Category Archives: The 'Net

When I first heard Bloggy Boot Camp planned on a Denver stop this year, two reactions popped into my head. First, wow!, a blogging conference where the only cost will be the program ticket, no plane ticket or hotel room needed in a year when saving money and travel time is of utmost importance.  But then, wait a second, is this format worth it to me, someone without kids, someone without a desire to work with many brands?

While I did turn some heads when I explained that I primarily write about chronic illness, I felt mostly at home during the one-day conference. No one knew (until now) that I avoided the sponsor tables and did not participate in the drawing for free stuff. The only freebie I brought home was a copy of the October selection for the SITS book club, Goodnight Tweetheart by Teresa Medeiros. After lunch, no one knew (unless they follow me on my locked Twitter account) that I needed to step out from the “chaos” that any conference brings for a little “me time” to soak in all I learned in the morning sessions.

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After attending a session on “Authentic Branding” with Amy Bradley-Hole (@AmyBHole), I felt compelled to take on an overhaul of my “About Me” page. She asked us five questions, noting that we may not have a full answer by the end of her session and that they were meant to set us thinking about whether we are properly branded. (As much as I used to cringe at the word “brand” in regards to blogs, it is true that in order to take blogging from a hobby to something that makes a dent in the bills, a strong “brand” is needed in order for name recognition.)

Five questions to ponder:

• What are my distinguishing characteristics and personality traits?
• What are my guiding principles and values?
• What is my role on the web?
• What is my promise?
• What is my story (why I am what I am)?

Answering these five questions is leading to some reconsideration of the information I put forward on the “About Me” pages of both blogs.

The session that followed turned out to be most valuable. As someone who has been stuck in a “woe is me” spot in her life, I know it has shown through in my blogging the past several months. Inspiration from Jillian Tohber Leslie (@catchmyparty) through her presentation on “The Creative Process in Blogging (and Life)” will most certainly lead to getting my blogging (and offline writing) back on track.

Eight tools to get unstuck:

• 15 minute timed writing sessions. “The only way to fail is to stop writing before the 15 minutes are up.”
• Look at small goals instead of the big picture. (If I can come up with three blog posts a week that are not all about “woe is me”, I will be happy.)
• Write now, edit later. (This is huge for me, as someone who likes to edit almost as much as she likes to write.)
• Keep a Golden Circle. “Cultivate relationships with people who support your creative self and set boundaries with those who do not.”
• Co-create with your community. Realize you are not alone. (Sound familiar, diabetes online community?)
• Replenish the well. Make time for yourself so you do not overdraw on your creative bank account.
• Become an expert from every angle imaginable, deeper not broader.
• Notice how the universe is conspiring to help you. Inspiration from blog comments, or noticing ideas that suddenly pop up when you least expect them.

“Blog Design Basics: Clean Up Your Act!” by Aimee Giese (aka @Greeblemonkey) and a session on vlogging with Jessica Bern (@bernthis) rounded out what I experienced last Saturday. These two women are people I know now in “real life”. Therefore, I could gush and gush about their sessions, but I have picked a few key ideas I walked away with that resonated.

From Aimee, I learned what I already knew, if that makes any sense. Keep consistent with blog design, keep blog design consistent with personality, revisit the organization of your blog every few months – essentially create a style guide.

From Jessica, I decided I need to stop trying to film vlogs in one take. It is impossible to look casual without filming a few versions and splicing them together in iMovie. She also gave out a few lighting and clothing tips that I will take to heart in my next venture into vlogging.

Thank you, SITS girls, for bringing Bloggy Boot Camp to my “backyard”. In a year when travel is light and money is tight, this should become a valuable experience in helping me take back my blogging from a dark place.

Today marks five years of blogging.

Well, okay, more than five years.  I maintained a blog during the summer of 2003, and I experimented with a semi-private LiveJournal for quite awhile even after I started here.

But this particular blog?  It came about five years ago as I (a) tried to express feelings regarding my own type 2 diabetes and hypothyroidism diagnoses earlier in 2005 and (b) tried to figure out my role in the husband’s type 1 diabetes following a hypoglycemic seizure the previous year.  Gina created D-Blog Day and I created this space – thank you Gina, for getting me started.

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The few who came before me in diabetes blogging showed me that writing about these experiences could be therapeutic.  To Kerri, I owe the greatest thanks of all in this area of my writing.   Not only did she provide the insight I needed into the type 1 world and not only did she inspire my inner athlete to come out from hiding, she opened a huge door for me with the dLife column and giving me pep talks into doing more with being a patient using social media.

Eventually, I found the need to talk about my experiences with anxiety and depression openly, as there is no denying they played a role in the early onset of type 2 diabetes.  I must thank Lee Ann and Scott for their continued support on going public with that information.

Many thanks also go out to David and Elizabeth Edelman, as they invited me to blog at Diabetes Daily a couple years back.

As a result, I moved most diabetes talk over there and started exploring my life here as a ChronicBabe as a whole – the diabetes, the mental health issues, and eventual admission of having lived with chronic pelvic pain.  At least I try to be babelicious most of the time, though to be honest, it’s been more difficult lately.   I know I’ve said it before, and I’m sure I will say it again, but Jenni rocks my world with her attitude as a ChronicBabe.

There must be some reason I keep doing the patient-blogging thing, right?  It’s not just about me – it’s reaching out to those who may be experiencing a similar situation but cannot find their own words to express themselves.  I cannot ignore the role of mental health in physical health – and I hope more people recognize the importance of healthy mind, healthy body.

For all of those who comment, who e-mail, who connect on some level – thank you not only for reading, but for sharing your own stories with me.  I’m not alone – you’re not alone.

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Then there’s those darn cats.  And my love of football.  And travels around the country (and around the state).  And cooking.  And despite my better judgment, some politics and religion.  (You’ll have to do some digging for those.)

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And there’s the dark and twisty side.  After all the talk therapy I have encountered during my relatively short lifetime, I find I would much rather sit down and write my thoughts for the world to see.  I know some of it is rather grim when I find myself dealing with some of the fumbles of life.  What can I say?  It’s cheaper than an hour on some therapist’s couch and I feel much better afterwards.

To those who keep coming back in spite of the dark and the twisty and the football fanaticism and those darn cats, thank you.  Thank you, oh so very much.

Some of the writing around the ‘net that has caught my attention as of late:

• Kim at Texting My Pancreas wrote about her time with undiagnosed hypothyroidism.  Having been there, done that – this really touched me.
• What do they think on the other side of the pharmacy counter?  Like Swimming tells it like it is, pet peeves and all.
• Tracy at Hit by a Pitch talks about the suck of running and working out – and yet why she keeps doing it – to show her 1-year-old son that exercise “is just what you do”.
• Rita Arens, a fantastic writer and a great speaker, tells her readers that writing and queries and book proposals don’t get any easier after the first works are published.  (Hey, at least she’s honest…)
• I cannot imagine ever losing my sister and yet I have seen several women lose theirs this year.  Most recently, and most unexpectedly, Amy at Crunchy Domestic Goddess is grieving of the loss of her younger sister.  While Amy could not put together enough words to express herself at this time, one of her best friends wrote a piece about Carrie, grief, and life after a loved one’s death.

What have you been reading?  What has made you laugh or cry or smile?