My First Blog

For a webaholic, budding writer and general lover of life, it seems crazy to me that this is my first blog.  While I have been active in the web ether and on various forums for some time, the culture of blogging has passed me by.

Until now!  Introducing AlphaChick's very first blog...

Blog reasons

So why am I blogging?

One of the key reasons is that I have been trying to write my novel for TOO long.  I have good periods of regular writing, but I keep getting scared or lazy and the writing grinds to a halt.  I figured that if I put this blog out there, it could help me in three ways:

a)  Get me practising writing more, to hone my writing muscles.

b)  Make me more confident about my writing, helping to silence those niggly doubts telling me 'It's no good, what's the point' etc.

c)  Make me stick to my goal of finishing the novel by the time I'm 30 (Dec 2011).  After all, the web is watching!

Other than writing practice and to galvanise my novel efforts, I'm blogging to share opinions with others.  I have many hobbies and do quite a lot with my spare time.  This all leads to a fairly busy life (and a cluttered head), so maybe this blog will help me reflect and make sense of it all!

Blog writer

So who is AlphaChick?

I have started this section about four times and it always ends up sounding like a dating profile.  'I'm fun-loving, late 20s, GSOH' etc etc etc.  Maybe bullet points will put paid to that:

• I am, indeed, in my late 20s, and happy at this age.  I have found four grey hairs in the past six months which was alarming.  But they have been pulled out and, to all intents and purposes, never existed.

• I like: writing, reading, cooking, eating, picnics, pubs, long walks, cheesy musicals, sunshine, snow, Dr Who, murder mysteries, and playing computer games.  I am aware that this last is controversial for a grown woman.  I am attempting to break down the assumption that an intelligent, sociable woman with a full calendar wouldn't (or shouldn't) like killing a few bad guys from time to time.

• I live with my boyfriend, henceforward known as AlphaBloke.  We've been together since 2006 and going strong.  He likes: Planet Rock, fast cars, wartime stuff, outdoorsy stuff, and staying in with me watching Two and a Half Men and eating ice lollies.  It is nigh on impossible to define someone in a bullet point, so he will go easy on me (please).
• I'm too whimsical for my own good.  While brushing up my French for a one-week holiday, I will suddenly decide I LOVE French.  I will buy five French books from Amazon, and start investigating distance-learning French A-Level courses.  A few weeks later, I will be obsessed by something else and wonder what to do with all these flipping French books...
• I'm pretty silly by all accounts.  AlphaBloke and I spend a not inconsiderable amount of time wrestling, tickling, and sneaking up on each other.  Life is not, generally, a serious affair.
• I live in Kent and work in London.  My job is ok but not particularly creative, so enough said about that.

The rest, I'm sure, will become clear.

Blog content

Alphabet Soup will include:

AlphaReviews - Giving my verdict on a variety of things.  I read a lot of books, watch a lot of TV/films/plays, and visit a lot of restaurants/pubs/fun places.  I will share experiences and opinions here.

AlphaLife - Reflections on (and pictures of) stuff I've been up to.

AlphaThoughts - Musings on the issues of the day.

AlphaBook Project - My first novel progress.  More on this to follow!

And finally

Before I begin blogging in earnest, I want to give a quick shout out to blogger friends Emm and CiBi for their encouragement and support.  I'm lucky to have come across two such positive (and startlingly beautiful) women to help me on these first steps.  Thanks girls! :-)

And to my AlphaBloke, who suggested I start a blog years ago...

AlphaChick is born!