[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Welcome to who’s on fourth where we interview one member of the yeah write community and the interview will publish the fourth Monday of each month. Next in the series features Arden of Arden Ruth Writes interviewing Tina of Not Just Another Mother Blogger.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][vc_column_text]

yeah write on yeah write: Arden interviews Tina

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Like most of us, Tina has been writing stories for as far back as she can recall. However, it wasn’t until 2013 when she stumbled upon yeah write and dove into our community.

I kept a journal throughout most of my teens, and every English writing assignment was attacked with gusto. I was a reporter for my high school newspaper and, as the entertainment editor, I tried to make the news interesting. In college I dabbled in poetry, song lyrics, and other forms of creative writing just for fun. Once I started blogging, I realized how much I enjoyed just writing for the sake of writing. I began to look for more challenges out there and found yeah write. The reason that I keep coming back is the support. When my piece is not ‘worthy,’ I get an analysis as to why it is not quality work. That helps me grow as a writer. Right now my main challenge is getting through to the other side of a cancer diagnosis, so I’m writing about that.

Like most of our community, Tina tends to show up at a particular grid each week.

I prefer the microstory because it forces the writer to get to the meat of the story as quickly as possible. It is important, on occasion, to be able to communicate your thoughts in their entirety in as few words as possible.

As always, I love to hear what advice yeah write veterans have to give anyone out there who may be a little nervous about first diving onto the grid, or to those who are new to the process.

Don’t get discouraged if you don’t get comments, or if you don’t win the prize. You don’t write just to have accolades and adoration, not if you’re really serious about writing. Writing is more difficult than it looks, but the experience is worth it. This is part of the experience. Persistence pays off, I promise!

When Tina isn’t writing, you can usually find her with her nose in a book or two… or three.

I love to read. I read on average four books a week, I would say. I tend to read “fluffy” fiction books right now because my memory isn’t as efficient so I read romance, historical fiction, sci-fi, mystery, and fantasy. I also love biographies and books about historical events.

As for her blog, Tina created Not Just Another Mother Blogger after the birth of her son and she realized time was moving way too fast.

I work in the field of school psychology with students who have special needs, and when I became a mom, it seemed like life was moving by so fast that I was missing it. That’s when I started my blog, so that I could record at least some small snippets of my life as a wife and mom and witness to history. But I didn’t just want to be trapped in a niche and forced to write about a single topic, which is where my blog name comes from.

As for her family, if ever there was a time for a #squadgoals hashtag, that time is now.

It’s just my husband, 8-year-old son and me. We are a geek family. We have light saber battles in the living room, and the Sword of Elendil hangs on our wall. The first book ever read to my son was The Hobbit. We are often late to soccer practice because we can’t find a shoe or a shin guard, but when there’s a problem, my family is there to help, however we can.

[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Thank you Tina for letting us get to know you a little better here at yeah write. We are so happy to have you in our community! Make sure you follow Tina’s blog, Not Just Another Mother Blogger. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”28407″ alignment=”right”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][vc_column_text]Oh, you want more? Well here are five things you never knew about Tina:

1. She thinks The Messiah is one of the most perfect pieces of music ever written.
2. As a child, she spent about ten hours digging up a rock in Florence, Italy because the rock looked like it might be a sculpture. She was going to be famous for discovering a lost Da Vinci!
3. She likes bird watching. She owns cats. Make of that what you will.
4. She is the kind of hospital patient the nurses all warn each other about.
5. She loves cheese. It’s comforting (I’m totally with you on this ~Arden).

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Are you ready for the yeah write #254 weekly writing challenges opening this week? We hope so! Your badges await in the sidebar. Grab the code, paste into the text or HTML view of your post, then submit your post to the grids for a little friendly competition. We’re glad you’re here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]