Fellow Blogger – Belinda from Idiot Writing

I have been playing with the idea of introducing fellow bloggers through my blog. This gives me an opportunity to get to know some of you and it also gives you an opportunity to read about some others in this Word Press family. I ran this idea by Belinda and she willingly offered to be the first cab off the rank. If anyone else would like to be included in this, please email me and I’ll send you out the questions.

Belinda is originally from South Africa and is currently residing in the U.K. She is a mother, wife and an extremely talented artist who sells her prints online. She also writes terrific poetry. Belinda’s blog can be found here.

So, Belinda, what drew you to blogging?

a)      A place to put my poetry and prose in SOME sort of organised manner.

b)      I hoped to get feedback and responses to my writing – to understand what audience my writing speaks to.

c)      To develop an online presence for my writing.

d)     BUT – the main driving force was to share my experiences and encourage other people to keep their heads above water when the tide is coming in, in full force. To say thank you to the universe for all the dirt it threw in my face that made little steps for me to climb up on, allowing me to get out the dark hole I had dug for myself to fall in to. You know? To give something back at the same time as working towards personal goals.

And how long have you been blogging?

Since July 2013 – Six months now.

Does your blog have a particular theme that you write about? Please share what this is.

Geeees! I THINK so…I HOPE so. I like to dig to the heart of the human psyche; I like tying ideas together and gaining an understanding of how and why people think and react the way they do… AND exploration of my own ideas on life and spirituality and how to implement them practically (ho hum).  Human relationships intrigue me –Human nature is fabulous; frustrating; complicated; simple; fascinating; predictable all at the same time. The funny part is – life has a funny way of making me see just how stupid I am  – JUST when I think I understand something…all the rules change…and I am off to unravel the next phase – the next mystery that has taken hold in my brain. I like to write about it and figure it all out in poetry mostly. But sometimes I paint too. They feed each other. I have a deeper goal in mind regarding society at large – ideas and thoughts I wish to share. But that can not be shared in a short paragraph – books have been written on social commentary…we all have our opinions right.

Why yes, they have. Now for my next question. Have you gained anything from blogging?

a)      Knowledge

b)      Understanding

c)      Time management skills!

d)     Motivation

e)      Inspiration

f)       Direction

g)      Joy

h)      Confidence in all the above

i)        Friendships and connection with kindred spirits

j)        The ability to be able to ‘give’ – it is important to me…no matter how small it is or seems.

It sounds as if you have it pretty much sorted there. So, do you have any challenges in your life that blogging has assisted you in dealing with?

a)      Time management!

b)      Organisation

c)      Social interaction (The UK is still very unfamiliar to me and I am not a great speaker really)

d)     I felt very alone in my thoughts sometimes – as if people just could not see the horseshit out there. It is pleasing to me to know that there are MANY MANY folk who get pissed off with the same stuff I do…AND who treasure the same things I do.

So how often do you blog?

a)      As often as I can now – started at every other day or so… Since being on WordPress it has become amazing how much I can let flow out in just one evening or day depending on what’s going on around me…you know like my ACTUAL responsibilities!

b)      Having said that – it is at a point where I feel my blog IS part of my RESPONSIBILITY. And responsibility is a subject I do not take lightly…it is something I only had opportunity to fully grasp a bit too late in life. So I kind of feel like I need to finish what I started too – whatever that is…

c)      To be clearer – I TRY to post at least once a day – but some days I will post nothing and on other days I will post 3 or 4 things. (so much for organisation and time management hey!!)

It can be difficult finding inspiration for posts. Where do you find the inspiration for yours?

Dear Lord – everywhere… inspiration is everywhere. But…

a)      Human nature

b)      Nature

c)      Society

d)     Music

e)      Just a sound or a scent of something

f)       Writing inspires me to paint – painting inspires me to write

g)      Seriously…any event that happens triggers a thousand images and sentiments and pictures in my head.

God – but He holds the above together

Do you have a particular quote or mantra that you believe fits your life?

‘Just Breathe’ and  ‘Do not try and reason with a fool – for they will not understand the meaning of your words’ (pretty fun when I am trying to reason with myself about what I should and should not be doing in any given situation).

What draws you to other blogs?

a) Similar interests

b) Completely opposite interests

c) Conversation

d) A well laid out theme or formatting…I get put off very busy blogs

e) The title oddly –

f) Blogs I think MAY offer me information I may want in the future (ranging from cooking to spiritual to writing/poetry sites; gardening; photography; tech )— Sometimes I follow a blog for a distinct purpose – sometimes etiquette – sometimes because I believe the author will find my blog and work interesting or helpful. It is a bit of a gut feel thing sometimes isn’t it?

Most definitely. We all have so many reasons for following other blogs. Is there anything else you’d like to share?

I don’t like the word ‘blogging’ – it presents images to me of sitting on a toilet having a dump…which I guess is a fair analogy for a large amount of us sometimes. Shitting into that big wide open space of a bog and letting it all hang out. Ta Suz – that was fun.

Thanks for sharing with us Belinda. I’ve learned so much more about you. 🙂