2021 Summer Blog Hop Challenge

This is my first time participating in a Blog Hop.

I found this challenge on a fellow blogger’s site (Nancy’s Point)

I thought it would be fun to answer a few questions for Nancy, and anyone else new to me or my blog. So here goes:

Question 1: Who are you? Tell us your genre, how long you’ve been at it, who or what inspires you or whatever you want us to know.

Answer 1: My name is Kim and I currently live in Central Texas. My genre began as a cancer blog, specifically breast cancer after I was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in October 2010. It morphed into a blog about grief after my dad died from small cell lung cancer and melanoma and my husband died from renal cancer 4 days apart in July 2016.

Recently, it has been more of an outlet for reminding myself that I am resilient and other musings with a smattering of breast cancer and grief still thrown in.

Question 2: What’s been your biggest blogging roadblock this year and did you come up with a way to get around it? (If you didn’t, that’s okay too. We’re here to support you.)

Answer 2: My biggest roadblock this year has been laziness and the perceived lack of time. Truthfully, it may be more related to lack of inspiration due to COVID. I have plenty of time to write, but I get mentally exhausted helping family members navigate this craziness we call 2021. I’m hoping this challenge, and a writer’s conference I am attending in September will be just the kick in the pants that I need to recover my motivation and inspiration.

Question 3: What’s something you accomplished with your blog this year that you’re proud of?

Answer 3: See answer 2 above. Honestly, just that I do keep coming back to the blog occasionally to write new posts.

Question 4: What are a couple of your best blogging tips?

Answer 4: My blog started with a few friends reading my story. A few more have come along for the ride, but I have never set out to make this anything more than an outlet for my own thoughts. I do not have any affiliate links, I do not make any money from my blog (although that might be nice now that I am on disability).

I write as though I am talking to a friend. That is how I perceive the people reading it because, in all honesty, that is how it started.

I am authentic on my blog. My story about cancer is truthful and painful sometimes. But through it all, it is authentically me. If you met me on the street, I would be the same person as you are reading about. At least I think I am.

Question 5: How do you handle negative feedback or comments?

Answer 5: Since most people reading are friends and family, I have not experienced too much. I think I am harder on my writing and telling my story than anyone else reading it. In general, I wish I could say I let negative comments/feedback roll off my back. But that would not be authentic. I’ve never been good at getting negative feedback, but it is something I’ve been working on a little more lately as I’m writing a book and I expect a lot of red marks during the editing process.

Question 6: Share a link to a favorite post you’ve written THIS YEAR (or anytime if you’ve been a bit quiet) that you want more people to read.

I think my most personal and raw post was when I wrote Dear Cancer…A letter about how I really feel

My favorite post this year was Grief’s Most Precious Gift and Other things I’ve learned or Dream Big – Lessons from my Skydiving adventure

And then there was the one where I was asked to speak at church about my story Imposter Syndrome – Is my story worth telling?

Thanks, Nancy, for hosting this Blog Hop.