I am thrilled and honoured to have been nominated by the lovely and talented Linda from Nutsrok, to take part in a ‘Tour Through Blogland’, otherwise known as ‘The Virtual Blog Tour Award’ I am thrilled to be amongst such great company as the other nominees, and it is my pleasure to accept.

There are a couple of rules that are as follows:

1.Pass the tour on to up to four other bloggers. Give them the rules and a specific Monday to post.
2.Answer four questions about your creative process which lets other bloggers and visitors know what inspires you to do what you do:

What am I working on at the moment?

I am trying to focus on improving my writing at the moment, although, over the three months I have been blogging, I have noticed that my writing is getting a little better. Certainly reading other blogs gives me some insight in presentation and content which I need to learn more about. There are plenty of things for me to learn in order to become the writer I long to be.

How does my work differ to others in my genre?

I think my work is different because I am different! Everything I write about is given from my own perspective of an event or situation that I have experienced. Although others may have found themselves in similar situations, I like to make fun of things or try and pick out the humourous side of it. Either myself, or one of my unfortunate family members, will often bear the brunt of a light-hearted mickey-taking!

Why do I write/create what I do?

Originally it was just a suggestion by my sister to start a blog, as she thought I told funny stories, and she and other family members could read them through my blog. I gave it a go, and as time went on, I found it to be cathartic. I suffer with depression, and can become very withdrawn at times. Writing my blog keeps me connected to people. I wanted to try and make it humorous as nobody likes a whinger! Plus, I hoped that some of my stories and experiences would resonate with others; that they could relate to it and laugh along with me, or at the very least, smile at my idiocy!

How does my writing/creative process work?

It varies. sometimes an event will occur which touches me in some way. It could be anything, something funny that happens that I want to share, or something that has moved me and I feel compelled to write about. Once I get started I usually find that it flows pretty well; it is just a case of trying to organise my thoughts, and articulate them properly. Occasionally I will go off at a tangent , but hopefully I manage to rein it in and get back on track by the end!

And then write a one-time article which is to be posted on a Monday, (the date supplied by your nominator). (This article can be in the same post in which you answered the 4 questions.

I have always been an avid reader, from a little girl. I grew up with Enid Blyton stories, and longed to go to a boarding school like ‘Mallory Towers’ or ‘St Clare’s’ ; perhaps I could solve mysteries like ‘The Famous Five’ or ‘Secret 7.’ Either way, those stories had me transfixed from the start; I lived their adventures with them. That is the beauty of a good book, or more specifically, a good writer.

I know some may argue that Enid Blyton was not a great writer, but she WAS a fantastic story teller. She seemed to know just what children (of the day) fantasised about and she took them there. Judging by the phenomenal success that she achieved, she did a bloody good job of it as well.

I still love to read now, and every night I will read before I go to sleep, as I have always done. I know my husband doesn’t always get it, but I can suddenly burst out laughing, or start snivelling and crying; such are the emotions that a good writer can provoke in me.

I have only ever written little poems which I personalise for family occasions, or academic writing (which is what I had to do at Uni) so I didn’t know how I would get on with blogging!

I love it actually. I love the writing, and reading other people’s blogs. I am now including the odd poem, as they are so much fun to write, plus I have kind of re-discovered writing them again, so it’s still pretty fresh for me.

I have decided that I do want to write, and yes maybe one day become a writer. I’m not sure what yet what to write about, but I need to learn how to do it properly first! Anyway I hope you continue to enjoy my blog.

Finally, I have listed below my nominees, whose blogs I really enjoy; of course  ALL the blogs I follow,  are all worth a visit as is Nutsrok which will make you cry with laughter!  Thanks again Linda for thinking of me. The date for your post is 2nd February.

Storyshucker

Breathing Life

Fourth Generation Farm Girl