Why I write...

Why do I write what I write?

So why do I write? It all started on maternity leave - I used Kidspot as a way to break the isolation when the baby slept. I'd fritter away an hour happily chatting, answering questions and eventually, writing a few blog posts. I liked getting the views, and I got a lot of enjoyment from the 'company'. It really made a difference to my days, especially those when I saw no adults in real life. I will always be thankful to Kidspot for that.

So when I had a year to go before looking for work, I decided I'd write a blog, as that seemed like a way to make money that wouldn't impact on the needs of the rest of the family. Stop laughing. I'd never even read a professional blog. I had absolutely no idea.

Fast forward six months, I realised I would never make money, unless I made a lot of changes to the blog. As you know, my heart wasn't interested in those making those changes, so now Where the Wild Things Were is just a blog for me. I empty my head, trying to make sense of the world. Join in, or ignore it. Hopefully there is something that resonates with someone.

I write for Weekend Notes, to make a little pocket money, but mainly to share great places to visit, or to boost deserving businesses. I won't review anything I don't like. I don't want to waste time reading bad reviews, I only want to read about where I should go, and so I work on the same theory for others.

I am most proud of my travel blog, the poorly named Holidays, Hellidays and the Journeys in Between (seriously, what on earth was I thinking?), which currently has a post being translated into German for a website, and has pieces published in a US travel magazine, plus pictures published in the Huffington Post. However, as it is self-funded travel, I only publish once a month.

The short answer to the question, is that I write because I like to. I get a great deal of enjoyment from it.

How does my writing differ from others?

I don't have 'a voice'. I have my voice. It's not aimed at an audience, unless the audience is like me. It gives me an enormous amount of freedom, to write whatever I want to write. This, however, also limits my ability to make money from the blog.

What am I working on?

I am looking for work writing, and in the meantime, I am writing some articles with the aim of selling them into more mainstream media. I also write short stories for writing competitions. Without the deadlines, I don't seem to get motivated to sit down and write fiction. I have an idea for a children's book, which I want to complete before the end of the year. Wish me luck!

Re-purposing this old post for #Lifethisweek on how my blogs started. I clearly never got round to writing the children's book...hmmm.