Blogging Is An Art

   And one I have yet to master. While I am indeed quite proud of the layout and minimal content of my features and interviews, and the construction of my printables/recipes/tutorial (except my rubber stamp one, because my pictures didn't come out right so I had to use pictures from another tutorial), I realise that my blog is quite empty of personal stuff. I would say that's because this isn't my "personal" blog, but the one I have always labeled as so is more just a place that I may reblog the occasional picture that tickles my fancy. It's here, if you're interested.

   But I suppose the real reason that I don't post anything personal is because I have nothing to blog about. I have no money to go anywhere or do anything, and usually I'm quite happy to stay in my house, but this is gradually changing. I used to be an avid World of Warcraft player (I am secretly a nerd, you see), but since the last expansion left little high level content, I've gradually drifted away, and that will remain the case until the next expansion in the spring. I also spend most of my time caring for my mum, as some of you know, while my dad works full time. She has Multiple Sclerosis, and has been wheelchair-bound for about 3 or so years. She gradually lost the power in her legs over the course of about 6 years - fortunately, she was able to be an active mum when both my sister and I were young, which is when we really needed it - and she also lost the power of her hands and her eyes. It's at the point now where she can't see straight, her eyes spin around and she can't focus (which means she can't read like she used to love to, do any embroidery, or really even watch the TV), she can't feed herself or even get out of the wheelchair, which makes every day things quite hard.

   Needless to say that this takes up a lot of my time so I'm also unable to get a job. In a way, caring for her is my job, I just don't get paid for it (though that might be changing, *fingers crossed* I might be eligable for carer's allowance from the government).

   On the upside, this does leave me the time I need to craft, which is also how I'm able to host a blog, an Etsy Team, my Etsy shop, and try to further my dream as a writer. I don't want my shop to be my life, and indeed it isn't. I enjoy making things, and I love it so much when I get a new idea, but I find that it doesn't last long enough. I used to do photography, and that was fun, but I found that when I had an idea, it lasted about an hour between getting the idea and taking the final picture. Not long enough. Drawing and painting took a little longer, between a few hours or a few days (though I'm quite impatient with paints so the painting would usually be done the same ay I started and would look the case as well), but still not enough. To be honest, jewellery is the same. I can get an idea, it can take a few days to do once I have all the materials, and it might take a few attempts to get right, making it one of the most time consuming things I've done. But writing...oh, writing.

   With writing, I can get a single idea and it'll last a year. And, I can get more ideas that I can work into the original plan, and while writing, I can get even more ideas and plan what I'll write after. It's something I've done since I was 12, and I read Lord of the Rings. That was it. I was sold to fantasy, and to writing, and there's never been a time since then that I've not had a project on the go. I've written about 20 stories (ranging from 16 to 300 pages, and most of which were awful), which has given me enough time to develop a weakness, realise the weakness, and to fix it. I've finally written something that I believe I can publish. I started the book almost 2 years ago, and I finished it about 8 months ago. It is the first of a trilogy, the second of which I have already started (it was the music in Morrowind that got me to finally start on the second book). I'd been putting it off, because I didn't want to start writing the second book until the first was complete, and I mean completely complete. I'm on my 5th and final draft of it now, and I am half way through...and that has been the case for months. The problem I'm having now is that I can't bring myself to continue it. I know what happens, I know when it all happens, in fact, I wrote it. This makes it more of a chore than anything enjoyable. But I know that it has to be done before I can officially start the second book and go back to my "write 2 pages a day Monday to Friday, minimum of 10 pages a week, and if I stick to this I can have 500 by the end of the year". This doesn't happen as once I start, I can't bring myself to not write on the weekend, and I often write more than 2 pages a day, but it still took me a year and a half to write with 350 pages. But nevermind! Quality is better than quantity (and the second book is 10 chapters longer than the first).

   I just need to find the courage to just get on with it and finish it up. But, Skyrim is released tomorrow, and I think if anything is going to get me to just get on with it, it'll be that game. I don't play them, I watch them. They're like movies that last a month, and you control what happens (sometimes - storyline is storyline).

   I'm trying to find things to blog about, but perhaps I shouldn't force them. This post was meant as an apology/excuse as to why I've not been doing that great a job, but it's turned more into an "about me" sort of thing...and I suppose that's a good place to start. I have a craft fair on December the 3rd, so I'll blog about that, and I have new printables and a tutorial to post tomorrow. And, if this carer's allowance claim goes through, I'll be able to afford new materials to make more jewellery and other things to further my shop, and, perhaps more excitingly, I'll be able to bring around some more interesting and more time-consuming projects to share with you all! Including one based on my book! It's something I've wanted to do for some time, and it occurred to me recently just how easy it could be! So once I've done it and taken pictures of the process, I'll share it with you all in tutorial form!
   I've also spent my last few days on Pinterest trying to come up with some nice DIY Christmas posts for Decemeber - I have 2 ready so far, I need at least one more! I'm quite pleased with them and intend to try some of my suggestions myself!

   Also, as a final note, once I reach 75 followers on Twitter, I will host a small tweeting contest to win a one-time 50% voucher for my shop. It'll be a simple matter of tweeting me with 3 things you want from father Christmas, and the winner will be picked randomly. But do try to make it interesting!

   Peace out, laters!