Well, what do you know. I’m only into my second month of blogging and the awards are beginning to flood in! Okay, so I haven’t won the Booker prize…or an Oscar (actually, I have my very own Oscar, and I wouldn’t swap him for a dozen academy awards), but I was thrilled to receive the Liebster Blog Award and the Versatile Blogger Award from Chris over at Random Deviations, although for some reason I didn’t get her Lobster award, which kind of made me a little crabby (groans). She runs an excellent blog, so if you get a chance why not go over and have a read?

Winning the awards got me to thinking about why I started a blog. At first I thought I must be mad to commit to it… you see, as a writer I have a worrying flaw – I struggle to get things finished. I’d need to do an inventory to get a precise figure on the number of pieces I have in the WIP pile. However, I view this as both a blessing and a curse. Ideas seem to come freely, but before I can polish them off I’ve got another half-dozen or so trying to force their way to the front of the queue. Admittedly, a lot of the backlog is from my earlier, abortive attempts at writing. Much of the work was/is in need of heavy editing, but I refuse to consign things to the dustbin too easily.

I’m not even going to get started on songwriting – that’s a different ball-game altogether. My problem isn’t completing a composition, but rather the lack of technical prowess when it comes to music production.

Anyway, I think I’ve got a few answers to the question I posed: Why start this blog?

1. It’s good to finish stuff. I know it’s only my sixth post, but I’ve met my quota of one blog per week. The fact that I’m seeing an idea through to the end is also starting to become a good habit to get into, one which will hopefully transfer to other areas of my writing. And it appears to be working. I’ve actually managed to get a couple of pieces finished and sent out to publishers, most pleasingly the Writers of the Future contest, which I’ve been trying to get something in place for, now, for years, thus freeing me to work on my entry for the next quarter’s competition (there’s optimism for you!).

2. It gives me an outlet to write even if I’m not in that place; because we all need to be in that place to write, right?  It’s too easy to come up with excuses or reasons not to: writer’s block; lack of motivation; it’s 2012 and the world’s going to end anyway, so what’s the point, etc. I read some good advice once: to write, simply write. I can’t say any more than that.

3. I’ve always wanted to be more vociferous about the environment and conservation but thought that my voice would only be worth listening to if I was a successful author or musician. But why should that matter? Besides, I may be waiting a long time for that, if ever. There are no guarantees. Starting a blog has meant I’ve come across other people that care about nature that I probably wouldn’t have if I hadn’t joined Word Press.

4. Varied Reading: There are some great blogs covering all types of topics, and we all know that reading is a vital part of writing.

OK, on to the awards. Apparently there are some rules I have to adhere to: 1. Never feed him after midnight; 2. Never expose him to water…wait a minute, they’re the instructions for my new mowgli!  The real rules are as follows:

Versatile Blogger Award :

1. Nominate 15 fellow bloggers  (or as many as you deem worthy)
2. Inform the bloggers of their nomination.
3. Share 7  things about yourself.
4. Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to them.
5. Add the “Versatile Blogger Award” pic to your blog post.

Liebster Blog Award :

1. Again, thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to their blog.
2. Nominate 5 other blogs with less than 200 followers
3. Let the nominees know about said nomination
4. Lastly, add the “Liebster Blog Award” image to your post.

So, seven things.

1. I can speak Spanish…and sort of Italian (please see my post – Meat Free Day).
2. I play piano and guitar.
3. I have a plum tree.
4. My favourite film is The Big Lebowski.
5. I see dead people…ah, wait, that was a film I saw.
6. My name in Klingon means…yeah, right, like I know that! No offence intended to Trekkies…I’m just more of a Star Wars man.
7. Did I mention I have a plum tree?

I’ve decided to limit my nominations to five blogs and give dual awards. There are other great blogs I follow and some of these have either previously won these awards or have a large following. So, without further ado, my nominations are:

1. Wings over Water – Louise’s blog is a showcase for her own excellent poetry

2. Voice 4 The Unheard – opinion, news and passionate blogs about nature and the environment

3.Hungry Heart Thirsty Mind – interesting and versatile blog, including travel journals, wisdom, life’s learnings and cats

4. Naked Footprint – journalling 365 ways to reduce your carbon footprint, one day at a time.

5. The Dingleberry – excellent humour site