“Just Humor Me”

http://just-humor-me.blogspot.com/

I started blogging on a lark, just to see what would end up on the page. I found that my readers laughed with me, as I laughed at myself. Most importantly, I have a blast. Blogging helps me to maintain a routine of writing and has taught me so much about humor writing, what works, what doesn’t, and how many of us share the funny little things that happen every day.

I wrote my first blog post in July 2007, on my oldest son’s 21st birthday. I didn’t know the first thing about blogging; I don’t think I had ever even read a blog. My husband had just bought me a new Mac computer and he suggested I try using the blog format in iWeb. I wrote the first blog post and sat back and thought, “Who would ever want to read anything I write?” Four years later, I have hundreds of regular readers and have connected with so many people through my blog.

I try to vary my blog posts. Most of my blog posts are about everyday things that happen to an everyday person like me, which can be funny, if you think about it. I often blog about my childhood in Ohio in the ’60s and ’70s.

Living in South Florida has been a huge source of blog topics for me; I could live here forever and still see Floridians as an outsider. (There’s much to smile about there.) And now that I’m entering the empty nest phase of my life, I find that many of my readers can relate to the horror/euphoria that comes with that.

Don’t be anonymous. I know it’s popular to blog with a cute nickname to preserve your privacy. But because I blog under my real name, I get to promote my blog to my friends. Many of my readers are people from my hometown, my extended family, and even business associates of my husband.

It’s scary, laying it all out there, especially in a blog like mine, where I admit to being a dork most of the time, but it’s empowering to put yourself behind what you write.

A lot of my family and friends read my blog. I’ve gotten some great feedback and some even greater blog ideas from friends at parties and relatives at family reunions.

The time I spend blogging varies for me. When I’m on a roll, I can sit down and pound out a great blog in about an hour and then if I’m still rollin’ I’ll start on another one. (I hate to waste a good writers’ flow.) Many times I’ll spend an hour or so writing, then I have to go do a load of laundry or read some other blogs or eat some Cheez-Its before I can get my groove back.

My personal web page is DianeLaneyFitzpatrick.com
Just Humor Me is at just-humor-me.blogspot.com
My new blog on empty nesting is at Surviving Empty Nest on WordPress