Moms Who Blog : Featuring 'The Era I Lived In'
Hello and welcome to Mom Blogger October on the Times of Amma. As regular readers know, the Times Of Amma community is all about inspiring Moms and building them up as they work on being themselves and Mothers. And so, this month is dedicated to featuring Moms who are working on being themselves and mothers, while expressing themselves through their blogs.
Today we feature a Mom Blogger who blogs on Parenting, Food, Books and Personal life and chooses to remain anonymous. She says ' The day I created my blog, I had a clear vision of what I wanted to achieve writing on a public platform (you may read about it here). As my blog is my life in an unedited format where I do not attempt to be politically correct and share happenings with references to people around me, I think it is only wise for me to protect their identities. I strongly believe that every story deserves to be shared but not at the cost of naming the people part of it. This is why I chose to blog as 'My Era' where the initials read ME and that's exactly what I blog about.
What was it that prompted you to become a blogger?
As a new parent caught up in a rough patch in life, I needed to connect with new moms to be able to see through the difficulties I had been facing. At that point of time, keeping a personal diary wouldn't have helped me share my concerns or experiences at length. This was why I chose to start writing a blog. The initial idea was to create an autobiographical blog where I would record my life for my child to read when she grows up. I wanted the record to be honest and unedited, that's why I chose to stay anonymous from day one that I am till date. Another important reason for the privacy of a handful posts is that they contain sensitive information that I am very particular about whom I share it with.
Which has been your most memorable post to date and why? My Birth Story. I started blogging at a point in life where I was battling a personal crisis. This allowed room for many emotional posts that are close to my heart. But, my birth story still tops the list because it is a post celebrating the day of my life when everything changed for good. I was reborn that day (battling a cardiac arrest) and my new life as a parent has never been quite like what it was before my child was born.
What has the most memorable comment on your blog been so far?
There have been memorable comments over the years of my blogging journey. I have made some amazing friends who never shy away from showing me the mirror or offering pragmatic solutions. But the one comment that particularly touched me was when someone made me realize that my real family was just me and my child. As a single parent who was struggling to survive and juggle many roles, that advise came as a godsend and changed my life for good.
Have you ever been trolled? How did you handle it? I have been rather lucky to never have been trolled on social media or on my blog. The acceptance and also disagreements to my opinions have come to me in a rather encouraging way helping me grow in every way.
Have you ever started to write a post and then abandoned it? Why? It has happened on a number of occasions and happens even today. Writing has always been cathartic to me, this is why whenever I am stuck at the crossroads in my life, I stop to pour my mind in words to get a better understanding of where I'm heading. However, I often stop midway in hope of painting a better picture another day before publishing the post on my blog. This habit has led to over 100+ unpublished drafts on my blog that I sometimes revisit, complete and publish.
Do you stick to a regular posting schedule or do you post whenever inspiration strikes? Do you have a writing routine? Though I would love to be more disciplined in my writing, unfortunately, I have never been able to stick to a definite plan. This is more about choosing to share pieces that are truly parts of my life than writing solely for the sake of maintaining a schedule. On my blog, posts are usually moments of my life in words rather than creative portraits of my perception of life. This is why my blogging is less dependent on visits of inspiration but more on my mood swings.
Do you find it hard to get your voice heard in the crowded blogosphere? Not really. This is because I do not aim to achieve anything by blogging or to carve a niche of my own. My blog is my personal diary that usually attracts only those readers who can feel a connect to it and choose to continue reading slivers of my life in an unedited version. Though there are many parent bloggers and still more personal bloggers, but I feel I am my only competition. I am not blogging hoping to fulfill any writing goals. I blog for my peaceful existence because my little blog world has kept me growing and going on in life connecting with many like-minded people supporting each other.
Many say that blogging is dead thanks to other micro-blogging avenues like Twitter, Snapchat and others. As the owner of a traditional blog, how would you respond to that? I disagree. There is no denying that micro-blogging does allow for an easy vent to our opinions as things happen but blogging shall always be in vogue because at the end of the day everyone wants to know the basis behind the opinions. I love Twitter for letting me get off things on my mind in one liners without the need to write a full blog-post. But eventually, I do write detailed blog-posts on those thoughts for clearer understanding for my readers and myself in hindsight.
Do you see your blog as a stepping stone to something else? Do you see yourself wearing the tag of 'blogger' five years down the line? I recently completed five years of blogging on 'The Era I Lived In' though I started blogging around 10 years ago. I never envisioned my blog to lead me to any bigger goal in life. Strangely though, in the past five years I took a leap in my career and chose freelance writing over my full time job. Still, I have never tried to mix my blog where I continue to write under a pseudonym 'My Era' with my work as a freelance What tips do you have for other Indian Mom bloggers? In my brief experience of blogging about parenting I have learnt that being honest without the fear of being judged or labeled as a good or bad parent helps me do justice in my personal essays. I'd suggest, that mom bloggers just need to stick to being themselves. Say it like they feel and they will soon attract readers who share their beliefs and values. This helps build a community of like-minded people that allows acceptance and plenty of room for growth.
You can follow My Era's blog here:
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