A week-ish ago, the stunningly bright Alienora tagged me in a blog hop about writing. I told her a little about my process– if you can call it that– and gave her a small glimpse into what makes me tick. You should check it out, because Ali is a fine person to know! Send lots of rawrLove her way, okay?
http://alienorajt.wordpress.com/2014/03/24/a-bloghop-a-bloghop-my-kingdom-for-a-bloghop/
Now, as part two of the hop, I have to answer some questions created from the mind of Ali herself, so here they are:
1) What inspires you to write – to create in any form?
I like the sound my mind makes when it’s in action, and I very much dislike the booming of it when it is still. Creating is the most versatile, flexible method of keeping my inner self in motion.
2) Your blog is phenomenally successful – and deservedly so. What factors (attitudes/traits/states of mind) have contributed to this success?
(I absolutely love the word phenomenal and all its variations.)
I’ve considered this blog a success since the beginning, because my hobbies are usually short-lived and I’m prone to hiding my writing. Hardly anyone was reading at the time– but those who were reading happened to be amazing and kind. (Hey, Fi, Veronica, Naomi, Mark, & Jess. How’s it going?). I was pretty happy with it because it was here, existing, and growing. I continue to be grateful for it for those reasons, and call it successful by those measurements.
In terms of success by other measurements, none of that was done by me. It was readers finding other readers to come and play along with us, and people participating in games that I just hosted, and general community brilliance.
I just keep the place warm, and try to be a loving mother to my blog. Anyone need some more tea?
3) What advice would you give someone starting their first blog?
Be kind and patient with yourself. There’s always new things to learn. It doesn’t mean you’re slow, or behind, or technically-challenged– it just means you’re now a pioneer in an ever-growing, ever-evolving field.
4) How do you deal with/cope with Trolls, Spammers and unpleasant, malicious or overly sexual comments?
Spammers, I simply mark as spam and move on. I don’t use CAPTCHA because I’d rather a slightly messy blog than an inconvenient atmosphere.
Trolls and unpleasantness, I deal on a case-by-case basis. I wrote a post on my metrics for it once, along with my strategies for dealing. You can find that here: Ra-Son Troll Scale
Overly sexual comments, I send to Mamasaur, along with your email address. She will tell you what she thinks of someone saying such things to her daughter. Her response is a combination of these three reactions:
If you don’t want my mama to hear what you said about me, maybe just don’t say it.
5) I love the whole Rarasaur/dinosaur motif (and am sure I am not the only one!). What inspired this?
Thank you! I enjoy the dinosaur madness, too. It’s a play on my most common nickname, “Rara”, and a reference to my fire-breathing nature. The full story about my name is here: Because of Vodka.
6) You and your husband seem to work very well together as writers/bloggers. Tell us a bit about one of your projects/initiatives.
Yes! My husband and I are lucky enough to work very well together. All our projects, big and small, fold under our company, The Queen Creative. The project I’m most excited about currently is finally moving forward with my Business Art program. Long-time followers of this blog know that it’s been a goal of mine for a long time. The basic idea is to create a series of posts and free e-books for artists who are turning their art into a business, and business people who are jumping into the world of art selling. It started as a small idea and started escalating with time, which is why it hasn’t “launched” yet– but soon. I’m pretty excited and grateful.
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And the last part of this is to introduce a few bloggers/writers to you who are amazing and will hopefully keep this torch lit by answering the questions I send them, and nominating one or a few other writer/bloggers.
Duncan Swallow
If you’re a reader of this blog, then you probably met Duncan when he guest posted for me, or saw his page when I guest posted for him, but here’s more info about his stories, in his own words: “There are clairvoyants, bricklayers, Gangnam stars, idiots, prejudices, female drag racers, literary editors, earnest but incompetent DIYers, cats, vets, Russian acupuncturists, French pharmacologists, Kim Kardashian (just the once, honest) James Dean, peacocks. A NASCAR driver who writes haikus. There’s even a stoned hummingbird”
Brilliant, right?
http://nobodysreadingme.wordpress.com/
Hasty Words
Hasty is a talented, provocative published poet and author. She also has phenomenal taste in people and I’ve grown to trust in her judgment implicitly. In her own words, “My mind is full of rainbows and devils. I am just a girl trying to create rainbows in a world where my mind is held prisoner! I write a lot in order to gain perspective, purge my soul, retain my memories, and to put into words what my tears and laughter are trying to say!”
Rainbows and devils! I love that line every time I read it. Not that I stalk her about page or anything…
http://hastywords.wordpress.com/
J.L. Phillips
I used that name because it’s her published author name, though around these parts, I think we all lovingly know her as Jackie. We’re blog-sisters.
In her own words, “I’m a dreamer. Always was, always will be. What I dream I love to put into words. I try to paint a picture with words. For people who love to read, to dream, to imagine with me. Thanks for reading my picture of words. For me to breath is to write.”
http://tobreatheistowrite.com/
Matticus
I’m sure you already know the Jester King of the Matticus Kingdom, but if not, you should get on that. I would put some information about him in his own words, but he tends to reserve his words for tales of fanciful waltzes over mountaintops, horrific journeys into haunted realms, ’round the fire cowboy tales, and surprising twists. I hear “that’s how he rolls”, but I can neither confirm nor deny this.
He has all new digs as of recently, so check him out, too, and be sure to let him know the place is looking fabulous because it really is:
http://thematticuskingdom.wordpress.com/
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Phew! That was fun! Bloghops are just one of the many things I love about blogging. Stay tuned for my video about what I don’t like about blogging.
Today’s post was brought to you by the letter B:
- Blogging
- Bloghops
- Booming
- Beginnings
- Business Art
If you had to ban a word that starts with B, what word would it be?