Money Saving Mom®

I was honored to be asked to answer a few questions on my writing process by my real-life friend, Ginger. She’s wife to a deployed husband, mom of three boys, and a dear friend of mine.

Ginger and I went to church together when we were just kids. After her family moved on to a different church, we were pen-pals for awhile. And then we completely lost contact for years.

It was only last year that we re-connected via Instagram and met up at the park for a play date. We quickly rekindled and deepened our friendship and have been blessed to stay in close contact since then.

Ginger inspires me through her blog and writing. She’s real, honest, and authentic. And her story is one of much pain and heartache… but also of the beauty that has come out of that darkness.

Here’s a short description from her About Page to get a peek into her life and why she blogs:

I enjoy sharing more of Our Story in chapters here in this blog. In it I tell the story of discovering betrayal and infidelity in my first marriage, and how I battled the storm that followed. I shared my Letter to the Other Woman, how I tried to restore my marriage, and when I knew that it was time to let go. I have also recounted my journey through being a single mom to three little boys, and how my heart healed after all of the pain. Eventually a wonderful man entered my life, and we became a blended family. 

We have had our shares of joys and trials, deployments and long seasons apart, and even an unexpected battle with cancer. I began this blog in August 2013 to reach out to others. I wanted to let you know that no matter what nightmare comes your way, or wherever your journey leads, you are not alone. I promise.

If you’re not already following Ginger’s blog, I encourage you to hop on over and check it out. Now, onto the questions on writing she asked me to answer:

What am I working on/writing?

Currently, I’m focusing the majority of my writing time on writing content for my blog. I’ve loved getting back to my roots and sharing more of a peek into our everyday lives.

My other big writing project right now is my next book. We had written up a basic proposal on the topic I really want to write on, but my editor strongly encouraged me to go back to the drawing board and come up with a fresher angle or a new idea.

While that was a bit discouraging, I also am grateful for people who are committed to making this next book the best it can be. Because of this, I value their constructive feedback and suggestions.

So, after a lot of thought, prayer, and discussion with others, we overhauled the proposal and re-submitted it a few weeks ago. I’m now waiting to hear their thoughts on the overhauled proposal.

I’m also supposed to be working on an ebook on cutting your grocery bill… but I’ve kind of shelved that for a bit and plan to pick it back up in August or September. By then, I’m hoping we’re more settled into our new rhythm of life in TN and our busy conference/travel season will be behind us.

How does my writing/work differ from others in its genre?

I have a unique story and unique perspective because I am the only me in existence. I don’t focus on how I can be different from others, but instead I focus on how I can be authentically me.

However, that wasn’t always the case. You see, for a long time, I wanted to be an artistic wordsmith. I wanted to write flowery, picturesque, beautiful pieces. Words that would move people in deep way. I saw others who were doing this so well and wished I had their gift of words.

But then I realized that that wasn’t who God had made me to be. Instead, He’s gifted me with the ability to take big-picture concepts and break them down into practical, bite-sized takeaways.

So I stopped trying to be someone I’m not and started focusing on being true to who I am — sharing my stories and unique perspective in (mostly) practical posts with practical takeaways.

It might not be as beautiful, but it’s just as needed.

Why do I write what I do?

I started writing way back when I was just a few years old. I couldn’t spell, but I’d pretend to write. And then as soon as I knew how to spell, I started writing notes to other people.

For years, I invested a lot of time into writing notes and letters: thank you notes, notes of encouragement, sympathy cards, pen-pal letters (at one time, I had around 50 different pen-pals from all over the country, and some even in other countries!). I loved to write and I loved to encourage others, so writing notes and letters was a way to combine my two loves.

When I was 15, I started a printed newsletter for young girls as an additional outlet for my writing. I ended up cutting off the subscriptions at 200 total because that was all I could realistically print and process with everything else I was doing at the time! (In addition to the newsletter, I taught violin lessons to around 12-15 students, worked part-time as a waitress, and had weekly babysitting gigs with a few different families in my high school years.)

After I got married and was no longer publishing the newsletter or writing to dozens of different pen-pals, I was itching to write regularly again. And once I discovered LiveJournal in 2004 and then blogging in 2005, it was a natural fit.

I’ve written something for my blog almost every single day since I began blogging in 2005. Because I can’t not write. It’s in my bones. In fact, I always say that if you left me on a desert island with nothing, I’d take a stick and write in the mud. 🙂

How does my writing process work?

Um, writing process? You mean I’m supposed to have a process. Ahem. 🙂 Actually, I suppose I have some sort of process, but it’s not really clear-cut or incredibly organized.

I typically plan out what posts I intend to write for the week on each day of the week on my Google calendar. And then I will sometimes jot down ideas for that post the notes section of that all-day task on Google calendar. Or, if I come up with a post outline while I’m washing dishes or driving, I’ll jot it down when I can get to paper and then type it into a post draft the next time I’m at my computer.

So at any given time, I usually have at least a few posts started and a few posts that I’m thinking on and formulating in my brain. (I often map out posts when I’m falling asleep… I love thinking through the organization and flow of a post or speech and find it also helps my brain to shut down quickly at night!)

I have a sort of prioritized list for my blogging time that I mostly follow every morning: Check email, post deals, answer emails, check comments/Facebook, post more deals, pin deals on Pinterest, do any other extra pressing work, and then work on drafting content pieces.

While I could put the content pieces first, I find that I am better at really focusing on them and enjoy writing them more when I’ve cleared off the other pressing tasks for the day. So I get the pressing tasks done first and then typically work on the content pieces either in my afternoon blogging time or (as in the case of this post) sometimes in the evenings after dinner and Family Time. It just depends upon the day and what works best for our family/schedule that day.

When I write content pieces, I try to shut down all other distractions and just fully focus on writing the piece. If it’s a longer piece, I usually break it up into 2-4 20-minute writing blocks. Once it’s written, I usually proof it, add in photos, and add in links.

Want to know w secret? I rarely sit on finished posts. In fact, I typically hit publish as soon as they are ready… unless it’s a very uncommon sort of day when I have a chance to work ahead on a post for the following day.

Someday, I’d love to have posts done and pre-scheduled days or weeks in advance, but I’m just not there right now and I’ve gotten to the place where I’m good with that. After all, I’m a big believer in doing what works for you!

So there’s a little peek into my writing process. If you’re a writer and/or blogger, I’d love to hear your answers to any or all of these questions. Share the answers on your blog or leave them in the comments!

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