Journey To Blissville

I stole this from Curvy Jones over at Diary of Curvy Jones!

1. How long have you been blogging? Since July, 2006.

2. What made you start? Long story but it’s a good story so why not read about it here!

3. Who inspired you? My friend Jenn who is a sex educator and writer had a blog on her site and she was all kinds of open about her life and adventures. Then I found a Heather Hunter’s (not to be confused with the porn star by the same name) blog This Fish Needs A Bicycle and just fell in love.

4. About how many hours a week would you estimate you spend on your blog? A week? Maybe ten? I don’t know, I never thought to calculate lol.

5. What kind of experience or background do you have with writing? I am an editors nightmare. No for real. I edited my high school year book and went to college on a journalism scholarship (thanks to The Sports Writer). I wrote for my hometown newspaper and then had a column for another. I once interviewed Larry King and was super close to getting Oprah (her producer called to decline). I stopped writing after a very bad experience that shook my confidence. The Sports Writer thinks I should give it another try. We’ll see. Until then I have my blog.

6. Talk about how you come up with blog topics. Where do you get your ideas? My life mostly. Something funny will happen and if I don’t Twitter it…it become a blog post!

7. What or who inspires you and your blog? I got an e-mail once from a girl who told me that she enjoys reading my blog and that I was a bright spot in a very dark time in her life. I thought that was a very kind thing to say. Also there is a deep chasms between who I am and who I want to be. My blog because I want to look back to see where I was and how far I will go. That is what inspires me.

8. Where and/or how do your brainstorming for your blog? I don’t. I have a few ideas of things that I would blog about but I am not brave enough to put those thoughts out there yet.

9. Do you have any blogging rules or guidelines you follow? Be honest and try not to hurt loved ones with your words.

10. Is there anything you will not blog about? My friends lives. Those are not my stories to tell. Unless of course they give me permission and even then…

11. Do you have any sort of a publishing schedule in terms of day of week or topic? I am working on getting something posted daily but if I have something up two to three times a week I am doing good.

12. How many drafts of potential blog posts do you have right now? A little over 60.

13. In what medium do you draft your posts? I just open up Add New Post page and write.

14. How often do you completely scratch or delete drafts or blog post ideas? More often than I would like to admit. Mostly because as I type I realize I don’t have the skill to convey what I really want to say. Like a toddler I can’t use my words.

15. If you had to leave your blog in your will to another blogger, who would you choose? I don’t think another blogger would want my blog. However if I were to die tomorrow, I think The Sports Writer could write some pretty good Tex stories.

16. Are there other blogs that you feel are similar to yours in content, style, or voice? Yeah, there are a ton of us but I have to say that I am a blogger who happens to write and not a writer who just happens to blog. BIG DIFFERENCE.

17. Has anything surprised you since you started blogging? We have a lot more in common than we realize. We may have different voices but the experiences are shared with more people than you realize.

18. What are your goals or plans for your blog going forward? Get some guest bloggers. Add some video. Finally get the logo and layout that I want!

19. Do you make any money from your blog? (optional) about how much a month? Who do you think I am Dooce? Not even.

20. What blogging system do you use? I just moved to Wordpress. (Sigh) It has not been easy.

21. How did you come up your blog name? My friend Green Eyes and I were IMing one day about how we wanted to change our lives and she coined the term Journey To Blissville.

22. How many blogs do you have? What was your peak? Right now I only have Blissville. At my peak I think I may have had three or four.

23. Are you having as much fun as when you started? Yeah! As I get closer to becoming the person I think I am, I am learning to lighten up and not take life so seriously or personally. I think my blog reflects that.

24. Where do you find other bloggers like you? I read lots of other blogs and I stalk interesting commenter’s lol

25. What’s your one wish when it comes to blogging? That the blog I have in my head becomes the blog that you enjoy reading.