THE WHY I WRITE BLOG HOP

I'M SO EXCITED TO BE TAKING PART IN THE WHY I WRITE BLOG HOP TODAY!

Massive thanks to Aimee from Green Beanie Beauty who nominated me to go next. You can check out Aimee's Why I Write post from last week here.

If you haven't come across the Why I Write Blog Hop before, it's a chance for bloggers to share a little bit about themselves and answer a few questions about their style, reasons for writing and inspiration.

I found writing this article to be a rare indulgence and also a revelation; it took me back to childhood and reminded me just how much I love to write, and just how long it's been a passion of mine.

I hope you enjoy the read :)




1. WHY DO I WRITE?

I've written copiously since early childhood. Reams and reams of journals, ideas, organizing notes, stories and lists. For me, writing is as natural as breathing... but that passion and love of the written word had to begin somewhere, and I think it began the Christmas I turned eight - when my Aunt gave me the first three Anne of Green Gables novels.

That summer was blisteringly hot, and us kids were wont to wear nothing but our bathers for weeks at a time; our skin turning as brown as the nuts on our drooping macadamia tree.

Everything shimmered in the heat, and when it got too much, we'd seek relief in the pool - the bricks around the edge so hot, we'd invariably do a funny hopping dance across them in our bare feet before jumping in.

And on the hottest days, those bricks would steam as our splashes hit.

But for three days, there was no pool for me.

Early on Boxing Day morning, I lay on one of our salmon pink couches in the Pool Room - french doors open to the garden. The old willow's branches murmured on the roof in the cool, heavy air; the type of air you only get on a summer morning - as though all the world waits in stillness, anticipating the heat to come.

It was precisely then that I opened Anne of Green Gables for the first time.

And I was mesmerized.

For three days I read those books cover to cover, and back to back.

I fell in love with the way writing could so transport you to another place, you could smell the fresh leaves and feel the breeze. The way words were spun like cobwebs - meaning and story strung about to catch your attention, wrapping you in the silken threads of another world. I fell in love with the subtlety and nuance, the cadence and rhythm, and how precise details were bought to life with broad strokes of imagination.

And at the end of the story, at the end of those three days, Anne became a writer. And I think it was then - in the last days of 1990 - that I too began to write.




2. HOW DOES MY WRITING DIFFER FROM OTHERS IN ITS GENRE?

My writing style is naturally rather complex.

I excel at precise examinations and analytical dissertations, particularly those based around academic postulations and paradigms, and, where possible, I enjoy piecing together a construct so littered with semantic and grammatical nuance, that a vast proportion of those attempting to ascertain its meaning would relent; the writing being too obfuscated by erudite verbosity and uncommon structure.

:-)

In other words, I struggle with simplicity, and I think my writing differs from others in general blog-land because of this - I often have to stop myself running on with too many pretty words. My writing certainly reflects my own 'voice' (yes, I truly am impossibly verbose in real life too), but hopefully it is still easy to read and stands out in a good way.




3. WHAT AM I WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?

A better question would be 'What am I not working on'!

Oh the wonderful plans I have! Two big new series are underway and almost ready to go, and plans and drafts for two eBooks have been started. I've got a heap of recipes and a bunch of little DIY projects I'm itching to start - they're lovely and simple and should be lots of fun - and most people will find them achievable too. I've also got a big list of tweaks for the site itself, just to make it more engaging and user friendly. There is more... but that would be letting the cat out of the bag and ruin all my fun!

As ever though, the biggest factor in all this is time, and there's only so many hours in a day you can work.




4. DO I WRITE WHAT I DO?

I think yes, I write what I do, but more than that, I write what I am. Writing is more than just a physical act to record other physical acts - there's an element of soul and personality that gets added in there too. For me, writing this blog is about creative ideas and new ways of doing things that are both beautiful and useful.

You know, when I was six, I had an idea to make a Lemonade Stall out the front of our house. But this could be no ordinary stall, no no.

I was determined to make it amazing - awesome cups, the best tasting lemonade, a pretty tablecloth and the best hand drawn sign I could make. I had had the idea, and I worked my tiny little butt off to make it the best damn Lemonade Stall that had ever existed!

That stall taught me all about the word 'possibility', and was swiftly followed by other ventures. The Pumpkin Nursery - I planted pumpkin seeds throughout the entire backyard.... The Stationary Circle - making sets of writing paper and envelopes with hand drawn designs on them - memorable because I convinced all my little friends to spend their lunchtimes helping me. The Macadamia Business - collecting hundreds of nuts from our macadamia tree and selling them on the old lemonade stall - memorable because someone from Melbourne drove past, skidded to a halt, reversed back to where I was sitting, and bought every single bag! The Toy Machine - if you remember Sooty, my sister and I asked Santa for a machine like his so we could make 'the best' toys ever to sell to our friends. The ideas went on and on, through the years, and when I was 22, I started my own company - but that's a saga for another time.

You may be forgiven for thinking I was/am completely focused on making money - but it was never about that at all.

It is, and always was, about creativity. To create and build something wonderful. Something that helps people. Something of quality that people love.

Something inspired, and something inspiring.

So, back to the question, yes, I write what I do because it's who and what I am. Just as writing is as natural to me as breathing, so is the creativity and striving for new and better ways.




5. WHAT IS MY WRITING PROCESS?

Oh, now that's easy :)

Whenever I can, I go to the park with lots of coffee, my gorgeous leather folio that the husband gave me a few years ago, several notepads and a dozen pens. A few hours later, (or more if I can negotiate it), I come home drained, but with pages and pages of posts and ideas sorted out.

I write everything longhand before putting it into the computer - for some reason it makes me focus and I'm much more productive - writing a post straight onto the computer can take me DAYS! But give me a pen and paper and it'll be done in half an hour - go figure :)


There we go guys, all about how and why I write :) Now it's my turn to pass the baton to another awesome blog:




ALONG CAME JAY

Along Came Jay is a beautiful new blog written by first time mum Bella. Having been a highly qualified professional in corporate London, Bella has dived into life as stay at home mum, and she charts her and new baby Jay's adventures on her blog.


So hop on over to visit Bella in the next week or so, have a mosey around, and see why she writes too!

All the best,

Eliza.