Scratch that Blogging Itch

SINCE MY VERY FIRST BLOG POST ‘My Name is Lucy Barton’ by Elizabeth Strout book review 6th July 2017, posted at 6:01pm, I have currently written 580 post—as at 26th March 2024—over a wide range of topics, mainly illustrated with my own photographs, and I’ve seen many changes. I even have my own personal favourite blog posts.

In 2024 it’s interesting that the Seven-Year Itch has struck. I appear to have hit a malaise where not enough grabs my interest to write about it. However, although I may feel like slowing down, I will continue to be a voracious reader and write regular reviews here and on Goodreads.

Also, I stress that blogging is an excellent form of written and visual expression and I urge anyone to give it a go! Just do it at your own pace, don’t even follow an agenda. Too many self-imposed rules and deadlines add pressure which goes against naturally allowing yourself the freedom of expression.

Of course, your hobby or favourite subject can take pride of place but it doesn’t have to control a daily blog output unless you thrive on uniformity, regularity, consistency—sounds like hard work to me 😀

Preaching to the converted here but I stress that there are many WordPress templates and layouts to choose from, just give yourself a bit of time to become familiar with the settings and capabilities and soon your decision will make itself clear. I gradually discovered my own writing style and headings, and I use them for comfortable working conditions. My only gripe is the inability to change the designated default font/spacing of draft copies. Each template has its own settings. Although things have become a bit more flexible, I am not a fan of block editor; what I draft-type is not what I get layout-wise.

My website ThoughtsBecomeWords.com is not flashy or intellectual but it works for me. Interestingly I chose not to have a date stamp on my posts. Any person can read your blog anytime without being a WordPress blogger so don’t read too much into timings, Likes or Views. I have made friends through blogging. The big thing is to follow other bloggers because that way you can keep your finger on the writing pulse and learn things from around the world, plus they will also follow you.

I have a particular blogger dear to my heart, Paula Bardell-Hedley in Wales, her Book Jotter site is prodigious, packed with world-wide literary information. Paula created Reading Wales ‘Dewithon’ which features Welsh writers every March for the month of March. I have participated over the years and read wonderful Welsh authors.

Nostalgically, I guess I’ve had my day in the sun; and while blogging is more genuine than politics, pics and fakery on social media, the enchantment is fading for me. Inevitably the pressure of life (and general formatting changes) have turned me into a grump. I think I will cruise along now, enjoying the breeze, occasionally stopping to sniff the eucalypt blossom, and not listen to the raucous competition of the world around me. Been there, done that, over it.

Naturally I will keep popping in to post (maybe even a serialised short story I am working on—stay tuned) but for now it’s on with something new! I have my sights set on a photographic journey so perhaps more local Aussie snapshots will emerge. Two more book review posts to add then it’s irregular posting for me—in awhile crocodile!

Kindly note that I will continue ‘Photo Of The Week’ on my Home Page every Saturday—in the meantime happy writing, happy blogging and see ya later alligator!

❤ Gretchen Bernet-Ward 2024

Mary Poppins and Five Years of Blogging

I never thought I would last this long and still be interested in blogging the miscellaneous bits and pieces which make up my literary life.

Over the last five years I have written, read, liked, followed, commented and corresponded with many other bloggers around the world. It is such informative fun, thanks everybody, and I look forward to continuing.

This is me formatting a new blog post © Gretchen Bernet-Ward 2022

What have I got to show for it? To answer that question, a look through my Archive List is required. Select a category from the drop-down menu.

Meanwhile, I have just returned from a holiday in Maryborough (an historic Queensland town – actually the whole region is pretty special) and one of the highlights was attending the Mary Poppins Festival in the birthplace of her creator, author P L Travers. Many will remember the Disney version of her famous book.

Naturally I did heaps of things and took heaps of photos, so once they are curated I will be posting a travel pictorial. “Chim chiminey, chim chiminey, chim chim cher-ee” there is more to see.

Mary Poppins in Maryborough where it all started https://www.marypoppinsfestival.com.au/

Unfortunately it had been raining for several days when we left Brisbane and headed north with no sign of letting up. The journey to Maryborough, situated inland from the Fraser Coast region, is about 250km and it rained the whole way; it was still raining when we arrived.

The next day was the Mary Poppins Festival and a huge amount of outdoor activities with most people in costume. Lo and behold, the rain stopped! The whole day was fine and sunny. You guessed it, the next day it bucketed down again!

If I go prepared, rain is a novelty for me. I took an old family umbrella with frills around it. But when the wind blows cold (it is winter here in Australia) it’s not much fun hanging onto a brolly unless you are Mary Poppins. Her classic silhouette, in glowing red then bright green, blinks and beeps as pedestrians cross at traffic lights.

Anyway, the itinerary held good. We achieved our goals, seeing interesting sights (the Mary River curves around the town and there were a number of yachts moored), strolled through art galleries and parks, antique shops, City Hall, the library, the historic Story Bank museum, and ate local produce including pizza in the skate park after dark. We met friendly, welcoming and relaxed people, and waved vigorously at the Mary Ann steam locomotive as it huffed and puffed down the tracks. A different way of life…

Enjoy more pictorial highlights of my Maryborough visit:

https://thoughtsbecomewords.com/2022/07/26/mary-poppins-and-folks-boppin-at-maryborough-festival/

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

Author Overview: Helen Lyndon Goff (author P L Travers) was born and grew up in Maryborough, Queensland, before being sent to boarding school in Sydney NSW. Her writing was first published when she was a teenager. Later she worked briefly as a journalist and a professional Shakespearean actress. As author P L Travers, Goff wrote many children’s stories, non-fiction and collections, and lived a varied yet personal life. Wikipedia entry reads “In a 1977 interview on the BBC radio programme Desert Island Discs, Travers remarked about the Disney film, “I’ve seen it once or twice, and I’ve learned to live with it. It’s glamorous and it’s a good film on its own level, but I don’t think it is very like my books.”

Clouds, No Daffodils

Clouds from Mt Coot-tha lookout, Brisbane © Gretchen Bernet-Ward 2022

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

By WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o’er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze…..

Remember this poem from school days?
Complete verse on Poetry Foundation
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45521/i-wandered-lonely-as-a-cloud

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

I have been WP blogging 5 years so that is 10,000 views per year – maybe! GBW 2022

Happy New Year 2022

Dust off the old year and brighten up the new year 2022 @ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

Wishing you all a clearer, brighter, fresher New Year 2022.

Thank you for reading my blog.

I have enjoyed reading yours!

And books.

Here’s to another year of literary endeavour.

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

* * * * * * *

Three Things #8

Looking Thinking Reading! Three Things very different this time—Tawny Frogmouths, Blogging Reward plus authors Malcolm Gladwell, Rohan Wilson, Mocco Wollert and Maree Kimberley—mix the sequence, have a sticky-beak. GBW.

LOOKING

On my Home page there was an image of two Tawny Frogmouths which live in my front garden. If you missed it, for your edification I have re-posted my original “Photo Of The Week” image—I change them every Saturday. I think this photo shows the unique adaptability of nature. GBW.

A Tawny Frogmouth Couple in Flame Tree Nov2019 — CAN YOU SPOT THE TAWNY FROGMOUTH? Actually there are two Tawny Frogmouths in my tree. They are night birds with an owl-like appearance but are actually more closely related to the nightjars and they lack the curved talons of owls. The general plumage of the Tawny Frogmouth is silver-grey, slightly paler below, streaked and mottled with black and rufous. During the day, these Tawny Frogmouths perch in the tree, well camouflaged as part of the branches. At night they hunt nocturnal insects, worms, snails, and often catch moths in the air during flight. They make a soft, deep and continuous ‘oom oom oom’ sound. They live all around Australia in a variety of habitats from city to rural areas. GBW. https://australianmuseum.net.au/learn/animals/birds/tawny-frogmouth/

THINKING

Quote “I think the pleasure of completed work is what makes blogging so popular. You have to believe most bloggers have few if any actual readers. The writers are in it for other reasons. Blogging is like work, but without co-workers thwarting you at every turn. All you get is the pleasure of a completed task.” —Scott Adams “Dilbert”.

Gretchen says: Like many things, e.g. press columns, literary reviews, magazine articles, in the blogging world I am only as good as my latest post. This idea isn’t new, and it’s debatable, but there’s so much coming along all the time that nobody has two seconds to scroll through my back posts – except spammers looking for a way in. Accordingly Scott Adams is right, for me it’s the pleasure of completing a task. Reimbursement? Pfft… that ain’t on my cards, baby. GBW.

Quote “And it occurred to me that there is no such thing as blogging. There is no such thing as a blogger. Blogging is just writing—writing using a particularly efficient type of publishing technology.”—Simon Dumenco “Media Guy”.

Gretchen says: Hmm, “just writing” hey? Each and every blogger is using this individualistic approach to writing. And they “publish” their little hearts out. I think blogging is more artistic than “just writing”. Yet I agree with Dumenco. All writers have their own agenda, and possibly two or three outlets, regardless of the name. I accept the term “blogger” because that efficient “publishing technology” supports me as I tread a path of my own making. GBW.

READING

A change of pace.
Four vastly different books.
A mixed bunch of authors.

Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell.
The #1 New York Times and top ten Sunday Times bestseller quote “I love this book … reading it will actually change not just how you see strangers, but how you look at yourself, the news – the world.” So far I have found nothing new but I will persevere in the hope that something startling will be uncovered considering “No one shows us who we are like Malcolm Gladwell.”
https://www.gladwellbooks.com/

Daughter of Bad Times by Rohan Wilson.
This dystopian novel comes well recommended. “In its vision of the future, Daughter of Bad Times explores the truth about a growing inhumanity, as profit becomes the priority. Supposedly dead, Rin’s lover Yamaan survives a natural disaster and turns up in an immigration detention facility in Australia, no ordinary facility, it’s a corrupt private prison company built to exploit the flood of environmental refugees.”
https://www.allenandunwin.com/authors/w/rohan-wilson

Bloody-Bastard-Beautiful-Mocco-Wollert SWWQ

Bloody Bastard Beautiful by Mocco Wollert.
“The frank and hilarious account of an immigrant girl who follows her German lover to Darwin. Adventurous, loveable and laughable, Mocco captures the heat and vibrancy of Darwin and its larrikins, in a decade where the Northern Territory makes its own rules.” Or as Mocco says “I am on my way to Darwin to find a job. I have no money to buy petrol or oil, man, I am desperate.” I met her at GenreCon and she’s quite a lady.
https://www.boolarongpress.com.au/our-authors/authors-w/mocco-wollert/

Never the Tracked: And other Stories by Maree Kimberley.
At GenreCon, I signed up for Maree’s newsletter and she gave me this booklet of outstanding short stories with a twist. I will be buying her forthcoming book because I love a bit of surrealism. “Coming in late 2020 from Text Publishing, Dirt Circus League is set in modern-day remote Queensland, a YA genre-bending slice of Australian paranormal fantasy and surrealism.”
https://mareekimberley.com.au/

Did I mention that I am a thorough reader? Don’t wait up!

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

HISTORICAL NOTE—One post in three parts “Reading Looking Thinking” a neat idea started by blogger Paula Bardell-Hedley.

Check out Book Jotter her informative, interesting and totally book-related website!

My ‘Photo of the Week’ Pictorial

Readers of my blog often go straight to my current post which detours Photo Of The Week on my Home page. I’ve gathered together some of my favourite shots—just in case you’ve missed a couple!

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

IMG_20190520_085932 — An apologetic alien in the corner of the bedroom ©GBW2019

IMG_20190503_212522 — Walking home through the Great Court at University of Queensland, Brisbane, after attending the rare book auction in Fryer Library on Friday 3 May 2019. The 4-day book fair continued over the long weekend https://thoughtsbecomewords.com/2019/04/28/rare-book-auction-and-alumni-book-fair/ ©GBW2019

IMG_20190416_153936 — Easter Saturday and I unearthed this little old turtle in the back garden ©GBW2019

IMG_20181216_175622 — The perfect place to sit and read as evening falls on another long day ©GBW2019

IMG_20190102_085124 — Action figures left on the shelf, a child’s forgotten game ©GBW2019

Gemma Phone (8) — The rain has gone and Poppy is ready to go outside ©GBW2019

IMG_20190204_122311 — Polly Pocket pet shop on piano – The concept was originally designed by Chris Wiggs in 1983 for his daughter Kate Wiggs. Using a powder compact, he fashioned a little house for a little doll. When opened, later models showed inside a miniature dollhouse or various interiors with tiny Polly Pocket figurines living, working and playing ©GBW2019

img_20181219_204410 — I’m watching you, always watching you ©GBW2019

IMG_20181118_104038 — Blue Berry Ash (Elaeocarpus reticulatus) an evergreen Australian native tree which grows along the east coast. The white flowers and blue fruit feature twice a year. Animals eat the berries but humans find them unpalatable https://www.anbg.gov.au/gnp/interns-2002/elaeocarpus-reticulatus.html ©GBW2019

IMG_20181023_104420 — Cute young camels at Summer Land Camel Farm, Harrisville Queensland Australia https://summerlandcamels.com.au/ ©GBW2019

IMG_20181128_121300 — A tunnel, a cave or portal? For a wizard, a dragon or alien? ©GBW2019

IMG_20180927_123151 — Created in 1985 by Brisbane sculptors Leonard and Kathleen Shillam “Five Pelicans” sit in the Queensland Art Gallery water mall, viewed from the Australian Glass and Ceramic Pelican Lounge https://www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/whats-on/exhibitions/australian-glass-and-ceramic ©GBW2019

IMG_20181001_094720 — Bromeliad, guzmania genus, perennial monocotyledon, throws an afternoon shadow on the path ©GBW2019

IMG_20180820_112919 — Addicted to adult colouring books https://thoughtsbecomewords.com/2018/08/24/revisiting-adult-colouring-books/ ©GBW2019

Toowoomba Train Trip 001 — Return to yesteryear on a steam train tour from Brisbane to Toowoomba operated by the Australian Railway Historical Society. Each year tourists travel by steam train to Toowoomba’s spectacular Carnival Of Flowers https://www.tcof.com.au/full-day-steam-train-tour/ ©GBW2019

IMG_20180801_065333 — Every day is a happy blogging day! ©GBW2019

IMG_20180518_121914 — The Degraves Street Subway and Campbell Arcade, once glamorous 1950s shops, now with artspace, hair salons and Cup of Truth Coffee Bar for commuters accessing Flinders Street Station, Melbourne, Australia https://cv.vic.gov.au/blog/archive/degraves-street-subway-and-campbell-arcade-the-underground-artspace/ ©GBW2019

Cup Saucer Bowl Optical Illusion — Optical illusion ©GBW2019

Spider IMG_20180509_080749 — “Experience is never limited, and it is never complete, it is an immense sensibility, a kind of huge spider web of the finest silken threads suspended in the chamber of consciousness, and catching every airborne particle in its tissue”––Writer/poet Henry James ©GBW2019

IMG_20180416_122341 — Peering through the magnifying glass of original World Expo88 butterfly catcher statue at Mt Coot-tha Botanical Gardens, Brisbane, Australia ©GBW2019

IMG_20180702_100310 — Viewed while walking through Queensland Gallery of Art, South Bank, Brisbane, silver balls floating on ponds ©GBW2019

The Blogosphere Ebb and Flow

IMG_20190209_092331 — Tropical lagoon and green algae swirls at Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens, Brisbane, Australia 2019

The swirls and ripples of the blogosphere will let your post resurface any number of times to an ever-widening pool of readers.

Never underestimate the infinite lifespan of a blog post.

Your post may not make a big splash the first time, nor days later, but it has the potential to be viewed many times into the future.

I know, because I have certain posts which haunt me. In the nicest possible way, of course, but it is still rather disconcerting when an old post gets a sudden flurry of views. It’s like they tread water waiting to bob up.

The reason behind my floating posts remains unclear to me.

Where, or why, my original blog story becomes resuscitated could be caused by any number of factors from reblogging to tweeting or—

linked on someone’s page
kindly mentioned in a comment
family members on Facebook
topic of interest and my tags swum into view
tumbled into the lake of eternal blogs…

I’m sure the tech pond at WordPress is teeming with answers but that’s too factual for me, I prefer the serendipitous, the happenstance of it all.

Overall, I am always pleased and still thrill to see those stats wade across the WordPress map!

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

IMG_20190209_092222 — Tropical lagoon ebb and flow of green algae at Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens, Brisbane, Australia 2019

Blogging Pleasure and Pain

I’m reading blog posts which say ‘Posting has become a chore’ or ‘It’s hard to post regularly’ or ‘Feeling the pressure to post’—-stop right there!

Take a break, the earth, the sky and the stars will still be there, the world will still turn.

Conversely there are serious blog posts coercing, er, cajoling the writer into a formula. Or worse, a winning formula to be the best blogger in the blogosphere.

There’s even a blog ideas generator, how unoriginal can you get!

YOUR WORDS, YOUR WORLD, CREATE YOUR WAY!

Does a technique overcome bloggers block? Better blogging supposedly comes with strategies, structure, schedules, regularity, planning…bah, humbug I say! There’s probably enough pressure in your world without adding more via your blog. If anything, blogging should be

a freedom,

a release from the daily grind,

your little patch of calmness,

a zone of personal creativity,

a focus on what you want,

how you want to say it,

and most of all, don’t worry,

let your originality take over.

The old hippie saying ‘go with the flow’ is appropriate when doing morning pages and you may like writing in the morning or writing in the evening. Don’t push yourself to write to someone else’s rule, someone else’s timetable. Free-writing is better than no writing. You can actually write anywhere, anytime, and I don’t mean social media.

Self-control up to a point.
Yeah, I know people who have to have a hammer hanging over their heads on a piece of string. If they stand up, the hammer hits them on the head, they sit back down and do another 500 words of pain. One famous writer actually tied his body to the chair to write.
Then there’s that annual trial by acronym.
Which does not spell g-o-o-d w-o-r-k to me.

Do you really want a target audience? Do you personally know anyone who is making a decent living from blogging? They’re the ones in the pressure cooker. If you are not commercially selling, I say ‘Do your own thing!’ and that’s exciting.

I speak from experience. You will find your own rhythm if you truly want to write. And nobody, least of all me, will help you or hinder you. You’re on your own, kid.

YOUR WORDS, YOUR WORLD, CREATE YOUR WAY!

‘Work hard to create great content’ – if it’s too hard it won’t work.

‘Blog often while controlling quality’ – we all know quality varies.

‘Find your competition and observe them’ – nothing worse than a lurker.

‘Write to please your readers’ – first ask yourself ‘Am I pleased with it?’

‘Improve your blog writing formula’ – your creativity is not a prescription.

‘What is your target market searching for?’ – don’t pander to the people.

‘What type of content do readers prefer?’ – write your content and let them Follow.

‘Start internal link building’ – in other words Liking but not liking.

‘You need to know the right audience for you’ – other bloggers will work that out.

‘Make your blog post titles catchy’ – why get hung up on headings.

‘Don’t have time to write then reblog or hire a ghost-writer’ – ha ha ha ha ha.

‘Images are important to highlight your post’ – keep them relevant, naturally.

‘Good eye-appeal in formats and layouts’ – beauty is in the eye of the blogger.

‘Learn basic SEO’ – because it’s basic but not life threatening.

‘Reply to Comments daily’ – meaning a proper reply or else deactivate Comments.

‘Bill Gates once said Content Is King’ – well, hey, that’s a given.

‘Keep wordcount down’ – there are people who can still read lots of words.

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

YOUR WORDS, YOUR WORLD, CREATE YOUR WAY!

Typewriter 15 — A refreshing nap or agony for hours…

Recipe for Successful Blogging: The Beginners Guide

This guide to successful blogging certainly offers sound advice–

Three Things #1

One post with three headings READING, LOOKING, THINKING an idea started by Book Jotter, innovative blogger Paula Bardell-Hedley. Her invitation to participate offers a slight change from ‘Thinking’ to ‘Doing’ if that suits your purpose but I’m sticking with the first format. Also, I am restricting myself to around 200 wordcount per heading. I can love, like or loathe in three short bursts!

READING: Let’s not pretend we always read high calibre books like Booker Prize winners and heady non-fiction tomes, most people like a bit of lowbrow stuff to pass the time without stretching the brain too much.

This is why I love reading ebooks on my iPad, so accessible via OverDrive, and so many back numbers that it’s easy to binge on a writer’s complete oeuvre. At the moment my guilty pleasure, no, rephrase that, my escapism is prolific British author Simon Brett and his Fethering Mysteries series. A cross between Agatha Raisin, Miss Marple and cosy crime books featuring ‘mature’ women, Brett has created retiree Carole Seddon and her neighbour Jude, a healer, who live in an English seaside village which thrives on gossip and, you guessed it, murder. Amateur sleuths Carole and Jude manage to solve crimes without external help, e.g. police, by persistence and sheer nosiness. Exploits often revolve around fragmented marital relationships. The first book I read was “Bones Under The Beach Hut”, coincidentally while I was on a beach holiday, and have enjoyed the consistency of the characters ever since, although some plots are more gripping than others. Apart from Fethering series, Simon Brett has also written the Charles Paris, Mrs Pargeter, and Blotto & Twinks series of crime novels. GBW.

LOOKING: My movie review of the HBO television version of Liane Moriarty’s “Big Little Lies” could be filled with vitriol but I’ll rein it in.

How did it go so wrong? Why base the story on a best-selling book if you aren’t even going to try to recreate the ambience? I was one of the first to read and review the novel “Big Little Lies” by Liane Moriarty (before I became a blogger) and I knew it was a winner. Modern, edgy, clever, the plot was enhanced by social media comments from witnesses, police, etc, which obviously didn’t translate to the screen. In the turgid, overblown DVD 3-disc version, which thankfully I borrowed free from the library, the school-obsessed mothers were rich, pampered, spoilt like their children and their husbands were just as bad. I could not relate, nor feel any sympathy for the movie characters although they were portrayed by big-name actors. I can’t even begin to write about the weak build up and even weaker ending. Moriarty’s name does not get credited on the DVD case and the words ‘based on’ is unreasonable. In my view, the book is brilliant and regrettably I think anybody who has seen the HBO depiction will have a tainted view of the genuine meaning. GBW.

THINKING: Dog eats possum in suburban backyard. No, not a newspaper headline, something which happened in my quiet, sober suburban street two days ago.

For a start, there are three dogs which is against Council bylaws and one of them has just birthed ‘accidental’ puppies. They are territorial so they bark at anything that moves, people walking, kids on bikes, and possums. Possums are a fact of life in my suburb, we have possum-proofed our house. On a moonlit night they will pound across the roof, jumping from tree to tree, house to house in search of food. I won’t go into the habits of possums, the main thought I can’t get out of my head is my neighbour calmly telling me the mother dog caught and ate a possum. Horribly, I had heard the commotion, the desperate squealing, so my fears were confirmed. The said neighbour let this happen because it was ‘good nourishment’ for the lactating dog. Suburban possums are full of parasites, the least of which is worms. That dog has now given those worms to her puppies. I’m not squeamish, I understand how the animal world survives but that’s in the countryside, not a suburban block where owners need to conform and dogs need to be domesticated. GBW.

POSTSCRIPT: Every Saturday I change my Home page Photo Of The Week.
Join in with your Three Things––for more information here’s the link:
https://bookjotter.com/category/three-things/

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward