Blogging Pass Along - Why We Write



I don't know why I chose this photo for this post -
other than I don't have a lot of others to include that are relevant.

A few days ago, new-found blogger friend Terryn Drieling at Faith Family and Beef tapped me to participate in this Blogging Pass Along to provide readers with some insight into how/why I write. I hadn't really given thought to a lot of these questions beforehand so I surprised myself when I sat down and started thinking about my motivation to blog and the process by which I create content.

Thanks for including me, Terryn!

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What are you working on relative to writing?
Right now in the hopper, I have a post about working from home, a Chipotle post [because they, unfortunately, supply a never-ending stream of anger inspiration], a wrap up post about my Alaskan vacation [that was more than a month ago], two recipe posts and a rodeo post. Those are in addition to 101 in 1001 updates and Wordless Wednesdays. Since my blog addresses agriculture, rodeo, K-state and my life in general, my post topics are often sporadic and all over the board. Some may view this as a setback because I might push away readers who only care about agriculture when I post about rodeo and cooking but I hope that it gives people a glimpse at my many different interests and this blog also provides me with a place to catalog thoughts and events I think are important.

What makes your work different from others' work in the same genre?
Well, I don't think I am anything special. I am a small blog and I enjoy writing about my opinions of agriculture and providing fact-based information. That being said, I am not afraid to dole out the truth and lay on the sarcasm, so maybe that differentiates me. I think my real-life marriage blog posts make me a bit different too because I don't sugarcoat it!

How does your writing process work?
It has started to take me a lot longer to develop content that it used to - when I first started blogging, about five years ago, I would think of something, pound it out and post it in the same day. I didn't put a lot of thought into the meaning behind it or the value to my readers and I definitely didn't put any effort into SEO. Now, I might think of an idea and write out a few paragraphs to begin with but not finish the post for a week or more. Instead of focusing on the quantity of content, I am focusing a lot more on quality; I may only post once or twice a week but those posts are planned and not just filler [most of the time]. I think this development happened during grad school when I became a much better writer and learned that every word must have a purpose and value.


If I'm not at a rodeo, I prefer to be in the saddle
 taking care of cattle alongside my family.

Why do you write what you do?
Five years ago, this blog started out as a way to answer consumer questions about agriculture [and it still holds that primary objective]. Over time I added in rodeo and K-State because I am extremely passionate about those topics, too. I strive to be a reliable, trust-worthy source on animal welfare, livestock and rodeo because there is far too much misinformation floating around. If we, as bloggers and advocates, don't tell our story loudly and often, HSUS and Peta will do it for us.

Now that you know a little bit more about me and why I write, I am passing this along to a couple of bloggers I follow:

Melissa at Born to Pharm, has a unique story to tell. She and her husband are farmers and raise cattle here in Kansas but she's also a board-certified pharmacist. You can imagine how important the health of their cattle is in addition to her family's own health!

Jessie at Ranching with Rhinestones is a fabulous gal. She's a rancher/rancher's daughter from Nevada and is currently working on her PhD at Texas Tech - this gal knows meat and how to safely prepare it! She blogs about her faith, ranching and life and is dang good at it!

Hope you enjoyed learning some more about my blogging origins and I highly encourage you to check out the two lovely ladies listed above. They are experts in their respective fields and offer unique perspectives on farming, ranching and being a working woman!

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~