Welcome to Who’s on Fourth where one member of the yeah write community will interview another yeah writer, and the interview will publish the fourth Monday of each month. Fifth in the series features Arden R of Arden Ruth Writes interviewing Karen of Fat Girl in Boxing Gloves.
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yeah write on yeah write: Arden interviews Karen
Karen from Fat Girl in Boxing Gloves first came upon yeah write in April of 2013. She was on the hunt for particular stories, those about people who had overcome major obstacles. Karen found the blog of a woman who lost her legs in an automobile accident. As she scrolled down to the end of the post, she saw a small badge with the words ‘yeah write.’ Curiosity got the best of Karen and she clicked away, only to stumble upon a virtual community for writers who blog and bloggers who write. She poked around, read a few more of the posts for that week, and a thought suddenly popped into her mind:
After that first submission, the rest was history. For Karen, being a part of yeah write has been a transformative process. Her love affair with writing didn’t start in 2013. When she was in second grade, Karen told her parents that she was going to be a writer when she grew up. Growing up in a working class family of hardcore realists, one can imagine this didn’t go over too well. Embracing creativity wasn’t a part of Karen’s upbringing. As she grew up, she knew she still wanted to write but she never acted on the desire until she was in her mid-forties.
In spite of this, she did keep many journals for the past 30 years, but they were meant to be read by Karen, and only Karen. She started her blog, Fat Girl in Boxing Gloves, in April of 2012, and that became the first time that she put her words out there for the entire world to see. Unfortunately, since writing wasn’t a skill that was valued in Karen’s family, her confidence was certainly lacking.
Once Karen stumbled upon yeah write, however, that all began to change. Karen found confidence through the writers and editors. Their words were supportive and encouraging and the more Karen shared her work with them, the more confidence she gained, and the more her writing improved. Not only that, but Karen has also made quite a few friends by being a part of yeah write. It’s easy to see why she comes back week after week.
In particular, Karen is a huge fan of the newest craze at yeah write, the Gargleblaster:
Karen has had a lot of success on the yeah write grids and she is always supportive of the other participants. As always, I wanted to know what advice she would give to any yeah write virgins out there who might be a little tentative at linking up to the grids:
One of the best things about joining the Yeah Write community has been discovering Karen’s writing. How lovely to “meet” her in person! :))
Love Karen’s stories! So happy you featured her here!
I love learning more about all the Yeah Writers–Especially Karen’s who always has brilliant posts. Thanks so much for sharing these.
i love karen’s stories. she is such a wonderful writer and really so supportive. i am always lifted by karen’s words.
Thanks everyone for stopping by! I have so much fun with these interviews 🙂
And you do an amazing job!
LOVE THIS!! Karen, I always jump to your post when I see your thumbnail on the grid. I have read nothing but fabulous from you!
The biggest surprise to me, Karen, is the limited amount of time you’ve been writing publicly. I find each and every one of your posts to be polished, inspired, thought provoking and always, ALWAYS well written.
Great interview Arden! And Karen, you ROCK! I love you. I’m a huge fan! (But I disagree about raisins. I love them too.)
Thanks you guys, and special thanks to Arden. She asks great questions, and she did a fabulous job of making the life of a middle-aged boxing garage-saler look interesting. Arden = magic!
Yeah Write is such a special community of writers – I check out all of the grids every week (even when I don’t submit), because I’m always inspired by the writing that I find here.
This is so awesome! XOXOXO
Karen is awesome. I already knew it, but after reading your fantastic interview, Arden, I’m even more convinced. I also think that some of the facts we didn’t know about her deserve to be expanded upon in a few blog posts 🙂
C.C., Hahahaha – we’ll see! A girl has to have some secrets ; )
I always love the chance to read anything Karen has written, and I loved seeing the photos too! I gotta disagree on the raisins, though.
Karen is such a great writer, and also such a generous member of the YW community. So glad to see her featured here.
I love learning more about the fabulous Yeah Write folks. I must agree that raisins are repulsive.
I adore Karen, and am so glad I met her through yeah write. I am with her on the raisins.
Arden, wonderful interview! You’ve got a gift, girl!
No surprise to see Karen here. She is an excellent writer. Be it fiction or truth, the real her always peeps out of her posts and touches the reader. Those are some lovely bits of advice, Karen. Thank you, Yeah Write, for having her over.