A Blog Hop: My Writing Process

I'm participating in a blog hop this week thanks to my friend Kendra, whom I met at She Speaks last summer. Kendra is a sweet soul that you'd love the instant you met her. She has an inviting spirit that welcomes you into her world and makes you feel loved.

Blogging has been around for several years but gained in popularity in 2006-2008. Many of the trailblazers have moved on to establish themselves in the national spotlight earning six and seven figure yearly incomes. Their books have been published and some have found themselves in front of a television camera…and it all began when they hit "publish."

Each of us has a different purpose for writing our blog posts. Through this fun blog hop, maybe I can answer some of my own questions about why I blog.

1) What am I working on?
Currently, I'm working on a book about grief and forgiveness. The basis of the book is my life story but I'm not going year by year. I have a co-writer who is helping me with the early years. As I began the process of writing, those years were too painful to capture through the written word and I found it easier to speak the words. The later years, after forgiveness and healing had occurred, were much easier to write. My co-writer is translating my spoken words while I'm working on the process of how forgiveness and grief are tied together.

My part has been laid aside for now due to the planning of my daughter's wedding. I'll resume writing in September. Keeping up with my blog is all I have time for at the moment.

2)How does my work differ?
There have been many books written on grief or forgiveness. I'm not sure if there have been any written with both subjects linked together. The ingredient that makes mine unique is the time element. I didn't grieve until thirty eight years after my mother's death. I have an experience to share that differs from most people. Also, losing a parent as a teenager, then being separated from the second parent on a daily basis gives me a voice that speaks to another group of people.

3)Why do I write what I do?
I love what Kendra said in her blog hop post, "My writing is an extension of who I am and how I think…" That really spoke to me.

I believe that's why I write. I have something to say. Since I was a little girl, I've been an observer of people, all kinds of people. Most of the time I'm quiet, but on the inside I'm having dialogue and writing stories constantly. As I work in my garden, wash dishes, or iron, stories or parables come to mind to illustrate a biblical principle. I love sharing stories from my childhood or my children's growing-up years. There is a wealth of wisdom in the passing of time. I write to share what I've learned through this life journey to help those coming along behind me…and if I can share it in a way that promotes family or leads someone into a deeper walk with God, then even better.

4)How does my writing process work?
As I said above, writing for me comes through normal, every day activities. My ideas come through life experiences. I will write a complete post in my head. Most of the time, I try to stop what I'm doing and write down a few key sentences, then go back to whatever I was doing. The key sentences will be enough to jog my memory to fill in the gaps and write the post. The blog posts that have had the most page views have taken the least amount of time to write…thirty minutes or less. The post with the most page views took fifteen minutes to write. This doesn't include editing, but I get the general concept on paper and it's just a matter of adding commas and paragraphs.

I've found writing to be fulfilling and healing. Whether I'm blogging, writing on my book or gathering material by people watching, I'm excited to see where God leads in this new chapter in my life.

Visit Kendra's blog, Tending the Garden at http://www.kendraburrows.com.
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