MY WRITING PROCESS BLOG TOUR

I was recently nominated by Peace-a-bull Assembly to take part in the My Writing Process Blog Tour by answering three questions about writing my blog. I love reading about the Peace-a-bull boys so I was happy they thought of us! Here goes...

First I need these 2 to keep me company...

 Question #1: What are you working on?

Let's see...I've got 128 unpublished drafts. Plus a text doc with lists of ideas, probably a couple hundred ranging from training things, funny stories, past events, back story info on the animals, introducing the family & others to pit bulls, things that frustrate me, random dog interests like books and movies, stories about other dogs I've known, products we love and much more. I probably have another hundred ideas rattling around in my head, mostly about wanting to share photo collections of vacations, family visits and adventures. I am totally backed up with ideas and unfinished posts but I try to at least publish a Wordless Wednesday every week...those are easy and fun!

Let's get crackin'!

Question #2: Why do you write what you do?

I started the blog mostly for myself to have an outlet other than friends and family to go on and on about my dogs. And I hope that some day it will be a great way to look back on old memories. But I didn't anticipate that it would be so much fun exchanging stories, questions and info with other bloggers from all over! I am also passionate about pit bull type dogs, animal rescue and dog behavior/training so I mix those things in, but I mostly just share cute photos of the gang:)

Thanks for "helping" guys...

99% of the time I take my dogs out alone. Most days we go on a 1 to 2 hour hike so even though I listen to music and podcasts on my ipod, my mind wanders and of course while I'm paying attention to the dogs, blog topics often come to mind. I probably forget most but you never know...

Question #2: How does your writing process work?

Often my posts revolve around outings we've been on or experiences we've had so I come up with a title, write a couple paragraphs about what we did and how it went...sometimes brief and funny, other times insightful and long-winded. Next I go through all my photos relating to the subject, select the best ones and put them in a folder. Then I open all those photos in Photoshop, edit, crop, resize and save them for web. Then I upload the photos to blogger, arrange them, usually change stuff around a bunch, edit the text and preview the draft. For the last step I add labels, location, related post links at the bottom and schedule it to be posted usually on a Monday through Thursday morning since most people are busy on the weekend.

Unfortunately selecting, sorting and editing photos takes me a lot of time and is the reason it takes me so long to write posts and also why so many of my posts never get past the draft version. Since most posts are written about our adventures, the photos are essential. Plus I love sharing them! I've got a blog folder on my computer with many folders inside containing photos I plan to use or currently editing. Some of those folders are...beach, Gina, holiday, Tahoe, food, LA trip, Motlie, moving, Norman, hiking, snow, festivals, Kaya, gondola ride, swimming, family visit, UK dogs, Zoey, funny, training, Wordless Wednesday and Throwback Thursday. Plus a "used" folder in case I need to reuse a photo or need to remember if I have used one yet or not.

Everyone gets distracted sometimes...

I guess that's it! I wish I had time to post every day. We recently joined Instagram and I am totally addicted! It is the perfect platform for us to instantly share our photos of adventures and cuddles. I've also set up the photos to post on our Facebook and Twitter so you can see them even if you're not on Instagram.

Here are the blogs I nominate to do the writer's tour also:

acd6pack - 6 blind & deaf rescued Australian Cattle Dogs. Each with their own special personality and good looks. They often go to the beach or out on hikes and come home with great stories & photos to share!

2 Punk Dogs - 2 dogs, 4 cats & a lizard named Doug...need I say more? These dogs kick butt at relaxing on the couch and exploring the beautiful woods where they live.

Life in 2-Player Mode - A couple adorable dogs with a zest for life. They took a break from blogging for a while but recently came back...woohoo!

Why are you still on that bright hot screen thingy? We have cuddling to do...

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