Standard

Posted by

Posted on

January 7, 2015

Posted under

Awards!

Comments

88 Comments

The “Why Blog?” Party

This Holiday break, while recovering from stomach flu, I read JK Rowling’s new book, Silkworm (published under her pseudonym, Robert Galbraith). Has anyone else read it? In it, the author is less than kind in her portrayal of bloggers. Heck, she is less than kind about publishers and agents as well. One of her characters observes that we need more readers and less writers.

I rethought blogging, now that I’m nearing my two year mark. Am I a writer who would be better off stopping and being a reader? Then my blog received an award and I was asked a series of questions about how and why I blog. Do I think it’s going to do me or my career any good? Those are good questions. I’m not a traditional blogger, in that I don’t usually write vignettes about my life and family, but I do put myself in my writing, always. We all have our reasons for blogging. Some of us have health issues, and we are isolated inside our houses. Some of us are poets, and we all know how rich poets are…. Not. Some of us are just starting out, and hoping to learn as we go.

My reasons for blogging are simple. I love it. I hope kids read my work. I love to hear that kids of any ages like to read fairy tales, classic, retold or completely new. Even more personally, I love when people enjoy my writings. If I didn’t blog, I would be isolated, writing in my own house, struggling to find time to send out manuscripts and hoping to meet other writers somewhere. I want to write as often as I can, to hone my craft and grow, and I love being part of a community of supportive writers. I’ve seen other writers and photographers grow, improving their writing, trying new ventures and being brave. Being brave is key. I thank all of you for your support of friendlyfairytales, and thanks for all the awards!!

Thanks to Robin at Witless Dating for affirming our sisterhood. You’re a sister of my heart, my friend! ((Hugs)) Another friend nominated me as a sister, Inside a Dog’s Heart. I’m a sucker for a misunderstood dog. 🙂 And her questions sparked the idea for this post’s theme. Not being a rule follower, I will answer in my own way. 😉

Sisterhood of the world blogger award

 

Thanks to Belsbror for the Award for Love and Kindness, which is new to me. *Blushes* This is what Belsbror said about me: “She is the child in all of us. I could never think of a word that best describes her. How about unique?” Wow. That is an honor, and I am happy to speak to the inner child we all protect inside ourselves.

This award was created by Barbara at IdealisticRebel, and this is what the award is meant to convey: The Award for Love and Kindness, was created to encourage love and kindness. Barbara explains: “love and kindness promote peace in the world, and I give my respect and appreciation for all who promote these important values.  It is important for us to remember that we are One Family living in One World; we are Sisters and Brothers, no matter how we look, what culture we live in, what religion we practice or who we love.  In many ways, blogging removes some of the obvious barriers between us, and helps bring those of us from all walks of life, ethnicities, creeds, colors and ideals together as One Family.”

We are meant to share an act of kindness another blogger has done for us as part of our acceptance of this award, and since it’s my first acceptance of it, I will tell you a story. As most of you know, I write stories for kids of all ages, and my fairy tales are published here. I also write other stories, too, and I’m looking for a traditional publisher, heaven help me. I wrote haibun and followed PaulScribbles, who also writes haibun, some about being Scottish and playing African drums. I wrote a story with a character who played a djembe, and Paul very kindly read it for me, to catch any egregious drumming-related errors. I was honored that he was willing to read my story, and his response was very kind.

Love and Kindness Award

 

Thanks to Amy Pinkrose for the Wonderful Team Member Readership Award. Amy is spreading love and wisdom over at Petals Unfolding. I hope you have time to visit her!

Wonderful Team Member Readership Award

 

Thanks to Jeanne Marie and MichelleMarie at ThinkingPink, who gave me an award all my own!! I love how pro-Pink they are. I love their PINK site, it’s a new movement to celebrate and promote female well-being and joy in sisterhood!

thinkingpinkx2

 

Thanks to Melissa Barker-Simpson for nominating me for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award. Melissa is a terrific poet and an enthusiastic and supportive friend. GlamCurvy T then nominated me for it again. Glam is into fashion for the curvy, and has a lot to offer. Thanks, Glam! Dear Kitty, a caring blogger with a connection to the animals, then nominated me again!! Woo-hoo!

Very Inspiring Blogger Award

 

Thanks to Barbara at IdealisticRebel for the Reader Appreciation Award. She is a friend with a big heart and a big range of issues she follows. Even me!

Reader Appreciation Award

 

Thanks to Julianne Victoria, my good friend, who gave me first ever blogger award, the Sunshine Award, way back when!! She has given me the Angel Award, and she called me an angel. What a lovely thing to say! Julianne Victoria writes about spirit guides, yoga and published Haiku by Ku.

Angel Award with harp

 

Thanks to Susanne Leist for nominating me for the One Lovely Blog Award. Susanne write the Dead Game, a paranormal and vampire fantasy series with chills and thrills. Thanks also to Lydia and Anastasia at Cupcakes and Popcorn for nominating me again for the One Lovely Blog Award. Thanks also to Laine Jensen at A Poet’s Journey, who nominated me again. She is terrific and insightful poet. If you have not checked out her blog, you should.

one-lovely-blog-award22

 

A new one for me, thanks to Vik at Following the Ink for the Recognition Tag, which startled and gratified me. How lovely to have someone just drop by and appreciate you and your blog.

Appreciation or Recognition Tag

 

Thanks to Blood, Lace and Faeries for the Sunshine Award. A fun place to shudder at the darker side of magic.

Sunshine Award field of flowers

 

This is a party, so how about the refreshments?! How about molten chocolate lava cake, whipped strawberry smoothies, honey and almond baklava, peanut blossoms and New Year strudel. The fairies are dancing a jig, but the ale is spilling on the carpet. I hope you will quaff a sustaining brew, be it green tea, protein smoothie, fairy nectar, merlot or pale ale, and celebrate with me and all of the fabulous bloggers on WordPress and elsewhere. Why blog? Why not? We have voices and we matter!

Why do you blog? Here’s your chance to share and care. If you answer the question in the comments, please help yourself to any of the above awards. You earned it!

Warmly, Brenda

88 thoughts on “The “Why Blog?” Party”

  1. I agree with your many followers. You are an amazing blogger, so fun and funny and spiritual. You take time to make everyone feel important. That is a gift. I blog because I have been blessed with a special life and hope that I can share my blessings with others. Plus, I’ve made some very nice friends, like you, my friend. Have a good weekend.

    Like

    Reply

    • Aw, your words mean a lot to me, Toni. I’m sorry it took awhile to get back to you, but I don’t have much time for blogging because I’m at a very intense conference in NYC with the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. I would love you to be part of my Sisterhood (that’s the Sisterhood of the World Blogger Award) and I would also like to give you the Love and Kindness Award. Have a great weekend! Hugs, Brenda

      Like

      Reply

  4. Hello, Brenda, and thank you for the kind words recently about my blog. I started blogging last July and have written one blog per week since. I love it. I love the format, the opportunity for creativity including links and other ways to enrich the text, and the fact that blogs are really essays. I think essays are a great way to write about personal events (I had an argument with a silent Buddhist monk once), political issues (“Why I Am Not a Global Citizen”), and cultural concerns (e.g., “bio-hacking,” which I brought up in class today). So, thank you for your blogging, your community of writers (I have yet to do that or join one), and your gracious spirit. I don’t know much about Rowling, never read her books, and saw one move that had flying dragons in it (I was bored). But I wouldn’t give too much credence to what she says. Just concentrate on what you do. She’s made her money. Kind regards,
    Robert Brancatelli

    Like

    Reply

    • Robert, I just tried to follow a link to — the one beside your gravatar, and it took me to a site that has been deleted. What is your current blog? Can you leave a link? I appreciate your words. I happen to like flying dragons, but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. And yes, I will just proceed with my thing. It works for me. 🙂 I hope I will see your blog again, via your link. Best, Brenda

      Like

      Reply

  5. I have found marvelous people out there and they are all over the world. I enjoy art and the pictures are great. It reaffirms in me that there is a huge community of people like myself who enjoin writing and reading just for the action of doing just that. That is why I blog.

    Like

    Reply

    • Awax, you are an inspiration, and I hope you will accept the Very Inspiring Blogger Award. Thanks so much for stopping and commenting. I have missed hearing from you. I never seem to have enough time to visit all the people who follow my blog. Happy New Year! Warmly, Brenda

      Like

      Reply

  6. We could all do with less reading and more time to write, but I found even when I had a break recently I still found thing to read somewhere on the internet – it becomes a way of life, and it’s difficult to completely let that go. Also I think you have expressed it’s a good way to improve on your writing. It’s not much fun writing to yourself. Maybe some writers enjoy keeping their writing secret, but it doesn’t do much for me.

    I would love to know what JK Rowling said in her book about bloggers! I’ve been reading a lot about publishers and various writers experiences after being published and most of it wasn’t very good. There were several accounts of writers going through months of preparation and changes to their book they didn’t feel were really necessary and then the damn silly publishers changed their mind and left them with no publishing deal! 😦 I’m not convinced now that being published by a publisher is the easy way a lot of writers think it is. Do you know that they pretty much rely on the writer to publicise their own book?! A lot of writers think the publisher will spend money advertising it – but they don’t always, which is often why new books from new authors fail, not to forget to mention the inappropriate covers they stick on books sometimes, a bad cover can kill sales of a book. The amount of publicity you need to spend on a published book is the same as it will take if you are self published, but the bonus is in self publishing – you get paid more per book. A publisher will never pay you for spending time or your own money on promoting your book. I think traditional publishers should be thinking about the damage it’s going to do them long term – a lot are now going out of business, and it’s no surprise, writers are catching on that they can earn more long term if they are clever in promoting their book.

    Anyway, keep enjoying the writing and the blog Brenda, and I’ll enjoy reading your writing!♥ Oh – and you are already published – a blog is actually publishing, so don’t feel bad about being turned down, enjoy the success you do have, you never know where it will take you!! 🙂

    Like

    Reply

    • My writing has improved over two years of blogging, and I enjoy the community. Writing this helped me think through why I blog and what I get from it (obviously not money). I went to a writer’s conference and told an author I met that I love it. She asked why, and I said people say the nicest things. She looked doubtful, and I told her that one person had told me that he likes my work better than JK Whoever. She said, “Well, at least they have senses of humor.” It was a hurtful exchange, and it dented my pride in my achievements for a span, but I’m shaking it off. What you say about self-publishing makes sense, and I don’t disagree, but I would like to pass the gatekeepers at least once. Maybe I’m old-fashioned. How did your novel progress?

      Like

      Reply

      • Smile on the inside Brenda – she envied you for something she didn’t have!! But it is a very spiteful thing to say, and bit stupid too. She sounds to me like she’s commenting on something she knows nothing about, but doesn’t want to admit that. There’s a lot of jealousy among writers – amateur and professional. I’ve been reading about that recently too, and I just don’t get it at all, I’ve never really felt jealous of anyone for any reason, and I’ve never been a privileged person either, but to get screwed up on the inside about another persons success or enjoyment in life is just such a waste of energy and really quite crazy!

        I’ve finished one novel, but it will need a lot of editing – writing always does. My problem is what to do with it. I’d love to self publish, but my life is a bit complicated at the moment. Without going into too many personal details of my life, the easiest way to explain it is, an insurance I’m paid would be effected if I earn any additional money, so for the moment until my circumstances change I can’t do much with it all. There is a possibility I could publish it for charity, but I need to double check it’s not a problem for me. But for now I’m just enjoying the blogs, and the people. It’s a good hobby and I’m learning along the way – can’t get much better than that! 😀

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

        • Well, only she knows why she said it, and you’re right. She had never met me or read a single thing I had written. I think she was miffed I didn’t know her. But I won’t let it spoil my enjoyment of this. I’m happy you wrote your novel, yeah!! I always have to edit a lot, too. You situation sounds complicated. I will keep my fingers crossed that you can follow through with it somehow. At least you know you’ve done it. Hugs, Brenda

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply

  7. Here is a new one for you! 🙂

    I have nominated you for Sue Dreamwalker’s Hearts as One Drumbeat award. The award is to acknowledge that I see your blog as coming from love, compassion and caring.

    Any of you who have received blogging awards before know that they are a way to acknowledge bloggers and also to let potential readers/followers know about blogs that they may not have seen before. Some award processes can be very time consuming and involved. This one is not like that. The only request is that you identify five bloggers who fit her criteria.

    My blog acknowledging and nominating you is at: https://livinglearningandlettinggo.wordpress.com/2015/01/17/thanks-for-the-hearts-as-one-drum-beat-award/

    Sue Dreamwalker’s award page is at: https://suedreamwalker.wordpress.com/awards-hearts-as-one-drumbeat-award/. She would love it if you left a comment there saying that you were nominated.

    Participation in the award process, in any form, is of course totally up to you. My main goal is to let you know that I honor your blog and look forward to getting to know you better!

    Like

    Reply

    • Thanks, Karuna, that is a beautiful award with an inspiring message. I will pass the drumbeat along the very next time I accept an award. I’m afraid I’m not incredibly prompt, but I have put the details in my draft. Hugs, Brenda

      Like

      Reply

  10. Oh don’t stop writing,you do it so very well. I know what you mean though; sometimes I feel like taking a break from writing to read more,but writing is so much a part of our lives, how can we ? It can be difficult to read when one is so focused on creating ideas.

    Like

    Reply

  11. A wonderful post. I do hope you will keep blogging. I don’t always get to read all of them, but I enjoy the ones I do get to. Congratulations on all of your awards. And, well, I am nominating you for a Liebster Award. See my post today January 11, 2015. 🙂

    Like

    Reply

  13. WP bloggers are a community and what does Rowlings know anyway:) She just wants more people reading, not writing, so perhaps she is going to do the same. Seems like she should follow her own advice, right? So she can read away, she can certainly afford to do that, and no longer express herself in type. Sounds good to me:)

    Like

    Reply

    • LOL There you go! I imagine she sees herself as an exception, but perhaps you’re right, perhaps she needs a break. I was amazed by how many people she considered crucial to her having time to write. The acknowledgements are always very revealing.

      Like

      Reply

  14. I don’t get to read everything you write, but am THRILLED that you DO write. We all need your gifts! It is so wonderful to know you are embracing the colorful and beautiful in your life. What a gift this is to your kiddos, too. MANY blessings to you and your family always! Love, Mickey

    Like

    Reply

    • Hi Mickey, So glad to hear from you. You are sweet! I hope that my children get to see my books be published one day. I would think that would change their own expectations for the better. Many blessings to you and yours always, too!! Hugs, Brenda

      Like

      Reply

    • I hope you will accept the One Lovely Blog Award, if you are not morally opposed to awards. I never expected any readership when I put up my fairy tales. I only put them up so that I could stop handing out copies to family. I’d forgotten that. This attention and all these awards were quite unexpected. It’s kind of snowballed. I enjoy it now.

      Like

      Reply

  17. Sorry to hear that your holiday break included a bout of stomach flu. 😦 I started the holiday break with a terrible cold but, thankfully, it vanished fairly quickly. Glad you haven’t put blogging aside. I love Celia Rhodes response: ” I blog because the world has enough ugly.” After the event in Paris yesterday, I think our blogs, our kindnesses and our friendships are more important than ever. So take that JK Rowling.

    Like

    Reply

    • LOL I’m sure JK Rowling would not want to cast a dark cloud over people seeking their joy where they can. Yes, the event in Paris are a condemnation of us as a species. Is that really the best the human race can aspire to do? Makes me ashamed to be human.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  18. what a wonderful blog of gratitude, brenda. you deserve all of the accolades and more and i would know the fairies have an award tucked away for you somewhere, for helping your readers to see the magic within them. it never gets old and keeps us all young, in fact. i blog for the same reasons, because i like to express myself and i like the human factor in all of this, the give and take, the support and unexpected surprises i find here in the blog world each and every day.

    Like

    Reply

  19. Congratulations on your awards!

    I blog to document my photography journey. I think that in some cases or subjects, we could use a little more reading, and less writing, but I personally feel that they should balance, and I think that there are way more readers than writers anyway. Just an opinion, nothing factual.

    And yes, I will take anything chocolate, please!

    Like

    Reply

  20. How awesome that you have been honoured with so many awards – you truly deserve them. Thanks for your kind words. I’ve missed your blog – I thought I had changed my settings to get emails, but obviously not. I haven’t written a poem since last year and I need a challenge so maybe I’ll steal inspiration from you! Thanks again 🙂

    Like

    Reply

  21. I am speechless, my dear friend! Brenda, you deserve the Sisterhood award and many more. You have completely original posts with your wonderful poems and haiku’s, folk and fairy tales saved up for people to re-read on days when they are not too busy…
    You have my heart and I agree, we will remain friends, through ‘thick and thin.’ I hope to be there someday, proud as a peacock, when you get all of your writings compiled and published. You are on your way, Brenda!
    You inspire and give me courage to try new ways of writing, too. In the sense of blogging, you have been a mentor.
    Well, Sister Brenda, thanks for the party invitation. I think this is a perfect excuse to go get a treat to share with you all! I shall bring French Silk pie! This means a lot to me. Hugs, Robin

    Like

    Reply

  24. Brenda, I am truly honored you nominated me. I hope you do know I no longer accept awards but this page I will put on my awards page. As for the reason why I blog, it is simple. It is the Call of my Heart, to bring Love, Joy, Truth, Beauty, and Peace into a world that has so much death in it. My place in Life is to reach those who need healing, who need a touch of Love, of encouragement, and just (((HUGS))) that I always give out. Bless you for being a part of my Life, of being a part of Petals, and for thinking of me as deserving of The Wonderful Team Member Award. I am touched. With Love, Amy

    Like

    Reply

  25. First, Congratulations to you Brenda for many well deserved awards. I don’t know that I see myself as a blogger, though I have always been a writer and blogging is a new venue for writing which I have come to enjoy in ways I hadn’t anticipated. I began my blog site at Better Endings because an agent asked me to consider blogging in order to build a “platform” that would allow my book manuscript to receive better attention from editors and publishers. But I have discovered IN blogging a whole new universe of exploration and possibility for growth as a writer and as a member of a wider conversation. I love many of the blogs I have discovered, finding bloggers to be deep, honest, “real” thinkers and feelers and many to be excellent writers and creative artists as well. I am happy to have stumbled into this realm of blogging that connects us all to something greater than one perspective or set of values or ideas.

    Like

    Reply

    • I think you bring a welcome solidity of purpose and support to the blogging community. I don’t know if I’m a “blogger” in the traditional sense either, but anyone who publishes as often as we do are surely within the range of blogger. I have found people to have authentic, real personalities, and I have formed connections here that I value. I hope I give something back for all the value I receive. Good luck with your book. Warmly, Brenda

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  26. Congratulations! Your reasons for blogging are sound ones. I love it, too. The creative process is stimulating. The conversations and community building is what makes me keep writing. Oh, BTW, I love your banner of the snow and pine needles!

    Like

    Reply

  27. Best wishes and congratulations for being recognized by so many blogging fans – you are a fabulous writer who is putting her mark on the world in a very engaging and inspiring way. Love your work ~ please don’t stop sharing. Happy New Year Brenda!

    Like

    Reply

  29. Congratulations on all of your achievements, you certainly deserve the awards! I hope you continue to blog and spread the happiness…

    To answer your question, I started out blogging as a way of promoting my painted furniture. Pretty soon I found I was more into taking photos and creating greeting cards and artwork than painting, to add to the mix I’ve now moved onto writing poetry! LOL
    In the main I blog because it drives me. I enjoy being creative and challenging myself, I also love connecting with the WP community. I must admit I don’t have time to get on the reader much or read enough blogs as I should. To balance this, I have started following blogs via email, that way I can grab a few minutes on my lunch break etc. 😀

    I still hope to fund my blogging with my cards and artwork, and even as we speak I am transferring to WP.org so I can add a shopping cart. Saying that, the WP community is so important to me that I wouldn’t have considered the transfer if it meant losing them. ❤

    Like

    Reply

    • I hope you’ll accept the sunshine award, because you make the sun shine! I love that you are writing some poetry! I’m glad you are finding a way to make it all work for you, and I hope your cards and art are very successful. I can’t wait to see how it looks when you’re done transferring. I love the challenge also. All the commenting is fun for me. I also recently started trying the email linkup, so Mondays, BAM! LOL Good luck with all your ventures!

      Like

      Reply

      • I’m honoured Brenda, thank you! One day I will get around to thanking you properly for it with a post, I think I will take a tip from you and do my offerings together.
        I’m so pleased you like my challenge, I have not regretted starting it once in the last 6 months. Sometimes we need a bit of motivation, and it is a real driving force for me each week as it forces me to spend time writing. I am absolutely LOVING exploring poetry styles, isn’t if funny how blogs progress!
        Thank you for your good wishes, I aim to give it a year, and I figure its worth a try. If not I will just go back to blogging for fun! ❤

        btw, thank you for the comments/likes on my blog, I have seen some notifications, but I'm not allowed to go onto my blog at the min due to the transfer which they say will take 24 hours. 🙂

        Like

        Reply

        • My pleasure, I enjoyed the visit. My reader is so thoroughly crammed that the main time I have to visit people is when they provide me a link in their comments. 🙂 I only started writing poetry again after I started blogging. I thought I would only publish prose when I started. But once a poet, always a poet. I wrote poetry in high school and college, and it just came winging back up out of me.

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply

  30. I blog because artists don’t create in a vacuum. I blog because the world has enough ugly. I blog to share suspended moments in time. I blog because it exposes me to a wider world view, to people I would not otherwise meet and interact with. When someone takes the time to comment, to let me know that a particular photo has touched them, emotionally, or lifted their spirit, it tells me someone out there “gets” what I’m trying to convey. And for me, that’s what it’s all about. Thanks for asking!

    Like

    Reply

Comments welcome!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.