“Manic Mom’s Mental Myriads”

http://www.manicmommy.blogspot.com

I blog as a creative outlet for my writing and to connect with other writer moms.

I’ve been blogging since December 2004.

I blog about my children and the crazy things they say. I blog about the mundaneness of motherhood. I blog about my life as a SAHM on the verge of best-sellerdom. (I like to make fun of myself, as you can tell by the best-seller comment.)Just because you’re a mom doesn’t mean you can’t still be the person you were before you had children. I like to share parts of my life that were part of me before I became a mom.I like to give other moms a good laugh, or have them come back to me and say, “Wow, I can really related to what you wrote!”

Greek TragedyJennifer WeinerMiss SnarkSave KarynThe Shape of A Mother, which is awesome!Conversations With Famous Writers

Have fun with it! If you’re going to write openly about how your husband gets skidmarks in his undies then keep it anonymous – learned this one the hard way! Surf around to find other blogs like the one you’ve started, connect with other readers and writers.Leave comments for those blogs that are interesting to you. Bloggers LOVE and thrive on feedback from readers.Update regularly. Don’t leave ‘em hanging.Throw a contest! I’ve given away iTunes cards, books, candy… inexpensive stuff, but then you’ll have a reader/fan for life!Don’t put a bunch of crap on the sidebar that will just get in the way of your writing.One thing I do monthly is copy my blog entries and paste them into a microsoft document so I will always have a copy of what I’ve written. Someday I might print it all out and bind it so my kids will know what I was up to when I was ‘working’ on the computer all that time!Have fun; be true to yourself and to the words you want to write.

Yes! As I mentioned, I think bloggers thrive on the feedback from comments.I have been fortunate that my readers/visitors are great, fun people, and have even had the pleasure of meeting some of them!

Yep. And that’s where I wish I had originally kept my blog anonymous. My mother in law reads it. My mother reads it. My mother gets on my case sometimes telling me I should be more careful with the information I share.I try, but it’s hard. I just want to tell everyone EVERYTHING!

At home, whenever something ignites in my brain, or when my kids say something completely off the wall and I think, “I have to Blog that one!”

Too much; it’s an addicting hobby. But I don’t watch any TV so this is my “me” time.

Probably through Jennifer Weiner’s Web site.

The first one I remember reading and wanting to go back for more were Jennifer Weiner’s blog.

My kids…Yoga, headaches, wine, lattes, the perfectly shaken/shooked appletini, laundry, music, kids screaming, toilet antics, my husband, staying-at-home and trying to stay sane.Every day I can find something inspiring, or at least something nutty to write about.

Yes. My home page is: www.stephanieelliot.comI also have another blog where I share some excerpts from the novel my agent is shopping:www.40weeksanovel.blogspot.com

I have met in real life some wonderful friends. I have held contests and given away money and gifts because I have believed in a cause or a charity. I have connected with people I would not have normally had the chance to meet or know had I not been blogging.It has opened up a world of opportunity in my writing, has encouraged me to be more open, has been great therapy!