A few weeks ago, Allison from Go Dansker Mom tagged me in a post about writing — specifically, a series of posts that bloggers have been sharing lately to take us inside their writing process. I have loved reading how other writers approach their craft, and I am so touched that Allison cited my blog as one that she feels a kinship with {and I think she called my blog, and some others that I adore, “freakishly well-written.” I loved that too.}
So today I’m taking you behind the scenes, to give you a bit of insight into the left brain behind Left Brain Buddha! 🙂
Inside My Writing Process
What am I working on?
As you likely know, in addition to being a writer, I am also a high school teacher. So rightnow I am reading more than I am writing – I’m reading ethnography reports from my Anthropology students, which are absolutely fascinating. And next week I’ll be reading research papers from my Psychology students. Fun stuff, but I’m really looking forward to summer!
In my writing, I am working on a few projects right now. I am in the process of writing a book about my experiences as a mother. I don’t want to say more about it than that right now, but it is a very personal project and tackles the less-than-wonderful aspects of motherhood that I feel it is important to bring to light. I plan to have a full book proposal completed this summer, and then I’ll begin the work of finding an agent and, hopefully, a publisher!
I’m also tossing around some ideas in my head for a children’s book about mindfulness, specifically mindfulness of emotions. I’ve never really thought about children’s book publishing before so this is a fun new area to explore!
Finally, I am incredibly excited that I was accepted into the Mindful Schools Year-Long Certification Program, which begins this summer. The program, as the name implies, entails a year of training courses, retreats, and classroom practice in order to become a Mindful Schools Certified Instructor. I will attend a week-long retreat and training in California in July – I am really looking forward to a week of meditating, connecting with other educators, and learning how to bring mindfulness into our classrooms.
Clearly, I’m working on a lot! {I addressed some of my other upcoming blog projects in my State of the Blog Address last month.} I feel wonderfully filled with possibility and potential right now, and I am incredibly grateful that I am able to do so many things – teaching, writing, learning, reading – that I am so passionate about!
A pretty cover on my computer and a mug of coffee are very important to my writing process!
How does my work differ from others in my genre?
Ahhh…. Genre. Niche. Those are the big buzzwords for bloggers. I suppose my work falls into two genres – a mindfulness/Buddhism blog, and a mommy/parenting blog. I think I differ from other mindfulness and Buddhist blogs in that I bring a lighter tone to my posts. I am not Buddhist {technically} so I think I bring a different perspective to the teachings and practices of Buddhism. I also use the f-word sometimes, which I’ve never seen in the Buddhist texts…
There are so many mommy blogs out there it’s hard to generalize them in order to say how I am different! I tend to write two main types of posts: 1) inspirational/advice articles, in which I share suggestions and tips for mindful and joyful living and parenting, and 2) reflective pieces, in which I write about motherhood, feminism, books I’ve read, or other issues. I don’t share recipes, or crafts {I’m sooooo not crafty!}, or homeschooling ideas, which I see a lot on other mommy blogs. I think it’s wonderful there are so many mothers out there sharing such different perspectives on motherhood – the good, the bad, the sentimental, the sarcastic.
“Blogging is the new poetry.” ~ Unknown
Why do I write what I do?
When I was kid, I always envisioned being a writer. I even wrote about 60 pages of a terribly sappy teenage romance novel when I was in 9th grade! But from high school onward, through college and professional life, my writing was always academic, not personal or expressive.
I love sharing my words online and hearing from readers that my words helped them. Many women have contacted me to thank me for speaking of my conflicted feelings about motherhood, for writing about my experiences with postpartum depression, or just for sharing the tantrums and less-than-Pinteresty moments of my life with my children.
I never read blogs when I was a young mother – that was more the day of iVillage forums and message boards, but they were a lifesaver for me, allowing me to connect with other mothers who struggled with the same problems. I love knowing I may be providing that needed lifeline for other mothers.
Though it’s a bit cliche, writing truly is my way to learn what I think. I am always amazed at how I have an idea in my head of what I want to write about, and then as I begin typing the words begin to take shape in different ways and spur new lines of thought I hadn’t considered before. It is an amazing process!
I am also incredibly passionate about mindfulness! I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that mindfulness has transformed my life. It was a big part of my recovery from depression, and it has been a profound component of my parenting practice. I never would have thought I would end up as an evangelist, but I want to be a mindfulness missionary! I am absolutely convinced that mindfulness can make our families, our schools, and our society a better place.
How does my writing process work?
I rarely compose right on the computer. I like writing on paper. I love college-ruled notebook paper and fun pens. I brainstorm ideas, and then organize my thoughts with post-it notes, arrows, numbers, or whatever I can to give structure to my ideas and a consistent message to each and every post. As a social studies teacher, I spend a lot of time teaching about thesis statements and well-crafted arguments and supporting evidence and analytical structure, so that teacher voice is always in my head as I write.
When Allison tagged me for this blog series, I wasn’t sure if I would participate. “I know all that already,” I thought, “and I can’t imagine my readers want to hear it all!!” Well, if you’re still reading, clearly you wanted to hear it! I hope it’s given you a bit of insight into my writing. It’s certainly been fun for me to reflect on what and how and why I write!
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The last part of this assignment is that I am supposed to tag other bloggers that I admire, and they have to answer the same questions on their blog or they get a bunch of bad bloggy karma or something. Or I get like seven years of bad luck if I don’t tag people. But that’s not how I roll… I am ALWAYS the person the chain letter stops with, or the reason some poor kid doesn’t get the stickers they were promised in their sticker pyramid scheme. But you’ll notice my “Blogs I Love” list on the right-hand side of my blog. Those are the people I would tag. They’re all awesome. You should read their words.
And thanks again for reading mine.
- A Mindful Approach to New Year’s Resolutions - January 13, 2020
- Just This Next Step - December 16, 2019
- WAIT: A Mindfulness Practice for Waiting in Line - December 9, 2019
