Encouragement In the Spirit of Cooperation

Thanks to Linda Hasselstrom of Notes from a Western Life Blog for nominating my blog for the Liebster Award. The award is given by blog writers to other writers in an effort to encourage and support each other. The distribution method helps other bloggers increase their readership. Award nominees, if they choose to participate, tag others for the award. I don't usually participate in chain letter activities. However I chose to participate in the Liebster project to support other writers as well as encourage civility and kindness on the internet. In this spirit, I nominated the writers below. They are under no obligation to participate and I understand they may choose to pass for any number of reasons. Regardless you might want to look at their blogs.

Here is how I interpret the guidelines for this award. First I will answer the questions Linda posed for her nominees. Then I will list my nominees and post a new set of questions for them. Nominees do not have to answer all of the questions. I passed on two of mine.

Questions Posed To Me

1. What event made you start writing? 

Sometime in my forties, I begin to think I would like to try and write but never did so. At age fifty, I attended a reading given by women who had been published in Leaning into the Wind, an anthology of women writing about the West. The writers were ordinary women with busy lives. As I listened to  them, I decided if they could write so could I. Around the same time my seemingly healthy mother was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. Her illness reminded me how quickly our lives can change. I decided if I wanted to try writing that I should begin.

2. What do you enjoy reading?

I enjoy reading a well-written story. I read fiction, biography, nature writing, poetry, and some mysteries.

3. What do you read for inspiration or encouragement?

When I find a writer whose work appeals to me, I read their earlier work. Studying a writer’s growth over time encourages me. 

4. Why do you write?

I write because I like to tell stories and I like discovering my own story. I also enjoy playing with words and language.

5. How much time do you spend writing each day?

When I have no other commitments, I spend about three or so morning hours at my desk.

6. How might you realistically rearrange your schedule to have more writing time?  Since retiring from public school teaching, I feel fortunate to have most mornings to work. I am quite pleased with the amount of time I spend writing.

7. What do you do for relaxation and enjoyment?

I spend time with my family, including my grandchildren. I also knit, read, quilt, walk, practice yoga, and garden.

8. What incident have you never written about?

Pass

9. What is the best thing you have written and why?

I recently finished a small collection of poems about containers and ordinary days. I printed and bound them together in handmade books for family and a few friends. This is my version of environmentally friendly self-publishing. 

10. What question do you wish I had asked? Pass

My nominees for the Liebster Award are:

Kate of Beyond Kale - A Mother's Mindful Journey
My daughter Kate writes about her family's journey as they try to teach their children to love and conserve the world with a healthy lifestyle. She writes from the perspective of a mother with a professional career about issues that face young families.

Bonnie of Blue Peninsula
Bonnie, an artist and knitwear designer, writes from Massachusettes.  She designs knitting patterns, creates embroidered artwork, sketches, and supports small independent yarn dyers.

Karen of Pumpkin Sunrise
Karen posts beautiful photographs about her knitting and reading. I enjoy her posts about the beauty she finds in ordinary days.

Sarah of Whistling Girl Knits
Sarah of Oregon is a writer, pattern designer, and photographer. Her strong writing skills inspire me.

Becky and Lucy of Writing in Community
Becky and Lucy write their blog from Nebraska to encourage writers. Both Becky and Lucy have published poetry. Together they wrote and published a book, Writing in Community: Say Goodbye to Writer's Block.

Questions for Writers:
1. What made you decide to write a blog?
2. If you could have dinner with a famous craftsperson (poet, writer, knitter, artist, musician, master gardener, or ???) who would you invite? What would you ask them?
3. Have you ever memorized a poem? Which one do you remember?
4. Do you practice other crafts besides writing? If so what connections do you find between writing and the other crafts?
5. What blog topics do you like to read about?
6. What authors do you admire?
7. Where do you write? What setting works best for you?
8. Do you have a favorite writing exercise or prompt?
9. How do you make time and space for practicing your crafts?