NATALIE WANNER
- GUEST BLOGGER -
G'day folks,
Today, I welcome and interview another writer and blogger from the USA.
Welcome, Natalie ...
1.
TELL US A LITTLE
ABOUT YOUR BLOG’S JOURNEY.
I developed ‘Crazy on
the Inside’ as a journal to express my anxieties, fears and concerns about
becoming a typical suburban wife and mother. I struggled with the mundane and
monotony of everyday life. I started writing the blog about a year after I
opened my marriage and found it was the best therapy to let go of other’s
expectations and live my own life. It’s become my platform for my book “Married
and Single at the Same Time” and remains an outlet for me to tell my journey
and the ongoing struggle and freedom of breaking out of the female box.
2.
WHAT IS THE AIM OF
YOUR BLOG?
Initially I created my
blog for myself as an outlet to polish my writing skills, and although that
still holds true today I really enjoy the feedback I get about how my story
makes others think about their own. Now, I just want to tell my story…but
everyone is welcome to read.
3. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO CREATE
A BLOG?
My love of writing and the
want to share my story as a way to break away from the ‘norm’ and develop a new
narrative to my life.
4.
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY
MOST ABOUT BEING A WRITER?
Being able to tell my
own story in my own words. Writing allows me to express myself in a way that
works for me and assists me in bringing out my creative side to paint an even
more vivid picture for my readers.
5. WHAT IS THE HARDEST THING
ABOUT BEING A WRITER?
When I can’t write a
sentence or, I’ll find a few hours in a day and more times than not I’ll stare
at my computer screen or out the back window of my house trying to find
something interesting to say.
6.
WHAT WERE YOU IN A
PAST LIFE, BEFORE YOUR BLOG?
I worked with high-risk
federal offenders in the community for almost a decade. I worked with a not for
profit society that help those affected by crime. I worked in the criminal
justice field hoping for law school but when I was able to witness the broken
system first hand I knew it wasn’t for me. Now I can’t believe I was ever on
that path…writing unleashed my creative being and the rest is history.
7.
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY
MOST ABOUT PROMOTING OTHERS?
Being supportive and
excited for others who are in the same space that are also just trying to get
their work and name out into the universe.
8.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING
ON AT THE MOMENT?
I am working with my agents and editor to polish my book,
“Married and Single at the Same Time”. I wrote it over the span of two years
with a coach while taking a creative writing class in NYC one day a month.
9.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
My children, my son,
Bailey, is 20 years old and in his third year at the university. He is the most
passionate and driven individual I have had the pleasure to know…let alone give
birth to.
Everything he does, he does with heart. My daughter, Fiona,
she is five years old and finding her way through the world. She constantly
reminds me that it’s more important to live the way you want and be incredible
happy. She amazes me with her independence and kind heart. Together they show
me fearlessness, confidence and happiness. Imagine being able to live without
care of what other’s think or how society thinks you should be…that is ultimate
freedom and they inspire me to reach for that.
10.
ARE YOU A WRITER?
I am!
11.
WHAT GENRE DO YOU
WRITE?
I write narrative
non-fiction, about my life’s experiences.
12.
DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS
FOR NEW WRITERS?
Fuck the so-called
rules…just write.
13.
DO YOU SUFFER FROM
WRITER’S BLOCK?
It doesn’t happen often
and I think it’s because I write about my experiences but I have been blocked
when trying to set a scene or create a conversation.
14.
DO YOU HAVE A
PREFERRED WRITING SCHEDULE?
Morning, I love to
write in the early morning. But I am not above writing at anytime my five year
old doesn’t need a second for Barbie’s.
15.
DO YOU HAVE A
FAVOURITE WRITING PLACE?
My kitchen table, I am
surrounded by windows and sky.
16.
WHAT IS YOUR
GREATEST JOY IN WRITING?
Being able to express
myself in my own way, without regret or apology. The freedom writing gives me
is incredible.
17.
WHO IS YOUR
FAVOURITE AUTHOR AND WHY?
Sylvia Plath, when I
read her words I can feel her pain and that connects me to her in a way that
keeps me coming back to her.
18.
WHAT’S THE GREATEST
COMPLIMENT YOU EVER RECEIVED FROM A READER OF YOUR BLOG?
I had an editor tell me
that I have a gift of being able to pull others emotions out through my words.
That was powerful to me because it’s important to connect with someone’s voice
and words in order to really understand the story.
19.
WHAT WAS THE WORST
COMMENT FROM A READER?
It’s never about my writing;
it’s about my lifestyle and how they don’t agree with it because I am a
mother…oh well.
20.
WRITERS ARE
SOMETIMES INFLUENCED BY THINGS THAT HAPPEN IN THEIR OWN LIVES. ARE YOU?
Yes, of course. As a
non-fiction writer I write about my life, or this phase of it, I am constantly
picking things out of my past to paint my story.
21.
OTHER THAN WRITING,
WHAT ELSE DO YOU LOVE?
I love traveling,
reading and volunteering at my daughter’s school. I have a lot of passions but
those are definitely at the top.
22.
IF YOU HAD AN
OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO THE ENTIRE WORLD, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?
Be kind, don’t judge,
help when you can and try to never cause pain. Don’t let society choose your
path and live the life you desire because no one cares so long as you are kind
23.
DESCRIBE YOUR
PERFECT DAY.
Anytime my words are
flowing and my family is happy is a pretty perfect day, but I guess selling my
book and moving to NYC would be a very close second.
24.
WHAT ARE YOUR
GREATEST ASSETS AS A WRITER?
I’m an emotional and dramatic being and that feeds my
writing and helps to connect my readers with their own emotions.
25.
IF YOU WERE STUCK ON
A DESERT ISLAND WITH ONE PERSON, WHO WOULD YOU LIKE IT TO BE? WHY?
My husband, Daniel, he is
goodness in every way possible. His love and respect for me is infinite. He makes
me laugh like nothing else and supports my choices. With him I know I will be
challenged and never judged, he is my greatest friend.
26.
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS
FOR THE FUTURE?
Currently co-writing my
second book and polishing my first so it can head to publishers. I just want to
write and hopefully one day I will make the move to New York City with my
family.
27.
WHAT FIVE BOOKS
WOULD YOU TAKE TO HEAVEN?
The Bell Jar
The Red Tent
1984
Catcher in the Rye
The Sun Also Rises
28.
ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE
TO ADD?
I wrote my book three
times for over two years and queried over 200 agents before I got a ‘YES’…the
‘yes’ is not what made me a writer, it just meant I had more support as a
writer. My story is the legacy I will leave for my children and I am grateful
that I am able to tell it in my own words.
Clancy's comment: Thank you, Natalie. Good luck with the book and future sales.
I'm ...
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