Tuesday, January 25, 2011

I Think Therefore I Blog

I want to briefly explain why I post here once or twice a week:

I was standing in the laundry room, taking clothes out of the dryer, folding them neatly and placing them into the laundry basket. I paused to sniff one of my sons’ warm shirts and thought, "The smell of this new fabric softener really brightens up my day." I instantly thought: something has got to change; I've hit rock bottom. Is that all I’ve got to look forward to? Fabric softener? I’ve lost my way. I need a lifeline. I need to climb out of this hole.

As a writer I was stalled, or blocked, whatever you want to call it. My first book was published in 2004, and since then I’ve had 2 kids and I got paying jobs. I got laid off from one of my day jobs in 2009. I was drifting, sinking in fact. So, I started a blog.

I had to write about something I know. I'm home all the time with kids, what do I know...? The mom blog was born. My husband thinks I'm cracked, but I know I would be really crazy if I didn't have the outlet and discipline of it. It’s also energised my writing career. I've finished a draft of book two and am also writing on occasion for print publications and online. I also teach writing. I do other bits, too. All this and full time at home with the kids; am I tired? Yes. Short on funds? Yes. However, I'm much happier--and it's not because I changed fabric softeners.
Posted by Lory at 1:52 PM
Labels: , , ,
add to kirtsy

11 comments:

  1. Paul FreemanJanuary 25, 2011 at 3:41 PM

    Writing, kids and fabric softener... do we need anything else? an odd pint or two, maybe.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jessica D TorresJanuary 25, 2011 at 4:14 PM

    I recently started my blog and I am a stay at home mom. It is nice to write what is in my head and to connect with others who are in similar situations.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Carolee HollenbackJanuary 26, 2011 at 3:48 AM

    A blog is almost as therapeutic as Journal Writing, except you share it with others and meet tons of neat people in the process.

    I have a few blogs :-)


    Blogging Biz Mom

    Working at home advice

    Come on home

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ross BrownJanuary 26, 2011 at 7:18 AM

    I enjoy your blog, Lory. Keep going!

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousJanuary 26, 2011 at 9:00 AM

    That's a great way to view your blog, a tool to help with the writer's block. To be honest, it's one of the reasons why I love my own blog so much!!

    My husband thinks I'm cracked, too, but so's he so we're kind of even!!

    CJ xx

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownJanuary 26, 2011 at 12:23 PM

    I started blogging because my mom suggested it and also to make a little money doing it...Well, 4 months later I find myself writing because I enjoy it! No money made, just a couple cents here and there. It is something I look forward to doing when I have the time and am not wiped out from work. Nice post!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Idabel AllenJanuary 26, 2011 at 12:37 PM

    I enjoyed this blog. It was to the point but also gave me a good feel for you as a writer. Also, I can definately relate.

    I'll be honest, I started my blog because I'm "supposed" to start marketing books not yet published. Weird feeling. But the more I blog, the less pressured I feel. Its less "supposed" to now, and more because its fun. Also, this is first time in 16 years not working on a novel, so blogging is a great outlet until the next project starts.

    Thanks for sharing and good luck with next book.

    ReplyDelete
  8. LoryJanuary 26, 2011 at 12:49 PM

    Wow, everyone, thanks for visiting. Funny, this blog post is among the shortest I've written here, but getting the most reaction. Glad to know I'm not alone!

    ReplyDelete
  9. ultimateoutcasts@gmail.comFebruary 1, 2011 at 2:22 PM

    Hi Lory,

    I just had the opportunity to visit your site! I see that I'm in familiar company to be with a woman feeling "post-feminist angst". By the way, if you say "post-feminist" on the feministing.com website you get in big trouble. I learned this the hard way.

    You may be interested in checking out my 2 recent posts on feminism about "Living the Dream". Perhaps you can relate.

    And there is nothing wrong with enjoying the great scent of tulips or fabric softener. After all, it may have launched your empire... Or at least a very well-written blog :)

    Cheers!
    Heather

    ReplyDelete
  10. BBat50February 9, 2011 at 4:30 AM

    I started blogging the same way most adults started creative writing, out of a need for self-expression. After a few months, I decided my blog was really boring, even to me.

    I ended up taking a creative writing blogging course which helped. Blogging is a particularly fun type of writing because of the instant feedback and the evolution of structure, you don't have to think through a whole short of long-story at first.

    The course, btw, is http://www.blogwritingcourse.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. LisaFebruary 14, 2011 at 12:12 AM

    Hi Lory,

    Just found your blog through the Irish Blog awards 2011 nominations list. Congratulations!

    I can totally relate to using your blog as a writing outlet. Years ago I trained as a technical writer and I think it zapped my love of writing for years. Last October I just decided to start blogging about my new life as a mother - and once I started I found I had a lot to say! So over four months later I'm still at it and loving it. I had forgotten how much I could enjoy writing. :)

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Generic License.