blog xx

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    1. You are right Carla, I feel more confident in my own self through blogging, too. I am glad I accepted your invitation because it was about time to reflect on my writing. Thank you. x

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  14. What a lovely rationale for your blog writing and I couldn't agree more. I do find it very cathartic too. Initially I started off with my cat blog then one to record my jewellery making but over time they've both become a place for thoughts, ideas and a diary of sorts. I also have a big pile of unpublished drafts as either the time moves on or I feel differently when I come back to it. I love your cv too and that is a lovely picture. I'm a fellow weegie but baffled by how you ended up in here of all places! I have always loved my home city even though I do often dream of somewhere warm where wellies are not normal attire!

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    1. Welcome to my space! I had a quick look at both your blogs and shall do some exploring once the weans are off to bed. It is good to see another weegie here. I wonder how many times our paths have crossed? I often moan about this town of ours but I am really glad I am here, it is so very friendly. But yes, we sometimes discuss a move to drier climates, or places where there are snowy winters and blistering hot summers. But the grass is always greener elsewhere and I remember that I had similar wishes of being elsewhere when I lived in Switzerland. x

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  15. I've been so absent lately (on prac) but it's been nice to catch up on a month of your posts all in one hit!
    Life gets all consuming at times, so these blogs of ours are wonderful spaces to record the little memories we would otherwise forget.
    "...because sometimes, once I have written things down I feel no longer a need to share them with anybody"….I hear you!
    xx

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  16. This was so interesting. It strikes me that blogging is a way of recording and processing things for a lot of people. It's so nice to have that outlet. x

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  17. Hi Christina, thank you for your comment on my blog. I really appreciate anyone taking the time to say hello. I agree that this series of questions has been really interesting and helpful. I enjoyed reading yours too. I hope you and your family are enjoying the summer and the upcoming Cornwall holiday!

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Thank you for visiting and leaving a comment, I love to hear from you, I really do. I sometimes reply by email but I am not all that reliable... Christina xx

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