{"id":3807,"date":"2014-03-17T15:17:13","date_gmt":"2014-03-17T22:17:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/?p=3807"},"modified":"2014-03-17T15:17:13","modified_gmt":"2014-03-17T22:17:13","slug":"the-writing-process-a-blog-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/the-writing-process-a-blog-tour\/","title":{"rendered":"The Writing Process: A Blog Tour"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"to-do-list1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Duffy from SureD It\u2019s All Good<\/a> tagged me in a process post. (She called me one of her favorite bloggers \u2013 teehee!) Duffy is a kindred spirit, and mother of two preschoolers of her very own. In a rare divergence from poop discussions, she asked me if I\u2019d be willing to take part in a \u201cblog tour.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is basically where writers geek out with one another and talk about the who, what, when, where, why and how on our interpretation of the written word. So prepare yourself for a ride through the rabbit hole that is the wonderland of how my mind works.<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/b>What am I working on?<\/b><\/p>\n

I write term papers for a living. (Marketing\/product papers for my company.) By night I\u2019m the mommy blogger you\u2019ve all come to laugh at. I shared with you my BIG NEWS<\/a> \u2013 I have a children\u2019s book coming out this year.<\/p>\n

Painstakingly slowly I am continuing to work on The Book<\/a>; it\u2019s the story of my sons surprise arrival.<\/p>\n

And, of course, day by day I\u2019m constantly jotting down notes for this blog. But I\u2019m never \u201cworking on\u201d the blog. I just tell the stories as they happen \u2013 when you\u2019ve got tiny twins named Search and Destroy the tales kinda come to you pretty easy.<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/b>How does my work differ from others of its genre?<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cMommy Blogger.\u201d It\u2019s actually quite a polarizing term. Personally, I embrace it. The only reason I started a blog is because I was about to become a mother. I blog about my children. Thus, Mommy Blogger.<\/p>\n

What makes me unique? Well, they\u2019re my stories. Also I have twins, who made their grand life experience more than three months early, so that makes life a little more interesting. My philosophy with my writing has always been to find the humor of the situation \u2013 highlight both the headaches and hilarity. Because sometimes that\u2019s all you can do to make it through.<\/p>\n

3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/b>Why do I write what I do?<\/b><\/p>\n

I like telling stories. (Interestingly enough, writing about writing write now is a lot harder.) I write because I want the little pieces remembered \u2013 some of my favorite childhood memories are of my grandmother telling tales of her past. I write to keep history alive \u2013 this is my own little piece of the family tree.<\/p>\n

I write to make sense of it all. I\u2019ve always been drawn to Robert Frost\u2019s \u201cRoad Not Taken.\u201d<\/a> And my path to motherhood was *definitely* not the route well traversed by my peers. (I have always been directionally challenged\u2026) Chronicling the adventures of Search and Destroy was a form of therapy for me \u2013 removing the challenges from my mind and leaving my fears behind on the page.<\/p>\n

During the boys\u2019 tenure at Chez NICU, I was inundated by the unknown and the (unknown to me) terminology surrounding medically fragile babies. I wrote everything down. Research and revoked Google privileges would come next. I published the stories on this blog as a way to keep friends and family updated; it was far to exhausting to try and keep others updated any other way. Suddenly, people started reading.<\/p>\n

At the same time, I scoured the interwebs for any like stories. And I found them in blogs \u2013 every story unique, but well written, made me feel like family. I write what I do in the hopes that one person out there will find my tiny island here on the World Wide Web and feel at home. Be that person seeking comfort from infertility, prematurity, twinsanity, mental illness or merely the mundane of life \u2013 welcome, this story is for you.<\/p>\n

4)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/b>How does your writing process work?<\/b><\/p>\n

Verbal diarrhea.<\/p>\n

Well it\u2019s true. My mind races ahead at 90 miles an hour. My imagination spins into high gear, weaving the story into place, editing the film that only I can see. Words and phrases are a gateway drug \u2013 the canvas and paints I need to magically make my world appear on the page.<\/p>\n

The black blinking cursor on my screen, marking the solitude of a blank page, is akin to finding the wardrobe to Narnia. What adventures await me there?<\/p>\n

Once a story has arrived \u2013 by which I mean my own observation on some piece of life \u2013 my concerto is composed almost entirely in my head by the time I am able to flip open my laptop. At this time it becomes a race against time to get it all written down. The moments between idea and execution are a period of panic \u2013 god forbid I forget! (The greatest lie humanity will every tell itself is, \u201cI\u2019ll remember that.\u201d No you won\u2019t. Write it down.)<\/p>\n

Fingers stretched and ready, I take to my keyboard of letters as though they were the ivories of a grand piano. Each letter is a note to be played. Deep breath. And\u2026begin.<\/p>\n

Write it all down. Every word and thought. Stream of conscious. Get the ideas documented. Mold and sculpt later. My first draft of anything is a jumbled incoherent mess. But there\u2019s comfort in chaos.<\/p>\n

Once it\u2019s all there I can relax a bit. Then it\u2019s time to revise and reorder. Basically at some point in my writing process I need to come up with one (a point, that is).<\/p>\n

And sometimes it all comes together in the end. For those other times, well, that\u2019s what the delete key is for.<\/p>\n

Next up is Sisyphus Cedalion from Taken Seriously Amusing<\/a>. Sisy started his blog shortly before mine and though our genres differ drastically, his philosophic musings on life are beautifully poetic. It\u2019s only fitting for me to turn this tour to him since he\u2019s my go-to friend to discuss all things writing.<\/p>\n

Sisy, the stage is yours\u2026 <Exuent. Pursued by a bear.><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Duffy from SureD It\u2019s All Good tagged me in a process post. (She called me one of her favorite bloggers \u2013 teehee!) Duffy is a kindred spirit, and mother of two preschoolers of her very own. In a rare divergence … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[3],"tags":[1539,781,259],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Sbzi-Zp","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4196,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/all-that-glitters-is-not-gold\/","url_meta":{"origin":3807,"position":0},"title":"All That Glitters is Not Gold","date":"January 12, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week, Jon picked the boys up from school. As it was the first week back after the holiday, a thick packet of projects was sent home along with hyperactive preschoolers. All of the crafts created during the days leading up to a festive Christmas holiday. Do you know what\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "School"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/6086453490_f82cf2e87a_b-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2744,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/how-did-your-blog-get-its-name\/","url_meta":{"origin":3807,"position":1},"title":"How Did Your Blog Get Its Name?","date":"August 20, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the most common questions posed during my recent New York adventure was, \u201cHow did your blog get its name?\u201d The title of a blog is your first introduction \u2013 it can be simply a name or a reflection of the theme within. By design, a blog is often\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Admin"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.streamdoubletrouble.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/hello-my-name-is-300x203.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2577,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/joe-vs-the-volcano-ok-fine-me-vs-the-laundry-pile\/","url_meta":{"origin":3807,"position":2},"title":"Joe vs. The Volcano. Ok, fine. Me vs. The Laundry Pile","date":"June 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Auntie Beeca broke her foot. She was coming down the stairs, missed the final step and \u2013 like Mitch Rapp had been lying in wait \u2013 faceplanted on the landing as though she had been taken out by a sniper. I can only assume she was doing a load of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Home"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.streamdoubletrouble.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Laundry-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4121,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/thought-process-of-a-preschooler\/","url_meta":{"origin":3807,"position":3},"title":"Thought Process of a Preschooler","date":"November 10, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Can you follow the train of thought of a preschooler? Watch out \u2013 there are a lot of twists and turns, along with seemingly impossible leaps, ahead. We were en route to school, well \u2013 the car was pointed in the general direction of pre-K, we weren\u2019t actually moving due\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Miscellaneous"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3612,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/mythbusters-behind-the-myths-tour\/","url_meta":{"origin":3807,"position":4},"title":"Mythbusters: Behind the Myths Tour","date":"October 15, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Jon and I headed out on the town Saturday night to take in dinner and a show. Because what could possibly be more romantic than a date night with Mythbusters. (Admit it \u2013 you\u2019d be wondering if they\u2019d blow something up on stage too.) Are you familiar with the show?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Current Events"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Behind-the-Myths-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3154,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/techmom-tuesday-remind-me-to-review-something\/","url_meta":{"origin":3807,"position":5},"title":"TechMom Tuesday \u2013 Remind Me to Review Something\u2026","date":"March 6, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I write a monthly column over at\u00a0AlliOSNews. It\u2019s a techie site \u2013 extolling all the goodies and gunpowder on the Apple OS. (SHINY TOY!) I\u2019m TechMom. And these are my stories on how technology is really used. When I remember... (I\u2019m well aware it\u2019s Wednesday. If you want TechMom Tuesday\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "TechMomTuesday"","img":{"alt_text":"Reminders - Desktop","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.streamdoubletrouble.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Reminders-Desktop.tiff?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3807"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3807"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3807\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}