My Elevator Pitch (Problogger Challenge #1)

I decided to bite the bullet and join the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog challenge by Problogger, hosted by the SITS girls on Blog Frog.  I'm a few days late in joining up, so I have some major catching up to do! I'll really have some catching up to do the week I'm off, at the beach... I'll figure that out later. Time to concentrate on now:

The first assignment is to "create an elevator pitch" for my blog - that is, a short intro or description of my blog that lures readers in to read more.

It's time to get my RHETORIC ON!

An elevator pitch sounds easy, right?  NOT so much.  I started jotting down ideas on post-it notes, which lead to lots of wordplay in sloppy handwriting on half a dozen sheets of typing paper.  Eventually, i wrote one that I liked.

31DBBB asked:
What is your short elevator pitch?
"One big free-write about what inspires, excites, and challenges an ordinary young woman who's married into the world of academia"

Did completing this task change your blog, or change the way you think about your blog?
The process of completing this task was a very long one - much more difficult than I anticipated!  After an hour or more of working with key words, I kind of found my way back to the original idea behind my blog - which I think, I've stuck to. Lately, however, I've found myself drifting around in the blogosphere, wondering what to write about next.  I'm hoping that sticking to this elevator pitch will help me to focus and come up with blogging ideas easier.

There. I did it.  Whew!... step 1, complete!

Becoming a better writer - and welcome Wednesday!

I still consider myself a blogging newbie, in that I haven't found a my writing "niche" yet.  Do I even need one?  I love blogging about random things, which is what I've been doing. I have awesome readers who appreciate my posts and let me know about it on a daily basis (THANK YOU!) 

I want to continue posting about random topics, but I would also like to work on my writing skills and add a little more substance to the blog.  More meaningful posts, to pair with those fun, lighthearted blogs about my Bath and Body Works addiction.  I want to elaborate more on current events... on my life... on everything!  I feel like my blog posts need more "oomph" - so I'm taking my blogging insecurities and hitting the ground running with my own personal writer's training camp! You would think, with a husband who is a "rhetorician" and just a few short months away from being a doctor in Composition in Rhetoric, I would have great resources and already rock at this whole thing.  Umm... not so much. I'm ok, but there's always room for improvement, so off I go!  I've been inspired by the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge hosted by the girls @Secret is in the Sauce, and I'm also inspired by... myself. Yes, myself.  I'm a constantly evolving person, I used to hate change but now I love it, and I'm always in need of a challenge.  So... becoming a better writer.  How do I start?  First of all, I've done some house cleaning around here - if you've been here before, but notice a change, it's because I removed some gadgets that were kind of sitting and taking up valuable space. I wanted to allow a bigger space for my actual posts, so I had to rearrange.  Now, I have more room to blab, and you have less distraction which will help you focus on the writing!  The writing that... I'm going to improve the quality of.  Gradually.  Stay tuned!

Don't forget about my GIVEAWAY!

You have until Saturday, July 24th,11:59pm to sign up and take a chance at winning this super cute sign that I created especially for my awesome followers:

Details and additional pics can be found here.

Basically, just become a follower and let me know you LOVE the Blogging Queen Sign! 

For an extra entry, visit my etsy shop and let me know what your favorite item is!

Of course, I'm linking up at Take it From Me for the weekly blog hop, "Welcome Wednesday".  Head over, check out the feature bloggers, and link up to find other great blogs!