I wanted to do this post weeks ago but I’ve had heaps of stuff on. Heaps. Mostly going on blog tours and procrastinating on Facebook.

But finally here’s MY blog tour! Er, welcome!

I really do want to do it, but I’ve been putting it off because I can’t imagine anyone caring about my motivations or creative “process” (*cough*). I’ve been loving reading about how others do this writing thing though so in the spirit of give and take I’m doing one too.

Right let’s do this.

Well I write because I love it and can’t not write. I did try not writing once. It sucked.

I also have a terrible memory so I need to write shit down.

Um, why I blog is slightly more interesting so shall I tell you about that? Okay.

First and foremost, it’s really fun! I don’t get why everyone doesn’t do it.

Secondly, I call the shots: I write about whatever the heck I want. I can pretty it up with photos, which I also love taking, as well as videos / gifs /memes etc because they can be perfectly and totally hilarious. Boring you yet?

Thirdly, I feel like a real writer because people (not a lot, but some, and that’s more than the one – me – who read it before) are reading my work!

Fourthly (and I don’t care if that’s not a word; MYBLOGMYRULES so shut up) when I’m happy with a post and I click ‘publish’, that’s it, it’s done, it can then be looked at and enjoyed as a finished product. I might tweak it once or twice but we’re not talking a ‘Greedo shot first’ level of interference here. Housework does not give the same satisfaction, even when those splats on the bathroom mirror are finally gone and my feet no longer stick to the floor. It’s only temporary anyway – the house is only ‘done’ until the next greasy hand print or someone spills /pees on the floor or kicks toys across the room. But a post is forever. I hope.

Because Mum always told me write what you know. Which naturally tends to be stuff I’m interested in. There are many blogworthy subjects I could focus on, like politics, or a healthy lifestyle, or fashion, but I know stuff-all about those things. So many things interest me: photography, astronomy, books, film, bookbinding, geekery, nature, travel, adventure, inspirational people, art, fart jokes, wild weather, trying new things…! So I write about my experiences of those, sometimes with my family on the periphery, sometimes as the focus, because I’m rather interested in them too. So is Mum, and Justine, and because they read this blog is another reason for my kidcentric and everyday happenings-related stories, because even though they’re far away I want them to feel close.

Genre? Huh?

Does it fit into a genre? I’d be interested to know which one. As I said, I write about things that interest me, so this blog is a bit of a mongrel. I write in a relaxed conversational style, but lots of people do that. I crack the odd joke, but I wouldn’t say this is a humour blog. I love writing about places I’ve seen and experiences I’ve had, but neither am I a travel blogger. (Must admit I’d love to be though!) I enjoy including photos I’ve taken but by no stretch of the imagination am I a photo blogger. I am a mummy, but don’t feel like one of the cool mummy bloggers. I don’t feel qualified to blog about crafting, or fashion, or even parenting, but like reading other mummies’ thoughts on those subjects.

Oh here’s one BIG difference; my posts are sometimes ridiculously long. Off-puttingly long, according to pretty much ALL blogging guidelines I’ve read, but you know what?

I write like I’m playing whack a mole. (Remember that post? Still relevant.) I’m not usually a write-it-down-quick-then-publish-straightaway kind of blogger. I’m disorganised. I agonise. Especially with my first few posts; that transition to the idea of an audience really freaked me out. I usually come up with stuff at highly inconvenient times, like while in the shower or trying to sleep. I write notes in my phone, on random scraps of paper, whatever I can find, and hope the idea doesn’t turn out to be shit when I get back to it later. I’ll work on it, add to it, and can stay up waaay too late if I get on a roll. (eg as I’m writing this it’s now 12:53am. AAARRGGHH GO TO BED!!)

I also use my diary for inspiration for my blog, and vice versa. The category I Wrote About It Last Century & it’s Still Embarrassing is for posts where I basically troll myself and go back through old diary entries from waaay back in the day (I started in 1987) to take the piss or rewrite or both. …Reading back through those diaries I’m fairly confident my skills as a storyteller have improved somewhat in the past thirty years.

Super embarrassing incidents involving the kids. I don’t want them suing me when they’re old enough to comprehend the crap I’ve been spreading about them. I also refuse to write about my womanly parts, but I am a total hypocrite because I’ll read a post about someone else’s and pee a bit because I’m laughing so hard my womanly parts malfunction. I also don’t want to write anything nasty. In real life I love to pile shit on people (that is to poke fun in a friendly way, not to heap actual poo on someone) so I do it in my writing too. But hopefully in a fun, harmless way.

When I first started reading blogs and learned the word “snark”, I had to google it to find out what it was. And then I was all, oh yeah I can do THAT! I try not to though; while I love the catharsis a good bitch sesh rant provides I try to keep that stuff in my diary. Besides, I’m not good at it.

…HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA! *snort*

Have you read my first post? I had no idea how to do anything! I even forgot how to write I was so terrified people would read it. But I read this quote somewhere and whenever I start to compare myself to others and wonder what the hell I’m doing, I look at it again and am encouraged to just do it for the reason I stated above; I love it.

If you want to write, you can. Fear stops most people from writing, not lack of talent, whatever that is. Who am I? What right have I to speak? Who will listen to me if I do? You’re a human being, with a unique story to tell, and you have every right. If you speak with passion, many of us will listen. We need stories to live, all of us. We live by story. Yours enlarges the circle.

― Richard Rhodes

I’ve learned shitloads over the past 15 months, by reading other bloggers’ work, research and trial and error. Lots of error. For example it greatly amused me to tag my twerking post with “personal growth” and “ASS”. Considering today’s internet, in hindsight it probably wasn’t the wisest option… when one very kind blogger ‘LIKED’ the post, I followed blogging etiquette by clicking through to check out their blog andOHMYGODMYEYESMYEYES!!! I CAN NEVER UNSEE THAT!! TMI!! TMI!! AAUGH!! So I changed the tag – live and learn – to tASSels. Damned if I’m not tagging my posts with ‘ASS’ if I want to.

I figured out how to add photos, gifs and YouTube videos, and love using them. I am now familiar with stats, blogrolls, pingbacks as well as some quite disturbing search terms (I mean seriously, WTF people?). Oh and BTW I thought SFW meant “so fucking what”. Well it was a movie with Stephen Dorff. I realised however that must be wrong as it’s highly unlikely NSFW meant ‘not so fucking what’. Thank God for Google.

Hey I’m swearing a bit more than usual in this post. Belated language warning.

My favourites are funny, endlessly creative, positive and fearlessly honest. The kind of writer I want to be, really. They make my day with laughter, write with passion about the things they love, teach me things, and inspire me to do better. There are some truly amazing, wise women (and men!) blogging out there. They might knit beautifully, grow their own food, support their community, and remind me of the simple joys of life, or use their blog to help others who have lost a child, or suffer from mental illness and blog about it with real bravery. Others simply remind me to enjoy life, to create, to improve our world in my own small way, and to just share my stories because that’s what they’re for.

Reading Nerd Do Well by Simon Pegg, growing my hair (againnn) (Actually I’ve changed my mind. Againnnn.), trying to grow capsicums and spinach, and working on getting my fitness back. Meanwhile I have about ten posts in various stages of completion, plus notes, which I take turns working on depending on my mood, inclination and time available. I might publish nothing for ages, then tie the ends up on a run of posts and publish multiple times in short succession. Writing can be a bit of a ‘feast or famine’ thing with me.

That I can look back on it and think it was good, it gave people a laugh, encouraged them to go see some of the places I’ve blogged about, and maybe even taught them something. But I don’t wanna be preachy or wanky about it – just do it how I wanna do it and be me, dork that I am. I love ‘meeting’ like-minded and supportive bloggers from all around the world but I’d still be happy if only my friends and family read my work and were proud of me. (*Note to them it helps if you guys actually tell me you enjoy it, otherwise I may as well go climb a tree and talk to myself!)

I love the below quote and think it fantastically positive and inspiring, because it really puts things into perspective:

I have discovered even the mediocre can have adventures and even the fearful can achieve.

– Sir Ed

Sir Ed = Sir Edmund Hillary = Kiwi, adventurer, first Mt. Everest summiteer and all-round legend. I love his reminder to keep climbing my own mountains, and to enjoy the view.

– Michelle

P.S. Just wanted to say a great big THANK YOU for reading! Writing for writing’s sake is enough – it’s why I’ve kept a diary for over a quarter of a century! – but it’s even more enjoyable when others enjoy it too. So thanks for the various likes, comments and support you’ve shown me during my first year of blogging. I really appreciate it!