Why I Write

That's a very good question. What I do for work right now is Breastfeeding Peer Counseling. I want to move on and become a mother and baby nurse. I have always loved babies. Having my own never stopped that love. I have 2 boys. I've nursed them both. I got help when I was pregnant my second time around and, to me, this is my way of giving back. I've always been a strong supporter of breastfeeding and here I can do that without hurting anyone's feelings because most of the time women are willing to listen and let me help them when it is needed. Making someone feel that breastfeeding can be done with little or no pain or helping them get a fussy baby latched with no problem and seeing the moms happy is what makes my day. That's why i do what I do.

So, this is what it's like over here.

I'm familiar with the thought of writing instead of sleeping. I think a lot of people are, but I really miss the days when my writing would win that argument easily. I still get the writing in here and there, but nowadays there's more of a direction to it, a thought of, "What am I going to do with this?," instead of a free flow of, "Who cares what I do with this?" You, and Alegra because I see her up there, are great jugglers. Keep it up.

I write because it's all I truly know... It's the way I communicate with the world... I'm far better at writing than I am speaking... unless I have a prepared speech, otherwise, I get flustered.

Writing is the best of my world... and, like you, I have characters and stories roaming about my head. I have the luxury of quiet right now, so I can plot out some of the characters and ideas I have.. and let them sit in the back corner of my mind. How best to write Chapter 3, I wonder now... and I know that forcing it does not good... it will come.. and it will come, usually with no pen or paper, so I have to hold it in until pen, paper, or keyboard is at the ready.

Writers live in our heads... and I don't think even the best writer is capable of bringing the best stories in their heads out onto paper... Do you know what I mean? I mean... writers are the best skilled at it, and still... at least I find, my stories on paper don't compare to those in my head..

Besides, writing sort of brought a lot of wonderful and, at times, surprising people into my life... mostly for the better...

However, like you, I'm noticing that with greater focus and with greater planning... one goes from being a blogger to a writer... Not all bloggers can be writers... and when bloggers that are truly writers get that focus, they are so much the better for all that practice.

i love to write i have, i always keep a five subject note book in arms reach only cause sometimes that sooths me when i have alot on my mind and no one to express it to or if anyone care to listen,i can express how i feel on any givin day or any givin moment even if i want to ramble i knew i can express how i feel. but then when i started bloggin (not knowing what the hec it was) on yahoo 360 it was a rap after that no matter how i felt i blogged it,my job, my kids, the hold shabang, i had stopped for a moment but now that i have my laptop i will be back in the groove again, and i want to thank for sharing your bloggs cause i can relate to some the things you write i did not comment much then i felt you to many people to that comment so i was so happy that you have your own web sit now i can realy comment and express on your topics,i am still working on my pic so that way you can see whom i am instead of blank pic, well gotta run sorry i made this long my bad i now you have things to do and tending to Jack

later later

I started writing because I was bored at work, and had the time. What mattered, though, was I read. I read you (you took me a long time to 'get'), Cooper, APQ, Novak, Entrekin, Tralfaz; you know the ones.

After I'd read, I began to understand what makes good reading good.

So as I continued writing, I started writing better and attracting an audience (who for the most part have faithfully followed me through 5 or so profiles until I learned the boob picture (e.g.) just wasn't worth posting just to get deleted. But for a while there, I was just like you in my prolific writings, and enjoyed doing them and interacting with my (humbly smaller numbered but still quite substantial) readers.

Then I got to meet some of them, including the 'greats' (and which were which is really just a matter of opinion), and I got different employment (not ready to call careers yet), work more, and have less time. So now I just try to pop into the blogs of those I'm met (and 2, maybe 3 others) in person, or would one day like to.

I still write, but don't have your stamina. After a long day, I don't want to write much. Like today. (And I will throw a brick at the head of anyone who comments, "Too late!")

I still enjoy reading when I can and writing at least a 'whatsup' blog once and a while. I do miss the substansiveness of having written 'that awesome blog', I just don't have the time to think about something on that kind of scale, and I don't have much time to spend pondering the deeper things about them.

I did do a nifty morph of all the presidents, ending in Obama. It's on youtube, my user name is 'ravnostic' there, as well. You might enjoy it--that took about 15 hours to create.

As for what I am doing to get paid, I've been at the locksmith shop for a little over a year now, I work there because it's a small company and runs like a family business--and because the 'family' is mine and I was asked. It was easier than looking for a job at the time (still is in this economy). It's new (I love new), it's complicated (I love complicated or I get bored), and I'm learning trade skills (which are never a bad thing to have.) So I'll stick around there for a while, grow with the company, and see how it goes.

When I was in University I had the bees. I couldn't make it through a class without covering my notebook in new prose. I wrote every minute I was awake because...well because I had to. It was my passion got 4 years.

And then it stopped.

Now the want is there, and the desire but when I put pen to paper 9/10 nothing comes out. If this was 1997 I'd say I lost my mojo. It's not that I don't have things to say...just maybe things I don't WANT to say. Hmmm...

When I first decided I wanted to be a nurse it was because I wanted to have a part in changing someone's life. I had no idea that I would end up working with sick babies. I've seen so much heartbreaking loss and I never thought I would understand what those parents felt, but when we lost Brandon Jr. I became a totally different nurse. So much more compassionate and understanding. And now that we have Brayden here growing and thriving I understand so much more about their development and feelings. Both of those experiences make me a damn good nurse, and I really feel like I am doing what God put me on this earth to do.
Afterall, amidst all the sadness there are tons of happy stories too, and nothing warms my heart more that to hear about or see a child whose life I helped to save.

I've been in social work my whole life, which is what I went to school for. I'm good at it, but it's stressful and emotionally draining. Let's just say getting laid off wasn't part of the plan, but I wouldn't be too upset if we got pregnant before I found another job.

We decided before we got married that I would be a stay at home mom. I'll never make a lot of money in social work, and the thought of sitting in some lame office all day doing a job I don't feel passionate about while someone else raises my kids makes me want to cry.

I like the bee analogy. I call it "having the blog in my head", and my husband knows I can't concentrate on anything until it's written...

Also, I wish it was Wednesday already.

I can relate to this on so many levels. I think I have used the 'head full of angry bees' more times over the last five years than I care to recall. I always say that writing is cheap prozac but really, writing is a source of joy for me, it enables me to process and make peace with the world in a way that I couldn't otherwise.
I often don't realize how much I am juggling because I am so busy looking at how much I am NOT juggling...but the bottom line is, we are both powerhouses, full stop. ;o)
I am proud to know you, you inspire me.

I sing because I'm good at it =) (and love it)
I dance because I love it.
I write because I need it.

WOW! I had to stop and think about this question. I don't really do any 1 specific thing. I have my work, its ok but I don't jump up excited everyday to go. I am not in my comfort zone which is Management. I took a part time gig in sales just to help in the house. (It's the same job I had when I left my husband almost 3 yrs now) It works because I have so much time for my children and I wouldn't have that any other way.
In the other "free" hours of the day, I try and study for my Bachelors and I...
help people. I cook for people, I clean for people, I babysit for people, I shop for people. I do whatever they need me to do. I don't always get paid for it either. It's not that I just go out and look for folks to help, they find me. I guess word of mouth is the best networking because people know that can count on Gia. I would like to get back into Management, but I don't feel that is my "calling". I thought I wanted to be a writer, but that passion never stayed with me. I was drawn to your writing Nina because its exciting, funny, inventive and I got to live vicariously through your blogs. Among other things, your writing kept me busy enough not to dwell on the obvious pain I had at the time of my divorce. You have allowed me into your home shared your family special occasions and personal thoughts. You have also made me rethink my ability to write. I may give it a try after all. Thanx girl! You are one in a million uhh but of course you knew that! ;-)

I am blessed to work at home right now while my children are young. My mom worked two jobs so we could eat and I never want my kids to feel like they are alone or can't count on me.

While my kids sleep, I do some development work for a non-profit. My most favorite task is prospect research. I am super nosey and love learning about people. I enjoy being able to contribute to our family finances, and a worthy cause, at the same time.

Keep bringing us the honey from all your bees! :)

I work on computers all day… and I love it! It’s what I do.

I, too, wear many hats. One difference, I don’t turn on the TV at night when I come home from work. I save it for Friday through Sunday (TiVo is my friend). If the TV is on, everyone will be distracted from homework and one on one talks about what’s in store for the next day. During the evening following work comes a second exercise class, prepping dinner, paying bills, and/or ironing the next day’s clothes for 3 of us (note to self, teach 13 yr old how to iron own clothes). Just wait until your kids go to school and they say, “Oh, by the way, I need my school materials/projects tomorrow.” Throw in lessons, e.g., taekwondo, piano, and drum lessons. I call it driving Ms. Daisy and her brother ~~ I drive the kids to taekwondo when dad’s out of town ~~ which he tells me will be a busy year with many trips. Single parenting here I come. My motto: BECAUSE I CAN!

Give a busy bee one more thing to do and it will be done ~~ isn’t that what they say? Nice to be among another Queen Bee.

I never quite understood why everyone, especially at work, doesn’t work this way too.

Keep on buzzing,
D’anna

My job gives me the opportunity to write, develop programs, and to teach - which is my core thing. When work starts to take over, though, it saps me of my energy and the words just dissapear. Which is where I am right this minute. I try to write in the mornings before work but right now, nothing.

Glad I at least have good places to go and read. I loved the bee description, it fits perfectly.

“ The question we writers are asked most often, the favorite question, is: Why do you write? I write because I have an innate need to write. I write because I can’t do normal work as other people do. I write because I want to read books like the ones I write. I write because I am angry at everyone. I write because I love sitting in a room all day writing. I write because I can partake of real life only by changing it. I write because I want others, the whole world, to know what sort of life we lived, and continue to live, in Istanbul, in Turkey. I write because I love the smell of paper, pen, and ink. I write because I believe in literature, in the art of the novel, more than I believe in anything else. I write because it is a habit, a passion. I write because I am afraid of being forgotten. I write because I like the glory and interest that writing brings. I write to be alone. Perhaps I write because I hope to understand why I am so very, very angry at everyone. I write because I like to be read. I write because once I have begun a novel, an essay, a page I want to finish it. I write because everyone expects me to write. I write because I have a childish belief in the immortality of libraries, and in the way my books sit on the shelf. I write because it is exciting to turn all life’s beauties and riches into words. I write not to tell a story but to compose a story. I write because I wish to escape from the foreboding that there is a place I must go but—as in a dream—can’t quite get to. I write because I have never managed to be happy. I write to be happy."

Orhan Pamuk.

I'm just sayn' ... what he said yea THAT. i love your writing Nina and I always will!

I have four degrees. They mean nothing to my writing at all, but I have them. And I write because if I don't, I will die. KeMari is right; it's akin to breathing.

As the great sportswriter Red Smith once said, "There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein." I think that's true for most of us. The bloodletting is nearly 24/7 for me, and I have a job, a business of my own and two people for whom I do special projects on the side.

I guess I should be glad my kids are all adults, eh?

I write...well I used to write. I've been block for a good 5 or 6 years. I've started so many stories, journal entries, blogs and have never gone back to them. I really want to write a book about my experience with drugs and depression and how I turned my life around while putting in a compilation of journal entries I have during those years, but there is truly this big ol' brick wall in my head that won't budge for shit!

I get bored of all of my creative outlets as soon as I pick them up. So I'm sticking with what I'm known for...cleaning and knowing little pieces of useless information that people constantly remind me "YOU would know that."
"Yea that's right I DO and your ass is going to thank me one day when we get into the Cash Cab!"

Just drop out and write. Degrees are overrated.

I teach because I love it and I'm really good at it. (toot toot) There's nothing better than presenting something to a child, working your magic and seeing the lightbulb go off.

Although I'm currently at home with my babies (and not in a classroom setting) I've never stopped teaching. My little ones are super bright,funny, and witty --even the baby and I'd like to think that I had a little something to do with it.

One day I'll get back in a school and have a room full of lightbulbs go off, but for now I'll take my two.

The bee analogy is a good one. Especially since I am stung every night by my own pent up words.

You're a superhero by default. You are a woman, and a mom, and that automatically gives you superhero credentials. I think you have a pretty awesome system going there and you have written more than some professional writers have in their lifetimes (by professional I mean 9-5 paid, not to say you aren't professional lol).

I have to say it's the same for me: the writing is like breathing. Even if I'm not doing it, even if I'm complaining about wanting to do it, I am always writing. I will sit sometimes in front of a blank screen, and think, how can I paint the words in my head, onto this electronic canvas, so that it resembles art that could be hung in museums. I have to keep notebooks with me at all times to write down the phrases, words, ideas that flow out of my brain.

I have been writing since I was 5. I will write until I die, even if my writing never sees the light of day.

And uh, I miss Patrick and Chloe...just sayin'. ;)

I work in the mental health field and I do what I do because I firmly believe that everyone needs help once in a while.

I'm a nurse...I've been a fixer most of my life. I do it and I do it well and I'm proud of that. I love to read good writers and that's why I read your blogs. Keep it up Nina!

At least you sort of acknowledged you're a egomaniac there at the end.

I do what I have to do to pay the bills, but that is just work.

In life I do pretty much whatever the hell I want and no one tells me otherwise. My friends seem convinced that my gf is running my life but she constantly says "Vince does what he wants when he wants to."

Obviously I take care of my responsibilities like bills and stuff.