Why I’m Writing About the Other Oddities
This is somebody new in my life. Her name is Poppy and she’s 11 months old. Yes, she’s as cute and sweet as she looks!
I’m so happy to be back after a bit of a break. I had a particularly busy time in my PhD program this past semester, but the good news is I passed my Qualifying Exam, which means I’ve been given the A-OK to begin writing my dissertation. The light at the end of the tunnel of the PhD program is in sight, and I’ll be finished with everything in a year, Spring 2018. And then that will be Dr. Allard to you!
While I’ve been away I’ve been thinking a lot about this blog and what I could do to make it more connected to who I’m becoming as a writer, and as a person, and yet still keep it relevant for the friends who have been part of this blog for many years (you know who you are). Even before I took the hiatus I felt like the blog had become stale, and I struggled to find new topics to post about. I needed the distance to make sense of what I really wanted to accomplish here. What is my intention? When I started this blog in 2010, I did exactly what the blogging and publishing experts said I should. I stayed on message. I was a writer, and I had books I wanted people to know about, so I wrote about my books. I wrote about historical fiction, writing, publishing, and editing. And then I ran out of things to say. And then I got busy with my PhD studies, but that’s another story for another day.
If you know anything about me you know that writing is the way I make sense of the world, so I’ll never stop writing about my books or my writing. But now I want to talk about other aspects of my oddball life. I want to talk about what it’s like living as a teacher, student, and writer with hearing loss. I’ve developed an interest in writing nonfiction, and I’m delving into a genre I love to read but have never written—memoir. I’m also looking to start a career as a freelance writer. I tried freelancing about 12 years ago (I really do think it was that long ago) but I grew frustrated and gave up after a few months. I’ve gained more stamina since then, as well as more confidence. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that my novels have sold over 30,000 copies and Her Dear & Loving Husband, the free first book in the Loving Husband Trilogy, has been bought or downloaded over 250,000 times. So maybe I know a little more about writing now than I did then. And maybe I’m a little older (actually, I am definitely a little older) and a little more patient now. Maybe I have a clearer vision of what I want from my life. At the same time, I’m looking to become healthier, eating healthier, getting back into yoga and maybe an occasional jog on the treadmill. I’m definitely drinking healthier, turning to herbal teas instead of coma-inducing blended coffees or other sugary drinks. I’m working on myself spiritually, attempting meditation, learning to focus on my breath, doing everything I can to stop what Buddhists call the Monkey Mind from taking over my life as it has done on many occasions. In other words, I have different topics to discuss these days.
I know conventional wisdom says to have a different blog for each of your interests, but then again I’ve never been the most obedient person. Maybe at some point in the future I’ll have a different blog for health, a different blog for hearing loss, a different blog for fiction writing, a different blog for nonfiction writing, but for right now I want to write about what I want to write about. I think that will make this blog fresher for my readers and more meaningful to me, and that’s one thing I have been working toward lately—only doing what is meaningful to me and leaving the rest behind.
Filed under: News, Tidbits Tagged: blogging, health, hearing loss, nutrition, writing
