Day 15: I Got Style

I don't mind much where I write.  I first started blogging in my bedroom at my home in Nottingham, but my laptop broke a few months after creating Diabetic Dais which meant that I would seize the opportunity to write a post wherever and whenever it was possible.  Sixth form, my grandparent's house, even on my dad's touch screen phone at one point if I remember rightly.  I didn't really care how I did it, but I was enjoying writing so much that that was all that mattered.

I only find it difficult to write if I'm in an environment where I'm not comfortable, or if there's no background noise.  Being surrounded by silence just about triples the amount of time it takes me to complete a post.  I end up becoming frustrated because I get wrapped up in my own thoughts and start rearranging and focusing too much on my words, rather than just typing out what I really want to say.  So I play some tunes and away I go!

To be honest with you, I don't really know what my writing style is.  I like to mix things up a bit on this blog, writing about a range of different things and usually with a slightly different tone depending on what I'm writing about.  Obviously I wouldn't write about the worries so many diabetics face regarding serious complications in a jokey manner, just the same as I wouldn't write about something funny that's D-related in a way that sounds so serious, the last thing you'd do is laugh.

I write my Diabetes UK blog a little differently.  I like to use humour quite a bit, usually in the forms of puns, sarcasm or strange similes and metaphors.  I'm a bit more consistent with the way that I write and prefer to portray a positive outlook on diabetes there.  In other words, I save the majority of my 'rants' (although I hope I don't do it too much) for Diabetic Dais.

I believe that there's an appropriate way to write each post and I write the way I do hoping that you're going to want to read it.  The last thing I want is for all of my fellow diabetics out there to rather go and consume 100g of pure sugar without bolusing even a single unit of insulin, than read another one of my posts!

Day 4: Why I write.

Someone recently said to me "Why write about diabetes? I might as well write about my size 11 shoe."

It helps me to manage my own diabetes because knowing that I need to keep posting on a semi-regular basis means I'm reminded that I need to maintain my focus.  I can't ignore my diabetes, not only because I'll be an absolute mess and really ill, but because I'll have nothing to write about!

Writing this blog helps me connect with other diabetics.  It's a pretty rare occasion that I will meet another type 1 in my every day life, whereas through the Diabetic Online Community I make new acquaintances and friends every week.

I'd also like to think that by writing about diabetes I am able to provide inspiration and support to other diabetics, just as other Health Activist Writers do for me.  I love how I can write about something sad, annoying or funny about my diabetes and I'll receive comments from people saying that they've had the same experience or they know just how I feel.  Writing about my diabetes makes me realise that I'm not alone in this.

Most of all though, I write about it because I have diabetes.  I have to live with it 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, so I'll write about it if I want to!  So, to the person who made the comment I mentioned at the beginning of this post: take your size 11 shoe and shove it where the sun doesn't shine!