An Exclusive Interview With 2010 Canadian Weblog Awards Winner Thordora Of Spin Me I Pulsate

Thordora authors the 2010 Canadian Weblog Awards winner Spin Me I Pulsate, which placed 2nd in Best Written and 3rd in Family & Parenting.

Why blogging? Why did you start blogging, and what drives you now?

Man, I don't even know why I started anymore. It was a few months after I had my second kid, and I was… not terribly sane. PPD, what I see now as a bad marriage, the usual conflicts between work and family — I just wanted an outlet. It was 2005, and I wasn't really even aware of the whole "blog" thing, but I tried a few platforms and eventually migrated over to wordpress. Eventually, I made a lot of "friends in the 'puter" via the blog and a certain parenting site that will remain nameless, and I felt driven to a degree by the sharing and the genuine sense of sisterhood you could find — so very important when the girls were just little and it felt so insurmountable. I was blessed to meet people who truly care for me, some of whom I am lucky to live near and get to drink with at least once a year.

I've tried to quit. I've felt the urge to shut it down and run away, especially after my little twitter incident in Jan 2009. But I keep feeling drawn back by the immediacy of the forum, the fact that brevity is expected and welcomed, because it lets me speak of things I don't always feel I can say out loud to the people physically in my life. It's been a vent, it's been a lifeline, it's been a chronicle. Now I find I've just found a comfortable rhythm with it, writing when moved to, using it to help me vent the upper level junk so I can attempt to write fiction in the 20 minutes a week I have to rub together. I would love to have a larger presence online in terms of spreading it around, but time. Who has the time? I don't. So sometimes the urge to write gets blocked because of that, and that's usually when I feel like stopping.

I've had a lot of changes the past 5 years. The blog has helped me deal with it because of the people I've met through it.

I am honored that you allow us into bits of your life with your often very naked writing about your life and loves. Has it been a conscious decision to blog so openly, or is it a blogging style that unfolds all on its own?

I don't know if it was a decision like "should I have ham and cheese or BLT" that I made. It just felt "right" to be open. As a consequence, I don't share it with a lot of people I know IRL who I didn't first meet thru the blog. I think I'm able to be more honest because I don't worry about what I'm saying, but at the same time, if pressed, it's nothing I wouldn't say to most people I know anyway. I think you're either comfortable with honesty or you aren't. Personally, I've never found myself honest or anything. It's just who I am. And there's plenty that I don't share. I would like to think that people would organically become more comfortable with their voice, but I think this depends hugely on their audience.



How does blogging affect your creativity?

I'd like to say it helps. But honestly, I'm distractible like a crow and can only write in spurts and blog posts fit "spurts". I have a constant battle with the limited amount of my creativity. It's a dream to be stuck in a cabin with nothing to distract me for months, to see what would come out. It makes me WANT to be more creative, knowing so many people who are so freaking talented and productive. But as a single mom working full time, maintaining a long distance relationship and a house... it's a lot. Real life has a disgusting habit of getting in the way. Knowing so many talented photographers thru the blog has helped encourage me to stretch those muscles, so I do get some creative juices going that way. (My boyfriend lending me his D200 is helping as well.:D )

Where do you find ideas for your content? If you are feeling less than inspired, where do you look for inspiration?

Generally, in whatever either pisses me off, makes me cry or makes me think. Sometimes it's the look in Rosalyn's eye, a question from a kid, or my own freaking guilt. Sometimes I feel so alone with the circumstances in my life, and even if the comments are "I don't know, but I'm here", it helps, and it makes it easier. Other people inspire me, their stories and their dreams. And sometimes, I'm just pissed off and asking Why? in general to the universe. 'Cause it answers me and stuff. :p

It's more about exploration, not inspiration.

Are you open about being a blogger? How do people offline react to your online writing?

Eh... not really. If it comes up, and I feel comfortable, then I'll disclose. But I do, for the most part, "hide" behind my pseudonym. There are people I've known for years who have NO idea, others, I'm cool with talking about it. Oddly, when I first met my boyfriend, I gave him the url almost immediately. I felt really connected, and wanted him to know me, and frankly, like it is with so many others, my blog is a fairly clear explanation. Not perfect, but it fills in the background. The most insightful thing he's said has been that the "me" online, is absolutely not the "me" he knows, and it's true.

Most people don't react, but I find if they know Thordora and the IRL me, they're extremely insightful and keep reading even if they don't comment directly. Not that it's terribly difficult to track me down, but I like making it easier than just googling my rather unique name.



Which weblogs are your current favourites? Which weblogs have been most influential in the shaping of your own blogging?

Honestly, I don't have much time for reading anything lately... Kate at sweet|salty and Bon at Crib Chronicles always challenge me to write better, and I love Hyperbole and a Half, because I literally cry laughing and wish I could write like that. But mostly, I'm reading news blogs, sex blogs, things not particularly relevant to my writing. Sadly, real life doesn't include much time for reading anything.

What advice do you have for new bloggers?

I'm not making any money, I rarely update, and I'm terrible at commenting. I do everything wrong according to "experts" — but I do it for me, and at the end of the day, that's about all you can do.

CHEAT SHEET

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Name: Location: Weblog: Twitter: 2010 CWA Winner:

Thordora Moncton, New Brunswick, but hopefully not for much longer Spin Me I Pulsate @thordora 2nd in Best Written and 3rd in Family & Parenting

An Exclusive Interview With 2010 Canadian Weblog Awards Winner Haley Overland Of Cheaty Monkey

Haley Overland authors the 2010 Canadian Weblog Awards winner Cheaty Monkey, which placed both 1st in Life and 3rd in Best Written.

Why blogging? Why did you start blogging, and what drives you now?

I blog because I love writing. I started blogging because I saw it as an opportunity to write for an audience that didn't involve hiring an agent or approaching publishers. I'd worked in the publishing business, and I knew how hard it was to get published. When I heard there was such a thing as a "blog," I was thrilled and started blogging right away. I began by posting several times a day about life with my then 8-month-old daughter, celebrity gossip, my cats, The Young and the Restless....

Blogging is much different for me now. With two young children and a full-time job, I don't have the same kind of time. And blogging in general is much different now than it was then. Bloggers communicated with one another through their blogs, so it was imperative that we posted well and frequently just to stay on the map. Now we communicate and stay relevant (primarily) through Twitter and Facebook. This just means (at least for me) that the blog posts we write are richer and more thoughtful now — worth it for readers who are actually taking the time to visit and to read more than 140 of our characters.

What drives me now are my readers. I have a beautiful group of readers who've been reading Cheaty Monkey for a long time. They remember the birth of my son three years ago, and even when I announced I was pregnant with him. They were there when two of my cats died and when I went to Bermuda by myself for a friend's wedding. They know I love trashy TV, that I'm dedicated to yoga, and that I have an insatiable chai latte addiction that horrifies me. And I know a lot about them. We're friends. I write for them. And I write for myself. Like yoga, writing is absolutely my "practice."

With almost five years of archives, you have a considerable amount of history at Cheaty Monkey. What things have supported and/or encouraged your blogging path, and what have been wrenches in your works?

My readers have been my biggest blogging support system. Again, they are amazing. And my mom — who still often comments on my blog as "it'sgrandma." Others have been less supportive because they think blogging is frivolous or a "hobby," or because they're embarrassed to say they read my blog, which I totally don't get, because it's there to be read.

Wrenches in my works? Fear. I've had some pretty strong views over the past few years. I've even been involved in the odd "flame war." I lost readers, and I gained readers, and I quit and came back and quit and came back. Now I'm at a really comfortable place with my blogging, which makes winning some blog awards this year particularly special. I no longer put pressure on myself to be relevant. I write what I want, when I want. I still put myself out there, but I'm okay with what people think because I know my fabulous readers respect me and my journey as a blogger, a mom, and a human being.

You're a busy person on the internet. Tell us about some of your other online projects.

I also started blogging because I wanted to own my own business and be a work-at-home mom. I started my online art store, Kidsdeserveart.com, alongside Cheaty Monkey. I sensed that the blog would help me gain clients' trust. People on the internet were still so anonymous back then. The blog made me relatable, trustworthy, and real to my clients — not just a random "Haley-O." Now, my clients don't think twice before they buy art online from "Cheaty"!

Amazingly, and very fortunately, my blogging has become my career. I'm an online "Writer/Editor" at Today's Parent Magazine, and I'm their celebrity blogger at Celebrity Candy. My blog, Cheaty Monkey, is the reason I got this job. I'd say it was my million-dollar smile, but my readers know I've been having some pretty comical tooth issues this year.



Where do you find ideas for your content? If you are feeling less than inspired, where do you look for inspiration? How do you find it?

I'm fortunate when it comes to finding ideas for content. Because I'm my own boss when it comes my blog, I can write about anything in the universe, and that's so freeing and fun! When I feel like it's time to write, I sit down to my computer and write. I rarely know what I'm going to write about; although sometimes, during the day, a first sentence will occur to me, and I should write it down. I often don't, but it'll come back around, and the post will follow.

This is going to sound like I'm trying to be poetic, but I'm honestly inspired by the moment. I look to the moment for inspiration. How am I feeling right now? What's happening around me right now? What's my mood like right now? Is my cat staring at me? What's on my TV right now (The Bachelor)? What's going on in my life right now? What's my view of life right now (the moment can get deep)?

Are you open about being a blogger? How do people offline react to your online writing?

I'm too open about being a blogger. I really regret that I told my dentist about my blog (hi, Dr. G!), for example, because every time I see him he asks me about it and will often blurt out "Cheaty Monkey" — out of nowhere, like, when he's scraping or prodding. I have a cousin who does the blurt thing too. "Chea-ty Chea-ty Monkey.... Chea-ty Monkey!" I can only respond with "heh." Drives me crazy.

People offline react in two extreme ways (and somewhere in between, of course). Some are amazed that I'm a "BLOGGER, OMG!, CAN WE BE FRIENDS THAT IS AMAZING." Others react in a really annoying way: "I could NEVER do that! Aren't you uncomfortable that the whole world knows everything about you?" Then I make the mistake of asking people in category #2 if I can post a picture of the back of their daughters' hand: "OMG, NO! THAT'S DANGEROUS!" And then I get anxiety.

What advice do you have for new bloggers?

I've actually been talking to a lot of new bloggers lately. People are calling me for advice on starting up. It's a funny time to start blogging. There are a trillion blogs out there — but it's so easy to spread the word. I think if things were the way they were when I first started blogging, my advice would be different. But the one piece of advice that would stay the same would be WRITE! And WRITE WELL! Don't worry about "stats" or pleasing your readers right away, or you'll get stuck and you won't enjoy blogging as much. Write about things that interest you, figuring out who you are (forget about who you want to be) in the process, and your readers will come.

Thank you!

CHEAT SHEET

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Name: Location: Weblog: Other Notables: Twitter: 2010 CWA Winner:

Haley Overland (aka Haley-O, Cheaty) Toronto, Ontario Cheaty Monkey Kidsdeserveart.com, Today's Parent Magazine, and Celebrity Candy @cheaty 1st in Life, 3rd in Best Written

2010 Canadian Weblog Awards Exclusive Nominee Interview with Braden Rosner of Songs & Cigarettes

Braden Rosner authors Songs & Cigarettes, which has been nominated in the Best Written, People's Choice, and Pop Culture & Entertainment categories of the 2010 Canadian Weblog Awards.

Why blogging?

I've had some pretty rad run-ins that I absolutely couldn't write if my life depended on it; it's the real-life stuff that makes for the strangest content. I use the blog as a means of expelling the fear-and-loathing times of a twenty-something with like-minded types. It's a hell of a scary time in anyone's life to be knee-deep in this great unknowing. A lot of why I do Songs & Cigarettes is to find some order amidst this day-to-day chaos. I'm having a good time doing it, too.

Your weblog ranges from personal stories about your life to music to your thoughts about hipsters, hockey, and old movies. What kinds of topics did you choose to share when you began your weblog in 2007, and what do you choose now? How has that changed?

It originally started as a means of just writing for the sake of writing. I was working for an energy company at the time and needed an outlet to distract me when I wasn't working. So, I guess, in that sense, I just kind of fell into it.

I never really had any set theme in mind when I started S&Cs. Hell, it still doesn't have any real structure three years later. I like to think of the blog operating on a "parts without a whole" system — it keeps things interesting. Otherwise, I get a lot of questions about the Charlie Chaplin references, too. I always liked the idea of this clumsy, rambling, none-too-bright character. He's a cultural theorist, a social living social commentary, and, most notably, an idiot and tramp. I guess, to some degree anyways, I use this figure on the blog because I find it kind of reflective.

How has blogging affected you creatively? Has it helped or hindered you?

I learned very early that getting a lil' too personal can play out harshly against you.

Duh.

After a few less than stellar conversations with former flames in my early, stupid blogging days, it's been nothing but sterling since. I actually got a lot of freelance gigs as a result of the blog. I was writing for a mag out of New York, Death + Taxes, doing some column-work for Woman.ca (no idea how I managed to get that one), and a couple others that came as a direct result of the blog, which, you know, is kind of kooky.

Creatively, I think I've come a long way. I'm fortunate enough to be surrounded by some of the most brilliant, creative, maniacal, villainous, and fantastic minds I've ever known, so I sort of take things from them and use it for my own shamelessly self-promotive means.

What inspires you?

Sights and sounds. It's a tried and true answer, right? I mean I've been blogging from a few different locations over the past three years, and it's been my only real formula that I write what I see and hear. People, places, music — I get this sensory overload type-thing after a day wandering the city; like there's too much to say about everything that I came across throughout a given day.

What are your must-reads?

Becoming part of a blogging community has been a real eye-opener in terms of what amazing talent is out there and how easy it is to connect with them. I treat my blogroll as a shrine to some writers, artists, and photographers I've been fortunate enough to come across through one avenue or another. I mean, The Way The Future Blogs, LoveBryan, Destroyers & Creators, WeAreTheDigitalKids, singlebetty. Lately I've been into a lot more Toronto-based blogs like One Thing I Did Today, Not a Model, and of course, the mecca, BlogTO.

How public are you about your weblog? Is it something that you freely tell friends, family, and co-workers about, or do you prefer to keep it on the down low?

As mentioned, I'm generally pretty shameless. My Dad reads it and is generally confused by most of it, but I'm pretty open about it. I wouldn't go so far as to say I attach my URL to a handshake or anything, but it's pretty easily accessible if you happen to know me, or, you know, if you're one of those Facebook stalker-types — which is totally cool. I'm probably doing the same to them right now, anyways.

There's something about speaking honestly, from experience and misadventure alike, that is attractive to people. I try to write similar to the content I find interesting. At the end of the day, I'm good with letting readers take a look around.

If you were to impart knowledge to an aspiring blogger, what would you tell them?

Don't read my blog.

Kidding, or not — whatever. I'd say keep writing, keep reading, and make sure you reach out to those blogs you enjoy reading. Find your comfort level, the style you're cool with, and whatever you do, keep on it. It's an act of defeat having to apologize to readers for a lack of updates. Figure out a schedule as you're starting out and please, god, stick to it.

Otherwise, give it hell.

Braden Rosner has worked a string of dead-end jobs from background esthetic specialist (or "extra" as they say in the movie biz), bartender for a catering service, golf course attendant, and so on and so forth. Over the past year he's operated as a freelance writer and photographer, writing columns for Woman.ca, music-focused articles for Bring Back the Boombox, Death + Taxes, and other outlets from New York, Los Angeles, and in his current lodgings in Toronto, Ontario. Throughout all of this, Braden has maintained a blog detailing his every trial and error in work, play, and passion — Songs & Cigarettes.

From the eyes of a twenty-something facing the menacing weight of adulthood, Braden is searching for the silver lining — he just hasn't figured out what the hell that means just yet.

Nominees of the Day: Best Written

The 2010 Canadian Weblog Awards nominees of the day today are from our Best Written category.

Best Written is open to any weblog that has text-based content, so it has become a large and diverse category that is still growing at 61 nominees.

Browse through the list and leave comments to let the bloggers know you came by!

À la mode Montréal
Alfred Lives Here
The Ampersand
Better Now
Le blogue de Valérie Borde
Canadian Love Song
The Cancer Wars
Capital Mom
Le Carnet d'Ysengrimus
Centre of the Universe — The Dreaming
Chained Maiden
Cheaty Monkey
Chow with Chow
Chroniques blondes
Cleavage
Crazy Town
cribchronicles.ccom
La déroutée
Dinner with Julie
dirtyolive.net
Drowning In Kids
Dutch Blitz
Endless Spin Cycle
everydayINSIGHT
Expressive Art
Gilles en vrac...
The Goodie Life
Her Bad Mother
Holy Mackerel
jennui.com
The Kids Are Alright
Knitnut.net
A Lot of Loves
Maternal Spark
max-logic
Mesure et demesure
Moetography
Nuts & Mutton
One Thing I Did Today
The Opinion Monster
A Peek Inside the Fishbowl
PhD in Parenting
Postcards from the Mothership
Praying to Darwin
Sometimes Icing
Songs & Cigarettes
Spin Me I Pulsate
Squawkfox
Stranded in Motherhood
Sturgess Architecture
Sumayyah's World
sweet | salty
The Tall House Chronicles
Taxi-brousse
Un taxi la nuit
Thirty: Own Up to Being Grown-Up
Unsweetened Cocoa
Weighty Matters
Where There's a Willer
Woman in a Window
XUP

Do you know of a Canadian weblog with excellent writing? Nominate it in the 2010 Canadian Weblog Awards!

2010 Canadian Weblog Awards Exclusive Nominee Interview with Kate Inglis of sweet | salty

Kate Inglis authors sweet | salty, which has been nominated in the Best Written, Life, and Family & Parenting categories of the 2010 Canadian Weblog Awards.

Why blogging?

This question has me wanting to yell 'diplomatic immunity!' from the deck of an illegal freighter after I've ordered three of my goons to tackle the word 'blogging' to the ground and beat it unconscious.

It's probably unfair for me to get squirmy around the word 'blogger', especially given all the metadrama and politics and reactive blogging pride out there. It's got nothing to do with the writing I do for clients, or for fiction. I don’t mean to devalue the communities and friendships that spring up from all these people writing and sharing over the internet. It's just a goofy word.

I've also never thought of blogging as an end-goal. It's writing. So why writing? Because I suck at math.

Where does your weblog fit into your creative portfolio? Is blogging your primary outlet, or do you publish elsewhere?

My blog accelerated the process of getting published by helping me bypass the slush pile. It wasn't necessarily mass exposure — plenty of people get more traffic than I do. But my writing caught the eye of the right person the same week I'd finished my first manuscript. She's now my editor. I am shocked. She is relentless.

I'm not inclined to syrupy overstatements, but this is the truth. The past year has made me feel like the home of my writing might make anything possible. It's a channel, an idea bank, a spiritual practice, friendships, a resource, a discipline. The past year has been a lesson in how profoundly storytelling — and clarity of voice — matters.

How has your blogging style, content, and attitude changed since you first began?

I remember the first and last time I got wound up about the futility of blogging. It was sometime in 2005. I was wandering one night, trying to find ‘good blogs’. I had no idea how it all worked, how you’d ever find similar voices or interests, let alone readers. From blogroll to blogroll I landed on a blog that featured a whole series of posts detailing several days of one woman’s constipation. Ooof! Hard poop. Big poop! Waiting. Pushing. Ow! Oof. Oatmeal. Prunes. Urrgh! Water. More water! Ouch. Squat! A downed tree, a chorus. None of it meant to be funny. She might have had a ticker in animated gif format. Hers was some seriously earnest shit.

30+ comments on every post led me to the conclusion that people like reading about artless shit. I didn’t just want to quit blogging. I wanted to trade in my entire generation.

Choosing not to delete my blog at that moment was a turning point. To keep going, I had to shrug at the rest of the internet. The trolls, the bickering, the melodrama, the need for validation, the exposure fetishists. The shit. I had to make the internet into something else, at least in my corner, and not internalize the rest of it. I made an effort to find kind and interesting people for whom blogging was just a platform for something else. Good writing, ideas, photography, art.

Then the twins were born, and Liam died, and everything changed, but far beyond blogging. I’m not afraid anymore. I’m not so doubtful and unsure and awkward and wracked. I don’t worry as much about what people think of me. I feel bigger than I was, more calm. More cemented in how I feel about the act of public writing.

Which of your weblog entries from the past while was the most cathartic/interesting/nerve-wracking for you, and why?

The answer most people might expect would be any post written inside the NICU. When something like that happens to you, the world doesn't stop. People keep running for the bus and flipping the bird in traffic and it's just impossibly strange. My kid is dying and you're eating a hamburger, you stupid fucker, and you've got ketchup on your chin, and I can't decide if I want to punch you or tell you how rare you are.

The world doesn't want or need to see the suffering that consumes you. In fact, most people turn away from it. So I had to keep writing. I needed to make people pause and consider the vividness of what we couldn't escape. And I needed to make it hopeful, somehow. I was forcing my imagination out-of-season. It was sado-masochism on all fronts, but it didn’t take courage. I had no choice. The writing of those posts came easily.

The difficult, knuckle-biting posts have been those that preceded the release of my book. I've never felt so exposed in my life. I had no idea it would feel so terrifying to put those pirates where they could be seen. They're brutes and thugs but they were kind enough to run away with me when I needed fresh air. For people to respond to them (or my expression of them) with indifference... for a few weeks there, I was out of my head with how raw it felt.

Ramble a little bit here about whatever you like. We think you're a stunning writer and just want to listen to you talk some more.

Poop! LOL. OMG. TMI. WTF.

What weblogs are your must-reads?

Bon of Crib Chronicles, Sweet Juniper, BHJ, Maggie Dammit, and so many others. I read my friends, so it’s really tough to answer this. Some are photographers, some I’ve hung out with at BlogHer [conferences], some totally bogarted the last box of chocolate weetabix. I trawl Pioneer Woman for free photoshop actions but beyond that, everyone I read is someone with some personal connection. They’re all must-reads.

If you were to impart some knowledge to an aspiring blogger, what would you tell them?

Only flash your boobs if somebody pays you.

Kate Inglis, a writer and photographer, lives on the edge of a meat-grinder sea on the far eastern coastline of Nova Scotia where she was born. Since 2004, her personal blog sweet | salty has chronicled a journey that's been equal parts joy, blessings and unexpected bumps. She founded a collaborative blog for babylost parents called Glow in the Woods, a warm, embracing and entirely cherub-free community. She spends a lot of time with her camera in-hand, chasing light, and writes for Shutter Sisters as a founding contributor. In November 2009 her first novel was published — The Dread Crew: Pirates of the Backwoods, a book January Magazine calls it “a spirited tale, gorgeously rendered.” The second edition lands in Canada and the U.S. in April 2010.

Nominees of the Day: Best Written

The 2010 Canadian Weblog Awards nominees of the day are from the Best Written category.

Best Written is, of course, one of our fastest growing categories, because any text-based weblog from any category is open for nomination to it. In fact, at 22 nominees, it is our largest to date, and their authors have been keeping me in heaps of daily good reading. Go through the list. They're a diverse bunch, and you're sure to find something that pleases your palate:

Absurd Intellectual
Canadian Love Song
Centre of the Universe — The Dreaming
Cleavage
cribchronicles.ccom
dirtyolive.net
Dutch Blitz
Endless Spin Cycle
everydayINSIGHT
Knitnut.net
Living Healthy in the Real World
Maternal Spark
Mr. Teacher Man
Nuts & Mutton
One Thing I Did Today
Praying to Darwin
Raymi the Minx
Stranded in Motherhood
sweet | salty
tallnlucky
White Hot Truth
Woman in a Window

If you know of another Canadian blogger who can write with the best of them, please nominate them into the Best Written category of the 2010 Canadian Weblog Awards and spread the word.